If there's one thing that, to me, really exemplifies what went wrong with this game, that is it. In the final series of bosses that you fight, the game makes you take control of each of your other party members for each sub-boss. And because these characters fight differently, you get a tutorial. For many people (especially without the DLC) this is the first time they've ever directly controlled these characters.
Final Fantasy XV is a game that, at every point, shows glimpses of what could have been great. But it isn't. Using the above example, each character's gameplay style could be fun and interesting in and of itself... if I had more than 15 seconds with each. And if I had a chance to see them BEFORE THE FINAL BOSS.
This problem is everywhere throughout the game (and series). There are glimpses of greatness, hampered by being rushed and underdeveloped. The DLC does expand on the above, but it's DLC. It's optional and extra. It should have been part of the game from the very beginning.
Same with the Kingsglaive movie. It should have been directly incorporated into the game, not a separate release. We didn't have any time to get attached to the city, the king, or all that stuff in general. So when the city falls early in the game, I didn't really care that much.
Same with other characters. Who's this dude? Oh, he's dead now? Why do I care? I only saw him for 10 seconds.
Everywhere throughout the game, there are SO MANY times where I feel like the situation/plot/event/dialogue could be poignant, but it just falls flat, because it was rushed, and I never had a chance to actually get to know the characters/situation involved. For example, Noctis has a chance to visit the city his fiancee is from. I suppose it should have been a touching and emotional moment, but I totally forgot why he hadn't been there before or the background circumstances. They barely mentioned it in the main storyline until you get there. And when you do, you don't even see the city, you just talk to an old lady and be on your way.
The DLC should have been incorporated into the main game. The movie should have been incorporated into the main game. And even then, I still feel like there should have been more story content that developed the main characters of the game, especially Luna, King Regis, the city of Insomnia itself, etc.
The open-world part is, well, like any open-world game. Nothing exceptional. Repeated kill monster quests, fetch quests, talk to NPC quest, etc. The battle gameplay has a unique style, but feels very un-strategic to me. You can basically button spam your way through most fights as long as you know the attack button and warp-strike button.
All in all, the game itself is fun as a time-waster, but it just failed to draw me in with an epic story the way a Final Fantasy game should. I keep seeing glimpses of amazing lore and character moments, but I keep being let down by just not being enough opportunity to care.
There are tutorials in the final boss sequence.
If there's one thing that, to me, really exemplifies what went wrong with this game, that is it. In the final series of bosses that you fight, the game makes you take control of each of your other party members for each sub-boss. And because these characters fight differently, you get a tutorial. For many people (especially without the DLC) this is the first time they've ever directly controlled these characters.
Final Fantasy XV is a game that, at every point, shows glimpses of what could have been great. But it isn't. Using the above example, each character's gameplay style could be fun and interesting in and of itself... if I had more than 15 seconds with each. And if I had a chance to see them BEFORE THE FINAL BOSS.
This problem is everywhere throughout the game (and series). There are glimpses of greatness, hampered by being rushed and underdeveloped. The DLC does expand on the above, but it's DLC. It's optional and extra. It should have been part of the game from the very beginning.
Same with the Kingsglaive movie. It should have been directly incorporated into the game, not a separate release. We didn't have any time to get attached to the city, the king, or all that stuff in general. So when the city falls early in the game, I didn't really care that much.
Same with other characters. Who's this dude? Oh, he's dead now? Why do I care? I only saw him for 10 seconds.
Everywhere throughout the game, there are SO MANY times where I feel like the situation/plot/event/dialogue could be poignant, but it just falls flat, because it was rushed, and I never had a chance to actually get to know the characters/situation involved. For example, Noctis has a chance to visit the city his fiancee is from. I suppose it should have been a touching and emotional moment, but I totally forgot why he hadn't been there before or the background circumstances. They barely mentioned it in the main storyline until you get there. And when you do, you don't even see the city, you just talk to an old lady and be on your way.
The DLC should have been incorporated into the main game. The movie should have been incorporated into the main game. And even then, I still feel like there should have been more story content that developed the main characters of the game, especially Luna, King Regis, the city of Insomnia itself, etc.
The open-world part is, well, like any open-world game. Nothing exceptional. Repeated kill monster quests, fetch quests, talk to NPC quest, etc. The battle gameplay has a unique style, but feels very un-strategic to me. You can basically button spam your way through most fights as long as you know the attack button and warp-strike button.
All in all, the game itself is fun as a time-waster, but it just failed to draw me in with an epic story the way a Final Fantasy game should. I keep seeing glimpses of amazing lore and character moments, but I keep being let down by just not being enough opportunity to care.
6/10, enjoyable but undercooked.