And when I say my collection is getting embarrassing, I mean it.
Final Fantasy XV: I Want to Believe
Confessions of a Final Fantasy fanboy.
In my nearly five years writing for PixlBit I think I can safely say that I have installed myself as the resident Final Fantasy superfan. I have written about the long-running role playing game series more than any other topic over the years, and have always met each main title entry with excitement. So why do I feel so much apprehension towards the impending release of Final Fantasy XV? Shouldn’t I be breathlessly counting the days, instead of dreading it? Well, that’s a complex question to answer, but I want to believe in FF XV. I’m just not sure if I can.
If you’ve followed the development of this game you surely know the story, but I’ll summarize it briefly. The Final Fantasy XV that we know today began life as a game called Final Fantasy Versus XIII. It was part of the ill-fated Fabula Nova Crystalis project, which was Square Enix trying to build an entire franchise around the release of Final Fantasy XIII. That didn’t pan out as expected: the mobile game Agito Final Fantasy XIII was renamed Final Fantasy Type-0 and moved to the PSP and later to consoles; two originally unplanned sequels to XIII were released (Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII); and Versus XIII went into developmental hell for seven years. Final Fantasy Versus XIII was eventually renamed Final Fantasy XV at E3 2013, and director Tetsuya Nomura stepped down from the lead role on the project, allowing development to continue with Hajime Tabata taking the reins.
That’s a lot to take in, and historically games with such a protracted development cycle (the game we now call FF XV was announced in 2006) end up missing the mark. A large part of that has to do with a building up of hype to critical levels, and the fact that, as a game passes that five-year mark, the industry is evolving and new games are breaking ground, leaving these problem children behind. While the argument could be made that Final Fantasy XV has actually only been in full development for about three-four years (just what were they doing before then?), at the end of the day this game will have to be a truly legendary experience to even begin to recoup its production cost.
For the record, I have not liked what I have played of Final Fantasy XV. The original demo, which was released as a pre-order bonus for the console release of Final Fantasy Type-0, was a gorgeous looking game that had, in my opinion, a haphazard battle system that somehow felt too shallow and overly complicated at the same time. The second demo was even more of a head scratcher, having all the feel of an overblown tech demo than anything even remotely resembling what the final product would be.
It's frustrating, because I love the concept of this game. Take a world that looks and feels like a “real” world like ours, but throw in those iconic Final Fantasy beasts like goblins, bombs, and behemoths, and make them look better than they have ever looked in the past. Assemble a group of characters that, unlike most of the previous FF parties, have known each other for years and let us explore those relationships. Then have them explore this world on a literal road trip, and you have a truly unique premise in a series that is known for shaking things up with each release. All of that is quite exciting to me, but I can’t help but have this sinking feeling that Final Fantasy XV is going to be a colossal flop in my eyes.
However, lately there have been things coming out of Square Enix that have begun to change that feeling in my gut. Admittedly, it wouldn’t take much to turn me around; I’m such a Final Fantasy apologist that I’m always ready to drink the Kool-Aid. First, there was this video highlighting some of the creatures in the world of Eos, where XV takes place. It’s also a showcase for some of the music provided by Florence + the Machine, which I’m sure will divide fans down the middle. As much as I have fond memories for the Japanese vocal work seen in FF VIII and X, I’m a huge Florence fan, so this video was Super Effective on me.
After that, almost a full hour of early gameplay was released. Now, I should mention that I have been trying to stay relatively dark on this game. I’ve been avoiding articles about it, especially anything talking about the story. I also refuse to engage with any of the cross media items that Square Enix has built around the game. There is that anime series called Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, and the recently released CG movie Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. I’ve decided that I’d rather come into this game fresh, and if I really get into the world I will seek out the rest of the media.
But I’ve gotten away from the crux of the matter, and that is that this hour long gameplay video (which I purposely only watched about 20 minutes of total by skimming through so as not to learn too much about story) got me, well, excited for this game. I don’t think I’ve actually been able to say that since the name was changed from Final Fantasy Versus XIII. It looks like a Final Fantasy game with a lot of new elements, and at the end of the day isn’t that every Final Fantasy game? This isn’t the Dragon Quest series, where each game explores well-worn game mechanics and themes. No, Final Fantasy has always been about changing almost everything while keeping some core components from game to game. So far, FF XV looks like a ridiculously gorgeous game with some genuinely likeable characters, and it seems like the battle system might be a lot deeper and engaging than the demos led me to believe. Take a look for yourself and see what you think:
There was never any doubt about me buying Final Fantasy XV. I have purchased every mainline FF game on day one since Final Fantasy VII, and my roots with the series go all the way back to the first game. But I was planning on buying it simply as a collector of Final Fantasy games (which is reaching almost embarrassing levels at this point), and not because I actually was looking forward to the game. I still have some major reservations regarding this title, especially with such a protracted development cycle and the change in directors, but now I’m going into this release cautiously optimistic. I hope this game blows our collective socks off, especially as a fan of the series that doesn’t want this to be its swan song. I’ll leave you with one last video that I just watched as I was writing this, which brings all the feels thanks to the music.
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