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Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Hands-On Preview [NYCC 2014]

After spending the past few months gawking at the footage of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD released during PAX Prime and TGS 2014, I finally got the chance to go hands-on with the title during Square Enix's New York Comic-Con event. The 30-minute demo left a strong impression on me, but not everything is perfect in the world of Rubrum.

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Another interesting aspect of the combat is that you can kill certain enemies in order to get the rest to surrender. These more high-powered foes are typically surrounded by lesser enemies, so it’s a matter of personal preference for what you want to do. Do you go straight for this boss and end the battle quickly? Or do you take everyone else out in order to gain extra experience and MP? It will be interesting to see how players approach these battles during the course of the full game.

About midway through the demo, I gained the ability to transform into Ifrit, a very large demon. In order to summon this monster, I needed to sacrifice a member of my own party, which is not only hazardous, but also time consuming. However, the creature is worth the effort, as his titanic strikes and spells easily dispose of smaller troops, while also making it possible for me to deal with larger foes.

For a port of a 2011 PlayStation Portable title, I was also quite impressed with the visuals of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. The character models are beautiful and detailed, while the level that I played through, although not as detailed as other Xbox One and PlayStation 4 titles, were nice to take in. I would say that the graphics are at least on par with those found in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, which is certainly good enough for me.

One of the major issues I had with the demo is that the camera rarely felt right, despite the fact that I could control it. All too often I would find myself stuck in a corner being smashed by an enemy, or being shot from a distance by an enemy I couldn’t spot. Things were a little less difficult to handle when I wasn’t locked onto an enemy, which was an issue in itself, but considering how often I was in battle during the demo, I can’t imagine this being a real issue going forward.

Even after having the chance to demo several other titles during my time at the New York Comic-Con, my mind kept returning to the fast-paced combat of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. While Square Enix is primarily known for their RPG efforts, it appears that the developer is poised to make a splash in the crowded action genre with their latest effort.