Final Fantasy XV

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5428 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,797 out of 5428
  2. Mixed: 821 out of 5428
  3. Negative: 810 out of 5428
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. 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
  2. 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 or    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 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
  3. 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
  4. 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 is    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 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
  5. 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
  6. 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 (the    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 (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
  7. 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
  8. 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.
  9. 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
  10. 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 really    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 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
  11. 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 know    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 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
  12. 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
  13. 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.
  14. 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 music    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 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
  15. 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
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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
  19. 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 incredibly    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 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
  20. 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
  21. 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 into    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 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
  22. 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
  23. 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 that    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 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
  24. 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
  25. 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 complete    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 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
  26. 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, awsome    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, 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
  27. 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 boyband    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 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
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. 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.
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

58
#58 Best PS4 Game of 2016
3
#3 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2016
6
#6 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 109 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 89 out of 109
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 109
  3. Negative: 0 out of 109
  1. BaziCenter
    Feb 14, 2017
    70
    After so many years of development, Final Fantasy XV is not what I expected it to be. The universe is immense and beautiful and the characters are just fine. But the story is short and disappointing and the gameplay suffers from lack of depth. FFXV is a good game, but it can never bring the former glories back to the series.
    Read full review
  2. Edge Magazine
    Feb 14, 2017
    70
    Even as you reflect on the rarity of a blockbuster that's willing to take real risks, you'll be left with the uncomfortable realisation that ten years wasn't quite long enough, after all. Those jagged edges are, in the end, just a little too sharp. [Feb 2017, p.110]
  3. New Game Network
    Feb 7, 2017
    83
    Despite a divided feel, torn between what it was and what it plans to be, Final Fantasy XV has a lot to offer. If you're a diehard JRPG fan, then it's a positive sign that the series can cross over to a new format. And if you're just looking for an open world adventure, Final Fantasy XV certainly has that in spades, while doing just enough things differently to separate it from the likes of Dragon Age and Elder Scrolls.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »