#STEALING THE PAST FFXV SERIES#

ItвЂ™s a lavish spectacle that loves to focus on the mundane a deeply serious story of love, loss, and friendship thatвЂ™s also incredibly silly at times a fantasy realm filled with elements ripped from science fiction and modern-day life and a celebration of blatant stereotypical JRPG character types, yet the core cast grows beyond their tropes into personalities that feel like real people with real emotions.ДЇor all of its tonal similarities to past entries, FFXV is a vastly different experience to actually play. Like that game, FFXV feels like a collection of contradictions that, despite themselves, gel into a cohesive whole. Of course, true to JRPG tradition, a modest journey rapidly spirals into something grander, with setting the squad on a path to rescue the world from an imminent darkness.ДЄt its heart the game is a road trip storyДЇFXV reminds me a lot of Final Fantasy VII, a game which marked the seriesвЂ™ ascent to true blockbuster status.

They listen to the radio, but you, the player, have the option to put on classic FF soundtracks. When they head off road and walk through the wilderness, they encounter all manner of monstrous beasts to battle. The quartet drive perhaps the most luxurious car possible, while traveling long highways dotted with small towns and lots of charming little diners. Even when they spend the night camping in the wilderness, their hair still looks perfect.ДЄt its heart the game is a road trip story about best friends, a car, the open road - doused in Final Fantasy-style. The four dress entirely in black and look every part the boy band. HeвЂ™s joined by three friends: gruff bodyguard Gladiolus, stiff and serious guardian Ignis, and the goofy-yet-troubled Prompto. Early on, he sets out to a nearby city to marry his childhood friend Lady Lunafreya. I spent nearly 40 hours saving the world, but what really made me tear up was, near the end of the journey, stumbling across a goofy selfie.ДЇFXV puts you in the role of Noctis, a sullen 20-year-old prince who looks ripped out of a Japanese RPG playbook, complete with the ability to wield both magic and huge swords, and an inability to come to grips with the heavy responsibilities of adulthood. Yet for all of its towering ambitions and big, new changes, the parts of the game that have stuck with me are those more personal moments between four friends who truly love each other. Instead the new elements bolster the experience, making for an exciting journey across a fascinating world. The core of Final Fantasy didnвЂ™t get lost in this transition, though.

#STEALING THE PAST FFXV SERIES#

FFXV has been in some form of production for over a decade, and the end result brings the series into the modern day with a vast open-world and dynamic, fast-paced battles. But it also differs from past Final Fantasy games, which were often defined in part by linear stories and strategic, turn-based combat. The kind of game where you travel across a fantastical world in order to save the planet from some kind of ultimate evil. Like its predecessors in the long-running series, Final Fantasy XV is an epic role-playing game that spans dozens of hours. As the shutter made its loud вЂњclick!вЂќ it dawned on me: IвЂ™m really going to miss these guys when this is over. Prompto, the blonde, goofy member of our quartet, had just set the timer of his camera and skittered back to the scenic spot so we could all take a photo together. The sun began to set, bathing everything in a gorgeous yellow light.

The four of us stood on the rocky beach of a picturesque lake surrounded by towering green trees. About a dozen hours into Final Fantasy XV, after IвЂ™d slain countless monsters and traveled hundreds of miles and bonded with tight-knit group of friends, a strange feeling swelled in my chest.

Stealing the past ffxv