Someone going into the Final Fantasy XV Platinum demo and following the Dream Shards might think it’s a brief adventure that only takes about fifteen to twenty minutes to complete. They’d be forgiven for that, too. It’s set up in a way where you’re rewarded for following the path Square Enix set out for you. You’ll come across enemies, be given equipment, learn more from Carbuncle, and head into new dreams.
Collecting crystals is a big deal, for one. You unlock different sorts of panels by grabbing them, which allow for new features in Final Fantasy XV’s Platinum demo. Basic ones change the time of day or weather. Better ones spawn monsters, weapons like the Radiant Sword or Shiny Hammer, or give extra spells like Meteorain. The key is to grab as many Dream Shards as you can, as 25 unlocks the Bronze Panels, 100 unlock Silver Panels, and 250 gives you Gold Panels.
Most notably, the Radiant Sword is in the second dream and on the beaten path in the second dream. When you head up to ramp to get on the table, don’t go up. Keep going past it, turn right, and you’ll see its Present Panel in front of some books. you’ll see the Silver Present Panel. The Thunderbolt spell is on the table, near the candles in the center. Meteorain, by the way, is in the second dream in a Gold Present Panel near the entrance by climbing the books and moving blocks. The Shiny Hammer is down an alley immediately to your left when the third dream begins, again with crystals leading you to it. Head up all the stairs next to this alley, and you’ll get the Raindrops spell from another panel. All of these spells and weapons are great for the battle against the Iron Giant.
Which actually has a more difficult form, in case you only went and fought the level 3 Iron Giant that’s the basic boss for the Final Fantasy XV Platinum demo. Beating the first Iron Giant unlocks Platinum Panels. Passing the panel that takes you to the end of the demo allows you to fight a level 15 version of the boss. It’s, as you can imagine, much tougher than the first fight.
You’ll need the Cross Shuriken and Hero’s Shield for this match. I mean, you can get by with various forms of fire magic from panels, but these two weapons are much more helpful. Once the new Iron Giant match begins, it’s possible to have the adult version of Noctis start warping to the top of the tower. You’ll need to drop onto a ledge to find the Present Panels with the Cross Shuriken and Hero’s Shield. Since it might be a bit tricky, this video from HHGaming shows exactly how to get the weapons after the rematch begins.
Most of the other Final Fantasy XV Platinum demo secrets are more cosmetic. In the first dream, you can see Leviathan at the very end if don’t follow Carbuncle and go the opposite direction to touch a panel. When you get access to the car in the second dream, you can get different color trucks by going to it. You can also use blinkers with the directional buttons. Check the cards in the second dream too, as I ran past one that had a L’Cie symbol on it. You also pass a Cactuar statue in the hallway leading to the very end of the demo. Noctis can also transform into three different kinds of monsters in the third dream.
Basically, Final Fantasy XV’s Platinum demo has more to it than you might expect. It’s worth exploring every nook and cranny. And, since it’s so short, it’s easy enough to go back and spend another half hour looking for all these little extras.
Final Fantasy XV will come to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 30, 2016.
