Gamers report that bizarre fused characters and man/machine hybrids appear while sometimes the entire ocean does not.

Video game developer Square Enix has been frequently criticized over how long it’s taking to bring Final Fantasy XV to market. If you trace the game’s roots all the way back to the days when it was known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, it’s been in development for a solid decade, and it’s also the first non-online entry in the role-playing series since 2013’s Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

But to Square Enix’s credit, they’ve at least given fans a lot to chew on as they wait for XV’s release. There was a web anime series and CG movie, and the game’s world and characters were the feature attractions at the opening of Tokyo’s Square Enix Cafe. The company has also been generous enough to release a series of free demos of the game, with the most recent having just been made available for download in Japan last Friday.

This newest trial version bears the weighty-sounding title of Final Fantasy XV Judgement Disc, and is billed as containing a large chunk of the actual game’s opening portion. With just over two weeks until the finished version of Final Fantasy XV is scheduled to hit store shelves, Square Enix likely intended the Judgement Disc to be its last marketing push, one which would provide intrigued gamers with a big enough taste to decide whether or not they want to purchase the game.

Unfortunately, even though I haven’t run into a single glitch in 90 minutes of playing the demo, many people who downloaded the trial version have found it tastes like bugs.

https://twitter.com/hakune_GS/status/797066661236916224

Yes, the Final Fantasy XV development team has made it clear that the bond between close friends is one of the game’s major themes. Still, these pals grabbing a bite to eat together are so close that they’ve fused into one another.

▼ Leading man Noctis seems to be pondering whether he should ask these bizarre creatures what menu items they recommend or kill them for experience points and treasure.

https://twitter.com/alfalfafafa/status/797221632662126592

OK, so those are some pretty unsightly clipping errors. But hey, those are just minor non-player characters, right? Surely nothing strange will happen with the core cast of four adventurers, will it?

Guess again. Cars seem to be another problem area for the game at this point, with passengers popping through the vehicles’ hoods or simply refusing to stay in their seats.

https://twitter.com/urthr07/status/797473098945597440 https://twitter.com/yu____pi/status/797458425449889796

Noctis’ pals also get into some nutty hijinks during mini-cut scenes, as shown in this video where the muscular Gladiolus can be seen in the background levitating and stomping the air.

▼ You just can’t stand not being the center of attention, can you Gladiolus?

With all this craziness going on around him, Noctis could probably use a little time by himself in a relaxing environment. Maybe he should just go gaze at the sea for a while…

https://twitter.com/73Nenenko/status/796970961077698560

…the sea that’s turned a vibrant shade of purple.

Unless, of course, it’s disappeared entirely.

https://twitter.com/enou_tanker/status/797062020474384384

Now, the obvious explanation is that Final Fantasy XV’s open-world environment needs a lot of ironing out to remove these graphical glitches and hiccups. But there’s another possibility that one could infer from these two definitely-not-for-anyone-with-a-history-of-epilepsy videos.

https://twitter.com/Reve_core/status/797095380592697344

Maybe Final Fantasy XV’s narrative isn’t about Noctis going on a quest to save his kingdom and reunite with fiancé Luna, but simply a cautionary tale about the character’s extremely traumatic experience with hallucinogenic drugs.

Source: IT Media