For the past ten years I have been waiting for a single video game. I put my hopes for playing this game on the backburner because its release date kept getting pushed further back. After about the sixth year of waiting I just kind of gave up hope that they were even going to finish it, so I forgot about it. It wasn’t until about a year ago that I received a notification from my friends that the game was going to be released. I couldn’t believe it. After ten years, Square Enix was finally going to deliver with Final Fantasy XV.
Now, I tried preordering the game for September, but the release date, much to my chagrin, got pushed back to November. I waited patiently, slowly putting money aside for the game. I decided right off the bat that this would be my Christmas present to myself. Best self Christmas gift I've gotten in the past two years hands down.
This is definitely a new approach for Square Enix. They left the classic model of RPG games that they were renown for, and opted for a free range, free flow combat system. I absolutely love the freedom given to the characters to fight and use the terrain to combat the enemies. To me, it makes the game more engaging and fun to play. Some of the controls are hard to get used to at first especially with the fights having so many different things going on at once. I do also like how you can work with your three teammates to make massive strikes and combos to assault the enemy. It is invigorating, and shows off the detail that the game developers put into the game.
The story so far is amazing. I feel that at times it does have some bumps in it, but I believe they are overshadowed by how the characters interact with one another. The conversations seem organic, and human like in their substance and mannerisms. Unlike previous Final Fantasy games I felt the conversations were over complex, and felt very robotic, stiff. The story is quickly able to draw you in, at least it did for me, with how it exposes the humanity of the characters through their struggles. I think Final Fantasy finally got the chemistry right in that department.
Lastly, what makes this game endearing to me is that is a combination of everything that I loved about classic Final Fantasy games, and what I love about the bravery behind the game developers going in a new direction. It breathed new life into the hurting series, and gave the opportunity to be played now by all generations. This Final Fantasy is by far my favorite, and I am excited to see where it eventually goes.
