First Impressions: Final Fantasy XV

It’s weird to write about Final Fantasy XV in something other than an “I wonder when it’ll finally release” capacity. After a decade of development, a name change, two demos, and who knows what else, FFXV (nee Versus XIII) is out and real. My father stopped by my place over the weekend, and asked how it was. He spent a large amount of my youth watching me play Final Fantasies of yore, and all I had to say was “like no Final Fantasy I’ve ever played before, in a pretty good way.”

FFXV is Square Enix’s attempt at trying to make a Western-styled, open world RPG, and for better or worse, they did alright. There’s so very much to do, almost as soon as you start the game! You’re dropped fairly quickly into a vast landscape full of side quests and hunts to keep you distracted from the overall story of the game (which, honestly, I find rather dull). And there’s fishing and pinball and chocobo racing and just wandering around the map looking for treasure and ingredients to cook with. I’m about 23 hours in, level 30ish, and only in chapter 3 of 15 of the main quest. I feel I will be in this game for either a very long time, or bore of it after 60 hours and never complete it.

The gameplay itself is very reminiscent of Kingdom Hearts merged with a Western RPG. You only truly control Noctis for most of the battling, as your compatriots do as they see fit around you (except for heal themselves, what’s up with that?). A jump button, a dodge button, and an attack button are at your disposal, as well as mid-strike weapon changing (handy for dealing with a variety of foes). A neat block and parry system also exists, allowing for chaining massive damage against an enemy with your bros. Health and MP are steadily regained during and outside of a fight, and Noctis can warp himself to safe spots mid-battle to regain them quicker. These and other battle related stats can be further (temporarily) boosted with a vast meal system, because why wouldn’t fighting on a full stomach make you fight better?

The game also employs a day and night system, with different enemies appearing at different times. Along with this is a change to the level up system: no longer is EXP automatically applied. Instead, you must make camp for the night (at any of the myriad campsites found in the world) or stay at a hotel to cash it in. While making camp allows you to eat a meal cooked by Ignis (which both allows for his skill level to go up and offer a wider range of foods available based on his recipe knowledge), sleeping in a hotel can boost your EXP gain between 1.2 and 2 times! 

Along with this are some other neat features, such as Prompto’s picture taking (all these screenshots are pics he’s “taken), an ability grid akin to FFX and FFXIII’s, rentable chocobos, towns and outposts that feel more “alive”. A car that can pretty much drive itself, a huge world to explore, custom crafting of magic (this is way cooler than it has any right to be. A high level fire spell that can also heal the user? Multicast blizzard? Thunder that also casts status ailments? Very rad). 

This does not mean I don’t have my gripes with the game. Walking and DRIVING IN A CAR feel like they take way too long (I’ll forgive walking, but driving? Come on now). A decade of development, and the camera gets unwieldy as all hell, making some battles quite a mess to deal with. I don’t feel a particular sense of urgency to continue with the main quest, especially with so much else available to me. Product placement is at an obscene rate throughout the game. No way for me to “wait” so many hours to pass time manually (at least, not that I’ve found). Side quests are already getting repetitive (although that’s the nature of them, regardless of genre. Only so many ways you can say “kill this thing, get this item”). FAST TRAVELING COSTS MONEY (not a lot, BUT STILL). THERE. WILL. BE. DLC. Important background story information requires you to watch Kingsglaive and Brotherhood (neither of which are particularly good). 

I’m sure my likes and dislikes will grow as I play through the game more. It is nice that after 10 years, the game overall feels solid and good. The first couple hours were a pain, but I liked it more and more as I played on. The characters have grown on me, and even shared some heartfelt moments of pure friendship. I’ve gotten used to the battle system, and now find it a joy. The side content is rather enjoyable. Chocobos are super cute and you can ride them and jump around and I die from happiness. Fishing is intense. As much as I love old Final Fantasies and turn-based RPGs in general, FFXV feels like the right proper shot in the arm Final Fantasy needed to stay relevant. If this is the direction future Final Fantasies go, I’d be okay with that. It’s got enough of the old mixed with the right amount of new and achieves a reasonable and fun balance. Definitely give the game a shot, but be prepared to take a few hours to get into the groove. Then be prepared to lose yourself in it.

Final Fantasy XV is available on PS4 and Xbox One, digitally and physically. You can look forward to our full review courtesy of Teepu as soon as he decides to trudge beyond Chapter 3, with already 16 hours clocked in. Stay tuned!

- Janette