Final Fantasy XV’s Director Is All Too Aware Of The Ageing Videogame Audience

By Ishaan . September 24, 2014 . 2:30pm

In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Square Enix’s Hajime Tabata—who has taken over as the fulltime director of Final Fantasy XV—stated that he wants to make the game “more casual”.

 

“With Final Fantasy XV, I do want to make it more casual,” Tabata said. “Of course the depth of the game is going to be there, but I want to make it so players can easily experience the satisfaction of the depth of the game.”

 

Tabata added that he intends to make the game’s combat a little simpler, too, boiling it down to “one-button action” where the game automatically knows what you were trying to do, and outputs the appropriate action from Noctis, the game’s protagonist.

 

“Casual” is a sensitive word in videogames, and one that tends to be frowned upon by enthusiast gamers if it isn’t perceived in the right context. Tabata elaborated that Final Fantasy XV’s combat design is being simplified primarily because he wants to place an emphasis on being able to execute moves easily, and also because he himself is of a certain age and doesn’t necessarily want a control scheme involving too many buttons.

 

“I myself am not getting any younger,” Tabata said. I don’t want to be frantically pushing buttons. I also want to utilise the intelligence of the hardware spec, and not have to go through too much hassle or trouble in order to execute moves.”

 

If you’ve been paying attention to Square Enix these past few years, you might recall that this isn’t the first time Tabata has made it clear that he’s becoming increasingly aware of an aging audience. Last year, in Square Enix’s annual report, the director made a similar comment regarding older consumers that still play games.

 

“My aim for the projects centering on Final Fantasy XV is to achieve the highest-acclaimed, highest-profitable installment in the Final Fantasy series,” Tabata had stated to shareholders at the time. Further down in his comments, he had added, “Going forward, as a creator I would like to develop new IPs for seniors. I will create games that would thoroughly satisfy myself as I get older.”

 

While Tabata’s new IP for seniors—if it exists—hasn’t surfaced yet, it is fairly clear that he intends for Final Fantasy XV to reach as wide an audience as it possibly can, and that he’s willing to make decisive design changes to try and facilitate that. He’s even gone on record saying that he intends to rebalance Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, having realized that the original PSP version suffered from difficulty issues. If anything, he’s very consistent in his outlook.

 

He also has some ideas for what he wants to do in the future, perhaps after Final Fantasy XV has completed development.

 

“Ultimately, I do want to create something based on real history—a Final Fantasy game based on real history, for example,” Tabata said to Siliconera recently. “For example; you’d have the American Civil war as a back drop, and then behind the scenes all of these Final Fantasy-type characters are utilizing their special abilities to fight. I really love that kind of setting. That’s the kind of game, I really, really want to make!”


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  • Bojan Njegomir

    Hmm not sure what to think of this. I really hope they add some special moves/limit breaks that will make the combat more interesting besides just pushing one button.

    • Rohan Viajar

      agreed.

      If I just keep pushing one button, I think I’d just watch somebody play it rather than playing it myself because at least graphically it’ll look good (idk about story).

      • HarakiriKami

        Dont you do that in the turnbased games though?

        • Rohan Viajar

          In turn-based games?
          Yeah, but usually my mind is workin its gears through the process in those kind of games

          (For this specific instance) “pushing one button” used in the previous sentence referred to an action that would also include me not thinking.

    • HarakiriKami

      There wont be any of that.

      The combat is based around a one button system that will adapt to where you character is in relation to friend or foe and your battle tactics,movements strategy, changes based on that. Then you have a dodge button and then a warp button.

      Its like the battle system from FF12 mixed with Type 0 and Chain of memories with visually fluid and realistic combat

  • Daniel Bui

    I’m sorry, but this seems like a really stupid thing to do. Turning this game into a one-button thing is the exact opposite of what they should do. Did they not look at FFXIII, where you could literally press one-button for the characters to automatically do stuff?

    • Afternoon Intergalactic

      My thoughts exactly. Wasn’t auto-battle in FFXIII received poorly?

      • http://blackstar2661.deviantart.com/ SilverSpades

        I don’t see why it was recieved as such, considering that using it was totally optional.

        I don’t think it’s a valid complaint since you can play the whole game without using it and pick spells and attacks manually.

    • whoo

      Why look down upon something that was absolutely completely optional to the user? You were never forced to select the Auto-Battle option, you had free reign over what you wanted your character to do. It also wasn’t wise to completely Auto-Battle as you progressed through the game because battles began adding layers to enemies and the AI wouldn’t always choose the best attack or defensive options for the player. That one button press you’re complaining about was designed for both amateurs who needed to be eased into situations before tackling enemies on their own and those who wanted to appreciate the visuals during battle.

      Also, why the negativity for the “one-button thing”? Clearly demonstrated by recent trailers and interviews, there’s obviously more to the game than press one button and win. They talked about stances, there’s a warp feature for battle, dodging mechanics. There’s absolutely depth in this battle system, Tabata is just implying that he wants us to be able to execute our moves easily and quickly. What’s so bad about that? That doesn’t imply an easier game to beat, it implies an easier game to control and grasp.

      • HarakiriKami

        Stances is the one button combat. You have a deck that loads out a weapon that you use in an offensive, defensive or cooperative way by holding that button. The type of attack that is used is basically based off where you are in relation to your comrades or an enemy

    • LightningFarron19

      They did, and it was much more successful than the 90’s nostalgia minority tends to think it was. You know, because a game that gets an 83 by Critics, sells 6.2 million copies (giving record profits), getting good reception to the idea of direct sequels and the lead protagonist being voted as one of the top females is considered a “FAILURE” nowadays.

      Yeah, if you want failure, I suggest the following to look up and play:

      Original FF14, Devil May Cry 2, Resident Evil 6, Xenosaga Episode 2, Metroid Other M.

  • JAY

    Sounds to me like this is going to be FF XIII all over again.
    In the sense that all i have to do is “Auto-Attack” and complete 90% of the game.
    Really hope this is not the case, FF XV has been my most anticipated game for the last 8 years. If there is no variety to the action, then this is nothing more than an interactive movie.
    BTW, “Casual” is the worst thing i can hear when referring to games in development.

  • Tiredman

    Wow, I can’t believe how fast I went from some hype to absolutely nothing. Sigh, Squeenix doesn’t understand that with its flagship titles, the word casual is a death knell.

  • Jirin

    There’s of course a difference between ‘simple controls’ and ‘thoughtless gameplay’. Some of the games with the most complex gameplay have relatively simple controls. The tone of this article though suggests he does mean ‘Thoughtless gameplay’. I hope not.

    If that’s wrong and what he’s really trying to do is let you execute complex strategies and game moves in a way that doesn’t require elaborate button combos, I’m good with that.

    • HarakiriKami

      You cant execute these moves. The character does. You just decided when he does it, how he does it and who he does it with.

      You’re also susceptible to surprise attacks as well so that will change the whole flow of the batttle and your strategy on the fly, especially in the manner of the deck you preset. Like you did with gambits in FF12

      • Jirin

        If it’s like gambits that’s fine. Gambits are basically the same as choosing all the actions yourself only you can set things up in advance instead of personally deciding every single action.

        The question isn’t whether you choose every action from a menu, the question is whether you have to come up with different strategies on the fly for different situations.

        Does a skilled player have more success in battle than an unskilled player? So long as the answer is ‘Yes’, I’m satisfied. Just it’s seeming strongly like the answer is ‘No’.

  • Daniel Bui

    Bring Nomura back, goddamnit!

    • Godmars

      What has Nomura actually done in regards to the FF franchise?

      • Daniel Bui

        Its not so much about what he did for the franchise, I just have more faith in him making a good ARPG considering his work in Kingdom Hearts.

      • http://twitter.com/GNPixie Lynx

        I don’t know.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetsuya_Nomura#Works

        This was supposed to be his first and last Final Fantasy work he directed and made, his ‘magnum opus’ if you will.

    • http://people.ign.com/princerevolver Surgeon Of Death

      I’ll take Hironobu Sakaguchi over both any day.

      • Daniel Bui

        Unfortunately, he said in a interview that he doesn’t want to go back into FF.

        • http://people.ign.com/princerevolver Surgeon Of Death

          Yeah. It’s always sad to see the creator of a series hand it over. Hopefully Mistwalker brings a new game to consoles this gen.

          • Godmars

            He didn’t “hand it over”. Was more yanked out of his hands after the movie studio project which has put us all where we are today.

          • Daniel Bui

            Yeah, its a real bummer. If only they didn’t make that godforsaken movie, he could have still been in charge.

      • Godmars

        Second that, yet fear that he’d also would want to make a “fantasy based on reality”.

      • Manny Being Manny

        I’d take Sakaguchi over any RPG director. That man knew how to make an RPG… the series hasn’t been the same since both he and Nobuo left

        • HarakiriKami

          He left because he wanted to make crappy movie rpgs >_>

          Which thankfully he got over real quickly

    • http://hatsuhomo.tumblr.com Chiupon

      at least he would’ve given us a poorly written female character as opposed to none at all

      • Daniel Bui

        Are you referring to Lightning? Because I blame Toriyama more for that.

        • http://hatsuhomo.tumblr.com Chiupon

          Although Lightning is very awful and a waste of an excellent character design (literally she had so much potential i wanted more for her than she wanted for herself), Nomura is not a good writer. He’s an over glorified character designer and needs to go back to writing fanfics.

          • Daniel Bui

            He’s hardly glorified. Heck, a lot of people criticized him in the past because of his designs including lots of belts and zippers. But you don’t see those kind of designs in his artwork recently. As for him being a good writer or not, that’s debatable. Stories are enjoyed differently depending on the person, and from what I see, a majority of people enjoy Kingdom Hearts, which is the only story he’s written.

          • http://hatsuhomo.tumblr.com Chiupon

            I think he’s definitely glorified due to his little nomura obsessed fanbase. :C Like he receives too much praise which is just like… Everything that is wrong with XV is likely his fault (which is another topic) but like… He just needs to stick to doing characters. Or, SE just needs to get newer talent. Everyone else is like, hella old and they just have outdated ideas. But, that’s Japan.

            And KH is a garbage fest in terms of story, BUT, it’s a kid’s game so it doesn’t really need to have the best writing of the century.

          • Daniel Bui

            I don’t know, the story of KH was great to me before Dream Drop Distance, which seemed like a big mess to me. In terms of XV being his fault, the main thing I fault him with is taking too long to make the game and then taking on other projects while doing XV. However, in earlier trailers, when I saw the game play for XV, I liked it a lot because it had some intricacy and thought into it. But from what Tabata was saying, all that is being thrown away for simple one-button pressing. If it does end up becoming that, then the fault lies with Tabata.

          • http://hatsuhomo.tumblr.com Chiupon

            Nomura was definitely over-reaching and flashy with his ideas, which may have been why the game was in dev hell for so long. I feel like he’s the type who keeps adding and adding and makes a lot of unrealistic demands to his team. A little over indulgent.

            Tabata has a good track record with Type-0, but his changes to the gameplay really have me worried because I was interested in XV’s original pace — I honestly wish they could’ve just worked together a plot that utilized females in the story as playable characters/empowered narrators as opposed to accessories to the plot and male leads

          • Daniel Bui

            Well, its not too bad to experiment with an all male cast. It all depends on how they execute it. At the same time, I can understand your concern about an single gender cast. I mean, look at FFX-2, that game speaks for itself. As for Nomura’s work on FFXV, we don’t know what the development was like, so we can’t make assumptions about why it took so long to get the game at this point unless they make a documentary about it.

          • http://hatsuhomo.tumblr.com Chiupon

            i actually think a documentary would be really interesting, but they’d have to like go in the past and document a lot of stuff to get the meat of it all. like a documentary detailing triple A titles would be realllly fascinating.

          • Daniel Bui

            We’ll see what happens if it gets there.

      • Jero

        Actually no. The all male cast is pretty much Nomura’s design and idea.

        • HarakiriKami

          that’s what he’s saying. She’s talking about sakaguchi instead of nomura

      • OathkeeperSoraXIII

        Aqua is badly written? D: wut? ._.

        • HarakiriKami

          Aqua doesnt have much character develpment

          • OathkeeperSoraXIII

            That doesn’t mean she’s badly written, her character is very consistent in the game

        • http://hatsuhomo.tumblr.com Chiupon

          everyone in KH is a crap heap and i need you to understand that it’s a game for kids

          • OathkeeperSoraXIII

            You don’t need me to understand. You want me to understand. Please elaborate on why everyone is a ‘crap heap’. ‘It’s a game for kids’…how so? Because Disney characters? LOL It’s a game for all ages. You’re trying to tell me the dark toned story of BBS is just for Kids? smh, man (I use this term loosely because you sound like a kid yourself), you sound like you haven’t even played the games

          • http://hatsuhomo.tumblr.com Chiupon

            i have and i literally want you to understand the complexity of the plot, character depth, concepts, characters, and context of the game indicates it is for children or at least young teenagers in terms of simplicity and subject matter.
            It’s not “dark toned”.
            If you want “dark toned”, I need you to get into like, Xenosaga, or Persona, or like, a good example of a “mature” game (well, visual novel) would be Fate/Zero (which falls into the trope that brutality/darker subject matter is more “mature”, but I just list these examples because the characters have great depth and psychological range, along with the plotlines bearing more complex character dynamics, relationships… etc.
            It’s a hard comparison because of the novel format, but even the anime captures those same dynamics that really separates it from being a child oriented product.

            KH is for 11-14 year old children, along with BBS. I could elaborate further if you want or write you a paper on it idk but it’s actually for kids and it’s really apparent. That doesn’t mean it’s not a competent children’s narrative though.

          • OathkeeperSoraXIII

            dude, I literally said. ‘Elaborate why everyone is a crap head.’ All you’ve done is list games which you think are better. Trying to force your opinion as fact shows that you are nothing but a hater to the game. I asked for evidence to back up your claim and you gave me none and instead listed other games you liked. Troll elsewhere. You never even answered why Aqua was poorly written lmao. Which was the initial question to your statement. So far you’ve just typed out words that to be quite honest have no substance behind your original point.

            P.s I know what dark toned literally translates into. Compared to most KH games, BBS is always seen as the darker toned one, and most fans would agree. Hence why I used the word dark tone. It shouldn’t be hard to figure out if you even played the game.

            Done with you, go troll elsewhere.

          • http://hatsuhomo.tumblr.com Chiupon

            i guess if having an opinion contrary to yours constitutes “trolling”, okr. I’m not a hater to the game at all, I think they’re cute and fun, but they don’t feature dynamic writing and they’re trope ridden. It’s a kid’s game. Get over it.

          • http://hatsuhomo.tumblr.com Chiupon

            and the points i gave for other titles are absent in KH, which is why i was comparing the titles and listing those as examples of games marketed towards an older crowd. KH has simplistic writing and theme in GENERAL. It’s for kids. Trix are for kids. KH is for kids. Everyone else can play it and enjoy it much like adults can enjoy things for children, but at it’s core KH is designed to appeal to 14 year olds and that crowd. i.e why hella years ago it was popular amongst middle schoolers (i definitely remember being apart of that demographic too). It’s not FF12. There’s no deep political intrigue, it just focuses on straw villains and plot developments that rely upon quick alteration and plot holes.

  • byakuran

    note the key words of are quote frowned upon by enthusiast gamers if it isn’t perceived in the right context end quote . he is full aware of the fact that quote on quote hard gamers would bash on it i say just put a difficulty setting easy normal and hard and call it a fucking day everyone is happy….like omg

    • HarakiriKami

      … hes talking about the control scheme and how easy or difficult it is for people to understand a game.

      You got tones of menu’s different modes, a casual doesnt know how they operate lol

  • epy

    Ah, Square Enix, you never fail to disappoint me.

  • Ket

    Isn’t it funny how, lately, it seems the spin-off games are better than the flagship series?

    • Godmars

      What “spin-offs?”

      They made a handheld title that followed basic tropes which they’ve long ignored.

    • PenguinPlayer

      It IS funny when Final Fantasy is less Final Fantasy than it’s spin-offs.

      Type-0 and Bravely Default (Not FF but still) were huge critical and comercial successes, and yet here we are, going the opposite direction they went.

      I’m not mad at Squeenix and I’m quite hype for FFXV, but I still wish I could follow their trail of logic. Even if you disagree with it, you gotta admit it is quite… unique.

  • DudeJericho

    Oh no…

  • Hinataharem

    Incoming 100 angry comments

    • Godmars

      99 “Missing the Point” at the very least.

    • byakuran

      100 angry comments is right because their game is not goung to be uber hard

  • Godmars

    Both aware of an aging, mature, audience of fantasy based games, and wholly ignoring and/or uncomprehending of what they might be interested in.

  • http://linesonwhite.tumblr.com Takkun

    “I’m getting old and I like my games to be very easy and simple” does not apply to everyone as they age, Tabata.

    • byakuran

      the same thing can be said about the reverse your point

  • http://people.ign.com/princerevolver Surgeon Of Death

    With all this being said it sounds like a movie more than a game :P

    • HarakiriKami

      THEATRICAL REALISM. FANTASY BASED ON REALITY.REALISM™

      Yup this is FF Advent Children lol

  • axelrod

    Wow, I’m honestly surprised. If you claim that you’re explicitly reaching out to an older audience, I would imagine you’d want to do the complete opposite. As we get older, we only get satisfied by more depth, not more simplicity. It’s not like everyone spends their adult days watching Dora the Explorer when there’s so many more compelling and complex shows out there to watch.

    • byakuran

      ys would like a word with you on that topic

      • persona_yuji

        Can you be a little more specific in terms of bringing Ys up to this topic?
        Ys has become MUCH MUCH more complicated over the years.
        I can’t really tell if you’re trying to point out Ys’ growth in terms of depth or something else.

  • Manny Being Manny

    Pretty much how I feel. All these new games and all their fancy pants control schemes… I miss when it was jump and shoot.

    • byakuran

      hell yeah someone one who fucking gets it

    • HarakiriKami

      Play a game on the Wii?

  • E.T.993

    The last time Square Enix made a casual game, they made The World Ends With You…I want to see where this is going.

    • byakuran

      see it because everyone hare is confusing FF for street fighter with overly complex button pressing like OH I AM SOO COOL BECAUSE I CAN DO THIS SHIT WITH THESE BUTTONS yeah just like the other ten thousand players in the world

      • hng qtr

        “street fighter with overly complex button pressing”
        I really, really hope you meant that SF-like inputs are not fit for RPG’s and not that SF inputs are complex.

      • HarakiriKami

        Streetfighter is easy peasy.

        I think you mean blazblue lol

  • PenguinPlayer

    This is an interesting thought. I like when I can easily execute moves in a game, so the challenge is in picking the right moves at the right times for the right enemies, instead of being in executing the moves themselves.

    But just performing too many actions with just one button seems kinda like an overkill approach to simplicity. Then again, They Bleed Pixels also had a one button approach to combat, but it’s move variety was wild and it’s combat visceral and satisfying, so I shall be cautiously optimistic about this.

    • HarakiriKami

      Good boy you get it.

  • https://www.youtube.com/user/BaoZakeruga BaoZakeruga

    Made a video talking about this a couple days back. Not liking the way he worded it.

  • Jiff

    On one hand I’m confused as to why they would say they want simplicity when their fans have been asking for more complex mechanics, map layout’s and character personalities. It’s an interesting market to tap into, but I expect them to lose fans if this is the direction they’re going.

    I just don’t understand why they wouldn’t open a separate branch or company to target to the “senior” market. Teenagers and early adults love the design aspects of FF, I’m not sure how many seniors love the “boy band on a road trip” type characters or settings.

    • Manny Being Manny

      Is this really so different from something like Dynasty Warriors, which Japan eats up? Just spamming the same button or two over and over again doesn’t seem to bother Japanese as much.. he probably wasn’t thinking about how Westerners would react to these kinds of statements.

      • Cheesy12

        Why are you comparing two completely different games?

        • Manny Being Manny

          My point is maybe the Japanese market isn’t demanding complex games since they eat up simple games.

          • Cheesy12

            I don’t think it’s a good idea to generalize an entire market, for all we know the people that play Final Fantasy and the people that play the Warriors games could be entirely different groups of people.

      • PenguinPlayer

        Are you implying musous are just mashing X?

        Turn up the difficulty and start combo-ing like crazy and then the fun begins.

        Maybe it’s because I’m enjoying the hell out of Sengoku Basara 4(Which Capcom decided not to localize after failling to market the third one while expecting it to sell millions, screw them), but today I’m feeling particularly defensive of musous.

        Don’t hate on them bro. they are more than just spamming buttons.

      • Jero

        If you want a Dynasty Warriors then play one. I want a final fantasy and even though I was OK with the change in playstyle I don’t want to play an over simplified game that’s just mash X to win.

        • HarakiriKami

          Thats what Final Fantasy has been since FF7 though

    • byakuran

      i never asked for more complex mechanics like i said a good way to fix this shit is to add difficulty setting easy normal and hard and call it a fucking day it really not that hard everybody wins

      • VenerableSage

        Many series, not just Final Fantasy, could take a page from this approach. *coughpokemoncough*

        • byakuran

          thank you i mean it not that bad an idea people can still pick the hard complex route while others can enjoy the story everyone wins in the end who else could hate it really

          • VenerableSage

            The only “negative” to the system would possibly be an added measure of development time and costs… however, if developers would plan from the beginning to use such a layout and have that propagate forward throughout the design process, I would see it being a trivial addition overall…

          • byakuran

            if it gives people not to get angry about the controls additional time is more then welcome cost however i am not sure but if it helps balance the game for everyone then it a smell price for a bigger cause

  • Jero

    No. Press X to win is not what I want.

  • Cheesy12

    I do not like what I read at all. If you want to make one button games, move to phone gaming, I’m sure they’ll be happy to accept you there.

  • Luis Camargo

    I am getting older, not invalid.

    At least put a simplified control scheme for those who wish it and let the rest enjoy the more complex battle system.

    • Cheesy12

      Yes, indeed, compromise is the best way to satisfy many without shoving what he wants down our throats.

    • http://twitter.com/GNPixie Lynx

      Could put in an RPG Mode like what Dissidia did where it’s strictly menu based.

      That was actually really cool.

      • HarakiriKami

        Menu’s are too complex for casuals to navigate first time around

  • AJ

    I like that there is discussion about what “play” is and how people want to engage in play. I like the experimentation and searching for the best way to allow people to engage in play. I personally don’t like the direction some games are going lately, but the more you learn what doesn’t work, the closer you get to something new and good. And isn’t that what Final Fantasy was supposed to be about? Experimentation and going outside the bounds of comfort?

  • Max

    Why not making new IPs for new audiences instead of giving a shameful death to legendary ones?

    • PenguinPlayer

      Same reason they needed to do that Thief reboot and a TPS X-COM.

      BECAUSE REASONS

    • Rayhan PromisedGallery

      easier to get money

  • raeldor

    I’d consider myself an aging gamer, but I don’t want a button masher. I think most aging gamers would want combat that’s less twitched based and more strategic.

  • Hau To

    I thought you were supposed to press buttons in video games. To me, it is not the complicated button pressing. It is the complicated battle mechanics that irks me in video games.

  • KoRLumen

    I never asked for this.

  • Uvers

    after hearing Nomura was apparently forcibly removed from the FFXV project by square, I feel Tabata’s pretty much made this game his own now, all that remains of Nomura are the characters and the original concept

    • Max

      Sadly that’s not what they said.
      They claim Nomura’s vision is intact.

      • Uvers

        Thats what they claim but I doubt it’ll be the same since tabata already completely changed the battle system from kingdom hearts style to a one button press mechanic

      • http://twitter.com/GNPixie Lynx

        Keyword here being claim.
        We don’t know the full story.

        All we know is Tabata was put on the project back in 2012, around the same time that the Kotaku article claiming Versus was dead was published.

        Maybe Versus did really die back then and Tabata was put on the project to take over for Nomura in the first place.

  • chosen105

    Not bothered by this at all. As long as the game is fun and interesting, then Im going to play it, simple. My only complain is that I first heard about this game when I was in high school. Im now 25 years old with 2 kids and it still isnt out yet lol.

  • silverplat

    “Their attitude is, ‘OK, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.’ It’s kind of a passive attitude they’re taking, and, to me, it’s kind of a pathetic thing. They do not know how interesting it is if you move one step further and try to challenge yourself [with more advanced games].”

    Behold the current consoles consumers! And like it or not S-E knows what bones to throw at them. This will do well.

    • Agito

      more like current gamers seeing as smartphone gaming is incredibly popular

      • silverplat

        Not really, check the NPD chart any month, and to use a quote again “I think it’s crazy that games with story driven narratives that basically play themselves and systems with a huge emphasis on FPS are considered anything but casual.”

        • Agito

          poor choice on words on my part. i’m not saying all gamers more like, that there are alot more nowadays than back then. and companies take notice of that alot more, so they make games for these people. especially on big franchises such as FF to gain more customers.

          edit: i chose the smartphone department because i heard that there are alot more ”casual gamers” (i hate that term) that play with their smartphones than with their consoles, because of how simple things were there. guess i was wrong. but it is definantly easy to see where companies focus lie nowadays.

        • HarakiriKami

          FF12 basically played itself if you set up your gambits to do that.

  • http://iadagraca.com/ BasedWolf

    This applies only to attacking and defence not magic or other abilities.

    It simply means rather than rapidly hitting the x button you hold it.

    The game simply isn’t a hack and slash button masher.

    Final Fantasy isn’t about that. It probably plays like final Fantasy xii without menus since it has a gambit system.

    The one button thing is likely to free up other buttons.

    • HarakiriKami

      No it applies to what you set up your deck to do in combat situations.
      Magic is in your deck I think

      • http://iadagraca.com/ BasedWolf

        yes my mistake i read the patent just a moment ago.

        Sounds like a really action based gambit system which i loved.

        so it’s still cool in my book.

      • http://iadagraca.com/ BasedWolf

        Also can support multiple buttons which is nice.

  • decus

    I think people are confusing number of buttons with amount of depth. The way Tabata makes games, there will still be a lot of depth there, and he said that.

    It’ll be more about button timing than button comboing.

    • HarakiriKami

      Button linking

  • Godmars

    Me, it wouldn’t be specifically about action or one button pressing, but setting the stage. Preparing the fireworks or lining up the dominoes, laying back and enjoying the show.

    Turn base in other words. Plotted movement, actions and reactions.

  • jayz0ned

    Holding down one button to attack makes sense. You can’t get this sort of synchronized attacks in a button mashing game like Kingdom Hearts, since every button press results in an attack. This way, they can delay attack animations easily to make the game look more awesome.

    • HarakiriKami

      Basically.

      Its a bunch of scripted events that you create in response to enemy behavior and how you have your deck set up

  • http://LevelUpGeneration.blogspot.com/ KALiverin

    Oh man, the amount of screaming rage when this game comes out is going to make for some great entertainment.

    If you ask me, Final Fantasy games aren’t exactly known for their complex and deep mechanics. These are some of the easiest RPGs out there.

    I’m assuming there’s still going to be some depth to the combat system. They just want to simplify your inputs. That doesn’t bother me because RPGs aren’t exactly input intensive games in the first place.

  • Abel_Nightroad

    I kind of understand why Matsuno couldn’t breathe the same air there.

  • Scarletmoonwish

    As long as the gameplay is fun I don’t see the problem.

  • AndyLC

    Hajime Tabata’s FF Type-0 had a nice way of adding depth and mastery to complement mashing though, “Kill” frames. If you strike at an enemy right before they hit you, you will kill them in a single blow.

    I really hope FFXV includes a feature like this, so the ‘casual’ audience can just hold down the attack button while the ‘hardcore’ audience times their attacks at just the right moment.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmlGOJiEfnI

  • Agito

    considering that there are more than 2 buttons on a controller they better use it for magic and stuff like that.

    either way i’m not too keen on the auto-dodge/attack option many action games nowadays have (like w101 and bayonetta). feels like you aren’t in full control of your actions. simple gameplay is good and all, but there also needs to be a challenge factor to it. like KHII’s secret bosses, where you need to master how to maximise your combos while accuratly dodging attacks and learning their patterns.

    • HarakiriKami

      Bayonetta and TW101 dont have auto dodge what do you mean?

      The clutch moment skill? Or are you talking about playing them on Easy Automatic control scheme?

      • Agito

        the slash icon ( / ) is my way of saying either this or both. it’s just a something i made up to make it faster to write stuff in the general perspective of things.

        with bayonetta i’m talking specificly about the gamepad play method. where all you need to do is tap the enemy and swipe to dodge the attack(if i remember correctly). some may like that, which is fine for them, but i personaly don’t like the idea of the game (mostly) playing for you. it just doesn’t leave much satisfaction because i wasn’t in full control of the situation and therefore i wasn’t the deciding factor of winning the battles.

        • HarakiriKami

          OH okay ,easy automatic control scheme is what you meant

  • DesmaX

    I was scared before, but reading the patent for the battle system made me actually interessed in it (It‘ highly reminiscent of the gambit system from XII).

    Siliconera staff, can you guys put a link to it on this article? It could avoid major confusion

    • http://blackstar2661.deviantart.com/ SilverSpades

      Yeah, it seems like simplified controls with a potentially deeper system.

      What I got from Tabata’s statement was that he made the game play easier, but that there was still depth and difficulty for those who like challenges. Simply an effort to satisfy both parties.

      This is an action RPG, not a hack n slash, so I’m okay with the controls taken this info and the gambit systems into account. It can be really fun, and I think once we’re able to play the demo, minds might be changing.

    • http://twitter.com/GNPixie Lynx

      -It‘ highly reminiscent of the gambit system from XII).

      Goddamnit.
      Interest is rapidly dropping.

      I did NOT enjoy Gambits at all.

      • Rohan Viajar

        I didn’t like the gambit system either.
        but I loved playing the game.

        I mean I played with only 2-3 gambits equipped. Which was auto attack any nearby creature and heal when below 30%.

        playing FFXII was some intense shit for me.

    • ALL HAIL KING BIMPY
    • KazukiNanbu

      i like the gambit system, i don’t need to choose every single action of the party and ruin the flow of the action on screen

    • Milton O’Bannon

      XII is my favorite in the series, gameplay wise. So if that is truly the case then maybe I shouldn’t be too worried.

  • KrazyBean

    Don’t you press X constantly in Kingdom Hearts as well? No one really complains about that. Not to mention that it’s still fun as hell to play.

    • NightzeroAX

      This is “FINAL FANTASY” tho. The big boys can’t handle that.

      • persona_yuji

        Funny thing is…Final Fantasy started with press “A” to choose.

        • OathkeeperSoraXIII

          In the mock-up HuD for this game it also looked like we would choose from a list of actions
          ‘Attack’
          ‘magic’
          ‘summon’
          looks like that’s gone now and we get to hold a button down. yay.

    • http://LevelUpGeneration.blogspot.com/ KALiverin

      Well it depends. While you certainly do mash a lot in Kingdom Hearts, it’s not like you can just put the controller down, stand there and tap the button over and over again. Some monsters can wipe you out if you don’t try to dodge them, especially bosses, so it’s not like there’s 0 depth to the battle system.

    • Agito

      well there is also the fact of manually hitting/dodging opponents, countering their attacks whilst trying to survive for your dear life(harder difficulties and secret bosses)

      this one seems like all you have to do is hold the dodge button to well, dodge and attack. it just seems too easy to play compared to kingdom hearts

      • HarakiriKami

        Because this game actually has strategy to it unlike KH

        • Agito

          i have heard a little bit more about this game, like how the behemoth does a counter-attack from the front. so my opinion got better, but i do wonder how much you can strategise with the game. i’m just waiting untill the devs can tell us more about the dept of the combat system. because so far, there is little i can go with to form a solid opinion

    • http://gamgambit.tumblr.com/ One Winged Wanker ♢

      Try mashing X for Birth by Sleep and Re:CoM, good luck with that.

      • Shadow Rebirth

        fighting Xehanort in Birth of Sleep gave my nightmares T_T

    • HarakiriKami

      cause the combat in that game is stupid.

      This is a HOLD X to win game not a press X rapidly to win and sometimes dodge and parry game

  • http://www.twitter.com/christaran Chris Taran

    Well, the seeming oversimplification of the controls have greatly diminished my interest in the game. And I’m certainly in the “aging” gamers crowd being in my 30’s now.

  • http://epiclyamazing.wordpress.com/ AzureNova

    Did-did I just get called old lol? I mean yeah my birthday is next month and I will be a year older, but I don’t need one of my favorite fantasy series to be “casualized” because of that. People can adapt and change if needed. I mean come on Tabata, I still got it lol

    • Prinnydoom

      I was 13 when this game was first announced. I am now 21 thats about 8 years…..long time to be waiting.

      • http://epiclyamazing.wordpress.com/ AzureNova

        I waited those same 8 years you did lol. Although I’ve got you beat by a few years lol

        • Mimi

          notice how your the only one saying “lol” in this entire conversation (which there is nothing wrong with, i just felt like pointing that out)

          • http://epiclyamazing.wordpress.com/ AzureNova

            I just think it funny that people still can’t get over how much time has passed since it was announced. Not having the game for all that time didn’t ruin my life or anything. Lol.

          • HarakiriKami

            I’ve only see one other person say lol as much as you do

  • Heisst

    ”He’s even gone on record saying that he intends to rebalance Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, ”
    ruh roh.

  • James

    When are they planning to release the movie version of this “game”? Oh wait it’s the same thing apparently.

    • http://LevelUpGeneration.blogspot.com/ KALiverin

      I thought people played RPGs for the story

      • hng qtr

        People play VN’s for story(and even so music and visuals are a big deal), for an RPG you need more.

        • Windflare

          RPGs are all about equipment, item management, improving stats, figuring out tactics against foes etc.

          Story only comes after that and doesn’t really define the genre as much as one might think. There’re even many RPGs out there who have almost no story at all or just some basic stuff to give the players a reason to cling to it until they’re ready for the actual content – the end-game or post-game.

          • Mimi

            this is true for most rpgs but not necessarily for final fantasy. I cant say this for al because i’ve only played ps1 entries but those 3 are definitely all about the story. In fact all other aspects of the game are very simple/ old fashioned even for the time they were released. they say as much in ign’s 2001 review of ff9. for example the combat is basically straight up turn based, they same as what it was since ff1. this is not to say that I don’t absolutely adore the series, because i do but its for the story and characters

          • HarakiriKami

            Yeah the PS1 final fantasy’s are about stories. Cause Square was obsessed with movies in that era.

            The original final fantasy’s were Adventure RPGs, Dragon Quest is still much the same. Then in the 90’s everyone decided to get on their FMV fetish and make cinematic narrative video games. ( hence why I stopped playing FF and now only touch dragon quest. Even then DQ8 is the most Final Fantasy ish DQ game yet and I hate it for that lmao.)
            x
            Then take it one step further with the “waifu & husbando” trend where JRPGS became Character driven/based cinematic narratives. Then they took it one step farther and added ecchi elements and now everything is hentai. I hate it.

            SMT I think is the only game that does narrative based rpg without going overboard on the cinematics.

            Persona is obviously aimed at the waifu idiots.. That’s why its easy.

            Fire Emblem’s going the same route now ;-;

            I’ll just keep playing Golden Sun instead because at least that game is content with being an adventure RPG with fast paced combat and strategic depth. With Zelda-esque dungeons that have better puzzles than recent Zelda games!! Haha. (newest one is too easy though. Needs its sequel with all the elements they wanted to include in the first but couldnt)

            I feel Xenoblade was both of those things at the same time. Learning the story of the world while you travel through it.

            The world ends with you is another good one.

          • HarakiriKami

            Etrian Odyssey yo!!

  • Spectre

    I’m good with a not so post apocalyptic future setting. Clean and been filled with a blend of tech and nature. Like in FVIII.

  • Monterossa

    “he intends for Final Fantasy XV to reach as wide an audience as it possibly can”.

    first, you’ll need to change the playable character designs. they need more variation, not just 5 guys dressing the same. and how can you reach a wide audience without a single female character in the party? how can you make male audience happy with that? please, Tabata, please fix the mistake Nomura made and turn this game to be at least playable.

    • FFmax

      This game is only going to divide the fanbase with their recent decisions. But I’m sure it’s going to be playable at least, I mean thought XIII was okay but some people think of it as worse than Sonic 06.

    • Fainaru Luna

      There’s alot of dudebro games out there gears,army of two, cod ect
      They are targeted a wide range of audience, if limited by whatever demographic gamer

    • Tienron

      final fantasy x-2 was an all female cast please, stop your rubbish and all of them are very different not dressed the same at all…

    • raygunner659

      Your quote doesn’t really work for the conclusion >_> If your argument was that having an all guy cast without a single girl member would narrow the audience and contradict itself, that quote would at least support it, but I really don’t see how any of that would make it any less playable

      EDIT: Sorry, reread it. It’s more of that the conclusion doesn’t make sense with the argument. Ugh. I sound pedantic. Ignore me.

    • popo123

      What ever did Nomura do to make this unplayable? His version was the fast paced KH style Final Fantasy that many liked when they saw it. Tabata is changing that to a more simpler “one button action” game play to be more fitting with casual players and old people like him. As for the characters, well even though they said there won’t be any female characters in your party, that could still change in the future as the game is just 50-60% complete. We still don’t know what role Stella, Luna, and the black haired girl would play in the game.

      • HarakiriKami

        Tabata didnt change the combat system at all.

        This is a system nomura himself came up with. Hell the whole deck concept is something he created is it not?

        • popo123

          This is different from Nomura’s. Tabata himself said so that they changed the combat system. Nomura’s version had the menu and all the usual options ala Kingdom hearts but Tabata didn’t want that so he discarded the menu and simplified the controls. Every move can now be accessed through just one button for each type of move. All of this is mentioned in his interviews. Note that the interview above is not the only interview he had.

        • waterblaze123

          What were you watching… It was Kingdom Heart’s battle system at the start then Tabata changed it.

          • HarakiriKami

            The game had auto deck switching in 2011. Watch the 2011 trailer for FF Versus. That’s a conceptual prototype for the game.

            Later on in 2013 Nomura and tabata tried to make it work in real time but it wasnt fluid enough

          • waterblaze123

            Oh also just prove it with interviews and not just looking at trailers. Not some next theories I can link you myself but I am a lazy person and when I am right and you cannot find an interview piece with Nomura saying that it wasn’t running smoothly you will see my side any way.

          • HarakiriKami

            ? A trailer tells you everything you need to know. Its game footage XD. Easily discernible ones at that. The game looked janky as hell, that was a prototype and the game got moved into a full dev cycle in 2012.

            Nomura stated in 2013 that the he wanted to try the combat manually. The current game they were showing off was all on auto. Game goes in the dark for a year.

            Surprise surprise. Its auto again.

          • waterblaze123

            Yeah totally… A trailer doesn’t tell you everything… Nor does it speak for the game. Please state your source for this I have read every interview that you can dig out about this not only that I can actually read Japanese too. So nothing actually got lost in translation for me either. Where did he state this. That 2011 footage was not auto I can tell you that you actually have to be blind to be able to think that.

          • HarakiriKami

            Whatever makes you sleep at night buddy.

            Go and corroborate your evidence by watching the trailer and paying attention to the systems at play and how they’re executed.

            Or you could go read the threads on the neogaf about it. Its all detailed there plain for anyone with a brain to see

          • M’iau M’iaut

            Done guys — end the personal crap.

          • HarakiriKami

            Okay :3

        • waterblaze123

          Sorry what are you finding hard to believe when Tabata even stated himself he changed the main meat of combat… So I am having trouble understanding with what you are understanding… This was not Nomura’s ORIGINAL intended vision of the combat. This is Tabata’s vision of the combat where it is one button presses for chains etc.

          WHAT Nomura did create was the deck system from COM and BBS and brought that over to FF VERSUS XIII. You can even tell… I am really dumbfounded with how you don’t think Tabata made this change. I am baffled beyond belief when the man stated it himself he did.

          • HarakiriKami

            Because Its pretty obvious this is something they worked on together. The combat had automatic functions since 2011 when Nomura put the first greenlit prototype of the game together

          • waterblaze123

            You are just saying things. You do know this right? But without the actual proof of them even stating it then yeah… You got no leverage at all.

            Where is the proof where he said it was automatic functions if you actually look at that 2011 build it was actually the KH battle system in place you can tell if you played KH that is and there was even one ability animation from KH in place when he is on the tank. Just link me to an article or interview where Nomura HIMSELF states it that is all because I know you can’t. You are just guessing even though Tabata said that he changed it himself for the older audience.

          • HarakiriKami

            Im telling you this, BECAUSE ITS ON THE INTERNET FOR YOU TO GO READ. GO DO IT.

          • waterblaze123

            Yeah, yeah whatever LOL if you really believed so you would just link me no problem without beating around the bush ¬¬ Without having me look for make believe statements and articles.

          • HarakiriKami

            Well excuse me princess, I dont enjoy wasting my time for nobodies.

            Im not gonna go rutting through threads to give you a link for something you can find for yourself but you wont because you want to keep parroting off your own conceived notions because you cant read properly.

            Now enough of this before Miau Miau reprimands both of us.

          • waterblaze123

            Just simple really well whatever I am not the princess. I don’t feel like going a wild goose chase is all to dead ends that I already know they are but I think you can’t read properly cause you didn’t even read this one article that proves you wrong here LOL

          • waterblaze123

            Yeah I am a princess because I don’t want to go on some wild goose chase looking for some make believe articles also the FACT you have to go LOOKING around for these make believe statements and articles yourself is saying something as they should be easy to find considering there was VERY little said over the years for FFVersus/XV overall.

            I can read just fine by the way. Maybe it is you who should learn to read properly and comprehend sentences by reading this post we are CURRENTLY commenting on that disproves you.

          • waterblaze123

            Just sayin’ brah! Even like news sources for FFXV I was just on twitter even cites it as TABATA’S battle system.

            http://gyazo.com/0e6667c852a98a6bab4654d17aed45fb

          • HarakiriKami

            Yes its his battle system now because he’s the director now.

            But the auto gambit system was something that was in play even when nomura was the only one working on the game.

            Tabata didnt come on till 2012 thats the same year the patent for the battle system was filed

      • Monterossa

        many FF fans never liked KH series to begin with. KH is KH, FF is FF, you make one game to be like another series, of course you’re gonna make lots of its fans disappoint.

        • GreatKino

          And you know this how?

  • FFmax

    Oh boy my hype dropped severely for this title. Lack of character diversity that FInal Fantasy is known for. I would have been fine if with all guys if they didn’t look so similar, FFVII had a huge male cast but had a couple of non human characters to keep the cast looking fresh. And a battle system that might be rehash of FFXII’s gambits or XIII’s auto battle which were poorly received by most of the fanbase.

    • http://gamgambit.tumblr.com/ One Winged Wanker ♢

      I liked gambits tho

      • FFmax

        I didn’t mind them either but a lot of people hated those things.

    • Monterossa

      every JRPGs have character diversity, even Tales series know how to make it properly. yes, Tales characters are super cliche but it’s very easy to find at least one favorite character for the player. In FFXV if you don’t like 1 of the 5 boyband members, you’re not gonna like the other 4 as well then why do you want to play the game at all if you don’t like any playable character? Nomura made a huge mistake.

      • http://twitter.com/GNPixie Lynx

        -In FFXV if you don’t like 1 of the 5 boyband members, you’re not gonna like the other 4 as well

        Funny. Because there’s a wonderful thing called individuality and it’s especially obvious in the TGS trailer.

        Besides, that didn’t stop me from finding someone I liked in X-2 and it wasn’t any of the main cast.

      • GreatKino

        You haven’t even played the game so calm down.

        FF is also known for character diversity, they have every right to make a game like this.

    • HarakiriKami

      The guys dont look similar though.

    • GreatKino

      You haven’t even played the game so how do you know that this lacks diverse characters? Gender hardly matters. The character’s story, personality and plastyle is what matters. Not to mention lack of diverse characters has been present in the last few games. The previous one forced me to play as a female which was fine.

      And none of the guys look similar.

  • revenent hell

    As long as the game doesn’t play itself I don’t really mind a “simple” method…..But honestly its pushing buttons its not a ton of work. I’m just fearful it will fall along the rout of an un fun game that plays itself.
    Final Fantasy games of late have left me little more than unpleased so… I’m not expecting anything great for this game…. And that’s probably a wise thing as far as outlooks go for in this case

    • Martian Wong

      I agree with you, pushing buttons isnt that much of work. I dont want to just hold X button until the monsters are dead.

    • HarakiriKami

      The game plays itself but you decide how the game plays itself.

  • Istillduno

    Someone get this guy away from the FF francise before he causes any more damage.

    • Windflare

      Yes, apart from the influence on this title, I’m quite concerned about what’s happening to the next one if he is the one directing it. I mean, we’ve already gone from Final Fantasy to Final Sci-Fi somewhere down the line (though that probably isn’t Tabata’s fault), and appearently Final Reality is happening next? D: I don’t really fancy that!

    • HarakiriKami

      This is nomura’s game , nomura’s combat system, nomura’s hand in everything.

      This is so square can put this game on the cloud

      • waterblaze123

        Actually Nomura wanted KH battle system and Tabata changed it.

        • HarakiriKami

          No that’s not what happened at all :P

          • waterblaze123

            Just look back at the interviews that is all I am going to say.

          • HarakiriKami

            I’ve alreayd read them.

  • Kango234

    This sounds horrible.

    • Black Heaven

      I know right. We’re getting old. T__T

      :P

  • Whodat

    :|

  • Guest

    Gematsu already had to lock article about this because of too many trolling idiots. Probably should lock this one before that happens here, too.

  • Rayhan PromisedGallery

    i still think this gameplay looks more interesting

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ7MwTXYLpg

    just add more warping in the building and teamwork attack

    • Godmars

      Isn’t that a PS3 version?

      • Rayhan PromisedGallery

        yup, when it was still called Versus 13 in 2011.

    • HarakiriKami

      Teamwork attacks are AI assists that occur because you held down the attack button next to one of your friends and the enemy’s not to far away. There’s no manual control for that because the combat wont look fluid at all. Which is the point of this game.

      To reek realism even its combatic visual style

  • Kelohmello

    Only thing I can do is frown at the suggestion of making games more simple or easy and hope the final product is good. I want to believe they know better than to let a repeat of FFXIII happen, but even so I don’t think these are the kinds of things the director of such a big title should be saying, it alienates the people who don’t want simple or easy. In the first place, Final Fantasy games have never been particularly difficult on average as a series.

  • mike dickson

    so nobody told Tabata about the last casual FF game which was 13th were the X button was the sole button you used in the game making it a quailty and a horrible game that tortured the fanbase for 3 whole games and lets not forget he spat on western vita fans by *harming* Type-0

    • Monterossa

      If you only smash X button in FFXIII, you probably never get past Odin boss fight.

      • mike dickson

        seems like you didn’t mash hard enough if your stuck there buddy i got pass odin by not purchasing 13 and getting 13-2 for dirty cheap and reading its terrible prologue 13 yep saved hours of my life and evading carpal tunnel syndrome is also a plus

  • https://twitter.com/Ni_Go_Zero_Ichi Project 2501

    Final Fantasy: American Civil War is one of the worst ideas I’ve heard in a long, long time.

    Anyone who disagrees is free to explain to me what they might expect out of Tetsuya Nomura’s rendition of American slavery.

    • Warboss Aohd

      actually that sounds like it could be interesting.

      Granted i have no idea how they would handle it and would likely prefer an American dev to tackle it……..though i do recall someone making a JRPG that takes place in said time period.

    • Lastlight

      Well
      People all fought for different things ad would tell you so
      North: To end slavery, to bring the USA back together, cause its my duty, etc
      South: To “save” how we live our lives, cause….its my homeland that’s being invaded, family, etc
      Maybe hes basing the idea not on the slavery aspect, but rather on a country torn into two because of different complex/ simple reasons….

    • jack

      I am fairly certain it’s not literally the american civil war. More like, inspired and themed. The Civil War was fought for a multitude of reasons, not just slavery. Most of the initial disagreements were very economic. It’s actually a really interesting concept to go at in my opinion. As much as it seems straight forward, it’s a bit less so than say The French Revolution. The Civil Wars in Britain’s history are all pretty interesting too.

      • https://twitter.com/Ni_Go_Zero_Ichi Project 2501

        Tabata talks about wanting to use a setting of “real history” with Final Fantasy stuff going on at the same time. I’m pretty sure he meant it literally.

        • jack

          It could be similar to how 15 uses parts of real tokyo in their cities, or real country side landscapes.

    • sakanaとkoeda

      The North refuses to use magick and has turned to nonmagickal technology to thrive.
      The South readily accepts and prospers under a way of life utilizing magick.
      To use magick, one must have magick crystals; to have an ample supply of magick crystals, one must mine them. However, only certain people can be exposed to magickal energy from the crystals without succumbing to magickal blight. They are easily distinguished by their silvery hair and eyes. More often than not, they are seen as lower class citizens and used as slaves to mine the crystals.
      The Final Fantasy is the outcome of this war. A hume world either using magick or using nonmagick technology (they are not compatible).

      I’m not in favor or against, just offering a possibility :)

  • scdk

    Casual gaming:

    – Aligning a reticle with a player’s head as fast as possible and clicking the mouse.

    – Running a few heuristic rules and choosing an option from a menu, with no time limit.

    – Repeating the same sequence of actions until it becomes muscle memory.

    There’s a very big difference between “casual” gaming and making it more intuitive to players. It’s very possible to just have one action button to press and still have it be a challenging and engaging game. Everyone sucks Dark Souls’ lollipops but it really only has a few actions to learn.

    Besides, Final Fantasy has been largely “casual” from the start. Game too hard? Go gain some levels.

    • Godmars

      The way he was talking, like with FF13, the game is doing all of the thinking. You hit a button triggering an action, but the game already knows what that action is.

      You the player are more a hindrance to gameplay than a participant.

  • KazukiNanbu

    simple doesn’t mean easy, beside, type 0 use that same thing with “the one-botton action”
    you can keep the attack botton pressed but it will not be very effective because the enemies will dodge the attack and counter attack you if they are small and the big ones will resist it and attack you like nothing, everything is about timing and know when to attack them
    so yeah, i dont have any complains with the direction of the battle system

    • jack

      Thank you for establishing context.

  • Warboss Aohd

    so wait, your gonna try and cater to people who aren’t really interested in your games, which in turn will alienate some of your current, long term die hard fans?

    Because that worked out for Mass Effect 3…..and FF13, and other games.

    • Monterossa

      This game alienated FF fans since it was Versus XIII. It has nothing like Final Fantasy.

      • Warboss Aohd

        to be fair, it seemed to be wanted more than FF13 even before the FF13 games were released, heck I thought it looked better than 13 from the trailers back when both were announced personally, and i still haven’t given up faith in it being good yet.

        it likely WILL alienate fans, that being said, i think everyone is just waiting for it’s release right now. So i say let us wait and see.

  • Michieie

    I was in high school when XV was announced as Versus XIII. Now I’m close to finish college, even some people that were waiting for this game finished college and have kids.

    There’s a lot in play about this game, no doubt Tabata and SE in general want to make it as profitable as possible.

    • Rohan Viajar

      “Now I’m close to finish college, even some people that were waiting for this game finished college and have kids”

      Amen to that. I am on my last year at college.
      It’s been a loooong time.

      • Michieie

        The kids part I really mean it. Once I read a comment in French how this guy has been waiting for the game and now he’s married and his wife was pregnant.

    • Jaegers

      I think I was a freshman in HS when this was announced. I graduate from college this December, and it boggles my mind how long it takes SE to finish a game. They seem very unproductive compared to Atlus or Bamco.

  • raygunner659

    I may be entirely wrong on this front and correct me if I am but; based on real history, Final Fantasy characters fighting with special abilities, that kind of setting…Civil War Dynasty Warriors? With FF Characters? Haha jk

  • FV

    “and also because he himself is of a certain age and doesn’t necessarily want a control scheme involving too many buttons.”

    Lolwut. The game isn’t for you, Tabata, It’s for the fans.

  • Nice Boat Quatro

    As long as it doesn’t play itself I’m happy

    • Ferrick

      Autoplay: Free, installed at day 1

      DLC: Erase Autoplay: $100.99

  • BadMrFrostii

    Looks like I’ll be passing this one up, than.
    Pretty bummed about it all.

    • http://www.spaghetti.com Kaisenex

      wow..an article made you pass up on a game? that sucks.

      • BadMrFrostii

        An article? No.
        Bad gameplay decisions? Yes.

        • Vallen

          did you play it?

          • BadMrFrostii

            Nah, and I won’t.
            I’m not interested in pressing one button for the entire game, thanks.

          • Anontastic

            Okay, so a single article containing a vague statement WAS enough to make you pass up a game. Guess you never really cared much at all.

  • Bell

    At first I was a little put-off by this article; easiness can get tedious, and it sounds like the game is doing more work than you are. However, I am keeping in mind that simple is often good; just look at Tales of Xillia 2. With just three buttons, you can execute up to 16 different moves that can combo into each other in various ways. And the Kingdom Hearts series is very fun to play and looks to have similar controls. I hope it goes down that route instead of becoming mind-numbingly easy.

    • http://www.spaghetti.com Kaisenex

      i agree…. even ludger has hammer, dual swords, and gun artes as well…that’s a hell of a lot of buttons lol

      • Bell

        I didn’t even think about Ludger! He’s got a ridiculous amount of artes!

    • HarakiriKami

      you’ll probably get burnt if you’re expecting a fast paced action game.

      This is more methodical. You chose different attack sequences and watch them play out on screen making decision on the fly based off changes in the flow of battle.

      • Bell

        I see. That makes it sound a little like a real-time strategy game, actually.
        And just out of curiosity, do you know this from first-hand experience?

  • Hound

    Squeenix: “You’re all old geezers now!”

    *cries*

    • Morningstar

      Squeenix: “We’re gonna appeal to babies now!”

      babies: *cries*…

      too mean spirited?

  • RagingTiger44

    The contents of this article worry me. It’s not a dealbreaker but I’m gonna have to play that demo to see to see if this is as bad as I think it is.

    • RedFayt

      Just pure worry for me. :/

  • Renzo-senpai

    I actually liked the Gambit system in FFXII but it has ATB-ish gameplay. How is the gambit system going to translate in an action based game? There is so many possibilities in a short amount of time.

  • delmar

    Hope this means they won’t have the insanity of a boss that takes more than 20 mins to kill ..Yiazmat… or to collect weapons that are basically impossible to get without having to spend months trying to get that one rare drop…every weapon in XII.

  • Alphabet Soup

    I would be very interested to see an historic Final Fantasy game or whatever his “senior” IP is. I don’t feel that FFXV looks diverse, but it still has my interests piqued.

  • PreyMantis
    • Godmars

      There’ll likely be a Xenoblade Chronicles 2 by the time FF15 comes out.

      • Michael Cortorreal

        XD that was indeed funny Godmars

  • UltimagaWeapon

    *Sigh* This feels like an April’s Fools article. -_-
    iPad streaming port confirmed I guess.
    IMO gamers are gamers no matter the age.

  • Vallen

    ಠ_ಠ…..put Nomura back in the directors seat.

    • Anontastic

      …and keep waiting for 8 more years while he “realizes his creative vision”.

      • Eilanzer

        …better than a spoiled product in the end like XIII.

      • Vallen

        considering how long we waited, I rather him finish his vision than some dude coming in and messing everything up just to push it out 2 years before Nomura would

  • GOLD

    this sounds really disappointing honestly.

    • Vallen

      Why do they make it so complicated. They should keep it simple, just follow on Nomura’s vision: Beautiful, Open World and KH Action Battles. What’s so hard about doing those simple 3 things

      • Gemlit

        Because I and other players get bored with pushing one button a lot. I would like a diverse and dynamic action rpg that challenges and engages players to make them feel so superior and special that their fists pump in the air when they defeat a challenging boss and/or waves of enemies.

        • Hisham Arif

          That just depends on the kind of challenge you have in mind. Like they said, it’s an RPG and not a hack ‘n slash. I’ve never seen an RPG with a complicated button scheme. And when it comes to an RPG, I highly doubt that a convoluted button scheme would serve as a satisfying challenge. and haven’t we scene a similar scheme for Kingdom Hearts and Crisis Core? The only pitfall would be that it turns into Crisis Core or Kingdom Hearts in the sense that it loses the ability to challenge you mentally during battle, like they used to so very long ago in the PS1 era.

  • Gemlit

    I would like to make a Final Fantasy game based on real world history as well.

  • Anontastic

    There’s a lot of ways to take this.

    I know the knee-jerk reaction is to think that he means to make the game ridiculously easy and simple, but looking past the connotations and community-assumed semantics in his statements, I think I can get behind what he’s saying.

    Basically, if “one-button action” means that pressing the “dodge” button while holding left/right and facing a nearby enemy makes the game assumes I want to strafe-dodge instead of doing a normal dodge, I can dig that.

  • Sydney Losstarot

    I would like to see a Final Fantasy game with the story made by Hideaki Sorachi, the Mangaka for Gintama because he can do fictional history well, make dynamic characters, and he can make me laugh in one page and then cry in another. Final Fantasy needs humor along with all that conflict going on. Too bad Sorachi will most likely never write the story and design the characters for a FF game. My Fantasy with FF games is never Final. I look forward to future Tabata games though.

  • Jirin

    I don’t know what Tabata means when he says ‘Older game player’, but I’m 31, so by Japanese standards I’m an ‘Older game player’. Older game players are fine frantically pressing buttons, we just want more grownup stories and the kind of skill oriented combat games gave us in the NES era. If you can’t give us that, please don’t tell us you’re catering to the older gamer.

    • Anontastic

      ‘Older game player’

      I believe he’s comparing the current market to, say, the market in the early 00’s and backward, when a much higher percentage of games were geared towards children, rather than adults.

      Older game players are fine frantically pressing buttons

      I believe that at the core of his message is the idea that adults are a lot busier, and have less time to sink into individual games on a regular basis. Seeing as he’s Japanese, and the connotations/politics of the term “casual” are probably mostly lost on him, he likely means to say he wants the game to be something that’s physically accessible for players who are playing the game for the first time, or coming back to it after a busy month at work.

    • BlightBoy

      Well I am 27 and worry about getting older (assuming I will stay gaming even at 40!) I am sure I will not perform as good as I can now , even tho I am 27 I still worry or think that I used to do way better at 21 on a certain game than now , sometimes I think that I may dislike gaming because I maybe won’t be able to achieve what I can now.

      I believe Tabata thinks about something similar to the way I think.

  • sakusakusakura_nyo

    I’m 31 and I don’t want to play a casual Final Fantasy game starring a group of emo looking dudes. I want something more like Final Fantasy 6.

    • Bobby Jennings

      lol.

    • Warboss Aohd

      and i myself would prefer something in line with FF9 in terms of story.

      • http://www.ihasnowebsitez.com Satonaka CP-Four

        6 and 9 were truly the best from back then (I personally love 8 but I know how u 2 feel)

        6’s game was damn near perfect and 9’s story really hooked you even though I personally hated the way the gear/learning worked in that game, funny how it was pretty much an homage to how 6’s worked… but something just felt… off, I dunno O_o

  • Syed Sameer Rahman

    “achieve the highest-acclaimed, highest-profitable installment in the Final Fantasy series” you say?

    You’ve made us wait how long for this? Do these people have any idea how many fans and potential customers they’ve lost over these last 5 to 7 years? These folks really have their work cut out for them….

    • Robert Kupper

      Probably not many. Lots of series, especially western ones, pick up after long haituses. Its not like final fantasy hasn’t pumped out a slew of games in the meantime.

      People might have stopped following news about the game, but fans of the series will still buy it. Its not like people who follow these things closely are the only customers either. There are huge numbers of people that will see FFXV on an ad or in a store and purchase it, and that’s even if its not a good game.

      • Syed Sameer Rahman

        That’s also true. I guess I just want them to pump this title out ASAP. I’d like to play this before I have kids:P

  • Robert Kupper

    Removing complexity so people can access the depth of a game’s mechanics is good. Removing depth so the game is less complex is bad. I am not against what he is saying in theory, just worried about if they will pull it off.

    Action games tend to have different attack buttons because the game gets repetitive and boring if not. (Single button games can work of course. I loved “They Bleed pixels”) What strategic or timing elements will the game have to keep things interesting if it is pared down to just attack and defend buttons? That is my big question: what is keeping me busy in combat?

    There is also an issue with feedback. If you just press X and your character performs some long elaborate dance-fight, then its going to feel like you aren’t in control. This is one of the issues people have with QTEs. While its true you never perform any of the actions in a videogame, people don’t want it to feel automatic. If you concentrate too much on button combos it can break immersion, but similarly if you don’t feel like you are in direct command of your character’s actions that will break the illusion as well.

    The fear of ‘casual’ games isn’t unfounded. There are games that can really appeal to a wide audience, which is great, but then there are games that publishers (and overly idealistic developers) try to force to appeal to everyone. Too often they become mediocre. Trying to appeal to too wide an audience can dilute your strengths.

  • idozerothings

    I dont see how he thinks this is ok. Making a game SO simplistic, even more simplistic then fucking type-0 just so his selfish ass doesn’t have to press so many buttons? Come on dude! He is going about this the completely wrong way. Just pull a fucken DMC3 and make it so you have a mode where combos can be auto and have a mode where people who like to deal super sick combos can play. THAT FUCKEN EASY! Also, add a god damn jump button, its satisfying as fuck when you can being comboing on the ground and immediately bring them up to an aerial combo.

    • Robert Kupper

      Its not like what you suggested is actually overly easy to implement. I agree a ‘basic’ and an ‘advanced’ or ‘manual’ mode would be a good compromise… and a fair amount more work.

  • Herok♞

    Just going to say that Final Fantasy never really had a very complex fighting system before and also you have to remember even in the case of 13 the game only had the option of autobattle and never forced you to use it so I doubt this will be a big deal in the end and might be very cool overall

    • waterblaze123

      But the strategic depth was there you see what you are missing? I don’t get this comment or maybe you aren’t seeing the concern of how having a one button combo can make a game less strategic you know for RPG players.

  • http://twitter.com/#!/kaishou Kaishou

    >doesn’t necessarily want a control scheme involving too many buttons

    man these days I don’t even know if square enix even know how to game

  • Arcade Bumstead

    What a dumbass

    The older population are the ones who grew up with hard games and won’t be satisfied with handholding.

    It’s the kids who grew up after in game tutorials, dlc items, and regenerating health who can’t handle a challenge

    • Mar Mar

      FF XV Game Rating:

      PEGI +3
      ESRB EC (Early Childhood)

  • Axel Villar

    This one button system is just so you can easily play it on a cellphone with the new Shinra streaming service. It helps not to clutter the screen with a trillion buttons and also helps the terrible input delay that Siliconera reported earlier. FFXV was tailored for Shinra. The connection is obvious.

    • Stephen Mc Devitt

      Probably meaning one button to choose a command and use the shoulder buttons to pick an option, another button for rolling/dodging, one to exit out of a option and the right analog stick to move the camera about.

      Never this one-button-thing, what about the third-person-shooter mechanics with Prompto?

  • Abysswalker90

    If it means a battle system like in KH, where you choose actions from a menu at real time, then I’m down with that.
    Doesn’t seem to be the case though. Well, fuck, and I had high hopes from this game.

  • David_c

    if you want simple control. just release FF XV for Smartphone with just one button and noctis run in autopilot mode

  • Tom

    Metal Gear Rising was hated because of it’s “difficult” parry system, now gamers are whining because FFXV is going to be 1 button. Gamers are stoopid.

    They might as well let me control it with an NES controller. Wait, it has 4 buttons and a D-pad, that’s too much. (just kidding)

    • Anontastic

      Metal Gear Rising was hated

      Okay, stop.

      • Tom

        I loved that game and preordered it, and I know many did but the general oppinion was that it was to difficult. Maybe I used wrong word order there…

        • Keytotruth

          Metal Gear Rising was actually praised for the battle system, y’know?

          • Tom

            No. The game was praised for it’s high octane action but was criticised for the parry system.

  • Tom

    I saw Tabata as the fast, action packed game creator with games like Type-0, Crisis Core in opposition to the traditional FF games. Now I can see Noctis go with a walker…

    I can hardly imagine that revenue of this game will cover the development cost. Many people will buy it but for a development that takes 8+ years it’s highly doubtful.

    • Ahtma

      If XV flops or is unsuccessful, the exact next thing they will do is remake FFVII.

  • Guest

    At first , i thought Tabata is a good Director but after all of this , i realize that he just as bad as Motomu Toriyma

    • Stephen Mc Devitt

      Excuse me?

      Is Tabata obsessed with slutty clothes and cup-size?

  • Adriaan den Ouden

    Last time I remember a high profile game touting “one button combat”, it was Fable 2, and that game certainly wasn’t one button combat. If it’s like that, then I’m all for it, but who knows how it’ll actually turn out. Simplification can be a good thing, but oversimplification is always bad.

    • Naryoril

      But Fable 2 wasn’t a good game imo, it felt too shallow. Let’s hope this isn’t an omen.

      • Ahtma

        Best of the Fable series right there. Streamlined the clunkier portions of TLC, while also being more free and interesting than Fable 3.

        Sadly also the only game in the Fable series that doesn’t have a PC port.

        • Naryoril

          If Fable 2 is the best of the series i’m glad i don’t play the other installments…

          • Ahtma

            TLC was a really good RPG in its own, but Fable 2 really made some aspects about it better, plus made it feel more like an adventure. Fable 3 was.. eh. It had its ups and downs, is easily the worst of the series.

    • Stephen Mc Devitt

      XV is gonna be simplified, not auto-mated like XIII.

  • Octavio Valdez

    I think people are over reacting to this whole deal. Sure you don´t have to tap the buttons like most action games, but you have to hold attack to continue the combo stream, but other buttons control, dodge, magic, and warp. You still have to be careful of when to switch from attacking to dodging, since the window for canceling the combo might not be so forgiving. The way i see it is kinda of like the Batman Akham games where you had to keep an eye on enemies as you hit the strike button and know when to dodge or counter. The only diference here is that you hold the strike button to continue the combo. Worst case scenario that can be changed to a system of tapping the button for striking, much like it was on KH. Seriously i would wait for the demo try it out, and if that aspect simplifies makes the player too OP then it can be suggested to change to a tapping based attack system and dodging. Pay close attention to his video of the TGS gameplay demonstration. It is a little more clear here. And you might find that my comparison to the Arkham games is not so far off https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi5PAz9KPk4

  • Seven of The Scions

    Solution:

    Options – Settings – Control Options – Battle Controls: Manual/Simplified

    Now everybody can go home with smile.

    • wez

      I say make it like Ninja Gaiden black where you have to die 3 times then get a pink ribbon to show you are pathetic.

    • Stephen Mc Devitt

      How about an “Auto-mated” for those who love XIII for letting it play itself?

  • michel

    Oh no… he’s getting it totally wrong… :(
    One of the failures of Final Fantasy XIII was the boring “X button combat system”, and he wants to make it even easier…
    I think that you can make intelligent and challenging RPG combat systems both avoiding a continuous “X, X, X, X, X, …” and the “frantic button mashing”.
    Valkyria Chronicles is an example…

  • Tom

    Though it’s not easy to digest but this patent might make it look less bad:
    http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=900371

    • Detrimont

      i really like this actually, if it’s correct that is

    • https://twitter.com/maxiburger maxiburger

      Wow, I was almost getting a little afraid that the new battle system would become a Quick Time Event Extravaganza where the characters pull cool moves out of their asses depending on what enemy they’re fighting. But if this is about adjustable gambits depending on what formation you’re positioning your characters in, it becomes much more tactical. What a clever way to combine free moving action with traditional strategy…!
      Everybody should read about that patent before jumping to wild conclusions.

      • Tom

        Some guys on Novacrystallis and I are posting this all over. Maybe it’ll help some.

  • wez

    Why stop there! street fighter should do this! and make it impossible to turn off!

  • Adrian Duran

    Not sure I like this. RPGs are about depth, that’s why you shouldn’t use fire moves against a water type, it makes you think about what you are doing.

    • Princess_Eevee9

      Unless you’re doing an Ash and think you can win. :o

  • SirRichard

    There’s my enthusiasm thoroughly dampened down, I must admit. If the demo doesn’t impress, I think that’s me giving up on this one.

  • aizen310

    “For example; you’d have the American Civil war as a back drop, and then behind the scenes all of these Final Fantasy-type
    characters are utilizing their special abilities to fight. I really
    love that kind of setting. That’s the kind of game, I really, really
    want to make!”

    How about making a real Final Fantasy instead? This is not Assassin’s Creed :/

    • http://www.siliconera.com/ Ishaan

      What’s a “real” Final Fantasy?

      • aizen310

        Well, for starters, not something that based on the American Civil War.

        • Stephen Mc Devitt

          Does XV have gun-powder?

      • Symbol de Au

        I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description, and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.~Potter Stewart

    • http://twitter.com/GNPixie Lynx

      That sounds more like Shadow Hearts to be honest.

      Which I’m perfectly okay with, as long as it becomes its own series because there’s a boatload of potential in history being used as the basis for fantastical games.

      • aizen310

        I’m cool with a new IP. Seriously, I’m totally cool with this concept, as long as it’s not getting branded as Final Fantasy.

    • Stephen Mc Devitt

      But the American Civil War didn’t have modern architecture, crystals, summons or airships.

      Final Fantasy is defined by having a good story and memorable characters, not giant chickens, especially if they don’t fit the tone of the story. As for moogles, Mog sounded horrible in XIII-2. The only person who COULD makes moogle sound cute is Frank Welker.

      • aizen310

        This was an approving post or a disapproving one? I honestly don’t know.

        Also, we don’t know if FFXV are using gun-powder. If there are characters who are using guns, they might use gun-powder too.

        • Stephen Mc Devitt

          No, gunpowder is slow and out-dated. Characters use bullets in their guns, not that they can’t stop Noctis and his floating crystal swords anyway.

  • Astralwyrm

    Final Fantasy in a Shadow Hearts like setting wouldn’t be so bad.

    • aizen310

      Then why don’t just make another Shadow Hearts?

  • GreatKino

    Well there went my hype.

    • Accel_Almer

      Never trust the hype man. Never trust that hype. It will only disappoint.

  • Eilanzer

    god…the worst part is people here trying to defend what he´s saying just because…yeah…fan/hype you know the drill ¬¬

    god SE…please…Just listen to the feedback of the fans PLEASE…It´s so simple Ç_Ç

    Obs: Even my kid dislike FFXIII and prefer stuff from snes era so that says a LOT ¬¬ (good stuff like FFVI and Chrono Trigger are good regardless of age/generation)

    • GreatKino

      I have read almos the whole comment section and I assure you that not many people are defending this.

    • Accel_Almer

      The fact that its being defended is just…ugh i have no words. Square really put the nail in the coffin.

  • Juan Perez

    But…every FF old school is easy to play controlling wise, we used to choose an action and press one single button and that’s it….so I don’t see a problem in his “meking it easy to play” declarations

    • aizen310

      It’s just the strategic side of FF games that I’m worried for. I fear that making it “easy to play” means dumbed down strategic elements.

  • Zazon Zenzy

    Now who to blame… Tabata or these freakin’ casuals? Must be both. Dang this we-want-things-no-hassle generation!

    • Monterossa

      FF series always is easy to play for everyone. It also is the mainstream JRPG series so I don’t know where are these hardcore gamers came from and asking it to be harder just to satisfy the small amount of the audience.

      • aizen310

        Ever battled against a Weapon?
        Or tried to conquer the Fanatics’ Tower?

        Yeah, I bet those things are casual button mashers and don’t need any strategic thinking whatsoever :/

        • Alexander Marquis Starkey

          Yeah but at what point do you actually need to be good with fingers. He’s not saying that they are not making the game difficult, just making it easy to play, so you can just jump in without having to learn a complex combat system that requires one to hug his controller. Even Kingdom Hearts is easy to play, and the only thing you’d need outside of knowing the system where everything in the menus are is reflexes.

          • aizen310

            I fear that making it “easy to play” means dumbed down strategic elements.

      • Eilanzer

        “Tabata added that he intends to make the game’s combat a little simpler, too, boiling it down to “one-button action” where the game automatically knows what you were trying to do, and outputs the appropriate action from Noctis, the game’s protagonist.”

        Yeah…What good FF don´t need you to think what spell, combo or even character you need to use to win?! crap…Even Sabin from FFVI need you to use hadouken, suplex and stuff…

  • triablos

    I really don’t care as long as its fun

  • Sion12

    i dont know the gameplay so i reserve my judgement until it release but wtf is with the statement “I myself am not getting any younger,” Tabata said. I don’t want to be frantically pushing buttons.”. So you design a game to be simple because you yourself is getting old? dafug? retire if you getting so old that you cant design a game for it targeted audience, are you going to add blanket, hot water bottles and regular nap as part of the game now?

    • Alexander Marquis Starkey

      You’re thinking to much as a hardcore gamer. There are different kinds of gamers, and not everyone has the desire to be molesting their controller as if they are playing devil may cry, and this is a menu based JRPG still, so most of the attack selections will be done with one button anyway.

      • Sion12

        Like i said, i dont have issue with one buttons combat but his statement. its like a Farrari/Lamborghini supercar designer saying his getting old so the next car will be slower, more safety options and conservative design

  • Princess_Eevee9

    Is it that hard to think about going back to your roots and restarting new? I hope that American Civil War thing was just an analogy and not what they’re including in the direction….

    • Stephen Mc Devitt

      Likely an analogy ‘cus the American Civil War started because of slavery, not crystals as source of power.

      • Princess_Eevee9

        Now I’m thinking of how the crystals are enslaved and being used as a source of power. Probably need some sleep.

  • Symbol de Au

    I don’t even want game anymore but it’s ok because I didn’t want it until like two-five days ago anyway.

  • Dark Zerato

    One button combat style is really like a musou game. They can let people to choose a manual control system or having AI support. That will satisfy both casual and hardcore gamer.

    • Alexander Marquis Starkey

      Except that musou games are supposed to be action games where the whole face pad is in use…god damn it Koei make your games better so people will stop saying you suck as a game developer…

    • Windflare

      Those musou games are actually pretty fun and addicting.
      They involve chaining combos by mixing square and triangle attacks, learning the characters’ strengths and weeknesses, using super-moves in a smart way, dodging in time and keeping up with an insane amount of information that’s coming towards the player while being busy doing all of the above.

      They may seem simple at first glance but after trying them I’m not so sure anymore.

      Plus, what’s that about “one button combat style”? There’s like one button on the pad that I do NOT use mid-fight. xD

      • Stephen Mc Devitt

        There’s also that rock-paper-scissor element with player and enemies using certain weapons in DW8 along with two musous and a rage burst or whatever.

        I crapped myself when Cao Cao’s fleet was first caught on fire. I thought “W-Wh-WHAT!? What have I done wrong? What do I do?” That was exciting but I know that’s just history for you.

        • Windflare

          xD But so true!

          I also liked the 3 Character Specials from Wwarriors Orochi 3 Ultimate! Took me a while to get how they worked though.

      • Dark Zerato

        Remember DW6 ? That was the most horrible game in the entire series. Just [] [] [] [] [] and there you go.

  • Zen Grenadier

    In all honesty, I think most of the old school RPGs I played as a kid are just one button affairs. Two if you wanted to back away from the item menu. You can have depth without the button mashing in an RPG. Leave the heavy combos for the tales series anyways.

  • http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/21421.html?type=4 Kashell

    *sigh* This game…it’s just too little too late.

  • ArminJrpg

    but…but…i’m not old yet! i can still push 2 buttons in the same time I swear!

  • Michael Cortorreal

    Well after…what??
    7 years of wait for news and somewhat of a hype, seeing the game now to me is…meh?
    I might be doing something wrong by making criteria out of a unreleased game but, this game does not impress me at all.

    Not the world, not the characters, not the big Adamant Turtle Rock monster in one of the trailers.
    Guess I’m comparing this game to Xenoblade Chronicles X with this thinking.

    “Wow X looks so amazing, and it took so much less time than FV to develop”
    What I mean is, if other companies can do an impressive game like XV (being X this time around) in less time, the original unreleased game (XV) ain’t that impressive in my eyes.

  • Alexander Marquis Starkey

    As someone who doesn’t play a lot of Final Fantasy games, but does play a lot of RPGs, what is the problem here? Most Turn based RPGs were easy to play anyway, with one button selections and menus. The draw was the story. Main combat system is easy to play and most of main game doesn’t require actual skill with fingers, just an understanding of how the game works and what you do.

    • Stephen Mc Devitt

      To me, Final Fantasy is about the story and would have to be a damn good one, not perfect but still.

    • Solace

      I think it’s because of other things we’ve heard or surmised. I’ve been under the impression that the combat isn’t going to have menus, and even Kingdom Hearts (as the most oft-compared action RPG) mapped other abilities to other buttons. The idea of having an action-based gameplay, where you need to block and dodge and time your attacks, all based on a single button—combined with descriptions like above (“‘one-button action’ where the game automatically knows what you were trying to do, and outputs the appropriate action from Noctis”)—makes it sound like the combat is literally just going to be pressing this one button and having the game decide what that button is going to do in that moment. I literally don’t even have to think about “do I want to block here, or do I want to dodge that, or do I want to try and attack and interrupt the enemy”—I’ll just press a button and let the game do the thinking. (Or be frustrated that the game didn’t think the way I did.)

      I don’t know that it’ll be like that, but some of what’s being said makes it sound like that, and that doesn’t really sound fun.

      • Steven Higgins

        Well from the demo trailer is seems like the Attack button and the Block/dodge button are still separate.

        • Solace

          Ah. I couldn’t tell, but I wasn’t watching all that closely. Hopefully “one-button action” is just some weird kind of pseudo-marketing speak and it is actually more complicated than that makes it sound.

          • Steven Higgins

            Well one guy say “he just keeps dodging” and the other guy tells him that if you hold to block button he will continuously evade. Then he switches tactics and starts attacking so that tells me there are at least two buttons used during battle.

  • Alexander Marquis Starkey

    People should probably also understand that game in 8 year development doesn’t mean they actually have 8 years of game developed. Long as development time means that they had to keep making changes to the game because whatever reason (something didn’t work in the game design, the graphical expectancy changed, they made changes to the story because the last one didn’t work for whatever reason, etc.) so to go in expecting something super extravagant is shooting yourself in the foot kind of. I’m not saying you should expect a game in development for 4 years to not have significant changes from the previous games systems (You should, which is why I hope the next main series Dynasty Warriors game takes time to actually make a new game rather than kick out more of the same shit like DW8 did) but for longer than that, you might want to expect that something is going to be off with the game because they had to take 8 years to develop it.

    • Stephen Mc Devitt

      Let’s see, Versus XIII was announced along with XIII, but development was halted to get XIII out the door, when getting back on, the 2011 trailer was a proof of concept, there’s also the fact Nomura made FOUR portable installments for Kingdom Hearts, actual development begun in 2011 but was shifted to PS4 and Xbone when Tabata became co-director, just so it’ll be easier to transition from one director to another.

      That about sums up what’s been going for the past 8 years.

  • Sol badass

    Wouldnt the whole one button combat be based off of kingdom hearts X button mashing? Thats how the combat was gonna be to begin with

  • Anubisseesall

    I see no problems with his comments. Hes simplifying the combat down to one button? Thats fantastic becuase one button is all I ever needed to play ANY of the ATB style Final Fantasy’s and they all had engaging deep combat/strategy. Seriously people chill, now if this were Kitase directing again I would understand the concern.

    • chroma816

      But those are turn-based RPGs. You wouldn’t expect to have to use more than one button. FFXV is an action rpg. The combat styles aren’t even comparable.

      • Fox

        We have no idea what FFXV’s combat willmplay like. It could just be another go at a realtime ATB like FFXII, which had the best combat in the series.

      • Tanthalas

        Really? Because you only really used one button to attack in KH too, and if anything, FFXV is closer to KH than any other action RPG.

        • hazelnut1112

          If all you do is just mash x in Kingdom Hearts. There is seriously something wrong with you.

          • Tanthalas

            Did I say that?

            You can ignore reality all you want, but the truth is that you spent most of KH’s battles pressing the X button. And lo and behold, the same thing will be true for FFXV.

            Everyone just has their panties in a bunch because the word “casual” was used. Had he worded it differently (or Eurogamer), and we wouldn’t have the current whinefest.

          • ehtnah

            I take the “1 button issue” like the auto attack in FF13. the auto attack wasn’t that bad, you could avoid it, BUT you have all those other stuff that come with it (difficulty that is super mega easy, game over have disappear you cannot loose….. no challenge, it’s soooOOOoo boring…..).

            so combine that “1 button” with really low difficulty, and you have a boring game, where you cannot loose (except loose your interest…..). I’m not saying that FF15 will be easy and boring, but that 1 button/casual stuff kinda leads to it…..

          • Tanthalas

            You say all that, yet FFXIII is one of the harder FFs.

    • ArminJrpg

      yeah just that its not ATB is hack n slash action. imagine DMC one button action :|

      • Anubisseesall

        Eh I’m still more optimistic then concerned. 13 was trash, there is no way this game will be even half as bad as that tunnel explorer, so its already ahead as far as I’m concerned lol.

  • chroma816

    I’m so disappointed. Boiling things down to casual gameplay is a shame.

  • Genesis

    The last few installments pushed me away from this series, even the dumbing down the crafting in 14 and no more elemental weakness peeved me.

  • William Cox

    What is wrong with this man!? Casual turn based is dead in the home console market!

    • Kumomeme

      it future trend..latest game from ff creator hironobu sakaguchi also more action oriented
      something gonna take new direction for awhile
      usually after few times old things comeback didnt?

  • Stephen Mc Devitt

    I’m 24 and I still love complex gameplay controls. Just rip off Kingdom Hearts and Devil May Cry, please.

    • Godmars

      Would rather see a turn based system based/mixed with Xcom and Chrono Trigger where encounters can do combos as well. You run into ones with leaders who uses different tactics.

      • Stephen Mc Devitt

        Judging by the E3 2006 trailer, Final Fantasy XIII should’ve been exactly like that all along and Toriyama should’ve stick to it rather than lying the public.

        • Godmars

          No. That looked like Kingdom Hearts too. And from it its problem seemed to be ally AI. Since you only see Lightning fighting.

      • https://twitter.com/LordOfPiracy Monkey D. Luffy

        final fantasy 12 mixed with basic attacks would be best

    • Kumomeme

      dark soul had simple gameplay control..but it was harder and challenging than those game with complex gameplay control you said

      from what i see,complex controll didnt guarantee challenge to players

  • Snorlaxation

    This game has the potential to ruin or save the FF franchise. I know there are plenty of people who think it’s not in need of saving, but they’ve been on a slow decline this last decade, and it hurts to see it.
    As much as I had hope (har har) for the FFXIII series, and as much as i do still like it, i can see why others don’t.

    This game has taken far too long, and the excuses just aren’t good enough considering everything that must’ve been keeping them busy didn’t sell well anyway.

    I’m hoping this game does well, I really truly am, but I won’t be that suprised if it doesn’t.

    • Kumomeme

      wait the game came out then said
      statement of ruin franchise are too earlier

      what i see people just get culture shock

      • Snorlaxation

        No offense meant, seriously, but I can barely understand your comment.

        As far as the Culture Shock goes, I very much doubt it.
        Not a whole lot of Japanese culture gets put into the FF series. These guys look Japanese, and maybe dress it, but that seems to be it, and as far as other FF games go, that’s about where it ends too.

        People are tired of dragging storylines, bad plots, bad gameplay, and horribly long wait times.

  • hazelnut1112

    “I want to make it more casual.”
    Well I guess this game is already dead on arrival. If Nomura wasn’t so busy with KH 3, we probably wouldn’t have this problem in the first place.

    • Kumomeme

      what i understand,the ‘casual’ mean not by making it easy for casual gamers,but make it acceptable for casual players
      some title had this kind of approach are skyrim and fallout…those game was very succesfull…tabata had said he want the game to be profitable right?
      beside he already stated about this,more appeal to casual player but still retain the challenge for core player,as he aware this game is core game,not some casual family game

  • Chris Hodges

    So it will be compatible with an Atari controller?
    I am just glad Nomura is bowing out. I haven’t been a huge fan of his work.
    As long as there is depth to the battle system and they don’t feel sloggy, I will be fine. The stories have been gobbledygook for a while now as far as I am concerned, but the play has always been great.

  • Solace

    I am… still extremely wary of this whole “one-button action” thing. Because it sounds like the gameplay will be, well, just standing there and hitting the same button repeatedly. Which sounds horrifically boring, to be honest.

    If anything, I’d prefer if they took the fact of their aging audience to revisit the way they develop their playable casts. Noctis looked super cool to me when this game was announced, because I was 15. Noctis looks like an emo teenager to me now, and I’m just hoping there’s more depth hidden below the surface. I would love to see wider spreads of ages in more JRPG casts. I just don’t find a group of 16-year-olds all that compelling anymore (I’m lookin’ at you, Bravely). I like characters who are old enough to have pasts, experiences, stronger beliefs than a kid’s ideals. And no, telling me your orphaned 16-year-old knight captain has been serving for the last 7 years is not cutting it. It’s making me laugh.

    I wish more JRPG creators would recognize that an older gaming audience wants more mature (by which I do NOT mean darker/more violent/more sexual) characters.

    Still have my fingers crossed that XV will surprise me in that regard.

    • Kumomeme

      read more interview and patent analyzing

      this game not mere button smasher

  • Wilhelm

    “For example; you’d have the American Civil war as a back drop, and then behind the scenes all of these Final Fantasy-type characters are utilizing their special abilities to fight. I really love that kind of setting. That’s the kind of game, I really, really want to make!”

    Well that sounds just like a Shadow Hearts game, revive that dead behemoth, goddamnit!

  • hellrunrock

    “9/10 Like skyrim with guns machinima” no but seriously im hyped

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