Read Mixed User Reviews for Final Fantasy XV on PlayStation 4

SeanAnderton

Nov 30, 2016

6

I've been a fan the the FF series for quite a while now, however many fans have found the last few entries to be disappointing. With this new game trying to restore the once good name of Final Fantasy, and overcome the troubled development, and also create an experience for old fans and newcomers, Final Fantasy XV has a titanic task ahead of it. Does it live up to the hype? Short answer,I've been a fan the the FF series for quite a while now, however many fans have found the last few entries to be disappointing. With this new game trying to restore the once good name of Final Fantasy, and overcome the troubled development, and also create an experience for old fans and newcomers, Final Fantasy XV has a titanic task ahead of it. Does it live up to the hype? Short answer, not really.

FF15 isn't a bad game (although I'm going to rail on it and you're going to get really mad at me, but hear me out). It's just such a mixed bag throughout. The characters aren't bad, but compared to previous FF games, they're pretty bland. They look like four near identical emo boys who just got gift cards to Hot Topic The only way to tell them apart is their hair. When I think back to the diverse casts that had men, women, white, black, old, young, human, non-human, I remember how much I loved those old characters. These four dudes are fairly dull by comparison. Throughout your game you don't recruit new party members or get to choose from a list. It's just the same four boys all day every day.

The story is nonsense. It starts off fairly simple and I understood what was happening, even if it was pretty bland. But as the story ramps up, it quickly becomes incoherent, mainly because the game doesn't give you the information to understand what's going on. There is a supplemental anime and movie, but I didn't watch them, and from what I've heard they're pretty confusing as well, so I don't know that they would help. All I can say is, if I buy a game, it should have a coherent story without requiring me to watching 5 hours of other junk.

The gameplay consists of traveling and fighting. The traveling is mainly on foot or by car. The car drives itself, leaving you to just stare at the scenery for long stretches. You can manually drive, but the car is on rails, so you don't even steer. And since the car is limited to about 40 MPH, don't expect to get anywhere fast. Once you reach your destination with your car, you're frequently asked to run around for long distances to reach your goal. This often means spending several minutes running through open, empty landscape after you just spent several minutes driving through open, empty road. You can go long stretches of time (10+ minutes) with literally nothing happening.

Battles aren't much better. On the positive side, the battles are action packed. However, you don't really control much going on. You mainly hold down the circle button the entire time, occasionally blocking or warping. You can switch between different weapons on the fly, but they don't make much of a difference, except for sometimes dealing bonus damage on certain enemies. I was able to use the same strategy on nearly every fight in the game, because the game doesn't really ask you to use any strategy. Also, the camera likes to freak out a lot, and can become especially cumbersome when fighting large groups of enemies in narrow corridors.

Between missions you can visit various towns and pit-stops, but most have only a half dozen people in them and only a couple can interact with you. Open world games only work if you fill them up with people to see and things to do. The world of FF15 feels sparse and lonely.

The graphics are really nice, something that FF games are known for. However, most modern AAA games look great, so having good graphics doesn't really make you stand out from the crowd. The animations and character models are a mixed bag. During main story cutscenes, the graphics and animations look great, but during the side quest stuff, it looks like something from last gen or even older. Sometimes animations can look downright stiff and archaic.

The sound design is also a mixed bag. Sometimes the voice acting is quite good, other times it's laughable bad. Sometimes the music is good, sometimes it sounds like a 90's golfing game. Sometimes the ambient noise is immersive, and other times it's flat or absent. There's a "home theater" option in the audio menu, but I couldn't tell the difference between that and the default setting. I have Sony 7.1 surround sound headphones, which make most modern games sound incredible, but I found the sound mix in FF15 to be rather flat overall.

Really, at the end of the day, there are better open world games and better RPGs. FF15 isn't a terrible game, and I did get some enjoyment out of it, but overall the package feels lackluster. This is about as mediocre a FF game you can get. Not terrible, but not great either.… Expand

Aleyahliadrin

Dec 1, 2016

5

I'll list the pro and con of the game:

+ Very good graphics and textures, especially on some monsters/bosses. + Very pretty environments - The battle system is to simple and lacks depth (the magic system is terrible). - Far too many "filler" fetch quests (almost all secondary quests are filler quests) which pales in comparison to secondary quests of games such as Skyrim, fallout orI'll list the pro and con of the game:

+ Very good graphics and textures, especially on some monsters/bosses.
+ Very pretty environments

- The battle system is to simple and lacks depth (the magic system is terrible).
- Far too many "filler" fetch quests (almost all secondary quests are filler quests) which pales in comparison to secondary quests of games such as Skyrim, fallout or the witcher 3.
- The storytelling relies far too much on the kingsglaive movie and exposition.
- The open world part of the game isn't exploited to its full potential, as free exploration isn't very well rewarded by the game (secondary quest have to be fetch mostly in town hubs, you generally can't stumble upon secondary quests by simply exploring the world as in other open world game).
- Far too many time is spent in the car going backk and forth between quest hubs, which make play cessions boring.

It's far from being the worst JRPG I played, but it is far from being the best either. The game is disapointing as a Final Fantasy and makes me regret the older iteration of the franchise.… Expand

robbocroft

Dec 13, 2016

5

I'm extremely disappointed with this game. My mayor gripe is with the story, you can clearly tell it's a mishmash of unfinished bits. Like they run out of time and cobbed together everything they had. Think something like the ending of SWTOR 2 but for more than half the game. I don't understand how something so glaring didn't get mentioned in the reviews. You may end up mildly enjoying theI'm extremely disappointed with this game. My mayor gripe is with the story, you can clearly tell it's a mishmash of unfinished bits. Like they run out of time and cobbed together everything they had. Think something like the ending of SWTOR 2 but for more than half the game. I don't understand how something so glaring didn't get mentioned in the reviews. You may end up mildly enjoying the story but be warned: you'll feel like some major plot points have been left out.

My second gripe is with the combat system. But maybe it's just me because a lot of people seems to enjoy it. I find it somewhat "bare". Progressing into the skill tree doesn't open up interesting new mechanics. Plus the interface is cumbersone. You can map to quick buttons 3 of you party skills but if you want to use something different in fights you have to fiddle with menues breaking up the pace of the combat. I really don't like it but i guess that's personal

Last is the open world side of the game. It's really meh. Nothing special there to see or do. Plus moving around is a royal pain in the ass. You have fast travel but only by day. If you're stuck out there by night and you don't want to rest in a camp you have to "drive" the car manually which consists in keeping a trigger pushed and watching your veichle slowing trudging toward you destination for some minutes… Expand

Vigo

Dec 16, 2016

5

The wait for this game is comparable to the Gun N' Roses Chinese Democracy album; just because it's been in development for 10 years does not mean it's a good thing. This is evident in the final product as you can see ideas sprinkled throughout that don't all add together well. After completing the story, I can safely say this was pretty disappointing overall
The combat for example isThe wait for this game is comparable to the Gun N' Roses Chinese Democracy album; just because it's been in development for 10 years does not mean it's a good thing. This is evident in the final product as you can see ideas sprinkled throughout that don't all add together well. After completing the story, I can safely say this was pretty disappointing overall
The combat for example is not very satisfying. For the first part of the game, you can simply hold down the attack button with the occasional dodge/parry button prompt. Eventually you have more options such as magic, teammate techniques, etc but overall, there's a lot of holding down attack button. Warp striking feels like the only versatile option yet, not too satisfying. I rarely ever needed to use magic and using potions becomes a pain since there is no armor in the entire game. You can use accessories/boosts but plan on using hi-potions constantly. Why there is no armor beats me but being dressed in black leather the entire game looks retarded. Also, I have yet to have the option to use a "summon" as this is prompt sensitive at random times. So in conclusion, you can count on holding O button, reusing potions, and warp striking to get your way to the end.
The story Is not interesting. You will most likely be pretty confused as to what is going on and rely on the internet to sum it all up. You start off reclaiming your throne and towards the end, just gets confusing. Most importantly, I didn't even care what was going on at that point. Just be aware it gets confusing with some plot twist that make it more confusing. The story also tries to make you care about the bond of you and your friends, yet the characters are so terrible you couldn't care if any of them died.
The graphics/setting looks pretty neat, like a final fantasy game. Some of the textures are a little ugly but overall pretty good. I think the roads, humans, real life product placement, etc take away from the fantasy setting unfortunatley. A lot of the land is pretty empty too which leads to the next point: pacing
Where this game fails the most is the pacing. Getting from point A to B gets pretty tedious. The driving in the game is terrible and unnecessary. A lot of times you will want to fast travel (if you can) which can take some long loading times. Or you will have to fast travel to your car, then fast travel again to wherever. The best way of getting around is probably by chocobo.
In conclusion, not too good. There are good moments of battle, exploring, hunting but sadly gets overshadowed my the flaws. When those moments do shine though, they can make for what could have been a stellar game. The development time shows evidence of these sporadic good/bad ideas. I'm at the point of extras after completing the game and I will say the option dungeon was pretty cool, although not the best reward. I'm hoping some of the extra dungeons, bosses are interesting too but after the story, it almost seems too late to fully get emerged into the experience.
P.S. the music was a total let down...even the one good song from the demo "Noctis dream" isn't even in the game!… Expand

JohnnyCanuck

Nov 30, 2016

5

Give it credit for its scope and visual and some entertaining battles and dungeons, but this is more of an action game with Final Fantasy items than it is a true Final Fantasy game. The biggest issue is the lack of a full team. Everyones past FF experiences differed as they tended to favour different character combinations. But the traditional teams have had women, men, robots, animalsGive it credit for its scope and visual and some entertaining battles and dungeons, but this is more of an action game with Final Fantasy items than it is a true Final Fantasy game. The biggest issue is the lack of a full team. Everyones past FF experiences differed as they tended to favour different character combinations. But the traditional teams have had women, men, robots, animals and others. 4 guys for which you primarily play one is a real slap in the face of the fans who have for years enjoyed working with a large team of heros. If I was a female fan of FF i would be pretty steamed at this decision. Summons have little impact and are infrequent - this was always the best part of FF games. Weapon customization, job customization - instead you are left with the same basic characters for the enitre time. Get tired of Ignis - too bad, hes with you no matter what. Instead of truly looking to improve the turn based FF model, they jettisoned most of it in favour of a new game which is much less than the sum of its parts. its not a terrible game, it has pretty moments, but ultimately as a "FF" game - its more of a disappointment than a success.… Expand

Captiosus

Dec 13, 2016

5

About 30 hours played and I really want to enjoy the game more but I just can't. The first 10 hours or so were enjoyable: Learning the new world, learning the combat system, learning the skills and ascension system. But the more I play the more it started going off the rails.

Let's start with the biggest issue of all, story. I went into this game having watched both Kingsglaive (theAbout 30 hours played and I really want to enjoy the game more but I just can't. The first 10 hours or so were enjoyable: Learning the new world, learning the combat system, learning the skills and ascension system. But the more I play the more it started going off the rails.

Let's start with the biggest issue of all, story. I went into this game having watched both Kingsglaive (the movie) and Brotherhood (the anime), so I have never once felt lost or confused. However, if someone picks up the game without having touched the movie or anime, they'll be utterly lost about what they're really out there doing. The fundamental core of a role playing game is the story and being forced to go outside of the game to learn the backstory that rounds out the game is a HUGE no-no.

The real time combat system is decent but after around 10-15 hours you'll realize you're basically using the same 2-3 weapon types, doing the same combos, using the same 2-3 techniques from the rest of your party members, and just yawning your way through most encounters. The only time the encounters are troublesome is late, late at night when it sometimes feels like dropping high level daemons on you or when you get literal battalions of magitek solders dropped on your head.

Open world: This is where the game really falls apart. Most of the quests are just glorified, MMO-style, fetch and return quests but the worst problem is the insane amount of time it takes to get places. Only certain areas (cities, rest stops, some parking stops) get the benefit of fast travel, so when going from quest area to quest area you're forced to sit there and endure the wait of travel. This can take anywhere from 1 minute to 10 minutes REAL TIME depending on distance. Even IF you can fast travel, the load times are so bad that often they're not much better than waiting for the driving. After about 10 hours I realized I was waiting far more often than I was playing so I started using Chocobos instead of driving - but that's about the same, as Chocobos have most of the same design limitations as the car except they can go offroad. When riding a Chocobo, you can basically move forward and sprint. So instead of waiting to drive, you're just holding R2 to make the Chocobo run. I would say that of my total 30 hours played thus far, a good third of that - maybe more - has been spent waiting either at load screens or in transit.

Sound: The soundtrack is so utterly forgettable that I find myself purposely listening to the overworld music from every other FF game via the car "radio".

It's playable, and enjoyable for a while at first, but then it devolves into a boring waiting simulator with rote combat and a convoluted story (unless you've watched the corresponding media outside of the game). Sq-Enix tried copying the western RPG style and it's clear this is just a pale imitation.

One final note: NO ONE has made fishing an enjoyable side game. Outside of the arcadey Sega Bass Fishing, every attempt has been boring and tiresome. There's a reason fishing been extremely maligned within the World of Warcraft community and it's no better here. Game devs, stop trying to make fishing a fun side game that always devolves into boring QTE crapfests.… Expand

Jonet

Jan 7, 2017

5

XV, XV, Final Fantasy XV. I don't know where to start with you. I think things went wrong back when you were first thought up in Tetsuya Nomura's head sometime around 2006. You should have never been born. Fabula Nova Crystallis should have never been born. I don't hate you, I don't. It's not your fault. I don't know what could've made you a better game, but we will never know that answer.XV, XV, Final Fantasy XV. I don't know where to start with you. I think things went wrong back when you were first thought up in Tetsuya Nomura's head sometime around 2006. You should have never been born. Fabula Nova Crystallis should have never been born. I don't hate you, I don't. It's not your fault. I don't know what could've made you a better game, but we will never know that answer. From the zillion fetchquests that make up the majority of your substance, the bugs that litter your world, preventing certain quests from being completed, or glitches that force people out of a 2+ hour long fight that they will have to start all over from the beginning. Characters revealed in trailers that showed so much promise then failed to deliver (looking at you Ravus and Aranea). To heroines promoted as "strong woman" whose screentime is probably 5 minutes total. Characters with no background, no personality. Who is Gladio, Prompto, and Ignis? Why are these people fighting with you? No info given unless you look outside the game, and if you have to look outside the game, then you know the writer for said game has failed at their job.

Boss battles with QTEs, that will have you fighting against both a giant monster, as well as the camera, making you want to pull your hair out. Camera and Party AI is the worst I have seen in any game. Makes Tales of Zestiria look like game of the year in comparison. Party members standing around, watching as you get mauled and pummeled by enemies. Some "comrades". Still, the battle system is the best part about the game, and to me, it's the only good part. Without the battle system, XV has nothing else going for it. Music is a disappointment, doesn't stand out at all. Hard to believe it's the same composer who worked on Kingdom Hearts. I knew she'd be no good on this game. So much melodrama, scenes I supposed were meant to get a tear out of me? But how can I cry when I don't care about these characters. They have no personality, no background, why should I care what happens to them.

Then part 2 arrives, and I'd heard things get bad around this part (Chapter 9), but I thought it was all exaggerations. "It can't be that bad". Ho, ho, boy, was I wrong. Chapter 13. I can understand why Square Enix is going to patch you. At this point, the game doesn't even know what it wants to be anymore. It loses itself. It turns into Metal Gear and Resident Evil with sneaking around, looking for passcodes to unlock doors, complete with jumpscares, so much bullcrap. How long was this chapter? 2 hours? It felt like an eternity. I don't like stealth, I don't like jumpscares. I DO NOT WANT METAL GEAR AND RESIDENT EVIL IN MY FINAL FANTASY. And oh, yeah, Chapters. They go by so quick. Like one cutscene and the chapter is over. Game is littered with flashbacks, yet I feel they were all pointless. They did not convey the information they should have. Why are Noctis and Luna getting married? They have not even seen each other in 10 years, for crying out loud. The flashbacks do not show much strong bond between Luna and Noctis at all. Why include them?

Story was super simple although there are many confusing parts, and things left vague. Very predictable, everything you expect to happen, does, especially if you've been keeping up with the trailers. Characters leave the party then return, all to make way for DLC episodes that have already been announced as part of the Season Pass. The story, simply put, is an absolute trainwreck. Let's skip ahead to the ending. Oh man. Dudes just enter Super Saiyan mode, flying through the air, teleporting, just straight up becomes Dragon Ball Z or the Matrix or something. Now, I don't actually hate this part, it was actually pretty cool, but man. I really feel this game does not deserve to be a mainline Final Fantasy. It feels the least like an FF imo. It tried too hard to be a WRPG with the huge world, and zillion sidequests, and in doing so, it lost sight of its true self, what it should have been. A Final Fantasy. The ending was also kinda predictable, at least if you know Hajime Tabata's history with video games... At least now the game is out, Square Enix can finally move on completely to FF7 Remake, Kingdom Hearts 3, and, God willing, a FF16. So if you like beautiful, buggy games, lots of fetchquests to do, boring characters who you at least won't hate, a predictable plot, with a really good battle system, but poor camera and party AI, that can be beaten in under 30 hours, with an ending that will leave you scratching your head for days, then Final Fantasy XV is for you. Again, I don't hate this game... I give it a 5/10. Better luck next time, Square. coughgladIgotitusedcough.… Expand

crowjob

Dec 1, 2016

5

Just mediocre in every way. A lot of the 10 score reviews specifically mention the blatantly mediocre game features which is extra bizarre (like driving, or the character depth/story, or the combat system which is literally just holding two buttons - you can play this game blindfolded and win). This is the last time I ever buy a final fantasy title, and realizing that is quite depressing.

Clessy

Dec 14, 2016

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I just don't get where everyones coming from. I've beat every numbered ff game sans 11, 12 and 14.
FF15 isnt a bad game but man is it medicore. Its probably one of the most disopointing meh games in the series.

First lets address the ps4 version.

The ps4 version offers a crisper picture coming in at a locked 1080p. The game hits and stays at 30fps. There is sometimes a oddity in jerky animations but i'd say this is unnnoticable to most normal peoples eyes. The ps4 version has less issues with texture pop in than the xbox one version.

The xbox version runs a 720p to 900p. When the games running at 900p things look pretty much as solid as the ps4 version however, its running in 720p the vast majority of the time and honestly the picture looks soft and blurry as hell. The xbox version suffers from textures pop in and not loading fast enough a lot. This happens when theres not enough free space on the HDD. It has to load so much data that if the ff15 data isnt on the outer quicker part of the HDD then it cant load fast enough to keep up with the textures.

I've got 67 hours on the xbox one version and my friend has 200 hours on the ps4 version with everything complete. I myself on xbox only have 90% of the achivements and tons of pointless bland quest to do. He has literally every single quest, hunt, etc to include the bonus dugeons.

It shys away from the strong story telling of previous games to have a paper thin, poorly wrote, awfully explained and pretty much flaws flat on its face with its lack of depth. You build absolutely no emotion connection with luna.

Its a technical mess, glitches amass. Popin, textures loading awfully, the game having load times that make the neogeo cd look like lighting comparitly. Aimless pointless traveling thats early to mask loading issues. Games crashed on me 3 times my friends have all had it at least crash once. Im talking about just serious bugs everywhere. This isnt being repoarted from someone whos put 6 to 30 hours into the game.

The battle system lacks any depth. Its mostly just hold b. The magic system is junk feels like a after thought. The skill tree is **** Things costing 333 and above will simply almost never get bought. You'll be max level and no where near the ap you need for anything. Most of the skills you will soon realize are useless and not thought out. Especially all the ones to enhance the ammount of AP you get. They cost so much that they negate anything wasted into them.

The graphics are all over the place. Some times looking like a last gen game and not even a good one to the next minute blowing your mind.

Hallow gameplay. Most of the game is the same damn quest over and over an over. If I wanted that i'd play a western rpg. I want my quest to have real uniqueness with a story to drive them. I've literally fixed the same guys car like 3 times. The hunts have no meaning except exp. This game is literally Fetchquest Fantasy 15.

Dialog repeatition. They're trying to build up your emotional bond and people seem so captivated by this hallow experience. You're out of unique dialog or any building of bonds by around 7 hours into the game.

If you dont want a story and you want questing and you dont even want a final fantasy or anything that resembles a final fantasy maybe you'll enjoy this. This is clearly the mind of western rpg or mmo mentality spilling into a single player game.

To each his own but, the over whelming positivity and hype for this game is baffling. I've yet to meet a single person who likes the game in person and it seems to just be an online presence of this over hyping.… Expand

tstrul

Nov 29, 2016

7

Surprising that after 10 years in the making this feels rushed and uninspired.
This clearly shows signs of a spin off turned mainline game. (started as "Versus XIII").
Pros: - Has some true Final Fantasy feel to it. The classic monsters, the weapons, chocobos. The characters, while underdeveloped and plain, do feel like genuine FF characters. - The soundtrack has some reallySurprising that after 10 years in the making this feels rushed and uninspired.
This clearly shows signs of a spin off turned mainline game. (started as "Versus XIII").

Pros:

- Has some true Final Fantasy feel to it. The classic monsters, the weapons, chocobos.
The characters, while underdeveloped and plain, do feel like genuine FF characters.

- The soundtrack has some really nice tracks (though it's not as consistent as other FF entries)

- The Open World is beautiful from an aesthetic point of view

- The combat is actually fun and fluid, although it is not challenging enough imo.

Cons:

- The main character cast is one of the worst in the FF franchise. They are not annoying like in FF 13, they are just so uninteresting. Don't expect unique characters like Vivi / Cloud / Celes etc..

- The world is kinda dry. This is a game that is open world just for the sake of being open world.
The side quests are (usually) repetitive without incentive to do them and the towns and cities are lifeless.
If you are going into this game expecting Witcher3 level of world and side quests - not even close.

- Camera issues.. in a game 10 years in the making..

- Some mechanics were obviously added on as an afterthought- magic and summons
Magic in this game takes a backseat (kinda reminds the draw system from FF VIII) and battles usually revolve around physical attacks.

- The story is a mess in my opinion, don't wanna go into spoilers

If I had to compare it to other FF games I would say it's better than later iterations like FF XIII and FF XIII-2, but it is way less enchanting than the more classical entries like 6,7,10 and even 12.

Not bad overall, but leaves me feeling a bit disappointed.

7/10… Expand

sefrabu

Dec 3, 2016

5

The XVth installment of one of my favorite franchises is a horrible letdown. I allowed Enix to hype me to a great level, and I enjoyed both Kingsglaive and Brotherhood, which promised something grant. Alas, the more I went into the game, the more depressed I felt.

Let's get the good out of the way, for the sake of integrity. The music is one of very few things that will let you knowThe XVth installment of one of my favorite franchises is a horrible letdown. I allowed Enix to hype me to a great level, and I enjoyed both Kingsglaive and Brotherhood, which promised something grant. Alas, the more I went into the game, the more depressed I felt.

Let's get the good out of the way, for the sake of integrity. The music is one of very few things that will let you know that you're playing a Final Fantasy game. The moment a battle started I felt some nice vibes long time not felt. Then, the general premise of the game is amazing (though the execution thereof is abysmal) and Lunafreya might just well be the most amazing Final Fantasy character to date. Also, Noct's teenage angsts in view of the grim situation he finds himself in are nicely developed. Gameplay-wise, the leveling system is the best thing that happened to JRPGs since the sphere grid.

But.

For a game that was in development for 10 years, it is surprisingly pedestrian. As mentioned above, the overall idea for the story is great, but it is directed poorly. It is short, lackluster and incoherent, to the point I got myself thinking if the translation from Japanese was botched Final Fantasy Tactics-style and that's why the script felt like borderline lunacy.

Doing silly side quests along the way does not help at all. I really advise skipping them and doing only the main story for your first playthrough, it actually improves the experience. Unfortunately, it is not The Witcher 3, where most of the side missions are so intertwined with the story you sometimes aren't sure if it's the part of the main arc or not. At the very least, they fit the wartime atmosphere and the protagonist's profession. Here, the quests is random generic stuff, and putting it the gloomy premise that your family is dead and you're the only heir of a kingdom occupied by a Third-Reich-like empire that wants your head is just not right. The atmosphere of a road trip is adequate only to some point, and after some events take place I was expecting something like going underground and a fellowship-of-the-ring journey, but all I got was four happy-go-lucky millennials doing whatever they feel like at the moment, like fishing, or taking goofy photos during an enemy raid, and completely ignoring the fact that they're seriously screwed. Nope.

The graphics is "just okay", I'm actually quite baffled by it being praised all around the web. The models of the main and main-supporting characters are great, many of the locales are really outstanding, but to balance this, some parts of the world look like a generation below. In towns some non-essential NPCs look like taken directly from FFX, and you can see their exact clones sometimes mere meters from each other. It is that bad.

The world is huge, but astoundingly unremarkable and painfully empty. It is great and monumental to watch from the car, but as soon as you get off Regalia, you are treated to vast and plain nothingness. Exploration is a bit meh, and traveling by foot will bore you to tears, as both enemies and points of interest tend to be scant (the former is especially bizarre for a FF game). Dungeons have the graphic suggesting they are generated procedurally and mostly feel like a chore.

And there are those small things that make you involuntarily facepalm in utter disbelief. No, not only the revelations of the dumbest Final Fantasy story ever, although they definitely get the cookie. They are small things. Like invisible walls, or obstacles on the level of Noct's bellybutton, which he can't get through; or the moments, when you climb a higher ground and realize you can't jump over a wall just below, because it invisibly extends to the sky. Or those moments, where you slowly move over a thin ledge, and your teammates won't go over it unless you look away to allow them magically reappear next to you - because they don't have the animation to go over the ledge. Or the moment where one of your teammates is whisked off by a Mysterious Something, which happens, of course, when you're not looking, and you try to locate him by listening to his screams, but you can't, as the audio is inconsequential and all over the place. Small things? True, but for a PS4 game 10 years in the making? From one of the most experienced developer in the gaming industry ever?

If it was a spin-off game, or another Square franchise, made on a whim in a year, I would let it go. But as a person who played every single Final game since FF4, and of an opinion that most of them constitute some kind of a breakthrough not only in the genre, but in the industry at all, I do not only feel disappointed, I feel plain offended… Expand

Pendrodamus

Nov 29, 2016

6

This is a tough one. I've always had a soft spot for Final Fantasy, and I can't say I hate any installment, bar the 13 series (if only because it's soooo boring). Having said that, I think FF XV is an okay installment. It's got some pretty graphics, there's plenty of cute girls AND guys (for the people who enjoy looking at models straight out of victoria's secret). The combat is decentThis is a tough one. I've always had a soft spot for Final Fantasy, and I can't say I hate any installment, bar the 13 series (if only because it's soooo boring). Having said that, I think FF XV is an okay installment. It's got some pretty graphics, there's plenty of cute girls AND guys (for the people who enjoy looking at models straight out of victoria's secret). The combat is decent enough, you got option. You got summons. The movement is okay, nothing wrong with it. Unfortunately that's really all I can say positive about it.

Now for the negatives. The car, which I was excited for, is nothing more than a glorified waypoint traveling device.You barely have any control in it, I find it impossible to use off roads, and if I'm being honest, the game would've been better if you just instantly teleported to your next destination. It lacks the punch and pizazz of a cool airship, and I don't think you get the flying car anywhere near when it would be useful. Too little, too late i'm afraid.

The story is even more out there and nonsensical, especially by Final Fantasy standards.There's a war and some magical curse and the moon is evil (Majora's Mask anyone?) and Noctis has to do something. I couldn't be bothered to pay attention.

The lands you travel over are so devoid of life. And when you finally do find some generic mob to beat up, they die almost instantly. It once again falls prey to the Final Fantasy formula of enemy mobs being weak enough to not warrant wasting status effects on, but at the same time they're not strong enough to warrant investment in any fight. You just mash the button and the game plays for you once you really understand how combat works.

After 10 years in development, this wasn't worth the weight. There's redeeming factors, like the music and the occasional pretty setpiece, but at the end of the day it didn't grab my attention.… Expand

Schwachkorb

Dec 1, 2016

7

A group of young men are on a cross-country journey with their Australian father to see One Direction live in concert. However the road is riddled with aggressive homeless people and aliens, so their journey is perilous.

Jamesshen

Dec 8, 2016

6

Well just played into 67th hours in the game. Planning to change my score so far
Well im a long term final fantasy fan, don't get me wrong that i'm bias or something.
Initially i gave this series a 10/10 but after long hours of gaming, i decided to change my score Pros - beautifully drawn characters and nice animations - superb combat gameplay (something refreshing) - good musicWell just played into 67th hours in the game. Planning to change my score so far
Well im a long term final fantasy fan, don't get me wrong that i'm bias or something.
Initially i gave this series a 10/10 but after long hours of gaming, i decided to change my score

Pros
- beautifully drawn characters and nice animations
- superb combat gameplay (something refreshing)
- good music

cons
- very poorly written story
- no female permanent character
- so many pointless side quest- fetch quest
- so few summons and magics
- no romance in the show
- very long loading time

Well i think the precious final fantasy series such as X, VII, VIII, IX, XII are a lot better than this series. What made them better than final fantasy XV?

- As i said before, the story. The story had no depth at all. Developer had been so focused on combat and animation but forgets to write a good story. What is the point? I would rather had good story and average animation in final fantasy
- There are very little to no love story in this game. Look at lunarfreya, im not even sad after she had died. Because she had such a low screen time. Im sadder if iris died.
- Love story is very important in every final fantasy series. Those without it tends to have poorer performances
- And the side quest are so annoying. I freaked out doing side quest. Its one of the worst i have ever seen
- One more thing is that no female supporting characters to control. I wished they could let iris stay longer in the group. This is so frustrating. Come on, most of the gamers for final fantasy are guys. Why are you showing me a group of nice looking males. Are we gay or what? At least show us some likable female characters that we can control in our main game play.
- and look at the summons, the animation is very good but i can't use it whenever i want. It just came out randomly. And there are so few summons. And i hate the design of ifrit and bahamut. They are drawn so ugly
- One more is the loading time. There are at one point where i would just want to throw the controller on the floor because of the freaking long loading time

Ok enough of my ranting, personally final fantasy is such a wasted potential. It had very good animation but very bad story. For square enix to take so long just to make such games, i can say that they are very unprofessional. Please square enix, make a better final fantasy game next time. Don't dissapoint us again with this bad storytelling.… Expand

ShlaQ

Nov 30, 2016

6

Not a bad game, but still a bad Final Fantasy. Combat system is boring, characters are so flat that I have absolutley no connection with them and I don't care about what happening with them.
8/10 as a game
4/10 as Final Fantasy
Overall 6/10

Serenityinaz12

Nov 29, 2016

5

Was really hoping this would be the rejuvination of the series - it isn't. I'm sad to say I would classify this one right behind 13 (not as bad as that one but it's not that far behind either). Atrocious story and dialogue, side quests the quality of what we saw introduced in mmo's 15 years ago, ugh. The graphics are beautiful and the score is amazing, but overall it's average average average.

RazielKain

Nov 29, 2016

5

Final Fantasy in name only. After 10 years of work, nothing was delivered other than disappointment.
One good thing was the combat, but just like other FF games it does get repetitive. Everything else just falls flat.... characters, story, visuals... nothing felt special. I will continue with it but not holding out for much hope at this stage.

What a let down.

PeaceWalker

Nov 29, 2016

5

They cut out one of the main features of Final Fantasy which is the ability to play as multiple characters from a party. Instead, we are forced to play as a single character named Noctis who happens to be a cliche wrist cutting emo boy for the whole game. Furthermore, the supporting cast is abysmal to say the least. For example, I thought there would be more to Prompto than meets the eye,They cut out one of the main features of Final Fantasy which is the ability to play as multiple characters from a party. Instead, we are forced to play as a single character named Noctis who happens to be a cliche wrist cutting emo boy for the whole game. Furthermore, the supporting cast is abysmal to say the least. For example, I thought there would be more to Prompto than meets the eye, but no for the entirety of the experience this clown does not develop any further than being the comic relief he was intially. Cliche is the word I would use for the characters and the main story.

Now you would think that atleast they would add the option to customize Noctis' outfits into somewhat less emo boy. BUT NO, there are almost no other outfits you can have Noctis wear so you are basically stuck staring at cutter boy outfit for the whole game. I guess they're saving that for FUTURE DLC YAY!

And don't get me started on the sub-par gameplay. Sure, there are some genuinely innovative mechanics such as the ability to change weapons mid-combat. HOWEVER, you spend most of the time just holding square to attack and do combos. 10 years of development only to hold 1 button till you win? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

Also certain mechanics have been made WORSE than before like the summons, for example. You spend an hour trying to get a new summon to use in a big battle but guess what? YOU CAN'T USE THEM IN THAT BATTLE. For some stupid reason summons are banned from certain battles. Like what were they thinking?? This genuinely frustrated me a number of times.

Moreover, the ability aquisition system is broken too there are too many abilities yet too little points to acquire them. It esentially forces you to grind for hours to get the abilities you want.

Also, what's up with the sexism in this game? Most of the women dress like complete trash and the rest act like helpless damsels in distress. Oh and did I mention you can't play as a single female character in this game? If you thought you would encounter a strong female character like in previous Final Fantasy games then don't expect that from this game.

Finally, the open world itself is good. There is a lot of side content to discover and the side quests have good variety. I was genuinely surprised when I beat a dungeon I thought was typical only to find it held more secrets inside than I expected. It kept me curious and motivated to explore more. This is the best aspect of the game and its better than other recent Final Fantasy games in that regard ONLY. Overall, I would say that I came for the story and gameplay that was hyped up to be different but that disappointed me and I ended up staying for its world instead.… Expand

OreoMan

Dec 3, 2016

5

As a game, I would probably give this a 6 or 7 out of 10. As a Final Fantasy game, its atrocious. Its very clear that SE is trying to appeal to the new generation of western gamers, there is absolutely nothing here for old time fans of the old Nintendo, PS1 and early PS2 games. Its not Final Fantasy, at least not as I know it to be.

Gameplay: While some aspects feel incrediblyAs a game, I would probably give this a 6 or 7 out of 10. As a Final Fantasy game, its atrocious. Its very clear that SE is trying to appeal to the new generation of western gamers, there is absolutely nothing here for old time fans of the old Nintendo, PS1 and early PS2 games. Its not Final Fantasy, at least not as I know it to be.

Gameplay:

While some aspects feel incredibly polished, its clear that all their efforts were put into the wrong area. The way that Noctis moves and how he is animated is simply fantastic. If only I could say the same for the combat. To me it feels as if they couldn't decide what they wanted and started over far too many times. It feels directionless and hollow.

The combat is essentially kingdom hearts except less fluid and with nothing to test your skill at all. It is quite literally hold Square to win. Kingdom Hearts had interesting boss mechanics and ways that enabled you to strategize and try taking down bosses in different ways. Boss fights in FF15 boil down to a glitchy mess most of the time, and the rest of the time is you trying to use the camera properly.

One boss fight I remember very clearly toward the end of the game really exemplified one of the other major issues with the combat. This issue is the item system, it makes it near impossible to lose, in fact I didn't game over even once during combat in the entire game. This is because when you run out of HP the game gives you plenty of time to just use an item and restore ALL of your health, I really don't understand how they managed to make such an awful system with all the time they had. The item system feels almost shoehorned in, there are no meaningful decisions to be made, its just spamming high potions and elixirs every time one of your useless party members gets hit (which is rather often since they can't seem to do anything for themselves). This halts the combat and makes the experience feel extremely jarring.
Back to the boss fight I mentioned earlier, I won't spoil who it was, but its just before a rather key moment with the crystal. I spent probably 80% of the time of that boss fight in the item menu using elixirs and high potions on my allies, there was litterally no way to apply any sort of strategy, it was just running around aimlessly as his HP decreased somehow. The most key boss fights of the game amounted to no more than awful looking quick time events. The biggest offender is the Titan boss fight which was absolutely atrocious. Another issue was against Leviathan and the Final boss. The Leviathan boss fight had Noctis flying around launching his weapons as if he was an attack helicopter. I literally held circle and moved around at random to win, it was pathetic, the final boss also had a section like this. They both should have just been a cutscene considering it was impossible to die.

Music and Atmosphere:

While the score composed by Yoko Shimomura is fantastic, it barely plays at all on the open world. I came out of the game having not remembered a single track other than the ones played in the trailers. In Final Fantasy games of old every area had its own memorable and interesting theme. Unfortunately I can't say the same for FF15, for me this was the most disappointing thing. I can't even remember the Final boss theme, if it even had one. Its very clear even the developers recognized this issue considering they gave us an MP3 player to play the music of the old games. While I wasn't personally a fan of the road trip aesthetic, It certainly had some moments with great atmosphere along with a sense of Comradery.

Story:

Oh dear, where should I begin? The first half felt void of any story at all, I was often doing things that seemed to have no importance on the overall narrative at all, then the second half shoves the shallow plot down your throat with next to no explanation of what is really going on. The only two characters than even developed at all were Gladiolus and Noctis, even then it wasn't by much. "Major" characters shown in trailers basically never appeared, I was incredibly disappointed with the way some of these characters ended up being portrayed. Its hard to talk about this without giving major spoilers but it was incredibly disappointing. One example is the dude that joins your party with the Buzz-cut and Katana (I cant even remember his name for crying out loud), he has no effect at all on the narrative, he has no backstory, I don't even see the point. Speaking of backstory, the game relies FAR too much on its anime for the development of the main cast. This stuff should have been in the game. While the story certainly had some impressive cutscenes, especially with some of the summons toward the end of the game, the overall story ended up being incredibly shallow, rushed, had a lack of character development and was incredibly vague.

Overall the game took me 22 hours to finish the main story, I would be willing to forgive its short length if the narrative was actually good… Expand

langtu20

Dec 3, 2016

6

This game is a missed opportunity. It would have been a lot better if directed by Nomura which has more emphasis on interesting plot with characters building. Tabata on the other hand puts more emphasis on boring things like cooking/fishing. He completely turns the game around and stripped away nostagic FF elements, such as using magic and good plot. To me, Tabata is not known forThis game is a missed opportunity. It would have been a lot better if directed by Nomura which has more emphasis on interesting plot with characters building. Tabata on the other hand puts more emphasis on boring things like cooking/fishing. He completely turns the game around and stripped away nostagic FF elements, such as using magic and good plot. To me, Tabata is not known for storytelling and putting together cohesive story. Tabata is good at creating a powerful team, but he IS NOT a creative director. Let him be in charge of putting together a team and do marketing, but let Nomura direct the game pls!!!!… Expand

Dattwood7

Nov 29, 2016

6

The series has veered so far off course from what made it great in the first place, it's essentially UNRECOGNIZABLE. This is not Final Fantasy. I'm not sure what this is.

Nevertheless, I'm not going to hate for the sake of hate. (notice I didn't give the game a zero.) Here are some pros and cons: Pros: --Cut-scene graphics are very impressive. --Clearly a lot of time was put intoThe series has veered so far off course from what made it great in the first place, it's essentially UNRECOGNIZABLE. This is not Final Fantasy. I'm not sure what this is.

Nevertheless, I'm not going to hate for the sake of hate. (notice I didn't give the game a zero.) Here are some pros and cons:

Pros:
--Cut-scene graphics are very impressive.
--Clearly a lot of time was put into the game.
--Combat can be exhilarating at times.
--Enemy/Boss design is fantastic.
--Characters/Story/World may appeal to certain people.
--I hear things later in the game get better, but personally I don't want to wait for that.

Cons:
--Story is preposterous, even for this genre.
--Main cast's looks and personalities are uninspired (this one is the most disappointing because that used to be the series' strong suit.)
--Main cast never. shuts. up.
--Combat can be very repetitive (you can literally just hold circle for much of it.)
--Traveling, at least at first, is excruciatingly dull (in your car, you're unable to even veer off the road!)
--Side quests are often boring (think typical "fetch" quests.)
--It doesn't feel like Final Fantasy, at least not to me.

Again, there may be people who will enjoy it. Judging by the other reviews, there are already quite a few.… Expand

peropify

Jan 29, 2017

6

I gave this game a 10 before to offset the horrible ratings I thought the game didn't deserve. But the more I played the game, the more disappointed I got. After a certain point, you can tell the development team either didn't care about the game/story - basically anything other than it looking cool. It was to be expected with the bumps and hurdles it had to go over during its decade longI gave this game a 10 before to offset the horrible ratings I thought the game didn't deserve. But the more I played the game, the more disappointed I got. After a certain point, you can tell the development team either didn't care about the game/story - basically anything other than it looking cool. It was to be expected with the bumps and hurdles it had to go over during its decade long development, but other than the pretty visuals and the sheer number of things available to do - things just aren't done very well. Some parts of the game just feel empty.… Expand

Eilanzer

Dec 1, 2016

5

Average at best, and i´m already forcing t and with a lil bit of nostalgia factor.
The story is bland and one of the WORST FF plots ever made, if you think FF12 had a horrible story...Man you gonna gate this!
The main cast are ok, nothing out of this world but with the restriction to as only one character much of the game is lost. The action is ok...Divisive but it´s ok. It´s not thatAverage at best, and i´m already forcing t and with a lil bit of nostalgia factor.
The story is bland and one of the WORST FF plots ever made, if you think FF12 had a horrible story...Man you gonna gate this!
The main cast are ok, nothing out of this world but with the restriction to as only one character much of the game is lost.
The action is ok...Divisive but it´s ok. It´s not that dumb how some people are saying but it´s not so bad like FF13. (i would like the old atb style but that´s me)
the secondary cast are....are...nothing...already forgot them =/ (this compared to Final fantasy 6 or 7 are a joke, like the people who made this game never played a FF game before...just 13 =.="...Hell even 12 had more memorable side characters in the world that i can remember)
If you like a western style rpg, with world adventure then maybe that´s the game made for you...If you like the old FF~Xenogears~Chrono style of story driven game....The stay away from this game like the plague! Or just buy later cheaper or even rent first and try yourself...… Expand

Playdoh

Nov 29, 2016

7

FFXV is impressive as it is extremely flawed. The game brings with it good l steps for the franchise, with exploration returning, and constant interactivity between characters and the world they inhabit. The soundtrack is beautiful, and combat is fun, with a wide variety of weapons giving many options. Unfortunately, the balance of open world and story is not well maintained, and it takesFFXV is impressive as it is extremely flawed. The game brings with it good l steps for the franchise, with exploration returning, and constant interactivity between characters and the world they inhabit. The soundtrack is beautiful, and combat is fun, with a wide variety of weapons giving many options. Unfortunately, the balance of open world and story is not well maintained, and it takes a heavy toll on the story and characters. The execution of the plot is extremely barebones, and relevance of any of the supporting cast outside of Noctis is surprisingly minimal. Multiple big story moments happen off screen, and supporting cast are barely utitized, have minimal impact, and disappear from the story. The supporting characters with the most screen time - Luna and Prompto/Ignis/Gladio - primarily exist for Noctis' development, with little story of their own. The shortness of the main story within the game is unfortunate too, with very little content even in comparison to the extremely flawed XIII. The open world takes the player to very few locations, before it turns (literally) hallway linear. There is a potential greatness in XV, but the execution of the story and ideas are some of the weakest in the franchise, and not a return to form.… Expand

DarkMagix

Nov 30, 2016

7

Coming from a huge FF fan, I found this game to be an interesting yet unoriginal take on FF gameplay.

Graphics, the game is attractive though the HDR hype is a bit overrated. On a PS PRO and full HDR 4k television the graphics are at times grainy around characters. I don't noticed the lag that earlier reviewers noted. If you own Kingsglaive the movie (which I recommend to completeComing from a huge FF fan, I found this game to be an interesting yet unoriginal take on FF gameplay.

Graphics, the game is attractive though the HDR hype is a bit overrated. On a PS PRO and full HDR 4k television the graphics are at times grainy around characters. I don't noticed the lag that earlier reviewers noted. If you own Kingsglaive the movie (which I recommend to complete the XV experience and to receive a pretty sweet uniform perk unexpectedly) then you'll recognize the graphics. The game as you play it looks identical to the movie.

Audio:
Unlike similar open world games, the characters are practically not talking at all (mouths aren't even attempting to align with the words and for the most part the mouths don't move when you hear words spoken). This feels extremely lazy, even for FF which is notorious for this style. The music on the other hand is quite nice and for the FF fans out there, no matter your favorite game there is music from all games for sale to be played in your vehicle as you play from point A to B. I found this to be a long overdue perk for many games. Again, the game mimics Kingsglaive and the spoken audio style was one of the low points of the movie so it's no surprise.

Story:
This game takes place before the movie and after the movie. So again it's nice to have a bit of background and some closure to the movie. I think the story stays close to the standard for FF games. Slack prince out to find his way, fall in love, and grow up to fulfill his destiny. Most FF games are actually valued based on the bosses actually and this game doesn't have great bosses to be honest so it might come across as easy mode for some long term fans. Still, the somewhat unique interactions you have with your party (somewhat in that other games have a 4 man party that you can talk to in an open environment so this isn't exactly ground breaking) adds quite nicely to the experience. You get connected (though a bit bored) with these characters.

Gameplay:
To be honest, there are a few different FF fans. Those that like summons and magic and those that don't. I reside in the summon camp. I've found that any game that doesn't incorporate the summon/Aeon type of story fall short of what FF is. It's a telltale sign up front for any FF game on what kind of game it will be if you are introduced to a Summon early on and if magic is heavily introduced. This game doesn't introduce either (magic is an item/weapon slot) so it falls into the non-summon style camp though we see some short glimpses of a few of our summon friends in the story. This means that overall this game will fall pretty low on my all time favorite FF games in the long run. So if you were hoping for a 7, 8, 10 type of feel you aren't going to get it. Fighting is simplified so you aren't switching characters really. You are fighting as a group though and I felt that the gameplay itself is enjoyable. The warping is pretty intuitive and giving commands is pretty straight forward. I didn't find the game to be very challenging. It's pretty hard to die in casual fights you can always just run away and fight another day. So again its as if the developers planned for you to spend a month playing it and then restart, increase difficulty and do it again.

Other:
I own the Collector edition guide. Probably the first time a guide was pretty much not needed. It's open world and there is always room for expansion per the guide and the developers (thus the season pass). There is plenty to keep you distracted from the full storyline but i've never found a guide to be more useless than in this game (beyond picking key sidequest drops to save time).

Overall:
This is an interesting twist on the same old open world game environments. If you remember to get back on the story, you won't get bored with it I find. Graphically it's very pretty but still off without the intricate voice overs that other games offer. It's as if you took weapons, items, and monsters from FF games and dropped them into an DA:inquisition/ES style game. You know they are there but ultimately will it resonate with fans like 7 did, not very likely. It's somewhere closer to 9 which was probably my least favorite of the series.… Expand

Zav80

Dec 1, 2016

7

FFXV in short words: GTA V + the WITCHER 3 + DRAGON AGE all together in a FF world...
BUT where is the story when you start the most waited game of last years???
what you expect froma FF is mainly an AWSOME story... Well "Bye dad me and my friends we go" is the beginning of the story and then you begin exploring(too big) zones and doing (boring) side quests... Sure cool hunts, awsomeFFXV in short words: GTA V + the WITCHER 3 + DRAGON AGE all together in a FF world...
BUT where is the story when you start the most waited game of last years???
what you expect froma FF is mainly an AWSOME story...
Well "Bye dad me and my friends we go" is the beginning of the story and then you begin exploring(too big) zones and doing (boring) side quests...
Sure cool hunts, awsome graphic...but really I have to wait lot of chapters before I feel part of a story?
Too much open world-oriented, and not the open world like witcher or GTA, epic and entertaining...
Battling is fun and game has a lot of contents to leech your time, but I always preferd the STORY --> ENDGAME instead of ENDGAME ---> STORY, like FFXV looks....… Expand

Tubey

Nov 30, 2016

7

Much, much improved on the awful Final Fantasy 13, but it has many faults that stop it from becoming a classic.

First of all, the plot - a convoluted mess that somehow manages to get worse the longer you play it, which is a death knell for any sprawling RPG. Second, the characters - I'm sorry, but it doesn't matter how much you try and add layers to them, they are ultimately emo boybandMuch, much improved on the awful Final Fantasy 13, but it has many faults that stop it from becoming a classic.

First of all, the plot - a convoluted mess that somehow manages to get worse the longer you play it, which is a death knell for any sprawling RPG. Second, the characters - I'm sorry, but it doesn't matter how much you try and add layers to them, they are ultimately emo boyband members running around a field more often than not. Compare them to the classic Final Fantasy games and these cut and paste characters simply don't hold up.

Another issue is the illusion of an open world without actually being that open. It devolves into a combination of doing loads of stuff repeatedly that is essentially the same thing, or doing barely anything for a whole hour.

The good? I like the combat. Sort of. I like it more than I hate it anyway - it is fluid, often fun, but hectic and times borderline incomprehensible; simply too much stuff on the screen, taking away the tactical element and sometimes coming across as a poor version of Dynasty Warriors.

The soundtrack is also OK. Not the best in the series - probably not even top five - but competent.

But what rescues the title almost wholesale from being a disaster is the sense of an epic journey. It is a majestic example of world building around a central character, so much so that it often disguises the poor plot and lack of a 'traditional' open world, simply because you want to know what part of this world you will be led to next. It is graphically fantastic and that helps immerse you in to what is on offer.

And now we come to what actually saves the game from being around a 4 or a 5 - the boss battles. They are, in a word, awe-inspiring, and are the one section of the game where I'm glad it doesn't have turn based strategy as a combat system.

All that said, FF15 is OK. Not great, certainly not in the same league as the classics of the 90s, but solidly OK. It was sort of overhyped for what it eventually is, but you'll get fun out of it nevertheless - if you ignore the laughable plot and ridiculously bland characters.… Expand

smegmaravioli

Dec 1, 2016

6

I am going to take an approach on this game that I don't think many will do. I am not going to review this game based upon what I expected of it, but instead how it compares to the video games as a whole. I will then compare it to past final fantasies as a fan.

Overall, this is game comes across as a fancy, convoluted version of a beat-em-up like Devil May Cry. The story is less cheesy,I am going to take an approach on this game that I don't think many will do. I am not going to review this game based upon what I expected of it, but instead how it compares to the video games as a whole. I will then compare it to past final fantasies as a fan.

Overall, this is game comes across as a fancy, convoluted version of a beat-em-up like Devil May Cry. The story is less cheesy, and the characters are less annoying, but actually somehow have less personality than characters in those games. The combat is absolutely ridiculous like most average games now, it plays most efficiently (like you can do other things, but why exactly?) when played as a total button masher. There is even a combo meter to your left, and slow motion so you can look as Keanu Reeves as possible.

It really plays like your average action or action RPG game. Sort of like Fable or something. That's, uh, fine I guess. The monsters are cool and creative looking, it sort of captures the final fantasy look.

One thing I will give this game is that it looks great compared to most other games, despite the fact that it looks less stunning as advertised.

It's not really this true open world that it was claimed to be. At least not like Skyrim It's about as open world as having a loading screen that is a car that goes from point A to point B simply for the sake of visuals. It's rather empty and definitely lacks things to do that aren't literally the same exact sort of task with a different skin.

The story is dumb and nearly non-sensicle, but so are most video game stories that attempt to go beyond the realm of simplicity of a game like Zelda or Mario, so this is fine.

The music is very average. Pretty-much could be stock music from another video game and I wouldn't really know the difference. And I know a lot about music, composition, etc. Most of it is extremely simplistic harmonically and melodically, basically a skeleton chord progression with an oft-used melody the majority of the time. Completely different animal than the extremely creative tunes of which the industry has been bare for some time now. More along the lines of the safe stuff you're taught when you begin college for music and are taught "everyone likes." Doesn't really reek of expertise and weathered artisanship like a lot of older games did. There is too much downtime in a genre like RPGs to not have good music. It is extremely important for that reason, and probably a big reason why the old final fantasies had a step up over other RPGs (and I'm exploring why music is important to RPGs right now, not comparing the music of this game to other FFs).

So in terms of comparing this to other video games, I give it a 6, because of the more creative enemies than your average game now (average is a 5 by definition), and great graphics, downsided by the musical score which is necessary for a game with so much downtime to work.

Compared to other Final Fantasies:

This game is total trash. It is like buying Blue Label only to take a sip and discover it is Piper's Clan. Of course, this is after this has already happened once (FFXIII I'm looking at you), so we all must be pretty god damn dumb.

Where do I start? Combat has never been FF's strong point, but it has at least always remained interesting through 3/4s of the game only for your character to become too strong if you had any sense of work ethic and din't always run (and then heavy reliance upon status resistance on the games part for harder enemies). There used to be strategy, careful equipment selection, wide variety of character types. You now control one enemy and press one button. Garbage. Moving on.

Graphics: I mean, yea they're good so points here.

Music: Like **** you guys. Seriously, **** you. You give us 10 games of Nobuo and then this **** for the past 3 titles? Like I said it is incredibly important that this music is good because most of our time will be spent running around and talking. Get the **** out of here with this beat box electronica **** and symphonic orchestra playing I-V-I stuff. Bring back the risky, modal, impressionist, colored type tunes that really have a soul to them.

Story: Holy **** I don't have enough characters but all you have to know is that it's garbage, and makes no sense even when compared to the worst of pre-enix final fantasies.

Characters: **** All overly stoic or autistic. Prompto is more autistic than Titus, which was made better by the fact that the game was totally self aware of it.

Immersion: There is no immersion in this world. The environments are all similar enough that it's just hard to imagine there existing such a place where is no contrast with itself. The world is totally empty compared to past final fantasies that are totally ridden with things to discover on every screen and every corner.

Overall I give it a 1/10 on the final fantasy scale. This is like buying a corvette and receiving a SmartCar.

Do not buy unless you are expecting a Fable type game.… Expand

TsukasaHiiragi

Dec 13, 2016

6

Currently 6/10 due to sheer tons of bugs, glitches and some plot/story line issues. The biggest problem with FF15 is that, it was released too early again and the the Day 1 purchasers as always are the beta testers, its sad really because the game could have easily been an 8 or 9 rating if some more time and quality control so some of the really glaring and obvious issues was fixedCurrently 6/10 due to sheer tons of bugs, glitches and some plot/story line issues. The biggest problem with FF15 is that, it was released too early again and the the Day 1 purchasers as always are the beta testers, its sad really because the game could have easily been an 8 or 9 rating if some more time and quality control so some of the really glaring and obvious issues was fixed before launch.

Another problem is that this game is barely a final fantasy game, its like a proverbial wolf in sheeps clothing, alot of the classic and core elements to any final fantasy game are 'kind' of there, but only skin deep. The 'open world' really isn't that open, and the impression that its huge...it really isn't that big at all considering thats really the only major play area in the game, Altissia is fairly small, and serves very limited purpose except for a couple of hunt quests and obviously, to slightly further the story along and the Gralia sections is just one linear route, in fairness Chapter 13 isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be though, but the fact you have two extra islands that are practically wasted with limited things to do doesn't help.

The best parts of FF15 are its graphics and sound, these are exceptionally well created and honestly, the eye candy is so good that for alot of people reviewing the game, I'm honestly guessing they are just basing alot of the reviews on looks alone, and not gameplay.....ah...gameplay, thats where some of the major problems which hurt FF15 sadly, from nearly gamebreaking or quest breaking bugs like with the notorious Castlemark Tower bug, through to frustrating combat mechanics - the prime example here is Noctis spends most of his time knocked on his ass, it doesn't matter the monsters but almost 99% of the time, one hit will knock Noctis over unless you learn to dodge every single damn attack, and during fights against multiple foes, its nearly impossible to dodge everything.

Another major problem, and it was to be expected - the camera has problems, especially in dungeons or narrow areas, I've had the camera spin around uncontrollable, through to fighting in bushes with the bushes blocking all view of the battle. Another example of poor mechanics is how summoning works, basically the only summon you'll really ever see is Ramuh, since each summon has a very specific and core set of rules in order to summon, most of the time you'll only ever 'qualify' to summon Ramuh, and even then - its very inconsistent and a missed opportunity.

Another problem is how grindy post-game, SE..whats with putting break limits at 999AP? each, seriously? Whilst, its actually not hard at all to reach the current level cap -- its a very lengthy and boring process to gain large amounts of AP.

I could go on and on here, nitpicking every problem - but I'll close with this, FF15 isn't a bad game, its got moments where it shines, but its also got moments that will cause untold frustration - its obvious that more time was needed to craft a proper Final Fantasy game, whilst this is better than FF13, this still isn't up to the golden standard that the fans have come to expect. Whilst I still say FF15 is worth checking out for fans and newcomers, it doesn't live up to the hype.… Expand

Wordstar

Dec 2, 2016

5

Its been years since i liked to play games like this. The start of the game had me shut of the PS4 within 20 minutes of play time. Get dropped location a / go to location b to kill 10 scorpions / come back to location a to get your reward. This reminds me of world of warcraft without the mmo aspect. Not my cop of tea.

strondbokken

Dec 2, 2016

5

As someone who has played Final Fantasy games since the 80s, I, like many others, have a soft spot in my heart for Square Enix games. Unfortunately, there are some serious issues within the company, as you can plainly tell after playing FFXV. They obviously didn't learn anything from the catastrophic failure of FFXIV before they "fixed it" (it's still not great, btw).

First off, let'sAs someone who has played Final Fantasy games since the 80s, I, like many others, have a soft spot in my heart for Square Enix games. Unfortunately, there are some serious issues within the company, as you can plainly tell after playing FFXV. They obviously didn't learn anything from the catastrophic failure of FFXIV before they "fixed it" (it's still not great, btw).

First off, let's talk about the absolutely dreadful characters. A bunch of emo-looking, leather clad JPOP models running through the desert wearing leather. Is this a joke? Oh, and one has a British accent?! Come on, Japan. Seriously.

Also, the combat system is f***ing terrible. And yes, I know a lot of people like it, but a lot of people like black coffee too. Are they wrong? Yes. Yes they are. You can't tell who/what you are targeting half the time. Your "buddies" are all over the place doing god knows what and it's a huge cluster f*** until everything is dead. Sure, you can "give orders" and all that, but it's still a failure of a combat system. Set it to "wait" mode and it gets slightly better, but not much.

The graphics are ok, but it reeks of an outdated game model that actually got the green light. Save your money until the price drops. I'm already over it and haven't even left the main area. BTW, my 15 year old daughter hates it too, so it's not just a generation gap thing.

Square Enix, it's time you fired whoever it is over there that makes these horrible decisions. Swallow your "Japanese pride" and start making games that don't suck. We're all about done with your antics.… Expand

pecteilis

Dec 1, 2016

5

It is not Final Fantasy, even it play as a masterpiece.
To young generation, it might be a nice move in marketing, however, I am the player who have played FF series since the first copy of FF. Love it still, but ff15 cannot touch me anymore. If that what Square Enix want to, I should sadly say, well done, this is a fun game, but I am not your fan anymore

iexael

Nov 30, 2016

5

the game is good, have nice graphics , but combat is so ez, is more about graphics than gameplay and story, even the map have the same divition than xenoblade. and the story is really bad, also the characters are generics. so bad compare to old FF.
but is guess if u just have play PS games since 3, its ok.

peterk426

Dec 5, 2016

5

FFXV? More like GTA V meets God Of war... TERRIBLE LEVELING UP SYSTEM, TERRIBLE COMBAT, WHERES THE RPG ELEMENT TO THIS GAME? This game is an action adventure game. Tons of glitches. The storyline is pretty cool. graphics are amazing. Idc how they are dressed. I feel the battle system and the ascension system are terrible in this game. I would have to rate this Final Fantasy as the worstFFXV? More like GTA V meets God Of war... TERRIBLE LEVELING UP SYSTEM, TERRIBLE COMBAT, WHERES THE RPG ELEMENT TO THIS GAME? This game is an action adventure game. Tons of glitches. The storyline is pretty cool. graphics are amazing. Idc how they are dressed. I feel the battle system and the ascension system are terrible in this game. I would have to rate this Final Fantasy as the worst one I have ever played ( for fighting) and FF are fighting games! Swing n a miss SE!… Expand

Pellissa

Dec 1, 2016

5

este juego tiene un arte y un sonido sobresaliente, el juego es un semi mundo abierto ya que tiene aspectos muy lineales, si bien venden el juego con compañerismo, solo noctis tiene historia el resto no, pierde mucho de la esencia de de entregas anteriores (tomando en cuenta los mejores ff del 10 hacia atás), es un juego demasiado japones y en sus estereotipos de bandas japonesas que seeste juego tiene un arte y un sonido sobresaliente, el juego es un semi mundo abierto ya que tiene aspectos muy lineales, si bien venden el juego con compañerismo, solo noctis tiene historia el resto no, pierde mucho de la esencia de de entregas anteriores (tomando en cuenta los mejores ff del 10 hacia atás), es un juego demasiado japones y en sus estereotipos de bandas japonesas que se disfrazan para no parecer nobita de el gato cósmico. no me parece mejor que cualquier otro final fantasy (excluyendo el 13 y los online) mucho que mejorar aún para tener 10 años de desarrollo y de perfeccionamiento.… Expand

neblo

Dec 2, 2016

6

Okay, so the game itself is not bad and I found many of the new systems a lot of fun. I am sure many will like it. I respect the Square for trying something new. Game design must always be looking to innovate and grow. However, this is a Final Fantasy title that was 10 years in the making and in the end, as much as I wanted to love this game, I got bored of it quickly and felt noOkay, so the game itself is not bad and I found many of the new systems a lot of fun. I am sure many will like it. I respect the Square for trying something new. Game design must always be looking to innovate and grow. However, this is a Final Fantasy title that was 10 years in the making and in the end, as much as I wanted to love this game, I got bored of it quickly and felt no nostalgia.

Previous Final Fantasy titles did many things right, however the series won my heart because it did two things better than most. 1. Had unique, quirky, emotional, tragic stories with unique and interesting characters that kept you playing. 2. Deep and strategic combat systems that gave you many options and strategies to choose from. Unfortunately this title misses the mark on both of these points. Thus it doesn't feel like a FF title for me. This is the ONLY main FF title I have felt this way about. Sure there were some better or worse than others, but this isn't a FF to me. That doesn't mean it isn't a good game, but it means that Square may not value what I do anymore.

Long time fans will likely be disappointed. The game tries too hard to appeal to everyone and in doing so loses its identity that made me fall in love with it. I am guessing most will beat it and then forget it as there are better arpgs out there.

Pros:
- Music is amazing as always
- Combat is passable. It gives me hope that Square can pull off transitioning from turned based/ATB combat to action combat in the future, but as I ilst in my cons it has many flaws.
- Many fan favorite monsters are back bigger and cooler than ever
- Summons felt epic, but you are unable to choose when you get to use them
- Running around the world on a chocobo is awesome

Cons:
- Combat is fairly mindless, the camera sucks, fighting in narrow corridors is frustrating, and team AI is bad. There is no deep strategy to combat compared to previous titles (excluding 13. that was mindless too). As a person who loves arpgs and turned bsed/ATB systems I am sad seeing turned based combat go, but okay with action replacing it as long as it is just as fun and engaging. Unfortunately it isn't right now. The real problem is that other arpg titles have much more interesting and fun systems. If I wanted to play a story rich arpg with great combat mechanics I would just play the Witcher (and i do). It is funny that FF10, which got a fairly mixed reception among fans, has a higher user metacritic ratings than 12, 13, and 15. All games that have tried to diverge from the turned based/ATB system. Is that an indication that their game quality has gone down?
- Terrain and scenery is generic... One thing I loved about previous titles is that feeling of being in a world that you could tell was a fantasy world. It made me want to explore to find new and interesting things. Instead it felt like you were just exploring california. FF14 had more beautiful landscapes and scenery and it is a MMO.
- MMO style fetch quests and go to the marker and kill this quests are everywhere. Why? Sure a few to break up the story is fine, but the problem is this is half the content. These activities do not advance a narrative or develop characters.
- you only get a few spells to cast and your party AI casts them at the worst times or they run into the spell you just cast. Where are all the interesting spells that were in virtually every previous title?
- Only having 4 party members that you begin the game with and only one of them playable. I can respect the ambition and trying something new that could have worked, but it is a huge con because....
- Story is boring. I know this is subjective, but the game does a horrible job of explaining what is going on and there are little to no cut scenes (a staple of previous games). Without any spoilers, a horrible life changing event happens to the main character that you would expect him to have a difficult time with. However, he goes on running fetch quests and killing monsters for bounties like nothing happened. There is no urgency or life to the story. Something about magic crystals and warring nations. FF14 had neither of those things... wait..
- The party members are boring stereotypes that hardly develop or make me care about them. The game is clearly a bro-trip with lots of bonding... The problem is all the characters were already best friends and seemed to be established before the game even starts. Thus leaving no room for growth. The creators said they did not add any female characters because the characters would act differently and they wanted the ability to write in bro bonding moments and guys being guys... However, the lack of diversity only detracted.

FF15 has currently an 84 metacritc rating and FF13 has an 83 score... that is essentially the same thing yet it has been panned by the community as being an awful game..Clearly they are either going in the wrong direction or not capable of creating anything better than their old systems.… Expand

vpattonjr

Dec 15, 2016

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Liked the mechanics, the boss fights and a lot of the mini-games, but when I realized how the story ends...I play games to get away from reality, not to have a story teller build me up and then rip everything down. After the FF7 remake, I'm done with FF. It's become too dark for me, if I want tragedy, I'll turn on the news. Too bad none of the people who write these games never really listen to players, apparently we're "Degrading their creativity" when we comment.… Expand

bennysuzume

Dec 1, 2016

5

The game is decent. It's not bad. You might think this would be a master piece at first glance. But as you play the game, its Cons stand out.

[Pros] + Brand new Final Fantasy game with open world. + Party banter is fun. + Combat is fresh and original. [Cons] - Main story is a mess, very confusing. - The open world is not so open and dry. e.g. non-climbable objects, invisibleThe game is decent. It's not bad. You might think this would be a master piece at first glance. But as you play the game, its Cons stand out.

[Pros]
+ Brand new Final Fantasy game with open world.
+ Party banter is fun.
+ Combat is fresh and original.

[Cons]
- Main story is a mess, very confusing.
- The open world is not so open and dry.
e.g. non-climbable objects, invisible walls,
lore-less story-less fetch quests
- Loading time is long.

Enjoyable for first 10 hours, it will be painful to play through to the end unless you come to like the protagonist and his companions.… Expand

revelc

Nov 30, 2016

7

I'm a fan of Final Fantasy (FF) series. I would be lying if I say I played all of it. I have completed 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12. I also played Tactics advance and Ogre. What drawn me towards the series are 3 different reasons. (from here on will be my personal opinion and I will compare it to FF15)

First is great story telling. To me story is an important aspect of Final Fantasy, storyI'm a fan of Final Fantasy (FF) series. I would be lying if I say I played all of it. I have completed 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12. I also played Tactics advance and Ogre. What drawn me towards the series are 3 different reasons. (from here on will be my personal opinion and I will compare it to FF15)

First is great story telling. To me story is an important aspect of Final Fantasy, story defines worlds, its characters, and conflicts within it. Without good writings and story telling, FF is just a bland JRPG. Personally FF15 doesn't have a compelling story, I find it difficult to relate with the characters(lack of female cast in the party also a probable reason). The conflict isn't well define, it's too linear. The world which apparently "fantasy based on reality" is not what I'm expecting from the series. I can see one town influenced by Venice and another area by US countryside/highway, I prefer more unified culture since it's one kingdom. The town lack of characters, and the people inside of it mostly doesn't care about what happen to the kingdom. For example, there's a war happening in the capital, king is killed and yet town is fine and everyone driving around like there's nothing happening, soldiers don't even march or invade the town, what I meant is there's no panic or chaos like in FF7 or 10. The conflict should echo through the entire world, effecting population in it. I can go on and on about why the story is lacking and comparing things to previous FF, but I'll stop here.

Second thing is the art style. Great art style has been defining Final Fantasy since the beginning. Colorful imaginary worlds, towering castles, unique characters, menacing monsters, cool items, and lots of amazing details. FF15 doesn't really nail that, the art style is not consistent. It has great monsters, cool weapon designs, and things like magic arts and summons. Yet it's feels like it's not design with one set of mind rather with confused, rushed, and mixed ideas. Lets focus on costumes, Noct and friends wears black leather and all. It's fine, but what's not fine is the inconsistency within the world. The town people wears t-shirt and modern clothing. This make no sense at all, especially within one kingdom. Culture what build a kingdom, if one wears a toga other wear it too. Buildings, cars, colors pattern all are inconsistent, it disconnect me from the world. In previous FF it never is the case, it was always consistent. FF10 has Okinawan style (Japanese style garment), beach, water, blue colors, very unique overly detailed pattern in weapons, summons, buildings. FF7 has dark industrial feel throughout, a touch of steam punk and it works. FF9 with medieval fantasy feels. FF12 has World of Ivalice which is great design. FF15 really doesn't have a pattern, I think "fantasy based on reality" design ideas doesn't really work.

Finally the final main reason I'm a fan of FF is the music. Music gives feelings to the series, it brings life and drawn you even more into its conflict. Music makes you sympathize towards its characters or detest them. FF always has great music composed specially for each important moment. It easily recognizable since mostly composed by a guy name Nobuo Uematsu and his team. Battle and victory music always a classic, and on many occasions they even create original song like Suteki da ne(along with the cinematic, made me tearing up) and piano piece To Zanarkand (this one always weaken my heart, made me felt the pain of the party). Now comes Yoko Shimomura, super amazing brilliant composer. She made Kingdom Hearts stands out in the music department apart from other great reason. In FF15 Shimomura did it again, she nailed it. This another thing that make me give lots more points to FF15. The only personal thing I don't like is how they use "stand by me" as their main opening and ending for the series. Why not let Yoko create her own for the series, is it because how Tabata wants it to appeal more to the US audience? I'm not sure. Don't get me wrong, Stand by me by Ben E King is in my favorite list.

Apart from all the things I mentioned, FF15 is a good game to play. It has great graphics, pretty fun combat, and an okay world to explore. It's not defining for the series but certainly is a step forward. I predict 5-6 millions will be sold. Am I disappointed? Yes in a way, because it is Final Fantasy main line series and I'm expecting more to it.… Expand

KarnF91

Dec 5, 2016

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I really want to love this game. However, after 40 hours I can say I'm closer to hating this game, than I am liking it. Every time I think I found something I liked, it would soon follow with the flaw that takes the fun out of it.

Initially loved the open world aspect of the game. After an hour or two of doing the side quests, there is the realization that is is the basic form of go to X and do Y then return. There is little to no flavor for most of it, little to no world or character building, just the basic formula with nothing else. Then you get to the second half of the game, and it is as linear as Final Fantasy XIII, and then the atrocious Chapter 13 happens.

Combat is fun, not great by any means but fun. Then you run into issues with the camera, and issues with the lock on system. If you lock on, you can't control the camera, and the way the game controls it, you can't see anything. Even turning the camera setting to far doesn't help, especially in areas with lots of trees, or cramped spaces. When fighting one or two enemies it isn't an issue, once you get more than that, it is a pain. If the enemies are large, like Red Giants for example, it goes from being fun, to being a joke of an experience. Your party members are nearly useless in large scale fights because they're usually dead.

As for the story, it has its good points, and overall could have been a great story. However, it is hampered by poor pacing, and poor story telling. Moments that should have been big, such as what happens during the Leviathan fight, end up having little impact. The characters are interesting for the most part, but like the story they aren't developed in such a way to make you care. Yes it sucks that Ignis gets blinded, but it is glided over in such a minimal fashion. Promto is a essentially a Magitek Soldier, should have been a big deal, but they make a joke out of it for ten seconds and move on. Why does Gladio leave the part for a while? Lots of things are just left to speculation, or are barely explained.

On the technical side of things, the game is fine. On the Lite setting for PS4 Pro uses, the game runs smoothly with little issues in terms of performance. The music is good, and the world looks great.

As I stated I want to love this game. I love the Final Fantasy series, and I still do, but this entry in the series just isn't good in my opinion. Whatever it is that makes a good Final Fantasy game, this game is lacking it. If this game didn't have Final Fantasy in the title, it wouldn't be getting a positive reception. It is a deeply flawed game sadly. I started out wanting to give the game a solid 8/10, however; as time passed it steadily dropped. It is however at a low 6.0 range for me, I can't go any higher than that.… Expand

RpgLover1

Dec 3, 2016

6

Game needed another 10 years in development to come up with decent sidequests.

Combat is almost automatic with the hold square to avoid all damage and if you're using a shield it's even more overpowered. A move where you take no damage at all can get even stronger. The way the hunts can only be done one at a time, sidequests don't show up on the map and the fast travel mechanic isGame needed another 10 years in development to come up with decent sidequests.

Combat is almost automatic with the hold square to avoid all damage and if you're using a shield it's even more overpowered. A move where you take no damage at all can get even stronger.

The way the hunts can only be done one at a time, sidequests don't show up on the map and the fast travel mechanic is designed is completely and utterly retarded. Do yourself a favor and do only the red missions up to the end of chapter 3 and you'll live a happier life. The occasional hunt to afford potions and weapons and the chocobo sidequest ONLY.

The camera in combat is of course gonna be bad in a game where you warp around everywhere, but it's made even worse when trees and rocks block your view completely.

The movement in areas where you can't fast travel or use your chocobo you're forced to walk really slowly with animations that interrupt what you're doing. It also disables your warp ability to get around faster for some reason. The slow ass ladder climbing and rock climbing makes no sense when Noctis can just teleport where ever the **** he wants.

Those are all the issues I had whilst playing through this game if you can live with those then you'll enjoy it.… Expand

Minaseminatorel

Nov 29, 2016

7

Final Fantasy XV is not a bad game, it's just an underwhelming experience, and I fear this game won't revitalize the franchise. Between a crumbled narrative and so familiar overly used character types this Final Fantasy is one of the weakest or maybe the weakest in storytelling. Although it fails miserably in those aspects the combat is fluid and can be very fun at times, it's not veryFinal Fantasy XV is not a bad game, it's just an underwhelming experience, and I fear this game won't revitalize the franchise. Between a crumbled narrative and so familiar overly used character types this Final Fantasy is one of the weakest or maybe the weakest in storytelling. Although it fails miserably in those aspects the combat is fluid and can be very fun at times, it's not very challenging but it has really nice moments of action brilliance when the game actually tries. The world is pretty empty, full of characters that have petty requests making it a heavy side quest fetch game, instead of actually trying to take back the crystal you're just messing around with strange people doing oblivious things. And for last, the best thing about this game and the reason I'm giving it a 7, after you beat the game there's tons of things to do, tons of bosses to defeat that can take hours to do so, this is by far the best aspect of the game, it's underwhelming, but it's not a bad a game, for those who like mindless action fun you might aswell try this game, for those seeking a good Final Fantasy this isn't.… Expand

goomshill

Nov 29, 2016

6

Too much of this game was advertised manipulatively. Areas and events shown in ads didn't occur in game. Areas like tenebrae were just skyboxes in the background. Instead of being fully open world, it was a very small explorable section at the start quite empty and last 2/3 was linear corridors on rails. I don't mind the game going KH/DMC combat instead of classic jrpg, but it wasToo much of this game was advertised manipulatively. Areas and events shown in ads didn't occur in game. Areas like tenebrae were just skyboxes in the background. Instead of being fully open world, it was a very small explorable section at the start quite empty and last 2/3 was linear corridors on rails. I don't mind the game going KH/DMC combat instead of classic jrpg, but it was extremely shallow. I want to forgive the game as being largely an interactive movie except that unlike the uncharted series, it wasn't well written enough to be a movie, full of plot holes and bizarre choices that make no sense. At one point the same set of characters are shown 10 years apart, looking exactly the same down to the clothes. Its still a playable game, but its flaws are heavily displayed and theres nothing special to redeem it. Its also incredibly short for a game that took this long to make.… Expand

AsrielDreemur

Feb 14, 2018

6

This is the most mediocre game out of all the final fantasy franchise. My major complain is the story, clearly the story is unfinished and it's not as intriguing as I hope for from a final fantasy franchise. The gameplay is just mediocre at best and it could be repetitive at time. Overall it could have been better but this game just scream out mediocre at best.

JacksonAkson

Feb 21, 2017

7

I inadvertently reviewed this game for PlayStation. My review was meant for Xbox one.

I originally rated this game a 4, but after returning to it for a second play thru I feel I was overly harsh. The game is much better once a better understanding of techniques, ascension, traveling, combat, magic, non-obvious content and travel is obtained. It's not my favorite game, but it doesI inadvertently reviewed this game for PlayStation. My review was meant for Xbox one.

I originally rated this game a 4, but after returning to it for a second play thru I feel I was overly harsh. The game is much better once a better understanding of techniques, ascension, traveling, combat, magic, non-obvious content and travel is obtained. It's not my favorite game, but it does provide many hours of entertainment. Below is my original review:

FF XV was my introduction into the Final Fantasy series. I would say I have a love / hate relationship with the game, but I really don't love anything about it. I did play for over 100 hours so I imagine I did get some entertainment out of it.

I tend to love open world, role playing games. I would say this game is half that, and half a linear, incoherent separate story. I never grasped how the open world portion of the game related to the main story line after the first few chapters. After completing the main story line, I researched it on the web to fill in some of the blanks only to find out I had completely failed to comprehend the story line ending. But with internet help I was able to unlock a time traveling dog and return to playing the open world game. Thanks for the help, someone.

The car / travel system gets bashed ad nausea, as it should. The amount of time wasted via driving / fast (slow) traveling to a point to allow fast (slow) travel to a different point was borderline comical. The car drives at a game clock speed of 1 mph and only holds about a pint of fuel.

Drive to location (wait). It's getting dark (whine). Fast travel to rest area (wait). Camp (wait). Fast travel to car (wait). Walk 1/4 mile to tomato. Pick up tomato. Fast travel to car (wait). Drive back to diner (wait). Run out of gas (wait longer). Give up tomato. A new recipe!

The combat system didn't do it for me either. The camera is bad to say the least. If my character out-leveled my enemies it worked best just to hold the attack button while ignoring the TV. Most efforts I made to dodge / think / control the action resulted in me performing worse. When fighting enemies that out-leveled me, the game became a button masher (attack, dodge, take another potion). I did like the visual appearance of most of the animal enemies though.

I didn't care for any of the main characters. The metro boy band look, shoes 9 sizes too large, trotting around like chimpanzees, constant whining, standing around while I kill everything made me wish I could just go it alone. "its hot...its cold...i'm tired....i'm sticky and gross....camping again....can't you catch something bigger....talk about back seat fishing...whoo hoo, bath time!" Good god. I turned their voice volume off for a while, but then I could not hear anyone else who was so eloquently instructing me to fetch another tomato in Dukes of Hazard style southern drawl.

I found the end game dungeons to be a monotonous, repetitive drag as well. How can you have the same stair case enter the same room 100 times in a single mission?

Character leveling was sad. Fishing, cooking, photography and buying new boots? How does this fit with some apocalyptic story line going on in the background? I caught some world record fish though. My 300 pound grouper yielded one meal. The fishing would be greatly improved if there was some way to stifle the commentary. It becomes grating in a manner of seconds.

I was dumbfounded by the ascension tree for most of the game. I searched if for hours trying to find a way to kill Prompto. I had completed the main story before I comprehended creating simple spells as well. Maybe I am just slow in my old age.

Anyway those are my thoughts. Thanks to all the web support that helped me get through this game. I was stuck many times.… Expand

TriangleDragon

Mar 10, 2018

6

I'm a long time fan of the FF series, but this one feels empty and without charm. Clearly the perfect 10 star reviews are from fanboys and weeaboos who are unable to look at content objectively.

Sjoerdt9

Aug 20, 2018

6

Graphics are great. Story was quite shallow when compared to other RPG's, e.g. barely know anything about the Empire which is supposed to be the big bad faction. The first mech boss you face has a pilot who is introduced with his name appearing on screen. After the fight he is just dead. Like, why introduce him as a character then? This sums up quite a lot of the story imo: probablyGraphics are great. Story was quite shallow when compared to other RPG's, e.g. barely know anything about the Empire which is supposed to be the big bad faction. The first mech boss you face has a pilot who is introduced with his name appearing on screen. After the fight he is just dead. Like, why introduce him as a character then? This sums up quite a lot of the story imo: probably dropped somewhere in development, leaving the story a bit bland...
Gameplay was so-so
Worst sidequests I've seen in a game tbh.
Roadtrip feels were fun tho.
Enjoyed it, but moderately… Expand

Barney5297

Nov 17, 2018

7

A solid game, but unfinished. The combat was fun and rewarding, if a little repetetive and basic. The game is VERY glitchy and does not run well on ps4 standard. I had between 8 and 10 full ps4 crashes where neither the game or the ps4 would respond with no playstation error message. The progression system was also basic but not grind heavy in the slightest. The music lacked depth but wasA solid game, but unfinished. The combat was fun and rewarding, if a little repetetive and basic. The game is VERY glitchy and does not run well on ps4 standard. I had between 8 and 10 full ps4 crashes where neither the game or the ps4 would respond with no playstation error message. The progression system was also basic but not grind heavy in the slightest. The music lacked depth but was still good: especially the collectible CDs you could buy. The story however was disappointing. I waited for two years to see if the could fix it and they could not. If you are looking for a final fantasy story this game is not for you. If you like real time action combat with good visuals and fetch quests in an expansive open world then there is a lot of enjoyment to be had. If you are a completionist, maxing out and completing everything takes about 80 hours.… Expand

Pnx725

Jan 7, 2018

6

Great graphics with a bad idea of a story that did not even finish as I was expecting. Id like to rate it higher but I had to much loading time writing this review and killing my protagonists is a bad way of getting a good score. Gameplay is good but not great.

njja02

May 15, 2018

6

Many elements of this game are great, such as the combat, graphics, music, and world. But the game has a messy story and writing. Plus the game has one of the worst sections in a video game ever. It has many other problems, but it's still a fun game overall.

thaesino

Oct 12, 2018

7

In the spirit of Noctis' enthusiasm over pretty much anything: "Meh...."
I've already played Final Fantasy VIII, and that story was better, even if equally pointless.
Square (the Squaresoft part of SE, or the little that is left of it) is without direction. So what do they do? They turn back to an old FF that was not quite as classic as its 2 predecessors. That's wright, I'm talkingIn the spirit of Noctis' enthusiasm over pretty much anything: "Meh...."
I've already played Final Fantasy VIII, and that story was better, even if equally pointless.

Square (the Squaresoft part of SE, or the little that is left of it) is without direction. So what do they do? They turn back to an old FF that was not quite as classic as its 2 predecessors. That's wright, I'm talking about Final Fantasy 8. What's that? What does FFVIII have anything to do with FFXV, you say? Well, let's see:

- Angsty main character who likes to "Meh" and shrug for dear life? Check!
- Enigmatic naive blonde with parakeet hairdo? Check!
- Authoritative bespeckeled traveler who speaks a lot more than protagonist and should probably be the main character because of this? Check! (Oh... I meant Ignist of course... and Quistis, and yeah)
- Buff dude with "take no prisoners" attitude? Check! (Think of Gladiolus as Seifer, had he been "good" from the start)
- Cutesy short-haired girl who appears after about 3-4 hours of play? Check! (Iris)
- Mystical character connected to mystical things and stuff? Check. (Gentiana aka Shiva... aka Edea)
- High-ranking love match for the protagonist who is more emotive and has more military sense than protagonist? Check! Check! Check!

Now we put these into a futuristic world where the main heroes dress like cadets, and we turn the protagonist into an orphan by killing his father after never really spending much time seeing their relationship in the first place...... and we have them drive in a car for their first official trip out of Homeland.......... and we have points where elemental magic can be drawn........ and we make sure the first place they visit is more of a quickstop than an actual town...... and then we take the car away for a bit....

Oh dear.................................. this whole game WAS modeled after Final Fantasy VIII. No wonder they decided not to do an HD remake of that one. They didn't want people to see the similarities.

Okay, so let's do a quick rundown of the good and bad:

Good:
-Music
-Visuals
-Map Design
-Battle Mechanics
-Attempt at "realistic" fan service for both genders (it is a JRPG after all)
-Anime-like tropes in a non-anime package
-Inventive beast/monster spawns (except those they just rehashed from FFVII: Advent Children; like the dog things)
-Nice fauna ideas (esp. the animals you DON'T need to kill)
-Vehicle Customization
-Random encounters with SPOILER ALERT ... Galbadian Troops!!.... (to be fair, this has been Square's go-to since FFVI on the SNES.... it's just a representation of the US/Western Powers and their over-militarization for pretty much everything)

Bad:
-Story is bland (the various DLC "Episodes" were actually sometimes better than FFXV itself); FFXII, whose story I dislike for being lifted from Star Wars, actually has a better story
-Character Design is uninspired... this is a game released for 2016, not 1996... we need to move on.
-Not really an open-world game at release... yeah yeah, off-road tires update later added, but now my vehicle looks like a tractor
-Bugs for enemy spawns (this is particularly a PS4 issue, as I have the game also on PC and it is not a problem)
-Fishing (Ocarina of Time nailed what it meant to fish in a non-fishing game... Noctis will never beat my 34lbs. Hylian Loach! and....)
-Photography (Pokemon Snap! nailed this one......... okay that's a joke, the photo stuff is pretty cool, but on a more serious note
-Cooking....... because you can't actually cook.... but more importantly, although it's becoming a trend in Japan to show realistic dishes in games and anime, it's sort of a weird thing everywhere else in the world.... like, we don't care unless the game itself is realistic... for example, Witcher 3 or Kingdom Come: Deliverance, which both attempt certain levels of realism. Final Fantasy has never been realistic to us... except maybe FFVII and VIII

Anyway... that's that.

Buy this game on sale if you haven't already. It's not worth more than $30.… Expand

juss

Sep 23, 2018

6

The combat system is weak, and is the biggest flaw of the game. It doesn't take a great amount of variation to beat this game, and it's sometimes difficult to keep track of exactly what's going on.
Usually repetitive combat is fine for a FF game, but in this situation the story doesn't make up for it at all. You just don't care for the characters, and they lack the likability and emotionThe combat system is weak, and is the biggest flaw of the game. It doesn't take a great amount of variation to beat this game, and it's sometimes difficult to keep track of exactly what's going on.
Usually repetitive combat is fine for a FF game, but in this situation the story doesn't make up for it at all. You just don't care for the characters, and they lack the likability and emotion that previous FF games have had.… Expand

Stuvok

Oct 18, 2018

6

Great and terrible
exciting but boring
realistic but nonsensical
great characters but awful story
It just goes on and on. There is nothing this game truly gets right, but there maybe enough buried under the half baked ideas for you to truly like the game. Even if you do love it... you'll probably say "I love it, but I know it's terrible"

Sofatayra

Apr 13, 2019

7

The reason i gave 7 for this game is for the below:
Pros: - The open world -New gameplay that stands out of previous FF turn based action combat and more like a kingdom harts style - NPCs looks ok for an RPG game - Graphics are good in general - voice acting is on spot for a JRPG - high level dungeons is where FFXV excels the most.
Cons: -Camera angles with big bosses can be frustratingThe reason i gave 7 for this game is for the below:
Pros: - The open world -New gameplay that stands out of previous FF turn based action combat and more like a kingdom harts style - NPCs looks ok for an RPG game - Graphics are good in general - voice acting is on spot for a JRPG - high level dungeons is where FFXV excels the most.
Cons: -Camera angles with big bosses can be frustrating - The X process button can be annoying at times, when you click you jump instead - the team your run with are very repetitive on what they say
to each other - quests are all the same, get a quest from an NPC and slay monsters - Camp to exp can be annoying at times as you may end up camping and sleeping in different locations for you to save progress. - Royal weapons consumes HP, so you can not use them all the time. -Noct can be a jerk at times and not well synchronized with his team. - vast word is empty at times and seem unfinished.… Expand

Dwoodlander

Apr 22, 2018

7

Final Fantasy XV was overall very enjoyable and memorable for me. However, I don’t think I have ever played a game that gave me as many conflicting feelings as this one. After several months since my last playthrough, I think I now have the perspective to express my final thoughts: it is a game of extreme highs and lows. At times, I felt like it could have been my favorite game on the PS4Final Fantasy XV was overall very enjoyable and memorable for me. However, I don’t think I have ever played a game that gave me as many conflicting feelings as this one. After several months since my last playthrough, I think I now have the perspective to express my final thoughts: it is a game of extreme highs and lows. At times, I felt like it could have been my favorite game on the PS4 (long time FF fan here), and at others it was laughably bad. The high points luckily save the game for me, as I still really enjoy it and will likely revisit it to play again sometime.

What I loved (+):
-Road-trip w/ chocobros through an americana-inspired world mixed in w/ classic final fantasy was a very unique, generally well-executed concept (when it comes to just traveling and exploring the open road)
-Constantly entertaining and dynamic interactions between the 4 protagonists
-Beautiful art design including many of the locales, monsters, cities
-Immersive dungeons
-Amazing soundtrack (Yoko Shimomura put so much love into this)
-Hunts: frightening and epic battles with some classic FF monsters was a blast.
-A solid ending that redeemed some of the agonizingly bad parts of the 2nd half

What I hated (-):
-Patched together storyline; I seriously cannot believe the game was released in its initial state w/ characters that are presented as critically important only to be never mentioned again, dramatic scenes expecting you to care about empty characters (JARED!!!), innumerable plot holes, and a bizarre hodgepodge of lore that didn’t really mesh well
-Empty-feeling world; while being out in the wilds of Eos was awesome, it felt really empty when it came to cities and NPCs. The world is essentially made of two major cities you visit (lestallum and altissia) and then dozens of nearly identical gas stations that were just cut and pasted. The NPCs also looked like they were from entirely different game worlds (dudes with polo shirts and khakis), which was completely jarring in comparison to the main protagonists, Aranea, Iris, etc. who look like proper FF characters.
-Side Quests: the laziest, most uninspired side quests that have zero connection to the overall story; seriously, I encountered the same cut-and-pasted NPC several times with a broken down car asking for help.
-Undeveloped back-stories: while I loved the 4 main protagonists, there could have been so much more development and flashbacks to backstories. The same goes for characters like Luna, Aranea, and Ardyn.
-Battle customization: while the battle system was actually really enjoyable, character customization was almost nonexistent, with hardly any cool new skills or mechanics to look forward to.
-Difficulty: far, far too easy. The low difficulty gave no incentive to actually strategize for battles.

All in all, this is a game that had so much potential to be a masterpiece for me, but ultimately ended up being an enjoyable, albeit highly flawed experience.… Expand

Henriquez94

Oct 26, 2018

6

Debo aceptarlo, es mi primer FF (Final Fantasy), no era lo que esperaba.
Esa historia increible que me contaba mi compañero de juegos, mi calificacion es como un juego de mundo abierto mas de esta generacion, porque si pedis una calificacion como FF tiene un 3.
Graficamente es muy bueno, excelentes paisajes, muy bien optimizado, pocos bugs. Probe la version Windows Edition y han hehco unDebo aceptarlo, es mi primer FF (Final Fantasy), no era lo que esperaba.
Esa historia increible que me contaba mi compañero de juegos, mi calificacion es como un juego de mundo abierto mas de esta generacion, porque si pedis una calificacion como FF tiene un 3.
Graficamente es muy bueno, excelentes paisajes, muy bien optimizado, pocos bugs. Probe la version Windows Edition y han hehco un buen trabajo, me va de maravilla, mas de 60 Fps, y Nvidia tiene muchos mods graficos que favorecen al titulo.
Banda sonora muy buena, nada destacable.
El combate y habilidades, el poder intercambiar golpes con tu equipo es una excelente mecanica.
Hay muchas misiones secundarias, muy repetetivas. Aburridas.
El juego es disfrutable hasta la recta final, esque hay unas (Fumadas) cosas absurdas que pasan, que en un instante tienes un arma capaz de derrotar mounstruos de alto nivel, en mi caso era nivel 41 y podia derrotar mounstruos de nivel 72, de un golpe un movimiento, absurdo como comento.
La recta final no es disfrutable, la batalla con el jefe final, se torna tediosa, para nada me parecio espectacular, el juego lo termine porque no me gustan dejar las cosas a medio camino, pero de mi parte no lo recomiendo, compre el juego por $23 con un amigo ($12 C/U)… Expand

20Gigabytes

May 2, 2018

7

I enjoyed the game overall but there were some important flaws (at least in my opinion) I played the game at release and there were some annoying bugs and some really bad camera sometimes. The story was decent but that's it. Graphics were good, though.

crowbarhero

May 20, 2018

7

I've finished the game's whole storyline at 40 hrs, and I must say that it was worth my time. The graphics were very beautiful, and the combat was amusing to say the least. The music was not bad, I find some of it to be enjoyable and memorable, although most of them are not.

The story though, was an absolute mess. I'm not saying that FFXV has a bad story, it has a brilliant story, butI've finished the game's whole storyline at 40 hrs, and I must say that it was worth my time. The graphics were very beautiful, and the combat was amusing to say the least. The music was not bad, I find some of it to be enjoyable and memorable, although most of them are not.

The story though, was an absolute mess. I'm not saying that FFXV has a bad story, it has a brilliant story, but the story telling was awful. This includes the connection between the game itself, the DLCs and Kingsglaive movie. Some of the plots from the DLC and the movie, Kingsglaive: FFXV does not add up, and I am disappointed to say that a good opportunity for deep and thorough storytelling was wasted. SE wasted the opportunity to make the game connect deeper with the players, and to make it worse, most characters significantly lack depth.
All in all it was a good game, but very disappointed at the bad story telling and character development. I felt that this game could be so much better than it was.… Expand

Onask

Oct 7, 2018

7

La gente puede decir todo lo que quiera, pero Final Fantasy XV no es un mal juego; quizás un mal Final Fantasy, pero ni de lejos un mal juego.

Para empezar, es de los pocos juegos que me han hecho sentir interés y preocupación por el resto del grupo (Ignis, Prompto y Gladiolus) y que de verdad los he sentido como compañeros que como un lastre desde principio hasta final, y eso vale suLa gente puede decir todo lo que quiera, pero Final Fantasy XV no es un mal juego; quizás un mal Final Fantasy, pero ni de lejos un mal juego.

Para empezar, es de los pocos juegos que me han hecho sentir interés y preocupación por el resto del grupo (Ignis, Prompto y Gladiolus) y que de verdad los he sentido como compañeros que como un lastre desde principio hasta final, y eso vale su peso en oro.

Gráficamente es bastante portentoso, con enormes y vastos escenarios que explorar, muy bien integrados con la tecnología y el aspecto realista del juego. El combate me parece una muy buena variante del más puro estilo Kingdom Hearts, y dado que a mí los juegos de RPG por turnos se me hacen muy cuesta arriba, lo agradezco infinitamente. Ahí se nota de sobra la influencia de Nomura (tanto en el combate como en el diseño, sobre todo de la ropa, de los personajes).

La historia no es gran cosa, pero cumple su cometido, y el malo final es bastante digno dentro de lo que cabe.

Realmente si os gusta la estética, Kingdom Hearts o juegos Action RPG, echádle un ojo, que para nada es tan malo como la gente dice.

Recomendado.… Expand

Captain_Savall

Nov 12, 2018

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Para empezar he de decir que el juego tiene un par de ideas buenas pero mal desarrolladas, y que sus políticas han sido de lo peor que he visto. Empezaré por lo bueno, tiene unos gráficos de diez, sinceramente espectaculares, y que decir de la música, pensaba que Shimomura no podria sustituir al gran Uematsu pero lo ha hecho muy bién. La historia no es mala, pero para ser un Final Fantasy tiene demasiadas carencias, te vas enterando muy mal de lo que va pasando, ahora vienen SPOILERS, como el prologo en que pasan muchas cosas como la muerte de Regis, que ya se que hay una película, pero a modo de resumen o algo así en mi opinión lo deberian poner, también lo poco que explican de la historia, como los experimentos que hacian, que lo tienes que leer de unas páginas, y ya podrian haber hecho una cinemática o algo, al igual que la transformación de Iedolas que surge de la nada, o de como Ignis se queda ciego. Otra cosa que no me ha gustado es lo desaprovechados que estan todos los personajes secundarios, creo que personajes como Cor, Iris o Aranea deberian poder ser seleccionables para nuestro equipo desde el momento en que lo son temporalmente y que deberia haber más, esto es algo muy típico en Final Fantasy, y no tener solo a los cuatro, que aunque me gustan como grupo, creo que en la diversidad esta el gusto. También me hubiera gustado poder controlarlos a todos, la cual cosa creo que le hubiera beneficiado al juego, pudiendo meter clases como en los antiguos, y no haciendo superpoderoso a Noctis con la excusa de que es el entronado y solo lo podemos controlar a él. Otra cosa desaprovechadisima son las invocaciones, excesivamente escasas, realmente solo hay cuatro, puesto que Bahamut y Ifrit no se pueden usar, y eso de que no se puedan usar a placer es otro error, preferiria que no fueran tan fuertes y poder usarlas cuando quisiese, al igual que las magias, ¿donde se ha visto un FF con solo piro, electro y hielo?, si el primer FF ya traía más, prefiero menos poder y más uso.

En cuanto a la jugabilidad he de decir que yo era un poco reacio, puesto que prefiero por mucho los turnos para Final Fantasy, pero no me ha disgustado, se hacia entretenida aunque era muy simple, a veces la camara perdia un poco el control y la dificultad era irrisoria. Las mazmorras son impecables, siempre teniendo esa tensión en el ambiente, con una caracterización para los enemigos muy bién hecha, y con enemigos muy míticos, aunque he de comentar el fatídico capítulo 13, que aunque la idea no estaba mal, de cambiar un poco la jugabilidad y tal, otra vez se hizo fatal, haciendose larguísimo sin necesidad. Pero he de decir que me gusto mucho la mazmorra de Pitioss, que me sorprendió para bién. De los únicos enemigos que me quejo es justamente los más importantes, de algunos jefes y sobretodo del jefe final. Hacia tiempo que no veía una batalla tan guiada sobre raíles como la de Leviatán, parecía más una película que un juego, que decir también de los jefes que van sobre los Mechas, que literalmente aparecen de la nada te los cargas y ya está, o Ravus que no sabes absolutamente nada de él y de repente está corrupto. En cuanto a Ardyn, primero porque su historia no se explica todo lo bién que se podria, y aunque en un principio no me pareció un mal villano, a mi en algunos momentos me puso de los nervios, en el final por su excesiva facilidad y su falta de ambición o no se como explicarlo, ¿este es el jefe que dijeron que seria el más mítico de la historia de Final Fantasy? Ardyn les llega a Sephiroth, Kefka y Kuja a la suela de los zapatos solo diré eso. Por último he de criticar muy duramente las misiones secundarias, que somos los recaderos, ninguna mision secundaria tiene un mísero trasfondo medianamente interesante y por supuesto también los DLC, eso de que Gladiolus casualmente se vaya para poder meter DLC es demencial.

En definitiva y para quien quiera leer un resumen: juego recortado para venderte DLCs, desarrollo de secundarios (los protagonistas de puta madre) paupérrimo, batalla final y de algunos jefes (Leviatán entre otros) de risa, magias y invocaciones escasísimas y mal implementadas, publicidad ingame (los noodles), jugabilidad simple y dificultad irrisoria (no usé ni una poción durante la trama principal), misiones secundarias de recadero y sin interés... sinceramente cuando lo jugué le vi un par de ideas buenas, pero muy mal desarrolladas, y si que es verdad que bien hecho hubiera sido un buen FF, pero la realidad es que es una pena pero como juego es malo, y esto no es subjetivo, todo lo que he dicho arriba son datos objetivos. Lo único que es bueno son los gráficos y la música (que para mi Shimomura ha demostrado estar al nivel de Uematsu).… Expand

iseir

Feb 23, 2019

5

first half of the game is pretty good, but the 2nd half is terrible, and how the ending was handled, especially with the "keep playing" option. My recommendation is to play up to chapter 8, but do not start that, instead just wait for the Devs to fix the second half of the game (which will never happen).

the first part is good enough to not warrant a complete dumpster fire but halffirst half of the game is pretty good, but the 2nd half is terrible, and how the ending was handled, especially with the "keep playing" option. My recommendation is to play up to chapter 8, but do not start that, instead just wait for the Devs to fix the second half of the game (which will never happen).

the first part is good enough to not warrant a complete dumpster fire but half score, for half a game.… Expand

nada_san

Mar 12, 2019

5

A GREAT Final Fantasy consists of 34% story and characters, 33% music, 33% gameplay & world. An AWFUL Final Fantasy, for example like XV, has 90% gameplay/world and 10% the rest combined. This game is just a good looking game that has the Final Fantasy name slapped on to it.

The recipe for a great game is not impossible to make but the chefs forgot to put the soul it needed, or should IA GREAT Final Fantasy consists of 34% story and characters, 33% music, 33% gameplay & world. An AWFUL Final Fantasy, for example like XV, has 90% gameplay/world and 10% the rest combined. This game is just a good looking game that has the Final Fantasy name slapped on to it.

The recipe for a great game is not impossible to make but the chefs forgot to put the soul it needed, or should I say, they stupidly fought 10 years over a simple recipe. They wanted to make a great apple pie and ended up with an overcooked pie with no apples.

It's sad to see producers forcing to make this franchise something that it's not. And why take out the story from the game and place it in an anime series & a movie???!!! I really enjoyed the anime series but left the game story very dry.

I'm looking forward with hope that someday Final Fantasy will be it's self again; not in a nostalgic way, but in a high way.… Expand

Unthugged

Jun 12, 2019

6

I didn't love the game,but wouldn't say I particularly hated it either. Didn't really find any of the characters that like-able or compelling. And the random overhead drop ship encounters with enemies can get really tedious. On completion I still had a lot left in the world to discover,but didn't really feel interested enough to bother. All in all quite a forgettable experience.

Sephiroth89

Jun 13, 2019

6

I'm a hardcore FF fan and I'm always getting excited about new instalment and will always play it. I got to say FFXV got me reaaaaly excited ahead of it's premiere with a few mini games and beautiful CGI movie. I though damn this game will be huge and will be a masterpiece and I wish....
Unfortunately the game was really rushed through and missed a lot of story and character to beI'm a hardcore FF fan and I'm always getting excited about new instalment and will always play it. I got to say FFXV got me reaaaaly excited ahead of it's premiere with a few mini games and beautiful CGI movie. I though damn this game will be huge and will be a masterpiece and I wish....
Unfortunately the game was really rushed through and missed a lot of story and character to be considered a full game. Square tried to fix it with some additional DLCs but there were too late and too little. The game had a great concept and potential but it failed on the story content as there just wasn't enough for it be considered a great game.
Another thing that was flawed was the combat system. While it was flashy and beautiful, it lacked any real challenge. I felt immortal which took away the challenging fun side of gaming as you could beat anyone if you only fought them long enough.
The game could be one of my favourite but instead I was left not recommending the game to my friends.. 6/10
I hope they will take their time with VII remake because oh boy we don't want the reapeat… Expand

rainyday2

Oct 28, 2020

7

Here comes a game that could have been legendary with an 11/10 potential but it got ruined by so many things that it would take me ages to describe . The unfinished nature at launch , the world of Final Fantasy XV stupidity where you had to watch not only movies and anime but freaking trailers to understand everything about the world and last but not least the devs spending time on theHere comes a game that could have been legendary with an 11/10 potential but it got ruined by so many things that it would take me ages to describe . The unfinished nature at launch , the world of Final Fantasy XV stupidity where you had to watch not only movies and anime but freaking trailers to understand everything about the world and last but not least the devs spending time on the dumbest things you could possibly imagine instead of fixing what was truly broken ...

Want the long dull ass rides with the car to be shortened? Want better side quests? More cutscenes? More Luna scenes? A new city? Nah get some fishing , some VR crap , a monster truck , an FPS perspective among other things you will never use ..

To their credit they tried to fix this game what with them adding the ability to change characters and such but they also spend time working on a playable Luna and entire DLC's that amounted to NOTHING . Countless things they worked on amounted to **** nothing because their vision constantly changed ever since 2006 ...What a mess… Expand

Pulsecat

Oct 21, 2017

5

This game is trash. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS GAME.
Story is stupid, long loading screen, and moderate graphic.
Only good thing about this game is open world, and combat.

Donmarciano

Dec 17, 2016

5

Absolute disappointment. This game is one of the most visually beautiful games i have ever played and yet it completely falls short in every other aspect. The combat while flashy, is the most repetitive thing i have ever played. It has no depth, nor does it offer any real strategic challenge. It simply comes down to hold a button to attack and hold a button to block with a few specialAbsolute disappointment. This game is one of the most visually beautiful games i have ever played and yet it completely falls short in every other aspect. The combat while flashy, is the most repetitive thing i have ever played. It has no depth, nor does it offer any real strategic challenge. It simply comes down to hold a button to attack and hold a button to block with a few special attacks in between once your gauge has changed. The story was put in the back burner, which is surprising considering the amount of promotional material release prior to the game (Movie, anime, trailers. etc) half of the game involves such minimal story progression, you start to wonder why the characters even bother. The world is a beautiful yet empty mess, there's little to nothing to do in that wide open space of play ground. You will reach other cities in different parts of the game, only to find out every city is equally as empty as the previous. There is also no character development, there is no reason why you should care for the characters aside from a few entertaining one liners, so if all it takes for you to fall in love and be invested in a character are one liners, then this is the game for you. The game overall is an absolute waste of potential.… Expand

Devastinglane

Dec 13, 2016

6

It's not a FF game... the history is SOOOOO FLAT. The gameplay is fun, but is not a good jrpg.

+ Music is excelent
+ Graphics is excelent
+ Gameplay is fine

- History Flat
- Secundary Quest is repetitive and bored
- Ui problems

chillaxer

Feb 25, 2018

6

I played about 3 hours of this game and about 5 minutes of it were entertaining. Half the time was spent "driving" (you don't really have control of the car, just where it is going) and walking. The reviews on here in the 5-7 range are spot on -- the game is mediocre at best.

NinjaFujoshi

Nov 2, 2017

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. FFXV is one of the most painfully average games I've played. This is coming from a person who isn't a hardcore FF fan or a casual player. I have very high expectations for this game to come out. The game trailers showed promise of what the game is like, but sadly, it'll only show like 98% what the game actually is when you play it.

First off of what the game's strongest downfall is the story. Nothing is wrong with a simple or complex story as long you able to show what is going on and able to understand it. This game has a simple premise of the story but sadly, the game fails when it comes to story-telling. Major conflicts usually have shown either off screen, read through papers, or have an NPC talk to you the situation that has happened. It's even worse that you have to watch the movie, the Brotherhood anime, and the DLCs to understand what is going on. They talk very little of the mythos in the game unless you have access to the internet to understand what is going on. The romance subplot is so forced that Noctis and Luna have zero chemistry; they're more like penpals than an actual couple that are in love. I suspect the game's story to be better than this.

The four main characters were okay. Except for Noctis, his friends lack backstories of what they have become before the game, even in the anime doesn't talk about their backstories much. They have very little character development that it's easily brushed aside. The boys weren't terrible, just lacking that they're basically cookie-cutter characters. The supporting characters don't have the same treatment of the main four. Luna is basically there to be a plot device that is destined to die and be Noctis' romantic interest that there isn't much to her personality except being a cardboard cut out. Ardyn's evil motives are questionable at best when you have to look up, once again, the internet. I would go on about the other supporting characters but it's going to be a long paragraph. Basically, the majority of the supporting cast are underrepresented.

The gameplay could've been better. The weapons you acquired are useless when you only use about 3-4 weapons that are to your liking on your weapon slot. The magic is useless that there's barely any difference when you make a damage on the enemy. Also, it hurts you and the members so there's no point of using them since the members are stupid to go through the pain of getting hit. Side quests are mundane chores that you have to go through in order to get some exp, gil, and some items. The car is one of the most annoying uses of transportation because either you (not really) drive to your destination or use quick travel, it doesn't matter, it's a long loading screen.

I think the only things that I like in the game are the graphics and the soundtrack. It's a beautiful looking game. The music is good. I do like the hunts too. But that's all I have very little positive things about this game, unfortunately.

I tried to be optimistic and wanted to like this game, but it's hard now. All this game is giving me negative feelings of depression, confusion, and anger. If people like this game, that's fine. I just wish that I could enjoy what they have. I feel like people will enjoy for the gameplay. If people want to play the game for the story, I suggest looking away as it's not really much of a story to be told.… Expand

jrdnnn

Dec 12, 2017

7

Better than XIII, but not a patch on the classics, Final Fantasy XV has more than enough going for it both in the context of the franchise and as a 4th-gen RPG. The game takes brave risks with many aspects of the game and while some of these are worth the wager, some moves feel like a step backwards in terms of what we have come to expect from the long-running title.

The gameplay isBetter than XIII, but not a patch on the classics, Final Fantasy XV has more than enough going for it both in the context of the franchise and as a 4th-gen RPG. The game takes brave risks with many aspects of the game and while some of these are worth the wager, some moves feel like a step backwards in terms of what we have come to expect from the long-running title.

The gameplay is good, with solid mechanisms and exhilirating combat. The skills system is actually deeper than I first thought, as are the amount of weapons and accessories available, but there is definitely something missing by shifting the game entirely to the action RPG category. For me, Final Fantasy XII was the sweet spot between turn-based and action RPG, and the move in XV abandons a wealth of tactical opportunities in lieu of pace and drama. Magic is useless, summons are randomly generated, most controls are automated and there is a severe limit on what you can do other that just smash enemies repeatedly with weapons. However, the Armiger system, warping, parrying and link strikes are fun and furious.

The open world gameplay is fantastic, and the sheer size of the map makes it truly feel like the roadtrip experience the designers went for. Yes, it's unfocused, but there's an amazing sense of scale and scope to the exploration in this game. I often found myself pursuing side quests, hidden dungeons and hunts for hours on end with not a bad word to say about them. The four main characters are the first in Final Fantasy history to not contain an insufferably annoying member, and I'd agree with the majority that the team dynamic is one of the game's selling points.

While the game is absolutely gorgeous sonically and visually, the story lacks the power to complement the world. I've seen all spin-off material and the story still confused me, to the point I didn't actually know why I was completing some main missions. There is a lot missing in a narrative sense, and what's there is OK, but the game definitely doesn't feel complete in this sense. I just wanted, and expected, more from the series built on its plot-driven experience. The lack of female playable characters was strange too, and could definitely have been incorporated with ease.

In general, I really enjoyed this game, but as a long-time fan, certain disappointments were all too apparent throughout. While combat is fun, it lacks depth. The characters are excellent, but their story is lacklustre. The pace is very erratic, but did allow for extensive camping, trekking, dungeon crawling, cooking, fishing, photography, racing, relaxing and more. Sections where plot was focused on were linear and rushed, and ultimately spoiled the last few hours of the game. The world is nostalgia-filled, glorious to behold, and breathtaking in detail, but I just felt there was something missing, and I think the back-seat story was this thing. Whereas Final Fantasy X has the ever-impending arrival of Sin, Final Fantasy IX had the existential dread of the meaning of "life" and Final Fantasy XII had the true spirit of odds-against rebellion, XV was very hard to fully immerse yourself in.

It's an odd game, on reflection, but certainly worth playing, as it has true glimpses of excellence.… Expand

Akkou

Dec 9, 2016

5

pros:
-graphics
-technic ok -dynamic fighting system -Impressive Giant creatures -very good ost but bad sometimes -Team is alive -exploration is interesting -immersives dungeons cons: -imperfect battle system: very messy when too much enemies or in tiny places -Very bad narrative structure -minimalist production -Second part of game is rushed -First minutes of the game arepros:
-graphics
-technic ok
-dynamic fighting system
-Impressive Giant creatures
-very good ost but bad sometimes
-Team is alive
-exploration is interesting
-immersives dungeons

cons:
-imperfect battle system: very messy when too much enemies or in tiny places
-Very bad narrative structure
-minimalist production
-Second part of game is rushed
-First minutes of the game are only baiting for nothing
-Characters are transparent: they have no purpose in life
-boss fightings are bad, messy and unbalanced: we often dont know why we win
-too much advertising in game (cup noodles)
-incoherent open-world with no human activities (copy/paste of gas stations: only one city)
-too much fetch quests with no coherence
-chapter 13 is only here to gain some time, very bad. Mechanics are not mastered
-Huuuuuuuuuuge plot holes.
-Very few choices of armor
-Where is Kingsglaive background?
-No labial syncrhonization
-Beginning is ffxv, end is versus FXIII, no story coherence.
-camera is a bit crazy… Expand

Trip_Kiddo

Dec 18, 2016

6

I wanted to like this game. In fact, I wanted this game to be my favorite game of all time, but it comes nowhere near that and I can barely call it a good game. All of the leaders of the Empire are used once or twice and then entirely tossed aside. They're even lesser characters than those that give fetch quests.

The story lacks so much that it seems to be barely strung together. SoI wanted to like this game. In fact, I wanted this game to be my favorite game of all time, but it comes nowhere near that and I can barely call it a good game. All of the leaders of the Empire are used once or twice and then entirely tossed aside. They're even lesser characters than those that give fetch quests.

The story lacks so much that it seems to be barely strung together. So much content is tossed aside for their tie-in material. They kept saying that Kingsglaive and Brotherhood were optional and meant to be simply companion experiences, but they're not. They are entirely necessary for the overarching plot.

Every character besides the 4 main characters is so underdeveloped that they're irrelevant and unnecessary. And while I loved the 4 main bros, I really wished they made other characters more interesting. Luna was marketed as the stories female lead, but she really isn't. All of here development happens in the Kingsglaive movie. Regis (and this isn't a spoiler, it was heavily marketed) who dies early in the beginning doesn't even get any flashback scenes from when Noctis was a child for us to care about his death. Honestly, although I love the 4 main bros i'd argue even they got shafted when it comes to their background (which is is in the guide book but not in the game) stories because I only know them for how they interact during the adventure.

The Open world is beautiful but entirely empty and filled with boring fetch quests. In fact, I'd say the Open world is this game's biggest problem. Because they focused so much on making a sparse open world you can tell that this is what caused them to forget the story entirely. Many people complain about pacing issues (the first half of the game takes a long time and the last half goes by quickly) and that's because of the open world. If you just try and get through the main story then I doubt the game lasts more than 10 hours. It only feels long because in the open sections you might go do the boring side quests which ALL revolve around "go kill this" or "go fetch that". I wish they had focused on the story and just made multiple small but open enough explore-able zones for major areas. Tenebrae, an area they showed as late as the Uncovered trailer, was completely cut. And Altissia is minuscule. And the reason for the bad loading screens, is because so much unnecessary space needs to load.

The truth is, as much as I give Tabata s**t (some of which he rightfully deserves) I'm mostly pissed at Square Enix upper management. The reason Versus XIII took so damn long was because they would move his team to fix the issues with their awful in house engine, the main XIII game which had it's own development problems, and their disastrous original launch of XIV. So f**k you Square Enix for not being able to get your s**t together, and f**k you Tabata for gutting what Nomura had for a trilogy and craning it into a mediocre game.… Expand

rodericrinehart

Jan 21, 2017

5

This game is clearly flawed, but there was also a lot of fun to be had for the 50-hour playthrough. Ultimately, it is about the bonding and friendship of the 4 guys, and that is developed very well. The story is a mess, the world is empty, the facial animate is dated, the camera controls are mediocre, and yes, chapter 13 is just as bad as everyone says. The second half takes just a fewThis game is clearly flawed, but there was also a lot of fun to be had for the 50-hour playthrough. Ultimately, it is about the bonding and friendship of the 4 guys, and that is developed very well. The story is a mess, the world is empty, the facial animate is dated, the camera controls are mediocre, and yes, chapter 13 is just as bad as everyone says. The second half takes just a few hours because they clearly rushed it out the door. It needed another year or two of development and some polish as well.… Expand

123456

Jan 22, 2017

5

The first 2 thirds of this game are really fun.

The graphics are great, the world looks really good. It is probably too big if anything, you spend a lot of time driving around (on autopilot) and the rest of the time running or riding chocobos, but the world lacks interaction. Where once random encounters with the screen shattering or warping where annoying, now you hardly see anyThe first 2 thirds of this game are really fun.

The graphics are great, the world looks really good. It is probably too big if anything, you spend a lot of time driving around (on autopilot) and the rest of the time running or riding chocobos, but the world lacks interaction. Where once random encounters with the screen shattering or warping where annoying, now you hardly see any enemies at all.

So the first two thirds you explore this world and do some storyline and some monster hunts which are generally fun. But the side quests are unimaginative to say the least. You are an errand boy doing things even the quest writers in vanilla WoW would have thought twice about giving level 1's. And you are the Prince of a kingdom who can teleport around the battlefield.

Speaking of battlefield, the combat is OK. If you get in an area with bushes or trees though, prepare to be frustrated by not being able to see anything at all. You control one guy and whilst you can do combo's with your 3 friends, kind of like old limit breaks, at least two of them only seem to be there to get killed.

So all this is OK, pretty fun really. Then the whole game crashes into a wall, air bags fail, the story line rolls out of the wreckage and staggers across the finishing line. Without spoiling it too much, the open world element completely disappears and never returns, unless you count a ludicrous time travel gimmick.

After you finish the game you are offered the chance to continue, but to me this felt completely hollow after the terrible final third. The ending attempts desperately to add some kind of depth or anguish to the nonsense that preceded it but it is just the terrible tasting, odd looking cherry on top. A total mess, almost as bad as Mass Effect 3, and to the point where a second playthrough, which I would normally do with a game like this, is completely ruined.… Expand

TheFrostyPen

Oct 8, 2018

7

Embarrassing on almost every level. Skippable. Frustrating in all the wrong ways. I hate it. Absolutely hate it. If it weren't for the great voice acting and graphics, I would demand a refund. There are literally commericals IN THE GAME FOR CUP NOODLES. Not only is this a new low for the series, but it is a new low for gaming in general. They've opened the gates to horrible thingsEmbarrassing on almost every level. Skippable. Frustrating in all the wrong ways. I hate it. Absolutely hate it. If it weren't for the great voice acting and graphics, I would demand a refund. There are literally commericals IN THE GAME FOR CUP NOODLES. Not only is this a new low for the series, but it is a new low for gaming in general. They've opened the gates to horrible things for years to come. I will never buy a Final Fantasy game every again. Trash. Garbage.

Awful combat. Terrible camera.
Not really open world. Car driving? Huge loading times. Annoying repetitive trash sidequests.

Worst story of all the final fantasties. If a middle schooler wrote this, he'd get a C+ at best. It's less a story and more an outline of a story.

An unbelievable failure.

Only plus is the graphics (which big deal right?). And the voice actors. They were great.

Skip. Delete. DONT NOT BUY THIS COMMERCIAL FOR CUP NOODLES AND COLEMAN LANTERNS.

EVER… Expand

livein

Dec 7, 2016

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Divisive game

Final Fantasy XV is a game that lies to you from the very first moments you start it. To have even basic grasp on convoluted, very badly told story you MUST watch Kingsglaive movie and Brotherhood anime series. It’s impossible entry point for an average Joe and in light of that “Game for Final Fantasy fans and first timers” screen seems like adding insult to injury.

“Eyes that can see beautiful graphics and music”

Even with severe lip-synching problem game looks great. True - roughly half of the world map consist of deserts, but other half – beautiful wetlands and later - Venice inspired city more than makes up for it. Yoko Shinomura music is most likely the best part of this game. Just listen to “Somnus” and you’ll understand why.

“Eyes that can see open world full of fetch quests”

This is first time Final Fantasy went open world. After linear corridors of FFXIII we needed something different – but what we have here isn’t doing the job. This is 2016 not 2008, we have few open world titles every single year, and those games execute open world formula with much greater success.

World of FFXV is huge, you can spent countless hours there. Problem is – majority of activities consist of boring fetch quests. There are few quest lines that will lead you to interesting places, but those are few and far between. After few hours of side-questing I’ve decided to skip it completely, as they felt like chore.

“Eyes that can see terrible world design”

Who the hell though it’s a good idea to merry demons and magic with diners and camping in Nevada? FFXV is forcing bro-roadtrip theme, but it just doesn’t work. FF was always about saving the world, not the bachelor trip. At some point I was wondering when we will reach some strip clubs and hookers.

“Eyes that can see uninspiring combat”

At first glance combat seems great. Gone are the days of turn based encounters – now we’re going real time. It’s very impressive spectacle – watching Noctis warp from enemy to enemy. Unfortunately novelty wears off pretty quickly and we’re left with combat system that requires zero skill.

Forget about dodging or any other advanced tactics. What you can do (and what game kind of asks you to do) is to overpower your enemies with series of short range Warp Strikes. Just juggle potions and elixirs – and you can down even very high level bosses.

Magic system is so lame I didn’t use it at all. It’s like they took all the worst parts of FFVIII (tedious draw) and discarded all the good stuff (augmenting stats, elemental resistances and attacks). There is no healing magic, only 3 offensive types. You can be damaged by your own spell. Most definitely the worst magic system in any FF to date.

“Eyes that can see badly told story”

FFXV story is all over the place. I mean, when you think about it – its premise is so easy (empire is bad – we’re the good guys – go reclaim the throne young prince) – there is no way SE could mess it up. SPOILERS – they can, and they do.

In concept this is dark, tragic game about sacrifices and hard choices. There are some events that (I presume) were made to make you weep. I remember crying like a baby when FFX ended (and by all account that game was way brighter and upbeat than FFXV). Here I felt nothing, nothing at all.

That’s because story is very poorly told. There are key scenes missing. So many events happen off screen. Even if you watched Kingsglaive you will be left wondering – what the hell is going on. And that applies to villains, world state – and even some main cast. It’s really hard to care for Luna when she and Noctis has ZERO dialog lines together. Can you even believe it? After all this build up.

Game is short. Main story missions will take you up to 15, maybe 20 hours. Second part – when game forces you into closed corridors feels rushed.

“Eyes that can see the light of expiring souls”

Unfortunately the only soul I see expiring is the one of FF of old – great, epic adventures full of mysteries and excellent storytelling. What does it even mean to be a Final Fantasy game now? Do we give SE card blanche to put FF coat of paint on just any title?

Final Fantasy XV is a game tormented by long and rocky development cycle. There are just so many ambitious ideas that clash here – most of them don’t mesh together. Story – most important component of any Final Fantasy is nearly nonexistent here. Instead we’re left with fetch quest extravaganza in bland, lifeless open world.

What we’ve got here is a decent title, but I would argue it would be better this game never happen, and we were left with the vision, ideal, dream of FFXIII versus with its beautiful dark themes and Shakespeare quotes to live on.

FFXV is way better than disastrous FFXIII, but it’s hardly step in the right direction. FFXV came ten years too late to be relevant. In terms of design – it’s light years behind The Witcher 3. Overall - disappointing experience.… Expand

ThecriticGoD

Feb 8, 2017

7

I'm a fan since FF7 and eventhough I more or less enjoyed FFXII I just disliked FFXIII way too much, so much that I didn't even play it's sequels, being the first Final Fantasy games I missed. When FFXV was announced I was really into open world action RPG games so I got kinda hyped, this are the things I find positive and negative in the game.

Positive: 1-Decent main story, good plotI'm a fan since FF7 and eventhough I more or less enjoyed FFXII I just disliked FFXIII way too much, so much that I didn't even play it's sequels, being the first Final Fantasy games I missed. When FFXV was announced I was really into open world action RPG games so I got kinda hyped, this are the things I find positive and negative in the game.

Positive:
1-Decent main story, good plot twists and unexpected scenarios, but fails at some points (see negative).
2-Good combat system (this one is kinda mixed, the combat system is really interesting, but it can get really boring and monotone quickly if you start doing a lot of side-quests).
3-Graphics. The game has obviously extremely good graphics, that help creating a great environment and inmersion.
4-World. The world is extremely beautiful, as well as the cities.
5-Character development system: Pretty simple but it's enjoyable.

Negative:
1-Story content. There are some points that are not well clarified, some trivial things, and some things they work with, then they completely left forgotten, and eventhough the main story is cool, most of the time you find yourself going through stupid or cliche dialogues between the characters that take way too long.
2-Side-quests. I know the comparison might not be fair, but if you compare FFXV's sidequests to a game like say... The witcher 3, it almost feels like they shouldn't have made it an open world. The point of side-quests is that they should give a lot more of insight into the lore, the history, or just be fun, but most quests in FFXV are just go to X position and kill Y, and it really doesn't go beyond that too much, I had to quit doing side-quests after 2-3 hours because it was just the same all over again, I tried to redo a few when I was a bit more advanced into the game but it was still the same over and over again. I know optional content is hard to criticize, but it feels so bad and such a waste to have that world at your hand and not be able to enjoy it due to how tedious and boring the quests are.
3-Characters. The characters are boring, uninteresting, and some of then even way too whiny, you don't get any insight on most of the characters past or what led them to where they are, most of the secondary characters have the same problems too. The characters do not follow the same line as most final fantasies, that's for sure.
4-Magic and summoning. Probably the two most distinctive traits in the Final Fantasy saga. Guess what, they are completely useless and rarely seen, you just don't need them at all, and summons can only be used in certain circumstances (very rarely ones).
5-OST, as much as I hated FFXIII, I thought the OST was pretty decent, just like with every other Final Fantasy before, but FFXV's OST is just the first I just don't enjoy at all, I actually don't remember any of the songs in the game.

Overall: OK game, I was expecting more and I really wanted this to bring back the hype that Final Fantasy built with their good old FF6-10 games, and eventhough some of the things it introduces are a good step in that direction, this game just fails at some points that a final fantasy shouldn't fail at and makes me wonder is Square-enix is ever going to find the key to finally start making GREAT games again.… Expand

kwstas

Dec 13, 2016

6

i honestly think that it is a pretty nice game but i also believe that is kind of overrated . i could give it a ten for the work they have done on the design of the world of the game , the graphics are really amazing . the cities and the landscapes are leaving you breathless all the colors probably even the monsters are all made so perfectly . but thinking of all this and still i get myi honestly think that it is a pretty nice game but i also believe that is kind of overrated . i could give it a ten for the work they have done on the design of the world of the game , the graphics are really amazing . the cities and the landscapes are leaving you breathless all the colors probably even the monsters are all made so perfectly . but thinking of all this and still i get my self really bored playing this game . i mean you spend hours just waiting in the car , travelling from place to place on feet or with the chocobo , too many conversations endless cinematics and action absolutely nothing . as well the whole thing in the game is kind of cheesy for me.. i mean you cant travel 4 mins with the car just to collect some plants and then back again.. probably it could seem better if someone is 10 years old or something..… Expand

vontesse

Dec 22, 2016

6

Fun new game mechanics evolve the franchise to a more active frenetic combat approach that will keep you engaged. However, it severely limits your options as you have no control of the rest your party other than directing them to perform an occasional special and working toward triggering team attacks. Spells are also severely lacking here, consisting of various versions of fire, ice,Fun new game mechanics evolve the franchise to a more active frenetic combat approach that will keep you engaged. However, it severely limits your options as you have no control of the rest your party other than directing them to perform an occasional special and working toward triggering team attacks. Spells are also severely lacking here, consisting of various versions of fire, ice, and lightning. That's right, no Gravity, Demi, Flare, Ultima, etc. In fact, there are no spell casters in your team. Spells are crafted by combining elements with items, and then equipped to one of your active weapon slots. When "cast" they work like grenades, tossed into an area of effect. Then, a cooldown timer restricts you from using another spell for a time.

The open world is very nice to look at. But that world is sparsely filled. Quests are relegated to standard fetch quests that do nothing to further your understanding of the world you are exploring. An optional hunting quest line is also available, but, like other side quests, only serve to grind for xp. You can also only have one active hunt at a time. A curious design choice that will have you spending alot of time traveling (or loading if you fast travel) back and forth between the world and a questing hub.

The story...is not really here. The game plays out in two parts. The first half is an open world playground with meaningless sidequests and very little of the main plot. The second half strips the open world from you and shoves you through set piece after set piece in what feels like a highlight reel of a story. The bits in between these events are never touched upon. Oddly enough, it was the first half I enjoyed the most. This is where you get the funny dialogue between you and your "bros," the three traveling companions and your best friends. Even though there is barely any exploration of your relationship or character development, there are genuinely funny moments. This element of humor and camaraderie is entirely lacking in the second half. It moves so quickly and spends so much time on the events, that you never get to care about the characters themselves. Much of the story isn't even in the game. If you don't watch the movie (Kingsglaive) you'll miss out on what happened during the opening parts of the game. The game really doesn't go into this at all, possibly in an attempt to encourage sales of the movie. If you want to know more about the relationship between the four friends, you have to watch the anime (Brotherhood). Again, a possible attempt to increase earnings by piecemealing out the story among various products?

Customization is also missing here. Previous titles had a plethora of weapons, armor, accessories, spells, skills, items, etc. that could be utilized to your heart's content. Older titles even had optional sidequests that rewarded your tenacity in defeating superbosses or traversing challenging dungeons with some of the most powerful gear and skills in the game. FFXV lacks all of that. There is no armor. There are outfits that change your stats and your physical appearance. However, you pretty much start with all of the outfits you will ever have (a whopping 4 of them per character, 6 for the main character if you pre-ordered). Weapons are very limited. In my journey, I came across maybe five or six of each type of weapon. The gems are the royal arms, weapons only the main character can utilize. These are weapons of the kings of old passed on from generation to generation of successors. They are powerful! But will drain your HP as you use them, so do so sparingly. Accessories, are extremely basic, maybe 10 different kinds, with a host of upgraded versions of them. There barely any active skills and no jobs or classes to speak of. Skills are limited to the specials you can order your team mates to perform when your action bar reaches a certain threshold. You yourself, only get one special attack. That's right, ONE skill. Remember previous entries' skill lists you could learn, or the limit breaks you could unleash? Here, you only get one. It does however, get stronger as you collect more royal arms. You get the idea here, very limited customization. Probably the most restrictive in an any JRPG i've played. JRPGs are known for gear hunting. I get breaking the mold, but breaking the fun ones seems a strange decision.

In the end, this game felt like an unfinished product pushed out too soon due to a long development period and/or excessive financial strain. As an action romp, this game accomplishes stylish (though limited in options) combat, flashy visuals, and a large open world (in the first half anyway). But as an RPG, it severely lacks for customization and storytelling, forcing you into a relentless series of set pieces during the second half that leaves you feeling like you just played two separate games.… Expand

PotterMetal

Dec 5, 2016

6

The time that the FF saga dictated the rhythm of the RPG is over, after playing other games with a lot of quality and dedication of the developers, it is clear the neglect with the game, dead scenarios, no life, no feeling, could be MUCH better.

Acguydance

Dec 4, 2016

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game itself is really fun, with dozens of stuff to do, that is, until chapter 8. From there till the end, you will be put on a rail and at a certain point, is forced to WALK tru dungeons for a damn 2 hours which could be cleared in 30 minutes if you are allowed to run, and many other "time sinks" starts there. Be prepared for chapter 8 onwards.
And I strongly recommend you to make your review after you have actually cleared the damn game. Again, the game is fun BEFORE YOU ENTER CHAPTER 8.… Expand

bcj919

Jan 15, 2017

6

Like others said - incomplete & rushed.

The fighting system was a blast, but I wish there were more spells / techniques & opportunities to summon. They did a horrible job with tutorials, & pretty much expected you to sit at the camp sights and learn for yourself. My friend & I each discovered several key gameplay elements 50+ hours in. The story made absolutely no sense til theLike others said - incomplete & rushed.

The fighting system was a blast, but I wish there were more spells / techniques & opportunities to summon.

They did a horrible job with tutorials, & pretty much expected you to sit at the camp sights and learn for yourself. My friend & I each discovered several key gameplay elements 50+ hours in.

The story made absolutely no sense til the very end...I had to push myself to care to finish it.

Creature designs were great, & I loved the sense of scale in battle, but there seemed to be only a handful of them

All the negative posts aside, I had a genuinely fun time playing it, & I hope they build on this for the next entry… Expand

SoakerCity

Dec 18, 2016

5

This is half a game. The first half is almost TOO much, and its very good. The second half is linear, cheesy, boring, and traps you. Once you start it, you are trapped for dozens of hours, until you beat the main baddy. Then you get to go back to the world, But why would you want to? The climax is supposed to be at the and, and reward the grinding. This game is a 5/10, being half a game.This is half a game. The first half is almost TOO much, and its very good. The second half is linear, cheesy, boring, and traps you. Once you start it, you are trapped for dozens of hours, until you beat the main baddy. Then you get to go back to the world, But why would you want to? The climax is supposed to be at the and, and reward the grinding. This game is a 5/10, being half a game. Very disappointing structural flaw. How did this get approved? Heads need to roll at the top, Square Enix. This is bad game direction.

Also, the plot was alternatively convoluted and bullet-riddled, or predicatable and derivative.

This is almost a good game, but its just not. I played it for over 50 hours and then just stopped caring. The Linear aspect made me feel cheated.… Expand

whichjacob

Dec 20, 2016

5

COMBAT is the deepest aspect of the game and it is enjoyable to the very end.
The MUSIC, aside from Stand By Me, is completely forgettable. This was shocking not only because this is a Final Fantasy game, but because the composer, Yoko Shimomura, has made some deep and lively soundtracks in the past that added a great deal to the game, like Legend of Mana.
There are some beautiful andCOMBAT is the deepest aspect of the game and it is enjoyable to the very end.
The MUSIC, aside from Stand By Me, is completely forgettable. This was shocking not only because this is a Final Fantasy game, but because the composer, Yoko Shimomura, has made some deep and lively soundtracks in the past that added a great deal to the game, like Legend of Mana.
There are some beautiful and interesting TOWNS but the plot fails to make you care about them for the most part.
The CHARACTERS show growth, but it mostly occurs off-screen or outside of the game entirely. Definitely watch Kingsglaive and Brotherhood before playing the game.
SPOILER FREE - The STORY is light and unsubstantial. Where there should be emotional punches there is only anger at a lack of buildup, even taking into consideration the anime and movie.
Considering that the game spent 10 years in development it is unforgivable that my biggest gripe is a weak story that could have been made much better if it had been given more substance. Square Enix is certainly capable of making players care about their characters and locations but they largely failed to do so in this entry.… Expand

Swisscakie

Dec 30, 2016

5

+ Open world environment ,
+ The beginning few chapters of the game,
+ Chocobos ,

-/+ Combat system ,

- Chapter 13 ,
- Most of the Side quests that made u travel across the map and back to quest giver,
-- Story of the game

poopiebum

Dec 4, 2016

6

Gameplay is kinda buggy and confusing. Lots of stuff going on and not much explanation. Story is crap. Characters are okay. Slow game.

Driving car is booorning why they do this. So many missions and side-quests I lose track of story. What is story anyway lol.

DmitriySh

Dec 5, 2016

5

Игра уныла предельно всю первую часть, всю вторую тошнотно рельсова, полна наигранной бесполезной трагичности не влияющей вообще ни на что, и в целом внутри ни имеет ничего кроме боевки, все остальное ниже плинтуса.

Bertoflyingfox

Dec 18, 2016

5

Just a very mediocre game for me. The story is a complete let down when coming off of Kingsglaive, especially the changes in voice actors to the usual wooden-sounding dub. Besides that, most of the story just dragged along with missions devolving into MMO quest structures from 2002.

The character plotting is absolutely nonsensical. I'm not sure how bad guys could be treated so casually,Just a very mediocre game for me. The story is a complete let down when coming off of Kingsglaive, especially the changes in voice actors to the usual wooden-sounding dub. Besides that, most of the story just dragged along with missions devolving into MMO quest structures from 2002.

The character plotting is absolutely nonsensical. I'm not sure how bad guys could be treated so casually, it's jarring. One of them knowingly shows you around and the whole team is cool with it until a certain battle. There's even a point where one bad guy literally walks up to our heroes and they do nothing but watch him brandish a sword near Noctis' neck....what?! Do none of these people care at all?

Combat is my favorite part of this game....but that's when my teammates aren't glitching out and getting stuck behind rocks in the middle of battle. This has happened on a near constant basis, especially when a certain spear-wielder joined my team for a bit. Besides that, combat takes a complete turn towards crap-town when fighting ginormous enemies, these are truly frustrating bits.

Given their current handling of DLC and patches, I won't be sticking around for much longer. One playthrough of this is more than enough mediocrity....on to better games.… Expand

welchmen22

Dec 9, 2016

5

Feel superficial....First off if you don't have 100hrs to put into it, it might be worth skipping. It looks and feels very polished but for me the travel system makes it almost unplayable. You spend so much time just riding in a car its ridiculous. Combine that with the absurd number of pointless boring and repetitive side quests its too much. Most side quests will take longer to travel toFeel superficial....First off if you don't have 100hrs to put into it, it might be worth skipping. It looks and feels very polished but for me the travel system makes it almost unplayable. You spend so much time just riding in a car its ridiculous. Combine that with the absurd number of pointless boring and repetitive side quests its too much. Most side quests will take longer to travel to and from than to complete. Also the story is ok but not great, the relationships of the companions are pretty boring. There are plenty of good things about the game it could have been great, but there is so much filler, so much that really doesn't need to be there I feel like I'm wasting my time when I play it. Final thought, as a comparison of open world games, I recently finished The Witcher 3, FFXV does not offer an open world you want to explore, and doesn't provide impactful or important side quests that build on a world or story. I wanted to do side quests in witcher because they told a story about a monster or a village or something that added to the overall story. I spend two hours playing FFXV and feel like I've accomplished nothing.… Expand

nhand42

Dec 29, 2016

6

Major disappointment. Game starts strongly - open world, road trip - but falls apart after the first island. The game feels like it was rushed to completion on a shoestring budget. The subsequent areas are incomplete; walled off so you can "look but don't touch". The areas you can walk through are empty - no NPCs, no side quests... just nothing. The story stops making sense. It's veryMajor disappointment. Game starts strongly - open world, road trip - but falls apart after the first island. The game feels like it was rushed to completion on a shoestring budget. The subsequent areas are incomplete; walled off so you can "look but don't touch". The areas you can walk through are empty - no NPCs, no side quests... just nothing. The story stops making sense. It's very obvious entire side-stories were cut.

You can see the vision of what might have been. An ice and snow area. A castle on fire. A city metropolis. A night version of the world. But the vision was never realised. Several areas clearly built for a boss battle, but the boss never materialises. The final boss battle is cut short - you never see the villain's final form, as you'd expect from a FF game - instead a QTE event against a staggering human form.

The story is a mess. Not enough cutscenes - only 5 hours, when a typical FF game you expect 20-30 hours cutscenes - and it was obviously butchered. The missing story is partly explained through notes, but it's still underdeveloped. Character development is ignored - there are major character who you learn nothing about, because their scenes got cut to make a deadline.

The new battle system is a total failure The tactical planning and strategic resource management in other FF games, reduced to quicktime events and button mashing. It's just shameful.

Giving it 6/10 because the first island is so good and shows what could have been. But can't rate it any higher because it's an incomplete game. It's not even half a game. It's more like 25%.This should have been a multi-part game, with FFXV only covering the first island.… Expand

Jafenhar

Jan 17, 2017

6

It's not FFXIII bad, but it's also not far behind it. This, this is just not a good FF title. It's as if it's a FF game developed by a Western developer studio. The story feels rushed and is weak, the combat is atrocious and nothing like what you expect from a FF game (spells are consumables, really Square?), and the characters lack any depth whatsoever. It's a game that, even though itIt's not FFXIII bad, but it's also not far behind it. This, this is just not a good FF title. It's as if it's a FF game developed by a Western developer studio. The story feels rushed and is weak, the combat is atrocious and nothing like what you expect from a FF game (spells are consumables, really Square?), and the characters lack any depth whatsoever. It's a game that, even though it had a nearly 10 year development cycle, still feels very rushed. Square would have been better off postponing it another year to fine tune everything and finish the story. I'll stick to FFXIV and the PS1 FFVII port on my PS4 for my FF fixes. This game is a pass at full price, but worth it if you can find it for $30 or so.… Expand

SOLIDSNAKEN64

Jan 12, 2017

6

Finished the game in about 40 hours at lvl 48 on normal. first half of the game is fun open world experience with very little story. Second half of the game is a boring linear experience with a lot of story. FF15 is a fun game but becomes repetitive, side quest are dull and boring, usually in a FF game side quest have story elements behind them but in FF15 they are simple fetch quests.Finished the game in about 40 hours at lvl 48 on normal. first half of the game is fun open world experience with very little story. Second half of the game is a boring linear experience with a lot of story. FF15 is a fun game but becomes repetitive, side quest are dull and boring, usually in a FF game side quest have story elements behind them but in FF15 they are simple fetch quests. I did enjoy the main characters and their story/adventure but that is about it the rest of the world doesn't really have rememberable NPC's. The worst part of this game for me is the Camera. To many times during battle was ruined by **** camera angles usually my view was from behind a bush or rock. The battle system was cool at first but becomes very easy once you figure out you basically attack and parry by mashing two buttons. Graphics at times are beautiful and other time I feel like I'm looking at ps3 graphics. Driving is slow and monotonous, once you get the parking fast travels it becomes a little easier but annoying trying to find your parking destination in a list full of them. The open world could have used more to do in it, but I admit crossing planes riding chocobos is a good time. Weapons are cool but so few of them to choose from left me wanting more. I feel after a 10 year development FF should have been a more polished game, definitely could of been on Witcher 3 level. If you are a FF fan pick it up when its on sale, which shouldn't be difficult to find right now.… Expand

KentaTakashi

Jan 15, 2017

6

In some senses square enix has delivered on a game that was better than its most recent predecessor in FFXIII and it's many iterations, (XIII-2 and Lightning Returns). Yet it has failed horribly I feel in the ways that matter most to a diehard Final Fantasy fan. I'm going to break down this review like I have done for many others I did in the past not on this site. STORY, GRAPHICS, SOUND,In some senses square enix has delivered on a game that was better than its most recent predecessor in FFXIII and it's many iterations, (XIII-2 and Lightning Returns). Yet it has failed horribly I feel in the ways that matter most to a diehard Final Fantasy fan. I'm going to break down this review like I have done for many others I did in the past not on this site. STORY, GRAPHICS, SOUND, and GAMEPLAY/REPLAY. Also in lite of the season pass and it's upcoming DLC's this review does not take those into account and is just a review of the base game.

STORY: This is probably the most insulting story next to FFXIII for fans of the series. The story's main cast of characters (your 3 friends) is likable but utterly bland. They have their motivations and driving forces but none of them is properly fleshed out with either back up lore or clever small interactions within the game.

The story has no emotional bonding and throughout the many FF series this has been one of the driving factors behind it's longevity and success. You felt for each character as you deeply bonded with them in your travels. This game has some of that but it's lost in a jumble of messy and incomplete storytelling. One instance you're doing something and the next something completely unrelated happens that just derails the transition from one scene into the next. Not to mention you barely experience the story 15 hours into the game slogged down by side quests that dilutes the bare bones story even further. I should have cried when certain character died but I was just like MEH and moved on.

Past games have achieved unity between side quests and main story by tying them indirectly into the game with lore. (ie the al bhed dictionary in FF10, and the gathering quests in FF7 for Aerith). This does none of that, sure hunting monsters is enjoyable at first but you don't really know why you're doing it other than for hunter progression and or new gear. That alone isn't really enough.

(SEMI SPOILER) To top it off the ending while fine on its own only really tell an incomplete picture and Square Enix have taken it upon themselves to add insult to injury on starting a NG+ in hope of achieving a better ending (like have been done in past games) by not actually including one.

Oh and while kingslaive did give plenty of prelude up to the game it doesn't fill in the massive plot holes left during parts of the story.

STORY receives a bitter 3/10

GRAPHICS: What can I say I'm more spoiled by computers than I was in GLORY DAYS past for SQUARE.

While textures look muddy up close on the PS4 I still enjoyed the larger back drop scenery and the beautiful decorum. Especialy the the Throne room of the LUCII they took to creating this vast open world. This is actually one of the saving graces of this entry. Sure it's not as fantasy driven as past games. But that in and of itself is fine the world actually functions well together and you feel like it's all tied to the overarching feel of the title.

They also did well transitioning the more pixel art/ cartoony monsters of past games into respectable and fearsome creatures. THE GIANT WORLD BOSSES are SUPER impressive although certain areas are bogged down by massive and inconsistent frame drops as a result of the post-rendering.

GRAPHICS receives a solid and acceptable score of 8/10

SOUND: GIVE ME MORE... I genuinely enjoyed the sound track as I do almost every FF game this one being no exception SUNSET WALTZ is my To Zanarkand all over again :).

Sound effects and overall sound design in the game is outstanding. WEAPONS are given the appropriate sound effects to match their size and weight and meaningful attacks and chains click well together and aren't muddled.

VOICE ACTING in the western version could use some help at times (dear god dave with a southern accent) but was actually fairly acceptable and downright pleasant to listen to at times. Still suffering from TIDUS's cringe laughing in the western port. JP Voice acting was solid although some of the subtitle translations could use some work in my opinion.

SOUNDS gets a 8/10 ( GODDAMIT DAVE)

GAMEPLAY:
Probably the most love hate relationship you'll encounter in more recent games. I genuinely enjoyed the combat while not perfect was acceptable and it told the story properly. Square still has too much of a love affair with QTE events ever since they made them more prominent in FF13 but is still fairly acceptable in this game. Most combat QTE is limited to the small O button interaction as a result and leaves for a weird mix between Kingdom Hearts free chaining combined with some weird strategy factors from past FF games.

REPLAY: There is none aside from maybe upcoming DLC or if you're into monster hunting. With a lack of a possible better ending there's really no reason to replay the game since it doesn't actually get harder with NG+

GAMEPLAY/REPLAY gets a 7/10

OVERALL SCORE IS 6.5/10.… Expand

itchipod

Dec 25, 2017

5

The only thing I like is the combat which is very fun. Story is very lacking, not much monsters to kill, and everything from traveling to interacting with NPCs is a chore.

ant1998

Oct 29, 2017

7

The game has a lot of charms but unfortunately there so many things that ruin the experience.

Characters: Besides the boyz and the main antagonist, the rest of the characters are filler and they are just there for the sake of being there. Iris, Cindy, even Luna were never expanded upon and developed. Hell, if you skip some cut scenes you might not even know of Luna at all. Iris andThe game has a lot of charms but unfortunately there so many things that ruin the experience.

Characters: Besides the boyz and the main antagonist, the rest of the characters are filler and they are just there for the sake of being there. Iris, Cindy, even Luna were never expanded upon and developed. Hell, if you skip some cut scenes you might not even know of Luna at all. Iris and Cindy get a couple of meaningless dialogues that show nothing about their emotions and relationship.

The open world: Even though its open world, it doesnt feel like one. The game is littered with gas stations that are identical, boring sidequests mostly involving you collecting or hunt something. The places although aesthetically pleasing, offer no story. They just are there for the sake of being an open world. And every time you want to travel somewhere far you have to 'drive' the regalia which feels like a loading screen.

The combat: The combat is very smooth and fun but at times it can be frustrating due to the awful camera. The camera would rotate crazily if you're in a dungeon or when you try to warp around and often enough its blocked by trees or other objects so you cant even see noct or the enemies. The dodging system doesnt work that well either especially when there are a lot of enemies. But overall it works fine and its really fun can be deep with different customizations.

The bosses and enemies: One of the best things about this game is the awesome enemies and bosses. Some of them having you fly in the air and doing aerial combat which is freaking sick. The bosses are epic and satisfying to fight with godlike music. Seriously the music makes the fight a million times better.

The boyz, camping and stuff: For the first half of the game, you're gonna spend majority of your time with the boyz fighting monsters, camping, taking photos, chilling in the regalia, fishing, ride chocobos, chatting, etc. This is actually the best part of the game in my opinion. It helps you see the emotional bond between them and its relaxing to play.… Expand

Fivluih

Dec 31, 2016

5

If you love listening to emo guys sigh and complain while you endlessly run back and forth on fetch quests, than this is the game for you! This game is an absolutely beautiful piece of **** Amazing to look at, boring and not that fun to play. New levelling, camp element and modding weapons is a cool addition, but in the end the clunky combat system and overall boring gameplay really killsIf you love listening to emo guys sigh and complain while you endlessly run back and forth on fetch quests, than this is the game for you! This game is an absolutely beautiful piece of **** Amazing to look at, boring and not that fun to play. New levelling, camp element and modding weapons is a cool addition, but in the end the clunky combat system and overall boring gameplay really kills the game for me. I would not buy another Final Fantasy game like this. If you're on the fence about this game at all, wait until it's super cheap or give it a pass!… Expand

skillzmcfly

Dec 31, 2016

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. We all know the best Final Fantasy is [insert the first Final Fantasy you ever played]. Now, this rendition is somewhat of a letdown to me. I have played most Final Fantasys and liked them mostly. Part 15 is among my least favorite. Now, I will try to present my criticism in order.
Positives: The graphics are gorgeous. The fights are dynamic. And you can ride a chocobo. Sadly, that is about it.
Negatives: You only get direct control of one of the characters. The fights are confusing and it is hard to stay on one target. The magic system is shallow and I soon started to avoid using magic. Talking about things being shallow: the characters and the story. SPOILER: You are led into a trap for most of the game in what isn't even a real twist. The characters react predictably - you don't get a choice. You get to ride around in a cool car - which takes virtually forever to get anywhere. And you have to do it again and again.
Throughout the game characters get removed from your party, which I always feel is poor gameplay pacing by producers. At one point all of the weapons you collected get taken away and you have to walk through areas that are made to be a survival horror game. Totally not what I wanted to buy.
It might be the same case as with FF8 where I only got the hang and the basics of gameplay on my second try, but thus far FF15 is a gorgeous turd. I am almost through - only sidequesting before the endgame - and because I waited so long this game is a major letdown. Boo on you Square.… Expand

RichterBelmonte

Dec 7, 2016

6

Everyone knows Final Fantasy XV was a flawed venture from the start. Originally a sequel to the XIII series, then hastily transformed into the next major installment in the series after a ridiculous 10 year development time. Leaping from one bad director (though wonderful character designer) to another (Tabata is a terrible game director, for reference, he has only ever worked on FinalEveryone knows Final Fantasy XV was a flawed venture from the start. Originally a sequel to the XIII series, then hastily transformed into the next major installment in the series after a ridiculous 10 year development time. Leaping from one bad director (though wonderful character designer) to another (Tabata is a terrible game director, for reference, he has only ever worked on Final Fantasy VII sequels and XIII sequels and almost all of their stories are terrible – he also seems to have a sort of irreverent attitude toward the rest of the series), where will it fit in in the pantheon of Final Fantasy titans? Somewhere between ‘Better than XIII’ and ‘Worse than most of the rest’.

Let’s go ahead and do bad news first, shall we? XV’s story is not only incoherent, but tiresome and under developed. It still feels like a sequel to something. It’s not a fully fleshed out narrative in even the most naïve sense. Most of the ‘big moments’ in the story take place off screen, with nameless (though obviously meticulously designed) characters popping in and out of existence with no explanation or reasoning. For instance, the Emperor of the opposing nation ‘Ledolas Eldercapt’ though frequently seen in advertising and Kingsglaive, has one speaking line and appearance in the entire game and then disappears. The only characters that receive any kind of background or laughably ‘development’ are the four main characters Noctis, Prompto, Ignis, and Gladiolus. And by background I mean things like ‘Ignis likes Coffee’, ‘Prompto dislikes bugs’, ‘Noctis likes to fish’, ‘Gladio likes ramen’; incredibly superficial personality traits that really have absolutely no impact on the characters or their lives. At no point in the roughly 50+ hours I’ve spent playing the game did I feel like I had a good grasp of what was happening in the ‘story’, what the land of Eos was about, or what any of the characters had at stake personally. I want to say that the strong relationship between the four main characters is touching, but it has absolutely no depth.

Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio have no dialogue about why they’re travelling with the prince, what personal reasons they might have, what reservations they may keep, ideas, motivations, emotions – none of it. There is no bestiary, no glossary of terms, no journal, nothing to help you build the world of Eos and gain a fuller picture of what’s happening. To that point, NPCs are plentiful, but you can only passively ‘listen’ to their inane conversations, (i.e. boy this sure tastes good) they don’t give you hints, talk about current events, or help paint the dull and hollow picture that XV is. It was, and still is, very disenfranchising for such a lauded entry in a story-driven franchise to release and be so barren of purpose, reason, or depth. When ‘Kingsglaive’ and ‘Brotherhood’ were announced, my first initial reaction was ‘Oh **** they’re supplementing poor storytelling in the main game with extra pieces of media’ and I was unfortunately and regrettably correct. To make things more obvious, the ‘main story’ of XV can be completed in less than 20 hours. 20 HOURS. I have a hard time completing Final Fantasy IX in less than 60 hours. The majority of the game is an open world full of fetch quests, hunts, and infuriating load times while waiting for the car to drive you from point A to point B to point A to point B.

It’s a lot of bad news, I know. The good news isn’t nearly as meaty. The combat is pretty fun. Noctis is very responsive, dodging is easy, and big bosses and daemons are wonderful to look at and fun to bring down. It’s a lot like Kingdom Hearts and a lot not. You can technically ‘auto attack’ by just holding ‘o’, but you can also just mash ‘o’ to attach and perform combos, which I prefer. The downside to the combat is that Noctis doesn’t have abilities or skills like in the demos. No ‘tempest slash’, no ‘jump’, no nothing. It’s just plain attacking for the whole game. The ‘armiger’ ability is okay, and your companions can each have one skill out of a possible three assigned to a hot button for you to command them to do. It gets old quickly. ONLY THREE SKILLS EACH! The **** The ‘ascension’ tree (a poor cousin to X’s sphere grid} is more or less barren of anything worthwhile besides bulk stat upgrades. It’s not 10 strength here, 5 magic there it’s one node that ‘doubles strength based on how manly levels gained’. Only one of those nodes. That’s it.

The soundtrack is expertly composed by Yoko Shimomura– and honestly any music she ever touches turns to gold, so that’s a big plus. Huge orchestral tracks with bass, violin, opera, and catchy tunes – it’s pretty amazing.

TL;DR, XV is a half-baked disappointment. It should have remained FF XIII Versus or just disappeared. They shouldn’t have tried to save it like this. The story is asinine, the combat is just okay, and the world is very big, beautiful, and boring.… Expand

SenshudoTV

Dec 8, 2016

6

You were close, so very close to being good..

Ultimately, the game is pretty fun in places but drops off when it's away from it's high spots. When it's good, it's fantastic, for the other 80% of the time, it's mediocre at best.

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