๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ซ๐ฉ-
๐๐ต๐ฒ
๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป+๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ
๐๐ฒ๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐+๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐๐ด๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐บ+ ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ
๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ผ, ๐๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐, ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐๐ผ, ๐๐ฟ๐ฑ๐๐ป + ๐๐ฎ๐๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ
๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ
๐ผ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ!
It
is always a monumental day in the industry when a new Final Fantasy
game is born; with fans, newcomers, gaming industry veterans and
developers all over the world clamoring to see what new experience
Square-Enix is going to create with this 34 year old franchise that has
given many landmark moments to the video game industry. Final Fantasy is a franchise that at the peak of its era, represented the true strengths of what a video-game medium can accomplish when it comes to world building, story-telling, characterization, strategic and interesting game-play and music.
Indeed, once synonymous with the name of brilliance, popularly known as the franchise to spark the golden age of JRPGs in the PS1 era, at the turn of the 21st century came to be known as one of experimentation.
When Final Fantasy X became one of the highest selling JRPGs on the PS2 and one of the greatest games ever made following in the footsteps of the wonderful PS1 trilogy of the first 3D Final Fantasies (VII, VIII & IX); Square 'oomphed' up their experimentation in the main line Final Fantasy series. What we got were consecutively brilliant, and yet, polarizing games. Final Fantasy XI & XIV, Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XIII (trilogy), all have their lovers and haters. and they do it with a fiery passion that I have yet to see in any other RPG franchise over my many years of experience with them.
It was, therefore, a great moment when Final Fantasy XV released after it's 10 years of messy development in which it went from being a spinoff title of Fabula Nova Crystallis Mythos (known as Final Fantasy Verses XIII) to years of development hell and, finally, a complete shift to a new generation of hardware, a name rebranding, a change of director and development team and, thus, the vision.
For a game such as this, describing it is equally as hard as working on it likely was.
There is an utter monumental brilliance behind the game that exudes from every pixel it pours out onto the screen and every set piece it blows your mind with. However, that brilliance is also shattered by equally mind boggling decisions and downers that are present throughout the experience.
And, yet, at the end of all of this, what do I have to say about this new take on the Final Fantasy Formula?
Well, let’s find out.
First things first, you really can't get the full scope of everything the game has to offer until you’ve consumed every bit of information in every
medium Square stretched out the game in. There is the King'sglaive
movie; setting up the premise for the story, the Brotherhood anime;
defining core character relationships, the base game itself; which has a lot that needs to be discussed and the DLCs; that actually complete the story of the main game by showing core parts of the story from the eyes of the rest of the main characters besides the lead, Noctis. Curiously enough, there is even a novel that acts as an alternate ending, deriving events from a second season of DLC that was meant to have launched if everything had gone smoothly with
the "drip feed content" model this game tried to pull on us through the
almost 4 years of its run culminating in 2019 with "Episode Ardyn".
๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ซ๐ฉ- ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐
Let’s get to the core components of the game.
๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ก๐ ๐ฝ๐ช๐๐ก๐๐๐ฃ๐/๐๐ค๐ง๐/ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ก๐ ๐ฟ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฃ
Based off the thematic concepts from the mythos of Fabula Nova Crystallis, the lore of the game is incredible. It's complex and, yet, not hard to understand (unlike FF XIII). It’s interesting and is demonstrated well enough through story segments, overall world building and tidbits of information sprinkled throughout the world.
Square-Enix has long been a 'Master of World Building'. There is no other like Square in this department, having built numerous worlds since the advent of the Final
Fantasy Franchise. World building in Final Fantasy XV has been one of
the best in years. There is splendour, enchantment, amazement, awe and
history reflected by the walls and design of every city and every monument visible on the horizon. Each place looks as it does for a reason; could be due to an astral being's antics or perhaps the after-effects of war. The visual design lends heavily to the explanation of all these elements. The world oozes with a sense of mystery that is very enticing.
One of the most striking features of the world is it's
incredible scale. It is not often in a game that one gets to see giant
sized Astral Beings literally touching the sky, or mountain sized
turtles camouflaging among mountain ranges or randomly roaming
behemoths, colossal birds or monsters, reminding one strongly of Shadow
of Colossus and God of War with Skyrim in one single package.
As a matter of fact, this constant jaw dropping scale is what will constantly keep one invested in this world because where the world building succeeds, utterly the game design fails.
It
is clearly a mess. The world that looks so inviting is full of nothing
but empty swaths of land with random monsters roaming about. The quests
in the world are nothing more than cookie-cutter fetch and kill the
monster quests that are not even well represented or rewarding. There is
much that could have been done here; a fact that series's fans will lament for years to come.
In
contrast, one of the more brilliant examples of game design comes from
the game’s dungeons; almost all of which are masterfully designed, well
paced and were actually extremely fun to explore.
(8/10)
๐๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฎ
Gosh, this may be the worst game-play system that
Square-Enix has ever invented for a game. It feels lethargic, it feels
clunky, it lacks any thinking or strategy and most of the time, one can hardly make out what is going on the screen. In the utter chaos, one just keeps getting hit and pausing the game to chug potions to survive the battle and beg the game to trigger one of it's random summons when the going gets really tough; which, surprisingly, triggered quite often for me (contrary to what I had heard). It is a really weird battle system.
One holds the circle button to automatically combo, one holds the Square button to automatically defend and, once the MP runs out, one warps to a safe point and then warps back in.
Indeed, there are some cool features like the warping ability and the different types of weapons that work effectively on different enemies (though I hardly ever found myself using most of them).
However, the magic system is the most useless and broken system I could have ever imagined a final fantasy game to have.
Yet, at the end of it all, there are elements that still do make combat somewhat addictive and fun. Overall, though, there is no denying it is plainly a mess.
With a lot of boss battles, the game would revert to being more of an interactive cut scene rather than an actual fight. Particularly if we talk about the Leviathan fight; it is so odd that, if not for the mesmerizing performance on screen, it's no surprise if it leaves players annoyed.
Surprisingly,
the battle system actually works better and is remarkably more fun when
playing as one of Noctis’s companions. Gladio actually feels more
responsive, Ignis has the coolest combat among all and Prompto….cough, well it is an interesting way to design gun-play in fights.
There are various skill trees for each character and the camping and food play a major role in the RPG systems surrounding combat & exploration.
There are abundant camping spots where the party can rest and recover and, only there, will the whole day's accumulated experience add to their level. This actually forces the player to make camp and bond with the party members and makes the game feel like an actual road trip. Camping is definitely worth it even just to cook and see those mouth watering food items!
There are also other activities and character scenes that can be triggered, so it's best advised to camp often and enjoy that time!
Exploration is made less tedious with Chocobos to traverse the fields with. Also, it's always enjoyable to turn on your favorite radio tracks from previous Final Fantasy games, whether traversing the vast open world and taking in it's sites by car or on Chocobo.
It is worth pointing out that while the car can be controlled by the player, it makes me incredibly happy
as someone who abhors driving in open world games that this job can be
left to Ignis on auto as I take in the impressive sights of the world
and relax with my favorite music, turning the adventure into my own personal epic journey, and I think this is one factor that heavily helps in the immersion aspect of this game and in it's enjoyment.
Additionally, the car can be upgraded, towed back if you leave it somewhere and customized at Cindy's workshop. You will also need to refuel it from time to time, as the game simulates a real road trip through these features.
However, if the party is travelling by car, one major nuisance, which is omnipresent at night, is the constant obstacle of randomly spawning colossal demons which makes you turn back again and again. Better keep all your travel plans for the day because the night is dark and full of terrors. ๐
(6.5/10)
๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐จ/๐๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐
Square has been pretty famous at this point for it's sickening obsession with unmatched graphical prowess. Final Fantasy XV, too, delivers on an incredible scale. There is such complex detail packed into each pixel that it almost makes one imagine the machines running the game crying as it strives to put out the frames. It could have done with a little more optimization on consoles and it's, in fact, a marvel that the engine they built actually managed to run on base consoles at all. There are plenty of frame drops and stutters along the way. The game in the open world constantly feels chuggy. However, to my knowledge, this is more of a base consoles issue and the current/next gen consoles and PC version basically resolve these issues and are a step up in almost all directions of performance and graphical fidelity.
It is definitely one of the most beautiful looking games in this generation, with a unique art style that is highly memorable. The character and monster designs are incredibly detailed and above all, the way the graphic designers created the hair is amazing and stands out to me the most. Man, the quality of that hair works really never ceases to amaze me.
Yet, at the same time, the marks of this game's long developmental history are evident throughout in sometimes bizarre and jarring ways. There are numerous times when traversing the world you'll find the game's characters standing in a soup of varied textures with a stunning detailed art work with an extremely blurry, low polygonal model or texture as if pulled directly from the PS3 era in a mosaic mix. It's not common but it's not infrequent either, and this mishmash of legacy textures will be noticeable quite often in the dungeons which have, at times, definitely made direct jumps from the remnants of Verses XIII to this new version of the game.
8.5/10
๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐ฎ/ ๐พ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ
In the end, despite all the innovation and experimentation and world building, Final Fantasy is nothing without it's story or the characters that represent it. Each Final Fantasy has brought us plenty of memorable moments in gaming history.
Final Fantasy XV, however, is a pretty famous case in the history of this franchise and in, perhaps, gaming itself; having it's story chopped down into various parts and sprinkled throughout the various medium. What was left of the game was a barebones structure that hardly gave one the complete context of every character motivation, or displayed the proper sequence of events to help one's understanding.
There was definitely a lot happening in this story, but, it was concealed behind the scenes.
Furthermore,
you don’t even truly understand the sacrifices and the drive of your
companions until you play the DLC. The first half of the game is simply a
terrible slog. It is in the widely criticized second half, that is an on-rails linear rush to the end, that things actually get really interesting. It's unsurprising that this is why it's, narratively, the game’s strongest segment and the only segment that I want to replay the most, because the hook was just that good.
Consuming every piece of the story in it's
various mediums actually gives the whole picture and makes one lament
at the strange choices Square made. This could have been one of the most
fantastic and one of the most memorable stories in gaming and, yet, Square butchered it.
What really saved this game after all these disastrous choices?
Ask anyone and they'll say if there is one thing that Final Fantasy XV truly succeeded at, it was the camaraderie between the four main characters. All three companions of Prince Noctis are fleshed out very well. You have your strong big brother Gladio, the strategic genius Ignis and the ever gleeful Prompto making the road trip in the world of Eos ever more memorable.
It’s a shame that the bulk of their story and character motivation got shoved in the DLC when it should have been part of the main game. The DLC episodes just make one shed tears as they managed to do what the "base story" failed at; giving context to various actions of all these characters that never made sense in the main game.
Similarly, the game tried hard to establish a romantic connection between Noctis and his fiancรฉ Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, the Oracle of Eos, but, Luna was given so little screen time that it wasn’t really clear until halfway into the game, when we actually get to see her in
action, what importance she held for Noctis and Eos in general. Luna
could have been an incredible character; one of the strongest female protagonists in Final Fantasy history, but her story was lost to random events that kept happening in the background as Noctis and his companions journeyed through Eos.
Clearly, the star of the
show was Ardyn. The main villain is just incredible and undoubtedly one
of the best in the pantheon of Final Fantasy villains. Ardyn is simply
marvelous; he’s mysterious, he’s a jester, he’s chaotic and he’s a
calculating psychopath. Ardyn’s own motivation and story are also the most well done in the game, even without it's DLC. If there is one reason to experience this tale, it’s for this villain.
In conclusion, the character building has severe flaws. It's poorly executed. It's stretched thin in various mediums. The premise of the base game is poorly set up so that so many potentially important characters such as Ravus Nox Fleuret, Aranea & Emperor Nifelhiem barely get any screen time.
(7.0/10)
๐๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐
If one element hasn’t changed about Final Fantasy; it is the brilliance of it's music. Even after Nobou Uematsu, the maestro behind countless classics from the series, left, Final Fantasy has more or less retained that brilliance. This time, veteran composer Yoko Shimomura of Kingdom Hearts fame took the helm to compose for a Final Fantasy game and my God what a killer soundtrack she made.
The soundtrack elevates every moment, every scene, every location and every event in the game to such levels that even if you are annoyed by the game design, the clunky controls and the absurd direction, it will steal you away from all of these issues and make you feel each beat, each emotion and the scale of the epic that is Final Fantasy XV.
From sombre tracks like 'Somnus' to the soaring opera of 'Apocalyptic Noctis' and pondering tunes like 'Cosmogony' to more relaxed themes like 'Luna', 'Love Lost', 'Pit stop' and 'Save Haven' and
melancholic themes such as 'Ardyn' and 'Hydreans’s Wrath', 'Magna
Insomnia' and many others. The soundtrack keeps the themes it’s trying
to represent intact and varies across many genres. There are so many
fantastic tracks that I can’t even begin to name all of them. It is
literally perfection and another fine addition to the pantheon of great Final Fantasy soundtracks.
I’d suggest, if nothing else, go listen to this soundtrack. I guarantee, you simply can't get it out of your head.
(8.5/10)
๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐
The Final Fantasy DLC episodes should really have been part of the main story. They are, after all, events of the main story, but from the eyes of Prince Noctis' companions. Meanwhile, the Ardyn DLC details Ardyn’s back story while laying the foundation for alternate ending we get to see in the Dawn of the Future novel.
The DLC pieces are fantastic. For me,
narratively and game-play wise, Ignis was the most fun and heart
breaking episode. It was one of the most fantastic DLC pieces I’ve ever
played. My next favorite was episode Prompto, where we actually get to see that this happy go lucky, cheerful guy actually has an extremely dark past. Episode Gladio was narratively silly, but fun, and one trip down a linear dungeon.
Game-play wise, though, it was Gladio that was mechanically the most robust followed by Ignis, Ardyn and Prompto.
It is pretty incredible how differently each DLC plays from the other. They could be considered their
own separate games. It just shows how remarkable Luminous Engine
actually is and what can be achieved through it. Final Fantasy XV and it's various components act as a perfect demo for this engine and I really hope Square doesn’t scrap it, but builds upon the foundations it has laid down with this.
The DLCs are a must have experience of the Final Fantasy XV universe because they elevate this story to a special level.
(7.8+8.5+8.0)= 24/30=(8.0)
๐ฃ๐ข๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐
Final Fantasy XV has very bland side quests, but there is a wealth of post game content that actually makes it worthwhile to come back to. It’s pretty fun.
The collaboration quests with Terra Wars and Final Fantasy XIV clearly represent how much more the quests in this game could have been, because those two were a cut above everything in the game - being mini games or small DLC episodes in their own right.
The Pittios Ruins is definitely a dungeon worth experiencing.
The Adamantois quest looks pretty awesome even if the actual fight isn’t.
The
Imperial Fort Takeover is another example of how well all the other
quests could have been if designed around this kind of formula.
The Menace dungeons provide a strong challenge for those who want to keep coming back.
And, damn, "The Flying Car" is just mind blowing to think about. It is definitely a feat of engineering considering how smooth the whole world streaming process is around this feature.
The
NEW GAME+ is actually a very convenient option if you want to
re-experience everything in the game without going through all the
cookie cutter fodder, so yeah, at the moment FFXV royal edition is definitely worth your money, often available for under $20 on sales.
8.0/10
๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฒ
Strangely enough, the premise of the game and a major event that should have actually been the defining moment for the game’s opening chapters was shoved into a prequel movie.
The animation in this movie is lavish, the CG is one of the best I’ve ever come across and the cast of voice actors is strong.
The events of 'Kingsglaive' are of such paramount importance that I’d suggest to immediately watch this film in the opening hours of the game, because this movie provides the true motivation to continue this journey, while introducing characters
such as King Regis, Lunafreya and Ravus Nox Fleuret in detail and
setting down the reason for the whole journey Noctis goes through.
It’s still bizarre how Square Enix had the money to throw into this film, and yet, couldn't represent these events in the game itself and make those opening hours worthwhile.
(7.5/10)
๐๐๐ช๐ก ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐- ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ซ๐ฉ ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐น
I have mixed feelings towards this novel. The novel actually details the events of the second season of planned DLCs that were cancelled; namely episodes Luna, Aranea and Noctis, with only Ardyn among them surviving the cut.
The novel quite cleverly carves an alternate path for a different ending. Perhaps a happier one in some respects, and more in line with the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos; 'of challenging fate' set through Final Fantasy XIII. But, personally, I don’t like it.
I prefer the original ending since it’s just so much more fulfilling, tragic and makes it significantly different from other Final Fantasy games (particularly the theme of XIII).
(unscored)
Brotherhood Anime
This was a weird inclusion in this whole saga,
but it basically presents another facet of the story and characters
which I feel somehow could have been represented within the game.
The anime is a bunch of episodes from Noctis' childhood focusing on how the companions got together, Noctis' importance in the world as a chosen one and how the bonds between these four companions strengthened. The weirdest thing about it is that it cuts between the bland opening segments of the game where Noctis reminisces about all these memories while escaping the Empire. If only this was in the game instead of the anime, it would have improved it to a great degree.
As for the quality of the anime itself?
It is done by A1 Studios and is a well animated, beautiful looking drama of five episodes. The overall story content succeeds at making you empathize with the "royal bro team". Definitely recommended to watch during those early opening segments of the game to build pace and motivation to continue through the story.
(7.5/10)
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
After evaluating all of the content in the Final Fantasy XV universe and capturing the essence of the lore and story in it's entirety, how do I actually feel about Final Fantasy XV?
Well, Final Fantasy XV had everything it needed to make it one of the greatest games in the series and, yet, it actually ended up being the worst Final Fantasy mainline title released to date. A very flawed experience.
But the thing is, despite all of that, it managed to touch my heart and actually give me a reason to come back to it again. That alone, for an objectively bad game, is a hallmark of brilliance in my eyes.
A strange conundrum, I suppose?
There is, however, one thing that clears this confusion. It may have been a flawed experience,
but with great lore, world building, characters, soundtrack and mind
blowing set pieces it still retains every right to be called a Final
Fantasy game. It was a worthwhile and fun experience. It’s a story of wonder, sacrifice, romance and tragedy. All of that considered, it’s definitely still a strong recommendation from me!
8.5/10
True Overall Score
World Building= 8.0
Graphics/Performance= 8.5
Game-play (Excluding DLC)= 6.5
Characters/Story+ DLC & film & anime= 7.0+8.0+7.5+7.5= (7.5/10)
Extra-Content-Replayability= 8.0
Music= 8.5
My overall personal opinion= 8.5
(8.0+8.5+6.5+7.5+8.0+8.5+8.5)/7 =
7.9/10
Written by 'Mystic Neko' & Edited by 'BehalielTide'
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