4.5/5 ★ – Diluted_Thought's review of Final Fantasy XV.

Story time. So I walk into my local Gamestop looking to find my next big RPG experience. Final Fantasy 15 had been on my list and they actually had a copy of the Royal Addition that came in a steel box along with the movie and all the DLC. And the best part? It was all only $15! So I asked the dude behind the register if it was even worth it. He said, "oh for $15? Yeah its totally worth the 15". Well ok. See I was slightly hesitant because of how much shit this game was getting and it seemed to be a disappointment to fans from what I understood. But I had just finished "Horizon Zero Dawn" and need to fill the void with a big new adventure and so I bought this game and took it home. I'm glad I bought this game despite some of the negative press because as it turns out I really dug the hell out of it. Let me start with what I liked. The road trip scenario was a far departure from the typical party additions you get in past games. In fact, Final Fantasy 12 was the last game in the franchise I played back in 2006 so this game was already playing with my expectations by also giving me a car. I liked how this game felt somewhat laid back and had a very chill attitude. Making Hammer Head the first stop on the trip was a fun starting point that allowed me to get used to the combat and the very fun teleporting Noctis can do with his sword to replenish his MP. "XV" had some great looking creatures and many whom were incredibly intimidating. But along with Hammer Head you had some beautiful environments and great look towns / cities to explore and run around in. My favorite being Lestallum as it was the only city that felt like it had rad night life. Then of course what's a good Final Fantasy game without some great music? This definitely had a beautifully varied soundtrack that really felt all over the place in a good way. Then they went and added the ability to purchase music from past games in the series to listen to them on your in game Mp3 player! The picture system in this game was fantastic and really captured some fantastic moments in and out of combat. I never knew how much I actually wanted this feature in every open world game. As with 12, I absolutely enjoyed going on hunts, and every new monster was an exciting new experience to be had and some were really sick boss fights too. Then you had the kings tombs, side stories for each of your companions, open world traversal on a Chocobo, the fishing, cross over events with FF14 and more. This game had a lot of great content. What I didn't enjoy were some of the fetch quests, like finding frogs in the rain in random locations. Not fun at all. Then of course the labyrinth dungeons weren't all that great as they stuck you in tight spaces where all areas looked mundane or flat. The summon system was odd since I only ever summoned 1 or 2 particular beings during my fights because to summon the others you had to be in specific conditions in battle. But why? Then this game has one of the biggest no no's in modern gaming. If you were in the middle of a battle and you happen to be around bushes or rocks, or anything that would typically obscure your view did just that. Unlike other games where these things would become transparent in order for you to see the action. And on a smaller note, why wasn't there a bigger wardrobe for your characters? I would have loved to continue to change out their clothes but nope. I did want to touch on one other thing. I've read that this game didn't have any emotionally impactful moments like other games in the series (i.e. Aerith's Death or Yuna and Tidus water scene). These scenes made you care about characters and the stories moving forward and while Noctis didn't have a very loving relationship with Lunafreya (and her death not being quite as impactful on players) it was as if this game missed its mark. But I beg to differ. Lunafreya's death wasn't what played on the ol heart stings. In fact, it was actually Ignis's sacrifice in Altissia, and the impact of his disability on the characters that was the most tear inducing thing I've experienced in a long time (in gaming). You don't know how important Ignis truly is until he can no longer cook you a beautiful meal. True friendship makes you do crazy things. When I finally finished this game and everything I wanted to do in it, I realized that this game wasn't $15. No, in fact, considering how much play time i got out of it and how much content I enjoyed, I would have gladly paid $70 for it. Considering how little I did pay though, I'd say it was one of the best game purchases I'd done to date. Damn good game. I don't care what anyone says.