I thoroughly enjoyed this game, more than any other game this year for sure. It's a unique game, much different than anything in the market, which I really appreciate. It has many great, memorable moments that reminded me of why I loved FF in the first place. However, I think the opinions on it will be very polarizing, mostly due to how uneven it is and how the 10 years development hell is apparent on it.
- I loved the battle system. It's a different take on RPG battle systems, that values positioning and strategy, and combine it with action elements like timing and execution skills in a very engaging combat. I think many people will dislike it, due to the fact that it's not a 100% Action RPG, but looks like a one. I personally loved it, and enjoyed the high learning curve it needs to master it, regardless of how - sadly - easy the main story is.
- Loved how every royal arm has it's different animations, attributes, and warp strikes. They add so much needed variety to the combat.
- Magic crafting is an interesting system. There's a lot of options to craft, including stop, venom, heal, etc. Sadly, I don't the system works well with the fluid flow of the combat, but I found it to be a good battle starter against bosses.
- Enjoyed the ring magic. Can't say more about it due to spoilers, but there's more to it than the death spell, and it got really flashy effects.
- Sadly, side quests are very xenoblade-y. However, there's much good side content in the game, in the form of Niffelhim basses to infiltrate, super bosses hunts to take, and optional dungeons to explore.
- Sadly, side quests are very xenoblade-y. However, there's much good side content in the game, in the form of Niffelhim basses to infiltrate, super bosses hunts to take, and optional dungeons to explore.
- You've already seen most of the open-world part in the promotional material, sorry guys.
- The art direction, music, and monster gallery were all excellent, but most of you already know that.
- I think I overall prefer the linear part over the open world part, but I expect this to be an unpopular opinion. The linear part, for those who asked about how linear is it, consists of large dungeons mixed with crazy set pieces. One of those dungeons I absolute adored, and the setpieces I found very impressive for an open world game, and surely very memorable. Loved each one of them. I have to say though that most people who watched the set-pieces in the spoiler thread thought they sucked, so maybe I just have a bad taste, or maybe they're just much better if you're the one playing!
- The story is a hot mess. Can't talk about it without going into spoiler territory, but the rewritings are very apparent here, and the first 8 chapters have basically no story. Story and its presentations are the weakest links in the game, and its major problems.
- That said, it had it's moments that I adored. Highlight was the last chapter, which I thought was truly perfect, including the ending that I consider as one of my absolute favorite endings in the series. I also thought the villain was overall pretty good, with some issues that I'll detail when the game is out.
- That said, it had it's moments that I adored. Highlight was the last chapter, which I thought was truly perfect, including the ending that I consider as one of my absolute favorite endings in the series. I also thought the villain was overall pretty good, with some issues that I'll detail when the game is out.
Please keep in mind that I'm a person who waited 10 years for this game. It was part of my childhood, teenage years, and adulthood. I was - and still - very emotionally invested in it. I don't know if that makes me more forgiving, or more critical, but I tried to be objective as much as I can writing this post.
Final Fantasy XV is more than the sum of its parts, and I loved it for that.
It's not exactly the return to form that people hoped for, but it certainly a huge step in the right direction, and I absolutely can't wait to play Tabata's next big game, where he hopefully won't have to deal with someone else baggage and development mess.
I hope you all enjoy Final Fantasy XV as much as I did and more.
EDIT:
- Can't believe that I forgot to talk about the party! I know they're controversial, but I loved them! One of my favorite parties in the series, and a return to form after disliking XIII and XII parties. Friendship is a recurring theme in most JRPGS, but this the first time it was done that well imo. While not terribly interesting individuals, XV's party works great as team, and they have on of the realest chemistry I experienced in any game.
