All The News From Square Enix's Final Fantasy XV Live Event

In the early hours of yesterday morning (or early evening in the US), Square Enix held a big event in Los Angeles. The Uncovered ¦Final Fantasy XV event, was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Hollywood, California, and hosted by internet comedians Greg Miller and Tim Gettys and tickets were free to anyone who wanted them. Those not in travelling distance of the venue were able to watch via livestream instead. it's safe to say that the company was certainly taking the launch of their new title seriously. 

It wasn't just the game being announced, as you might expect with so much glitz and glamour in the event. There's a stack of things that the RPG giant were eager to share with us, so here's our breakdown of what was on offer at the high-profile event.

The Motion Picture

Kicking off the event was the announcement of the full CG feature movie, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. This will be the third movie from Square, after Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Final Fantasy: Advent Children. The film is due to set the stage for the game, introducing some of the characters and detailing the complexities of feudal kingdoms and royal relationships. 

Square Enix have pulled in some big names for the film to perform voice acting. Veteran British actor Sean Bean will voice Regis, the King of Lucis. Star of 300 and Game of Thrones, Lena Headey is playing princess Luna and Aaron Paul of Need for Speed and Breaking Bad fame, will be playing Nyx.

The Anime Series

The next announcement was Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV. This is an anime series that consists of five standalone episodes  exploring the relationship between crown prince Noctis and his comrades. The series will be available free to stream on YouTube, where the first episode is already available. 

The Demo

There's a demo available right now! Unlike many game demos that just give a time-limited version of the game, this is a self-contained adventure in itself that features the characters and universe that you will find in the main game. Acting as a kind of prolgue to the main story, the demo features a young incarnation of Noctis as he masters various weapons, magic skills and driving. To overcome the many monsters within this fantastical dream world, young Noctis will have to build a bond with Carbuncle - his magical guide who Final Fantasy fans will recognise as a regular recurring character. Players who complete the demo will unlock the exclusive Carbuncle summon DLC for the full game at launch. The demo is available from today via the Xbox Marketplace and the PlayStation store. It's a whopping 4.7GB though so clear some space and be prepared to wait a while!

The... Pinball Game?

Bit of a strange one this. In the middle of the announcements, Square Enix announced a pinball game spin off. Loosely based on the Final Fantasy series, Justice Monsters Five is a rendition of the silver ball game found in pubs and arcades everywhere about ten years ago, but with some RPG elements thrown in. It will be coming to Windows 10, Android and iOS devices later this year as a free-to-play game. The game will be available to play in petrol stations in game in Final Fantasy XV itself, keeping in with the tradition since number VII of having engaging mini-games as light relief from the main story mode.

Final Fantasy XV

Last, but certainly not least, we have the game itself. The trailer for the game was revealed to rapturous reception. Featuring a cover of Stand by Me performed by Florence Welch, the trailer showcases some impressive looking graphics and intense battle sequences. With a spiky-haired blonde protagonist, Chocobos, summons and the signature stylised logo, this pays a lot of attention to fan service, proving that Square Enix are listening to their fanbase and trying to create the perfect game.

There are three obligatory special editions of the game as you would expect, they are all available to pre-order now:

● Day One Edition
- contains Masamune DLC weapon

● Deluxe Edition
- contains all Day One Edition content plus an exclusive two-disc steelbook including both Final Fantasy XV and the Kingsglaive Blu-ray. Also includes an exclusive car colour and the Royal Raiment costume DLC from the movie.

● Ultimate Collector’s Edition 
- only available directly from the Square Enix Online Store, the Ultimate Edition includes all Deluxe Edition content plus an additional exclusive two-disc steelbook containing the official Blu-ray soundtrack (featuring music from the game, Brotherhood and Kingsglaive) and the Botherhoood Blu-ray (containing an exclusive sixth episode) as well as a 192 page hard-cover artbook. If that wasn't enough awesome stuff, the box also includes a limited edition variant action figure.