"Final Fantasy" is something special and has been for many years in gaming. It has been almost seven whole years since a full new number installment release of the game has hit the markets. The game has been rumored to be in the making ten years! The history of the game has much to live up too with many good the bad and ugly ideas along the way. Many websites have reviewed the game with an overall above average score. I am here to give you a review from a completionist perspective after over 300 hours of gameplay time since release.
The good
First, let's start with the easy stuff and that would be the graphics.
They are beautiful. The world is huge and each region has a unique look to it. For example, the Leide region is very barren and seems to be hot and dry. The Duscae Region is full of greens, rain, and a fresh air atmosphere. Finally, the Cleigne Region is very rocky and mountainous. The character models look great as do the enemies, bosses, and the mighty summons.
The Tactical Menu is also quite amazing. It keeps surprising you with a list of interesting ideas. First, you have the procurement section. This is basically healing items which when the menu is opened real-time combat will pause for a little while. There are many potion items to get strategic with that I will go into deeper in a later article.
You also have the whistle section that allows you to summon monsters, call in your Chocobo and have it do moves that progress with chocobo level. Finally, there is the Moogle option which allows Prince Noctis to throw in a Moogle decoy to distract enemies.
Royal arms are another interesting concept and there are 13 of these weapons.
They are all different ranging from swords, crossbows maces, and even shields. There are firearms or guns in the game and even a surprising super rare sniper rifle. There is an Armiger bar which is treated somewhat like a "limit break" from the previous games. There is also a tech-bar which refills during battle and is used to issue commands to your allies.
You will acquire the Regalia a gorgeous car that can be upgraded to a wondrous flying machine later in the game.
The bad
Two of the major problems with this game is the overall fun factor of post-game. The game introduces tons of ideas that could've have been implemented better. For example, summons are one of the worst mechanically implemented ideas in the entire series. You can't control them, you can't level them up and for the most part, they are pretty much random. They come in times of "peril." It fits the story some may say, however, I personally want to have fun with the summons in combat. Why couldn't they have just added the summons to the tactical menu? There are also only four true summons in the game.
Bottom line it is terrible and a major let down.
The combat could be fun at times but something is missing. Something that Square captured in games 15-20 years old that they didn't or couldn't do with FFXV. In my opinion, it is the lack of rewards for playing the game.
People complain about the story and I don't see a problem with it. The main story may be a little short but the villain is great and it is very emotional. The side-quest stories, on the other hand, are in fact terrible! So here is the conclusion. Now remember I put in 300 hours into this game. I have been playing non-stop since release and I don't play games I don't like.
The score
Overall I have to agree with the major review gaming sites.
Sad to say they hit the nail on the head. One of the biggest factors for me in a game is replay value. Any masterpiece game has replay value and this one falls short by a long shot. In today's era of gaming with Youtube and social media, Gamers want to be creative and show off their ideas and play styles. This includes me and especially when the genre is RPG. The bottom line is you're going to have tons of fun, just don't expect it to last too long.
