Final Fantasy XV is a game that spent so much time in development that we never even thought it would see the light of day, a game that for many people thought Square-Enix had moved on from the Final Fantasy franchise and it remains one of my favorite Final Fantasy games to date.
But we’re not here to talk about Final Fantasy XV’s development time we’re here to talk about my thoughts on the game and my experiences with it. If you want the too long didn’t read version of this I loved the game and I got to play it during some of the hardest moments of my life.
You start the game playing as Noctis a young Prince out on a journey with his friends to meet his lover Lunafrya a summoner. But as Noctis leaves his home and starts his journey the Kingdom of Insomnia where he lives is suddenly attacked by the Imperial Army of a rival Kingdom and his father is killed in the process.
It’s here his journey begins as he fights his way through troops of soldiers out to kill him, makes his way to his beloved and unlocks the powers of the Ancient Kings, and receives the blessings of the Astral beings such as Ramuth, Shiva, and the rest to help fight back the Imperial Army and stop their attack on his Kingdoms people.
At its core Final Fantasy XV isn’t just a story about love and war. It’s a story about friendships and faith in the hardest of times as you travel around with your friends Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus and experience moments of the story from their perspectives with dynamic cutscenes but downloadable story moments with those characters as well.
It’s these moments that help reflect the nature of Final Fantasy XV’s most crucial element that element seen in all Final Fantasy titles. Life, as we go through life it changes us for better or worse and it’s this crucial factor that Final Fantasy seems to reflect so well, similarly to how Marvel Comics tells their stories.
We all experience life differently just as we all experience playing a game differently and it’s our decisions that affect the outcome of our stories just as what happens to Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus during the story of Final Fantasy XV and as we watch the story of Noctis unfold as we play through the game.
Final Fantasy XV is also the series’ first at open-world combat and smart AI-controlled allies to help make the battles easier which has gone on to become a staple in the newer Final Fantasy titles such as Final Fantasy VII Remake.
As combat progresses you can team up and fight with your allies to unleash devastating attacks with a unique variety of weapons to take down massive enemies such as Behemoths, Wyverns, and even a giant tortoise mountain, I’m not making that up it’s a hidden enemy.
Final Fantasy XV with its unique approach to combat its beautiful cut-scenes and unique storytelling ends up being one of my favorite titles in the franchise. As it captures exactly what Final Fantasy is and always has been, a beautiful well written story about the lives of the characters with music by the director Yoko Shimoura it had the perfect musical score to accompany such a wonderful story.
If you’re new to the Final Fantasy franchise don’t be intimidated by the numbers at the end, most of the games in the Final Fantasy franchise are their own unique stories and if you’re thinking about trying one out I would easily recommend Final Fantasy XV as your first title.
An autistic gamer with opinions on games who also enjoys making dumb videos on the internet!