New Final Fantasy 15 details on crashing airships, Chocobos versus cars, and more

New Final Fantasy XV gameplay details have been revealed by way of Square Enix's latest Active Time Report, a semiregular video bulletin featuring game director Hajime Tabata.

The event was broadcast in Japanese, but DualShockers has provided a recap of all the new gameplay information discussed. Among this is confirmation that the game will feature a character progression system that functions similarly to a skill tree.

The game also isn't fully open-world in the sense of being able to go anywhere at any time. Instead it presents locations in sequence, but these are large and can be explored. As the game progresses, the locations players can travel to increase in number and variety.

In terms of gameplay, Tabata emphasised that you won't need to be good at action games to be successful in Final Fantasy XV. Despite looking very much like an action game in trailers, it is an RPG at its core. The game will introduce its systems gradually, and there will be difficulty options for those who want to tweak it.

In total, protagonist Noctis will have seven weapon types in his Armiger Arsenal. Since the weapons in Armiger are linked to story, Tabata said he couldn't reveal all of these yet.

It was also suggested that piloting the airship will be more involved than it has been in the past. Tabata said while taking off is easy, landing is a little trickier. If players crash, they'll have to start over at a checkpoint before the takeoff.

Other details that were revealed include confirmation that you'll be able to save anywhere and can fast-travel to places previously camped at.

Meanwhile, players can give Chocobos speed and stamina boosts by feeding them food. It was also revealed that Noctis's Car, The Regalia, can outpace Chocobos.

The Final Fantasy 15 release date is set for September 2016 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A PC version could come later, but nothing specific has been announced.

In April, Tabata said that, when he took over as director on the project, one of his first decisions was to conduct an analysis of the current state of the Final Fantasy brand in Japan. He found that the franchise was considered a "dying IP that had already peaked."

Despite this, fans also showed support for Square Enix and believed that the franchise could be returned to its former glory.

"One thing I've felt from fans is that they are disappointed in the current state of Final Fantasy, but still have hope in terms of where the brand could go," he said.