Exentryk
Member
Spent some time analysing the gameplay of Final Fantasy XV. There may be things that I have gotten wrong, or missed, so if you find something, please post below.
HUD
The static HUD image shows 5 weapons at any given time, and they can be cycled across to show more as required, for a total of 8 weapons. [Thanks Fuu for the attack and magic HUD gifs]
When Noctis uses magic, a toggle button is pressed which changes the menus Warp and Attack into Item and Magic. Magic can then be selected and executed. [Thanks duckroll]
The image below shows the names of the characters currently active in the party, and their HP (Hit Points). The blue gauge below Noctis's name is the Warp gauge, which I'll explain below.
General Combat
Noctis's normal attacks involve him teleporting from side to side while slashing at enemies with weapons. This is all automatic, and you only press the Attack command. His attacks can be cancelled if interrupted by enemy attacks.
Magic as mentioned above, is by toggling the command menu to magic, and then selecting the desired spell.
Noctis also has the ability to dodge roll to evade attacks.
When close up to enemies (or other situations), Noctis will perform other actions like kicking enemies, jumping over them, slamming their heads, grabbing onto Behemoths, etc. This is also via the Attack command.
The party consists of three active members, and the party members can be fairly far away from Noctis (see images under MAP). It is also possible to play as characters other than Noctis. Prompto uses guns as weapons, while Gladiolus uses heavy swords. Players can switch between characters in the middle of a fight seamlessly.
The image below shows the player controlling Prompto (note that the HUD is not working, and still shows commands for Noctis).
See the gifs below for Noctis' Attack, Magic and Other actions.
Weapons
The weapons can be cycled seamlessly. There appear to be 8 weapons in the deck, and 5 are displayed at any given time. [Thanks duckroll]. The weapons cycle toward the right and there were no leftward cycles. It suggests that only one button is allocated for it, or they just didn't bother with leftward cycles. I am guessing that you will not be able to cycle to the left, as you are unable to see which weapon you'll cycle to.
Back in 2011, Nomura said the game has swords, axes, spears, handguns, machine, guns, rifles, bazookas, shotguns, and so forth. Players can equip weapons, multiple weapons, by setting them on a menu screen. Weapons can automatically change depending on your combo.
In the image below, you'll notice that the first and third sword (from left) are repeated [Thanks Soriku], suggesting that either multiples of the same weapon, or different weapons in the same class (Spear, Double-handed sword, dagger etc) can be added to the deck.
WARP
Warp works by locking onto a point and pressing the Warp command. These lock-on points are shown by an orangish-yellow circle for enemies and a faint blue circle for terrain based points. Warping is restricted to these points only, and one cannot freely warp to wherever they want. Also note that the Warp command will be greyed out until you're close enough.
I am guessing the locking on will be via a single button similar to previous Kingdom Hearts games.
Warp is a Noct-only ability. We saw examples of its "short" version in the latest trailer, but expect some footage of a "long" warp in the future. Noctis' warping is limited to the amount of bars in the blue gauge, which in the gif below means 4 times. It is not known at this stage as how the Warp gauge fills up. In the gif below, notice the yellow coloured lock-on on the soldier, the faint blue lock on above the soldier and the depletion of one bar of the Warp gauge (under Noctis' name).
It is worth noting that some parts of the gameplay trailer don't show the depletion of the gauge, meaning either the HUD is plastered on, or the gauge is not working in those particular cases.
Images below show some examples of enemy and terrain lock-on points. [Thanks BlazingDarkness for identifying Terrain lock-ons]
LINKFORM
Linkform is a special ability that causes weapons to rise and circle around Noctis, and him striking the enemy once with every weapon in his armoury. Another point to note is how the soldier is being constantly struck by Swords falling from above. Not sure if this ability also reduces the damage you take, like shown in the trailers.
It is currently not known what restricts the repeated use of the Linkform ability.
Party Member Assists
Companions support the player with co-operative attacks and respond to situations with autonomous actions.
Example: To trigger the 3rd (Gladiolus Cover) sequence, the player moves Noctis in a specific way while allowing the Behemoth time to perform his "standing up" action. And even though Gladiolus is far away from Noctis, the sequence is initiated.
MAP, Video etc.
The gifs below show the MAP and VIDEO functions. Could this be linked to Noctis's phone, and appear/disappear at the press of a button?
Other comments:
Summons are also in the game. They will need to be defeated to be obtained. The summons have a ranking system (hierarchy), and Leviathan is one of the highest ranked summons. That is the reason for its large size.
Multiple body parts of enemies can be targeted. Larger enemies can also be climbed on to, which will give the player the opportunity to strike weak points.
We are still waiting to learn more about the following:
Is Magic use restricted by MP (Mana/Magic points)?
What restricts the use of Linkform ability?
I look forward to new trailers to help answer the above questions. For now, I hope this analysis was enough to give you a basic understanding of the flashy and fast paced gameplay.
Trailers:
High Quality Trailers for download:
Lastly, if you haven't had enough of the WARPing, here's another GIF
HUD
- Warp
- Attack
- Link Form
The static HUD image shows 5 weapons at any given time, and they can be cycled across to show more as required, for a total of 8 weapons. [Thanks Fuu for the attack and magic HUD gifs]
- Item
- Magic
- Link Form
When Noctis uses magic, a toggle button is pressed which changes the menus Warp and Attack into Item and Magic. Magic can then be selected and executed. [Thanks duckroll]
The image below shows the names of the characters currently active in the party, and their HP (Hit Points). The blue gauge below Noctis's name is the Warp gauge, which I'll explain below.
General Combat
Noctis's normal attacks involve him teleporting from side to side while slashing at enemies with weapons. This is all automatic, and you only press the Attack command. His attacks can be cancelled if interrupted by enemy attacks.
Magic as mentioned above, is by toggling the command menu to magic, and then selecting the desired spell.
Noctis also has the ability to dodge roll to evade attacks.
When close up to enemies (or other situations), Noctis will perform other actions like kicking enemies, jumping over them, slamming their heads, grabbing onto Behemoths, etc. This is also via the Attack command.
The party consists of three active members, and the party members can be fairly far away from Noctis (see images under MAP). It is also possible to play as characters other than Noctis. Prompto uses guns as weapons, while Gladiolus uses heavy swords. Players can switch between characters in the middle of a fight seamlessly.
The image below shows the player controlling Prompto (note that the HUD is not working, and still shows commands for Noctis).
See the gifs below for Noctis' Attack, Magic and Other actions.
- Attack
- Magic
- Other
Weapons
The weapons can be cycled seamlessly. There appear to be 8 weapons in the deck, and 5 are displayed at any given time. [Thanks duckroll]. The weapons cycle toward the right and there were no leftward cycles. It suggests that only one button is allocated for it, or they just didn't bother with leftward cycles. I am guessing that you will not be able to cycle to the left, as you are unable to see which weapon you'll cycle to.
Back in 2011, Nomura said the game has swords, axes, spears, handguns, machine, guns, rifles, bazookas, shotguns, and so forth. Players can equip weapons, multiple weapons, by setting them on a menu screen. Weapons can automatically change depending on your combo.
In the image below, you'll notice that the first and third sword (from left) are repeated [Thanks Soriku], suggesting that either multiples of the same weapon, or different weapons in the same class (Spear, Double-handed sword, dagger etc) can be added to the deck.
Some weapons.
Lance:
Sword:
Sword 2:
Short Sword:
Spear:
"Buster Sword":
"Buster Sword 2":
Knife:
WARP
Warp works by locking onto a point and pressing the Warp command. These lock-on points are shown by an orangish-yellow circle for enemies and a faint blue circle for terrain based points. Warping is restricted to these points only, and one cannot freely warp to wherever they want. Also note that the Warp command will be greyed out until you're close enough.
I am guessing the locking on will be via a single button similar to previous Kingdom Hearts games.
Warp is a Noct-only ability. We saw examples of its "short" version in the latest trailer, but expect some footage of a "long" warp in the future. Noctis' warping is limited to the amount of bars in the blue gauge, which in the gif below means 4 times. It is not known at this stage as how the Warp gauge fills up. In the gif below, notice the yellow coloured lock-on on the soldier, the faint blue lock on above the soldier and the depletion of one bar of the Warp gauge (under Noctis' name).
It is worth noting that some parts of the gameplay trailer don't show the depletion of the gauge, meaning either the HUD is plastered on, or the gauge is not working in those particular cases.
Images below show some examples of enemy and terrain lock-on points. [Thanks BlazingDarkness for identifying Terrain lock-ons]
LINKFORM
Linkform is a special ability that causes weapons to rise and circle around Noctis, and him striking the enemy once with every weapon in his armoury. Another point to note is how the soldier is being constantly struck by Swords falling from above. Not sure if this ability also reduces the damage you take, like shown in the trailers.
It is currently not known what restricts the repeated use of the Linkform ability.
Party Member Assists
Companions support the player with co-operative attacks and respond to situations with autonomous actions.
- Noctis parrying the Iron Giant multiple times, followed by Gladiolus and Prompto assist.
- Prompto shooting the enemy, with his hand on Noctis' shoulder
- Gladiolus defending Noctis from Behemoth
Example: To trigger the 3rd (Gladiolus Cover) sequence, the player moves Noctis in a specific way while allowing the Behemoth time to perform his "standing up" action. And even though Gladiolus is far away from Noctis, the sequence is initiated.
MAP, Video etc.
The gifs below show the MAP and VIDEO functions. Could this be linked to Noctis's phone, and appear/disappear at the press of a button?
- MAP - The map also shows the party members. The symbol to the right of Noctis (arrow on map) is for Gladiolus and the other is for Prompto. [Thanks Raven777]
- VIDEO - Noctis talking to Gladiolus.
Other comments:
Summons are also in the game. They will need to be defeated to be obtained. The summons have a ranking system (hierarchy), and Leviathan is one of the highest ranked summons. That is the reason for its large size.
Multiple body parts of enemies can be targeted. Larger enemies can also be climbed on to, which will give the player the opportunity to strike weak points.
We are still waiting to learn more about the following:
Is Magic use restricted by MP (Mana/Magic points)?
What restricts the use of Linkform ability?
I look forward to new trailers to help answer the above questions. For now, I hope this analysis was enough to give you a basic understanding of the flashy and fast paced gameplay.
Trailers:
High Quality Trailers for download:
Lastly, if you haven't had enough of the WARPing, here's another GIF