Final Fantasy XV

Xunick

Dec 28, 2016

5

This game is a typical Japanese style open world RPG. They just fill the world with "filler" side quests, that are not interesting at all.
They try to clone the success of Dragon Age and Mass Effect, emphasis on your "buddies". But your buddies are generic prototypes without interesting background story or charm.
If you think that's fine, it's an FF, we can still play it for the epicThis game is a typical Japanese style open world RPG. They just fill the world with "filler" side quests, that are not interesting at all.
They try to clone the success of Dragon Age and Mass Effect, emphasis on your "buddies". But your buddies are generic prototypes without interesting background story or charm.

If you think that's fine, it's an FF, we can still play it for the epic main story.
You are wrong.
I don't know how is it possible to come up a game with such nonsense story after so many years of development and iteration. The main story is just as bad as the side quests. It feels like a poorly edited movie, a lot of parts of the story don't connect with each other. The developer running out of time?

But any way, since the game provided a huge open world, and a kind of robust combat system, I'll give a 5.… Expand

Fran0995

Jan 29, 2017

7

I must confess, I never played a Final Fantasy Before.

Therefore, I didn't expect anything for this game when it was released. After playing for around 60 hours and watching all the movies and the anime of this game i can came with a conclusion. Final Fantasy XV is a good game, but not the greatest. It's has some pretty nice graphics and a fluent (yet easy) combat. If you neverI must confess, I never played a Final Fantasy Before.

Therefore, I didn't expect anything for this game when it was released. After playing for around 60 hours and watching all the movies and the anime of this game i can came with a conclusion.

Final Fantasy XV is a good game, but not the greatest. It's has some pretty nice graphics and a fluent (yet easy) combat. If you never played any final fantasy before and you ask the question: Is it worth 60 dollars? The simple answer would be no. If you want to buy it, i recommend you to buy the deluxe version, because it has the promise of a better future yet it's present it's not so great.

The story, is a has huge plot holes that makes you question what was the real intention of it. Many aspects are a disaster yet i find the ending of the game very heart-touching.

Final Fantasy XV:
Score 7

Buying price recommended: 30$ (normal version) 40$(deluxe version)

Pros:
+Great mechanics
+Tons of secondary missions
+AI Companions are somewhat likeable

Cons
-The story is full of plotholes (even with the movies and the anime)
-The Driving mechanic of the Regalia
-Combats depends more on Smashing buttons that on tactical
-Tons of features hidden in the options menu as secondary( This is not necessary a con but i found it after 30 hours of gameplay and made my combat experience so much different)
-Depends too much on the upcoming dlcs to save the plotholes of the story… Expand

LouieV103

Nov 17, 2017

6

The story of this Final Fantasy, as is with any other Final Fantasy story, is confusing and ultimately dissapointing, so you've been warned.

But the gameplay is the main reason this game shines and makes you go back to it, if you want an expansive action RPG with tons of content and fun side quests, with character development and a few elements of nostalgia thrown in from previousThe story of this Final Fantasy, as is with any other Final Fantasy story, is confusing and ultimately dissapointing, so you've been warned.

But the gameplay is the main reason this game shines and makes you go back to it, if you want an expansive action RPG with tons of content and fun side quests, with character development and a few elements of nostalgia thrown in from previous games.

I recommend this game, although if I may suggest you should wait for a sale of the FULL game which has the season pass, because that "extra" DLC (which should've been sold in the base game anyway) does give more coherence and interesting content, if any, to the story and game in general.… Expand

jcolin

Dec 6, 2016

6

Summary (tl:dr): Terrible and sometimes baffling design choices hold this game back from being a truly enjoyable experience. Many of the flaws are minor, but get bit by one mosquito and you'll swat the air around you, get bit by a hundred and you're likely to pack up and go back inside.
-The Open World: This game is technically an open-world game, however it was designed without any ofSummary (tl:dr): Terrible and sometimes baffling design choices hold this game back from being a truly enjoyable experience. Many of the flaws are minor, but get bit by one mosquito and you'll swat the air around you, get bit by a hundred and you're likely to pack up and go back inside.
-The Open World: This game is technically an open-world game, however it was designed without any of the freedoms that make the open-world format so much fun. Invisible walls are everywhere (one of my biggest pet-peaves in open-world games). One of these walls was a small railing that seperated a road and an accessable area. It would not let me jump over the railing. I had to find an exit. Ultimately, this is the biggest problem with how the developers handled the open-world design. They wanted to give you freedom but they couldn't give up the control. They control where you go, where you can't go and how you get there. This goes against the spirit of open-world games.
-Magic: Here is one of the baffling design choices, magic is a consumable "item" with a cooldown in this game. It is also wildly overpowered, allowing me to take down the level 54 boss Midgarsormr at level 28. You also cannot really "be" a black or white mage because of the cooldown and limited spell selection. Magic should have been drastically different to allow you to progress as one of those traditional final fantasy staples..
-Difficulty: Way too easy (played on normal mode). You literally cannot die unless you either choose to, or you run out of healing items, which will probably never happen because they give you a ton and you rarely even need them.
-Customization: There is no meaningful customization options. You have several skill trees to spend ability points in, however the design of this tree makes it to where you simply cannot specialize in any one style of play. There are no skills that boost your performance with a particular weapon, spell or ability for example. Every stat buff you get applies to every member if your party, so you can't give them any distinguishable rolls either. As a pro, I did like that they added skills that modify wait time mode and the exploration tree let you earn more AP based on the things you did most often.
Minor Complaints: You get an MP3 player that doesn't work when you would want it to most. In battle, on chocobos and while fishing. (Minor Spoiler) The capstone bonus you get for leveling your chocobo skill is a useless assist in combat, instead of what should have been a speed/stamina/jump/glide increase or something useful and unique. They give you the option to manually drive the car, then immediately take it away for 3 chapters for no real reason (another example of the developer pointlessly dictating how you should play a game marketed as "open-world"). Sexism, the first main female character you meet is designed in an objectified way. Heteronormativity, all the characters are cis and straight.… Expand

soul5640

Dec 8, 2016

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Some things are done really well in this one however, there's also some really bad design choices in here that had a big impact on my enjoyment of the game. I've listed below the issues I had with the game, I'll skip the positives because there's so many good reviews on here.

Party - You're stuck with 4 male characters. In other FF games you can pick from a dozen, in this you can't, which for me is really just lazy development. Also, as if to rub your face in it, there's a couple of times where you might have someone else join your party just for a task, so it's like the game is saying to you that you 'could' have them, but you can't.

Weapons - the upgrade system is beyond bad. It takes several days of resting and main quests (not hunts) to upgrade each one. This is at a time when you will be trying to stockpile exp, so you're forced to either use up your exp and rest, or not get weapons upgraded. Also you can't chose the order, so if you want to upgrade your sword and have the materials, you will have to wait until all the other weapons are upgraded to the same level first, along with the delays that come with each one. This for me was so annoying I didn't bother.

Night - I like the concept of the day/night cycle, but trying to get about at night is annoying. Loads of hunts are at night and you often run into mountains/trees because you just can't see them until they are right in front of you. If you have to take a set path, you often can't even see if and just run about until you stumble upon it.

Summoning - I think in my 50+ hours I have done 3 or 4 summons. They are so underused in this game and seem to be random occurrences, which is really a shame. In all FF games these have been a focus, in this one they are a rarity. Also, only a few are in game, where is ODIN etc?????

Combat - the worst feature. You can out-level a mob severely and still get knocked down etc because the instant you start a fight, they all go for Noctus so you get swamped. Also, levels mean nothing in this game. I entered a level 55 dungeon at level 70 and didn't even make it to the end boss, the lead up bosses knocked me about like pinball until I just got fed up and turned off the game. I don't understand why the franchise was so desperate to move away from turn based, this was when it was most successful and the transition is poorly executed and nowhere near as enjoyable.

Magic - Severely underused in the game. Previous FF games have usually found a strong niche for this, here it's more of a 'use a few times then not bother' mechanic.

Travel - you have car, which you can't upgrade to a flying car until AFTER you complete the game. You can't drive off the roads, so it's basically a tram without the tramlines. Also, you will frequently find yourself fast traveling back to your car and then immediately fast traveling to your mission objective, the whole traveling concept is poorly implemented and just clunky.

Menu - could have been much more user friendly and intuitive.

Story - Completely loses cohesion about the 75% mark. I know it could be said this is staple for FF by now but still, at least try to make a story line that doesn't fall apart before it's even done.

Not all open world - By the end you will have spent hours in corridors and confined maps. It has parts of 'open world', but much less than previous FF games. There's basically one open world area, but you will visit other areas are that just A to B routes.

Items - there's a tiny fraction of usable items compared to previous FF games and the way you use some of them is confusing. Phoenix downs, for example, you buy them, but you never actually 'use' them, they are used automatically. The game does not tell you this however.

Leveling - The storing exp idea is interesting but has issues. It leads the player into wanting to stock up exp, leading to hours of playing with no sense of progression or getting stronger. Even when you do level up, it feels minimal, I jumped from level 40 to 70 and didn't feel any big improvement, which kind of made me feel like the hours of grinding I put in were wasted.

Camping - interesting but mostly not used. By end game my cooking skill was 3, most of time you will stack exp then use a hotel for the exp multiplier. You can buy meals for the stat boosts so why bother missing exp at camp?

Fishing - Fun but annoying if you lose a lure, how do you know where to get it again? You shouldn't need to rely on google for info.

Overall, the game has good points but given there's been so many entries in this franchise now, there's really no excuse for the poorly implemented issues listed above - SQUARE should really know better and should have made a much more polished game, especially with apparently 10 years in the making.

Worth getting? Yes, but probably only on sale.

Worth the hype? I'm really very sad to say no, it's not.

I love FF games but feel this one has a lot of let down.… Expand

Tryium

Jan 3, 2017

6

Oh boy, where to start... Almost a very good game, but a bad Final Fantasy.

It's been a long time (not 10 years, but...) that i've been waiting for this game. The promises of an open world final fantasy was good. The story was looking good at that time, mysterious, with a lot of cutscene, implication between Noctis and his father, good combat ect. The combat are very nervous, butOh boy, where to start... Almost a very good game, but a bad Final Fantasy.

It's been a long time (not 10 years, but...) that i've been waiting for this game. The promises of an open world final fantasy was good. The story was looking good at that time, mysterious, with a lot of cutscene, implication between Noctis and his father, good combat ect.

The combat are very nervous, but took a long time to master it perfectly. It's not casual friendly so it's hard to master. The summons are few, but still massively impressive to watch and a pleasure for the eye every time they appear.

The graphics are just... beautiful. The artistic direction have never been this close to perfection in a Final Fantasy as i remember. The world feel like everything that surround you is alive, the landscape are beautiful and so on.

The music, oh god the music, they are candy for the ear. Perfect.

BUT. the story is... confuse, not good, not well taled, well not a final fantasy story after all... Too many scenes have been cut from what you can see in the trailer. You're not attached AT ALL to any characters, except your band mates, the bad guy isnt really one, his motivations unclear and the final battle is laughable in any way (i dint get how to fight to be honest). The conclusion is... not that interesting and the final chapter try to bring some good but again, fail to tell a story.

The side quest are basic, but we were hoping for more "story telled" side quest, instead of boring fetch quest, and not quiet rewarding after all.

In conclusion,it's a good way to start the final fantasy franchise, the game IS good and the story is better than FFXIII, but god, never again, please, stop screwing the final fantasy stories...… Expand

SocioStache

Jan 10, 2017

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Before I begin, let me tell you how much I PERSONALLY love this game. It is one of my favorite games of the year, if not all time. However, that does not mean that I can give it a high score. In fact, my favorite subtitle for this game is "The Flawed Masterpiece".

Let me begin by stating everything good about the game. The world looks very nice; they did a good job on the aesthetic appeal of the world. The attention to detail is pretty good (you can see your characters get dirty or wet depending on the area). The voice acting in English and Japanese are pretty good, and most of the characters themselves are fairly likeable. The combat is AMAZING! It's no Dark Souls, Dragon's Dogma, or Witcher 3; but it's well done and feels amazing and fluent, aside from some unresponsive controls at times. Ardyn is one of my personal favorite Final Fantasy villains, even if there was very little character development for him (or anyone else for that matter). And finally, the second half of the story is pretty good. Not great, just pretty good.

Alright, now here's the fun part...

This game took a LOOONG time to make; the development was restarted on two separate occasions. Naturally, that means that a lot of content was cut. After Tetsuya Nomura's departure from the development team in 2015, the rest of the crew had to scramble to finish a game without their creative expert. This lead to the gameplay being DRASTICALLY downgraded (look at the 2014 trailers for proof), the world being cut down by almost 90% (the original world map is nonexistent, and most of the original 785 square-miles is condensed into a smaller, 24-ish square-mile map), the story being rewritten, and entire chunks of the game being cut. Originally, the game would be around 3 acts long. The first act would be around 1/6 of the length of the game. It focused on Noctis's childhood, his relationship with his father, and the early lives of his future boy-bandmates. The second chunk was going to be much shorter, and told the part of the story where the tension built between Niflheim and Lucis, eventually leading to the events of Kingsglaive (the movie). The third act is the only part we got to play, and is the game itself. So sadly, rather than getting 50-75 hours of story gameplay that we were PROMISED a couple of years ago, we got a 20-25 hour game, a mediocre movie, and a five-episode anime. While the extra multimedia is not BAD, per se, it certainly doesn't get any points, considering it's basically the developers' laziness to create more game.

The world, as I said, was supposed to be around 10-15 times the size of Grand Theft Auto V, and would be fully explorable. It would be empty in a lot of areas, but since one of the focuses of the game was "road trip", much of it would be glanced over as you drove past it anyway. Niflheim, Insomnia, Altissia, and Tenebrae were going to be completely open, as well as some other kingdoms now under Niflheim rule. Sadly, near the last six months of development, the team got overwhelmed by the sheer amount of area they still needed to make. They decided to cut out most of the world and condense the main parts, which resulted in the game being delayed by two months.

The gameplay was originally going to incorporate more cover elements and even some free-running like the Assassin's Creed or Uncharted franchises. While the gameplay we got is still great, it's painful to see all the cut content that they showed just two E3s ago.

The story is mostly trash. Like previously stated, the story was going to be wider in scope originally, focusing more on the relationship between Noctis, a boy who can foresee the deaths of others due to a near-death accident in his childhood, and his friends, family, and fiancé. As he grew to adulthood, the burden of his responsibilities as prince became too much to bear, and he grew defiant, refusing to accept his place in the world. As the tension between Noctis and his father grew, so did the tension between Niflheim and Lucis, the two largest kingdoms in Eos. Under the stress, King Regis began to crack and lose control of his power, kingdom, and his only son. As a last effort to restore peace, he arranged for Noctis and Lunafreya to be married ahead of schedule, which will hopefully bring peace to the two nations. After Noctis's departure, though, full-scale war broke out against Niflheim (not that skirmish they had in the movie), and Regis was killed. Over Noctis's whole lifetime, however, scientists noticed the length of the days slowly shortening, as well as the mysterious arrival of creatures dubbed "daemons". And as the war began, Niflheim apparently learned to harness these monsters. The mysterious chancellor of Niflheim, Ardyn, was also supposed to have more development up to the reveal in chapter 13 in-game. Almost all of this was cut.

There are some pathetic nitpicks, like the "airship" you get; but all in all: Final Fantasy XV is not the VII-killer we were promised.… Expand

gross1187

Dec 5, 2016

6

I had a lot of fun playing, (gameplay isolated from other factors is great) however I'm pretty disappointed in the plot. I really felt like the writers disregarded any sense of rational choice when it comes to the actions of the enemy-- there were too many times when the Imperials seem to have an incredible chance to bring the whole story to an end, and choose not to for a silly reason.I had a lot of fun playing, (gameplay isolated from other factors is great) however I'm pretty disappointed in the plot. I really felt like the writers disregarded any sense of rational choice when it comes to the actions of the enemy-- there were too many times when the Imperials seem to have an incredible chance to bring the whole story to an end, and choose not to for a silly reason. Overall, the story felt overwhelmingly man-made unlike some other Final Fantasy titles. I truly hope a sequel is developed that tightens up the plot.… Expand

DarkSoul7007

Dec 28, 2016

6

Wow—a game that has actually compelled me to take my time to write a review. To users that rated this game on Day 1 of release…thanks for nothing.

This game is a solid 6. It will entertain you and doesn’t get off to an awful start, but the game continues to collapse after the first ~5 hours in. For brief moments this game feels like it could be an 8 or 9 (i.e. esper summons, certainWow—a game that has actually compelled me to take my time to write a review. To users that rated this game on Day 1 of release…thanks for nothing.

This game is a solid 6. It will entertain you and doesn’t get off to an awful start, but the game continues to collapse after the first ~5 hours in. For brief moments this game feels like it could be an 8 or 9 (i.e. esper summons, certain battle sequences or CGI scenes). However, those moments are fleeting and soon enough you are cast back into the shell of a game which utilizes many half-assed mechanics.

STORY: 4/10--All reviewers are on the same page with this one--the story is disjointed, it feels like parts are left out, not enough context/background is provided. There is very little reason to empathize with the characters and fight for them. If this game was developed with the idea that people would be watching Kingsglaive or going back and purchasing it, then shame on the devs. This game needs to stand on its own and it doesn't. If story is important to you, then either watch the movie or pass on FFXV (they plan to patch the story--Crazy!!). I can't imagine it even making sense with the movie as many key events happen off-screen or are simply not explained. These were key opportunities to show impactful events (i.e. deaths, permanent injuries, political events).

Music: 7/10--This could be an 8 if there was more music. I don't find the tracks to be very original, memorable or something that will blow you away. However, the menu music is relaxing and catchy, the combat music is fitting. I found myself getting a little amped up when I heard the specific music that plays when an esper summon becomes available. It's got a very **** is about to go down" feel to it. So, where's the problem? As you travel the world you'll notice almost every place you stop in the open world plays the SAME honky-tonk country song. In almost every FF game you can attach a song to a town or villain and I can't do that with FFXV. There's just not enough here.

COMBAT: 8/10--Combat is fun. It's not very complicated and with a little bit of effort you can become powerful enough to make most battles a nonthreat. With practice, it's cool to switch between weapons on the fly and to match-up to the enemies weakness by weapon type or element. Blocking and parrying is simple, but feels great nonetheless. Magic is very powerful when crafted properly, but I found the crafting system to be a little annoying and equipping magic takes up one of your weapon slots. Missing from this game (to my knowledge) are classic FF spells like Haste, Berserk, Holy, Ultima, Meteor, and so on. There is only Fire, Thunder and Ice which can be modified to stop, poison and kill enemies (with a few other unmentionable buffs).

GAMEPLAY: 6/10--FFXV has several minigames and other mechanics such as cooking, but they're not implemented in any meaningful or enjoyable way. Fishing is rather boring as is the pinball game. Cooking can give your party serious stat boosts, but require camping which means you earn 1.0x your exp when resting (as opposed to a cheap hotel which may give 1.5x). So what actually happens before a tough battle is you will go rest at a hotel to cash in your XP at 1.5x or 2.0x, then go rest again at a campsite to cook. It's silly and annoying. Sure, there is chocobo racing, but it just gets you medals. Don't expect to obtain Knights of the Round from this minigame. Some reviewers have raved about the roadtrip feel to this game. It was cool at first, but I shortly found myself using fast travel whenever possible. The relaxing car ride also feels very out of place in terms of the story and some of the prompts you receive before driving at night get old really fast as you cannot skip it. There is so much more to say on all the mechanics in this game, but the short of it is it all feels sort of rushed and there to "check the box".

WORLD DESIGN: 5/10: The mix of openworld and linear story feels like two different games literally stitched together by a few lines of code to transport you between the modes. There are a couple of cool places in the world, but you don't spend enough time there. Go Google "final fantasy towns" and click the wikia page. Every FF except very early ones) has really unique towns you can remember by name, by site, by the music. FFXV breaks that with a bunch of identical roadstops playing the same music. The towns are not unique or fun to explore. The only reason to explore is to pickup random glowing dots (items) on the ground which actually detracts from looking at the world.

I could go on, but I'm at the max char limit. This is quite the game to analyze...it really is a frankenstein of development. Even the graphics and voice-acting can be stellar in some areas, and HORRID the next. Supposedly there are great dungeons accessible AFTER the story. Huh? You have to ask, what kind of game were they trying to make???… Expand

Carlitoxic

Feb 17, 2017

6

I`m extremely disappointed with FFXV and Square- enix. I am not going to expect for anything from the next Final Fantasy. A good game (beautiful world, dungeons, long and great combat) but the story is very badly counted and it is very short. I feel defrauded after seeing all the trailers that I saw from FFXV not Versus.

wesker2012

Jan 2, 2018

7

Great introduction of Final Fantasy into an open world game. The first half of the game is super chill, relaxing, and fun to play. The second half of the game/story feels like a different game than the first half though. It felt rushed and not very well put together. Not everything was explained.

945

Jun 10, 2017

6

As a hardcore final fantasy fan for nearly a decade and waiting for this game to come out for a half of a decade I feel like I was punished for my devotion to this game. This game takes everything you love about the final fantasy universe and cuts it down to a barebones minimalistic and trendy piece of garbage. Final Fantasy is supposed to be a magical realm of wonder and awe but instead,As a hardcore final fantasy fan for nearly a decade and waiting for this game to come out for a half of a decade I feel like I was punished for my devotion to this game. This game takes everything you love about the final fantasy universe and cuts it down to a barebones minimalistic and trendy piece of garbage. Final Fantasy is supposed to be a magical realm of wonder and awe but instead, we get a boring lifeless world with pointless fetch side quests. zero spells, a 10-hour main storyline filled with plotholes which lead to an incomplete and incoherent storyline with travelling that takes WAY to long to get anywhere and will literally waste your time trying to get from point A to B.

Pros:
- Combat animations are good.
- The soundtrack is wonderfully done.
- 4 main protagonists are likeable.
- Day/Night Transitions look nice.

Cons:
- The open world is a barren wasteland filled with little to nothing to do.
- There is a huge amount of downtime in this game when going from point A to B.
- Exploration offer's zero rewards as items are static and can be bought it stores.
- Poorly balanced combat, the fights are either way too easy or way too hard.
- Levelling your characters really does not offer anything significant to your hero's ability.
- Combat does not evolve whatsoever from the start of the game to the finish.
- Huge lack of skills for the team that get outclassed by the next unlocked skill, Noctis does not have a single skill other than the armiger and warp striking.
- Fighting monsters and enemies in the world always will always feel like a one-sided fight/you have all this power and you fight enemies with no magic or ability skills.
- 2 cities in the entire game. (no this is not a joke)
- The inability to simply go up to and have a conversation with a single NPC in the game. (FF1 had this and so did every other FF game so why not this one?)
- The most incoherent storyline that tells you the who, what, where, when but then fails to tell you the why and how in the main storyline. (THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ANALYZING A STORY!)
- Kingsglaive, the Brotherhood anime, justice monsters five, and kings knight where a complete waste of resources and could have been just used for FFXV.
- To understand the entire game world you must buy the official strategy guide for footnotes.
- All story cutscene options give you the same outcome.
- Cup Noodle commercial quest... (I really wish I was kidding but I am not)
- No spell

The worst part is that hardcore fans of this series which should have been the number one priority in pleasing were punished for being hardcore fans and by watching all the active time reports as soon as they came out should benefit a person not hurt their experience If you where someone like me who watched the ATR's then guess what, you just witnessed literally the first 7 chapters of the game's cutscenes chopped from the game and presented in a random order. I thought I saw maybe 1-3% of what the game had to offer but instead, it was more like 40-45% of what the game had to offer. So instead of trying to make a truly great and genre changing RPG like Tabata claimed, instead we get a generic world full of borrowed outdated and overused mechanics from games like Uncharted, Farcry and Skyrim. I could have forgiven all that if the story was no rushed to death... This is a statement from Hajime Tabata about the complaints about the story in FFXV "We didn't want to create a comprehensive and perfectly balanced story in this game" -HT. So he went with the walking dead style of storyline telling where you don't tell you audience jack and expect them to come up with their own fan theories and outlooks for the game!?!? Because if that is was the intention to make a game with a BS story line then mission accomplished. You could have made an actual RPG game with actual good storytelling but Tabata didn't want to? Absolute total BS excuse... This game had so much potential and how this sold 5 million copies blows my mind...… Expand

suprgrl5626

Dec 20, 2016

5

square and enix made better games before they merged and now too many ideas is a bad thing,
I hope the new Zelda don't share the same fate with this current trend of open world games.
If your a fan of turn based be prepared to not like this . pros- graphics are nice -music is not bad -older FF enemies -one of the last areas looks like midgar neg- don't worry about battling justsquare and enix made better games before they merged and now too many ideas is a bad thing,
I hope the new Zelda don't share the same fate with this current trend of open world games.
If your a fan of turn based be prepared to not like this .

pros- graphics are nice
-music is not bad
-older FF enemies
-one of the last areas looks like midgar

neg- don't worry about battling just go do a side quest that will be all the xp you will need.
-load times are terrible
-car that has terrible controls
-storyline is confusing
-battle system is terrible all you do is hit a button no strategy
-you have to try to die to die it's way to easy not rewarding one bit
-you can live on regular potions don't need elixirs etc to make it thru any battle
-boring filler side quests unrelated to the story

there was a day when a side quest or two was for something that really helped you beat a game and now you can feed a cat and gain a level.this game is terrible and I could not wait for it to end.wait for persona 5 is you like rpgs or play lufia 2 or chrono trigger....don't waste your life on this .… Expand

miszbreesz54

Dec 21, 2016

6

I finished this game the other night with 70+hrs in and all I could wonder is why it took the creators 10yrs to complete this game. I am honestly disappointed with it. I didn't feel any connection with any of the characters, the story didn't draw me in, and the side quests (aka "fetch" quests) aren't rewarding at all. Compared to older FF games do a quest and you'll receive a well neededI finished this game the other night with 70+hrs in and all I could wonder is why it took the creators 10yrs to complete this game. I am honestly disappointed with it. I didn't feel any connection with any of the characters, the story didn't draw me in, and the side quests (aka "fetch" quests) aren't rewarding at all. Compared to older FF games do a quest and you'll receive a well needed accessory or weapon. In FF XV you'll receive like a hi-potion or a megalixir for example. I'm not fighting a level 99 monster (and I really like to fight optional bosses) just to be rewarded some BS. I did not like the ending boss fight at all. It didn't feel like a boss fight whatsoever. There was just no challenge to it. There are summons called Astrals that, unlike other FF games, you cannot summon whenever you want. They only appear for you when they, the Astrals, deem it necessary. Now to level up you have to rest at a hotel, motel, or camp site to accumulate all of your EXP which i hate! If you don't do any of those things you will not level up. The openworld didn't feel like an openworld to me either. I couldn't just go anywhere I wanted like you can in GTA. When I hear "openworld" GTA comes to mind. Those are my personal issues with this game. So in the end this game is great, good, or bad. It's just an "ok" game. My opinion is to wait for a price drop.… Expand

Decrata

Jan 4, 2017

5

Final fantasy games have always drawn me because of several elements (in no particular order), compelling story, strategic combat, innovative graphics, endearing/relatable characters and unique gameplay. I always give Square credit for reinventing the numbered installments of Final Fantasy from the ground up, and at best, they are some of the greatest RPGs ever (7 and 10) and at worst,Final fantasy games have always drawn me because of several elements (in no particular order), compelling story, strategic combat, innovative graphics, endearing/relatable characters and unique gameplay. I always give Square credit for reinventing the numbered installments of Final Fantasy from the ground up, and at best, they are some of the greatest RPGs ever (7 and 10) and at worst, are serviceable (FF13). Final Fantasy 15 fails at every level of what I find enjoyable about a Final Fantasy.

Let’s start with positives, the graphics are insanely good. It’s not QUITE up there with Uncharted 4, though it’s damned close, and the entire world is interactive. It is nothing short of fantastic that you can see clear across an entire valley, and see monsters roaming around by the base of a mountain, which you can then engage in combat.

Combat starts out strong, then fades quite quickly. If you’ve played Kingdom Hearts, you will feel right at home with the combat system. Dodging and jumping through the air to attack is a lot of fun, and some of the graphical elements lead to some interesting encounters, that left me breathless at the end, proud of my skills. From a strategic side of things, each battle has a ‘rinse-and-repeat’ feel, as upon engaging enemies, you simply scan, change weapons and magic accordingly, and hold circle for the win. The game never really offers a unique approach to combat, nor does it make me think. Combat more of a hack-n-slash endeavor, rather than a thoughtful approach to besting a tough enemy. There are plenty of games that do a better job of this, and sometimes I felt FF 15 drew too much from God of War.

I found the characters to be absolutely bland, unrelatable and more of a bane than a band of brothers. At no point is there any interesting dialogue between them, never do we learn more about them in a meaningful way and throughout the game the same quips and phrases are used ad nauseam. There are moments during the camping sequences (which are completely optional for whatever reason), where we might learn a nugget or two about the characters and their pasts, and it still seems like candy coating to an empty shell. Usually, each character represents something specific and brings a certain personality to the table, here it feels as if the characters are supposed to be different sides of the main protagonist’s personality. While I do not condemn this approach, empty characters usually lead to an empty story.

There is nothing interesting about the story up to the completion of chapter 9 (of 15). We haven’t learned about any motives, where people came from, why they are who they are, why we give a crap about the people in the game or why we should continue playing. None of the side quests give any additional depth of vision into the characters. The argument is “quests in jRPGs are usually completely unrelated to story” which I can buy. In Xenoblade, much like FF 15, it was fetch quest after fetch quest as well as protection quest on top of protection quest. My comeback is in every previous installment of FF I’ve played, the side quests give depth and fill in blanks for character development. Jecht spheres, the submarine quests in FF7, even getting ultimate weapons shed light on characters. As one of my friends put it, ‘If any of the main characters were to die and be replaced, I wouldn’t notice’, and the characters feel more like extras as opposed to major players in a grand quest.

Lastly, the gameplay has some MAJOR “quality of life” issues. Simply getting around is a chore. I will again refer to Xenoblade in that you are exploring a beautiful open-world in a sweeping setting. However in Xenoblade, you are running around at Mach 5 and can jump 25 feet high, experiencing no fall damage even when plummeting hundreds of feet. In FF 15, I truly feel as if I am running, and when something is .25 miles away, it can take well over a minute or 2 to get there. Some respite is provided when riding a chocobo, which can be cumbersome as well. Exploration is just not done well. When I see something shiny off in the distance, I have to measure the pros and cons. It COULD be this ultimately useful item and it will PROBABLY be a potion, and it will NEVER been a compelling optional quest. In all cases, it will be a 5-minute round trip or more. Navigation, is sub-par to say the least.

Bottom line, as a longtime fan of the series, I can’t recommend this game. If you want open world jRPG play something else (like Xenoblade!) If you want to do lots of quests with infinite depth, play Witcher 3! If you want to play FF, play a previous installment, or wait for the FF7 Remake. The final slap in the face is at the boot up every time you play Final Fantasy 15 the game says that it is a Final Fantasy for new players and longtime fans, when nothing could be further from the truth. Avoid this game, and expect more next time...… Expand

omalley10

Dec 25, 2016

5

One of the worst open world experience of the last 5 years. I don't understand how critics can be so favorable.

It feels like playing a prettier, flashier World of Warcraft if it hadn't evolved since The Burning Crusade. Exploration isn't rewarded at all, side quests are repetitive, poorly written and designed. There's so little content and life in this world. It's like if the creatorsOne of the worst open world experience of the last 5 years. I don't understand how critics can be so favorable.

It feels like playing a prettier, flashier World of Warcraft if it hadn't evolved since The Burning Crusade. Exploration isn't rewarded at all, side quests are repetitive, poorly written and designed. There's so little content and life in this world. It's like if the creators had never laid their hands on The Witcher 3, GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption or Fallout 3.

Why 5 then?
- Combat system works at first and is quite impressive (very dynamic, flashy). However magic is poorly designed and it's all kind of messy and gets repetitive after a while.
- Music is great.
- Roadtrip bromance kind of work and is refreshing.

Do not buy that, go play 30$ The Witcher 3 GOTY Edition instead. It offers a far superior open world experience.… Expand

paddystudmuffin

Dec 8, 2016

6

Not great tbh. Played for 40hrs waiting for it the get exciting but in vain. The so called side quests are awful. Lack decent fast travel, average graphics and really boring simplistic combat. Also the music when ur riding the bird is so annoying. It's an average game so it deserves a big dirty 6/10

Riflenator1234

Dec 14, 2016

5

Basically the first half of this game is amazing, but the second half is total garbage. Also the mechanics are not good when put under scrutiny. Ultimately, I had a blast with approximately half of the game, but had the worst time with the other half.

Nuruna

Dec 2, 2016

7

+ Looks and sounds very pretty
+ Riding around in the car is never actually unpleasant
+ Characters are good, mostly + Minigames are fun + The scale is exceptional, especially that of the astrals + Side quests aren't tedious + Camera feature is pretty cool + Villain is Kefka levels of awesome - Storytelling is horrific - AI is not particularly good - Very very frontloaded, the+ Looks and sounds very pretty
+ Riding around in the car is never actually unpleasant
+ Characters are good, mostly
+ Minigames are fun
+ The scale is exceptional, especially that of the astrals
+ Side quests aren't tedious
+ Camera feature is pretty cool
+ Villain is Kefka levels of awesome

- Storytelling is horrific
- AI is not particularly good
- Very very frontloaded, the open world does not last, leaving the game feeling rushed.
- It opens more questions than it answers
- The villain's motives seem very tacked on
- The build up to the imperial threat just sort of waned out
- Ignis and Prompto might as well be suicidal, they just stand in everything like idiots.
- Levels feel like they mean nothing.
- A lot of content feels like it's missing, like it's going to come as paid DLC.

This is a good game, and I expect anyone will have fun playing it, but do expect to be frustrated it can be very vexing at times.… Expand

Fyil99

Dec 3, 2016

7

Desapointing. Clearing a unfinished game: a dozen different kinds of enemies, no summons (only saw ramuh 3 times and leviathan once), very fill magics, only get the ring close to the end, most of the game, the combat is broken.
Half through the game the enemies become super strong, even if your level is the same as theirs, they keep one hitting you to 0 hp and you have to use portions allDesapointing. Clearing a unfinished game: a dozen different kinds of enemies, no summons (only saw ramuh 3 times and leviathan once), very fill magics, only get the ring close to the end, most of the game, the combat is broken.
Half through the game the enemies become super strong, even if your level is the same as theirs, they keep one hitting you to 0 hp and you have to use portions all the f time, very annoying.
The enemies attack to much, you can barely connect a combo.
I think there is no salvation to squareenix. Wasted too many time with graphics, forgot everything else.… Expand

SeraphimZ

Dec 11, 2016

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I loved many parts of FFXV, but story didn't deliver to deserve any higher than 6-8/10

+Battle Gameplay is THE BEST!
+Movement Animation
+Story wasn't bad but not wow! It lacked a lot of information
+Beautiful World

-Story lacked a lot in Information about characters
-Luna is an Important character but wasn't given enough time in the game?!!
-WTH WITH TABATA PUTTING SAD ENDING IN ALL HIS GAMES?! DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM???… Expand

revillo

Dec 10, 2016

7

It's clear that much of what made it into FFXV was repurposed from its original intention, and as a result the story comes off disjointed and vague. The combat system is a fun, welcome change of pace, but it's also too easy - I only died once in the entire game, and that was from not realizing some random enemy was twice my level. Still, fans will find much to enjoy in this entry, fromIt's clear that much of what made it into FFXV was repurposed from its original intention, and as a result the story comes off disjointed and vague. The combat system is a fun, welcome change of pace, but it's also too easy - I only died once in the entire game, and that was from not realizing some random enemy was twice my level. Still, fans will find much to enjoy in this entry, from some beautiful music and character/creature design and a huge open world with plenty of silly things to do with your bros.

Ultimately the decision to move away from a dark tale of an angsty prince reclaiming his kingdom might have been a blessing for us all, because what we get instead is a simple meditation on friendship. It's endearing in spite of itself and I did enjoy the voice acting of the villain quite a bit. Most importantly, the colorful nature of the open world and the attention to detail show Square Enix knows how to put some heart and levity into a game, something they've been having trouble with for quite some time.

Hopefully, we get a more focused, well-rounded entry the next time around. I'm definitely still a fan through and through.… Expand

cwatz

Dec 9, 2016

7

Pros: The scale of the game brings awe at times. The world is gigantic. There is a real "bro roadtrip" feel to the game. Combat is deeper than it originally seems.

Cons: The worst sidequests you can find in games. One is literally to run to a guys farm across the world, pick up like a single pea, and go back to turn it in. That isn't even the real problem though, many games canPros: The scale of the game brings awe at times. The world is gigantic. There is a real "bro roadtrip" feel to the game. Combat is deeper than it originally seems.

Cons: The worst sidequests you can find in games. One is literally to run to a guys farm across the world, pick up like a single pea, and go back to turn it in. That isn't even the real problem though, many games can have this sort of thing.

The real problem is what all of the sidequests amount to: Pick up quest, return to car, fast travel to nearest parking spot, run to quest, kill/pick up single thing, fast travel back to car, fast travel back to hub to turn in. "Fast travel" is codeword for minute long loadscreen. Half your time is spent loading. Weak sidequests can be tolerable when you are pushing towards progression, but when you factor in all the extra wasted time, it becomes misery.

That would be fine if the game just had serious flaws around its side content, but that is what the bulk of the game actually is. The main story is fractured, messy, and not particularly compelling (despite having so much potential), and is actually quite short compared to FF standards. Its all the extra activities that are supposed to make the game what it is.

This leaves a game with a ton of content, but a significant portion that isn't fun to do. Either due to it being shallow and/or the obstacles in place that hinder you from moving as swiftly as you would like.

There are some enjoyable dungeons, and some post-game stuff that fares better, but for the most part I found myself perpetually let down.

I can't help but think back to FFXIII's valid criticisms of linearity. This game is the complete opposite of that, to the other extreme, and with a whole new set of problems that unfortunately weren't addressed.… Expand

AstralDarkstar

Dec 9, 2016

7

A great concept ruined by many glitches and poor story telling. This game is fun. I had fun. But Final Fantasy relies heavily on story and characters. And they have to put in patches to help with that. But there is no saving this game. The DLC and any amount of extras they throw in will never be enough.

It took 10 years and we got something that feels like a 2-3 year rushed game. It'sA great concept ruined by many glitches and poor story telling. This game is fun. I had fun. But Final Fantasy relies heavily on story and characters. And they have to put in patches to help with that. But there is no saving this game. The DLC and any amount of extras they throw in will never be enough.

It took 10 years and we got something that feels like a 2-3 year rushed game. It's very obvious this game was originally supposed to be a 3 part series. And it should've been. I have a huge feeling this was a decision Tabata made and ruined the story. Nomura should've had full focus on this game and released 2-3 games based on this story. Even scenes we saw a year ago did not make it in this final release. Too much was cut and changed.

If you're still at the beginning of the game, you probably do not agree with my score and what was said. Even I wouldn't have agreed.… Expand

MCG2017

May 28, 2017

5

i´ve allways been a hardcore fan of the series since the magestic FF VII. i had some expectations on this game from the earlier trailers and articles and all the previus work for many years.

I finished the game in a near 70 hours gameplay and thats the conclusion: Graphics are way below the expectations. The game uses good textures and facial animations on main characters and thei´ve allways been a hardcore fan of the series since the magestic FF VII. i had some expectations on this game from the earlier trailers and articles and all the previus work for many years.

I finished the game in a near 70 hours gameplay and thats the conclusion:

Graphics are way below the expectations. The game uses good textures and facial animations on main characters and the rest of NPCs are ridiculous... the graphics quality gap is terrible in terms of texturing and animation and the general impression is lazy. The biggest enemies are nice and some creatures ( no spoilers ) are really impressive but overall graphics are inconsistent. Ilumination is meh, nothing special. Magic attacks are simply nice but dont blow your mind. I expected much more.

Sound is MEH..... suits all situations overall but the quality is standard for battle and epic moments.

Main story is too short and too linear.

From my 70 hour gameplay most of the time used on farming XP, doing secondary missions and minigames. U can finish the game going straight forward in less than 20 hours. The only thing that prevents u from doing that is the enemy levels, u need to farm XP to face foes in final chapter. Its a shame because the game is based in an """open""" world but sadly the game spams too much loading screens between transitions and the loading time is too high that makes u feel downer.

Im sick of the stupid PUPPET MASTER cliché ( no spoilers ). The story is inconsistent, Your nemesis is a typical douchebag that makes your ears bleed with unnecessary bla bla bla bla. Final chapters of the game are TRULY and DESPERATELY boring thanks to puppet master cliche and bla bla bla from your nemesis. A real shame. And all work for the worst final battle ever seen in the whole series.

Minigames are funny but u end so tired of runing.

And i stop. As i said i playd for near 70 hours. The game most of the time is MEH, u got 2 or 3 moments that u say WOOOOW and some others that y say ****** ** **** ********* *** ********* ******. Thats not what u xpect from a final fantasy game.

Entertains you. But ull forget it faster than u playd it.… Expand

robinzvak

Mar 10, 2017

6

Start is not bad, vizuals looks good , combat cool, but when i player more and more game ale worse and worse. I stopped played at XIII. chapter. FF XV is crazy mix open word game with bored corridor missions (chapters) ..

Sirmonkage

Mar 18, 2017

5

Love final fantasy. All of them except for this one. Story is boring. Characters are extremely unoriginal in personality (bland as well). I guess their are SOME fun moments in combat but honestly there isn't enough going on to keep the player actively engaged. Leveling system is dumbed down to an extreme level. Honestly I love final fantasy so much I could have looked over all of thisLove final fantasy. All of them except for this one. Story is boring. Characters are extremely unoriginal in personality (bland as well). I guess their are SOME fun moments in combat but honestly there isn't enough going on to keep the player actively engaged. Leveling system is dumbed down to an extreme level. Honestly I love final fantasy so much I could have looked over all of this if it wasn't for the boring dialogue and unlikable characters. Waited forever for this game. Just didn't cut it...… Expand

Zero_Tactics

Feb 28, 2017

6

C'est vraiment comme un biscuit pas cuit. Ça aurait du rester au four encore un peu. Pleins de bonnes idées incomplètes, une histoire confuse, une réalisation inégale.

squeezo828

May 31, 2018

6

This story is a convoluted mess and the gameplay is generic and glitchy. I encountered many bugs in the game, such as floating npcs, invisible walls, missing textures, and one bug that completely broke the game and wouldn’t load the next area until I restarted from my previous save, which was about 30 mins back, so I had to replay it all again. The combat is too simple for my taste. JustThis story is a convoluted mess and the gameplay is generic and glitchy. I encountered many bugs in the game, such as floating npcs, invisible walls, missing textures, and one bug that completely broke the game and wouldn’t load the next area until I restarted from my previous save, which was about 30 mins back, so I had to replay it all again. The combat is too simple for my taste. Just hold circle and dodge with square. The story was soo boring that half way through the game I just started skipping the cutscenes and dialogue because I was soo disinterested. The main characters are also pretty unlikable, especially gladiolus. He becomes a complete douchebag out of nowhere and repeats the same line of dialogue (“why don’t you try caring about others.”) for a solid hour and a half!!! I don’t get why this game is soo praised. I have played pretty much every triple a game that has come out for the past few years, and I will say, that final fantasy xv is the worst game out of that large list… Expand

evilghost666

Feb 9, 2017

6

The high praise for this game is justified... but only for the first half or so. After that, as I am sure you have probably read elsewhere, everything falls apart. My first moment of "what the **** is going on!" was the Leviathan fight. The camera is completely uncontrollable. The boss fight makes no sense. The story is completely babbling and incoherent. I shut the game off and have foundThe high praise for this game is justified... but only for the first half or so. After that, as I am sure you have probably read elsewhere, everything falls apart. My first moment of "what the **** is going on!" was the Leviathan fight. The camera is completely uncontrollable. The boss fight makes no sense. The story is completely babbling and incoherent. I shut the game off and have found little motivation to return, especially when reviewers are stating that what lies ahead only gets worse. Dont get me wrong, the first half and the open world are so, so great! It felt limitless. But once you turn the corner on the second half, if youre like me, you may not have the patience to deal with the absolute train wreck that unfolds. I doubt I will finish this game. I am just so pissed off at Square for killing the momentum established by the beginning of the game.… Expand

RaFfr0

Sep 2, 2017

7

I've never played a FF game before, so i had no idea what i was getting into. First, i can say that the atmosphere, environment and the art direction is really good, i like it a lot, and the main characters were nice too. But the story seems like it's all over the place, sometimes it seems interesting, and other it seems extremely forced, and there are many sidequests that are extremelyI've never played a FF game before, so i had no idea what i was getting into. First, i can say that the atmosphere, environment and the art direction is really good, i like it a lot, and the main characters were nice too. But the story seems like it's all over the place, sometimes it seems interesting, and other it seems extremely forced, and there are many sidequests that are extremely boring. I don't find the game bad but i can't say is great either.… Expand

Zannath

Oct 14, 2017

6

I'm extremely disappointed in the story of this game. Through the game I did not feel anything for the character nor did the scene int he game made me feel anything. Through the whole game there were no emotion that was worth mentioning at all.

The Combat System was bad as well. The upgrade tree really was costly with points and not really much of a customization of your characters.I'm extremely disappointed in the story of this game. Through the game I did not feel anything for the character nor did the scene int he game made me feel anything. Through the whole game there were no emotion that was worth mentioning at all.

The Combat System was bad as well. The upgrade tree really was costly with points and not really much of a customization of your characters. Magic was pretty useless in the game for it hurt not only the enemy but allies as well. Summon were ridicules because it requirement to summon depends on the battle and not when you want to. The only thing that I like about the combat system was the fighting style they have. It more fun to swing around the sword instead of taking turn base.… Expand

VTL

Nov 17, 2019

7

Juego entretenido, pero corto para tratarse de un FF... en 40 horas lo tienes acabado y el 100% creo que en 60 tambíen... La historia muy plana... enemigos bastante flojos... el mundo plano y sin mucha cosa... los buenos tiempos de FF no acaban de volber

JordiSkateIoko

Apr 20, 2018

7

This game is fine, the story is fine, the music is fine (except 1 or 2 songs that are awsome), the combat is meh (you don't really know what is happening), graphics are good, characters aren't really good except noctis, all the weapons from the same genre feel the same... and the worst part is the huge amount of dlcs, if you want the full game either you wait 3 years for the goty versionThis game is fine, the story is fine, the music is fine (except 1 or 2 songs that are awsome), the combat is meh (you don't really know what is happening), graphics are good, characters aren't really good except noctis, all the weapons from the same genre feel the same... and the worst part is the huge amount of dlcs, if you want the full game either you wait 3 years for the goty version or you have to pay 100€ for the full game. 6.5/10.… Expand

bohalaa

Dec 21, 2020

7

I'm a big fan of final fantasy series but this one disappointed me, i expected something better.

Yuke

Dec 2, 2016

7

It would have been a masterpiece if it had a different name. But a Final Fantasy with such a short and incoherent story? Sorry, but just a big, fat NOPE.

As always because of the open world focus, it lacks HEAVILY in storytelling. It also lacks tactics in fights because of the new, dynamic and fun fight system. (Yes, it is fun - but again, THIS IS MEANT TO BE A FINAL FANTASY GAME -It would have been a masterpiece if it had a different name. But a Final Fantasy with such a short and incoherent story? Sorry, but just a big, fat NOPE.

As always because of the open world focus, it lacks HEAVILY in storytelling.

It also lacks tactics in fights because of the new, dynamic and fun fight system. (Yes, it is fun - but again, THIS IS MEANT TO BE A FINAL FANTASY GAME - where is the tactic?)

You can easily win against everything (if it doesnt out-level you by 30) just by pressing the attack button and use pots and phoenix feathers. And no, i didnt playthrough it on easy. I had 40k Gil at the end of the story even though i was using pots and feathers in every single "boss" fight.

I am deeply dissapointed and will probabaly go finish my retro-gaming system over christmas. Seems its the only way to play a good story nowadays, because of Game-Devs focussing on the wrong aspects of games.… Expand

Tutti_Fruity

Dec 11, 2016

7

I have so far sunk 50 hours into this game so I think I could provide a fairly valid review (although there is a lot more content left to explore). Overall the game is definitely enjoyable on a plethora of planes, but there are downsides that do hinder the game.
Pros
The combat system is quite fluid and you can definitely get good at it (but at the same time you could just apply the sameI have so far sunk 50 hours into this game so I think I could provide a fairly valid review (although there is a lot more content left to explore). Overall the game is definitely enjoyable on a plethora of planes, but there are downsides that do hinder the game.
Pros
The combat system is quite fluid and you can definitely get good at it (but at the same time you could just apply the same technique to every battle if you wanted to and still get away with it)
(At first) the world feels extremely interactive and reactive, with constant dialogue going on within the team. (But this does become repetitive and other NPC lack any dept whatsoever)
Enemies are all quite unique in their different combat styles and at first they will be quite difficult but you'll soon enough learn how to deal (Again almost all enemies could still be dealt with in the same way if you wanted to)
There is a lot to do! I don't think I am even half way through doing everything there is to do (however there is a con in this that quite a lot of the side quests are rather uninspired, it would have been quite to see a side quest that ended up becoming quite significant and having a long chain of events, but instead they are mostly single event missions)
The little extras to the game such as photos and fishing although fairly small, are neat little additions
The is a satisfying sense of progression, both in terms of your own skill level and character level, there isn't a necessity to grind out levels and the like (although it is there if you're into that)
The aesthetic of the game is really well done, with long draw distances and vibrant combat scenes

Cons
There are many moments that seemingly exist to just waste your time, from climbing ladders that take 30 seconds and going in elevators that take 2 minutes (not loading into a new area)
Slow load times (primarily noticed when fast travelling)
Lack of convenient access (A specific example I have is where there is a short wall (that should be jumpable) cannot be scaled is any way and the only way to the other side is a 2 minute run)
There are a few bugs here and there (such as not being able to revive team mates and not being able to warp strike out of combat for faster travel)
The camera can be really frustrating at times, especially in tight spaces or where there are many trees around, it can become almost a battle where you just hold down attack and hope for the best
The boss battles in my opinion where pretty lackluster, pretty much every enemy is just a matter of wearing down their health by attacking as per usual
The later part of the game is linear (not open world) and the game fails in some parts of this, some of it is just you walk around a bit, fight some enemies and then that;s it. (One quest includes waiting for your train to arrive at the station takes like 5 minutes and you can't really do anything)
The game doesn't do a great job explaining everything, a lot of useful info is left out and this can often just be plain irritating
An awful lot of time is spent just travelling to where you want to go, and this feels like a real chore especially when there is no gain in the process
Quest system on your map could be improved just so you could see where all quests lay on the map instead of only showing one at a time
The story felt quite unfulfilling, I had no idea what I was doing for half of it, I just simply traveled there finished it and moved on
Music wasn't anything special
Summons are painful at times, you have to hold down the summon button all the while trying to not get interrupt, when you do get the summon, it is the exact same cut scene and that's it. In addition to summons just randomly and rarely being available
The car isn't really a car, it's more of a glorified loading screen or if you wish to manually control it, you hold R2 until you're at your destination (runs on a train track almost)
There could have been so much more dept to the skill tree in this game but unfortunately after buying 1/4 of the them, you lose that feeling of anxiously waiting to get your next one

After writing out all this I realized that I can't really give this game the original 8 I had planned, but nevertheless I definitely enjoy playing it and I would recommend it as long as you don't mind sinking more hours into it than should be necessary… Expand

artificeprime

Dec 15, 2016

7

An Incomplete Game

While Final Fantasy XV offers a lot of good elements, its limits progressively become more clear the further you progress. The second half shows a lot of signs that this game was never actually completed and I can only assume that the developers basically tossed out as much detail as possible and dropped the rest of the story into a super linear structure just to getAn Incomplete Game

While Final Fantasy XV offers a lot of good elements, its limits progressively become more clear the further you progress. The second half shows a lot of signs that this game was never actually completed and I can only assume that the developers basically tossed out as much detail as possible and dropped the rest of the story into a super linear structure just to get the project out the door. Only the first 20-25 hours or so of the game are open and even then a lot of key events seem to be either missing or poorly defined. The first 25 hours really seem like they should have been the first quarter or third of the game but they are more like the first 2/3rds. Most of the game is also filled out with fetch quests, the games story actually takes very little time at all, especially when compared to past games in the series. This game isn't bad but it wasn't worth the wait and it isn't even close to the best in the series.

Final Fantasy XV has a lot of good things going for it. The world is beautiful to behold, the few characters that are developed are done so in an organic way, the voice acting is good, combat is fun (although a bit shallow), the monsters have never looked better, Chocobo riding has never been better, and the summonings are more impressive than ever.

With all that said, all of those good elements feel incomplete. The open world, as beautiful as it is, is full of invisible walls, it isn''t an open world, it is just a big path that looks open. Most areas in the game can only be accessed by following a straight path. Characters can't swim, or jump off mountain tops, or really access any important areas in the game without going down a very straightforward route. Many of the areas of the game that looked the most interesting to visit in the trailers such as Insomnia and Tenbrae are basically just backdrops. Summonings look incredible but the player has almost no control over them at all, they basically appear at random. It doesn't feel like you have any control of their power at all. I have no problem with summoning being rare but they should have at least given you the ability to store points towards summoning them or something. Most of the times that I was able to summon it was completely unnecessary or it was an automatic summoning for the sake of the story. Magic also looks cool but there are very few spells and they all basically just amount to the same thing with a different look. There isn't nearly the variety of magic that was available in past FF games, such as haste, reflect, shell, etc. Noctis is also incredibly powerful but since you can only use most of his powers in specific situations you never get to feel as powerful as he should be. His most powerful skills are locked to battles that might as well have been cut scenes based on how straightforward and limited they are.

The most disappointing element of Final Fantasy XV is by far the story. It's a shame because there are actually a lot of good ideas. The problem is that none of those ideas are developed in a deep way. Key characters like Luna and Regis probably got far more scene time in trailers leading up to the game. I have seen brotherhood and Kingsglaive but even after seeing them I have no real attachment to Regis or Luna. We were told that this game was supposed to feature a complex relationship between father and son but that doesn't come across in the game at all. Noctis has almost no interactions with Regis or Luna at all. Likewise most of the plot with the villains of the story seems to have been cut. The emperor also made more appearances in trailers for the game than he actually does in the game. Pretty much the entire plot of the game is just narrated by Arden and while the concept of his character is very interesting his story is ultimately reduced to little more than a basic tale of revenge. I never felt like any of the characters had really complex motives. The Astrals themselves and the plague that is engulfing the world also have no depth behind them, they simply exist. Games like FFVI, FFVII, FFIX and FFX all had very complex and interesting reasons behind the problems that are threatening the world. FFXV doesn't even come close to that level.

I have very mixed feelings on FFXV, while there is a lot of good here, the game feels incomplete in almost every way. I really enjoyed the first 9 chapters of the game but after that it goes down hill very fast. There are a lot of good ideas and intriguing characters but almost none are developed with any depth. Its really a shame. The game does a lot right but in all honestly without all of the technical wonder and visual spectacle this would probably rank as one of the worst Final Fantasy games. Even with all that it is far from the peak of the series. How Square Enix can possibly think that this would be the game to reclaim the RPG throne is beyond me. It's worth playing but it's far from being the masterpiece that it should have been.… Expand

ConnorR

Oct 15, 2017

7

76/100
Final Fantasy XV is a mediocre game.
There is a lot to cover in this so I might as well start with the story (no spoilers). Final Fantasy XV's story is half baked with much of it being shelled out to a movie, 5 anime short clips, & character DLC paywalls. The presentation of the story lacks proper contextualization & cohesion with all of the previously mentioned products. The76/100
Final Fantasy XV is a mediocre game.
There is a lot to cover in this so I might as well start with the story (no spoilers).

Final Fantasy XV's story is half baked with much of it being shelled out to a movie, 5 anime short clips, & character DLC paywalls. The presentation of the story lacks proper contextualization & cohesion with all of the previously mentioned products. The main quest is stiflingly short for a triple A RPG & is severely lacking in in game content.

The next bit I am going to cover is the gameplay: what do you know, the combat animations are actually pretty good & seamless, but the lack of depth, poor leveling system, exploitable items, & exploitable utilization of central mechanics makes it easy to finish the game without a single game over on the highest difficulty. This game is an exploitable walk in the park for seasoned players of RPGs.

Up next is the game's world design: Final Fantasy XV's world design suffers from the inexperience of making western like open worlds. The game is plagued by nonsensical invisible barriers all over the place, only to be stumped by the visible barriers which leave you scratching your head as to why those are there in the first place. I can't overshadow how beautiful some of the spots are in the game, but you will stumble upon **** textures even in story specific areas.

Other stuff about the game: some of the in engine cutscene camera work is so poorly thought out that all you can do is cringe, while at other times it's exceptionally well done, but most of the time it's distasteful. The fact that you have to pay 60$ for a game, 20$ for a movie, watch 5 anime shorts, & buy character specific DLCs that are an integral part of the experience which were purposefully advertised in the story is bull****. Not only is it bull****, but you'll still have an unfinished product because the developers don't even know what they want to do with this game.

Final Fantasy XV is an underwhelming experience because it has the pseudo attempt of trying to make you believe it's doing so much when it's doing very little. There's a huge world with very little content, poor textures, bad design choices, & an overabundance of reused NPCs. Character display is incredibly lacking, yet we're supposed to comply with the self serious motivations & emotions of these shallowly displayed characters. Combat can look spectacular but is entirely shallow, probably even for Hack N' Slash standards.

Final Fantasy XV does a lot of things other games have done MUCH better. It's a nice buy if you can find it from around 20$ to maybe 30$ but I wouldn't suggest anything higher than that. If you're looking for a bang for your buck here are 5 RPGs that released within 5 months after Final Fantasy XV that scored higher: Nier Automata, Horizon Zero Dawn, Nioh, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild, & Persona 5.… Expand

alexaxa

Jan 3, 2017

7

I just finished the game and i recommend to other reviewer that you finish it also if it's not done yet since the second half of the game is totally different and feels incomplete. This game is good but failed to deliver as a final fantasy game.

Here's the pros and cons : + Graphics + Addictive + Some boss/hunt/quest encounter are really good + There are a few impressiveI just finished the game and i recommend to other reviewer that you finish it also if it's not done yet since the second half of the game is totally different and feels incomplete. This game is good but failed to deliver as a final fantasy game.

Here's the pros and cons :

+ Graphics
+ Addictive
+ Some boss/hunt/quest encounter are really good
+ There are a few impressive moments...

- The few impressive moments are often combined with really bad control
- The control. Who decided to puts the action and the jump button on the same button ? I didn't count the number of time i jump in front of a door or a NPC
- Having to rely on a car that go so slow for movement. You even have to buy gas for that car !
- The game have no identity, it tries to copy other game that are far better in their respective region (Witcher, Metal Gear, Resident Evil...) but fails to deliver in those segments
- The open world is mostly empty
- Chapter 13 should not exist and is the most boring things i've played in a videogame lately.
- The story is a mess. It's look like they took already-developped mission from a story hat and decided that those mission should be part of the main story even if the connection is under-developed and makes no sense.
- There are also a lot of gap in the story. Some events appears off-screen instead of going cutscene or full CGI to actually make us care. And after the character are all chilling out about it, no drama or anything involved. There's also a lot of missed opportunity but i can't go into details to not spoil anything.
- Some glitches like Hunt / story element not spawning
- Only one playable character

And i'm probably forgetting some. Overall, it's a little better than FFXIII but that's about it.… Expand

venomlocke

Dec 14, 2016

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Graphics - Good textures but it has too many pop-ins for monsters and the fps drops cause of these graphics are too unreal. The open world has some great set pieces but overall the world just feels empty.

Gameplay - Fast paced combat is good but it offers no strategy at all. Magic is just a disappointment because it ends up hurting your team mates and there is no AI instruction for them to avoid friendly fire.

Voice - It's more of a miss rather than a hit.

Story - Highly convoluted and watching Kingsglaive and Brotherhood is a must. None of the past trailers you see is in the game. Luna's character development was lackluster. When you reach chapter 10, it's both a mess and had some good parts in it.

**spoilers**

The prologue does not add anything to the story. Ifrit was just there for the sake of being in the game. It adds nothing but simple padding. Bahamut can only be summoned once.

Music - Both a hit and miss. A hit when it comes to larger battles and grand schemes. A miss when it comes to chilling in hub areas like outposts and lestallum because of generic music.

Overall, this game is MGSV all over again. Good gameplay. Bad story. And just disappointments.… Expand

DrZomboid

Dec 11, 2016

7

Big disappointmet with **** story and akward combat system. Great open world with awesome graphic sometimes, boring menu options, lack of magic and swords... just freaking weird FF game. Have'nt seen good FF game since FF12.
But it is just ok game.

pablo2008jedi

Feb 15, 2017

5

Most disappointed FF game ever. The story is dull, the characters are annoying and I can't seem to be bothered to pick up the controller to play. I got to chapter 6 and was immensely bored. Also reading things that the story is "unfinished" in parts and "wait for the big patch before continuing" has put me off.

To me FF was always about the story first and a RPG second, 7,9 and 10 beingMost disappointed FF game ever. The story is dull, the characters are annoying and I can't seem to be bothered to pick up the controller to play. I got to chapter 6 and was immensely bored. Also reading things that the story is "unfinished" in parts and "wait for the big patch before continuing" has put me off.

To me FF was always about the story first and a RPG second, 7,9 and 10 being my favs. I'd even say 13, 13-2 and 13-3 are better than 15.

To me this is NOT a FF game, its a mediocre Action Based RPG.… Expand

jsands7

Jan 17, 2017

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. TL:DR All of the bad things people are saying about the game are true, some of us are just weighting things differently; I am going to give it a 7.

I played the game for 60 hours and enjoyed my time and may have even shed a tear or two at the end; that being said, there are some absolutely weird things in this game.

Plot/Story: I kept waiting and waiting for plot holes to get solved but more and more just opened up. Literally nothing important happened in my game for the first 45 hours (through chapter 8 or so?), and then 10 hours later the whole game was over. I even watched Kingsglaive to make sure I knew the backstory. I mean, an evil empire is on the warpath for 150 years... and then a month after they capture their biggest target, the entire empire just dissolves and is a footnote in the story? Cor tells us we need to gather all of the old kings weapons because we need their power but then you never hear about that again. Multiple characters go back and forth between evil and friendly without much explanation (Aranea... Ravus?...) Prompto has the big revelation about being born a magitek soldier, and they basically say "Ok fine" and move on. They try to force some love subplot with Iris (which they keep pronounce e-ris instead of eye-ris), but then you just never see her again. Yet, with all of these major story plot holes... the game takes the time to have Ignis wake my character up so I can help him stir soup in the morning after camping. Huh???

I tried to do the basic side quests it kept giving me but then I ended up 30 levels higher than suggested for the climactic battles.

I played the game on Active combat mode which was fine, but the targeting was off most of the time, especially if you could attack multiple points on a mob. I never figured out how to consistently target a mob's weak point. Having to stop what you're doing to craft a spell and then equip it like a piece of gear is clunky, there is no way around that.

The summon animation is cool, but you hardly ever use the summons. I might have had 5 summons the entire game? And that is with a couple that happen right at the end.

I fished a bunch, I guess that was fine. The Coleman camping gear ads every time I had a fishing cutscene with the npc were cringeworthy.

My wife watched Kingsglaive with me and then the start of the game with me, she made it not 5 minutes before you meet the scantily-clad gas-station hooker whose chest is so large she is falling out of her shirt. I had built up the game to my wife on how they had spent 10 years crafting this amazing universe and then when that happened I had no defense. It is embarrassing. Aranea too. Just unnecessary. I expect that sort of thing in a campy game like Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball... not in Final Fantasy.

I guess they knew the music was bad and that you would be riding in cars and/or walking around for LONG periods of time, so they let you buy better music from their past games and listen to that instead. I probably spent 5+ hours either riding from one place to another in the car or walking through empty fields trying to do the fetch quests/'hunts'

Obviously the game has a lot of issues, but at the end of the day, I had an enjoyable experience. Even if the combat targeting didn't work great, I got to where I enjoyed the combat teleporting around and calling for Gladio to hit some Downhammers when we had the tech points for it. Many parts of the game look pretty good, I enjoyed the scenery. The photo taking aspect of it was nice, and I liked how they worked that into the story at the ending etc.

I was rating this game an 8 when I started this review, but now that I've typed all that out, I've decided to go with a 7. I will not be playing any DLCs, I assume they are stuff that should have been in the main game to flesh the story out but the devs wanted to make some extra money so they left them out of the primary game.… Expand

Looser

Mar 28, 2017

7

All good ideas but horrible implementation. It had an insane amount of hype and expectations put on it. And as a FF RPG it fell short in many peoples eyes.

Graphics: 10/10
Story/Lore: 5/10
Battle System: 8/10
Character Development: 5/10
Music: 8/10
Open-World: 6/10
Side-quests: 6/10
Stat Growth: 7/10
Voice acting: 8/10

Overall Score: 7/10

Tigerstrike11

May 6, 2017

5

I literally grew up playing Final Fantasy games. If this really took 10 years, that alone is laughable. There was really nothing exciting about this game period. I'd rather crank back up FFXIII. Oh, and the graphics, even the boss fights, might have been cool on the PS3. I'll vote this my personal worst FF game ever, and I've played them all. Probably all the worse having just playedI literally grew up playing Final Fantasy games. If this really took 10 years, that alone is laughable. There was really nothing exciting about this game period. I'd rather crank back up FFXIII. Oh, and the graphics, even the boss fights, might have been cool on the PS3. I'll vote this my personal worst FF game ever, and I've played them all. Probably all the worse having just played Witcher 3, Fallout and Horizon. What a joke. Makes me truly worried about the FFVII remake. To end on a good note, I'm really looking forward to the FFXII remake!… Expand

adamako666

Oct 11, 2017

6

The most upsetting thing about this game is the wasted potential. It clearly needs a couple more years of work on it. I think when they actually finish this game it will be one of the classics. As a broken game it is still pretty good. The graphics are stunning and the game play mechanics are superb. There are aspects of the story that work such as how you come to feel for your threeThe most upsetting thing about this game is the wasted potential. It clearly needs a couple more years of work on it. I think when they actually finish this game it will be one of the classics. As a broken game it is still pretty good. The graphics are stunning and the game play mechanics are superb. There are aspects of the story that work such as how you come to feel for your three compatriots through the game. Unfortunately it is clearly obvious many aspects of the games story is not in the game. There are chapters missing and ultimately the story does not really make any sense whatsoever. I look forward to playing again in a couple of years when they finish it.… Expand

sttag

Nov 30, 2016

7

The game is ok.

The combat is fine but nothing to write home about if action RPGs are your thing. The game is pretty but the world feels a bit empty. The story is not great and important characters just pop up to tell you what you need to to only promptly disappear again. The team is fleshed out but other characters in the game feel left out. Side-quests are filled with stupid fetchThe game is ok.

The combat is fine but nothing to write home about if action RPGs are your thing. The game is pretty but the world feels a bit empty. The story is not great and important characters just pop up to tell you what you need to to only promptly disappear again. The team is fleshed out but other characters in the game feel left out. Side-quests are filled with stupid fetch quests which are horrid. The combat can be deep but the game is just too easy. You can literally never be beat if you stock up on items. All in all it's just an OK game, nothing to to be overly excited about.… Expand

UbiPaul

Dec 6, 2016

7

It's not a bad game but it's not your typical FF experience. I've spent 62 hours in the open world doing all kinds of quests and whatnot, and then I traveled the sea only to find myself at the end of the game in ~5 hours. I wish the world would have been more littered with the main story-line, more cutscenes and important characters. The bad guy, and none of the other characters wereIt's not a bad game but it's not your typical FF experience. I've spent 62 hours in the open world doing all kinds of quests and whatnot, and then I traveled the sea only to find myself at the end of the game in ~5 hours. I wish the world would have been more littered with the main story-line, more cutscenes and important characters. The bad guy, and none of the other characters were built-up, they came and left too early so they become strong. I mean all the FF games had some pretty strong characters... I have very mixed feeling about it. Bottom line: this is a good game and you should play it, but don't expect FF style deep story.

I would also mention that toward the end the cutscenes and other events tent to be short and they feel like being cut-down. Some scenes made no sense and were poorly made.… Expand

killercorgi

Dec 1, 2016

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Final Fantasy XV is a good game, but nothing nearing 10 years in development good.

You can tell when Tetsuya Nomura left the project and the design team went into "hurry up and finish" mode. I couldn't shake the feeling that the game was somehow unfinished. As if they didn't really start working on it till like 3 or 4 years ago and they realized they had to hurry and pump something out because they announced it 10 years ago. The second half of the game is horrible and seemed rushed. You'll hear people complain about how linear it was but that wasn't the final straw for me. It was boring. Especially the section that basically turned the game into a survival-horror reminiscent of Galerians. This is also one of the longest segments of the game and plays a heavy hand in diminishing the vibe the first half of the game goes out of its way to establish. A lot of Final Fantasy games do the two worlds thing but usually the transition doesn't feel this jarring.

This game definitely feels inspired by Kingdom Hearts and Advent Children (especially in the aerial fight scenes) so that may be a make-or-break deal for some people. For me it was unimpressive since I don't consider either of those things very Final Fantasy-ish.

It's better than XIII and for most people (not me) better than XII but it won't touch golden era Final Fantasy games like 6 through 10.… Expand

tensa2341

Dec 11, 2016

7

I was excited to play this game when it was first announced as Final Fantasy Versus 13. The game was set in the world of 13 with a dark tone to it. It looked like a very interesting concept of a main Final Fantasy going hack and slash. Sadly enough though, the game was re-made into 15 which is still really good but with the many short comings from 15, it keeps it from becoming a greatI was excited to play this game when it was first announced as Final Fantasy Versus 13. The game was set in the world of 13 with a dark tone to it. It looked like a very interesting concept of a main Final Fantasy going hack and slash. Sadly enough though, the game was re-made into 15 which is still really good but with the many short comings from 15, it keeps it from becoming a great game. So does the game does its justice after a long 10 year development cycle or does it fall into the dark abyss where other highly-anticipated games fade throughout time?

Story- The story in 15 is decent enough and easy to understand. You play as Noctic, Prince and future ruler of Lucis as his father King Regis was killed in a peace treaty that turned into an assassination ambush. With the help of your friends Gladiolus, Prompto, and Ignis, Noctic will have to go around the game and become more powerful to take back the throne. The thing is, the games world isn't thoroughly explained as you're put right in the world with no exposition to really tell what the hell is going on unless you play through the story. The story is simple enough but what makes the story better is the relationship between the 4 main protagonist. The way each character has their own personalities and goals as you progress through the game. The problem though is that you get more of a personal affection with these characters and the world itself after watching the spin-off Brothers Final Fantasy 15 and Kingsglaive Final Fantasy 15 to better immerse yourself on the world of Eos. That shouldn't be a thing since a game should be able to help the player be more involved in the lore and characters.

Gameplay- The gameplay of 15 is different than most FF games in the series. It's a hack and slash that has the mix between Crisis Core and Type-0 . It's a very simplistic mechanic that is very fun to play with as Noctis has over several different uses for weapons. The problem with the gameplay is that everything else kinda sucks or an annoyance throughout the game. The driving feels very automated and you are constraint on the road like a safe-drivers ed teacher. You can't really crash unless taking turns on roads. The side-quest can be very bland at times as most of them is fetch quest but most of them also involves with giant or tough daemons to deal with, so it's not a bore to play through. The open world is a new refreshing idea as Lucis is pretty big enough to explore around. There are several different dungeons that are fun at times but some are just broken and tedious to go through. The use of different weapons is exhilarating as it gives a brand mix of something you get from Devil May Cry; very varied in its combat. The one thing they changed is the leveling up system isn't the same as other FF games. Throughout the game, your characters gain experience but you can only deposit them when you're resting. While you're resting, you can actually have buffs for eating different foods either by Ignis or a vendor. Other mechanics like you can only go one direction when either climbing up and down, X/A being the Jump button with it also being the confirming button, Amiger trigger buttons are glitched sometimes and not always responsive, Blocking doesn't always work, Broken boss battles like the Nalfgar, and the stupid requirements to do summons. Summons only come when they feel like it. It's stupid.

Graphics and Sound- The world of Eos is beautiful and the main difference about most FF games is that 15 is takes the real world and puts recreates a bit of it into the living world of 15. Creatures look fantastic, MAIN character models look amazing, particle affects to lighting is superb, and it's stable enough to play through. The music is freaking fantastic as each battle music fits right in and the use of the southern bell feel as Noctis and his friends road trip together around Lucis is appropriate. The music has such an amazing orchestra beat to it that each battle feels epic and uplifting as things are about to go down. I love the fact that they are able to keep Versus13 soundtrack in the game.The only main draw is the the draw distance sucks in this game, making pop-ins blandly coming out but that's only if you in huge grass fields.

With it's many faults, FFXV is still a good game to play for new comers and old final fantasy fans who accepts new change. I had a blast playing through the 96 hours and now I feel empty inside because I still want more from 15. There are gonna be updates that improve game mechanics and adding new features so I can't wait for those. It is a buy for new comers and FF fans( The ones that want something different rather than the turn-based gameplay).… Expand

Leon354

Dec 13, 2016

7

You can not drive a car !!!!! The plot is bad, dumb and full of holes !!! The main characters of 4 pieces of 4 and all of Karl !!! Instead of turn-bais slasher !!! + Beautiful graphics, beautiful world, stylish main character, a beautiful machine.

Nidave

Jan 12, 2017

7

A good game that should of been great.

I find myself enjoying the game for the most part and I can see why people are upset with the game, but rather than putting it up on the stake I'll talk about the positives of the game. I find the game play to be the best in the series by far and the world isn't just some empty wasteland with nothing to do. I enjoyed the side quests and monsterA good game that should of been great.

I find myself enjoying the game for the most part and I can see why people are upset with the game, but rather than putting it up on the stake I'll talk about the positives of the game. I find the game play to be the best in the series by far and the world isn't just some empty wasteland with nothing to do. I enjoyed the side quests and monster hunts across the game.… Expand

neozora

Feb 20, 2017

6

Despite the advertising, this is a Final Fantasy for firt-timers maybe, but definetly not for fans.
The scenario and graphics are beautiful and it's hard to argue with that. But the story is really shallow and the combat system most of the time way too simple and at other times confusing, specially with the weird camera angles.
The game tries to compensate mistakes from FFXIII and giveDespite the advertising, this is a Final Fantasy for firt-timers maybe, but definetly not for fans.
The scenario and graphics are beautiful and it's hard to argue with that. But the story is really shallow and the combat system most of the time way too simple and at other times confusing, specially with the weird camera angles.
The game tries to compensate mistakes from FFXIII and give us a wide open-world at the begining, but then it decides to take a linear path for the second half which just setences the player for some long boring sequences (yes, chapter 13, i'm mentioning you!)
It just looks like a half-made game, which is proved by the amount of huge updates square already released and the plenty of dlcs scheduled.
It's decent, it's playable, just don't rush to get it.
And it definetly doesn't live up to the name it carries… Expand

Jasonrv

Mar 14, 2017

5

I am a final fantasy fan, and this game gets the battling right, but I felt like it was wasting my time..

The good: Great battles are lots of fun and kept me coming back for 60+ hours. The bad: So Much time wasted!!! travel gets old fast when driving around, so fast travel i guess fixes that. Hunts send you going around in circles since you can only take on one of them at a time.I am a final fantasy fan, and this game gets the battling right, but I felt like it was wasting my time..

The good: Great battles are lots of fun and kept me coming back for 60+ hours.

The bad: So Much time wasted!!!

travel gets old fast when driving around, so fast travel i guess fixes that. Hunts send you going around in circles since you can only take on one of them at a time. The enemies are fun to battle, but let me fight 5 or 10 enemies while I am out rather then wasting 1 minutes travelling back to town to take on the second hunt.

The game ending becomes a grueling trek at the end. They strip you of your sword, and send you down long corridors fighting enemies that you should be able to kill no problem.… Expand

Vickmon

Dec 5, 2016

7

If you do the sidequests and optional tasks, the game becomes something grand, yet it sins and a lot when the subject is major story.

The plot is decapering and completing it does not require complexity, making it a very, very easy game.

quincentiple

Dec 5, 2016

7

Note: Reviewed after finishing the main story in 36 hours of gameplay. I have not completed any quests post main story.

Story - It is worth noting that you should not play this game without watching Kingsglaive first as it would make very little sense others. The story starts strong and ends strong. It is an epic universe and I found myself really caring about the fate of the KingdomNote: Reviewed after finishing the main story in 36 hours of gameplay. I have not completed any quests post main story.

Story - It is worth noting that you should not play this game without watching Kingsglaive first as it would make very little sense others. The story starts strong and ends strong. It is an epic universe and I found myself really caring about the fate of the Kingdom of Lucis The middle section of the game is riddled with plot holes however and the pacing of the story is inconsistent. You should also take your time to read notes left around the world and listen to radio broadcasts as unfortunately they often contain important story information that is extremely easy to miss. 7/10.

Characters - Usually I'd bundle this with the story, but the 4 main characters are so strong in this game I had to make a new section. It has been a long, long time since I felt an emotional connection to video game characters on this level (Eli and Joel in the Last of Us the only ones that come to mind). They compliment each other perfectly, they make witty banter that never repeats itself too often and you genuinely want to see them succeed for each other. Even Pronto, who I felt was a weaker character at the beginning, turned into a favourite of mine. 10/10

Music and Presentation - The world is gorgeous and the environments varied. It's not on The Witcher 3 level in this regard, but it beats 9/10 modern RPG's in this section. Deserts were barren and harsh, swamps were atmospheric and dark, cities were bustling and grand.
The music was a let down by usual FF standards but the fact you could listen to old FF soundtracks while travelling in the Regalia (the name of the car in the game) was a nice touch. 7/10.

Gameplay - I've read other reviews that laud the combat system as some kind of masterpiece. This was not the case for me. As you would know the series has moved away from the turn-based combat into a free-style action RPG type game with hints of RPG influences like potions/buffs/team-skills/etc, this work really well at times, but horrendously bad at other times. The main issues being 1. Fighting multiple enemies at ones and 2. fighting in certain environments.
1. I found targeting in the game to be a real issue when fighting hordes of enemies, which the game seeming to want to switch me to a wrong target at times, often putting my squishy Noctis right into the heat of the battle. Then you would often be presented with a quick-time event to try to dodge an incoming attack, these quick-time events though were inconsistent and often impossible to complete, making for frustrating battles.
2. When fighting in areas inside or under the cover of tree's the camera often had no idea what to do mean you often could not see the creature you were fighting or even Noctis himself, again less than ideal. 5/10

Other - Two complaints I couldn't fit into any other section.
1. Saving you game. Particularly in the last 5-6 chapters when the story becomes more linear there are whole sections of the game where it will not allow you to save and where it has not auto-saved recently. This often meant having to play for another 15+ minutes in order to get to a save point so you could turn off your console and go about your day. Very frustrating.
2. Sprinting. There are sections of the game where it simply will not allow you to use the sprint function for seemingly no reason, causing those sections of the game to drag out as you tip-toe around the area. It may seem like a small complaint but a game taking the wind-out-of-your-sails can leave a sour taste in your mouth.
Two pros I should mention.
1. Chocobos. They are back (obviously) and they are a joy to ride, upgrade, race. Perfectly executed... (I just wish I could pick up items around the world without having to get off...)
2. Mini-games. Justice Monsters 5, which is pinball-espe, is a nice little mini-game and I also enjoyed spending 15 minutes here or there fishing with Noctis.

Overall - FFXV is a better than good game, but it isn't a great one. The story it tells is great however and the characters are worth the price of admission alone. Just be prepared for a few frustrations along the way.… Expand

sjwilkin

Jan 25, 2017

7

It is very fair to suggest that this game is unfinished and clearly rushed. For the most part the game works as an open world hack n slash however it all falls away and apart around the half way point
Whilst I loved the open world, it did feel very empty and soulless. Only a handful of pit stops with the same cut and paste layout are spaced out sparingly across the map.
Story wise, it isIt is very fair to suggest that this game is unfinished and clearly rushed. For the most part the game works as an open world hack n slash however it all falls away and apart around the half way point
Whilst I loved the open world, it did feel very empty and soulless. Only a handful of pit stops with the same cut and paste layout are spaced out sparingly across the map.
Story wise, it is a mess.... I couldn't make head nor tails of it. Horror show, nearly laughable.
It is fun to play and admittedly I did put over 40 hours in but it lacks serious direction and purpose.
Here is hoping the DLC fills in the blanks and eventually becomes a complete game.… Expand

visiblelight7

Mar 19, 2017

5

I have mixed feelings about this game. What it does well it does incredibly well.

Pros: -Graphics, visuals are stunning -The surroundings while you drive are incredible. feels like a well designed world to look at. Cons: - Nothing is explained. You dont understand why you are going from point A to point B. - The fighting system sucks. It's too chaotic. You don't get toI have mixed feelings about this game. What it does well it does incredibly well.

Pros:

-Graphics, visuals are stunning
-The surroundings while you drive are incredible. feels like a well designed world to look at.

Cons:

- Nothing is explained. You dont understand why you are going from point A to point B.

- The fighting system sucks. It's too chaotic. You don't get to enjoy anything. You have to hurry up and smash a button to get out of the way or kill. very little thought is allowed. HUGE letdown. Makes gameplay annoying.

- So far at chapter 5. Almost no presented story narrative. Just "touch up" conversations at key moments.

-Taking Pictures, cooking meals.... are you kidding me? Wasted resources instead of presenting a good story....

- I skipped ALL sidequests... If I wanted to play Skyrim or a World of Warcraft Clone MMORPG. I would...

-Choice of lore elements.... Southern Accents? Texas style music. Are you joking???

- Having to stop playing and go "camping" when it's night because you get insta killed. Or better yet. You can't level up until you do.... WTF. This was a chore. TOO MUCH useless stuff added to this game instead of focusing on core story, background stories or amazing story development to make a novel look boring in comparison.

To summarize:

It's like opening a christmas present you are excited about and seeing a luxurious box of chocolate. Then opening the box and half of the flavours are stuff you don't really want....… Expand

Ilife

Nov 29, 2016

7

Bueno pero con fallos importantes a nivel narrativo y gráfico importantes, carece de profundidad en cuanto a la historia, sus personajes son planos y a veces no te cuentan ni quienes son dichos personajes o te los meten durante la partida solo para forzar la historia. A medida que el juego avanza se vuelve más descuidado sobretodo a nivel grafico. No puede ser considerado un FF aunque siBueno pero con fallos importantes a nivel narrativo y gráfico importantes, carece de profundidad en cuanto a la historia, sus personajes son planos y a veces no te cuentan ni quienes son dichos personajes o te los meten durante la partida solo para forzar la historia. A medida que el juego avanza se vuelve más descuidado sobretodo a nivel grafico. No puede ser considerado un FF aunque si que es un juego recomendable. Una lástima porque si el juego estuviese más trabajado podría haber sido excelente.… Expand

Slain

Sep 18, 2017

7

For TLDR the game is extremely average with janky story line, extremely repetitive collection quests, small diversity in gear and insanly annoying repeating voice lines, but the game somehow keeps me wanting to play with its awsome combat, chocobo and skills systems and of course pretty graphics, i reccomend buying on sale.

However, There is a lot of great elements in FFXV thatFor TLDR the game is extremely average with janky story line, extremely repetitive collection quests, small diversity in gear and insanly annoying repeating voice lines, but the game somehow keeps me wanting to play with its awsome combat, chocobo and skills systems and of course pretty graphics, i reccomend buying on sale.

However, There is a lot of great elements in FFXV that propell the series into a fresh new direction

+ One thing i really love is when i run into massive enemies and spend 20 minutes hacking it down as i
strategize and use party techniques, even though its 15 levels higher than me.
+ The Nostalgic music from all the previous final fantasy games which you can listen to while driving or even while on foot

+ The chocobos are amaazing!! the customization and racing is sooo fun and very much needed since your car is glued to streets only.
+ I really like some of the skills in the game, particularly fishing and cooking which offer up fun passtime activities
+ Of course the game looks amazing and has intense landspaces with different weather systems and massive structures that wow you as you drive past them.
- sometimes Very.....very.....very long load times
- Dialogue system is extremely repetitive to the point where it will drive you insane when your fishing or driving at night
- Story line falls apart as you plunder through the abundant side quests that have no significance with the story line
- I really really hate the car system in this game, i was shocked when i found out it was basically an on rails system.
- lack of diversity in wildlife/monsters, most of the hunting quests you go on will have the same exact monsters
- World just feels like its missing life, its very bland and vanilla
- Many invisible walls that are very annoying, forcing you to run several minutes in another direction to go around… Expand

Kenmei

Dec 16, 2016

7

A literal dream come true for some Final Fantasy fans, FF XV comes with alot of anticipation as we've waited about 10 years for this game to become a reality. And while the majority of the game succeeds in being a truly great FF game, it's severely hampered by the story and by some very unimpressive quests that are in the game.
The elephant in the room is the story and how almostA literal dream come true for some Final Fantasy fans, FF XV comes with alot of anticipation as we've waited about 10 years for this game to become a reality. And while the majority of the game succeeds in being a truly great FF game, it's severely hampered by the story and by some very unimpressive quests that are in the game.
The elephant in the room is the story and how almost unfinished it is at certain parts. The beginning is almost completely taken out of the game and put into the anime that follows along with the game. The middle portion suffers from little to no explanation about why certain things are happening and what is, frankly, going on half the time. I would constantly say to myself "why is this character here and what are they doing?" as very little is actually explained, even with some of the more important characters in the game. Square has said they are going to add additional cutscenes to the game but the damage is already done, especially since the game was already pushed back to fix the issues they saw with it. Throw in the very odd horror level late in the game that just dragged on for way to long and you have a recipe for disaster.
It's a shame that the story is terrible as Noctis and his crew are very good characters and their interactions are one of the best parts of the game. Even the smaller side characters are memorable and the game really made you feel for them. And the combat system is one of the better ones I've played in an RPG in a long time, if you like Action RPG style games. For more traditional fans, the turn based mechanic has been taken out completely, with only a "wait" timer having been added so you can scan enemies and plan your attack. I personally loved the new system and I hope they build off of it for the future.
At the end of the day, the game doesn't live up to the hype that people built for it. Especially after the last delay, to see a story as poorly done as this is truly pathetic in my book. And it's a shame as the final area is full of really cool monsters and the final bosses are very fun to fight. I frankly had no idea, beyond the general "kill the bad guy" objective, as to why we were there and what we were doing. And the game never does anything to clarify itself as to what is going on. The story feels incomplete and I can't recommend it to anyone till that point. My score is from the combat system and the wonderful characters that are in this awful set piece. They were enough to carry it for me to completion. However I have zero interest in going back into the game now. Between the really bad fetch quests that plague the open world, to the promise that they will add more cutscenes, it doesn't do enough to keep my interest. The game is both very enjoyable and almost unplayable at the same time for me and that is enough to make me finished with it for good unless something drastic were to happen.
For anyone on the fence, wait for the next big cutscene addition to enjoy the game. You, frankly, won't get what you're supposed to out of the copy that is currently being sold in stores.… Expand

thecatzpyjamaz

Dec 11, 2016

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm gonna have to break down this game into pieces because of all of the highs and lows.

Music: the music in this game was fantastic it made almost every part of the game from the remake of stand by me at the beginning to the eic battle music throughout. 10/10

Gameplay: the figjting mechanics were very fun and felt realistic, the link attacks make the fighting feel fluid and seamless. 9/10

Characters: for the most part the main characters felt uninteresting. There was very little development beind then and i felt that the most interesting characters in the game were the supporting cast. (Arenea, Regis, Ardyn)5/10 slight redemption for the amazing support cast.

Story: holy **** this story was all over the place, they tried so hard to make a great story and it shows in some places but it seems so rushed. Major SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!!! There are cerain parts of the story where they are trying to add to the story and make it more intersting and it just fails horribly. Ardyn is your brother?? Prompto was apart of the Nifleheim MT project I think? I'm not really sure. The story was way too rushed and rhey didn't take time to explain these seemingly important plot points. 2/10.

Over all the game did well in the music and gameplay departments which definitely saved the game. They also did well at playing off the nostalgia of the series with the familar summons of the game (the new looks of the summons are also completely badass) when you get past the story and the characters this game is very fun to play, and i would be excited to see a new game that helps clarify the story and bring some new interesring gameplay to the table, a Kingsglaive story playing as regis, or a spinoff playing as Arenea would be amazing!… Expand

Thilus

Jan 11, 2017

5

TL;DR: Well below average for a Final Fantasy. It lacks the charm of FF IX, an engaging story of FF VII or memorable characters of FF X. Personally, I would rate it even below the lackluster FF XIII, which - obviously - is a bad sign.

Pros: + Big and pretty open world, which you can explore quite freely + Good visuals, both in terms of textures and animations Cons: - DreadfulTL;DR: Well below average for a Final Fantasy. It lacks the charm of FF IX, an engaging story of FF VII or memorable characters of FF X. Personally, I would rate it even below the lackluster FF XIII, which - obviously - is a bad sign.

Pros:
+ Big and pretty open world, which you can explore quite freely
+ Good visuals, both in terms of textures and animations

Cons:
- Dreadful combat system. You basically hold one button (circle) to attack and another (square) to dodge. Many times I found myself just holding the circle and watching as my character blew away its opposition. There is no finesse in all that. I understand that this FF was supposed to be "for the fans and for the first-time players", but this... This is just dumbed-down to the point of absurdity.
- Too many meaningless quests. Have you ever played Witcher 3? There's a ton of sidequests in Witcher 3. Some of them are fetch quests, sure, but ALL of them (and I mean ALL) are somehow memorable. Here, it's mostly, well... Bring me this, fetch me that. Booooring.
- Riding the car. At first I was pretty excited to use the Regalia (that's the name of the car), but after a while driving it (or rather riding it) became a nightmare. Sometimes it takes five minutes for the car to reach its destination. Five minutes when you can do nothing but sightsee. Or make yourself a tea. Go to the toilet. Do something else. Anything. Otherwise you'll just waste your time.
- No plot. Seriously. I was halfway through the game (maybe even a little further than that), and the number of exciting events equaled exactly zero. The game has no drive whatsoever. What, you mean that trying to regain the throne for an unlikable, spoiled brat is supposed to keep me in front of a TV for 40-50 hours.
- Boring characters. That's pretty much self-explanatory.

All in all this was a huge disappointment. I waited for this game since it was announced in... I dunno. 2006? Maybe back then it could be considered good. Ten years later it's average at best.… Expand

crim210

Nov 30, 2016

7

Solid game but nothing special at all The characters and story are alright at best. The combat is pretty solid and more interesting than most of the other ffs. The world is pretty huge but a lot of the time it's not all that interesting. Overall it's a solid game if you like jrpgs, but it's not a must play to me.

eldumloido

Dec 5, 2016

7

Fun and good looking action adventure with rpg elements. Would give it a 9 but takes too much space on the ps4 as it only has 500gb as default and fps is a bit off, looks like 30fps but has some strange stutter that makes my head ache, waiting for PC version so I can finish the game without vomiting.

Prkurprkur

Jan 8, 2017

7

It's a mystery to me how FFXV can seem simultaneously dated AND unfinished.Some are saying that this game doesn't reflect 10 years of development and TBH I disagree. You can see the 10 years, just not in any positive capacity. The development of this title started in 2006 and it's obvious that they completely shifted direction partway through. Clearly, the focus turned to targeting andIt's a mystery to me how FFXV can seem simultaneously dated AND unfinished.Some are saying that this game doesn't reflect 10 years of development and TBH I disagree. You can see the 10 years, just not in any positive capacity. The development of this title started in 2006 and it's obvious that they completely shifted direction partway through. Clearly, the focus turned to targeting and drawing in new FF players rather than satisfying former fans of the franchise.

The glitzy GTA style car, the overtly western setting, and the completely male party are testaments to this direction change. I wouldn't mind these changes if they'd at least committed to them. If you're gonna give us a car, make the world truly open. If you're making the cast all-male then you'd better give us some top tier character designs and interactions to bring the ensemble together. Unfortunately, with FFXV we get none of this. The world is Semi-open but bland, the driving is pointless, characters look out of place and embarrassingly dated and most of all, their development is all but non-existent. As others have mentioned, the expansive world feels lonely with few monsters and NPCs to interact with.

In these times of extremely plot driven games, a lackluster story is frankly unacceptable. While I realize that there are other supporting media meant to supplement the story, I'm just not interested. I'm sure this would have flown a decade ago, but these days no one has the time nor the desire to trudge through an incomprehensible, piecemeal story concerning characters you don't care about.

With all that said I gave this title a 7.The gameplay itself was painless and honestly, I had fun wasting a few hours mindlessly running around the forest.… Expand

FF11223

Dec 24, 2016

7

After spending close to 40 hours playing this game, I still have mixed feelings about it.

1. The “Open World” I wasn’t against the idea of an open world final fantasy game. I had played The Witcher 3 prior to this and was very impressed with the open world structure. Everything felt organic, continuous, and although there was a lot of monotony with the design, the regions you enteredAfter spending close to 40 hours playing this game, I still have mixed feelings about it.

1. The “Open World”
I wasn’t against the idea of an open world final fantasy game. I had played The Witcher 3 prior to this and was very impressed with the open world structure. Everything felt organic, continuous, and although there was a lot of monotony with the design, the regions you entered had a sort of “personality” that went with it. This was not always the case for FFXV. Let me start by saying that yes, the world is beautiful and there is a lot of room to traverse. But in a lot of ways, it’s actually very limiting. Lucis sort of blends together across the board and a lot of it can feel like filler. Even the sidequests can feel like filler, most are a kill or fetch quest. Don’t get me wrong, the scenery looks beautiful, and there are specific areas that deviate from the norm, but there are many times where you’re barred from venturing into certain areas by an invisible wall. And the regions in the open world that you’re exposed to don’t necessarily feel significant and captivating. A lot of it actually looks the same with very little distinction. You find yourself driving back-and-forth across these areas several times feeling like it’s all the same. The exploration also gets cut short after a certain point. In essence, you can go back to it, but what if I want to explore more of the new areas we’re exposed to?
2. The Storyline
This series has always had a knack for making sure the main storyline took priority. They have definitely shown some major flaws with the way they tell it, but for the most part it felt as though they were trying to create a world with a lot of depth. The problem with FFXV’s story is the lack of depth. I wanted to care about these characters, and be drawn in to an enticing story. But, this game just didn’t manage to do that. The first half of the game drags a bit, and doesn’t do a good job of building things up. It felt as though sometimes they threw in random “sad” moments to try to make the player more interested, but instead it made me realize how little I knew or cared about some of these characters. A lot of the characters were hardly memorable. And in the second half (if you can even call it a half) once things started to gain momentum and depth, the game ends, literally. Lunafreya, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus are all main characters yet their backstories all felt a bit shallow, or had a ton of plot holes (i.e. Prompto’s deep dark secret, what happened with that?) Things are introduced and then hardly elaborated upon. Why should I care about Ravus? What are his motives? And is Aranea good or bad? She just has a change of heart all of a sudden? What happens to Altissia? And why the hell can’t we explore the WoR??! Yes, I am aware of Kingsglaive, but I shouldn’t have to buy spin-off movies and anime cartoon series just to know what the hell is going on with my characters. If you’re going to design a storyline, give us the finished product. This game felt like a rushed job, and it definitely shows. In theory, this plot had so much potential and was actually very interesting, but this game suffers from poor pacing, poor story execution, and lack of character depth/progression.
3. Battle System/Customization
I really like the battle system in this game. Sometimes it feels a bit button-mashy, and the AI can be super irritating sometimes, but I still really enjoy it. It rewards attentiveness and being on que, and there are a few other things that make the combat feel strategic. I actually looked forward to random battles (which are continuous with the open world). But, the camera easily gets distorted (especially in crammed areas) and if there are multiple enemies, it can be hard to tell who you’re actually aiming for. The customization aspect was fine. There are a few powerful weapons to look out for and equip to your party, but other than that the game felt almost too easy (even by FF standards) and didn’t require much of this. The final boss battle (and most boss battles) were very disappointing and unmemorable. The way they’re introduced tends to run on the anticlimactic side. I want to feel the rush when I’m about to take on a deadly foe, not just be like “oh by the way here’s a boss fight, have fun.” Atleast combat was really fun though, I’m still enjoying it, even with its flaws.

Bottom line: Do I regret buying this game? No. I think it’s a game that has a lot of good qualities, nice graphic design, and solid combat. But, after seeing the great work this series has done over the years, I’m a little sick of playing these newer games that feel like incomplete, rushed jobs.… Expand

drlowdon

Jun 25, 2018

7

The PS1 era Final Fantasy titles remain amongst my favourite experiences in gaming and, while this latest entry in the series isn’t quite up to those standards, it’s certainly an improvement over some of the rather forgettable recent efforts.
In terms of story the attempts to create a sort of “brotherhood” amongst the four main characters will help to give players more of an investment inThe PS1 era Final Fantasy titles remain amongst my favourite experiences in gaming and, while this latest entry in the series isn’t quite up to those standards, it’s certainly an improvement over some of the rather forgettable recent efforts.
In terms of story the attempts to create a sort of “brotherhood” amongst the four main characters will help to give players more of an investment in their party than they perhaps did in Final Fantasy XII or XIII but, to be honest, the characters still aren’t as memorable as those from the PS1 days and the plot becomes a bit of a mess by the end. The open world itself certainly looks great but, outside of the enjoyable “monster hunting”, too many of the side quests are simple “fetch quests” and best just ignored. On a side note, and this is a criticism of open world games in general rather than Final Fantasy XV in particular, why do characters giving out side quests just stand in the same position for however long it takes you to get back to them? (One guy waited by his car in the middle of nowhere for 2 weeks until I brought him a repair kit to fix it!)

Those that have been following the series will know that it has increasingly moved away from traditional turn based combat, something which does seem to have split fans. Personally I don’t have a problem with updating the old school RPG combat (did anyone actually like random battles?) as long as what replaces it is good and the combat here is pretty enjoyable, arguably even bordering on excellent at times. It certainly takes a bit of getting used to but, once you get a handle on it, it does prove to be suitably deep with a large selection of weapons and special moves available to tackle the enemies which all have different strengths and weaknesses to counter. The only real issue for me in the end was that the camera was pretty poor at giving you a decent view of the action, especially when you’re fighting in more confined spaces or when you get surrounded by large groups of enemies, you can manually move the camera but getting it in the right place in the heat of battle isn’t exactly easy.

There are a few other issues, such as relatively long loading times when “fast travelling” or car journeys that require you to just sit and watch as a passenger for periods of up to 5 minutes, but these are minor annoyances rather than anything that completely spoil the game.

To sum everything up Final Fantasy XV is a good game that will appeal to most fans of the genre, thanks to a few design decisions and camera issues that affect any combat in confined spaces however, it falls short of being considered an all-time classic in the way that some of the earlier entries in the series are.… Expand

porcino

Jun 6, 2017

6

Gostei parcialmente do jogo, comprei por ele representar um fóssil vivo de FF versus 13, pelos anos de desenvolvimento acreditei que o jogo seria grande.

Mas não é bem assim, ele é pequeno com um mundo grande. Pontos positivos: Trilha Sonora, realismo gráfico, IA incrível, animação e comportamento dos seus amigos são realistas demais, mundo vasto para explorar e bastante monstros paraGostei parcialmente do jogo, comprei por ele representar um fóssil vivo de FF versus 13, pelos anos de desenvolvimento acreditei que o jogo seria grande.

Mas não é bem assim, ele é pequeno com um mundo grande.
Pontos positivos: Trilha Sonora, realismo gráfico, IA incrível, animação e comportamento dos seus amigos são realistas demais, mundo vasto para explorar e bastante monstros para caçar.

Pontos negativos: Sistema de batalha quase não usa estratégias, sistema de magia muito repetido e sem graça, nada a ver com o que foi mostrado no Platinum Demo, o mapa tem poucas cidades para explorar, o jogo é curto, só dá pra pegar o Regalia Type F no final e isto não é importante para o jogo, o jogo é difícil, mas se torna ridiculamente fácil por não deixar morrer até que use todos os Phoenix Down no inventário. Até o momento a SE não tem ampliado o jogo como deveria o que me leva a crer que o Jogo está finalizado e nada vai ficar diferente, temos que engolir seco. Muitos personagens temporários são inúteis e que fazem muita falta no decorrer do jogo. A luta final é ridiculamente fácil enquanto as caçadas tem criaturas mais poderosas que o chefe final, isso é bastante incoerente.… Expand

pongkrit03

Jul 12, 2017

5

FFXV is a disgrace of FF franchises. I had known before played that this game was not much good, still it was even worse than my expectation. I could not bring myself to finish it. I stopped at the middle of chapter 5. The major problem is the story writing is so terrible, "VERY TERRIBLE". It started with boredom and kept on going with boredom. I heard that the latter chapters are evenFFXV is a disgrace of FF franchises. I had known before played that this game was not much good, still it was even worse than my expectation. I could not bring myself to finish it. I stopped at the middle of chapter 5. The major problem is the story writing is so terrible, "VERY TERRIBLE". It started with boredom and kept on going with boredom. I heard that the latter chapters are even more of boredom so I decided to give up. I did not buy this game just to chill out with car driving or fishing or cooking meal. I need excitement. FF series always create excitement but this game fail miserably in this area. ( Actually, I am a fan of FF, but I won't protect it because of that)

Combat system is one and only ok thing in the game. It is just ok not great. Most of the time, you don't know what you are doing. Keep blocking and waiting for parrying are the safest way to win yet most boring way but you have no choice because the battle always become chaos. Legendary weapons will drains your hp (I don't know who come up with this idea but it is stupid.) It is fun for a while before you start feeling repetitive for doing the same and the same. You have no control of your friends either, which contradict with the standard of FF series thus far. It is unique system though so I don't want to be harsh but it is barely hold players. It needs refinement. Magic is an item now WTF and Summoning has no freedom. Many things went wrong here.

Other Bad Points
1. Loading time kills the game
2.Car speed is too slow
3.No girl in your party (Seriously ?)
4.Graphic is not that impressive.
5.Boring uninspired sidequests
6.Music is not memorable as other previous FF title

Good point ?? - I don't know, can't think of any. Maybe Luna looks good, that is it

Overall, it is just an barely ok game. It has length, open world and unique battle system, but they should not put the "FF" name on this one. If you are looking to open-world game, I suggest go for Horizon Zero Dawn instead. 5 of 10 is a very generous score from me. Without an acceptable yet flawed combat system, the score would have been much lower.… Expand

GloryofPushkin

Mar 20, 2017

7

Once you realize all the different harsh obstacles Tabata, the director, had to overcome to make the game what it is now, it makes it an amazing feat. Although the story isn't completely fleshed out, there is still a lot of story hidden and subtlety told. Watch 'Final Fantasy Peasant' on YouTube to get what I mean. Most of the sidequest suck and are unimaginative but a good amount of themOnce you realize all the different harsh obstacles Tabata, the director, had to overcome to make the game what it is now, it makes it an amazing feat. Although the story isn't completely fleshed out, there is still a lot of story hidden and subtlety told. Watch 'Final Fantasy Peasant' on YouTube to get what I mean. Most of the sidequest suck and are unimaginative but a good amount of them are definitely worth the play. Especially the postgame content.… Expand

HaloFever

Jun 4, 2020

7

Final Fantasy XV is a big mess that does not feel much like a role playing game or a action brawling game. The gameplay is weird. You play as a skinny kid who does not know how to run and looks like an anime cartoon living in the real world. His main skill is throwing his sword and then teleporting to it. In an excruciating tutorial, you learn to teleport to enemies to attach and teleportFinal Fantasy XV is a big mess that does not feel much like a role playing game or a action brawling game. The gameplay is weird. You play as a skinny kid who does not know how to run and looks like an anime cartoon living in the real world. His main skill is throwing his sword and then teleporting to it. In an excruciating tutorial, you learn to teleport to enemies to attach and teleport to the ceiling for defense. You can also order your 3 friends to conduct a special attack every now and then. After a few hours, I learned the best tactic was to have my allies conduct their special attack when the giant bosses were starting their attack animations. Then the game became simple button mashing and grinding levels to make the boss fights easier.

The game world is inscrutable. The game in theory has an open world. What this really means is that there are large stretches of featureless, low texture terrain between cookie-cutter buildings. It also means roadblocks, cliff faces, and high walls to prevent the player from travelling out of the game area. Final Fantasy XV embraces the kind of open world we saw in the PS2 generation. There is little explanation of why people are fighting with swords in an age of guns and walking tanks. We also have no idea how people have cell phones and cars in a world that seems bereft of any kind of industry. There is mention of an asteroid that brought magic or whatever. After a 26 hour playthrough, I knew about as much as I did at the start of the game. The story is at least light on cutscenes for this type of game. There are few focused segments that tell the story through in-game dialogue and events. FYI, Square Enix, you can design a whole game where the story is told in-game.

I have the strong feeling that this game was supposed to have launched in the PS3 era. In addition to the low quality environments, some of the boss fights have subpar graphics. None of the areas feature many people, certainly nothing to level we've come to expect in the PS4 era. (Assassin's Creed Unity, which launched in 2014, had enormous crowds.) The gameplay is also severely limited for a game that has historically let players customize their parties. Development clearly went awry and the final product was not better for it. I have a strong feeling that the odd fighting system was implemented to help may the game few "new".

Total disclosure: I paid $2.50 for this game. Were I a fan of the series, I would have paid $60 to play on day one. Maybe because I am not a fan, my 26 hour playthrough was mostly confusing and off-putting. The gameplay was interesting enough to get me into the next fight but mostly in a grindy way that ensured the boss fight would be easier. (Though I do not like grinding, I find it preferable to dying and reloading.) I was also surprised to see little customization of the characters. This game is not so much an RPG as it is a fighting game with levels. I've played better fighting games with levels.… Expand

estebambuco

May 1, 2017

7

Final Fantasy XV es un juego memorable pero no rejugable ni recomendable.
Pros:
-Los 4 personajes tienen carisma -Tiene muy buena historia principal -Buenas gráficas y escenarios muy bien diseñados -Las invocaciones y algunas batallas son espectaculares -Me encontré con un solo bug -Amplia variedad de habilidades y diferentes modos de encarar la pelea, ya sea yo solo o integrando alFinal Fantasy XV es un juego memorable pero no rejugable ni recomendable.
Pros:
-Los 4 personajes tienen carisma
-Tiene muy buena historia principal
-Buenas gráficas y escenarios muy bien diseñados
-Las invocaciones y algunas batallas son espectaculares
-Me encontré con un solo bug
-Amplia variedad de habilidades y diferentes modos de encarar la pelea, ya sea yo solo o integrando al grupo en combos.
-Buena banda sonora
-El juego, algunos jefes y el final todos 3 son memorables
-Gran variedad de enemigos con habilidades variadas.
-Buena historia final.

Contras:
-Es un juego que Aburre en muchas ocasiones, especialmente en las cinemáticas o cuando uno se esta trasladando de un lugar a otro, inclusive montando en los Chocobos se aburre uno mucho.
-Llega un momento en que se torna repetitivo y no quieres jugar más aunque haya pasado varios días.
-Cuesta identificarse con los personajes principales, sobretodo al principio del juego los senti muchas veces más como unos prepuberes en vez de héroes principales de una historia, en ocasiones Prompto incomoda, no me queda claro si es homosexual o no.
-No se puede manejar el Regalia (el único carro que uno puede usar) a voluntad, a veces lo maneja Ignis uno de los amigos del personaje ppal y uno queda viendo el paisaje o "escuchando" la música que por más alto que pongo el TV o cambio la configuración no se alcanza a escuchar casi nada, sin embargo uno puede "manejar" pero es una mierda, literalmente es como si manejaras en línea recta, no se puede manejar por fuera de la carretera lo único que puedes hacer es acelerar, frenar y cambiar un poco el sentido del carro.
-Muy poca variedad de atuendos, nunca me gusto los trajes con los que vienen inicialmente parecen de una banda metrosexual de kpop o una mierda así, al menos, hay una segunda muda de ropa más aceptable que me permitió seguir con el juego, por ejemplo la ropa de Gladiolus es el mostrando el abdomen y con el jean apretandole el culo, una mierda estar aguantandose todo el tiempo eso en un juego que dura 30 horas aprox.
-Solo se puede manejar a Noctis (el personaje principal), los otros personajes no. Gladiolus lo puedes manejar por un rato en cierto tramo de la historia pero es muy corto el tiempo en que lo puedes usar.
-Las únicas misiones secundarias interesantes son las de caza para ganar dinero, de resto son una puta mierda de misiones secundarias
-La rama de desarrollo muchas veces se quedaba sin hacer cambios en el juego, por ejemplo si escogía aumentar 3 veces la vitalidad del grupo no se modificaba, a pesar de que insistí en que apareciera éste efecto cargando varias veces la partida y nada.
-Uno de los personajes que acompaña a Noctis debería poderlo manejar un multijugador online o local, esa hubiera sido un gran logro en este videojuego, lo que hace sentir muy desaprovechados los otros personajes.
-Muy difícil entender la mecánica de las invocaciones, el ardid, coro espectral, nova espectral, entre otros, me rescate el juego entendiendo vagamente como se lograba obtenerlas para una pelea.
-Promto debió ser hecho un personaje femenino, no masculino, o al menos que no todos sean hombres en el grupo (digo Prompto por ser el mas femenino del grupo).
-Pudieron hacerle un minijuego a la comida que hace Ignis, no solo una pinche foto de la comida que el prepara, que hace dar hambre y ya.
-Las habilidad de Prompto de fotografiar en muchas ocasiones le quita seriedad a éste personaje, sobretodo cuando es fotógrafo de guerra.
-Gladiolus tiene la habilidad secundaria más estúpida o la que más sobra de los cuatro: supervivencia...… Expand

MAFIAxMaverick

Mar 19, 2017

6

Sunk about 60 hours into FFXV for the platinum. Game looks gorgeous and I even liked the more streamlined gameplay in terms of combat. Hunts are a lot of fun and made me really look forward to the hunts that I'll be reliving in FFXII remaster later this summer.

It may be unfair to judge this compared to it's predecessors, but I haven't cared less about a Final Fantasy game's story likeSunk about 60 hours into FFXV for the platinum. Game looks gorgeous and I even liked the more streamlined gameplay in terms of combat. Hunts are a lot of fun and made me really look forward to the hunts that I'll be reliving in FFXII remaster later this summer.

It may be unfair to judge this compared to it's predecessors, but I haven't cared less about a Final Fantasy game's story like I did for FFXV. I'm hoping DLC will change that, though it's disappointing to need DLC to feel a sense of completion with the story in a series such as this. I hope Square does not continue down the path and, instead, releases a full game next go around. For all the years in development, even though the game was probably scrapped and restarted from step one, I'm disappointed.

I really enjoyed the gameplay and side quests. If the main story was even half as good as I hoped it was going to be, then this would be a 9 or 10 for me. But the main story was so disjointed and full of holes that I felt virtually no sense of intrinsic reward/happiness/sadness/anything when it finally ended.… Expand

here_and_there

Aug 31, 2017

6

I wish I could rate this game better. I am a long time Final Fantasy fan, I have played every Final Fantasy except I, II and III and tons of other RPGs and JRPGs and action/adventure games. And sadly this game doesn't succeed in being good at none of these categories.
First, the good things: the gameplay is good, if you are into action RPGs it is one of the best battle systems out there.I wish I could rate this game better. I am a long time Final Fantasy fan, I have played every Final Fantasy except I, II and III and tons of other RPGs and JRPGs and action/adventure games. And sadly this game doesn't succeed in being good at none of these categories.
First, the good things: the gameplay is good, if you are into action RPGs it is one of the best battle systems out there. Even if I prefer more classical systems in RPGs I really enjoyed every fight of my 50 hours of gameplay. Graphics are beautiful. The cities are unique, inventive and beautifully rendered, even if sometimes they lack inspiration, the natural wilderness is vast, diverse and incredibly beautiful, the dungeons are surprisingly interesting and clever.
But unfortunately that's it. The open world of FFXV may be visually amazing and vast but it is empty and boring. RPG open worlds need content, background story, good, interesting and diverse NPC dialogues, sidequests that expand on the story and the lore. FFXV has nothing of this.
Story: this is the worst part. It is by far the most boring and worst written story of every Final Fantasy and of most modern RPGs. There is almost no story progression. Few and useless dialogues. Useless and boring NPC chatter which never helps expanding on the world and the story. At no time in the game there is a sense of purpose, an epic turn of events, a tragic worldchanging moment (and the actual ones all happen offscreen). The characters are bland and irritating.… Expand

roastbird

Dec 16, 2016

7

Overall, it is a game which you pay for the side mission, and the main storyline comes as a gift. So you can treat this game as two:
1. A prince trying to save the world by gathering the power
2. A demon hunter who is hunting around the open world For the first part, it sucks, which I refer to whatever is coming after chapter 8. Chapter 13 is a nightmare, hope they can fix it duringOverall, it is a game which you pay for the side mission, and the main storyline comes as a gift. So you can treat this game as two:
1. A prince trying to save the world by gathering the power
2. A demon hunter who is hunting around the open world

For the first part, it sucks, which I refer to whatever is coming after chapter 8. Chapter 13 is a nightmare, hope they can fix it during the coming DLC. I won't spoil anything here, but I can tell you chapter 1-8 and 9-15 is complete two different games. I know it's really hard to put 3 stories into 1.

For the second part, It is perfect. You can do whatever you want, whatever you can image in a giant open world, hundreds of interesting side mission, lots of hidden information. Ride Chocobo, fishing, hunter, cooking...etc.

So I give 7 out of 10. This game worth your money, just eat the **** ending and enjoy it as an exploration game.… Expand

Bl0kkF4ustus

Dec 28, 2016

7

First things first. This has nothing to do with the Final Fantasy series many PPL grew up with and Love. But this aspect away, then it is indeed a good solid Game you can have many good hours with. The Fighting System is a total Mess and far away from being innovative or even fun to play, most of the Time you are holding Down the attack button ,pressing the block button when asked to. YourFirst things first. This has nothing to do with the Final Fantasy series many PPL grew up with and Love. But this aspect away, then it is indeed a good solid Game you can have many good hours with. The Fighting System is a total Mess and far away from being innovative or even fun to play, most of the Time you are holding Down the attack button ,pressing the block button when asked to. Your Companions are worthless in Fights and get themselves Killed most of the Time because they are to stupid to move away when a boss does a Areal attack, and the lack of story telling CGI movies made me almost cry because this was what the big flair of FF was, watching a epic 30min cgi after struggeling through a chapter of the game was always great and a nice way to progress the story and get informed what happened behind the scenes while you fought a building high foe.
these are the reasons for me this is no real FF but an ok rpg in a FF-esque world.

Now to the Good parts. The Open world and the possibilities to Explore via Chocobo are Great and you loose hours exploring a new found Dungeon ,go fishing or hunting Monsters for Cash while leeaving the Main Story behind.TheSummons are Epic and its just great watching Ramuh or Leviathan Destroying everything while you watch them from the Ground!Discovering new Receipes for Ignis and taking a Foto tour with Prompto are good fun too especially because they actually help you and give you new Perks/buffs for the next day after you ate them.In my opinion they should have taken a year more time, while canceling Kingsglaive and instead cut the movie (with additional Material) and add it as cutscenes into the game, also they should have wheter do a real Realtime Battle System ala DMC or something else or just leave it Round Based like FF always was just cooler looking (the wait mode they included as other method of Fighting isnt really a choice) also they hould have let you choose wich char of your party you want to control and switch between the OTF.also they should have added more Party members and let the group build up like in old games where u start alone or as Duo and meet everyone else on your journey.
And what really bugged me was the last §rd of the Game as it was linear AF only getting on one path until the final Conclusion,wich felt just wrong after having so much freedom the last 40hrs before that finish., and they left huuuge story holes open, probably for future DLC wich is a shame!… Expand

Aridos

Feb 4, 2017

7

I've finished the game and spent around 60 hours playing it.

It's alright. The game presents a simple story, and focuses more on the characters However, in its speed to be a lot more character focused, I've had a hard time identifying with the characters on a more personal level. Maybe it's because the game isn't aimed at me? Oh wait... "For old and newcomers"- Yeah, it's for everyone.I've finished the game and spent around 60 hours playing it.

It's alright.
The game presents a simple story, and focuses more on the characters However, in its speed to be a lot more character focused, I've had a hard time identifying with the characters on a more personal level. Maybe it's because the game isn't aimed at me? Oh wait... "For old and newcomers"- Yeah, it's for everyone. So why do I feel detached? Maybe it's that the main character is a prince and while a lot of bad things happen to him, it also feels like a lot of things are given to him. Some of the story elements feel important but aren't stressed or made clear enough, and some might say to watch the added movies/shorts Square Enix put out for us for that, but... Why should I do that?
Regardless, the story managed to bring me into it. I can't say why exactly since that'll be stepping into spoiler territory, however, it is suffice to say that even if you hate the characters, and don't understand the story, the game doesn't beat you around the head for it.

More gameplay focused, the fighting system is simplified, and you don't have to understand or be very good at all its elements or tactics to move through the entirety of the game, which I always consider a plus- my problem is that those who do master a portion of it still have a very solid problem getting "Good" at it. Simplifying is good, but abandoning the 'Easy to use Hard to master' idea to streamline things, in my opinion, is a failure.
Nevertheless, the game won't punish you too much for not being a two button master, and you could move through the game.

Moving into open world territory, Square had a big problem with this thing called 'Immersion', Yeah, I know it's a word thrown around, but when I do something and get bumped by an invisible wall, or some prompt doesn't work fluently and I end up jumping like an ass for three times until it works, or you try to get into certain areas in End-Game territory- I won't spoil it, but listen if you may- and the game pushes you away from them, likely because it didn't actually model the area, it just wants you to sight see. And that's my issue, I want to BE there, no just SEE it. Whle most of the game doesn't have that sin, and does a very clean job of letting you look at a backdrop and also playing around in it, the fact it doesn't make the entire game world that way is highly disappointing. Back-Once-When, Final Fantasy worlds weren't that huge, and that allowed you to get everywhere at some point, and that was fine. Should they have cut down the world and made it only of the accessible areas? Yes. Instead of invisible-wall shoving, yes.

Perhaps that's my biggest problem with it: On one side, I really like a lot of elements in it. On the other, I can't help but feel a lot of things are missed here that didn't happen in previous Final Fantasy games. That didn't happen in other games. I come to Final Fantasy for the story, and now there's also awesome gameplay. But...

I just wish those two were polished more. Yeah, think about that, this game has been in the works for 10 years, and back in the Episode Duscae and Platinum Demo the combat system still felt bad up until the game itself.
You can see Square is trying, but I can't say they're at that level yet.

Try harder, Square- This is DEFINETELY better than FF 13 and its iterations.… Expand

CraigEchols

Jan 5, 2017

7

The game really starts to finally hit its stride around Chpt 8. Aside from a quick story set up, the first set of hours feel like a waste of time. The visuals in this game are stunning and honestly the N'Sync band of characters do mesh well especially in battle, however, the battle camera is infuriating.

I think the biggest issue I have with the game is...its called Final Fantasy.The game really starts to finally hit its stride around Chpt 8. Aside from a quick story set up, the first set of hours feel like a waste of time. The visuals in this game are stunning and honestly the N'Sync band of characters do mesh well especially in battle, however, the battle camera is infuriating.

I think the biggest issue I have with the game is...its called Final Fantasy. FANTASY. Where are the talking animals? The humanoid robots? Magically created characters? Where are the mages? Why am I driving in a car? In this expansive world...why is everything only 3 miles worth of driving distance? Where's my Fire, Fira, Firaga?

Now that I'm done complaining, the game is really good. Even FF fans have to say so. I've beaten 8 of the Final Fantasys and this one is among the good one's. As mentioned the landscapes are beautiful, the character development isn't bad, the action sequences are pretty cool as are the real time battles and boss fights (honestly the battle with Leviathan was freaking awesome), and Ardyn goes into my top 5 of Final Fantasy bad guys. He's like a subtle version of Kefka's sadistic personality mixed with Vayne Solidor's bravado and style.

The game could have been better, but it could have been worse. The story was sub-par and the driving in the car was unnecessary. It seems like the side quests tried to borrow from Elder Scrolls style of filler with fetch quests. But the battle system is fun, the ascension system isn't bad, the characters are pretty pretty to relate to, and the modernization of it works to a point.… Expand

Revadarius

Apr 21, 2017

6

Just to clarify. This is a great game, at first I thought it was brilliant. Amazing, even. It's certainly original, and ground breaking. The graphics are smooth, immersive and even overwhelming at times. The world is vast and plentiful. The story has major highs, but also a lot of pitiful lows. And the characters are overflowing with personality and, well...character.Just to clarify. This is a great game, at first I thought it was brilliant. Amazing, even. It's certainly original, and ground breaking. The graphics are smooth, immersive and even overwhelming at times. The world is vast and plentiful. The story has major highs, but also a lot of pitiful lows. And the characters are overflowing with personality and, well...character.

Unfortunately, the combat is a bit of a flustercuck (to be polite). It works, it's fun, it's simple yet expansive. But it has a lot of issues (usually with larger enemies, certain small/tight terrains and dungeons, and the camera angling is atrocious at times). And the story, as great as it could be (and after basically theorizing what the hell happened with the rest of the community) did have some impressive twists, turns. Hell, they were emotional.

The major downside is that there's evidently huge chunks of this game just missing, and the story is short. The MCs are all the place in their chemistry and goals, as well as the fact the main Antagonist(s) aren't either shown, or their intentions or backstory fully explained. Well, to be truthful... their's just little to no air time for the important things that matter. The story evidently seemed an after thought, but the open world experience and it's major details are spot on.

All-in-all this game is phenomenal, but it's let down by poor narrative structure. And time-wasting mechanics. There's fast travelling, but it's limited. So far after near 60hrs of gameplay, more than half of that has been in travelling time and other 'mechanics' that impede your pace of playing, forcing you to play at this game's pace. (There's an infamous section of the game SE themselves are going to address because it got so much hate over how pitiful and pointless it was, as well as the end-game portion).

The 7/10 is the best I can give it, and that's being generous. For how grand it is at one end of the scale, it's let down by major issues at the opposite end. Hopefully SE rectify this, or atleast learn from this. But the story is short, sorta sweet... but extremely confusing because, hey!, there are entire portions missing.

*EDIT* I've replayed this game recently. And I was disappointed. My opinion didn't improve, and it seems that without the hype keeping my love for the franchise alive... and already having prior experience with the flaws of this game. They were more evident. Unsure if the trauma was too fresh for me to play this game again so soon. But my non-existent love, though I did give it "reasonable" praise prior, was still not there for this game. Honestly, FFXV is a stain on this franchise.

I have also replayed FFIII, IX and X recently and the nostalgia glasses weren't dirty enough for my views of these games to be jaded. I'm starting believe that outside certain FF titles, in the main series atleast, not all are amazing and that the name itself isn't as prestigious as I original thought it to be. I seemed to have left on a tangent there, but my point is that... this is Final Fantasy. And I've been, like many others, holding it to a certain regard. A high regard. Higher then what I expect of the main stream AAA franchises, or titles, that with all that man-power, time and money should be on an appropriate standard. That FF, sometimes, doesn't hit that aforementioned standard. Nevermind the standard I falsely hold in my mind. And FFXV is another game in the series that doesn't hit that standard, off AAA games in general.

Sure, I praised it for various achievements. Even stating it was ground breaking. But looking back... it wasn't *THAT* good, nor groundbreaking. And it hurts me to say that because I am a delusional fanboy of SE... or I was. Until their recent run of bad games (even developed by, or published by SE). I know WoFF and Nier:Automata were some amazing titles they brought to us. But FFXV should be on a pedestal higher and it isn't, it's unfinished. Plain and simple. A rushed, incomplete mess that I've been critical of many other titles for, and even verbally punished. And FFXV deserves no less.

It's not exactly a bad game, it's also not exactly good either. But it does have some strong areas, things I would love to see in future FF games - or other games in general - the open world aspect, a stunningly beautiful world that wasn't just immersive it FELT immersive. Grand monsters, and an improvement on the battle mechanics in some way or another. Honestly, I appreciate the 'hack and slash' gameplay that was intuitive due to the fact it was responsive, it automated chains depending on limited inputs... and no button spamming was necessary. This is revolutionary and should be a must in future beat'em ups and hack and slash games. It saves on needless stress, so you can game longer, and preserves the life of your controller as well as makes for smoother gameplay. So maybe it was intuitive afterall. But still only 6/10.… Expand

GamesXpert

Mar 10, 2022

5

I am a FF fan since I was a kid,I have played all titles at every console.FF is a JRPG famous for its good story,awesome music and masterpiece gameplay.I would give FFXV a solid 10/10,but the ending destroyed the game once and for all.Have you ever seen a movie which gets you like really hyped up,it is building the momentum very nice and suddenly in the end a bad turn destroys the wholeI am a FF fan since I was a kid,I have played all titles at every console.FF is a JRPG famous for its good story,awesome music and masterpiece gameplay.I would give FFXV a solid 10/10,but the ending destroyed the game once and for all.Have you ever seen a movie which gets you like really hyped up,it is building the momentum very nice and suddenly in the end a bad turn destroys the whole film for you?This is what FFXV is.You will play it 1 time and then will delete it.I expected a whole lot from you Square Enix...… Expand

EricHarmon

Sep 13, 2019

5

you disappointed me FF15. i waited 10 years for you to come out and you're an average game? WTF square enix!? what the hell happened to this game? this is not the same FF15 i saw at E3 2013. important parts of the story are missing, the combat seems like it was downgraded from E3 2013 demo, the side-quests are dull basic fetch-quests they're simply "go here do this" with nothingyou disappointed me FF15. i waited 10 years for you to come out and you're an average game? WTF square enix!? what the hell happened to this game? this is not the same FF15 i saw at E3 2013. important parts of the story are missing, the combat seems like it was downgraded from E3 2013 demo, the side-quests are dull basic fetch-quests they're simply "go here do this" with nothing interesting happening. this game must have gone through some chaotic development to turn out this way. and now instead of fixing the game by doing updates to story and gameplay like they promised. square enix is now CURRENTLY releasing some stupid cup noodle helmet dlc and power ranger skins dlc **** welp this was the last time i got hyped for a final fantasy game.… Expand

Progressive-T

Jan 11, 2017

7

I’ve been a fan of Final Fantasy since part VII on the PSOne, but because of the abysmal FF XIII, my trust in the series had been severely damaged.
I went back for FF XV, but even though they had made some improvements over the disastrous piece of crap they shat out last time (of course I didn’t even bother with the two sequels), it’s still a far cry from the days when Hironobu SakaguchiI’ve been a fan of Final Fantasy since part VII on the PSOne, but because of the abysmal FF XIII, my trust in the series had been severely damaged.
I went back for FF XV, but even though they had made some improvements over the disastrous piece of crap they shat out last time (of course I didn’t even bother with the two sequels), it’s still a far cry from the days when Hironobu Sakaguchi was at the helm.
I wouldn’t say FF XV is a bad game, but it certainly is not up to the standards that made me a fan in the first place.

STORY: the thing that struck me the most while playing this game was the almost complete lack of a storyline. In previous games there was always this epic story and you controlled a group of characters that were adequately fleshed out for us to be able to feel an emotional connection to.
We get none to very little of that here. In fact, you are given a few bits of story and before you even realize it, you are guided towards the conclusion, to fight an antagonist of whom we know too little.
The story feels rushed, it’s much too short and at the end of it I simply didn’t care, no matter how many violins they throw against it. It’s amateur time when compared to previous installments.

FIGHT SYSTEM: it’s kind of a mess to be honest. The biggest problem I have with it is that the camera jumps all over the place which creates confusion and this is especially a problem when you are fighting in tight areas or when surrounded by bushes for instance. The battle music gets me pumped up, but the awful camera is a source of annoyance. When they decide to do away with a turn based system, a system that had proven its value in the past, in favor of a new action oriented one, they had better make sure the new fight system kicks ass and it just doesn’t. It's an improvement over FF XIII, but it's not satisfactory yet.

SIDE QUESTS: this comes down to hunts and mainly fetch quests. Whereas the hunts do a standard job of adding playtime to a game in a way that is enjoyable, unfortunately the same cannot be said of the latter. It’s just all very uninspired and downright lazy on the part of the developers. More could have been done here, but again you get the feeling that things have been rushed, a pity after 10 years of development.

WORLD MAP: I’m glad there is a world again in which you can travel freely instead of having to select your destination from a menu, but perhaps they spent a little too much time on making an open world and not enough effort was put into actually filling this world with enough interesting stuff to do.
You have a car, the Regalia, but many would criticize the fact that it’s mainly an on-rails experience, but it didn’t really bother me. I often took the opportunity to roll a cigarette or get something from the kitchen or whatnot. However, the flying Regalia does not get my approval. The controls are too clunky and if you don’t manage to land on a road, it’s crash and game over. An airship that can land anywhere like in the old days was too much to ask. Your car is restricted to the roads and so when you land it has to be on a road.
Then there are also chocobos to ride and luckily all goes well there. When you’re off-road, chocobo is a good way to go, unless you like long treks on foot.

CONCLUSION: for a game that has been in development for 10 years it can feel pretty empty at times.
You can almost feel how they cut corners here and there. The story is almost non-existing, unforgiveable for a Final Fantasy game and RPGs in general and this damages the immersion and emotional connection players can have.
But having said all this, the game is not all bad and fun can be had with it. It’s just a mediocre RPG and a watered down Final Fantasy. 6 out of 10 would be too low and it doesn't deserve an 8.… Expand

xJLxMCHammer

Dec 14, 2016

7

A decent game with a many small flaws.

This is not a professional review; I will not bore you nor pretend that my opinion is superior. I see myself as an average game. I work in the city, I have a life, and I like to play video games when I can. I'm into all sorts of games, regardless of their genre, or setting. I played the old Final Fantasy games 7-10, 12,and 13. I think Final FantasyA decent game with a many small flaws.

This is not a professional review; I will not bore you nor pretend that my opinion is superior. I see myself as an average game. I work in the city, I have a life, and I like to play video games when I can. I'm into all sorts of games, regardless of their genre, or setting. I played the old Final Fantasy games 7-10, 12,and 13. I think Final Fantasy 15 is a decent game but it has many flaws.

The plot, I feel like it was created with the developers throwing sticky papers at a wall with key words to suggest what the plot would consist of. The story has so many things; Astral (Gods), Rings of powers (Think Lord Of the Rings), and powerful kings who's power is like gods. It has demons, swords, and guns, magic, and all other stuff. Normally, Final Fantasy can make that stuff work, hell, it did with Final Fantasy X. However, in this game, it's told bad, they cut out key events in order to motivate gamers to watch the movie "Kingsglaive".

The combat is fun. Unfortunately they have stripped it down to the point that it requires little attention to what you are doing. They have nearly removed all ability to control teammates except using their super attacks. The main protagonist is control with simple commands, holding Box to dodge all incoming attacks. Pressing O initiates a combo move. The design feels like they really did not want this game to be about a group, but rather one character, but they were scared to make that final leap. The result is a game where your teammates will constantly die as they are programmed to not understand what is going on. They will walk into enemy range despite having ranged weapons, they will walk into friendly fire for no other reason than bad programming. They will randomly dodge attacks and go on a bullseye spree. Meanwhile, the player (me and you), will be dodge 90%+ of all incoming attacks and using our nearly unlimited item inventory to make sure all allies are alive.

The open world is great. It's HUGE. The best part is, you have to take a car ride to go any distance. It's a shame that you can't really control the car so it feels it's a loading mode; sure you can even fast travel there (if you have been there before) but the loading time when fast travel is shockingly long, even on a PS4Pro. The side quests are what you expect; you collect some random item for some random person who gives you a one-two sentence background. You will be collect dog tags, yellow frogs, blue frogs, red frogs.. You will get a chance to interact with dry valve pipes and other machinery like trees or rocks. It's quite fascinating! In fact, some quest will have you taking pictures of "nature".

On the bright side, the game does look beautiful. I have a HDR KS8000 Samsung and Pro, it does look very nice.

I give this game a 7/10 because it carries the Final Fantasy name. If it had another name, I'd be laughing at how some of these design decision got past the executives.… Expand

squid_icarus

Jan 5, 2017

7

Let me start off by saying there are a lot of things this game does right. character design is on point for a post ff7 final fantasy character, Lovable main cast of characters, and a great world. There is just something about this world that drew me in. It felt almost real, like this place could exist somewhere. I was enthralled most of the time I was traveling in the regalia (your car)Let me start off by saying there are a lot of things this game does right. character design is on point for a post ff7 final fantasy character, Lovable main cast of characters, and a great world. There is just something about this world that drew me in. It felt almost real, like this place could exist somewhere. I was enthralled most of the time I was traveling in the regalia (your car) and overall enjoyed seeing the world that the developers had created, but as you can see based on my score it had some problems that nag at me the more i think about them.

Before I start focusing on only the bad parts of the game let me say that I enjoyed my initial play through of the game, and I have played damn near all the final fantasy games to completion aside from 13. lets get these problems broken down.

Story: I don't really know what to say the story is different, and by different i really mean confusing as hell. I ended up watching KingsGlaive just to hopefully get a better understanding of the story, but alas i was still lost. Nothing is explained in this game and if it is i must have missed it because i ended up doing internet searches to try and understand character motivations. Its amazing how much hate FF8 got for its plot and this game is getting 9's and 10's. the developers loved FF6 i know that much after finishing the game, but a game with this long of a development cycle should have had a coherent plot, but i should have know we were in trouble when crystals came back into the fray. The villain is awesome one of the best written we've had in a long time. why he's the villain i don't know, but man he's good at it.

Game play: to be honest it gets boring. the combat system works, and the witcher esque side quests function as intended, but it gets boring really boring. I finished in the neighborhood of around 50 or so hours and i didn't come close to completing all the side content, mainly because i lost interest and had renting the game so i needed to wrap it up, but even as a purchase i still would have lost interest and just moved forward so i could see the ending that while cool was lost on me as i didn't understand most of plot leading up to it. OK this is a personal gripe but you get the ability to "travel back in time" or go back to older content after you've passed it so you can complete side missions you missed or in my case ignored. well some of this content doesn't unlock till you finish the game. This includes ultimate weapons. now you don't need these to beat the story of the game, but whats the point in getting them if the game is already complete. imagine in FF7 if after you beat sephiroth you unlocked the ability to get the final limit breaks and ultimate weapons. whats the point? the game is complete. this is just hoping that the completionist in me will go hunt them down, but i was too irritated to bother. I'm not hunting down final weapons to use so i can go get some carrots for a lazy farmer for the 1000th time.

Visuals: honestly i don't have too much to add here. the game looks great. the only complaint is this camera hates you almost as much as a souls games camera thankfully its fairly easy so the camera wont kill you.

Final thoughts: despite the complaints i have you should at the very least play this game. I personally do not think its worth a purchase, but its certainly worth playing through. And besides, you'll need the practice with the combat system to prepare you for the FF7 remake from the looks of it.… Expand

funkrockwarlock

Mar 2, 2017

5

Preface this with I'm not quite but nearly done with the game, however I can say this game is okay at best. It looks great, and feels pretty good in the beginning but quickly runs headlong in to a forced narrative which makes about as much sense as FF13.

GOOD graphics team bonding and personality BAD rushed confusing story characters you don't care about side quests are soPreface this with I'm not quite but nearly done with the game, however I can say this game is okay at best. It looks great, and feels pretty good in the beginning but quickly runs headlong in to a forced narrative which makes about as much sense as FF13.

GOOD
graphics
team bonding and personality

BAD
rushed confusing story
characters you don't care about
side quests are so trivial and tedious, feels forced to add game time
The magic

COMBAT OPINION
I personally have always liked J-rpg turn based combat. This active combat may be great for some people who could not get into turn based game-play so I won't exactly say it's bad. It does however suffer from a horrible camera and a clumsy magic system which is deadly to your pals.

Overall I'd say its a solid 5 out of 10, I enjoyed it more than I should have because I like the franchise. My favorite primal however is Leviathan which is a huge disappointment for reasons I'll let you google so I don't need to spoiler tag this review.… Expand

bodaciousfrank

Mar 3, 2017

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Spoilers Ahead:
This game could have been something amazing. But after 12 years in development, Square Enix has once again released a sub-par game. FF15 is an "Open world RPG" full of invisible walls barring your path, forcing you to "drive" everywhere in a car on rails much more akin to a train while you listen to underdeveloped characters talk to each other about pointless stuff.

None of the members of your "party" bring anything new to the genre. Instead you have Prompto, a mix between Titus, Cloud, and Hope wrapped up in an annoying little man. Ignus, who is basically a reskined Balthier turned personal assistant, making all your food and driving you everywhere because you're too privileged to drive yourself, and Gladiolus, who I consider Auron.5.

Were it not for the games stunning visuals, I wouldn't have even bothered playing through the generic, utterly predictable story. I think there were a few times the battle system ACUALLY put me to sleep, as in order to get through certain battles you have no choice but to spam the same thing over and over for 10 minutes until the beast dies.

Development started in 2005, and even after all this time, they released a game which feels unfinished and as if they didn't know what to do with it. Instead, they just mashed a load of stuff together in hopes that it would work. HINT, it doesn't. Spent around 50 hours in game trying to finish this mess of a Final Fantasy title, and could not have been more disappointed.

Don't worry though, if you can struggle through the story and repetitive combat, at least there's a flying car at the end.....… Expand

raccoondaddy

Mar 22, 2017

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Being a fan of the series since Final Fantasy II for the SNES (now known as Final Fantasy IV(4)). I knew very little going into this one. Which is really how I like it. I stay away from the hype, the over/under expectations after a release and all of the information sandwiched in between.

However, I did know about this being a "guy trip" and sort of a care-free adventure. And for the most part, we got that...for about 3 hours of main quest. Then everything changes, things get darker and the story progresses. As to HOW it progresses, is what bothered me. Several parts of the progression was left with obvious story gaps. (Which are, guess what, DLC! Have fun with that Season Pass holders; here's to getting what you payed for!! $80 dollars total to get the FULL STORY!) Besides that, the progression speeds up so fast, that it leaves ALL of the other cool characters you'd met during your journey, being ignored or a swifter end than the "Red Wedding".

On the lighter side, the world of Final Fantasy XV is astounding; teeming with monsters in their natural state, lively cities and fun little things to see and do. Sadly, those interactions fall flat with an over-saturation of fetch quests and monster hunting. (Although SOME of the hunts are fun!)

As for the exploration, sometimes it's cool and the rest of the time, it was just F*ckn boring. Especially those damn car rides! Be honest with me! How many people truly enjoy LONG car rides! As for the some the areas; the dungeons were my FAVORITE. Which is different, as most of the time, I kind of loath long dungeons. Yet, FFXV does it right and integrates the monsters into the exploration of the caves, making them more like a haunted house, jumping out when you least expect them! This was kept my score closer to 7 and kept me interested in the game.

Yet, when I go and look at the rest stops and the terrible Japanese adaptation of 1950s Americana, it kind of makes me gag. Most of it is done with corny mascots, dumb restaurant chains and sleeping in mobile homes. To me, it seemed more like a solid attempt to make Americans into one big-ass cliche. Sure, those years were corny, but they could've been represented in a more tasteful manner.

It didn't have to be historically accurate, as this was a fantasy world, they could've at least made the road trip part feel less like the developers just read books, took pictures and stayed in a tour bus. (Which is, most likely what they did.) Granted, this is a video game, but if you're going to make a compelling world for a Final Fantasy game, do a better job of it.

Gameplay wise, battles were exciting to watch, not a challenge to play. Outside of just having the right level and gear, there is no real challenge to any of the fights.

Overall, Sque-Enix ALWAYS makes a pretty looking and sounding game! Which is where FFXV's strengths are in. The world, monsters, sound effects, summons and anything audio/visual was done right. But the overall experience was like drinking a flat soda. Either you like drinking it or you don't; I like my soda FIZZY.… Expand

EEKtheratbat

Mar 20, 2017

7

This game had 2 big flaws and that was the generic missions and the combatsystem that reduced it to a semi hack and slash buttonmashgame. I watched the movie before playing the game which i would recommend to everyone who wants to pick up this game. And Square please make it turned based next time and more Final Fantasy and less generic,

ViniciusBrito

Jun 2, 2017

7

About 70 hours played, Final Fantasy XV, in his most part, have a lot of fun to offer, amazing boss fights, cool giants bosses that you ever played, and a great variety of monsters to fight of. About the story, until the game starts to not be open world anymore, it gets kind of faster, trying to end it to quick, some dlcs wich should be in the game, but it's not bad, just not so good as itAbout 70 hours played, Final Fantasy XV, in his most part, have a lot of fun to offer, amazing boss fights, cool giants bosses that you ever played, and a great variety of monsters to fight of. About the story, until the game starts to not be open world anymore, it gets kind of faster, trying to end it to quick, some dlcs wich should be in the game, but it's not bad, just not so good as it could be, the characters are the best here, the dynamics that you have while traveling, fighting and in the story, principally at the chapter eleven, makes the game so much fun and enjoyable. Poor side quests, in my opinion, just a feel really worth to get it done. The landscape is beautifu, had never seen a blue so touching in the sky or the sea like it is in this game.… Expand

LowKeyGamer1

Aug 15, 2017

7

Game definitely grew on me. Platinum'ed it around 55 hours. The story moved quick..not the best of plots but the fighting of different large creatures was entertaining. Overall, not my favorite final fantasy....FF2 and FF7 was the best....this was my 3rd favorite just based on graphics and fun factor. Give this game like 15 hours and it will grow on you. I hated it at first...thought theGame definitely grew on me. Platinum'ed it around 55 hours. The story moved quick..not the best of plots but the fighting of different large creatures was entertaining. Overall, not my favorite final fantasy....FF2 and FF7 was the best....this was my 3rd favorite just based on graphics and fun factor. Give this game like 15 hours and it will grow on you. I hated it at first...thought the fighting was awful...but once you get the hang of it you realize its more than just holding down one button.… Expand

andrelol3

Feb 17, 2017

7

The first half of the game is pretty good, with an decent open-world. However, there's no story.

The second half of the game, it's the opposite, now we got a plot going on, but we don't have an open-world. Instead, we have some linear levels that are pretty boring. The game also has a lot of issues: bugs everywhere, the camera doesn't work, the combat is a mess, etc. Overall, anThe first half of the game is pretty good, with an decent open-world. However, there's no story.

The second half of the game, it's the opposite, now we got a plot going on, but we don't have an open-world. Instead, we have some linear levels that are pretty boring.

The game also has a lot of issues: bugs everywhere, the camera doesn't work, the combat is a mess, etc.

Overall, an interesting game, but recommended for hardcore Final Fantasy fans and people who can deal with frustration.… Expand

Adorabro

Dec 29, 2016

7

Final Fantasy 15 is an interesting take on the whole series, especially with it's focus on drawing in newcomers. I have to give Square Enix credit for trying a different approach by introducing a wonderfully beautiful and large world that you can explore by running around, driving your car and even riding Chocobos. The environments are somewhat varied for this open world as it made me seemFinal Fantasy 15 is an interesting take on the whole series, especially with it's focus on drawing in newcomers. I have to give Square Enix credit for trying a different approach by introducing a wonderfully beautiful and large world that you can explore by running around, driving your car and even riding Chocobos. The environments are somewhat varied for this open world as it made me seem like I was in certain areas of mid-western United States.

However, this becomes rather moot when the world is mostly empty. There are occasions when enemies fade in or appear from the sky, but interaction with anything outside of towns and gas stations is minimal. There is incredibly little variety to side quests. Most of what you'll be doing are repetitive hunts with recolored monsters or mindless fetch quests, and neither add much, if anything, to the world of this game. Even endgame dungeons are extremely repetitive with recolored monsters; there's simply very little variety to the content. There's also the fact that most of the "towns" in this game are not really towns. Most of them are the equivalent of gas stations with diners that you'll pick some your hunts from and maybe a NPC nearby that gives you a fetch or hunt-like quest, and that's it. There are two town-like areas and while the first does it somewhat well, the second feels largely incomplete and doesn't have much to do. Even the story pushes you out of this second area after spending roughly 30 or so minutes in it.

Unfortunately, the story is its weakest point, and that is a massive problem considering Final Fantasy has been known as a series for being story focused. The story is an incomplete mess and while it does get you from start to finish, it's the content in between those two points that is missing. The first half of the story has a few problems with pacing and it's plot progression, but the second half completely falls apart with its pacing even more by going Sonic the Hedgehog levels. A lot of the important events are brushed aside and/or happen off screen. To get a better understanding of some of these events, you would have to watch a movie, anime and even read an official guide since the game doesn't even tell you of some information. If you haven't done any of those, you will likely be confused and annoyed at some of the events and characters. It's as if Square Enix originally had a 300 page book but decided to rip out 200 pages of important plot development, character development, world and lore building material and gave it to us.

The game does focus well on establishing the bondship between the main 4 characters; it establishes their friendship really well, and you definitely get a roadtrip vibe going on with it. However, there is a notable lack of context with these characters. While the game develops their friendship well, their characters as individuals are incredibly underdeveloped. Brotherhood, which is the anime, develops their characters decently enough, but the game does not. The game never shows us how or why they have the motivations they have, and there are moments where they completely disappear from the game for a period of time and come back with no to little questions asked. Their backstories are either brushed aside with little development or not covered at all and even Noctis, himself, suffers from these problems in certain areas of his development.

The combat system feels great, and you have control over your character and what you can do with him. However, the combat system is very simplistic, and this may draw away some people if they're looking for depth. While magic is useful, it's not necessarily and it's very situational. There's also the fact that you're only restricted to Noctis, and the others are restricted to their AI behavior. If a boss is about to do a massive AOE attack, you will movie away while your party members will still be in its face and get 1-shotted. There's also a horrible unbalance with your 3 party members, and you'll find that one of them will likely be dying more than everyone else combined.

I have to give credit to Square Enix for trying something very new for Final Fantasy, and this game does exceed in some areas that probably will help future games if they stick with them and develop them even further, but it fails in a lot of other areas. It could have been an absolutely amazing experience if Square was able to achieve what they had wanted to and was given the time to achieve it, but as it is now, it ultimately falls flat. While Square Enix has provided a road map of patches and DLC to address some of the issues, I'm not confident that they will fix the major problems that the game has. It would need an massive rehaul to do this. While it's not a "bad" game, I don't consider it a "good" game either. I had fun with it, but I was frustrated with how unfinished the game turned out to be, and it's a shame it had to be like that.… Expand

FogCityRoller

Mar 7, 2017

6

FFXV is a much better game than most of the detractors here are implying, but it does have some glaring issues. I think normally this game would have been a 7 or 8, but I'm docking it for a major issue that I cover at the end of this review. They have released updates that at least hint at the fact that they are interested in improving the game, but I don't know if my primary concern isFFXV is a much better game than most of the detractors here are implying, but it does have some glaring issues. I think normally this game would have been a 7 or 8, but I'm docking it for a major issue that I cover at the end of this review. They have released updates that at least hint at the fact that they are interested in improving the game, but I don't know if my primary concern is fixable.

I think the story is fairly straight forward, but it is a bit weak. There isn't anything particularly gripping about it, which makes it easy to go off doing side quests. I think this is a testament to how lackluster the story is, because a good story should make you WANT to find out what happens next. With FFXV, I kinda feel like I'll get around to it whenever I run out of side quests that are level appropriate.

The graphics are stunning and the cities are beautiful. The voice acting is well done but the main problem is they have a limited amount of lines, so in a relatively short time frame you will find yourself becoming annoyed by them. I don't think these are aspects of the game that are much debated, so I'll leave it at that.

The soundtrack could have used a more vast arrangement of original music, but I think adding all the old FF soundtracks to the car radio is amazing (and NieR: Automata) so by that merit alone I consider the music to be a great success. The environmental music when it comes to encountering and exiting battles follows a simple formula that has been familiar to FF fans for two decades and I'm glad they didn't mess with it.

The Ascension system is very cool and has the right balance of complication without being overly confusing. Elemancy, gearing, upgrading methods, car customization, and professions are either sufficient or great.

The main problem I have with the game after ~30 hours played is that their attempts at implementing QoL features is hindered by horrible loading times. Yes, in theory it is great to finish a measly side quest and zip back to the car and then zip back to the quest NPC. BUT, a fast travel feature is diminished when you have to face two loading screens with the loading screens for longer distance traveling taking upwards of an entire minute. In a 30 minute time span I can spend upwards of 10 minutes on loading screens alone. That's absolutely absurd. This is the single greatest factor making me struggle to play the game for extended periods of time. Quest hubs really don't exist, because a quest hub is supposed to offer a number of quests that can be completed in a given area and turned in at another area. Lestallum will give you a bunch of quests but every damn one is 10 minutes away from each other, and it's usually some banal task like "go pick a single bean sprout from this farm in the middle of nowhere" WHAT THE SH*T IS THIS?!

I really don't care about the way the characters look, as a lifelong FF player that is the least of my concerns at this point. The loading times and insane amounts of wild goose chases are unbelievably bad.… Expand

Zalithian

Dec 4, 2016

7

FFXV is a pretty good game, but unfortunately it's not a very good 'Final Fantasy'. First, let's talk about why it's a good game. The combat is pretty good and relatively fun, albeit a little inconsistent and sometimes awkward. The story is reasonably good, if not great. Soundtrack is generally on point with some standout tracks. The main story line is long enough, and the side quests willFFXV is a pretty good game, but unfortunately it's not a very good 'Final Fantasy'. First, let's talk about why it's a good game. The combat is pretty good and relatively fun, albeit a little inconsistent and sometimes awkward. The story is reasonably good, if not great. Soundtrack is generally on point with some standout tracks. The main story line is long enough, and the side quests will keep you busy for a very long time. The game was an enjoyable experience.

Now, what makes this game not a good Final Fantasy: lack of party members. You can't choose your party, arrange your party, or do any of that customization you're used to. The party you get is the one they give you. What the hell, SE?

Poor magic implementation: I was not a fan of this magic system at all. Where are my sweet ass spells, like Ultima, Haste, etc. MP is just for warp strike and dodging. Awkward.

Summoning Failure: Summoning is basically kind of arbitrary and random, and generally useless. Okay okay, I know certain conditions allow you to summon, but most of the time you don't want to be in those circumstances and even then it's hit or miss.

Combat System: The combat system is good, but I don't like it for a Final Fantasy RPG. I would still prefer a turn based system, ATB, or something like that.

In the end, it's a good game, but disappointing as a 'Final Fantasy game' due to the way that magic is garbage, summons are unreliable and pretty random, the combat system, and the lack of controllable party members/party customization.

P.S. The English voice acting is atrocious. Just play it in Japanese with English subs. You'll thank me later.… Expand

roo7788

Mar 27, 2017

7

un buen videojuego podria ser mejor pero creo que despues de el eterno tiempo de juego decidiron sacarlo incompeto pero siguen trabajando para solucionar los problemas con actualisaciones.

SketchesofPlain

Apr 7, 2017

7

The best way that I can sum up this game is that it feels like it should have released a console generation ago. While it was nice to see a more open world than FF usually gives, it was way too empty and dull. The whole game felt like it had about 12 different character models that just changed color to indicate different strengths and weaknesses. It honestly felt like it had about as manyThe best way that I can sum up this game is that it feels like it should have released a console generation ago. While it was nice to see a more open world than FF usually gives, it was way too empty and dull. The whole game felt like it had about 12 different character models that just changed color to indicate different strengths and weaknesses. It honestly felt like it had about as many different types of enemies as the old NES games did. The magic system was AWFUL. I probably used magic less than 5% of the entire game. It was bland and, too often, hard to control. Even with the ability to add items/ingredients/treasures to your magic to create (slightly) more and different spells, that felt more like a chore than anything else. A lot of items don't do anything to magic at all and are only to sell (I guess), as if money is ever hard to come by (it isn't if you do the Bounty Hunts). Much like with the enemies, FFXV felt like it had far fewer spells than FF games did even ten years ago.

On a related note, let' talk Summons. BOOOOOOOOO. The Summon videos were some of the most tantalizing advertisements I saw for this game. Guess what? There are only six. Again, much less than previous installments. Also, you can't choose which Summon you want to use, and you can only use them when the game allows you the option (seemingly at random in some areas, unavailable completely in some areas).

Another huge letdown? Yes. Boss battles. I think people who consider turn-based JRPGs to be in gaming's evolutionary past don't understand the timeless elements of that structure. Boss battles in JRPGs, and especially the classic FF games, always felt like chess matches to me. Planning several moves ahead and adapting on the fly when your enemy does something unexpected. In FFXV, boss battles are mostly chore-feeling, attack-and-heal, rinse and repeat. Because of this, it feels like there is little to no strategy in any of the battles, even the most difficult (which jump from repetitive and easy, right over "chess-like," and straight to patience-testing marathons).

I am having trouble explaining what I did like about the game. But I did like something. I put 150 hours into it, and I did enjoy much of that. But, I think as time goes on, I will continually think less and less of it. Maybe I just want to justify those 150 hours.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Nearly every dungeon, and ESPECIALLY the extra/hidden dungeons, are bland and boring. They were one of the worst, instead of best, parts of the game. The hidden dungeons were the most ridiculous "bonus" content I've ever seen. Floor after floor of boring battle. I also looked forward to the battle with Adamantoise for most of the game. Unfortunately, it was just another button-masher, only with a worse camera than usual (although no QTE like the battles with the Summons). More of a marathon than anything else, once again.

The story is way too short and, much like the open world of the game, mostly empty. It really doesn't do anything to drive you to complete the story missions. I liked the villain, but only until the reveal that explains his backstory and why he is doing what he is doing. Really, everything (in the main story) after going to Altissia stinks.… Expand

jhandibode

Dec 22, 2016

7

7 for being okay.
Storyline: Too short and bad.
Characters: Noctis and bros great. But where is Luna, she is lost only in cutscenes and very few at that. Luna was promoted as strongest FF female by Tabata and I disagree. She is weakest FF character to date. Gameplay: 9/10. Action gameplay and Wait mode a great mix. Summons: Are a no show for most of the game. They are useless.7 for being okay.
Storyline: Too short and bad.
Characters: Noctis and bros great. But where is Luna, she is lost only in cutscenes and very few at that. Luna was promoted as strongest FF female by Tabata and I disagree. She is weakest FF character to date.
Gameplay: 9/10. Action gameplay and Wait mode a great mix.
Summons: Are a no show for most of the game. They are useless. In post game dungeons they are not in it at all.
Replay: 4/10. Very little replay value. Dungeons are terrible and imbalance a lot with some with no monsters at all or some too much levels and no healing for most part.
Magic: 2/10. No magic in game for most part. No white mage since again Luna is useless and not playable at all only around in CGI and never fights at all.… Expand

smw119

Jan 23, 2017

7

This game makes it into my list of good games simply on the virtue of it's breathtaking art and design. So much care was given to making this a truly immersive experience. It's unfortunate that some stilted design choices ripped me clear out of the finely crafted experience. Namely, the quirks of the second half left me speechlessly baffled as the game went from totally open world toThis game makes it into my list of good games simply on the virtue of it's breathtaking art and design. So much care was given to making this a truly immersive experience. It's unfortunate that some stilted design choices ripped me clear out of the finely crafted experience. Namely, the quirks of the second half left me speechlessly baffled as the game went from totally open world to FFXIII level linear without communicating this to the player. It wouldn't be an issue if that wasn't, literally, the rest of the game and doesn't stop until you fully complete the story. Not a design choice I object to, just one that left me trying to beat my way through it so I could get back to the open world again not knowing I could go back at multiple points. Little did I know that that was what Umbra was for. The time travelling umbra mechanic was so poorly explained that it left me utterly confused as I hacked my way through increasingly frustrating sections where my character became more and more under leveled with each passing minute. This got so bad in fact that I got stranded in the second half while under leveled and wasn't near somewhere to call umbra. This led to a very, VERY tough boss battle that I had to beat while under leveled and under gunned. All of this tainted my first experience of what is, otherwise a very well crafted story. For how amazing everything else is in this game, the lack of a proper explanation of how to manage the second half of the game seems downright amateurish. Overall though, if that aspect were better explained to allow better flow to the narrative, this experience would still be one of the most cinematic and highly polished experiences in recent memory. I'm looking forward to a second play through now that I better understand the way the game is organized. But, if I weren't a video game enthusiast, I likely would be pretty turned off by this game.… Expand

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

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Final Fantasy XV

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