Watch Final Fantasy 15 Gameplay Running on PS4 Pro
By Jason Gallagher 17 November 2016
Digital Foundry releases an in-depth analysis of how Final Fantasy XV performs on the PlayStation 4 Pro and comes away mostly impressed with the results.
The PlayStation 4 Pro has been out for about a week now, and plenty of gamers have had an opportunity to put the more powerful console through its paces. So far, results have been mixed with some supposedly supported titles like The Last of Us: Remastered having frame rate issues on the new system.
With Final Fantasy XV finally coming out in less than two weeks, some gamers are now wondering how the title’s PS4 Pro support will hold up. Luckily, Digital Foundry was wondering the same thing and put together almost seven minutes of footage of Final Fantasy XV‘s Judgement Demo running on the PlayStation 4 Pro.
Before continuing, it’s important to note that in order to actually see some of the fine details in the above video, one would have to watch it on a screen that is 4K and HDR-ready. Those still running a standard 1080p monitor aren’t going to be able to see much of a difference.
Digital Foundry begins the video by noting that Square Enix is currently offering two different graphical settings through Final Fantasy XV’s options menu. Players can choose between a high-quality rendering mode and a more lightweight option that seems to be on par visually with the original PlayStation 4. It’s worth pointing out that Square Enix is also working on a third version of the game that will run at 60 frames per second at 1080p on the Pro, but this mode won’t be ready at launch.
The high-quality mode appears to have a 3200 by 1800 resolution but Digital Foundry notes that it’s not quite perfect, with checkerboard rendering and low precision motion blur popping up from time to time. But overall, the video concludes that the PS4 Pro version of the game looks noticeably better than the lightweight version, with improvements to shadows and lighting especially dramatic. The HDR support in particular in singled out as being a great addition.
Given the previously mentioned framerate issues that some other titles have been experiencing on the Pro, Final Fantasy fans will be pleased to hear the PS4 Pro actually dramatically improves the framerate for the game when compared to previous demos running on the original PlayStation 4. Both the high-resolution and lightweight modes now run at a consistent 30 frames per second with no slowdown.
Digital Foundry does note, however, that there still seems to be a slight issue with improper frame pacing. Watch the video for the full explanation but essentially, while the framerate does hold at 30 frames per second, the game can still appear to be a bit jerky at times due to this bug. It’s interesting though that the problem seems more prevalent on the high render setting and is not as noticeable on the lightweight option.
Some fans were understandably upset when Final Fantasy XV missed its original September 30 release date, but it looks like at least one benefit of the extra time in development is that the game will have some pretty solid PlayStation 4 Pro support right out the gate. If Square Enix can patch in a fix for the frame pacing and get the 1080p at 60 frames mode out quickly, Final Fantasy XV could serve as a nice excuse for many gamers to go ahead and splurge on a PS4 Pro. Xbox fans shouldn’t get too jealous, however, as Square Enix has already confirmed that the game will support HDR on the Xbox One S.
Final Fantasy XV releases November 29, 2016 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Source: Digital Foundry (via VG24/7)
