Hajime Tabata, the director of Final Fantasy 15, is surprisingly humble in person. He speaks softly, with a slight smile, and his dress sense is uncomplicated. He is also immaculately polite. Amusing it is, then, that I meet Tabata in a Los Angeles hotel that has been fully assimilated by a garish, faux-Renaissance design that envelops every wall, ceiling, and floor. East very much meets West.
The night before I meet Tabata, he takes part in an elaborate show at the Shrine Auditorium in Hollywood, California, a venue that has hosted everything from the Academy Awards and the Grammys, to the LA Lakers and Miss Universe. Some six thousand press, publishers, retailers, and fans were squeezed into the auditorium to watch Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV, cheer at FFVX's September 30 worldwide release date, and gawk at new trailers and the Hollywood stars that introduced them.
The clear message, within a venue synonymous with such large swathes of American pop culture, was that FFXV will engage with a Western audience more than any other game in the series. What's more, Square Enix believes that—after a string of so-so sequels and rocky product launches—FFXV is the game that will make make Final Fantasy great again.
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