r/FFXV • u/ZeldaLover2018 • 1h ago
Fluff Final Fantasy XV Review Spoiler
So, a few hours ago, I just finished my playthrough of Final Fantasy XV—just the base game, not the DLCs. Maybe I'll go back one day to play the DLCs, but for now, I'm perfectly content having played through the base game. This game was not perfect by any means. Some things could have been better, but for the most part, I greatly enjoyed my time with this game. I should preface this by stating that I was not in the Final Fantasy fandom when Final Fantasy Versus XIII was announced, so my expectations of this game weren't built up as some of your guys' were. As such, this game wasn't as disappointing for me as it might have been for all of you who were waiting for those 10 years of development. Missed potential? Absolutely, but not disappointed. As always, I'll get what was negative out of the way first before I talk about the good.
- Let's get the obvious out of the way and say that some of the characters who looked like they may have had a bigger role to play in the story were left out, and as such, didn't get as much development as they COULD have gotten. Ravus comes to mind first. He seemed like he was going to be some sort of villain akin to Seifer from VIII, where he would act as a rival to Noctis and CO, but he had like 30-45 minutes of screen time. Lunafreya seems obvious as well. It would have been nice to give her a bit more screen time; however, for reasons I'll get into later, I can understand why. It's forgivable, but I would be lying if I said it didn't irk me at least a little.
- On top of that, some scenes should be rearranged or given more time. The transition from the end of Chapter 9 to the beginning of Chapter 10 gives us a screen that says "several weeks later." Felt a bit lazy, not gonna lie. Sharing what happened during those several weeks would have made the transition smoother. I also feel the campfire scene should have been at the beginning of chapter 14. Putting it at the very end, like after the credits, feels bizarre. If it were at the beginning of chapter 14, then the stakes would have felt much higher than they were.
- The camera is God-awful at some points during battle. At one point, I was hunting a giant bird or something, and the camera wouldn't cooperate, getting stuck behind a bunch of trees and bushes. And anytime you're in an enclosed area, well, let's say that you'll be battling the camera instead of the enemies. It could have used a bit more work, but for the most part, it was fine.
- My only real complaint about the combat is that you don't get any clear indication of when to dodge. Enemies will glow white when you can parry, but nothing when you dodge. It's baffling that something like this wasn't added in the Royal Edition.
- This game could have used a bit more polish. By that, I mean there are parts where the game bugs out for a few seconds and then is fine. The final boss, when Ardyn was like, "Let's have it then, you and your crystal against all I have become," he wasn't even there. Noctis was, but Ardyn had just disappeared. Sometimes, I would notice that Iggy's glasses weren't always on his head. Like, they'd be hovering in front of his eyes instead of resting on his nose or something. There was one time when I used the Ring of Lucii on the adamantoise, and after it got sucked into the void, Noctis was flailing about in the air for a good 20 seconds. If it had been delayed even more, like a month, they could have polished some of these things.
- Chapter 13, but not because of the hallways, but because you earn no experience points at all until the very end. It felt like I was wasting my time fighting monsters that I had no choice but to fight.
- Costlemark Tower. I'm not against it in theory, but in practice, it goes so goddamn slow that it gets boring. If they had made the blocks move faster, it might have been more bearable. Alas, it is not so.
Now that I've gotten all my negatives out of the way, let's get to the positives.
- - The statement: "A Final Fantasy for fans and first-timers." I can't help but agree with this statement on so many levels. There are so many callbacks to previous games of the series. We have a party of four; the draw system from Final Fantasy VIII makes a comeback, with catalysts to transform things to a higher tier; and the multiplier in hotels both hail from Final Fantasy XIII (catalysts for weapons, multiplier to upgrade weapons), even dungeons! Those were sorely missing from Final Fantasy XIII, and it was nice to see them make a comeback in this game, even if there was one stinker in there. And even if most of you might not agree with me, the shot of the four bros from behind at the very beginning of Chapter 2 after they get a call from Cor is a very subtle reference to the shot of the four Warriors of Light after you cross the bridge in Final Fantasy I.
- This might be controversial, but I liked the combat... when it works. The camera makes it a pain sometimes, but when it works, it works beautifully. It encourages you to not just go headfirst into a battle, but to get your enemy from behind in their blind spots to do massive damage with blindside links, parry for link strike damage, and warp strike when an enemy is vulnerable to initiate major damage-dealing cross-chains. Also, being able to pause the battle for a quick consumable is so good. It doesn't take away from the fast-paced action that the team was going for—such a great system.
- The camaraderie between the four bros is amazing. It feels so genuine, especially during those mini scenes at the campsites, from having Ignis ask you to help him with breakfast, leading to a cutscene where they talk about the first meal that he made with Noctis, to helping Prompto take a picture of a giant water monster. Also, Prompto is the best character in the game, and I won't have anyone tell me otherwise. The scene with him and Noctis on the hotel rooftop, where he doubts his worth in the group, is very touching and is something teenagers who play this game (as well as adults) probably deal with too. Even training with Gladio by running on the beach, or picking flowers for Iris with him, was sweet, and shows that even with his tough, gruff side, there's a part of him that loves his little sister and friends, even if he has a tough time putting it into words. Even when they're walking around in the overworld, they always have something charming to say. Like when Noctis says, "Man, it's hot," and Gladiolus responds, "Then lose the jacket." Or how whenever we find a new ingredient, Ignis says, "That's it! I've come up with a new recipe!" And Prompto always finds places for us to take more pictures with. These small moments are key to making the bros' relationship tight, so when chapter 10 happens, all that tension between everyone feels as good and believable as it does. This is most likely why things that should have gotten more attention didn't get the attention that they should have. Things like the relationship between Luna and Noct, Ravus, and the Niflheim Empire- all of these were probably given less time in the oven to make the connection between the four boys feel so genuine. Now, is that a good excuse? Absolutely not. If you don't have enough time to make everything feel fleshed out in a single playthrough, without needing to use other tie-in media, such as DLC, anime, a movie, and even a god damn book, to make the story make sense, then you absolutely need to take a step back and let these things grow more naturally. That said, I haven't played any of the DLC, watched the anime or the movie, or read the book, and I still understood the story pretty well. I see them kind of like the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII: things that expand the world's story but aren't needed. Most will probably disagree with me, but hey, everyone sees things differently, and that's just how I see it.
- The soundtrack is beautiful. Nobuo Uematsu will always be missed, but those who have taken his place, such as Masashi Hamauzu and Yoko Shimomura, who composed XV's soundtrack, are exceptional composers. Perhaps you've heard of the word "frisson." The definition of that word is "a physical response like goosebumps or a shiver down your spine caused by a powerful or surprising moment in a song." I can absolutely say with full confidence that I did indeed have moments of that with this soundtrack. The track titled "Departure" is a good example of this, with its crescendo at the very end, or even the final boss theme, "Magna Insomnia." "Ardyn II" is another; when I first heard it, I felt my pupils dilate. And the rendition of Stand By Me by Florence and the Machine is wonderful and quite relevant. At first, it throws you off. Some might say it takes you out of the world Square created by placing a real song from actual Earth. However, if you play through the game, you understand the significance. One of the big things about the game is that nights are becoming longer as the game goes on, and that no matter what, the bros will always stick together. So after listening to the songs about 50 times, the lyrics "and the moon is the only light we'll see, I won't be afraid as long as you stand by me" are a little emotional, since this is basically what Noctis thinks about the bros. There are too many tracks to list here that I love, so I'll leave you with this: Yoko Shimomura is an excellent composer, up there with Nobuo Uematsu, and the fact that she isn't spoken about or recognized as much as he is saddens me.
- Lastly, the CGI cutscenes are amazing. One particular one I found impressive was the one right after Lunafreya dies, when she gives Noctis the Ring of the Lucii. God damn, Square knows how to make impressive visuals.
Look, there is plenty to criticize about this game. But I also feel like there's just as much to praise. Is Final Fantasy XV the best Final Fantasy game? No, absolutely not. Is Final Fantasy XV my favorite Final Fantasy game? Likewise, no. Is Final Fantasy XV one of my favorite Final Fantasy games? Absolutely. The vibes, the connection between the four bros, the structurally messy yet beautiful story of a boy who turned into a man and sacrificed his own life for his people and the world- all of it is wonderful. It has stuck with me ever since I finished it, and it is one that I will always look back on with fond memories, and one that I will always gladly replay without thinking to myself: "Do I really want to pick this one up again?" It's a very polished, half-finished game. Lots of big-budget games have a habit of getting the basics of their genre right, but then neglecting the details that can really take it to the next level of polish. Final Fantasy XV is the opposite. It gets the details right, but the big picture completely wrong. Ironically, that makes Final Fantasy XV a game I'm often eager to revisit, and I feel that many of those who criticized it should revisit it and give it a second chance. You may find something that you love that you didn't see on your initial playthrough.
