Topic: Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition HD Announced For Switch

[Shaymin]

No, that title isn't confusing at all.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/48247/final-fantasy-xv-pocket-edition-hd-announced-for-switch

SquareEnix has brought mainline Final Fantasy back to Nintendo consoles... in a fashion.

The company released a trailer for Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition HD on their Youtube channel earlier tonight, confirming the game for a Switch release "soon". The game has already launched on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

The original Final Fantasy XV was announced in 2006 as Final Fantasy Versus XIII before being rebooted into Final Fantasy XV as a XB1/PS4 game in 2013 for a 2015 launch. This marks the first release of a mainline Final Fantasy game on a Nintendo console in nearly a quarter century, unless 2009's Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is considered.

[ShyGuy]

I don't think this counts.

[Adrock]

1. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years should not be considered because it isn’t a mainline title. It’s a sequel, and my understanding is that it wasn’t good.

2. I understand the merits of Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition on mobile devices. On a console, the game just doesn’t do it for me. I’m not feeling the chibi characters. I can’t take the story seriously with that art style.

[RPG_FAN128]

I'll never understand chibi.

One thing I am not a fan of is RPG boss rushes considering it's not incredibly fun for me...and FF4: After Years was enjoyable until the final dungeon that is NOTHING. BUT. EVERY. FINAL.  FANTASY.  BOSS.  EVEEEER.

[Khushrenada]

If you don't understand the appeal of chibi then you've never played this game:




Of course, it is the only actual example of good chibi that I can think of.....

[Ian Sane]

So Square Enix missed the memo that this isn't the Wii.  Nintendo doesn't get stuck with scaled down "re-imaginings" anymore.

I imagine Switch owners will be put off that they get this chibi edition but the game may sell with existing FFXV owners that want to try this variation (assuming there are dedicated FFXV fans; it seems to have been better received than FFXIII but doesn't seem to have the prolonged buzz that the old pre-HD FF's would get).

[Kairon]

This counts for me. Day one. Jazzed to finally be able to play a mainline FF game again after YEARS of being left out!

[Stratos]

Count me in the camp of a solid pass. Too many other great games coming out and the style does turn me off.

[Adrock]

The biggest hurdle is most likely that Final Fantasy XV was developed on Square Enix’s own internal Luminous Studio which currently does not support Switch. This is a similar issue with Resident Evil 7, developed on Capcom’s RE Engine. Last year, Final Fantasy XV Director, Hajime Tabata, said they attempted to get Luminous Engine running on Switch but they were having issues. We can pretend this was a long-con to make it seem like they tried. Occam’s Razor suggests porting the engine probably wasn’t worth the effort.

I believe the intention was to get the original version running on Switch. Effort acknowledged. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition was also announced for PS4 and Xbox One so I’m not of the mindset that Square Enix is merely serving Switch owners scraps. The company didn’t have to port anything to Switch so while I’m not interested in this at all, I’ll give credit where credit is due. The power disparity between Switch and other platforms makes porting a minefield.

[Ian Sane]

Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition was also announced for PS4 and Xbox One so I’m not of the mindset that Square Enix is merely serving Switch owners scraps. The company didn’t have to port anything to Switch so while I’m not interested in this at all, I’ll give credit where credit is due. The power disparity between Switch and other platforms makes porting a minefield.

I didn't realize this was on the PS4 and XB1.  I interpreted the news post to mean the original FFXV was on those systems.  Okay, this is more Square Enix wanting to get product on the Switch and including it in a multiplatform release.  It's just a shame it's a off-shoot of another higher profile game that's not getting a port.

Since this is on the other systems that have the proper FFXV on it then I would not consider this a mainline FF game.  The last mainline one on Nintendo systems is still FFVI.  FFXII had a spin-off on the DS so if you want to count spin-offs with the numeral in them then that would count as mainline.

[broodwars]

I just don't see the point to buying this game on consoles, though at least it isn't as pointlessly redundant on the Switch as it is on the PS4 & Xbone (where you can usually buy the real game for the same, if not lower, price).

The whole point of the Pocket Edition was to have a F2P FF 15 on mobile with microtransactions. Why would you ever want to play a bastardized version of an already unfinished game made for devices that can't play real games...on a console, even if it does have all the chapters?

[nickmitch]

Are there micro-transactions in this?  I'm slightly interested, but the art style is off-putting.

[broodwars]

Are there micro-transactions in this?  I'm slightly interested, but the art style is off-putting.

My understanding is that the console versions do not. The mobile versions used them to unlock the various chapters of the game, which is why it's F2P on mobile and $30 on the storefronts (currently on sale for less).

[Stratos]

The biggest hurdle is most likely that Final Fantasy XV was developed on Square Enix’s own internal Luminous Studio which currently does not support Switch. This is a similar issue with Resident Evil 7, developed on Capcom’s RE Engine. Last year, Final Fantasy XV Director, Hajime Tabata, said they attempted to get Luminous Engine running on Switch but they were having issues. We can pretend this was a long-con to make it seem like they tried. Occam’s Razor suggests porting the engine probably wasn’t worth the effort.

I believe the intention was to get the original version running on Switch. Effort acknowledged. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition was also announced for PS4 and Xbox One so I’m not of the mindset that Square Enix is merely serving Switch owners scraps. The company didn’t have to port anything to Switch so while I’m not interested in this at all, I’ll give credit where credit is due. The power disparity between Switch and other platforms makes porting a minefield.

By this logic it also doesn't explicitly rule out a Switch port of the main FFXV, might just be take more time. If they ran into issue they could ave also contracted out a studio like Panic Button to work some magic.

I wonder if FFXVI development will be adjusted to allow for a Switch version.

[nickmitch]

Are there micro-transactions in this?  I'm slightly interested, but the art style is off-putting.

My understanding is that the console versions do not. The mobile versions used them to unlock the various chapters of the game, which is why it's F2P on mobile and $30 on the storefronts (currently on sale for less).

Gotcha.  I was worried there were pay to win elements in there.