Honorable Mention #3: Final Fantasy XV
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Features Editor Ishmael Romero: Final Fantasy XV had a lot working against it leading up to its release. First there was that 10-year long development cycle that saw a name and platform change as the newest generation of consoles was released.
When coupled with the open world, road trip, and more action-oriented focus that would help to set it apart from its predecessors, long-time fans of the Final Fantasy series grew worried. Thankfully, after finally getting our hands on the highly anticipated RPG, those same elements that had fans worried ended up being Final Fantasy XV’s strengths. As a result, Final Fantasy XV is one the most unique and refreshing entries to the series we’ve seen in quite some time.
While the combat certainly is much different from what many were expecting, it’s far from being a simple action game. The game encourages players to try new approaches and to constantly switch their gear to maintain an edge in battle. Your party is there fighting alongside you, doing everything they can to help you achieve victory, bringing some much needed life to what was normally a matter of choosing actions from a menu.
Then there’s that beautiful, open world. It’s difficult to care about a world that you hardly see, one that’s just constantly looming in the background as mere decoration for the story that developers want to tell. The world of Eos is more than window dressing, though, as it is teeming with life and challenges for anyone willing to seek them out. The world is in dire straits, and it requires much more than you just following the story to help it. There are dungeons full of deadly creatures, people needing help with day to day life, and beautiful vistas waiting to be captured with your camera.
Yet, even with these differences, Final Fantasy XV managed to maintain the core of what makes the series so great: The characters that grow on you, an enemy you can’t help but like a little, and a story that sends you through the world on a quest to save it all even though everything is stacked against you.
I went into Square Enix’s latest release hesitant after having been a fan of the classics for so long. But when it was all said and done, it was clear that they had recaptured that Final Fantasy magic.
