To Final Fantasy XV, A Turning Point For The Series

So I finished Final Fantasy XV. I battled through a lot, with the worst offenders being the weird crashing in chapter 9, and also the horrible pacing from that chapter onwards. Maybe the game knows it's at its best in the first half of the game? After all, that's when you get to roam around a big, beautiful world, discovering gods, tombs, and new people to deliver a repair kit to. I've not played this since the original launched, at which point I got the Platinum Trophy for it. I won't be doing that this time. Frankly, I work too much and have kids to love and look after, so I can't justify fighting the big mountain tortoise again.

For all its flaws: pacing, a deeply uninteresting magic system, and the railroads you end up on, it's still a heartfelt game in my opinion. The main cast are a delight to spend time with, even if they are a little too committed to getting the last one-liner every single time they speak. The feeling of camaraderie is impossible to avoid, and the stories that unfold as you go for each of them help to build them into more real characters. It helps that Ardyn is just an absolute delight of a villain, just pure campy nonsense stuffed into an outfit with too many pieces, and a sadistic streak that eventually consumes him.

The sense of loss that imbues the game's latter chapters will almost give you whiplash, but some of the moments hit so incredibly hard. The idea of this momentous journey that is always going to end in tragedy, in the fated end for a long line of kings and beliefs. Ending up as the "king of kings," just to be at the behest of six gods who are all caught up in their own fated plans. What power does a king have in this world? It's not ground-breaking, sure, but it's done pretty well in my opinion.

Final Fantasy XV also marks the first of the modern era of the series in my mind. You've got real-time battles, form over function, scripted boss fights that don't quite fit together, and places you need to shuffle through sideways like the last bit of toothpaste. I don't know that I love what the series has become, but it's just one of so many things I've had to accept might not be for me anymore. But hey, I'll pick up Final Fantasy XVI at some point, and I'm sure all of these thoughts will hold true then.

Here's to you, Final Fantasy XV. You are cringe, but you are free.