Skip to content
Final Fantasy XV is now out and while I’m not what I would call a Final Fantasy fan, you could say I’m more a bystander who enjoys some of the franchise’s titles. I especially enjoyed those which appeared on the PS One, to which I say are the last of the good FF games; Final Fantasy X was ok but everything after that I found ‘Meh’ or bloody awful (yes, Final Fantasy XIII, im looking at you, you piece of ungodly trash!). So, in my own opinion, there hasn’t been a good FF since three console generations ago. we are talking almost 20 years here folks.
This latest installment has been in development for over 10 years and when I saw previews and also heard the development time, I got worried. It didn’t look like a traditional Final Fantasy, and I couldn’t help but think of things in context of a certain Duke Nukem game that was long in development. was the outcome just as I feared?
The game story centres around four young men: Prince Noctis, Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto from the kingdom of Insomnia on the planet of Eos. The habitat is very Earth-like, and a mix of East meets West culture for the most part. The protagonist and his party are travelling to the nation of Accordo’s capital city of Altissia where Noctis and his fiancé Lunafreya are to be married.
While on the road (in their snazzy looking car I might add), news of betrayal from the city of Niflheim who have stolen the Crystal from the Nation of Lucis, and also claim to have killed King Regis, Lunafreya and even our hero Noctis, have seized the city of Insomnia. Crownsguard commander Cor Leonis pleads with Noctis to retrieve the weapons of Lucil and take his place upon the throne.
The gameplay has changed since earlier games in the Final Fantasy series, from a turn-based RPG to a more strategy hack-and-slash style where you use different moves and magic against your opponents, while freely moving around them. You mostly use melee weapons – such as swords, lances and spears – but you can also use ranged rifles and pistols by switching up during gameplay on your D-pad. There’s also a quest element where you can also pick up items to give to Cid in Hammerhead to upgrade and customise certain weapons.
During your travels in the vast open world you can find magic spots where you draw and refill your magic, much like drawing magic In Final Fantasy VIII, but not tedious. You can craft your magic to make it useable to members of the team and also specify the potency. Each time you craft magic it will only allow you to cast that spell three times; you could put all your fire together to make a super strong formula, or you could make weaker variants.
Items for your battles like elixirs, phoenix downs, potions etc are found quite easily but not enough that there is surplus, and these items can be bought from varying shops you encounter on your travels. The shops are also quite interesting with weapons being sold from the back of trucks and diners where you gain access to quests in what feels like the most surreal American Road Trip ever. Some of the shops are the equivalent of garages, where you can buy soundtracks from previous FF titles to listen to on your car stereo.
Camp points are set up across the map where you can set up a camp for you and your party to help recover, much like the old ‘Tent’ item but only available in specific areas. You are encouraged to rest regularly, as it is only after resting that your characters level-up as your XP is only accumulated until this point. This proves an interesting system, where you can choose to camp for free during which you are intermittently rewarded with interactions with the characters and Ignis will cook you up a meal providing temporary stat boosts. The alternative option is to stay at a hotel or motel with little-to-no character interaction, but the offers of multiplying the xP you’ve built up helping you to level faster. The latter option, although appealing, does not give any temporary status boosts. However, you can visit the local diner for a little pick-me-up in that department, but at a cost of course.
Go to page 2 for more thoughts on the game.
Accepting hunt quests at the diners around the map helps build XP and fill your wallet. This is essential as you need money for many things including gas for your car, although this is pretty cheap. Speaking of your vehicle, this is also customisable, from the colour down to details like the wheels, decals and rims – talk about pimping your ride! You also have the option of changing your clothes in the game.
When playing you’ll likely get lost in exploring the vastness of this open world as you can accept quests from passers by, see new creatures and find items and ingredients. Be careful when wandering, as you may meet beasts which are more than a match for you since there are behemoths in this game. A casing point on this; I watched my other half playing one day and she came across this sleeping gigantic crow which she tried her best sneaking around, as there was a quest item behind it. She got round it fine,but then as she was returning back round, she took a wrong step and fell off the side of a small cliff that woke the crow up! It was understandably pretty pissed off, and she ran as fast away as she could, which she did by the skin of her teeth (I cannot deny I was in stitches laughing at this). Enemies and creatures can even effect the environment of the land around you, knocking down trees and such. The gameplay is fantastic and will keep people engrossed and lost in this world for hours upon hours on end.
Wow, where do I even begin with the graphics! Final Fantasy XV is one of the most beautiful games I have ever seen on the latest consoles. Everything in this game from characters to landscapes are beautiful to behold. Hell, even the bloody food in the Diners or that which Ignis cooks in the game looks amazing! I found it hard to believe that food in a game could look so appetising. The creature designs and, most of all, the FMV are breathtaking, even Final Fantasy Advent Children (the movie) didn’t look as good as this. I have been looking for graphical faults in this game, but apart from possibly nit-picking about frame rate at very small points in the game, I cannot fault it one bit.
This game has an original soundtrack and some remixes that pay homage to the older games, right back to the first. There’s also the huge plus point of being able to buy older Final Fantasy games’ soundtracks to listen to in your car. This gives an amazing range of great music which can go from soothing to eerie to exciting in no time, but still fit each and every moment of gameplay.
The voice over – in original Japanese and even the English dub – is on point, delivering dramatic and fun conversations, especially when you and your party are in the car, but also when out for a stroll or even in combat. Sound effects from beasts to weapons, to even the roar of your car’s engine all are also spot on. I cannot imagine the amount of sound effects that went into creating this game.
Final Notes: I can go on and on about how much this game has to offer, just as it says in the opening when turning this game on – a game for newcomers and fans of the older games. It does tick all the right boxes to claim this.
Final Fantasy XV is a fun, exciting and engaging game which will keep players playing and replaying for years to come. I could easily call this a future classic title which people may come back to replay in the years ahead. I wanted to say much more about this game but can’t at the risk of not giving too much away, and keep the review as compact as possible (it’s taken many hours to be able to bring you such an exact rview). I can recommend this game to anyone and everyone to play, this is what I call a must play game for anyone who picks up a controller.
Graphics: 10/10 – Easy perfect rating: Absolutely flawless and gorgeous graphics. Hats off to the designers.
Sound: 10/10 – Absolute ear candy from sound effects to soundtrack.
Gameplay: 9/10 – Fun and engaging gameplay keeping you on your toes without sacrificing the fun element of the initial game itself.
Enjoyment: 9/10 – As interesting as the game’s story is, you can’t help but sidetrack and enjoy the games environment and the experiences it has to offer. Players will be glued to this game for a long time, lots to offer and to explore in this cast gameplay experience
Overall score: 9.5/10 – A must own title for any gamer out there who likes some adventure in their gameplay.
Thanks to the Youtube channels featured for the gaming footage.
Final Fantasy XV is out now Xbox One and PS4, and click on the packshot for the full-size version.
Important info:
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Players: single-player
- HDTV options: up to 1080p, HDR
- Sound: DTS 5.1
|
GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT |
10 10 9 9 |
| OVERALL | 9.5 |
Directors: Hajime Tabata and Tetsuya Nomura
Producers: Shinji Hashimoto and Yoshinori Kitase
Writer: Kazushige Nojima
Music: Yôko Shimomura
Voice Cast:
Noctis Lucis Caelum: Ray Chase
Gladiolus Amicitia: Chris Parson
Ignis Scientia: Adam Croasdell
Prompto Argentum: Robbie Daymond
Regis Lucis Caelum: Jim Pirri
Lunafreya Nox Fleuret: Amy Shiels
Noctis Lucis Caelum (youth): Hyrum Hansen
Lunafreya Nox Fleuret (youth): Liliana Sage Chomsky
Cor Leonis: Matt Mercer
Iris Amicitia: Eden Riegel
Aranea Highwind: Kari Wahlgren
Titus Drautos: Matthew Waterson
Cidney/Cindy Aurum: Erin Matthews
Cid Sophiar: Jack Angel
Jared Hester: Tony Amendola
Talcott Hester: Kyle Arem
Talcott Hester (teen): Josh Keaton
Gentiana: Renee Faia
Biggs Callux: Fred Tatasciore
Wedge Kincaid: David Lodge
Weskham Armaugh: Dave Fennoy
Camelia Claustria: Judith Flanagan
Ravus Nox Fleuret: Trevor Devall
Iedolas Aldercapt: Bob Joles
Ardyn Izunia: Darin De Paul
Astrals: Ike Amadi, Candi Milo and John Kassir
Retro game fan, comic book reader, board game lover and film fanatic. I have loved videogames since I was 5 years old after visiting my first arcade, I have grown up with gaming since having my Atari 2600 then Commodore 64. I ended up building my own career crafting pixelised characters and have had the pleasure of meeting many of my retro gaming heroes who developed some of my absolute favourite games.
| 1 | 2 |