Final Fantasy XV

You know, I kinda wish we got the rest of this game's DLC and it didn't get shitcanned, because there's the bones of something truly special buried within Final Fantasy XV that I can't quite describe but I'm going to attempt to here anyway. Most of the people who would want to purchase this game probably already have, but since FFXVI is out and Clive is in Tekken 8, I'm sure people will probably have some mild interest in this and at that I think some explanation is warranted as to what this is, and what it is not.
This game is not a good story, but it is a story with good characters. It's not a good action game, but it is a game with good action. This game is not an open world adventure, but it does have a world that is open to have adventures in. This game is not a dungeon crawler, but it does have dungeons you can crawl through, sometimes literally. It's a simulacrum of many different types of games, coming together to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts, but probably in a bad way with how heavy it gets.
For example, this game has a LOT of side-missions and sidequests. Maybe I don't wanna do a solid 50-60 hunt quests where I go to a random place, kill a random monster and return for money I won't spend and materials I won't use. But the process of doing those quests, and going to those random locations and beating those random monsters, reveals something I might actually want to use, like a gathering point for materials I will use or a fishing spot for fish I will catch or a campsite for resting and eating food that is useful to continuing the game.
These missions aren't difficult. Nothing in this game is difficult, even its hardest challenges and most in-depth setpieces. It's an easy game, made even easier by how cracked out leveling up is even though they try to restrict you by only tallying experience when you rest. But since you can easily double the amount of experience you gain within the first hour of the game, and then in its second half find a way to triple it and go even further, it's not like leveling will actually be difficult. Same goes for equipment -- the materials you find are plentiful and the weapons and gear you can discover or that drop from enemies or bosses keep you going with minimal effort.
Shoot, you can even turn the game on an easier mode so you're just kinda rolling around steamrolling everything. Even the deadly monsters that appear at night that you're supposed to be afraid of (and probably are at first since they're three times your level) are actually pretty surmountable and later trivial because of the sheer number of recovery items and combat options you have for dealing with stuff like this. That doesn't even cover your ability to swap to any of your other bros and change what game you're playing (Dark Souls for Gladio, a shittier DMC for Ignis and a surprisingly competent third person shooter for Prompto) when you don't feel like dealing with Noctis's busted-ass auto-fighting and teleporting powers.
So where IS the effort in this game? I suppose it's in riding chocobos over the sweeping landscapes, or admiring the scenery while you're doing the speed limit on the highway in your Mercedes-Benz, or the dopamine hit you get from doing an impromptu dual tech with your one-to-three best friends in the whole wide world or the cute little interactions the Backstreet Anime Boys have when they're chilling in the car or at camp. They play cards, they swipe their phones to help each other in gacha game raids, they hoist up and sit on the top of the seats in the convertible when the sun's out, they banter and laugh and give you a front-row seat to everything they do, every photo they take, every meal they eat. In that sense, this game is... Amazing. This journey is amazing, something truly wonderful to spectate and bring to its conclusion.
But that's the problem: You're spectating it. You're watching it unfold, but not really being an active participant in doing so. The plot is a series of checkpoints and serious conversations held by people who are far away from the moments that have ruined their lives and emotionally unimpactful developments that you know you're supposed to care about, but that you don't really understand. There's a few reasons why. The translation is one of them. If you pick up the English Subtitles For Japanese Voice-Over mod that uses yu_eriyama's retranslation of the story, you get a much stronger understanding of how the characters are feeling than in the original.
The other is probably the game's budgetary limitations and development hell. FFXV started life in 2009 as a side-game to Final Fantasy XIII, and we all know the story of how Squeenix handled that, including the disastrous launch of FFXIV and its later extremely popular revival and the general loss of brand power of Final Fantasy compared to the 90s and early 2000s. So when this game launched on the PS4, it was a complete mess; the story was barely complete (they had to add cutscenes that were just footage from the movie to make it make more sense), they had to expand and revise the final areas in a post-game patch, they only got to release four DLCs for the game out of a planned seven (most of the story's main heroines were supposed to get a DLC), and even the multiplayer was tacked-on but also unusually important for understanding the state of the world at the end of the game, which is never something you want to do.
Most FF fans know this already. This game is fraught. But you can see where decisions Squeenix made during this game's development showed up later. Kingdom Hearts 3's combat probably wouldn't be so loose and full of spectacle and ridiculous particle effects if this game didn't have them. Same goes for FFXVI. This game also sold well enough to give the developers the breathing room to make FFXIV something truly special, to make more, better Final Fantasy games and to release a bunch of remakes and updates of games that people loved in the past, like Trials of Mana or Saga Frontier Remastered. It saved the franchise, and it really tries to push the envelope of what an RPG actually is.
An RPG isn't necessarily just a set of numbers and statistics, or a narrative that you shape and participate through your actions. If we want to talk about roles, FFXV's role for you is pretty clear: You're here to enjoy the show. The anime boys are here to put it on for you, and be your guides through it, and maybe remind you that there's more fun to be had in the journey than just in its conclusion.

This was the second Final Fantasy game I ever tried (and honestly, it might be my last; not because it was bad, but just because I’m not super into the series). That said, I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed traveling in a game as much as I did in this one. The world feels so alive, and the bond between the characters? Absolutely priceless. The story had me completely hooked, and man... I wish I had a friend group like that in real life.
I played this instead of studying (no regrets), and honestly, it was the best decision. I was stuck in my hometown during the summer thanks to university nonsense, and this game made my days so much better.
If you’re looking for an unforgettable journey, go for it.

ignore the story and all the sidecharacters, these are the unfinished part of the game. Play the game for the chill roadtrip with the boys.

I can’t even describe how much this game means to me. I wish I could write paragraphs and paragraphs in this review but… I can’t. I’ve tried. I’ve been trying for months since I finished it, but there’s something so special about this game that’s impossible to put into words.
FFXV is beautiful. It’s captivating. It’s emotional. It takes you on a journey you’ll never forget.
Truly the most incredible experience I’ve ever had with a videogame.

The one game that always makes me feel EVERYTHING no matter how many times I replay it. I fell in love with all the characters and their relationships the first time I played it and never really fell out of it, despite half a decade having passed since my first playthrough. Truly one of my favourite games with my favourite cast of characters.
That said, the pacing of the game is horrendous and the way most of the lore is revealed is a MESS. The open world, while enjoyable and varied enough to rarely get boring, hinders the plot more than it helps in my opinion. Mostt of the REALLY really good story beats only happen in the back half of the game, when you're forced into a more linear plot and the events have time to breathe and hit you and the characters. The first half mostly lives through the interactions between characters and their relationships, so if that's not your thing, this is most likely not the game for you.
It does have one of my fav fishing mini games though, if that's your thing.
Now excuse me, I have just finished my 4th? 5th? complete playthrough and will need to lie down and cry some more. 10/10 game for me, personally, for that reason alone.

A Journey of Grief, Brotherhood, and Beauty
Final Fantasy XV hit me deeper than I ever expected—not just as a game, but as an emotional experience. At its core, it's a story of loss, of destiny, and of learning to carry on with the weight of grief. I saw myself in Noctis more than I thought I would. The loss of his father, King Regis, is a turning point—not just in the narrative, but in Noctis’s identity. That sudden, violent rupture of connection, legacy, and love was something I could feel in my bones. Like Noctis, I’ve known what it means to lose someone who shaped my world.
But what makes Final Fantasy XV so special is what comes after that pain.
As the world grows darker and heavier with responsibility, the light comes not from Noctis alone—but from his friends. Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio aren't just companions. They are his brothers, his found family, and their journey together is what makes this story unforgettable. The quiet moments by the campfire, the shared meals, the bickering, the loyalty in battle—it’s in those details that FFXV shines brightest. It reminds you that in the face of grief, it's the bonds we forge that keep us going.
The lore of Eos is vast and intriguing—gods that toy with mortals, ancient prophecies, kingdoms at war, and a world on the brink of shadow. It's all there, but it never overshadows the humanity of the story. It supports it, wrapping the journey in myth while keeping the heart firmly grounded in real emotion.
Gameplay-wise, the overworld is a stunning expanse of beauty. From dusky deserts to glistening lakes and gothic ruins, it feels alive, with every location telling its own story. The boss fights are spectacular—cinematic, high-octane, and often breathtaking. Facing down godlike beings with thunder crashing overhead or fire raining from the sky gives every encounter weight and spectacle.
But for all the action and fantasy, it’s the quiet, human moments that stick with me most.
Final Fantasy XV isn’t perfect, but neither is life. It’s messy, painful, beautiful, and full of people who walk with us even when we don’t know how to move forward. And in that way, this game helped me process something deeper.
“Noct, you’re not alone.”
That line still echoes. Because none of us are—not really.

My feelings on FFXV are pretty complicated. In the past couple years I’ve done a handful of rewrites of this review that always end up rambling and dragging on, and the reason for that boils down to the game being deeply and unmistakably flawed, but also doing so many little things right. There were plenty of really satisfying and beautiful moments, but also an incredible amount of slog in between. At the end of the day I think I enjoyed the overall experience, but it’s difficult to recommend without tacking on qualifier after qualifier after qualifier.
For one, so many meaningful parts of the game are buried within updates, dlc, and other miscellaneous media, that I couldn’t even imagine playing this in the shell of its release state. Between a movie, some anime shorts, a heap of dlc episodes, and even a light novel, it gets increasingly difficult to recommend the game the less interest you have in consuming all the extracurriculars. Without them, so many parts of the story feel incomplete and loosely strung together, more than they do already.
The crux of it is this: FFXV is a game that looks good, plays decently well, and feels cozy. But along the way there’s so many glaring defects, some minor and some fundamental, that are just hard to ignore. The game is certainly unique, if only for just how well it captures that whole roadtrip-with-the-bros feeling, but as a complete package your mileage will vary greatly.
I have a lot to say about this game, so from here on out it’s going to be incredibly long-winded and potentially off-topic. Probably moderate spoilers ahead, although I’ll do my best to talk in vague terms.
Writing
It’s hard to talk about FFXV without first talking about the writing. The “main” plot of the game, in terms of grand conflict and fate and whatever, is fine. It has a lot of elements that you would expect, and the escalations don’t feel too unearned. It’s serviceable, although not particularly exciting or new.
But the story that really drives the game forward isn’t about that at all. What the player interacts with for most of their playtime is a simple, down-to-earth road trip with their friends. The narrative that emerges from wandering and adventuring with your bros, hearing occasional banter, stopping to take pictures—if nothing else, that is the absolute highlight of the game and the most memorable part of it. The environments aren’t the most diverse in the world, but I’m a sucker for exploration and still had a great time. The friendly banter among the party is very good, and almost carries the open-world parts of the game alone. I also thought the few radio and unique camping scenes were really effective at world-building, but underutilized overall. It’s not a flawless job, but the developers really tried their best on this aspect of the game, and it showed.
When you combine these, however, there’s a disconnect. The grandness and scale of the central conflict, and the leisurely pace with which you explore the open world, feel fundamentally at odds. I’d like to believe that this was intentional, to lean into that theme of feeling guilty for delaying your divine calling, or regretful for not bonding more while you still had the chance, but ultimately I still wish that it were blended more convincingly. For much of the game, the central plot progresses by things just happening to you, completely out of your control—maybe thematically consistent, but a quick look at the reviews for this game will show that for most players, that narrative instead came across as loosely-connected and hollow.
This isn’t helped at all by the fact that the writing of the game is, to put it generously, understated. Meaningful dialogue is sparse, even for Noctis, leaving a lot of the character development quietly implied, which can feel abrupt and unearned when eventually revealed. World-building is done much the same way, just scattered NPC dialogue and bits and pieces of environmental lore until you get an exposition dump, and it never truly feels complete. I think the characters and setting are truly very good, but the opportunities in which they’re meaningfully explored in the base game are few and far between, maybe due to production issues or whatever. (But surely it wouldn’t have hurt to add some more unvoiced npc dialogue in towns!)
It sucks to say, but a really large part of the character writing and exposition isn’t in the base game at all—it was shunted into the supplemental content and materials. Only after the Brotherhood shorts and dlc episodes do your party members feel properly fleshed-out, and heck, they buried a whole alternate True Demon ending and epilogue into the LN, Dawn of the Future. In its entirety I think the writing was actually pretty good, but it’s unreasonable to ask that players go look for a play order guide and devote an additional 10 hours if they want a complete story. To its credit though, in my opinion FFXV sticks the landing for its ending well regardless, tying all those loose strands together in pretty emotional, albeit sloppy, fashion.
Major spoiler zone:
Personally, I feel like the LN ending does a better job of utilizing the whole cast (especially Lunafreya) and setting, reaches a much cooler climax (down to the gory details of the QTE boss fight sequence that would have been in the cancelled DLC), and has a more satisfying/optimistic epilogue, but the game itself does a better job of tying up Noctis as a character and carrying the themes of nostalgia and sacrifice forward. Unfortunately, however, the details added in the LN do kind of retroactively cheapen the normal ending of the game as well.
Gameplay
As an action rpg, FFXV plays alright. The concept—switching through weapons on the fly and warping around the battlefield—sounds awesome, and I still remember how badass the E3 trailers looked back in the day. In practice, the combat still feels pretty good, but ultimately suffers from a lack of variety and depth. There’s a lot of layers of mechanics, but a lack of difficulty means there’s not really an incentive to switch away from button mashing and occasional dodging besides wanting to look cool, and the combat becomes more of a slog than it is stimulating.
Outside of combat, exploration feels consistently interesting, but not mind-blowing. The environments are gorgeous and detailed to be sure, but ultimately limited in openness and variety, probably due to technical limitations. Movement feels pretty good (until a certain godforsaken optional platforming dungeon), and faster transportation options are obtained pretty early and feel pretty immersive overall. Not a bad foundation, if it weren’t for how the quests turned out.
To me, the sidequests are by far the worst, most glaring flaws in all of FFXV. Questlines not tied to specific locations and map design (which were likely designed earlier in the dev process) feel completely pointless and half-baked, devolving to menial and repetitive hunting or downright frustrating scavenger hunt quests, all of which feel tacked-on as a result of rushed development. The scattered minigames (fishing, racing, betting, etc.) were better, but still felt lacking in depth and cohesion.
The English VO was perfectly fine, if a little goofy at times, and the music was good. I’m not the biggest Yoko Shimomura fan in the world, and the soundtrack isn’t terribly differentiated from her other works, but her boss OST is unmistakably epic as hell.
In the end, I don’t regret playing FFXV one bit. It’s hard for me to describe, but the experience it offers is still incredibly satisfying—despite all of its flaws—and the spectrum of spectacle and natural mundanity it offers feels uniquely immersive and charming. I desperately want it to be better, but only because I enjoyed it that much and wish that it could have met its potential without all of the issues in its development.