Final Fantasy XV improvements
Posted: November 23rd, 2017, 5:38 pm
***WARNING - MINOR FFXV SPOILERS BELOW***
Dear VGCers,
Happy Thanksgiving! Released just days after Thanksgiving last year, Final Fantasy XV features beautiful fall vistas and plenty of chilly weather (courtesy of the Blizzaga spell), so it seemed like an appropriate time to talk about the game's peculiar post-release history as a follow up to my review.
In my review for FFXV, the game scored less than stellar. That review, however, was based on the version of the game that shipped on a disc on November 29, 2016. I felt that the game merited further discussion in light of the extensive patches and content updates which have since made it a much better experience. Ever since release, the developers have continued working on the title nonstop, delivering improvements and additional free content (as well as paid DLC) at a steady pace. The unusual thing about these patches and updates is that more often than not they include not only gameplay tweaks and improvements but also significant story content!
One major problem with the original release is that several key plot points were inadequately explained, leading to too many unanswered questions at the ending. Significant characters lacked screen time and met their end abruptly. This has since been almost entirely rectified through added scenes and exposition. There is now no way an attentive player can get to the end of the game without feeling a sense of resolution at least in the storylines of the main cast of the game. For those inclined to explore, there's tons of optional scenes and interactions that can be encountered throughout the world that serve to enrich the story. More background was given to the villains as well, furthering the complexity of their motivations. It seems that Ardyn and Ifrit came together both through their shared hatred of humanity and their status as denigrated outcasts. The former romance between Shiva and Ifrit humanizes both deities in a way that we've never seen in the series before. Gentiana is an absolutely incredible presence in every scene she appears in. Luna's struggle is more impactful now that we understand what she's actually going through.
I recently replayed the latter half of the game (from Altissia onward) on the Xbox One X. This brings me to the subject of graphics. The stock consoles struggled with this game before, with numerous frame pacing issues and a general lack of texture filtering and anti-aliasing on characters especially. I can confirm that FFXV on the Xbox One X is all-in-all the best-looking game I have ever played. The lighting was dazzling before in spite of the other graphical issues. Everything else has been cranked up to 11. Truly spectacular.
When I got through the expanded Chapter 12, I was absolutely floored by the new story content, because I didn't expect it at all. When I got to the end of the game, I felt that I had a much better picture of what the developers intended. It doesn't excuse the fact that the game released in an incomplete state, nor does it vindicate the "games as a service" model, but it does bear mentioning that the developers seem committed to finishing what they started, no matter how long it takes. And it doesn't stop here - apparently they have plans to continue working on FFXV well into 2018. Needless to say, I will be following these developments closely.
I still believe that the battle system is fundamentally misguided - especially the magic system - but I can confidently say that FFXV is at least worthy of the name. It is a new Final Fantasy with a lot of new ideas that I think will help move the series forward. It is also very reflective of the Zeitgeist of game development in its approach. For what it's worth, I would probably raise the grade for the current version of FFXV from a D+ to a B-.
Dear VGCers,
Happy Thanksgiving! Released just days after Thanksgiving last year, Final Fantasy XV features beautiful fall vistas and plenty of chilly weather (courtesy of the Blizzaga spell), so it seemed like an appropriate time to talk about the game's peculiar post-release history as a follow up to my review.
In my review for FFXV, the game scored less than stellar. That review, however, was based on the version of the game that shipped on a disc on November 29, 2016. I felt that the game merited further discussion in light of the extensive patches and content updates which have since made it a much better experience. Ever since release, the developers have continued working on the title nonstop, delivering improvements and additional free content (as well as paid DLC) at a steady pace. The unusual thing about these patches and updates is that more often than not they include not only gameplay tweaks and improvements but also significant story content!
One major problem with the original release is that several key plot points were inadequately explained, leading to too many unanswered questions at the ending. Significant characters lacked screen time and met their end abruptly. This has since been almost entirely rectified through added scenes and exposition. There is now no way an attentive player can get to the end of the game without feeling a sense of resolution at least in the storylines of the main cast of the game. For those inclined to explore, there's tons of optional scenes and interactions that can be encountered throughout the world that serve to enrich the story. More background was given to the villains as well, furthering the complexity of their motivations. It seems that Ardyn and Ifrit came together both through their shared hatred of humanity and their status as denigrated outcasts. The former romance between Shiva and Ifrit humanizes both deities in a way that we've never seen in the series before. Gentiana is an absolutely incredible presence in every scene she appears in. Luna's struggle is more impactful now that we understand what she's actually going through.
I recently replayed the latter half of the game (from Altissia onward) on the Xbox One X. This brings me to the subject of graphics. The stock consoles struggled with this game before, with numerous frame pacing issues and a general lack of texture filtering and anti-aliasing on characters especially. I can confirm that FFXV on the Xbox One X is all-in-all the best-looking game I have ever played. The lighting was dazzling before in spite of the other graphical issues. Everything else has been cranked up to 11. Truly spectacular.
When I got through the expanded Chapter 12, I was absolutely floored by the new story content, because I didn't expect it at all. When I got to the end of the game, I felt that I had a much better picture of what the developers intended. It doesn't excuse the fact that the game released in an incomplete state, nor does it vindicate the "games as a service" model, but it does bear mentioning that the developers seem committed to finishing what they started, no matter how long it takes. And it doesn't stop here - apparently they have plans to continue working on FFXV well into 2018. Needless to say, I will be following these developments closely.
I still believe that the battle system is fundamentally misguided - especially the magic system - but I can confidently say that FFXV is at least worthy of the name. It is a new Final Fantasy with a lot of new ideas that I think will help move the series forward. It is also very reflective of the Zeitgeist of game development in its approach. For what it's worth, I would probably raise the grade for the current version of FFXV from a D+ to a B-.