Final Fantasy XV‘s “Judgment Disc” is now available for download exclusively in Japan. The demo is a way for fans to judge the final product before they run out and purchase a retail copy on November 29.
Spanning through the game’s first chapter, you’ll be playing for around an hour and a half if you go straight through the whole thing. Players who complete the demo will be treated with a special video at the end. Unfortunately, however, progress won’t carry over to Final Fantasy XV proper.
Judgment Disc marks the third demo available for the game pre-launch. The first demo, Episode Duscae, launched in March 2015 alongside Final Fantasy Type-0 HD and was patched at a later date. The second demo, Platinum Demo, saw its release a year later following Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV as more of a technical demonstration rather than a vertical slice indicative of the final product.
Judgment Disc clocks in at 13.4GB and can be downloaded through the following links:
Xbox Live
About the Author
As a self-professed Final Fantasy fan, Erren created Nova Crystallis in 2009 as a place to collect the latest information on her favorite series. As owner and Editor-in-Chief, she also spends her time as a freelance illustrator.
Next Tuesday, Final Fantasy XV is finally released worldwide. While I’m not one of the lucky bastards to get an early copy thanks to a few unscrupulous retailers breaking street date, and won’t even be able to sit down to play it on launch day because of other things going on in life, what I can do now is offer my impressions on the opening hour based on my play-through of the Japanese version of the game, since a free demo was released on Japan’s Playstation Store, subtitled ‘Judgement Disc‘.
Over a decade in the making, with a change in leadership halfway, numerous delays, including one final two-month delay for added polish, that expectations are high for Final Fantasy XV is quite the understatement, not to mention seemingly impossible to meet, especailly for a series that’s been around so long that’s trying to both appeal to longtime diehard fans’ nostalgia yet also take drastic aesthetic and gameplay changes to more realistic Western-inspired action RPGs in order to stay modern and relevant.
But while as a JRPG, Square-Enix’s crown has long since been ceded to Atlus’ Persona series [P5 also a long-delayed and anticipated title but which more than surpassed expectations, if you want to see my import review], one might also hope FFXV can follow the recent trick of Japanese developers beating Western developers at their own game, as seen with Dark Souls‘ subversion of the Western RPG or Metal Gear Solid V‘s unique open-world sandbox gameplay.
Judgement Disc is actually the third playable demo of FFXV, starting with last year’s tailor-made Episode Duscae exclusively available to people who bought the pretty dire Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, followed by the Platinum Demo released free shortly after the big live event back in March when FFXV’s original worldwide launch date was September 30th, which was really little more than a tech demo. Judgement, on the other hand, is the real deal, letting you play the up to the midpoint of the first episode of the game, roughly an hour if played straight through.
Of course, when you’re playing a lengthy RPG that could span anything from 50 to over 100 hours, how much can you possibly learn from the first hour? After all, Persona‘s first hour has always been a pretty slow-burner, going to great lengths to settle you into its characters and seemingly mundane setting and high school schedules before the bizarre other-worldly events kick it up a notch, let alone even giving you any meaningful interaction. And so it is that FFXV also starts on a slow-burner, quite literally so, as you and your pals push your broken down car along a stretched-out desert horizon that seems to evoke a road movie in Americana more than any Final Fantasy game you’ve ever experienced, if not for our entourage looking so well-coiffed and Florence Welch’s ethereal rendition of ‘Stand By Me’ playing on the car radio.
There’s already a lot of backstory in FFXV before you even start that might seem overwhelming [despite delaying the game specificially to get all last-minute polish onto the disc, Square-Enix have announced a day-one patch nonetheless that will add further improvements, including more cut-scenes lifted from the tie-in film Kingsglaive to help fill in gaps for those who didn’t want to watch the whole thing – take it from me, it’s not worth the effort], but the general gist is that you play Noctis, prince and heir to the throne of Lucis, which is at war with the neighbouring empire of Niflheim. Although there’s an attempt to pull you into the thick of the action at the start with a very brief and barely interactable scene clearly set in the future with an older-looking Noctis, the game really starts proper with a peace treaty to be signed between the two warring nations and with you leaving Lucis with your friends, Prompto, Ignis and Gladiolus, as you embark on a road trip to the city of Altissia where, as part of the treaty agreement, you are to wed old childhood friend Lunafreya of Tenebrae.
Despite an all-black get-up and hair styles that make them look like the world’s crappest goth boyband, there’s certainly a charm to each of Noctis’ band of brothers, though if you want to get to know them better from the outset, it’s worth spending an hour of your time to watch all 5 episodes of the anime series of FFXV Brotherhood. From moment to moment, there’s always the occasional banter between them, though the Japanese audio means I can’t really comment on whether it feels natural, unforced or if there will be any repetition.
And yet, there is something rather pedestrian about how FFXV begins. Structurally, it’s similar to Episode Duscae, both scenarios introducing you to plucky mechanic Cindy [i.e. every teenage boy’s wank fantasy] who gives you some quests in return for fixing up your ride before you can move on. But there is a stark contrast in the quality of the environments and quests on offer, which does make me wonder if the events in Duscae are even in the final game, or at least not in the same sequence, since that was far more interesting in every way.
Sure, it’s unfair to compare a tailor-made demo with the first hour of the final product. Nonetheless, it’s disappointing that instead of traversing lush green plains with majestic long-necked dinosaur creatures drinking by a shimmering lake, while attacked by a variety of wildlife, not to mention occasional skirmishes with air-dropped Niflheim, you’re wandering across a bland desert following a few dull quests to cut down some puny bugs and beasts before getting sent on a perilous-except-not-really fetch quest to advance the story. Again, you need to remember that this is just the beginning of a possibly 100+ hour epic with more drama to come. But apart from the demo’s abrupt cliffhanger conclusion, which also neatly provides an opportunity to show a teaser of even more dramatic spectacles later down the line, it’s just that even the first hour of Persona 5 was able to present a lot more mystery and intrigue before settling into the mundane or that the first hour traversing your new alien world in Xenoblade Chronicles X [with dated Wii U hardware no less] was full of more wonder than anything FFXV‘s first hour has been able to muster.
It’s probably worth mentioning Xenoblade again actually, since it’s also a Japanese open-world RPG. Critics might say that the game’s open world landscapes are pretty barren with merely lots of things either to collect or kill. The difference though is that Xenoblade manages to make this is all elevated by your character’s traversal abilities bounding across landscapes at superhuman speed and heights [and that’s before you even get to use the iconic mechs] while an MMO-inspired battle system is instantly tactically riveting. Of course, FFXV has iconic chocobos, which you’ll be able ride in the final game. But as they’re not available in Judgement, for traversal, you’ll be travelling either on foot or by car.
The sad fact is that the realism of travelling swaths of an open world on foot is by all accounts fucking boring. This comes from someone who when playing GTA V crashes his ride in the middle of nowhere and given a choice of either spending minutes trekking all the way back to civilisation or suicide would rather go with the latter. And let’s not even bring up those players who like virtual hiking through Los Santos, Skyrim or a whole planet in No Man’s Sky for hours on end. Life’s too fucking short, do me a favour and take a proper fucking hike in the real world. [Rant over, honest.]
Also don’t go expecting GTA, your car the Regalia is for all intents and purposes a fine-looking thing on rails. Although there’s some realism in that you have to actually fill up the tank every once in a while, you don’t really get to control where the car goes on the road once you’ve selected your destination. With that in mind it’s best to just to let your butler – sorry, friend – Ignis take the wheel while you spin the camera around to admire your hair blowing in the wind or fiddle with the stereo – to further tap into nostalgic fan service, you can even listen to classic midi tracks from the old Final Fantasy games. One can only hope that riding chocobos or the Regalia’s later hovering upgrade will allow you to wander off the beaten track to see what the world of Eos really has to offer.
Modernising Final Fantasy has also meant that random turn-based battles are now gone in favour of real-time action, dubbed in FFXV as ‘Active Cross Battle’, or what can be better described as tactical button-mashing. Noctis has the power to wield multiple weapons which materialise out of thin air when he needs it to strike his foes, from sword to spear to the huge greatswords Cloud made famous in FFVII, which you can easily map and switch with the d-pad whilst other common features like targeting, dodge-rolling and parrying also come into the fray, though your first hour’s battles are so rudimentary it’s not going to be of much relevance. There is however an option to also pause the action, something of a compromise for people who miss turn-based battles or just can’t cope with all the action happening onscreen. But while the system works without being over-complicated, it can’t hold a candle to the mechanics a Souls game or even The Witcher 3. Of course, my opinion remains that FFXII was perfect by just letting your party attack automatically whilst you simply managed what actions they should prioritise given the circumstances.
It’s worth noting you are only ever in control of Noctis, whilst your bros follow you merrily along. There is a kind of natural camaraderie as they back you up in battles with pats on the back to get you back up on your feet, but again, the first hour is too early to determine just how uniquely helpful they can be to your battle tactics and party dynamics, though I suspect Gladio is bound to be a solid rock for getting you out of a jam. Although Prompto wields a gun, his more noticeable actions are shooting pictures throughout the day, which you can then share on social media. Apart from being your chauffeur, Ignis also turns out to be the party chef, who can whip up some tasty meals at the end of the day with ingredients you’ve bought or looted that in turn can grant buffs for a good while.
This also feeds into a controversial twist on levelling up in FFXV. While you gain XP for defeating enemies and completing quests, this is all just banked and not added to your overall levelling until the end of the day when you either set up camp or check-in to a hotel. Not only that, but your accommodation can also affect how much XP you gain, so splashing out on luxury hotels will grant bonus XP. More important than mere numbers though is that, in nods to other Western RPGs and open-world games, your characters have their own skill trees, which you can gradually unlock with Ability Points [AP]. Even though you’ll only ever have the same four in your core party, just how frequent or rare AP is should at least mean some tough decisions on how best to prioritise whose skills, whether you should max out Noctis since you’re only in control of him, or do your best to balance everyone out.
Despite using far more words than necessary to just talk about the first hour, a lot of this may read like unfairly harsh impressions of FFXV than expected, especially compared to other existing action RPGs. Perhaps I’m just trying to heavily manage my expectations for a game that’s been too long-awaited that people don’t even know what they’re anticipating, and of course a game with such an epic story can potentially take yet more unexpected directions [spoiler: director Hajime Tabata has already explained that the structure changes midway to become more linear and also set a decade into the future]. But despite this post’s deliberately misleading title, the real final judgement of FFXV will have to come from the players themselves once it’s finally in everyone’s hands next week.
Is Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition worth playing?
A wonderful, rich and exciting game. Honestly ff15 is one of the most exciting games in the Final Fantasy series that I've played to date and it surprised me positively not only for the magnificent story and Lore but also for the great care in writing the main characters, of which my favorite is Ignis .
Is Final Fantasy 15 a good game?
We rated Final Fantasy 15 with a 5.0 after playing. If you are looking for a fun Final Fantasy experience, try some older Final Fantasy games.
What is the maturity rating for Final Fantasy XV?
FINAL FANTASY XV [@FFXVEN] / X. to keep up to date with the series! FINAL FANTASY XV ESRB Rating: TEEN with Language, Mild Blood, Partial Nudity, Violence.
Is Final Fantasy 15 a success?
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.