Final Fantasy 15 is half complete after two years of development according to the game's new director Hajime Tabata.
Speaking to GameInformer Magazine, Tabata commented, “We kind of started from the beginning of the game, so the first part is more complete than the others.”
In a separate interview with Kotaku, Tabata explained that this figure represents 55 per cent work over the two years Tabata has been part of the project. He added that the game’s systems are more or less in place already. Tabata says that following the release of the game's demo early next year, there shouldn’t be too much of a wait until launch, certainly not years.
Tabata came on-board the Final Fantasy 15 project two or so years ago when development shifted from last-gen to current-gen systems.
“We re-examined Final Fantasy 15’s development structure,” he commented. "We had the gameplay team, the cinematics or CG team, and the game engine team. And we finally merged them all together to work on this game. I think we can deliver the best that Square Enix has to offer.”
Tabata noted that, “The Final Fantasy 15 trailer was all in-game engine, except for the part with the spaceships flying. That was pre-rendered.” The graphics seen in the trailer should represent 70 per cent of graphical quality while the demo will be around 80 per cent.
He went on to say that while parts of the game will be open world, it won't all be; as this would "kind of defeat what makes a Final Fantasy game Final Fantasy—which is the dramatic and cinematic storytelling. The game is balanced to ideally satisfy those fans who like traditional Final Fantasy storytelling so they can feel like they’re following an epic story.”
Fansite Nova Crystallis has released a trailer analysis of Final Fantasy 15's Tokyo Game Show trailer.