Written by Cleveland Oakes, January 17th, 2017, at 8:47 a.m.: Tweet to @Oakes945
“Afterthoughts is a column dedicated to video games, movies, and music that have been on the market for quite some time. Therefore don’t consider this a review, consider this a hindsight after the hype contemplation.”
Final Fantasy XV The 10 Year Journey
Final Fantasy XV is the long-awaited latest installment of the popular Final Fantasy games series. Longtime fans of the series will remember that this game was originally announced in 2006 as Final Fantasy XIII Versus.
This original title was supposed to be a part of the Fabula Nova Crytallis Final Fantasy subseries. In other words, while it wouldn’t be a direct tie into Lightning’s Saga over in Final Fantasy XIII; Final Fantasy XIII Versus would be based in the same universe as Lightning and her friends. Sharing the same lore of that world.
Final Fantasy XIII Versus was originally slated as a Playstation3 exclusive. However after several developmental and creative delays the game transitioned to development for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2012.
After 10 long years of waiting and a numbering change, the game was finally delivered to the public as Final Fantasy XV on November 29th, 2016. Was the long wait worthwhile?
Fantasy Becomes Reality
Most of the games in the Final Fantasy series have elements of science fiction. Yet as a whole they are medieval fantastical affairs.
However what sets Final Fantasy XV apart from every other game in the series is that the settings, dress, technology and people could all be simply a few years into our own future.
Prompto’s K-pop inspired gear. Gladiolus’ rocker good looks. Noctis’ teen heartthrob charm. Ignis’ straight out of GQ fashion. And the 70’s inspired muscle car the Regalia. This clearly isn’t the Final Fantasy game fans have become familiar with.
The game returns to its open world roots. Therefore in the game’s initial chapters players can drive the Regalia; explore on foot, or rent a Chocobo to explore the vast and open world.
The Story So Far
Like every game in the genre, Final Fantasy XV is a love story and how the power of love can save the world.
But it is so much more than a simple love story between Noctis and Luna. As a matter of fact, this is the story of a love amongst brothers. And how the power of a loving friendship is enough to save the world.
Continued from the events of the film Final Fantasy: Kingsglaive, the game begins as the tale of four friends on one last boy’s trip before Noctis is married off to Luna Freya.
Since so much of the game’s backstory is documented in Final Fantasy: Kingsglaive and the accompanying anime series Final Fantasy: Brotherhood the game is very light on exposition.
This story light approach makes the game extremely accessible to both old and new fans. As a result, there are relatively few cutscenes.
The focus is clearly on the action. In spite of the horrible opening tutorial; the combat in this game is arcadey and free flowing. If you are a fan of Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii-U the game structure and combat system are right up your alley.
Tales Untold
I totally loved this game. On the other hand, this was the first game in the series in which I found myself lost by the end of the story.
While the twist at the end was obvious for anyone paying attention to the lore of the surrounding world it wasn’t very well explained.
I never appreciate it when I have to search the internet to understand what the hell I just played.
I was also bothered by the off-screen deaths that were only implied. Especially for those of us, that invested in Kingsglaive. Fans deserve to see the bad guys be brought down. Not empty clothes on a throne or already deceased bodies on the floor.
In addition, major players like Ardyn and Gentiana deserved much more development in the game.
The fallen hero Ardyn had the potential to be just as iconic as FFVII’s Sephiroth. However, because of the extremely light exposition, his story is confused and lost.
Not to mention to the surprising true origin of one of the heroes is mentioned; yet never fully explained or spoken of again.
Also, can we please stop making Japanese games and movies with ambiguous endings? If I put 80 hours into a product, I want a satisfying end to my story.
In conclusion, this is a worthy entry in the series, and a huge recovery from the jumbled mess that The Lightning Saga devolved into.
Definitely a great game. My official score is 9 out 10, with a few points knocked off because of the incomplete story elements.