As with everyone else, I wanted to like this game so badly with its incredible setup of being a "Final Fantasy for Fans and Newcomers". And what isn't too like from the get-go? A cover of a nostalgia hit by Florence and the Machine, incredible CGI, and awe-inspiring open world visuals with a car and crew allowing you to traverse its open world. On paper, FFXV sounds like a game set up for success, though in conclusion, it just feels as though it misses on so many marks.
This isn't to say I didn't enjoy my time with FFXV, I did, at time, and at other times, I kinda just wanted to get through it. Unfortunately, one of the most exciting things I find about a gaming experience, side quests, feel extremely nerfed here. Not only are side quests dull and uninteresting, but they also continuously become repetitive, telling you to complete the same task over and over again for no reason. They also caused me to be at a level way higher than the main quest level, so it felt a bit pointless following them most of the time. The main questline however, is okay. It's got a LOT going on, and a lot of lore which resides in reading logs and log journals to understand fully what is happening in the world. Noctus, as a main character leaves more to be desired, however, its his counterparts who really do shine. Each having their own bright characters, Noct just feels a lil, plain, vanilla, lacking the development needed fora protagonist to really stand out like they have in previous FF entrees.
Gameplay wise... it really leaves more to the imagination. While expanding on what I remember was FFXIII's autoplay feature, it never really going into depth with strategic elements, which I'm again dying to experience again. A lot of the time the challenge was just me seeing how many Hi-Potions I had left until I ran out so I had to start using my Phoenix Down's. Magic is gone now to be replaced by a sort of item use system, and it's just a bore.
That being said, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the monolithic existences of this world. To walk around and see giant creatures and landscapes fill up around you, it's so breathtaking and incredible to look at. Which is what primarily FFXV wants you to focus on, the simple things. Driving, fishing, taking photos, wandering around aimlessly. It encourages this, but really overall, never incentivizes it.
In conclusion, I feel sort of, meh about this game. As a result, it has left me turned off ever really wanting to purchase any future FF games. Square has removed itself from its roots and instead wants to play around with new mechanics, which is fine. However, as a cause it can just leave a lot of their games feeling stale and needing more emphasis on what is supposed to make games fun, which is gameplay.
This isn't to say I didn't enjoy my time with FFXV, I did, at time, and at other times, I kinda just wanted to get through it. Unfortunately, one of the most exciting things I find about a gaming experience, side quests, feel extremely nerfed here. Not only are side quests dull and uninteresting, but they also continuously become repetitive, telling you to complete the same task over and over again for no reason. They also caused me to be at a level way higher than the main quest level, so it felt a bit pointless following them most of the time. The main questline however, is okay. It's got a LOT going on, and a lot of lore which resides in reading logs and log journals to understand fully what is happening in the world. Noctus, as a main character leaves more to be desired, however, its his counterparts who really do shine. Each having their own bright characters, Noct just feels a lil, plain, vanilla, lacking the development needed fora protagonist to really stand out like they have in previous FF entrees.
Gameplay wise... it really leaves more to the imagination. While expanding on what I remember was FFXIII's autoplay feature, it never really going into depth with strategic elements, which I'm again dying to experience again. A lot of the time the challenge was just me seeing how many Hi-Potions I had left until I ran out so I had to start using my Phoenix Down's. Magic is gone now to be replaced by a sort of item use system, and it's just a bore.
That being said, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the monolithic existences of this world. To walk around and see giant creatures and landscapes fill up around you, it's so breathtaking and incredible to look at. Which is what primarily FFXV wants you to focus on, the simple things. Driving, fishing, taking photos, wandering around aimlessly. It encourages this, but really overall, never incentivizes it.
In conclusion, I feel sort of, meh about this game. As a result, it has left me turned off ever really wanting to purchase any future FF games. Square has removed itself from its roots and instead wants to play around with new mechanics, which is fine. However, as a cause it can just leave a lot of their games feeling stale and needing more emphasis on what is supposed to make games fun, which is gameplay.