Dungeon Level: 4
Guest: Noctis (Level 8)
Current Level: 2
I'm going to be very honest with you about what I've experienced in playing Final Fantasy XV.
I love this game so much.
I love the Gameplay more than I ever thought I would ever since I played Episode Duscae. And truth be told, I was a little skeptical about how the Battle System would work. But they did just fine with it and I'm so glad that I got to watch as Square make immense progress with it while keeping the fans up to date.
I love the Characters.
Well the main playable characters mostly. But People like Cindy and Iris and Aranea really does get in on the love. And you get Ardyn too, one of the most memorable FF Villains in a while. And don't get me started on the interactions.
I love the world that was created for Eos and how big it is for the player to explore.
And I love love LOVE the music. Yoko Shimomura was just the perfect choice for this game.
But while I loved this game a lot, there will be things that I'm not going to give as much love to.
I'll start with the story.
It starts out simple and direct. It's not convoluted and hard to understand. And you'll find yourself pleased that the direction this game is going is good.
But then it eventually takes a nosedive.
Spoiler alert, this post is going to contain some sensitive information for those who haven't played through at least Chapter 3 or something.
I'll start with Luna, the designated Heroine of the story.
You know how they've promoted Luna as this strong character and how she's someone we just can't reach.
Well uh... She doesn't really have too much screen time in this game. I'm not joking.
You see her for like 3 or 4 cutscenes before you reach Chapter 9 or 10. And a few more times after that.
And to put some people who've heard rumors at rest, no she will not be a Guest Party Member. Which is a pretty big bummer.
She gives off the vibe that she can be a good character given proper development, but we don't see enough of her to care. She goes around Eos talking to the Astrals(Summons) to get them to give Noctis a trial. So basically, she's a background support.
Noctis doesn't even get the chance to talk to her in person really.
I'm not going to say anything too much about what happens during Chapter 9 or 10, but you'll find that you won't see her as much anymore either after that.
And it's pretty sudden. It's supposed to have an effect... But honestly, not really for my taste.
Then I'll get to the part where it gets linear.
After Altissia, you lose the open world for a while(Unless you call Umbra and go back). And while it's not really that bad, you start to realize that this game was pretty rushed.
Look back on past trailers and information, and you see that some of the places you travel to could have been bigger. But its been cut to pieces to try and piece together a game for the release.
So much of what happens in the game could have been better, that's what I have to say about it.
A fair warning, if you're entering Chapter 13, it is by popular opinion the worst chapter in the game.
And to mentally prepare you for it, i'll give you some info on why is that.
First off, you lose all your weapons and magic. No no, it's still in your inventory.
You just can't use it.
So you can't just slash your way through this chapter.
And your friends aren't going to be around for it either.
You're going through a frustrating maze by yourself, practically defenseless until Noctis finally puts on the ring and you're forced to use the Death Spell, which is cool by animation terms but takes a while to actually kill the harder enemies.
This game stops being Final Fantasy for this chapter and becomes a Stealth/Survival game because you'd be surprised by the jumpscares the chapter has and how annoying it is.
Of course, you can opt to just kill everything in sight with the Death spell, which I totally did instead of hiding. But it gets tedious after the nth time.
And it takes so long to finish this chapter really.
But I'll stop from there.
Despite the nuances I have with the story, I can't deny that Square Enix did what they could to try and make the ends meet, and though the latter half of the experience felt lukewarm compared to the open half, the ending was spectacular.
Though I can't help but feel like I just got Type-0d from this game. It's bittersweet in comparison to the mass death Class 0 had, but still...
It makes me wonder what Tabata's obsession with death is. Seriously. Crisis Core. Type 0. Now FF XV? I do wonder when the last Mainline Final Fantasy Characters had a sweet ending.
12? 9?
I'll jump to the Characters at this point.
I've already discussed Luna, so I'll start with the Guest Characters. You have 3.
Cor, Iris, and Aranea.
I don't care what people say, Iris is best girl.
But I advice you to not get attached.
While the Guest Characters are amazing... They don't stick around too much.
Cor is the first one, and he's really powerful. But after that boss fight with Loqi, you don't see him anymore until you leave for Altissia. And he's only mentioned once or twice, even though he's technically supposed to be an important character to the people of Insomnia.
Iris is Gladio's younger sister. You bring her to Caem, but you can take quests and undergo battles with her in the party.
Her HP is around 100 or something. You didn't read that wrong, its' in the 100s. Not 1000s. 100s.
I'm like, what? Really?
But guess characters don't die so you don't really have to worry about that.
In truth, she is the most useful guest character because she heals you without expending any of your items. And her Team attack is just fucking awesome.
But again, after reaching Cape Caern, she leaves the party. I mean she's still around, but she doesn't have too much impact after that.
Aranea, story wise, doesn't suffer for leaving the party. She's a mercenary by nature and part of the Niffelheim forces so it's only natural she doesn't help out too much. But she does come back every now and then to help you in a fight, so that's awesome.
Now that I think about it, I don't really have anything negative to talk about Aranea, aside from her Team attack being 3 bars. Seriously, I'd rather use Piercer or Mark even if Highwind is powerful.
Now for the party members.
When I first saw the characters in the trailers, I almost immediately thought I would HATE Prompto.
You know what, the exact opposite happened.
I LOVE Prompto compared to Gladio and Ignis.
By all means, I love all the Chocobros, but Prompto had the most impact with me.
He's not just one dimension playboy, he actually has depth hidden beneath all it. Especially if you watched that motel scene.
But I can't help but feel that his thing in Chapter 13 was a weird addition to his story. It gives him the ability to be a plot device and some added background, but it feels inserted than told really.
Ignis is a loveable character that you just can't help but enjoy. He doesn't get much background, but his cool and smart addition to the party while still maintaining a sense of humanity makes him a good character, despite some quotes that get repetitive(THAT'S IT! I'VE COME UP WITH A NEW RECEPEH) But its what happens to him around Chapter 10 that melts peoples hearts.
Spoiler alert.
He gets blinded and he tries desperately to be of help but he ends up being a handicap and often needs help. Its through his sheer determination and words with the party that he continues on, standing his ground.
Gladio has one of the best interactions with Noctis and the party in the game and is more often than not the big brother. He is a knight that acts as the shield, the brother who will look after you no matter what.
And while I certainly appreciate that and the snark, there is one thing I can never ever get from Gladio.
Another spoiler.
On the way to a Tomb in the later half of the game, Noctis becomes sullen after the events of 9 and 10 and Gladio just randomly starts being a dick to him.
He's angry at Noctis for being so disconnected and insults him for not acting right.
I mean for God's sake, the events that happened would shake anyone up, but now Noctis is insensitive to what happened to Ignis or the others who suffered? Jesus, Gladio, you're being insensitive yourself!
The next thing is the quests.
The best quests you really have are the Hunts, where you get to kill things. But the other sidequests feel more radiant(Gameplay terms) and not creative to be honest. It's not like Skyrim where there are random quests with different stories to it. The sidequests in FFXV are too simple to a fault.
Of course we have the dungeons and they're always a good thing to go through.
The last gripe I have is the latter half's world. I mean most of my gripes are from the latter half but really.
I discussed this earlier that it seemed like the game was rushed.
By Chapter 14, you're treated to somewhere that does seem like there's more to it. But instead, you later end up being picked up and dropped off into Hammerhead and not able to leave without going to the final Area.
And boy, Insomnia could have been a good place to be an open world.
I think everyone is in agreement that FFXV, no matter how good it really is, felt half baked.
Its just... It could have better.
That's all i can really say about it.
And with that, I've exited the Crystal Cave!
*Victory Fanfare*
Exp Gained: 95
Exp to Next Level: 40
Obtained Engine Ring
Obtained Avenger
Obtained Noctis Summon Card
Save File: 1
>ThanosVenge
Level: 2
Class: Thief Mage
Equipment: Avenger
Armor: Thunder Hoodie
Accessory: Cross Ring
Accessory: Swiftness Brace
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