Everything You Need To Know From Uncovered: 'Final Fantasy XV'

I'll be honest, I'm still freaking out.

A lot of information was thrown at me last night during Square Enix's Uncovered event, and it had Final Fantasy fans understandably excited about a lot of things. Twitter was buzzing late into the evening as everything rolled out. There was a lot to take in at the event, with several announcements being made and a lot of big names from the company coming up and saying their piece. After getting a chance to process the whirlwind of information I was in, here's everything from Uncovered that I'm absolutely excited about.

'Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV'

Square Enix is going big with Final Fantasy 15 and is putting out a lot of related content leading up to the game's release date. To add more backstory to the characters, Square Enix will be releasing a five-episode anime, titled Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, that delves into the friendships of Crown Prince Noctis and his three companions. The five episodes will be released piecemeal leading up to the debut of the game and can be streamed for free. The first episode is now available on YouTube. Square Enix also produced a sixth episode that will be released exclusively with Final Fantasy XV Ultimate Collector's Edition.

'Kingsglaive'

The people at Square Enix weren't content with just releasing anime; they decided to throw in a feature-length film as well. Rendered in beautiful CGI reminiscent of Advent Children, Kingsglaive revolves around King Regis's elite soldiers, dubbed the Kingsglaive, and their struggle against the dark machinations of Niflheim and its imperial army. The movie will be released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 2016 before the game comes out and will be available for download and streaming worldwide, but won't see a theatrical release.

The music of Final Fantasy has always been legendary and it's thanks in no small part to acclaimed composer Nobuo Uematsu. While he didn't have a hand in creating the music for Final Fantasy XV, it looks like the soundtrack is still in good hands. Not much of the music was revealed outside of the main theme of the game — a rendition of "Stand By Me" by Florence + The Machine. During the event, Uematsu made a surprise appearance via prerecorded video and gave Final Fantasy XV's composer Yoko Shimomura his seal of approval, so I have faith that the music will be just as epic as previous installments.

A New Demo With A Familiar Friend

Made available as of March 30, Platinum Demo — Final Fantasy XV is both a demo of the game, and yet it isn't. Where most demos are a cut from the main game, Platinum Demo is a game in its own right. It features a standalone story presenting the main character Noctis as a child and gives players a feel for how Final Fantasy XV will play out, while being whisked away to a strange dream world where you can shrink, turn into monsters and drive tiny cars. The entire time you're accompanied by Carbuncle, a creature that will be very familiar to Final Fantasy fans. The story in the demo is said to tie into the anime Brotherhood, and there's a bonus for people who play both the demo and the main game — you get to take Carbuncle with you!

Whether it's Blitzball or Triple Triad, a lot of hours have been sunk into Final Fantasy games on the minigames alone. Final Fantasy XV follows suit accordingly with its own minigame Justice Monsters Five, which is a pinball-style game that you can play in game by visiting a location with said machine. You can also pop it in your phone as it's going to be made available for iOS and Android. Preregistration for the game is available now. Not a lot of detail was given about the game in terms of how it ties in with Final Fantasy XV, but hopefully that information will come to light the closer we get to the release of the mobile app.

Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV was an absolutely amazing event and Square Enix is sparing no expense in giving fans a long-awaited game and a few bonuses on the side. The expanded universe is definitely something to be excited about and Square Enix's execution is sure to set the bar for the industry. Of course, the main thing I'm excited about is the confirmation of Final Fantasy XV's release date. No more delays! It's real, it's happening, and it's coming soon.