The evil empire has descended upon the Kingdom of Lucia and usurped power from the reigning king of the realm, King Regis. Forced to abandon his road trip to the land of Altissia to marry his betrothed, the oracle Lunafreya, the young Prince Noctis must gather the power of his ancestors in order to command the power of the gods to save his kingdom from ultimate peril. Joined by his closest four friends, Gladiolus, Prompto, Ignis, and their car, The Regalia, they must discover the will to act, lead, and support each other in the dramatic journey of a lifetime.
Final Fantasy XV is a nightmare to grasp. In order to fully comprehend the scale of the world and the entirety of its plot, one must watch a movie, an anime, read a novel, play the entire game, play all four pieces of dlc, watch a press conference, write an MLA cited paper, grill four ribeye steaks to a medium rare complexion, dance the hokey pokey, build a 4000 piece lego kit containing essential lore, and ride your bike uphill five miles to school both ways.
It is quite a mess.
It is also perhaps the only AAA game that has ever tried and succeeded at the feeling of what its like to maintain adult male friendships. Road trips are incredibly stressful, especially long ones. This is the longest, most intense road trip of all time; they snap at each other, they build each other in moments of triumph, and celebrate that they have each other during moments of peace. It is the only game I have ever played that has ever sold me on the authentic relationship that this group of boys have.
Unfortunately this feeling of truth simply cannot hold up against a game that feels largely like its unfinished. Events play out haphazardly, breaking continuity and building into confusion as the journey unfolds. Characters disappear, or get injured in major moments that simply aren't executed during Noctis's journey to save the realm. The idea that a game is so immense that a movie and an anime are developed to expand it isn't exactly the newest idea, but making them essential to understanding the stakes of the world you're inhabiting is impenetrably frustrating.
Beyond its failure as a narrative work, Final Fantasy XV is simply the most sloppily assembled action RPG I have played to date; pretty much every single battle can be solved in the exact same way: by locking onto an enemy using the right shoulder button and pressing the Y/Triangle button to warp to an enemy and attack them. Once you've done this, you run a short distance away and do it again. Occasionally you command your buddies to execute a bonus attack, but much of the game is solved easily with the same combo over and over and over again. There are items, but as long as you have a smattering of hi-potions none of the rest ever really seem to matter too much There's new equipment and skills to upgrade, but as long as you pick the ones that make your numbers the absolute biggest you will succeed. And this is on normal, not the game's alternate easy mode. It is a game that, even though I completed it, never once made me feel like I had to try anything new, and also never feel like I'm getting any better while fighting stronger enemies. It is equally as bizarre as its storytelling ambitions. Neither ever really feel like they work in a way beyond, "you sure can complete the game using its combat."
And yet, though it is such a gosh darn mess that doesn't really work, I truly treasured my time with Noctis and his Kingsguard. There are huge moments of sweeping emotion that work so well, but are immediately undercut by every part of the game that simply won't allow you to invest in its plot or world building. The combat feels like nothing. But its visual design, music, and characters feel like something worth fighting for. And sometimes, that's all a Final Fantasy needs to be something great.....or at least very interesting.
Final Fantasy XV is a nightmare to grasp. In order to fully comprehend the scale of the world and the entirety of its plot, one must watch a movie, an anime, read a novel, play the entire game, play all four pieces of dlc, watch a press conference, write an MLA cited paper, grill four ribeye steaks to a medium rare complexion, dance the hokey pokey, build a 4000 piece lego kit containing essential lore, and ride your bike uphill five miles to school both ways.
It is quite a mess.
It is also perhaps the only AAA game that has ever tried and succeeded at the feeling of what its like to maintain adult male friendships. Road trips are incredibly stressful, especially long ones. This is the longest, most intense road trip of all time; they snap at each other, they build each other in moments of triumph, and celebrate that they have each other during moments of peace. It is the only game I have ever played that has ever sold me on the authentic relationship that this group of boys have.
Unfortunately this feeling of truth simply cannot hold up against a game that feels largely like its unfinished. Events play out haphazardly, breaking continuity and building into confusion as the journey unfolds. Characters disappear, or get injured in major moments that simply aren't executed during Noctis's journey to save the realm. The idea that a game is so immense that a movie and an anime are developed to expand it isn't exactly the newest idea, but making them essential to understanding the stakes of the world you're inhabiting is impenetrably frustrating.
Beyond its failure as a narrative work, Final Fantasy XV is simply the most sloppily assembled action RPG I have played to date; pretty much every single battle can be solved in the exact same way: by locking onto an enemy using the right shoulder button and pressing the Y/Triangle button to warp to an enemy and attack them. Once you've done this, you run a short distance away and do it again. Occasionally you command your buddies to execute a bonus attack, but much of the game is solved easily with the same combo over and over and over again. There are items, but as long as you have a smattering of hi-potions none of the rest ever really seem to matter too much There's new equipment and skills to upgrade, but as long as you pick the ones that make your numbers the absolute biggest you will succeed. And this is on normal, not the game's alternate easy mode. It is a game that, even though I completed it, never once made me feel like I had to try anything new, and also never feel like I'm getting any better while fighting stronger enemies. It is equally as bizarre as its storytelling ambitions. Neither ever really feel like they work in a way beyond, "you sure can complete the game using its combat."
And yet, though it is such a gosh darn mess that doesn't really work, I truly treasured my time with Noctis and his Kingsguard. There are huge moments of sweeping emotion that work so well, but are immediately undercut by every part of the game that simply won't allow you to invest in its plot or world building. The combat feels like nothing. But its visual design, music, and characters feel like something worth fighting for. And sometimes, that's all a Final Fantasy needs to be something great.....or at least very interesting.