Haven't played much Final Fantasy and I didn't have any particular expectations when going into this. I hadn't paid much attention to the trailers before it came out either. When the demo dropped in June, I decided to give it a go to see what it was like and I instantly knew then that I would have to get this game. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

The hugely expansive lore is the first thing that gripped me. Even at the very beginning, it truly feels like a living, breathing world that has existed long before the events of the game takes place. Uncovering the mysteries of Valisthea's past, and how it ties in to the current events of the realm, was extremely enjoyable.

Touching on the story itself, it's fantastic. I have a few issues with it, namely the odd pacing at times and the oft repetitive nature of how you advance it (more on that later), but when you finally get to the more meaty scenes they'll have you on the edge of your seat. The cast of characters at the heart of the game's story, and even a good chunk of the supporting cast, are expertly crafted. None of them feel like they're just there to make the game's story go forward, but like real, living people who have been molded by the world and their experiences in it. I could go on and on about the individual characters and what makes them so great, but it's something really best experienced first. The only real complaint I have is Jill, who isn't bad by any means, but I just wish she had more to her. She gets development early in the game, but then it kind of... stops. She's developed moreso in her relationships with those around her instead of her as a character, while pretty much every other important character has both their individual personality fleshed out, along with their relationships with the people close to them. With how much the rest of the cast grow and change throughout the game, it feels very odd that Jill just kind of.... doesn't.

As for the gameplay, it's also phenomenal. The Eikons and their unique abilities make for hundreds of different set-ups you can use. I personally stuck to just a few loadouts, as I just liked certain ones way more than certain others, but it never felt dissatisfying to do so, or like the game didn't want me to do so. I found what worked for me and stuck with it, and never felt like I was forced to change because the game designed certain parts for only certain Eikons. The Chronoliths are a fantastic addition, and they made me consider a few abilities that I probably wouldn't have used otherwise. I wish Ramuh's was a little easier to find though, as I ended up having to look that one up by the end of the game. And I haven't even gotten started on the boss fights! Easily the highlights of the game for me. The Eikonic fights in particular are all extremely memorable. They happen at big crescendos in the story, and it makes the ensuing fight even more epic. They strike a perfect balance of style and substance, while looking beautiful and having some QTE's, but not just being glorified cutscenes. The Titan bossfight is up there with my favorite boss fights in any game, if it's not straight up Number 1.

As for my complaints, I only really have a few. The biggest one is, as I mentioned earlier, the repetitiveness of the things the game has you do. The sidequests especially suffer from this. They're either 'Clive, go get me this item!', 'Clive, go kill this monster!', or 'Clive, go kill this monster to get me this item!' It's alleviated some by just how fun the combat is, and how hard hitting some of the story-heavier side quests are, but it's definitely still there, and definitely something I started to feel, as I completed all of them. The main story suffers from it as well, especially the parts where you have to go back to places you've already been and help them out with something, which again, is fighting an enemy/enemies, or finding a character or item. They don't really add much to the story (most of the time) either, and are just a bit of a slog. I'd prefer if the game was just shorter and trimmed a bit of the fat from those sections. Lastly, the performance isn't ideal. I played on graphics mode, as I had heard the action mode had a rather unstable framerate, but I definitely felt the 30fps. I noticed a decent amount of frame-drops as well. The game is beautiful, especially at 4K, and I understand that Square Enix had to sacrifice either performance or visuals, but I really wish there were at least more options. Hopefully when the game gets an eventual PC port, it will alleviate this. Not that I have a PC good enough to play this... but I digress. And hey, I guess it could've been worse! My PlayStation 5 didn't overheat!

Wrapping things up though, if you're even slightly interested in this game, I can't recommend it enough. Even if you aren't usually a Final Fantasy person, or even an RPG person. I'd especially recommend it if you're a fan of action games, as it honestly resembles those moreso than an RPG. An absolute must buy if you have a PS5.

Huge breath of fresh air after Sister Location. The 'Pizzeria Sim' elements are way more engaging than I thought they'd be. Nothing fantastic, but they're fun little mini-games to keep you busy before the core night gameplay. Customizing your Pizzeria is pretty satisfying as well.
The main night gameplay (& the salvage minigames), while less of a focus than in the past games, are great! I really enjoy the resource management present in both of them, and it makes things feel more intense.
The new lore is pretty cool as well, mostly just recontextualizing things we already know, but the true ending has a great payoff. Pleasantly surprised by this one