Final Fantasy 15 Review Part 1 (Pre Chapter 9)

Here is my general review of the first half of Final Fantasy 15.  I'll avoid spoilers to the best of my ability.  This is focused on the more open world section of the game which encompass what fans have hailed as the better half of the game.

I have completed almost of the possible content that I am able to complete before post game. Clearing Costlemark Tower was quite a challenge but one I enjoyed greatly, but unfortunately since the dungeon is harder than everything in the main story, I will be crushing most of the main bosses.  This is nothing new to me as I suffered a similar problem in Final Fantasy 6 and 5 where over leveled character create lots of dead bosses.

So far, there are two major problems I have with Final Fantasy 15.

The first is that, for all its flashy elements and customization, magic in 15 just seems so, lacking. As mentioned in an earlier blog post, Final Fantasy 6 is my gold standard when it comes to this series. And the magic in that game is exactly what this one lacks.  Notably, I want my Ultima Spell.  For those who do not know, Ultima is a spell that ignores defense and elemental attributes and almost always hits max damage if it does not just break the damage limit instead.  Especially with annoying enemies like Black Flans and Red Giants in 15, Ultima would be a welcome addition to killing them much faster.  Its not that these enemies are dangerous per say, but because they resist everything, they take a disproportionate amount of time to kill.

The second problem is also a comparison to Final Fantasy 6.  Besides the main four characters, a couple villains (Arden) and a few of the supporting characters like Cid, Iris, and Arenea, I don't care about any of the characters of the plot. I find Luna so far to be a boring and one dimensional messiah archetype character. The romance between her and Noct does not feel real.  I understand this whole subplot is an arranged marriage but the whole game constantly tells the player that the two do care about each other.

All in all, the game seems to favor exploration more than story, which is fine, but Final Fantasy is a series that is supposed to have a compelling story.  I have felt the spirit of the series wane starting with Final Fantasy 12, and got worse with 13. 15 feels like it has a better plot than 12 so far, but since the story part of the game begins after the point I am currently at, it shall be seen if this game lives up to 6 which is consider the best game in the series if not the best game of all time.