Final Fantasy XV Director Provides More Details On Upcoming Changes To Chapter 13

Despite the overwhelming outpouring of praise heaped on Final Fantasy XV when it finally released at the tail end of 2016, not everyone was satisfied with the overall package that was presented to them after nearly a decade of waiting. Indeed, as the number of players reaching the final moments of Noctis’ journey increased, so too, did criticisms that the JRPG’s latter chapters felt considerably more rushed and linear in comparison to its earlier portions. Chapter 13 in particular, which makes a drastic change to the game’s tempo, has taken the brunt of these criticisms, with director Hajime Tabata having stated previously that feedback has been taken into account and changes are on the way.

Since then, we’ve not heard much about the proposed improvements Tabata intends to make, but in a recent interview with USGamer, the director rubbished claims that Final Fantasy XV‘s latter half was rushed in order to meet deadlines, stating that what was included on the disc was a “deliberate decision” made during development. As for what Tabata plans to change, no specifics were mentioned, but he does reveal that post-patch, players won’t be looking at a completely different game.

We do not intend on making this a completely different game from what was already delivered to the players. We are making changes in order to deliver a further enhanced gameplay experience for those who have purchased and played the game, but this is not necessarily limited to Chapter 13.

Judging by what Tabata goes on to tell the site, it appears as if the focus of improvements to Chapter 13 will be on alleviating the “stress” that it puts players under, rather than a drastic restructuring of its overall contents, with small adjustments also planned for the story in order to “strengthen the connection of events surrounding this chapter [13].”

Sadly, Tabata doesn’t hint at when the tweaks are scheduled to arrive, but does ask fans to “please wait a while longer.” Considering full-sized DLC expansions for each of Noctis’ companions and a supposed online component are planned for the game in the future as paid-for DLC, it could well be a while until the improvements see the light of day, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

In other news, yesterday saw the commencement of Final Fantasy XV‘s Moogle Chocobo Festival. If you’re down for a bit of light-hearted fun, see here for all of the details on what to expect from the free update.