Final Fantasy 15 may be an incredible achievement, but fans aren’t shy about sharing what didn’t work. Chief among those complaints is a general feeling of dissatisfaction with Chapter 13. To rectify that, director Hajime Tabata and his team will be releasing a Chapter 13 update that makes major changes to the chapter’s story and gameplay.
The free update will arrive on March 28 along with the much-anticipated (and not free) Episode Gladio DLC, which explains where Gladio was when he wasn’t with you. (Prompto’s DLC episode launches in June.)
Final Fantasy 15’s penultimate story chapter’s mechanics and storyline have been widely criticized. Everything you’ve counted on and adored is taken away from you: Noctis can’t warp, can’t use his vast array of awesome weapons, doesn’t have his boy band with him and can’t even change his clothes. The chapter takes place in a series of labyrinthine floor mazes that feel both endless and repetitive, featuring tiresome jump scares that feel ripped out of some other genre.
Even the sub-bosses are a miss, with the tragic fate of a character we barely got to meet raising more questions than emotions and half the playerbase missing some of the key plot elements introduced only through random bits of paper you find lying on the floor.
In an interview with US Gamer, Tabata addressed concerns that Chapter 13 was the result of rushed development:
"The direction of Chapter 13’s content was a deliberate decision made from the development team,” he stated. "That said, the amount of stress inflicted on the player while running through this chapter was greater than we had anticipated. We believe resolving this issue will naturally lead to a better gameplay experience."
He also tried to allay concerns that Final Fantasy 15 ’ s feeling and substance would be greatly affected by the free gameplay updates his team plans to offer, Chapter 13 being one of the first.
"When it comes to the overall playability of the game and not the main plot, updating the game while receiving player feedback will not make the game inconsistent to the development team’s vision," Tabata stated. "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.”
He added that the team’s main concern is always the player’s experience, whether it be the player’s comprehension of the story or fine-tuning the player’s intended experience.
"Our main objective is to relieve any unintentional stress to the player and add elements that will expand the breadth of gameplay. Furthermore, the story will be easier to comprehend as we strengthen the connection of events surrounding this chapter. Please wait a little while longer until we announce more details regarding the updates,” said Tabata.
Are you looking forward to the free Chapter 13 update (during which, by the way, you get to play as Gladio)? What do you hope it changes or fixes? Are you more interested in the paid Episode Gladio DLC ? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below.
