Many announcements — including a new anime series, a movie, a playable demo and the release date for “Final Fantasy XV" — came out of the jam-packed Uncovered: "Final Fantasy" event in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
When Japanese developer, Square Enix, announced that it was holding an event at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles for the latest installment of its “Final Fantasy” game series, many wondered if the company would have enough material to justify the event. When the release date for “Final Fantasy XV” was leaked on the day of the event, these worries grew even stronger.
As it turns out, the Uncovered: "Final Fantasy" event, hosted by Greg Miller and Tim Gettys of Kinda Funny, had plenty to announce.
The first big announcement at the event was that, in addition to “Final Fantasy XV," Square Enix will be releasing a five-part anime series developed by A-1 pictures, who are known for their work in shows such as “Sword Art Online” and “Black Butler.” The anime, titled “Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV,” is a prequel to the game and tells the story of how the four main protagonists came to know each other. Each episode will be free to watch on YouTube, and episode one is available now.
This announcement was followed by a trailer for a feature-length CG movie called “Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV.” The movie features voice acting from Sean Bean and Lena Headey from “Game of Thrones” and Aaron Paul from “Breaking Bad.” Both Headey and Paul made appearances at the event and spoke about their characters and experiences with making the film. “Kingsglaive” will release ahead of “Final Fantasy XV” and will take place at the same time as the events of the game; however, it will follow different characters.
Several Final Fantasy games are known for having minigames that can be played for prizes such as the Gold Saucer games in “Final Fantasy VII” and Blitzball in “Final Fantasy X.” At the event, Square Enix not only announced that “Final Fantasy XV” would have a minigame, but also that it will be available for separate download on Android, IOS and Windows 10 prior to the release of the game.
The game is called “JusticeMonstersFive” and, according to a press release from Square Enix, is “a pinball game for mobile devices combining role-playing elements with some of the franchise’s most iconic monsters.” Square Enix said “JusticeMonstersFive” will be playable both in the game as well as on mobile devices. Pre-registration for the Android and IOS versions of the game is currently available.
After the announcement for “JusticeMonstersFive,” Square Enix revealed a free, new, playable demo called “Platinum Demo” where the player plays as a young version of the game’s main protagonist, Noctis, in a fantasy environment filled with strange creatures. While the demo won’t be included in the final game, completing the demo will reward players with an extra summon to use when the game comes out. The demo is available for download on PS4 and Xbox One.
At the end of the show, the release date of “Final Fantasy XV” was revealed officially: Sept. 30, 2016. Square Enix announced an $89.99 Deluxe Edition that includes the game as well as a Blu-ray copy of “Kingsglaive.” Also announced was a $269.99 Ultimate Collector’s Edition that contains the Deluxe Edition content plus a physical copy of “Brotherhood,” an art book, the game’s soundtrack and a Noctis action-figure.
Amongst the announcements were numerous new trailers for “Final Fantasy XV” that showed off new additions to the series, such as the reimagined combat system, as well as some references to more classic “Final Fantasy” elements like chocobo riding. The show and all of the trailers came be found on Square Enix’s YouTube channel.