REVIEW: Final Fantasy XV

Introduction

Final Fantasy XV is a phenomenal experience which every Xbox One and PlayStation 4 owner should play. The title offers dozens of hours of gameplay and while there are some missteps in the story when it comes to the timing of certain events, it still offers a powerful and emotional narrative which focuses on loss during a time of unprecedented strife. While the game might not be as technically sound on all platforms, it stills offers an intense journey in a world you’ll never want to leave.

Story

Final Fantasy XV revolves around the life of Prince Noctis as he tries to reclaim his homeland from an invading force. While the plot starts off quite plainly, it evolves into a much more complex story towards the end of the campaign. There are numerous interesting and devious characters you have to keep track of. Aside from that, be wary of deceit from all parties involved.

The main attraction when it comes to Final Fantasy XV has to be the unwavering bond between the four companions. As Noctis, you traverse the world with Gladios, Prompto and Ignis. The love they share is palpable and that makes the final moments of the campaign especially heart-wrenching. All of them have their own personalities and you grow attached to them. The game tells one of the best stories centered around brotherhood that we’ve ever encountered.

Throughout the course of the extensive campaign, you’ll be tasked to explore the world and collect powerful Astral weapons belonging to Noctis’ ancestors. They do a considerable amount of damage even though they drain life force when used. Don’t expect to explore the open world throughout your time because there are some linear sections which can go on for hours. However, once you’ve completed the campaign, you can return to the vast open world and take on greater challenges like fighting creatures on a scale never before seen in games.

We must warn you that you shouldn’t expect a traditional Final Fantasy-type ending when it comes to this iteration in the franchise. The final moments will cause a lot of controversy and debate among fans due to their somewhat open-ended nature. However, we found them to be quite beautiful and wrapped up the story of the main character in a satisfying way.

I feel that some events, like the death of a main character towards the beginning of the game, lose their intensity when they happen without warning. There should’ve been more exposition given before you begin your journey to understand the dire situation the city of Insomnia was facing. The timing of the events seem odd and this causes more confusion than shock—which was probably the emotion the developers wanted to evoke in the gamer.

Combat

The combat in Final Fantasy XV is complex as it involves the use of a variety of weapons and spells. Each enemy requires a distinct approach and alternating between casting a large burst of fire and using your heavy weapon is key to success. Holding down the X button also lets you dodge. Apart from that, you can teleport to safe areas during combat which assist in regenerating health and mana. A combination of all of these techniques is required when fighting specific enemies. When it comes to easier foes, swinging your normal sword haphazardly can do the trick.

Using your companions to do additional damage is also a good strategy to master. You can trigger their abilities by pressing LB and selecting a party member. This causes combat to go into a quicktime event. This technique is especially useful when taking down titanic bosses.

Art

Final Fantasy XV is a gorgeous game which focuses on photorealism more than stylized graphics. While the characters might not be the most detailed, the environments and objects are gorgeous. Try to stop by when taking road trips to various areas and admire the breathtaking views from atop a cliff or highway. You’ll be mesmerized by the game’s beauty. Aside from that, and most importantly, the food looks absolutely scrumptious!

Traversal

There are many ways to get around when you’re in the open-world segments. You can either walk or use your vehicle which has a rather annoying auto-drive feature. I would’ve loved more engaging driving mechanics like those seen in traditional games aside from this on-rails-type experience. You can also rent out Chocobos at various kiosks. While this might seem like a gimmick to individuals unfamiliar with the Final Fantasy series, it’s actually the best way to get around after you’ve parked your car.

Music

The music in the game is breathtaking especially during combat scenarios. The mix of orchestral and simple tunes sets the mood of each encounter and correlates perfectly with the intensity of the action. For example, if you’re fighting a gargantuan machine it feels like the soundtrack is more powerful and exhilarating. Fighting some trivial centipedes isn’t that hectic and the score reflects that. Our only complaint would have to be how sometimes the sound sounds like elevator music when you’re waiting in particular areas.

Performance

Final Fantasy XV suffers from some minor issues on both consoles when it comes to performance. For this game, it’s imperative that we discuss visuals and performance together because trade-offs greatly affect the gameplay experience. We were fortunate enough to be able to test both versions and while most of our combined gameplay occurred on Xbox One, it was clear that the PlayStation 4 offered a significantly clearer visual presentation.

The PlayStation 4 version of Final Fantasy XV looks much sharper throughout the course of the campaign but this advantage is particularly noticeable when you’re exploring the vast open world. Objects in the distance are easily distinguishable and completing the scavenging quests is much easier. It’s also easy to discern various types of enemies without getting too close. To give you an example of this, let’s go to a simple mission involving Dino, one of the quest-giving characters in the game. He asks you to scout an area and gather gemstones. On Xbox One the visuals appear to be so blurry that you can’t determine if the red object in the distance is a plant or a geode. We never encountered these issues on PlayStation 4.

Despite the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 releasing in 2013, the resolution debate is very much alive. For the vast majority of games which release every year, it’s impossible to tell the difference between image quality because they don’t affect gameplay. However, Final Fantasy XV is a title which offers clear advantages in terms of playability when it comes to PlayStation 4 due to the clear presentation. Planning your attack and confirming you have the right weapons and spells to combat certain foes is imperative and can be considered a main pillar in terms of mechanics. The blurry visuals greatly impact your ability to view objects and enemies at a distance. Due to this the Xbox One version causes a detriment to the player.

Before reaching this conclusion we had an extensive debate which involved all staff members. We all felt that the differences in this case were significant enough to warrant different scores for both versions. Despite the fact that the PlayStation 4 suffers from minor frame-pacing issues which are absent on Xbox One, we feel that it offers noticeably better visuals which directly correlate with easier gameplay.

We brought up these problems with Square Enix and they said that they were aware of the blurry visuals on Xbox One and “are working to resolve it as quickly as possible in an upcoming patch scheduled for early next year.” We feel that this will not be enough and extensive optimization is required to fix this issue. Hopefully Square Enix will keep on working to make the Xbox One version better during the coming months.

Summary

Overall, Final Fantasy XV is a fantastic game which is a testament to the strength of the developers. It corrects all the missteps the series has taken over the past few iterations and offers an accessible game for fans and newcomers alike. The title is one of the finest role-playing games available on consoles at the moment and rivals titles like Skyrim: Special Edition and The Witcher 3 in our opinion. The game has been tuned to the tastes of Western audiences so it seems familiar despite its slightly quirky nature. Be prepared to get lost in the realm of Eos because you won’t want to put the controller down.

Additional Information

Final Fantasy XV offers many smaller activities like fishing and photography which can take up a considerable amount of time. There are also locked doors inside tombs which require special keys to unlock. The title offers a lot of variety when it comes to side quests and dungeons. Be sure to explore every corner of the map, and especially the tombs, to uncover all of their secrets.

There are also a variety of weapons, outfits, car parts and gear to collect which increase your stats like giving you a boost in terms of strength or greater health. Be sure to take part in many side quests because a lot of them end up giving you the best gear. Undertaking minor quests might be annoying at times but it’s well worth the effort.