3.5/5 ★ – jaymewmew's review of Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition.

Story-wise, it’s a bit of an incoherent mess. None of the characters are all that compelling, save for the main antagonist, Ardyn, and even his motivations I’m not 100% clear on. The road-trip aspect was interesting, but they drop it half-way through for a more traditional linear approach which, as someone who has grown tired of open-world games, I rather appreciated. Combat is rather simple, with very little skill required as you mix your attacks with calling on your friends and using your elemency, which forces you to mix a combination of electric, fire and water powers (I’m not a huge fan of spending lots of time in menus, and this became a tedious task). As their first foray into a more action-focused Final Fantasy, it’s a pretty good baseline, and something I think they vastly improved on in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Where the game truly shines is in its music and the epic scale in which some of the fights play out. The Leviathan battle in particular stands out as a truly jaw-dropping moment. Despite not being able to call summons without being under specific circumstances, when you are able to call them, they provide some of the best spectacle the game has to offer. It’s just a shame not everything came together for this game, as the potential was there, but it’s clear the creators had a lot of ideas, and decided to stuff as many of them as they could into the game, leaving players with an experience that is worse than the sum of its parts.