In light of the recent changes, I'm come to the realization that Versus XIII should have never been renamed XV.
I think the changes stem from that re-branding itself.
We know the numerical FF's serve as the flagship titles, representing the franchise as 'essential Final Fantasy experiences.'
Final Fantasy being a commercially successful franchise, that puts a lot of pressure to appeal to wider audiences. Which I think is the "issue" if you will, with XV. Even with all the factors that seemingly plagued this game's development, none of them have affected its development as drastically as the re-branding (for better or worse).
As a spinoff, the game felt quite experimental as far as FF's go. As Nomura mentioned in the past, the game was meant to be progressive, while challenging series norms. Without the pressures of being a mainline title, Nomura had time and license to do just that. Being re-branded into XV caused a lot of that leeway to go out the window. Now the game has to get out the door on a tight fiscal schedule. And any necessary sacrifices will be made to meat that deadline.
The game itself seems to have shifted in tone too. I definitely recall the Versus XIII footage being darker and moodier, both aesthetically & tonally. Which makes me think that the game originally was also going for M rating, much like Type-0. Little details like how characters and enemies bled in battle affirmed that. I'm a bit sour, but still look forward to FFXV a great deal. I just hope they don't make any other drastic changes, like removing airship traversal or the environmental damage. Well they did remove one of the game's key main characters after 9 years (because reasons), so who knows at this point.
Side note, I think aesthetically, this target render was a sweet spot:
I think the changes stem from that re-branding itself.
We know the numerical FF's serve as the flagship titles, representing the franchise as 'essential Final Fantasy experiences.'
Final Fantasy being a commercially successful franchise, that puts a lot of pressure to appeal to wider audiences. Which I think is the "issue" if you will, with XV. Even with all the factors that seemingly plagued this game's development, none of them have affected its development as drastically as the re-branding (for better or worse).
As a spinoff, the game felt quite experimental as far as FF's go. As Nomura mentioned in the past, the game was meant to be progressive, while challenging series norms. Without the pressures of being a mainline title, Nomura had time and license to do just that. Being re-branded into XV caused a lot of that leeway to go out the window. Now the game has to get out the door on a tight fiscal schedule. And any necessary sacrifices will be made to meat that deadline.
The game itself seems to have shifted in tone too. I definitely recall the Versus XIII footage being darker and moodier, both aesthetically & tonally. Which makes me think that the game originally was also going for M rating, much like Type-0. Little details like how characters and enemies bled in battle affirmed that. I'm a bit sour, but still look forward to FFXV a great deal. I just hope they don't make any other drastic changes, like removing airship traversal or the environmental damage. Well they did remove one of the game's key main characters after 9 years (because reasons), so who knows at this point.
Side note, I think aesthetically, this target render was a sweet spot:
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