I honestly don't mind if all of XV takes place in a specific hemisphere/region of the world. If anything I actually prefer it over the globe trotting approach. Jumping off of Tornak's post, the game design of XV is rooted in the concept of fantasy based on reality, and the immersion that should bring. The game's world itself is intended to be vast and (apparently) as seamless as possible. Although it is still an RPG at its core. And if executed well, the goal is to have narrative and functional game design complement one another. In other words, a balance between density and scale. Especially considering the console specs that the game is developing with. I think the map is designed that way, because they are designing around limits, without having to sacrifice the actually scope and vision of the game.
I'm sure Nomura/Tabata could've opted for a whole worldmap like past FF's, but I'm certain the tradeoff for that would've have been less detail and uniquely crafted environments, and a less seamless design. Just look at the map itself, the structure was hand modeled physically then scanned, instead of created digitally. It was tailored specifically to serve both the narrative and the open world design. The team even climbed mountains to get a sense of scale and experience and applied that understanding to that game's world. You want the world to feel alive and convincing, but also serve its mechanical purpose. Which is (I'm sure) a lot harder to do than it sounds. Ultimately, I see the backdrop of XV as a regional conflict involving several world superpowers and the smaller nations cities caught in the conflict. Which is more convincing of drama than the world ending for the umpteenth time. I'm rambling, but I think it makes sense. And I'm sure I'll appreciate the execution when I play it for myself.
And if you think about it, this kind of sets things up perfectly for potential XV sequels, since there would be even more of the unseen world to explore.
I agree completely with all of this, thank you for typing it all out. I don't have anything really to say other than I agree on every point. However, for the sequels, I believe they said they weren't doing that idea anymore, but we'll have to wait and see.
Very excited to explore the world, I'm actually playing through FFXII right now as I never got very far as a kid when I had the game and ended up selling it because I wanted the money for something else at the time (I don't know why I did that). The world in its own way feels seamless (with zone borders obviously) but it feels a lot like XV is taking a lot of evolutionary steps from what XII expanded/innovated on as if IT was the previous game in the series and NOT XIII.
XII has big expansive world making everything feel connected even with zone borders
XV will have big expansive world with no borders making things feel connected
XII has gambit system to control flow of battle
XV will have a gambit system to control flow of battle
XII seamless battles with ATB elements
XV will have seamless battle with action elements
XIII took a step backwards...
XIII map areas feel too linear like X's and more like an on rails experience
XIII has random battles with generic backgrounds of the area that take you out of the immersion
XIII battle system is very clunky doesn't innovate in good ways (wont go into detail for the sake of brevity)
Many other things to compare, but you get my point... My points on XIII are of my own opinion, so please no one get offended if you disagree, this is just how I view this game. I truly believe that XIII was a step backwards, and XV is very much a step forward for Final Fantasy.
I don't see Final Fantasy EVER return to a true turn based battle system like the past games or with XIII unless it's something like what XII had, or perhaps making some BIG changes with how its presented and how the battle flows, because it's very dated at this point.
Anyways, I'm excited to get into the world of XV!
