141-748: Final Fantasy XV is a 2016 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix . The fifteenth main installment of the Final Fantasy series, it was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2016, Windows in March 2018, and as a launch title for Stadia in November 2019. The game features an open world environment and action-based battle system, incorporating quick-switching weapons, elemental magic, and other features such as vehicle travel and camping. The base campaign
282-410: A Blu-ray edition of Kingsglaive , while the "Ultimate Collector's Edition" included both Kingsglaive and a version of Brotherhood with additional footage related to Luna. In 2018, a version of the game called Royal Edition was released, which contained both all DLC published to that point in addition to further story and gameplay additions alongside technical improvements. A version for Windows
423-495: A PlayStation 3 spin-off titled Final Fantasy Versus XIII . Tetsuya Nomura served as the original director and character designer. After a development period of six years, it was changed to the next mainline title in the series in 2012; Nomura was replaced as director by Hajime Tabata , and the game shifted to eighth generation platforms . Due to the changes, the story needed to be rewritten and some scenes and characters were repurposed or removed. The setting of Final Fantasy XV
564-609: A "Wait Mode" option available, where if all player input stops the battle pauses, and players are able to select new enemies to attack or actions to take within a time limit. An option available for both Noctis and Ignis in Wait Mode is Libra, an ability which displays an enemy's health, strengths and weaknesses. Noctis can find and equip a wide range of weapons, including single and double-handed swords, polearms, axes, shields, firearms, daggers and Royal Arms. The weapons manifest from thin air as Noctis fights, and can be manually shifted by
705-446: A "role-playing shooter" due to the heavy RPG elements within the game, such as quest-based gameplay and also its character traits and leveling system. Half-Minute Hero (2009) is an RPG shooter featuring self-referential humour and a 30-second time limit for each level and boss encounter. Other action role-playing games with shooter elements include the 2010 titles Alpha Protocol by Obsidian Entertainment and The 3rd Birthday ,
846-593: A 1991 issue of Computer Gaming World criticized several computer role-playing games for using "arcade" or "Nintendo-style" action combat, including Ys , Sorcerian, Times of Lore, and Prophecy . In 1991, Square released Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden , also known as Final Fantasy Adventure or Mystic Quest in the West, for the Game Boy . Like Crystalis , the action in Seiken Densetsu bore
987-607: A DNPC, or "dependent non-player character". This is a character controlled by the GM, but for which the player character is responsible in some way, and who may be put in harm's way by the PC's choices. The term "non-player character" is also used in video games to describe entities not under the direct control of a player. The term carries a connotation that the character is not hostile towards players; hostile characters are referred to as enemies, mobs , or creeps. NPC behavior in computer games
1128-416: A character portrayed by the gamemaster (GM). While the player characters (PCs) form the narrative's protagonists, non-player characters can be thought of as the "supporting cast" or "extras" of a roleplaying narrative. Non-player characters populate the fictional world of the game, and can fill any role not occupied by a player character. Non-player characters might be allies, bystanders or competitors to
1269-538: A continuing storyline (as in Myst Online: Uru Live ). In earlier RPGs, NPCs only had monologue. This is typically represented by a dialogue box, floating text, cutscene , or other means of displaying the NPCs' speech or reaction to the player. NPC speeches of this kind are often designed to give an instant impression of the character of the speaker, providing character vignettes, but they may also advance
1410-650: A heart monitor to represent the player's Attack Power and Armor Class statistics. Another controversial aspect of the game involved taking drugs (instead of potions) that increase/decrease attributes, but with side effects such as heart-rate increase/decrease or death. Origin Systems , the developer of the Ultima series, also released an action RPG in 1988, titled Times of Lore , which was inspired by various NES titles, particularly The Legend of Zelda . Times of Lore inspired several later titles by Origin Systems, such as
1551-459: A lot of popularity on the 2010s with titles such as Warframe (2013), Destiny (2014) and Destiny 2 (2017), The Division (2016) and The Division 2 (2019). Non-playable character A non-player character ( NPC ), also called a non-playable character , is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player . The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by
SECTION 10
#17327758606581692-521: A lower social class. Guest characters include Cor Leonis , a legendary warrior of Lucis and the leader of the Crownsguard who acts as an early guide to Noctis's party; Iris Amicitia , the younger sister of Gladiolus; and Aranea Highwind , a mercenary dragoon in service to Niflheim. Other key characters are Lunafreya Nox Fleuret , the current Oracle and former Princess of Tenebrae who is betrothed to Noctis; Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII , king of Lucis and
1833-538: A mission system and role-playing game mechanics, as well as MMORPGs with real-time combat systems. Allgame listed the following games released prior to 1984 as action RPGs: Temple of Apshai (1979) and its sequel Gateway to Apshai (1983), Beneath the Pyramids for the Apple II (1980), Bokosuka Wars (1983), and Sword of Fargoal (1983). Jeremy Parish of USgamer claimed that Adventure (1980)
1974-979: A more dialogue-heavy experience akin to the Baldurs Gate games and even older series like Falcom's Dragon Slayer/Xanadu series had its outing Xanadu Next with similar Diablo influences. The influences also come full circle when the first Diablo game was inspired by rogue-likes Umoria and Angband and in more recent years many games in the rogue-like genre are inspired by more classic dungeon crawler ARPGs that Diablo helped spawn. In this sub genre there are such recent titles as Path of Exile (2013), Grim Dawn (2016), Zenonia S: Rifts In Time (2015), Book of Demons (2018), Shadows: Awakening (2018), Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl Gold (2017), Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition (2016) and its expansions Titan Quest: Ragnarök (2017) and Titan Quest: Atlantis (2019), Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem (2020) and Minecraft Dungeons (2020). The prominence of Diablo 2 in
2115-483: A more traditional RPG-esque system, including experience points and levels with action game elements. Unlike its predecessor, Zelda II more closely fits the definition of an action RPG. Another Metroidvania -style action RPG released that year was System Sacom 's Sharp X1 computer game Euphory , which was possibly the only Metroidvania -style multiplayer action RPG produced, allowing two-player cooperative gameplay. The fifth Dragon Slayer title, Sorcerian ,
2256-622: A non-player character. These games often feature a day-night cycle with a time scheduling system that provides context and relevance to character interactions, allowing players to choose when and if to interact with certain characters, which in turn influences their responses during later conversations. In 2023, Replica Studios unveiled its AI -developed NPCs for the Unreal Engine 5 , in cooperation with OpenAI , which enable players to have an interactive conversation with unplayable characters. "NPC streaming"— livestreaming while mimicking
2397-404: A pre-set character, players take the role of a customizable avatar who takes part in a portion of the story skipped over by the main narrative. The game begins with players choosing their gender, hairstyle, clothing and other aspects. Using the in-game city of Lestallum as their base, the player is assigned missions with three other characters—either other players or AI-controlled. During missions,
2538-577: A reconciliation. It is also revealed that the nights are growing longer, causing more Daemons to appear. Ardyn tricks Noctis into pushing Prompto off the train, and holds Prompto and the Crystal captive in Gralea's military fortress Zegnautus Keep, the primary laboratory where Niflheim creates its military infantry, cybernetic robots which use daemonic energy. Noctis discovers that the Crystal's power can destroy Daemons. Noctis continues to Tenebrae, where Aranea
2679-928: A reference point to the player of their character's relationship with the game world. Ultima is an example of a game series that has advanced from non-branching ( Ultima III: Exodus and earlier) to branching dialogue (from Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar and on). Other role-playing games with branching dialogues include Cosmic Soldier , Megami Tensei , Fire Emblem , Metal Max , Langrisser , SaGa , Ogre Battle , Chrono , Star Ocean , Sakura Wars , Mass Effect , Dragon Age , Radiant Historia , and several Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy games. Certain video game genres revolve almost entirely around interactions with non-player characters, including visual novels such as Ace Attorney and dating sims such as Tokimeki Memorial , usually featuring complex branching dialogues and often presenting
2820-513: A shield-type weapon, a successful block staggers an enemy, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Noctis can launch a special attack with the Royal Arms dubbed "Armiger", when the meter fills during combat: while more powerful than standard weapons, Royal Arms consume HP with each use. Noctis can also use two classes of firearms—Guns, which range from handguns like pistols to rifles; and Machinery, powerful weapons that have varying effects depending on
2961-531: A single attack. Magic is separated into two types: Elemancy and Arcana. Elemancy is separated into three types: Fire, Ice and Lightning. Elemental energy is drawn from points across the world map, being absorbed into special flasks and used to craft magical bombs that can be used on enemies. Elemancy can also be combined with specific items to add new effects, such as healing party members while damaging enemies. Both Noctis and his companions are able to use Elemancy. Arcana, accessed when Noctis has acquired and equipped
SECTION 20
#17327758606583102-539: A story-related item called the Ring of the Lucii, has access to more powerful magical abilities such as "Death", which drains an enemy's health. After a certain point in the game, Noctis can call upon summoned monsters called Astrals, which aid the party by launching a devastating attack. The summons featured are series regulars including Titan, Ramuh, Leviathan and Shiva. Their types of attack, and even whether they assist at all,
3243-580: A strong resemblance to that of Legend of Zelda , but added more RPG elements. It was one of the first action RPGs to allow players to kill townspeople, though later Mana games removed this feature. Arcus Odyssey by Wolf Team (now Namco Tales Studio ) was an action RPG that featured an isometric perspective and co-operative multiplayer gameplay. In 1993, the second Seiken Densetsu game, Secret of Mana , received considerable acclaim, for its innovative pausable real-time action battle system , and its innovative cooperative multiplayer gameplay, where
3384-565: A type of livestream that allows users to participate in and shape the content they are viewing in real time. It has become widely popular as influencers and users of social media platforms such as TikTok utilize livestreams to act as non-player characters. "Viewers in NPC live streams take on the role of puppeteers, influencing the creator's next move." This phenomenon has been on a rise as viewers are actively involved in what they are watching, by purchasing digital "gifts" and sending them directly to
3525-607: A variety of weapon types from normal swords to maces and shurikens, which are enhanced using materials to increase passive abilities such as their damage capacity. The multiplayer mode was shut down in June 2020, though the Comrades campaign can still be played with NPC party members. Final Fantasy XV takes place on the Earth -like world of Eos, which is divided between four nations: Lucis, Accordo, Tenebrae and Niflheim. Lucis, occupying
3666-425: A whole landmass, possesses a magical artifact known as the Crystal, gifted to the reigning Caelum dynasty by the world's deities in antiquity and accessed through the hereditary Ring of the Lucii. Accordo, located in the southern part of Eos, is an island nation formed through a union of free trading cities. The western continent is home to the technologically advanced empire of Niflheim and the nation of Tenebrae, which
3807-575: Is Noctis Lucis Caelum , the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Lucis, who loses his father in the Niflheim invasion. Noctis is accompanied on his journey throughout the world of Eos by his three friends: Gladiolus Amicitia , the scion of a family sworn to protect Noctis's family; Ignis Scientia , a prodigy military tactician and Noctis's aide; and Prompto Argentum , a childhood friend of Noctis from
3948-567: Is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Action role-playing games emphasize real-time combat where the player has direct control over the characters as opposed to turn or menu -based combat while still having a focus on character's stats in order to determine relative strength and abilities. These games often use action game combat systems similar to hack and slash or shooter games . The term "action role-playing game" may also describe action-adventure games , which include
4089-535: Is aiding refugees from across Eos. There, Noctis learns that Lunafreya was dying from waking the Astrals, and that Ravus now supports him. On the final journey to Gralea, the train is ambushed by Daemons. After defeating them, Noctis receives the Astral Shiva's blessing from Gentiana, revealed as Shiva's human form. Arriving to find Gralea overrun by Daemons, Noctis is separated from his friends and forced to use
4230-585: Is also confronted by a hostile Ravus, spars with the mercenary Aranea, and receives further aid from Ardyn. The group eventually recover parts to repair Regis's old yacht, using it to travel to Altissia. The party arrives in Altissia, where Lunafreya has taken sanctuary. Lunafreya awakens the Astral Leviathan so Noctis can obtain her power, only for Leviathan to go on a rampage when Niflheim attacks. Ardyn appears and mortally wounds Lunafreya, disrupting
4371-544: Is considered the first example of an immersive sim , a genre that combines elements from other genres to create a game with strong player agency and emergent gameplay, and has influenced many games since its release. The engine was re-used and enhanced for Ultima Underworld ' s 1993 sequel, Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds . Looking Glass Studios planned to create a third Ultima Underworld , but Origin rejected their pitches. After Electronic Arts (EA) rejected Arkane Studios ' pitch for Ultima Underworld III ,
Final Fantasy XV - Misplaced Pages Continue
4512-404: Is dependent on the environment: for instance, Leviathan can only be summoned in the open when there is a body of water nearby. At certain points in the story, Noctis is joined by guest characters who have their own Link-strikes and Techniques. After each battle, characters earn experience points (EXP), but they do not automatically level up when a certain amount of EXP has been gathered. Instead,
4653-415: Is depleted whenever a character is attacked, while Noctis's MP recovers over time when not in combat or when not using associated abilities such as warping or special weapon skills. If a character's current HP reaches zero, they enter Danger Mode, during which the maximum HP cap steadily decreases; the character is defeated when all of their maximum HP is lost. Some enemies, such as Daemons, are able to lower
4794-497: Is divided into skill trees called "Astralspheres". Each Astralsphere is sorted by type, being associated with magic, combat or passive abilities. Spending AP opens up nodes within the Astralsphere, which in turn grants access to further nodes which require higher amounts of AP to unlock. Noctis' companions each have their own skills which themselves level up based on usage, and affect equipment. Noctis' fishing ability improves
4935-481: Is immediately necessary and fill in the rest as the game proceeds. There is also some debate regarding the importance of fully defined NPCs in any given role-playing game (RPG), but it is general consensus that the more "real" the NPCs feel, the more fun players will have interacting with them in character. In some games and in some circumstances, a player who is without a player character can temporarily take control of an NPC. Reasons for this vary, but often arise from
5076-547: Is implied to have caused the spread of the Starscourge across the planet, hastening the fall of Solheim. For centuries, Lucis has been at war with the militaristic Niflheim, who seek to emulate Solheim's glory. To that end Niflheim has subjugated most of Eos, including Accordo and Tenebrae; Tenebrae retains limited political autonomy due to the Oracle's influence. Only Lucis's capital city of Insomnia remains unconquered due to
5217-444: Is revealed that Noctis opened up to his companions before the final battle, and finds rest with Lunafreya in the afterlife. Final Fantasy XV was primarily developed by Square Enix 's Business Division 2. Additional studios that helped with development included HexaDrive , XPEC Entertainment , Plusmile, and Streamline Studios . Staff included director Hajime Tabata ; producer Shinji Hashimoto ; main writer Saori Itamuro, who wrote
5358-519: Is ruled by the Oracle—a priestess who can commune with the gods. The Oracle's main task is curing the Starscourge, a plague that absorbs all natural light and turns those infected into nocturnal monsters known as Daemons. Central to the lore of Eos are the Astrals, six divine beings who serve as the guardians of the natural world and are based on summoned monsters from the Final Fantasy series; and
5499-429: Is usually scripted and automatic, triggered by certain actions or dialogue with the player characters. In certain multi-player games ( Neverwinter Nights and Vampire: The Masquerade series, for example) a player that acts as the GM can "possess" both player and non-player characters, controlling their actions in order to further the storyline. More complex games, such as the aforementioned Neverwinter Nights , allow
5640-860: The Princess Crown series, including Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Demon Blade . Princess Crown had a more cartoon-like visual appeal. It still had quality visuals due to the George Kamitani style. LandStalker's 1997 spiritual successor Alundra is considered "one of the finest examples of action/RPG gaming", combining platforming elements and challenging puzzles with an innovative storyline revolving around entering people's dreams and dealing with mature themes. Ultima Underworld ' s influence has been found in BioShock (2007), and that game's designer, Ken Levine , has stated that "all
5781-550: The Bahamas . Due to the scale of the game's narrative and Tabata's wish to release a single game rather than a series of games similar to Final Fantasy XIII , aspects of the planned narrative were refashioned into supplementary media projects. Known as the " Final Fantasy XV Universe", the projects were split into two parts; media designed to reach a wider audience than the game might manage alone, and additional game-related content such as ports to other hardware and DLC. The project
Final Fantasy XV - Misplaced Pages Continue
5922-616: The Dragon's Crown Artworks foreword: "The motif within Dragon's Crown is all the fantasy works that has affected me until now: the PC RPG Wizardry that I first came into contact with as a student; Ian Livingstone 's gamebooks; games like Tower of Druaga , Golden Axe and The King of Dragons ." He also cites his early 20s work on Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom as "truly something that I had aspired for". Dragon's Crown
6063-408: The Final Fantasy series than allowed in the main series. Nomura was the original director, designer, and created the initial concept and scenario. The project suffered from a prolonged and troubled development, only making fragmentary appearances over the following six years. As early as 2007, the project's scale prompted talks of rebranding it as the next mainline entry. With the internal unveiling of
6204-790: The MMO vehicular combat game Auto Assault (2006) by NetDevil and NCsoft . Other action RPGs featured both hack and slash and shooting elements, with the use of both guns (or in some cases, bow and arrow or aerial combat ) and melee weapons, including Cavia 's flight-based Drakengard series (2003 to 2005), and Level-5 's Rogue Galaxy (2005). Other RPS games include the Mass Effect series (2007 onwards), Fallout 3 and subsequent Fallout titles (2008 onwards), White Gold: War in Paradise (2008), and Borderlands (2009). Borderlands developer Gearbox Software has dubbed it as
6345-460: The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One , it was decided to change it into a mainline entry, with a proposed PS3 version being scrapped due to technical troubles. The game's engine also changed, shifting to the company's new proprietary Luminous Engine . At the time of its rebranding and shift to next-generation consoles in 2012, Versus XIII was described as being on 20-25% complete, with Tabata saying it never took shape. When Tabata took over from Nomura,
6486-503: The first installment of its Ys series in 1987. While not very popular in the West, the long-running Ys series has performed strongly in the Japanese market, with many sequels, remakes and ports in the decades that followed its release. Besides Falcom's own Dragon Slayer series, Ys was also influenced by Hydlide , from which it borrowed certain mechanics such as health-regeneration. The Faery Tale Adventure offered one of
6627-401: The gamemaster or referee rather than by another player. In video games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer (instead of a player) that has a predetermined set of behaviors that potentially will impact gameplay, but will not necessarily be the product of true artificial intelligence . In traditional tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons , an NPC is
6768-563: The 15th Annual Game Audio Network Guild Awards . In 2017, the game was nominated for "Best Visual Design" at the Golden Joystick Awards , and for "Best Role-Playing Game" at The Game Awards 2017 , but lost to Cuphead and Persona 5 , respectively. The Comrades DLC was nominated for "Best Add-on" at the Gamescom 2017 Awards. The game was also nominated for "Evolving Game" at the 14th British Academy Games Awards . At
6909-414: The 1990 games Bad Blood (another action RPG based on the same engine) and Ultima VI: The False Prophet , based on the same interface. Also in 1989, the enhanced remake Ys I & II was one of the first video games to use CD-ROM , which was utilized to provide enhanced graphics, animated cut scenes, a Red Book CD soundtrack, and voice acting. Its English localization was also one of
7050-576: The 2017 Japan Game Awards , Final Fantasy XV was one of eleven recipients of the "Award for Excellence". In 2019, NHK conducted a Final Fantasy poll in Japan with over 468,000 voters, including 51% male and 49% female voters. Final Fantasy XV was voted the tenth best game in the series, with over 71% of its votes coming from female audiences, a higher proportion than any other Final Fantasy title. Action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG )
7191-505: The Astrals and the Crystal, after being infected by the Starscourge. He sought revenge on the family bloodline and the Crystal, spreading the Starscourge while waiting for the True King to appear so he could destroy them both. Within the Crystal, Noctis meets Bahamut, and learns that he is the True King of prophecy, who will cleanse the Starscourge and restore light to Eos at the cost of his life. Noctis returns to Eos after ten years, finding
SECTION 50
#17327758606587332-455: The CGI cutscene-exclusive battles of earlier Square Enix titles, while Leack called the combat system " Kingdom Hearts meets Dissidia " and praised its depth and accessibility. Digital Spy ' s Kirk McKeand praised the behaviour of Noctis's companions in battle, saying they were effective supporting units. The linear second half drew criticism, with Roberts predicting that it would be one of
7473-547: The Crystal and reclaim his throne. While staying in the city of Lestallum with Iris, Noctis is contacted by the Astral Titan; encouraged by Ardyn, Noctis endures Titan's trial and earns his power, learning that Lunafreya is traveling ahead of Noctis to awaken the Astrals from their slumber. The group continues to travel across Lucis, retrieving the Royal Arms and meeting the Astral Ramuh with assistance from Gentiana. He
7614-447: The HP cap with their attacks. If Noctis is defeated, there is a brief period where a revival item must be used. Should the player fail to do so, the game ends. Noctis can perform four actions in battle: the standard attack; defending, which blocks and parries attacks; warping, which takes Noctis to a targeted area such as another enemy or an out-of-the-way warp point, and using items. There is
7755-600: The PC-8801 computer in September 1984, it abandoned the command-based battles of earlier role-playing games in favor of real-time hack-and-slash combat that required direct input from the player, alongside puzzle-solving elements. In contrast to earlier turn-based roguelikes , Dragon Slayer was a dungeon-crawl role-playing game using real-time, action-oriented combat, combined with traditional role-playing mechanics. Dragon Slayer's overhead action role-playing formula
7896-551: The PCs. NPCs can also be traders that trade currency for things such as equipment or gear. NPCs thus vary in their level of detail. Some may be only a brief description ("You see a man in a corner of the tavern"), while others may have complete game statistics and backstories . There is some debate about how much work a gamemaster should put into an important NPC's statistics; some players prefer to have every NPC completely defined with stats, skills, and gear, while others define only what
8037-399: The Ring of the Lucii and survive Zegnautus Keep. After reuniting and rescuing Prompto, the party continues through Zegnautus Keep, defeating Ravus and Emperor Aldercapt, who have been transformed into Daemons. Forcefully leaving his friends behind, Noctis reaches the Crystal, only to be pulled into it. Ardyn appears and reveals himself as Ardyn Lucis Caelum, a healer ostracized with support from
8178-565: The Tech Bar fills. When full, Noctis can command his companions to perform special moves called Techniques: Gladiolus performs a sweeping attack with his sword, Ignis uses his daggers to mark enemies so Noctis can perform a warp strike attack, and Prompto uses his firearm to fire a powerful shot that pierces through tough opponents. After each of these, Noctis can initiate a follow-up attack. Noctis can also trigger an Armiger Chain, where he splits his Royal Arms between his companions before launching
8319-501: The True King, a legendary figure prophesied to appear when the Starscourge threatens to plunge Eos into eternal night. A key part of Eos's backstory is the Great War of Old, a conflict born when the ancient human civilization of Solheim turned on the Astrals, one of whom was Solheim's patron Ifrit. Ifrit's subsequent attempt to destroy humanity defied the Astrals' duty to protect Eos, forcing their leader Bahamut to kill him. This conflict
8460-456: The behaviors of an NPC—became popular on TikTok in 2023 and was largely popularized by livestreamer Pinkydoll . On the Internet, the term NPC is often used as an insult to suggest that some people are unable to form thoughts or opinions of their own. Such people are often characterized as being similar to NPC Wojak , who is a grey-faced, expressionless Internet meme . NPC streaming is
8601-535: The camera to some degree. As such, these are often grouped with other "isometric RPGs". The popularity of the Diablo series spawned such franchises like Divinity , Torchlight , Dungeon Siege and Sacred . Commonly, these games used a fixed-camera isometric view of the game world, a necessity of the limitations of 2D graphics of early computers; The Diablo series spawned many terms like being referred to as "dungeon crawler" "slasher RPG" "hack and slasher",
SECTION 60
#17327758606588742-563: The capital and steals the Crystal. Noctis Lucis Caelum , heir to the Lucian throne, goes on a quest to rescue the Crystal and defeat Niflheim. He later learns his full role as the "True King", destined to use the Crystal's powers to save Eos from eternal darkness. The game shares a thematic connection with Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy , a subseries of games linked by a common mythos which includes Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Type-0 . The game's development began in 2006 as
8883-468: The capital of Accordo, where Noctis's wedding to Lunafreya will take place. Finding the local boat services stopped, they receive news of Niflheim's attack on the city of Insomnia and theft of the Crystal ; King Regis has been assassinated, and both Noctis and Lunafreya are declared dead. Meeting up with Cor, Noctis is tasked with retrieving the Royal Arms—the magical weapons of past Lucian kings—to rescue
9024-588: The categories of "Best PS4 Game", "Best Use of Pro", "Best Soundtrack", and "Best Visuals"; and in Game Informer ' s 2017 RPG of the Year Awards awarded the game for "Best Post-Launch Support". At the 2017 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards the game won Game, Franchise Role Playing and Song, Original or Adapted . It was also nominated for "Best Original Soundtrack Album" and for "Best Original Instrumental" ("Valse di Fantastica") at
9165-417: The characters lacked interest during the early parts of the campaign, and Hardcore Gamer ' s Adam Beck called the main story a "monumental disappointment" despite enjoying the lead cast. The minimal representation of supporting characters was also frequently faulted. David Roberts of GamesRadar , Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s Mollie L. Patterson and Destructoid ' s Chris Carter also noted
9306-456: The characters, setting the standard for first-person computer RPGs for several years. It inspired many other developers to make real-time dungeon crawlers, such as Eye of the Beholder and Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos . Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss , released in 1992, has been cited as the first RPG to feature first-person action in a 3D environment. Ultima Underworld
9447-468: The crucial part played by the game's expanded media in grounding or fleshing out the main story. The visuals and realistic style were positively received, with IGN ' s Vince Ingenito enjoying the unusual use of realistic aesthetic details for the towns and environment. Roberts, Brown, Leack, Beck and Kollar praised the open world design and depth of detail, in addition to its scale and similarity to open worlds from recent Western games. Beck also noted
9588-526: The current environment rather than transitioning to a separate arena, and can range from open plains to enclosed building interiors. When approaching enemies, a threat meter appears on the top of the screen, growing in intensity the closer the party gets to the enemy. When the party gets close and attacks or is detected, the battle begins. Running away from enemies and out of the combat zone in normal battles ends combat. During battle, each character has health points (HP), and Noctis also has magic points (MP). HP
9729-426: The entire development team was reshuffled and development started over again, although he worked as a co-director with Nomura until late 2013 to ensure the project remained as true as possible to its original vision. Among the changes were the removal of the original story's opening, and the replacement of the original heroine Stella Nox Fleuret with the similarly named Lunafreya. The connection to Fabula Nova Crystallis
9870-433: The father of Noctis; and Gentiana , Lunafreya's attendant. The empire of Niflheim is ruled by Emperor Iedolas Aldercapt . Aldercapt's notable subordinates include Ardyn Izunia , the imperial chancellor and the game's main antagonist; Ravus Nox Fleuret , Lunafreya's brother and the high commander of Niflheim; and Verstael Besithia , the empire's head researcher. Noctis and his three friends begin their journey to Altissia,
10011-538: The first to use voice dubbing . The game received the Game of the Year award from OMNI Magazine in 1990, as well as other prizes. Another 1989 release, Activision 's Prophecy: The Fall of Trinadon , attempted to introduce "Nintendo-style" action combat to North American computer role-playing games. Action RPGs were far more common on consoles than computers, due to gamepads being better suited to real-time action than
10152-402: The game a score of 38 points out of 40. Various game designers stated Final Fantasy XV was their favorite game of 2016, including Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi , Atlus ' Shigeo Komori, Koei Tecmo 's Takashi Morinaka, and Sony Interactive Entertainment 's Teruyuki Toriyama and Shuhei Yoshida . Opinions on the story of Final Fantasy XV were mixed, although the main cast
10293-647: The game by a smaller development team from the core Final Fantasy XV staff. The team was supervised by Tabata and headed by new producer Haruyoshi Sawatari. Among the DLC were additional story elements intended to address player criticisms of the game's narrative structure and missing details. The journeys of Noctis' friends during their absence in the main story are expanded through the character-driven DLC episodes— Episode Gladiolus , Episode Prompto and Episode Ignis —which were released respectively in March, June and December 2017. A story-driven multiplayer mode called Comrades
10434-448: The game is played from a third-person perspective. Players can customize their player character , which learns to cast spells, brew potions, and master combat abilities, eventually developing their own special combat style. In late 1987, FTL Games released Dungeon Master , a dungeon crawler that had a real-time game world and some real-time combat elements (akin to Active Time Battle ), requiring players to quickly issue orders to
10575-544: The game to "break even" on development costs. This gave Final Fantasy XV the biggest launch in the franchise to date, the most first day digital sales in Japan for a game up to that point, and set records for physical shipments and downloads in mainland Asia. Commenting on the large numbers, Tabata revealed that the strong sales saved the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole, which had seen declining commercial success in recent years. According to Square Enix, shipments had reached over six million worldwide by January 2017. In May of
10716-458: The game's most divisive elements. The summons were seen as spectacular, but either lacking meaning in gameplay or being too difficult to activate. Several reviewers noted the in-game camera's occasionally erratic behaviour. In Japan, the PS4 version topped Japanese gaming charts, selling 690,471 units. The Xbox One version sold nearly 3,800 units. Total sales of both versions came to 694,262 units, with
10857-409: The game's mouse-based combat were mixed. In 1997 Blizzard's Diablo was released and became massively successful. It was an action RPG that used a mouse oriented point-and-click interface and offered gamers a free online service to play with others that maintained the same rules and gameplay. Diablo ' s effect on the market was significant, inspiring many imitators. Its impact was such that
10998-565: The game's release boosting console sales for the PS4 over the previous week by over 42,000 units. Second week sales in the region were 79,792 units, down 88% from launch week and causing the game to drop to fifth place. Different rankings in January the following year placed the Japanese sales of Final Fantasy XV as between 900,000 and one million copies. In the United Kingdom's all-format gaming charts ending December 3, Final Fantasy XV
11139-399: The games produced by Black Isle Studios and White Wolf, Inc. ; every one of their games is multiple-choice roleplaying. When talking to an NPC, the player is presented with a list of dialogue options, and may choose between them. Each choice may result in a different response from the NPC. These choices may affect the course of the game, as well as the conversation. At the least, they provide
11280-585: The gaming market and its influence on the MMORPG genre later popularized the strongly used mouse-oriented point and click combat. While in the Diablo series this type of combat does not have a lock-on key, World of Warcraft and most MMO games uses some kind of key to target an enemy, usually TAB, to lock into it, usually referred to as "tab-target". In tab-target combat the player's character automatic do attack animations with some kind of regular attack, while
11421-521: The keyboard and mouse. Though there were attempts at creating action-oriented computer RPGs during the late 1980s and early 1990s, very few saw any success. Times of Lore was one of the more successful attempts in the American computer market, where there was a generally negative attitude towards combining genres in this way and more of an emphasis on preserving the purity of the RPG genre. For example,
11562-448: The largest worlds at the time, with over 17,000 computer screens without loading times. In 1988, Telenet Japan 's Exile series debuted, and was controversial due to its plot, which revolves around a time-traveling Crusades-era Syrian assassin who assassinates various religious/historical figures as well as 20th-century political leaders, The gameplay of Exile included both overhead exploration and side-scrolling combat, and featured
11703-417: The more times he fishes and the better items he uses, which in turn spreads to his equipment. Gladiolus' Survival skills increase based on the distance the party has travelled in a day, which improves the quality of their equipment and items. Ignis' cooking can be improved based on ingredients either purchased at shops or found in the wild, and his meals grant stat boosts to the party. Prompto takes photos during
11844-489: The opening narrative of Final Fantasy XV . Also forming part of the project were Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy XV , a game demo detailing an incident in Noctis's childhood which tied into the events of Brotherhood ; Justice Monsters Five , a mobile game based on a minigame from Final Fantasy XV which was active from August 2016 to March 2017; A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV , a promotional beat 'em up featuring Regis as
11985-485: The party must go to safe zones called "Havens", namely rest sites like inns or campsites. When the party rests at night, each character gains levels depending on the amount of EXP earned. If defeated in battle, all EXP gained up to that point since the last level up is permanently lost. Activities in the overworld earn the party Ability Points (AP). AP is spent on the Ascension Grid, the game's leveling system, which
12126-468: The party's car "Regalia", or chocobos , recurring galliform birds in the Final Fantasy series. Both the Regalia and chosen Chocobos can be customised by the player, and Chocobos can join in battles if their connection to the characters is strong enough. While Chocobos are controlled manually, the Regalia can be either manually or automatically controlled. The party can also fast-travel to areas unlocked on
12267-441: The party's journey, and the quality of his own skills increase over time. A post-release update enables control of all four characters during battle after unlocking a dedicated node in the Ascension Grid; each character uses specific weapon types and abilities tied to them. A multiplayer mode called Comrades was released as an expansion , with gameplay and combat lifted from the main game and tailored for multiplayer; rather than
12408-519: The playable character; Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV , a virtual reality simulation game released in 2017 for PlayStation VR ; and Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire , a massively multiplayer online strategy game published by Machine Zone in 2017 and developed by their Epic Action subsidiary. Initially announced in 2006 alongside XIII and Type-0 , the game was publicly rebranded at E3 2013 , with regular updates on
12549-746: The player can focus on activating other skills and items by pressing other keys. Usually this type of combat is not heavily based on aiming or hit boxes thus the player can hit enemies from different distances and even from a far. Some tab-target MMOs have other targeting options such as an "Action mode". Shooter-based action RPGs include Strife (1996), System Shock 2 (1999), the Deus Ex series (2000 onwards) by Ion Storm , Bungie 's Destiny (2014), Irem 's Steambot Chronicles (2005), Square Enix's third-person shooter RPG Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (2006), which introduced an over-the-shoulder perspective similar to Resident Evil 4 , and
12690-481: The player fights monsters either on sorties or to defend transports; at the end of each mission, the player is awarded Gil, materials used for crafting and enhancing weapons, and "Meteorshards" which can power up settlements around Lestallum and open up new quests. Some areas unlock Royal Tombs which grant the player a Royal Sigil; these Sigils both increase specific statistics and grant new themed abilities such as healing or increasing combat moves. The player has access to
12831-421: The player not maintaining a PC within the group and playing the NPC for a session or from the player's PC being unable to act for some time (for example, because the PC is injured or in another location). Although these characters are still designed and normally controlled by the gamemaster, when players are given the opportunity to temporarily control these non-player characters, it gives them another perspective on
12972-576: The player to customize the NPCs' behavior by modifying their default scripts or creating entirely new ones. In some online games, such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games , NPCs may be entirely unscripted, and are essentially regular character avatars controlled by employees of the game company. These "non-players" are often distinguished from player characters by avatar appearance or other visual designation, and often serve as in-game support for new players. In other cases, these "live" NPCs are virtual actors, playing regular characters that drive
13113-401: The player's possible responses word-for-word as the player character would say them. Games revolving around relationship-building, including visual novels, dating sims such as Tokimeki Memorial , and some role-playing games such as Persona , often give choices that have a different number of associated "mood points" that influence a player character's relationship and future conversations with
13254-426: The player's stats, or as a currency to purchase items, and penalizing player deaths without imposing an outright failure state. It also incorporated online features allowing players to leave messages in the overworld that can be read by other players, to temporarily join other players' sessions to assist them cooperatively, or "invade" another player's session to engage in player versus player combat. Especially after
13395-462: The player. The type of weapon equipped determines the attack speed and the amount of damage on normal attacks. In addition to normal attacks, there are attacks that deal more damage based on Noctis' position such as "Side Strike" or "Blindside", in addition to the Warp Strike attack. Attacks from enemies can be parried, and depending on the quality of the parry Noctis can counterattack. If wielding
13536-531: The plot of the game. Some systems, such as Nobilis , encourage this in their rules. Many game systems have rules for characters sustaining positive allies in the form of NPC followers; hired hands, or other dependant stature to the PC. Characters may sometimes help in the design, recruitment, or development of NPCs. In the Champions game (and related games using the Hero System ), a character may have
13677-514: The release of its spiritual successor Dark Souls (2011) and its sequels, other action RPGs emerged in the 2010s that incorporated mechanics influenced by those of Demon's Souls , which have been popularly referred to as " Soulslike " games. In 2013, Vanillaware released the fantasy beat 'em up ARPG Dragon's Crown , a spiritual successor to Princess Crown and a "deeply moving product" of Vanillaware director George Kamitani. Kamitani cites many classic RPGs as his inspiration, stating in
13818-465: The ritual, but she succeeds in awakening Noctis's powers, allowing him to defeat Leviathan. While unconscious, he is visited in a dream by Lunafreya's spirit, who gives him the Ring of the Lucii. Noctis wakes to find Lunafreya dead, Altissia in chaos and that Ignis was blinded during the battle. The party continues towards Niflheim's capital of Gralea by train. Ignis' blindness and Noctis's mourning of Lunafreya cause friction with Gladiolus until Ignis forces
13959-579: The same year, the game and Rise of the Tomb Raider helped to increase sales and profits for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. By May 2022, Final Fantasy XV had sold ten million units worldwide across all versions, making it one of the best-selling Final Fantasy games of all time. Final Fantasy XV won numerous awards from various gaming publications, including "Game of the Year" from RPG Site and RPGFan , and "Best RPG (People's Choice)" from IGN , PlayStation Blog awarded Final Fantasy XV awards in
14100-558: The same year. Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com argues that Japanese developers created a new brand of action role-playing game; these new Japanese games combined the role-playing genre with arcade-style action and action-adventure elements. Shaun Musgrave of TouchArcade also traces the genre's roots to Japan, noting that the "Western game industry of the time had a tendency to treat action games and RPGs as separate things for separate demographics". Jeremy Parish argues that action RPGs were popularized in Japan by The Tower of Druaga . It
14241-559: The scenario based on the original draft by Kazushige Nojima ; and art directors Tomohiro Hasegawa, Yusuke Naora and Isamu Kamikokuryo . Character designs were by Tetsuya Nomura and Roberto Ferrari, with later revisions by Naora. The main characters' clothing was designed by Hiromu Takahara, lead designer for Japanese fashion house Roen. The soundtrack was composed primarily by Yoko Shimomura , while both real-time and CGI cutscenes were directed by Takeshi Nozue of Visual Works , Square Enix's in-house CGI production studio. Logo illustration
14382-459: The second or third players could drop in and out of the game at any time, rather than players having to join the game at the same time. The game has remained influential through to the present day, with its ring menu system still used in modern games and its cooperative multiplayer mentioned as an influence on games such as Dungeon Siege III (2011). Most other such games, however, used a side-scrolling perspective typical of beat 'em ups, such as
14523-497: The selected option altering the response from NPCs. The game also contains two difficulty modes, with players being able to freely switch between the two. The game uses an action-based real-time battle system, called the Active Cross Battle system. Instead of using a menu interface, the player selects commands directly mapped to buttons on the controller, such as "Attack", "Defend", and "Item". Battles take place within
14664-411: The series was also heavily criticized by players and media for not being a proper RPG due to it being focused more on fighting enemies and creating character builds than following a proper narrative and dialogue-heavy journey. After its success many other games tried to mix its influences with different structures and narratives, there are multiple games like Divine Divinity that were an attempt to have
14805-549: The setpiece moments as beautiful in appearance despite weak narrative elements and confusing or convoluted gameplay. Leack positively noted the main cast's eye-catching design, which he felt helped maintain a connection during the early sections of the game. Shimomura's score was also positively received by critics. The gameplay was praised for its fast pace and engaging mechanics despite a lack of depth compared with other action games, with several reviewers comparing it to Kingdom Hearts ; Patterson positively compared normal battles to
14946-479: The story or illuminate the world around the PC. Similar to this is the most common form of storytelling, non-branching dialogue, in which the means of displaying NPC speech are the same as above, but the player character or avatar responds to or initiates speech with NPCs. In addition to the purposes listed above, this enables development of the player character. More advanced RPGs feature interactive dialogue, or branching dialogue ( dialogue trees ). An example are
15087-402: The streamer. In return, the streamer will briefly mimic character or act. This phenomenon has become a trend starting from July 2023, as influencers make profits from this new internet character. Pinkydoll , a TikTok influencer gained 400,000 followers the same month that she started NPC Streaming, while her livestreams began to earn her as much as $ 7,000 in a day. NPC streaming gives creators
15228-506: The studio instead created a spiritual successor : Arx Fatalis . Toby Gard stated that, when designing Tomb Raider , he "was a big fan of ... Ultima Underworld and I wanted to mix that type of game with the sort of polygon characters that were just being showcased in Virtua Fighter ". Ultima Underworld was also the basis for Looking Glass Technologies' later System Shock . The 1988 Origin Systems title Times of Lore
15369-620: The template for many future action RPGs, even though it does not strictly fit the definition of later action RPGs. In contrast to previous action RPGs, such as Dragon Slayer and Hydlide, which required the player to bump into enemies in order to attack them, The Legend of Zelda featured an attack button that animates a sword swing or projectile attack on the screen. It was also an early example of open-world, nonlinear gameplay , and introduced new features such as battery backup saving. These elements have been used in many action RPGs since. In 1987, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link implemented
15510-427: The temples to refuse to level him up. Xanadu Scenario II , released in 1986, was an expansion pack , created to expand the content of Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu . Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness (1985) also featured a morality system. Eurogamer cites Fairlight (1985) as an early action RPG. An important influence on the action RPG genre was the 1986 action-adventure The Legend of Zelda , which served as
15651-468: The term "action RPG" has come to be more commonly used for Diablo -style games, with The Legend of Zelda itself slowly recategorized as an action-adventure. Very commonly, these games used a fixed-camera isometric view of the game world, a necessity of the limitations of 2D graphics of early computers; even with 3D graphic engines, such point-and-click games are still presented from a similar isometric view, though providing options to rotate, pan, and zoom
15792-713: The things that I wanted to do and all the games that I ended up working on came out of the inspiration I took from [ Ultima Underworld ]". Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski also cited it as an early influence, stating that it had "far more impact on me than Doom ". Other games influenced by Ultima Underworld include The Elder Scrolls: Arena , Deus Ex , Deus Ex: Invisible War , Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines , and Half-Life 2 . FromSoftware 's Demon's Souls (2009) emphasized unforgiving enemies and environments, combined with risk-and-reward mechanics such as limited checkpoints, collecting "souls" that can be consumed as experience points to increase
15933-553: The third game in the Parasite Eve series, features a unique blend of action RPG, real-time tactical RPG, survival horror and third-person tactical shooter elements. Shooter-based RPGs include Imageepoch 's post-apocalyptic Black Rock Shooter (2011) , which employs both first-person and third-person shooter elements, and Square Enix's Final Fantasy XV (2016) , which features both hack and slash and third-person shooter elements. The online live service version gained
16074-602: The title beginning the following year. A demo titled Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae was released in March 2015 as a limited addition to Final Fantasy Type-0 HD . The game's localization was handled by Dan Inoue, who used different accents for characters to denote their origins on different parts of Eos. In addition to English, Japanese and European languages, the game was localized for Latin America with Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese text: this
16215-403: The type used, from generating a powerful shockwave to dealing high melee damage. Noctis's companions, controlled by the game's artificial intelligence (AI), can perform contextual commands. When Noctis successfully parries an enemy attack, or performs a Side Strike or Blindside, cooperative attacks between him and his companions called Link-strikes can be triggered. During battle, a meter called
16356-426: The use of the Crystal's power, which is slowly draining the current king's life force. At the game's beginning an armistice is declared between the two nations due to the king's failing health; as part of the peace agreements, Niflheim will gain control of all Lucian territories outside Insomnia, and a marriage is arranged between the heirs apparent of the royal families of Lucis and Tenebrae. The game's protagonist
16497-514: The world engulfed in darkness. Reuniting with his friends, Noctis heads for Insomnia, fighting Ifrit—revived and corrupted by the Starscourge—before facing Ardyn. After killing Ardyn in single combat, Noctis ascends the throne and sacrifices himself, using the Crystal and Ring of the Lucii to purge the Starscourge from Eos. In the afterlife, with the help from Lunafreya, Noctis destroys Ardyn's spirit. In mid-credits and post-credits scenes , it
16638-500: The world map. The Regalia must be refueled periodically at petrol stations. In towns the party can visit, there are inns and hotels where they can stay, shops where items and equipment can be purchased with the in-game currency gil, and local tipsters, non-playable characters (NPCs) who provide information on quests, from main story missions to side quests. Side quests are also available from individual NPCs found in towns. During some story sequences, dialogue choices appear for Noctis, with
16779-406: The world of Eos. While accompanied by his three companions Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto , Noctis is the only character directly controlled by the player: he can navigate through movement, jump over small obstacles, sprint for a limited time, and perform context-based actions such as taking cover behind objects. The kingdom of Lucis is a large connected landmass that can be explored on foot, by using
16920-444: Was "a fantasy based on reality", with locations and creatures based on elements from the real world. To supplement the game, Square Enix created a multimedia project called the " Final Fantasy XV Universe", which includes a few spin-off games, as well as an anime series and a feature film . Gameplay and story-based DLC was released between 2017 and 2019. Upon release, Final Fantasy XV was well received by critics. Widespread praise
17061-478: Was also one of the earliest action RPGs. Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu , released in 1985 (billed as a "new type of real-time role-playing game"), was an action role-playing game including many character stats and a large quest. It also incorporated a side-scrolling view during exploration and an overhead view during battle, and an early "Karma" morality system where the character's Karma meter will rise if he commits sin (killing "good" enemies), which in turn causes
17202-562: Was also reduced, with branding and mythos-specific terminology removed to aid in the game's marketing. Thematic, aesthetic and design elements were retained due to their core place in the world and backstory. The main concept behind Final Fantasy XV was "a fantasy based on reality", with the world being very similar to Earth and having fantasy elements gradually intruding into an otherwise normal setting. In pursuit of this, locations in Eos were based on real-world locations such as Tokyo , Venice and
17343-508: Was also released that year. It was a party-based action RPG, with the player controlling a party of four characters at the same time in a side-scrolling view. The game also featured character creation, highly customizable characters, class-based puzzles, and a new scenario system, allowing players to choose from 15 scenarios, or quests , to play through in the order of their choice. It was also an episodic video game , with expansion disks later released offering more scenarios. Falcom also released
17484-433: Was an action RPG with an icon-based point-and-click interface. Bad Blood , another Origin Systems game from 1990, would use the same interface. The designers were inspired by console titles, particularly The Legend of Zelda , to make their interface more accessible. The 1994 title Ultima VIII used mouse controls and attempted to add precision jumping sequences reminiscent of a Mario platform game, though reactions to
17625-610: Was an action RPG. Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton claimed that the Intellivision games Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1982) and Treasure of Tarmin (1983) were action RPGs. Shaun Musgrave of TouchArcade notes that Adventure lacked RPG mechanics such as experience points and permanent character growth, and argues that Gateway to Apshai is "the earliest game I'd feel comfortable calling an action-RPG" but notes that "it doesn't fit neatly into our modern genre classifications", though came closer than Bokosuka Wars released
17766-483: Was an ongoing rivalry developing between the Dragon Slayer and Hydlide series over the years. The Tower of Druaga , Dragon Slayer and Hydlide were influential in Japan, where they influenced later action RPGs such as Ys , as well as The Legend of Zelda . Falcom's Dragon Slayer , created by Yoshio Kiya, is "the very first action-RPG ever made" according to GameSetWatch. Originally released for
17907-628: Was by regular series artist Yoshitaka Amano . Development began in 2006 as a spin-off for the PlayStation 3 called Final Fantasy Versus XIII , as part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy , a subseries of games linked by a common mythos, and ran in Square Enix's proprietary Crystal Tools engine. Developed by the team behind the Kingdom Hearts series, it was intended to be a darker entry in
18048-405: Was first revealed at a March 2016 press event called "Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV ". Tabata later stated that those who just played the game would miss context for story events shown in other related media. The two central parts of the " Final Fantasy XV Universe" are the feature film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV and the original net animation Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV . Brotherhood
18189-402: Was given for its gameplay, visuals and soundtrack, while reception towards its story and presentation was mixed. As of May 2022, the game has sold ten million units worldwide, making it one of the best-selling Final Fantasy games of all time. Final Fantasy XV is an open world action role-playing game where players take control of protagonist Noctis Lucis Caelum during his journey across
18330-433: Was later expanded with downloadable content (DLC), adding further gameplay options such as additional playable characters and multiplayer . Final Fantasy XV takes place on the fictional world of Eos; aside from Insomnia, the capital of Lucis, all the world is dominated by the empire of Niflheim, who seek control of the magical Crystal protected by the Lucian royal family. On the eve of peace negotiations, Niflheim attacks
18471-415: Was praised for its chemistry. Game Informer ' s Andrew Reiner praised the change to a simple straightforward plot after the complex lore of Final Fantasy XIII . Peter Brown of GameSpot and Philip Kollar of Polygon praised the mundane activities and character interactions, with Kollar calling Noctis's companions the game's "beating heart". In contrast, Jonathan Leack of Game Revolution found
18612-480: Was produced by anime studio A-1 Pictures under supervision from Square Enix; the narrative focused on the backstories of Noctis and his companions. The series was released online between March and September 2016. Kingsglaive , which received a limited theatrical release in 2016, was a collaboration between Visual Works and Western studios including Digic Pictures and Image Engine ; the story, which mainly focused on original characters, recycled story elements cut from
18753-575: Was re-released with a PS4 "Pro" edition in 2018. Assassin's Creed , a long-running Ubisoft franchise, also shifted towards the action RPG formula, inspired by the successes of The Witcher 3 and the Dark Souls series, with its titles Origins (2017), Odyssey (2018) and Valhalla (2020). Avalanche Software released Hogwarts Legacy in 2023. Set in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and its surrounding areas,
18894-403: Was released for arcades in June 1984, and was intended as a "fantasy version of Pac-Man , with puzzles to solve, monsters to battle, and hidden treasure to find". Its success in Japan inspired the development of Dragon Slayer (1984) and Hydlide (1984). Dragon Slayer , Hydlide and Courageous Perseus (1984) "vie for position as genre precedent" according to John Szczepaniak, and there
19035-463: Was released in February 2018 for iOS and Android . The game was co-developed by Square Enix, SummerTimeStudio, and XPEC Entertainment. Development began in 2015 following the release of Episode Duscae ; the game was produced by Kosei Ito, who was producer on Tabata's first major Square Enix title Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII . Multiple pieces of downloadable content (DLC) were created for
19176-795: Was released in March 2019, and was the final post-release update for Final Fantasy XV . Originally part of a tetralogy of story-based DLC episodes dubbed The Dawn of the Future , the other episodes were cancelled due to structural changes within Square Enix. Story material for The Dawn of the Future DLC has been turned into a novel of the same name . It was first released in Japan in April 2019, and worldwide in June 2020. Final Fantasy XV has received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for all versions, according to review aggregator Metacritic . Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu gave both versions of
19317-544: Was released in November 2017, with Final Fantasy XV becoming the first mainline single-player Final Fantasy to include multiplayer content. A standalone version of Comrades was released for PS4 and Xbox One in December 2018 to replace the DLC version of Comrades . Episode Ignis was intended to be the last story-based DLC, but positive player feedback resulted in Square Enix wanting to develop further content focusing on other main characters, such as Ardyn. Episode Ardyn
19458-525: Was released on March 6, 2018. Square Enix developed the port with Nvidia using an upgraded version of the Luminous Studio engine, featuring graphical enhancements and all DLC. These improvements and additions were also released as part of the console-exclusive Royal Edition . The game was also ported to the streaming-based Stadia platform, releasing on November 19, 2019, as a launch title. Another version, titled Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition ,
19599-510: Was the first time a Final Fantasy title was localized into these languages. Its initial worldwide release, September 30, was announced at the "Uncovered" event. Despite this intended date, further polishing work resulted in the date being pushed back to November 29. Further fixes were applied to the game through a Day One patch released concurrent with the game. The game was published in multiple editions, called "Day One", "Deluxe", and "Ultimate Collector's Edition". The "Deluxe" edition included
19740-612: Was the second biggest launch for the series after Final Fantasy XIII . According to the December data released by the NPD Group , Final Fantasy XV was the second best-selling title of the month behind Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare . The game also became the month's best-selling PS4 title, and saw the best console launch month in the franchise's history. Within the first twenty-four hours, Square Enix reported that Final Fantasy XV had shipped five million units worldwide in both physical shipments and digital sales—a figure which allowed
19881-515: Was used in many later games. T&E Soft 's Hydlide , released in December 1984, was created by Tokihiro Naito, who was influenced by The Tower of Druaga . It was the first action RPG with an overworld . The game was immensely popular in Japan, selling 2 million copies across all platforms. According to John Szczepaniak, it "cannot be overstated how influential Hydlide was on the ARPGs which followed it". The same year, Courageous Perseus
#657342