My 130 Hours With Final Fantasy XV

Spoiler for Final Fantasy XV will follow. You have been warned!



After 10 years of development we finally got to see the release for Final Fantasy Versus 13, Of course in that time frame, the game changed directors, writers, story and most importantly, title. Re branded as Final Fantasy XV, the game was released on November 29 2016.

FFXV follows the story of Prince Noctis and his journey to marry Luna. Joining him on this bro trip are his three friends Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto. Along the way Noctis loses his father, his kingdom is seized, and he discovers the power of the "True King"

Unlike previous Final Fantasy's, we find out the antagonist very early in XV. The lack of story, and a horrible camera. During battles in the open terrain of Eos the fights are fluid and fun and excited. In the confined dungeons or in wooded areas, the camera battles against you, sometimes hiding inside mobs and walls while you mercilessly press O trying to defeat the mob before Prompto dies again.

The story is where the game falls. FF used to be these huge world saving missions, but with XV, it never really fleshes out what Square-Enix is trying to accomplish. Why is Noctis the chosen king? Random characters die with no explanation. Why? This could have been my favorite FF game, but the story leaves so much to be desired.

The parts of XV that I liked, I loved. The banter between the bro-wings is refreshing (the first 5 times you hear them) and bring life to your road trip. The hunts for rare monsters are fun and engrossing and you want to challenge yourself to defeat them. The day/night cycle and the change in difficulty in mobs makes you realize you don't want to be on the road when an Iron Giant pops up. That being said, I felt the variety in mobs was lackluster and uninspiring.

If you haven't tried FFXV yet, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It's a fun, disasterpiece.

Cons:
Lack of cohesive story
Bad camera angles
No support magic (cure, protect, etc)


Pros:
Fluid, engaging combat
Beautiful world with many locales to explore
Side quests galore!

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