The introduction of this game couldn't have put it so accurately..something for the fans and new players. I have played the series since I was 15 years old completing IV to Xii Like many of the previous Final Fantasies it contains the same summons, Cid, chocobos and hidden easter eggs. Unlike the previous games the battle system is completely different ..very Kingdom Hearts like..which they seem to then utlilise in the FF7 remake...and its an open world experience (disregarding the online FF14). Overall it has an entirely different feel about it..visually its stunning but it has a dark modern edge. What I disliked about it was in order to build some proper context to the storyline you had to watch the film Kingsglaive. Don't get me wrong the film was fantastic but ... MoreThe introduction of this game couldn't have put it so accurately..something for the fans and new players. I have played the series since I was 15 years old completing IV to Xii Like many of the previous Final Fantasies it contains the same summons, Cid, chocobos and hidden easter eggs. Unlike the previous games the battle system is completely different ..very Kingdom Hearts like..which they seem to then utlilise in the FF7 remake...and its an open world experience (disregarding the online FF14). Overall it has an entirely different feel about it..visually its stunning but it has a dark modern edge. What I disliked about it was in order to build some proper context to the storyline you had to watch the film Kingsglaive. Don't get me wrong the film was fantastic but since when does a game have to rely on a movie to set the scene? Without this film I would have had even less empathy for certain characters. I spent the chunk of the game doing the three chapters. The multitudes of sidequests certainly kept me occupied... gosh and especially Pitioss dungeon later...*rage..As soon as you reach chapter 4 the game races forward. What I will say, as a whole I think this is a very underrated game. When I discuss the game with friends they were like mhe it was okay..lots of running around and pfft that ending... when I ask their thoughts of the storyline it is there I open their mind to the actual context and explanation of the end..with that it is then their opinion changes significantly. Ardyn is hands down one of the best villains in the franchise and playing his episode in DLC gives you further appreciation for the character. The story as a whole is not spoon fed to you which makes it even harder for those that have not seen the film. But gosh it is a powerful gritty one. For those that felt dissatisfied with the ending further two DLCs were cancelled such as Lunafreyas. Instead a book with concept art is now being released in a couple of months called Dawn of the Future..which will hopefully satisfy our appetites.

Final Fantasy XV is targeted to newer audiences of the franchise who have little to no experience with Final Fantasy. The game, in my opinion is okay but it was severely lacking in story. To get everything, one need to watch the Kingsglaive movie, the animated series, buy all DLC, and purchase a book. For me, this was tedious and extremely annoying. I would rather wait longer for game, if it meant that all of the story pieces were together. However, it all came down to funding which essentially killed this game. All screenshots were taken on my Xbox One S console. The first screenshot is from Episode Prompto, second from Episode Ardyn, and the last two are from Comrades.

I played PS4 version. Waited almost a decade for Square ENIX to get out of its development hell stage to complete this game but I’m so glad they somewhat finished it. A part of me felt a sense of loss when this project changed drastically but I’m very grateful that they involved their fan base along with the changes that FFXV went with. Some of the changes were obviously because of fear of PR issues, and kind of weird with the in-game sponsorship but the story of brotherhood and the protaganist’s journey was such a ride, I’d join this road trip again with the characters. Very happy they still kept some traditional elements like the chocobos birds but a bit annoying with the amount of DLCs they made afterwards. As the game industry was changing and the technology to ... MoreI played PS4 version. Waited almost a decade for Square ENIX to get out of its development hell stage to complete this game but I’m so glad they somewhat finished it. A part of me felt a sense of loss when this project changed drastically but I’m very grateful that they involved their fan base along with the changes that FFXV went with. Some of the changes were obviously because of fear of PR issues, and kind of weird with the in-game sponsorship but the story of brotherhood and the protaganist’s journey was such a ride, I’d join this road trip again with the characters. Very happy they still kept some traditional elements like the chocobos birds but a bit annoying with the amount of DLCs they made afterwards. As the game industry was changing and the technology to accompany the typical FF graphics, I can see that FFXV took too much money out of the company so they had to rake in the revenue somehow. Definitely one of the most legendary titles in the company’s legacy, and a bit concerning that I spend most of my life watching the business/Game expo presentations on this title, but what a ride it’s been. Please consider playing if you wanted to try a Final Fantasy game or just learn what it takes to launch a product like a game into a crazy demanding but dedicated market.

A Fantasy Based On Reality~

As this is my first review in a VERY long time, please excuse any mistakes I might make, I just HAVE to do this game the justice it rightfully deserves. After 10 years of waiting (I was 13 when this was first announced!), we finally get to experience the majesty of Final Fantasy's most heard about and wanted title! A little bit of back story from the game itself: You are placed on a journey as Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, escorted by your companions (who are more like brothers to Noctis) to formalise his marriage to Lunafreye Nox Fleuret of the Tenebrae empire (or Luna for short). As this is happening, the Kingdom of Lucis has been in a constant war with the Niflheim empire for over a hundred years (Very different compared to the premise of Versus XIII). With that ... MoreAs this is my first review in a VERY long time, please excuse any mistakes I might make, I just HAVE to do this game the justice it rightfully deserves. After 10 years of waiting (I was 13 when this was first announced!), we finally get to experience the majesty of Final Fantasy's most heard about and wanted title! A little bit of back story from the game itself: You are placed on a journey as Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, escorted by your companions (who are more like brothers to Noctis) to formalise his marriage to Lunafreye Nox Fleuret of the Tenebrae empire (or Luna for short). As this is happening, the Kingdom of Lucis has been in a constant war with the Niflheim empire for over a hundred years (Very different compared to the premise of Versus XIII). With that little introduction, and without spoiling anything, I want to express how grand of an adventure Final Fantasy XV has been for me (and I'm sure many others who have long awaited this diamond of a game). From the first moment you set off into the world of Eos, you're not only joining Noctis and crew for the ride, but also seeing how much he matures as a teenager with a rollercoaster of emotions that he's not shy about showing, to his journey with his three 'brothers' who aid him along the way, each and every one of themunique to themselves. The gameplay is of the Action-RPG genre; to me that is a welcome mix up of genres right there, and definitely one suited for the pace of combat you get with XV. The controls are very fluid, easy and enjoyable to pick up - it's just the precision that's hard to master! Music - honestly, I am absolutely speechless at how the brilliant Yoko Shimamura-San composed this ever so BEAUTIFUL soundtrack! With a mix of piano, violins, and orchestrated voices, the ost for XV is by far the best I have heard since I last enjoyed an FF title (and I've played my fair share!) Exploration is one of the pivotal points of XV, presenting you with such an immersive and interactive world, filled with plenty of things to take in and enjoy if you want to stray away from the main quests; such as side quests and my favourite - the hunts! (Last time we had those were in XII! Albeit, XIII'a C'ieth stone missions WERE similar). Story - since I would rather not drag on, I want to close by saying this: out of the Final Fantasy titles that I've played (X, XII, XIII series), XV's story was very captivating, I honestly haven't felt this way about an FF game in a long time (even with Lightning Returns), it will emotionally move you with its beautifully crafted CG and story telling. Please, as someone who's patiently (crazily) waited for this for over 10 years, i just want to say that you should definitely play this, whether you're an old timer fan of the series, or even a new comer, I assure you that you won't regret this. 5/5. (X-posted from my Amazon review)

A brilliant remaster that enhances an already phenomenal game.

An incredible tour de force from SquareEnix that not everyone will be able to undersand and appreciate. Right from the opening scene, the art direction and worldbuilding are phenomenal. The dialogues and voice acting have an eloquency and maturity rarely found in games. The story may become a bit sparse in the second half of the game, but if you enjoy political conflicts between memorable characters, there's a lot to like in FFXII. The gameplay innovates in many ways that can throw off players who are too attached to the classical JRPG formula, but once you the combat clicks with you, you will enjoy the steady progression and strategic depth all the way to the end. The world is vast, has a rich history and variety of cultures, allows for a lot of exploration, and ... MoreAn incredible tour de force from SquareEnix that not everyone will be able to undersand and appreciate. Right from the opening scene, the art direction and worldbuilding are phenomenal. The dialogues and voice acting have an eloquency and maturity rarely found in games. The story may become a bit sparse in the second half of the game, but if you enjoy political conflicts between memorable characters, there's a lot to like in FFXII. The gameplay innovates in many ways that can throw off players who are too attached to the classical JRPG formula, but once you the combat clicks with you, you will enjoy the steady progression and strategic depth all the way to the end. The world is vast, has a rich history and variety of cultures, allows for a lot of exploration, and areas are interconnected which makes the world feel believable in a very satisfying way. As a remaster, The Zodiac Age knocks it out of the park with enhanced models, textures, and lighting. The ability to speed up the game makes traversing large areas with lots of enemies a smooth experience and saves you a lot of time. Plus each character can specialize in two jobs which prevents the party members from being interchangeable clones all while allowing each one to have a varied moveset and not be locked into a couple ofabilities. This is a fantastic game through and through. Highly recommended!

Average Game

This game has pros and cons, and while I liked the story, the game play was a bit too linear and not as open world as I would have liked. As I said, the story is a good one, if a bit rehashed from other games. Prince leaves kingdom, kingdom is attacked, prince must reclaim throne and stop end of the world. There's more too it, but that is the spoiler free edition. The overall game play is good as well, but the game is too linear in my opinion. Yes you have some freedom, much more than Final Fantasy XIII, but still not a lot since you are restricted based on story progress. That means some areas are unavailable early on, but become accessible later on, but once you reach Chapter 9, it's totally linear game play and everything outside of what you are doing is locked. ... MoreThis game has pros and cons, and while I liked the story, the game play was a bit too linear and not as open world as I would have liked. As I said, the story is a good one, if a bit rehashed from other games. Prince leaves kingdom, kingdom is attacked, prince must reclaim throne and stop end of the world. There's more too it, but that is the spoiler free edition. The overall game play is good as well, but the game is too linear in my opinion. Yes you have some freedom, much more than Final Fantasy XIII, but still not a lot since you are restricted based on story progress. That means some areas are unavailable early on, but become accessible later on, but once you reach Chapter 9, it's totally linear game play and everything outside of what you are doing is locked. No side quests, no deviation from the main story quest at all. The only upside to this is after you beat the game in Chapter 14, you unlock a feature that lets you "go back in time" and lets you do the things you couldn't do after Chapter 9. Like several other JRPG's and RPG's out there, there are mini-games to be had in this game. Chocobo racing and a monster arena where you bet on one team to win are just two of the mini games. Sadly, the monster arena is fairly easy to predict the winner and they cap the max bet at only 9999 medals, so you have to spend a lot of time to be able to purchase the highest valued prizes, as the payouts are usually only 1.2 to like 4 times the base bet. So if you bet 9999 you lose 9999 but then get like 11999 back. The chocobo racing has a trick that if you don't know it's nearly impossible to finish first after the first race, and even knowing it is still difficult in like the 5th race on. Another mini game that has limited use is fishing. You fish, you catch a fish and you get a fillet of the fish you caught. It can be used for cooking if you know, or learn, the recipe. There is an achievement for the first time you fish, and when you max it out at level 10. Getting to level 10 can take a long time as you can only fish in certain places, and then you have to have the right lures to get the fish in those spots. You have 3 modes of transportation in the game, there is a secret 4th one that you can unlock once you beat the game, but I won't discuss that. The first is the classic by foot. There are very rare random encounters on foot during the day, and very few places you run into monsters directly so your experience is most likely going to be quest related. At night, or when your squad mates mention hearing magitek motors, you will get random encounters. The second mode of transportation you unlock is the Regalia, your car. It's nice but it definitely needs maintenance. A cool feature of it is that you can upgrade the car so it uses less gas, is less likely to get dirty, and can go faster. Like walking you don't usually have encounters, unless it's night. And of course, the car has two modes, auto and manual. Auto means your squad mate Ignis drives, while manual the main character is behind the wheel and you control acceleration and turns. The third mode, and a bit into the story, is the Chocobo. Friendly birds that are faster than you are walking, they make travelling to do side quests much easier. As far as character development goes, it's mixed. Unless you spend a ton of time playing and have certain skills already developed, you won't likely get enough AP to use the Ascension menu to level up all of your skills. There are several different menus under Ascension, and each has it's own set of skills and abilities that they unlock. Ascension and the character development is important to survival in this game, so is leveling. Which brings me back to the issue of experience. The game does not instantly give your character their experience upon completing a quest or winning a battle, instead what it does is banks it. When you rest, you get the experience with a multiplier depending on where you sleep. Regular campgrounds, x1, Trailers x1.2, Motels x1.5, a certain hotel x2, and the best, but hardest to get to and most expensive place to stay is x3. And probably the most frustrating part of the game for me was the combat system. It had the potential to be really good, but it requires almost perfect timing to avoid running out of hp every minute in combat. The reason is because the combat is set up to have an avoid button, which is X, and if you don't press it at exactly the right time you get hit anyway. The nice thing about if you do hit X at the right time is a "parry" which seems to function like a counter attack. Upside of combat, when you lose all your hp you go into danger mode and cannot attack, but you are not dead so no phoenix down needs to be used. Instead a potion, hi potion, or elixer will bring your hp up to a certain point on your hp bar, or to the cap of the hp bar if it has depleted that much while in danger mode. I won't even go into the MP aspect of combat, as it's a bit annoying especially if you run out and need to recover it fast. One feature you do use MP for is dodging attacks, if you hold X you are supposed to move through the attack, it's not something that is easy to use if you want to deal damage though, so again, a bit disappointing for combat. The only things I haven't had much complaint on is the monster hunt side quest series and the food benefit system. The monster hunt side quests reward gil and an item, plus you get the experience from killing the monsters, and as you level up your hunter level you also get rewards. Each hunt is worth so many stars, and you need a certain number of stars to level each hunter rank. I admit, I haven't done all the hunts, so I don't know the max level, but I am working on it and having fun, even on the difficult hunts that require specific environmental events. As for the food system, think of any other JRPG and RPG that has edible food. It gives bonuses. There are cafe's that sell food, which are also where you tend to pick up hunter quests. The more expensive the food, the better the benefits you get. There is another aspect of the food system and that is Ignis' cooking. Only when you stay at a campground, Ignis can cook a meal which will take effect the next morning. The rarer the food components, the better the buffs you get. The only thing I'm not sold on, because it's unclear how to do it for the most part, is figuring out recipes. Some you get for just picking up certain items, others you learn from books you buy or signs you read while travelling around. I think you may also learn them by eating specific items from cafes, but I am not totally certain of that. All in all it's a 3 star game. It's worth buying and playing, but it's not all it's hyped to be.

Big fun, small package!

The Vita is still a great portable console in 2021. You can remote play PS3/4 games. There are quite a few vita exclusives that are well worth playing. Plus if you plan to hack (which I'd say most of us are) it's easy enough to do. If you hack it you can easily play PSP and PS1 games natively as well with near 100% performance and compatibility. Pretty impressive for a system this old! For most people I would recommend picking up a Vita 2000 series rather than the older 1000. They are slimmer, lighter, charge via microUSB, have a bit better battery life, and have some internal memory that negates the need for Sony's proprietary and discontinued (thus super overpriced) memory cards. You can pick up an SD2Vita adapter and a microSD card with 256GB of storage for less ... MoreThe Vita is still a great portable console in 2021. You can remote play PS3/4 games. There are quite a few vita exclusives that are well worth playing. Plus if you plan to hack (which I'd say most of us are) it's easy enough to do. If you hack it you can easily play PSP and PS1 games natively as well with near 100% performance and compatibility. Pretty impressive for a system this old! For most people I would recommend picking up a Vita 2000 series rather than the older 1000. They are slimmer, lighter, charge via microUSB, have a bit better battery life, and have some internal memory that negates the need for Sony's proprietary and discontinued (thus super overpriced) memory cards. You can pick up an SD2Vita adapter and a microSD card with 256GB of storage for less than a 16GB Sony card. The only major benefit of the 1000 series Vita is the nicer OLED display. So you really need to decide if that one pro is worth all of the other cons. Emulation can be a little disappointing on the Vita. NES, SNES, Genesis are generally fine...most 16bit and older consoles. But don't plan to play N64 or newer. If you can live with the few drawbacks, this is a high quality portable gaming system that's relatively easy to hack and repair yourself if need be. I would recommend it to just about anyone who hasn't had the pleasure to play on a Vita before.

Good... or not good?

I played this game for 3 months. I visited every single place to explore, completed the main quests and the secondary ones, i found everything and I'm still playing with it! Nevertheless, despite the exceptional technical sector, the beautiful graphics, the music always apt (but sometimes too repetitive), the story ... there is always something that doesn't come back to me. I speak as an admirer of the series, as a person who had the opportunity to play FFVII when I was a teenager. OK, it is not comparable to old episodes, but I found funny and interesting the new game mechanisms. What does not come back to me and leave me perplexed is the plot ... There are strange ways to tell the facts, the chapters too fast, others perhaps strange ... Other events are only ... MoreI played this game for 3 months. I visited every single place to explore, completed the main quests and the secondary ones, i found everything and I'm still playing with it! Nevertheless, despite the exceptional technical sector, the beautiful graphics, the music always apt (but sometimes too repetitive), the story ... there is always something that doesn't come back to me. I speak as an admirer of the series, as a person who had the opportunity to play FFVII when I was a teenager. OK, it is not comparable to old episodes, but I found funny and interesting the new game mechanisms. What does not come back to me and leave me perplexed is the plot ... There are strange ways to tell the facts, the chapters too fast, others perhaps strange ... Other events are only hinted between the various interminable loadings. The open word is huge, but too much bound to the main realm, where however you are not free to move in every single corner of the map. The rest of the world map is then barely touched and explored by train during the last chapters and there is no way to go back. I will not go further to avoid spoilers, but the fact remains that despite having built a huge universe for this game, too many things have left me perplexed and even with a bitter taste. In my opinion, however, remains an enjoyable game, pleasant, full of secrets and long enough for those who, like me, love to search, explore and enhance the characters. It is certainly not easy to put everything together and get a product of excellent quality that satisfies all tastes. This is the reason why the mine is still a positive judgment, even if I would have preferred less stupid and ridiculous secondary missions in favor of a thicker plot, much longer and perhaps better studied to be able to better focus on the real emotional aspects of characters.

Great Experience

I bought the game without the case. The Disk came in great condition, no scratches or dust. It plays great too. It's kept me entertained, its my first proper Final Fantasy game and i'm in love with the crew's shenanigans. The music is great, and so are the graphics. I can spend hours playing this game from all the little things there are to do. I love Chocobos! It'd be a shame to miss out on this Final Fantasy, it's enjoyable and holds up for how long it's been since its release. Thank you DK Oldies for letting me enjoy my experience.

Worth the 10-Year Wait

I don't think I've ever been so satisfied with a Final Fantasy game before. The graphics are beautiful although it's not currently in 1080p 60FPS. There will be an update in December to upgrade the graphics for the PS4 Pro so it'll be in 1080p, 60FPS and more importantly, 4K HD 30FPS. The gameplay itself is top notch with smooth weapon combat along with a variety of different options to choose from. You can straight up melee opponents to death, ask your brothers-in-arms to help, cast spells, and warp-strike to rack up major damage. There are tons of quests to choose from including hunts and drops! The quest locations are marked on the map which is extremely convenient of an open-world game of this caliber. The transportation is unfortunately a bit tedious for ... MoreI don't think I've ever been so satisfied with a Final Fantasy game before. The graphics are beautiful although it's not currently in 1080p 60FPS. There will be an update in December to upgrade the graphics for the PS4 Pro so it'll be in 1080p, 60FPS and more importantly, 4K HD 30FPS. The gameplay itself is top notch with smooth weapon combat along with a variety of different options to choose from. You can straight up melee opponents to death, ask your brothers-in-arms to help, cast spells, and warp-strike to rack up major damage. There are tons of quests to choose from including hunts and drops! The quest locations are marked on the map which is extremely convenient of an open-world game of this caliber. The transportation is unfortunately a bit tedious for traveling long distances on the Regalia. But, you can at least play your favorite tunes from previous games which was a delightful surprise for me being a die-hard Final Fantasy fan. For those who don't want to travel forever, there's fast travel which will save a lot of time in the long run. A little bit into the main quest, you're able to complete a hunt that allows you to ride on Chocobos! They're fun to ride on! The characters are very memorable and are very realistic. Noctis: Chill and lazy Ignis: The mom of thegroup Gladious: Tough and perseverant Prompto: Funny and exciting There are often interactions between the characters that let you know a little bit more about them depending on where you rest. I'm glad Square added that touch of reality and character development in this game. Overall, even though I'm just 20 hours into the game, I'm completely satisfied with its contents. I won't be putting it down anytime soon!