Feature: What Do Longtime Final Fantasy Fans Think of Final Fantasy XV?

Im sad i dont see tactics or dissidia in the list but at the same time understand why....

Can't vote about XV for now since it may be a good while before I play it - most of FFX-2 and FFXII dilogy are still queued up before it. But a long time FF fan myself who has done his best to progress through the series chronologically and in original forms, I look forward to it even if it was conceptually born as a Fabula Nova Crystalis spinoff like Type 0 rather than a flagship entry. Which explains full action combat among other things (XVI might revisit something ATB-like again; incidentally, Paradigm Shift remains my favourite battle system in the series so far). But as a FFXIII fan, who am I to mind Fabula Nova Crystalis flavours anyway? XD

What makes me look forward to this most, of course, is the open world. Final Fantasy worlds are always enticing and beckoning to explore, so this is something I hope can become a trend. I wasn't uncomfortable with X (which, contrary to many XIII detractors, proved to be the least "spacious" and most linear FF flagship in my experience to date), but relatively seamless open worlds have undeniable charm that can only befit the franchise's worldcrafting skills. So far I've tried the Platinum demo; it was short but beautiful and even endearing in its way.

There's also the urban fantasy nature of the world, promising the same kind of contrast between lulling familiarities and underlying stark differences from our world that was among the deal sealers with VIII and XIII for me. You drive a car around and then meet goblins and adamantoises? Count me in.

Favourite FFs so far? VIII, IX and XIII share one top tier. If I had to make a top 5, I'd probably throw in VI and V to wrap up the chart, but it's hard to arrange the first three.

@AlejandroMora I've yet to play Tactics, but Dissidia is my favourite fighting game in general. A superb mix of two genres with a truckload of content and options.

I should have stopped playing it once I finished the story. The post story stuff is leaving a terrible taste in my mouth.

My top 5 is almost the same as Robert Ramsey! Never knew someone who loves XII as me! That said the difference is that to me VI is on the top and IX isn't in the list.

@nhSnork agreed and i really hope that Arcade version in Japan gets a PS4 port, they have shown it running on PS4 hardware after all (not to mention the arcade machine itself is a modified PS4)

either that or release PSP games on PSN so you can play them on PS4

Crisis Core>All

FFXV makes it into my top 5 by default because I've only played 6 and FFXII is terrible.

I got the platinum last night & poured in over 95+ hours into the game. I really enjoyed it, despite some major flaws, which had it been any other game would've killed it for me. Stood by it & it was totally worth it.

I like it, bit short and the difficult stuff is optional and the summon's suck but I don't think I qualify anyway i've only played 5 FF game's including this one and my 2 favourite's are the online one's The open world, leveling system, chocobo's, fishing, driving are all awsome though and I personaly liked the side quest's as well. And the most fun will be finding the rest of the god weapon thing's that's where it seem's most difficult (I never use guide's or youtube) but this seem's pretty much optional unfortunately. If they had of made it needed to advance in the story it would of given the game more meat and longevity in my opinion and made it more like the FF game's (at least the one's i've played) of the past. Overall though I really like it.

@NathanUC Why?

I'm only on chapter 3 with 13 hours down but I'm loving every minute of it.Going to avoid the main plot for a while and do the excellent hunting missions something I loved from FFXII.The bond between the four main guys is great and although repetitive I like the things they come up with during your adventure.A huge improvement on FFXIII!
I think FFVI is my fave followed by FFVII,FFIX,FFVIII and lastly FFX

@Miles_Edgeworth I really enjoyed the story and first 40 hours or so, but the optional stuff at the end (ch15) is just so boring/lame. It's crazy easy, everything takes forever to do, and it all feels pointless. I was going for the plat, but the dull grind just isn't worth it.

All time favorite was ix, but this tops it and goes beyond. What I loved most was the story. I'm hard on game stories usually but this one had me in tears... literally like 6 or 7 times. There is amazing character growth and connection, its funny, heartbreaking and best of all, it has the most epic battles you or i could ever imagine. Definitely loved the use of plot twists new and old from the best and most memorable parts and climaxes of past final fantasies. The addition of crazy weapon use and warping was probably my most favorite new aspect. Because I love to fight and challenge my courage to conquer those who are way stronger than myself is the greatest feeling to overcome. And this game compliments this amazingly. Especially when you land those triple A+ battles. There is literally no game better. Thanks Square! You have made this FF9 fan boy one happy soul. (/n_n)/

FFXV as an entire product is a strange beast. It feels welded together at parts where the old Versus material was stripped and replaced, parts feel like they were only just thought of and developed half a year ago but 78 hours and a Platinum later and I'm going "Well, yeah it was alright I guess".
It's a foundation for a better FF game, I just hope XVI uses it as a base and doesn't just go for something completely different gameplay wise.

@OldSchoolHeel How is it repetitive? Please do tell I would love to prove you wrong P:

I haven't bought the game, but I have tried it out, and I can still firmly say it's not for me. There are a lot of games I want to love, but can't get into because of a real time combat system coupled with a party mechanic. When I have to rely on AI party members, I always feel like in some way the game is playing itself. For me that's like if you were able to see through your TV screen to the electronic components within while watching a movie. It's just not fun.

@kyleforrester87 I ended up doing most of the dungeons before finishing the story (I just didn't have the last weapon). I don't see the point of the flying car at all when it's hardly faster than driving but WAY more dangerous (and slower then fast travel). I'm not into fishing, so that part of the game is a grindy/confusing trophy as well. Getting fishing to max level will certainly be my last trophy.

@AlejandroMora Yeah, doesn't have a number so it doesn't get in the list, but FFT is definitely top 3 for me.

I'm still playing the last guardian and only play ff xv about 1 hours so I don't have opinion yet, although I like what I play so far.

One thing for sure though, I don't understand why squareenix doesn't put king glaive story in to the game rather than just a movie, watching king glaive is a must if you want to know the background story and the character motivation, without watching it the story is lacking. It will be really cool if the game is about nyx in the first 10 hour and then change to noctis afterward.

I really love XV... Surely it's not the best one in a lifelong series... But it calls back to VIII my all-time favorite...

A piece of advice... Just play it with an open mind.

You Will enjoy it.

@Frank90 those are exactly my favourites. XII has a 91 on metacritic we can't be the only ones loving it XD though I can understand why some people don't like it.

FFXV is an addicting, wonderful mess, I feel terrible because it came so close to being a true masterpiece. It needed like one more year in the oven...I know it sounds crazy but I honestly think Tabata got 2-3 years tops to actually work on it. Anyways, I played every FF and I love it: I hope the same team gets to make XVI with a similar structure (first part of the game), it feels like they totally can give us a a timeless modern FF.
Will support XV in every way, looking forward to new content

@OldSchoolHeel That makes three of us, love driving to the Balamb Garden theme.

@NathanUC @OldSchoolHeel I think both you lads are playing it incorrectly to get the most enjoyment out of the game. I do a few side quests to buff up, half a story mission, some more side quests and hunts then finish the story mission. I've been playing for 2 weeks now, 38 hours in (under 3 hours a day) I think Im at the start of chapter 7 and love it. Today during a day off work I've literally played ff15 for 5 hours and couldn't wait to switch it off, that not FF15s fault, that's because sitting in front of a screen gets boring. If you just run through the story then mop up later you are of course going to be bored (I did this with gta v and quit about 2 hours into mopping up), if you mop everything up before continuing with the story your ocd levels will go into overdrive. You need a happy medium.

My favourites are FF8, FF7, FF1, FF15 and FF10. In that order. 12 and 6 are sat just outside!

Have not purchased Final Fantasy 15 I will I am looking for a Digital purchase so the price needs to come down.

I am in the middle of Final Fantasy 7 it is still Awe inspiring to me The story is still my favorite of all time.
The mini games customization secrets choccobos racing and breeding Materia battles cuteness could go on and on.
I also enjoyed Final Fantasy 9 and Final Fantasy 12 starting out in the sewers.

@themcnoisy As I said, I loved it when I was playing the story (with a healthy mix side stuff on the side). I really really enjoyed the first 40 hours of it. Even if I'm "playing it incorrectly", that doesn't make my complaints invalid. For me, the combat is still very boring, the side quests are mindless, and the pacing is all over the place post story.

My 5 favorites would be FFVIII, FXIII-2, FF Type-0, Crisis Core, and FFVI. If I went further than top 5, add XIII, then XV.

recently when I realized that what happened to FF XV and SquareEnix's strategy about replacing nomora's team by tabata's team and changing whole of the Story and characters that nomora wants to Creating, i dislike it...
When I realized he wanted to tell a great story in three parts(a trilogy) but SquareEnix prevented them, i dislike it...

Leaked news about what happened to FF XV:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1323493

"Damn on SquareEnix"

I've really enjoyed all the Final Fantasy games I've played, and my favourites are X, VI, XII VII and IV - all of which I'd rank among the best games I've ever played.

I haven't played as much of XV as I'd like but I've really enjoyed what I have played so far. The battle system is fun and has a lot more depth to it than I initially thought now I've got to grips with it! The world is beautiful and a joy to explore, Yoko Shimomura's score is lovely and the lead characters are likeable. I didn't like the Duscae demo and wasn't terribly excited for a long time but I think Square-Enix have done a really good job here.

Loving FFXV so far. I think I'm in Chapter 13. I wish the pacing was a little better, and I do agree that some of the story threads/characters seem unexplained so far.

But it's definitely in my top 5. The combat, which a lot of people thought was going to be a problem, is MUCH better than expected. The dungeons for the most part felt like PS4 versions of a dungeon I would find in FFVI. I like the character interaction. The car rides get kind of boring after a while. Later in the game it felt like more of those had fast travel than in the beginning.

My top 5 in PROBABLY this order (it changes sometimes) - VI, X, VII, XV, IV? My top 4 choices are easy. I feel like XII was one of the most forgettable ones for me and there were too many aspects of VIII that I downright hated. I have yet to play IX, which sounds like it would change my order a bit.

I've played every mainline entry besides the MMOs, I think XV is really fantastic in spite of its weak storytelling. I think it's on the fringe of being top 5. I would rank VI, VII, IX and IV comfortably above it, the 5th spot would either go to XV, X or V (maybe I'm underrating XII, I look forward to playing that again with the remaster).

@NathanUC I actually typed "playing it incorrectly to get the most enjoyment out of the game." How you play the game is up to you obviously, but I read alot of unfair criticism when a game attempts to prolong the experience and include more stuff to do whenever you want which is a big plus in my book. I'm at 40 hours and am only upto chapter 7, you have obviously rushed it more than me.

I got to a point earlier when I was retrieving vegetables, recovering dog tags and cargo left in vans and yes it was boring, so I finished a couple to collect the rewards and cracked on with the story and hunts for a couple of hours, those cheap and easy exp side missions are more fun and add variety after a trawl through a long dungeon.

@themcnoisy I certainly don't feel like I rushed the game at all. I didn't skip any dialog, I didn't skip any fights, I paid very close attention to everything going on in the world, and took 322 screenshots and a few vids. I just avoided filler content that was extremely boring to me. Only a few of the hunt monsters were remotely interesting, the rest were horrible (I think I'm around rank 7). The dungeons were very cool and a lot of fun, but like I said, I had those finished before finishing the story (when I was still enjoying the game).

I don't think it's unfair criticism to call the post game boring. It's bland filler content that SOME people might enjoy. I did my absolute best to get the maximum amount of enjoyment I could from this game, but I couldn't stretch a 50-60 hour game much past that.

@Feena AHhahahahaha indeed but I swear every FF fan that I know dislike FFXII!
Oh and about FFXV I wouldn't mind if they give us a trilogy or at least a direct sequel using the same engine and world and some of the characters! The production would be way faster and we could get the masterpiece that FFXV almost was.

I love XV its very well done and you can feel the love put into creating this game. My only complaints are that the story doesn't dive as deep as it should but I believe that will peiced in with dlc then they will go on to sell a complete version later on. The other one is the repetitive remarks from everyone but I come to expect this sort of thing from open world type games, I just wish there was more variety.
My favorites in order are X,XII,XV,VIII,XIII.
VII and IX will likely enter the top 5 from what I hear but I have yet to play them. I was planning on buying the ps1 version s but I will wait and see what comes of this 30th anniversary jazz.

@Frank90 I'm almost sure they'll make some sort of sequel/prequel to FFXV using the same/similar engine. After making XIII, SE talked about how much time/effort it takes to create a world that it would be a waste to only exist in one game. That's why they decided to make XIII-2 instead of a new numbered game (what would have been XV at that time).

I personally feel like the game is getting a free pass from a lot of reviewers. I have not played a more monotonous RPG in years. I cannot believe just how weak the side quests are, they form the bulk of the game and are the worst kind of pointless, story-less MMO style fetch quests I have seen in a long long time.

I love JRPG's but I think its clear they are being left behind as far as story telling is concerned, consider how old the likes of Skyrim or even going back to Baldurs Gate are and look how strong some of their side quests were, its not a new concept to have meaningful stories to set up side quests.

After 50 hours of play and popping the '80 side quests completed' trophy I cannot take any more 'collect five frogs', 'kill these beasts in that dungeon you already cleared out', 'take a photo of that' type quests, I am havingbto force myself to play it and just mainline the primary story quests.

This is an okay game at best in my humble opinion, it sure as hell is no Nino Kuni or Witcher 3.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the battle system but 10 hours in its starting to grow on me as I work everything out. It has more depth to it than I originally thought (but damn prompto irritates me so much with his constant dying). I wish they would fix the frame pacing issues cause right now that's what gets to me the most (I can look past the basic fetch quests and repetitive monster hunts). Even at the lite version on pro the frame rate is weird

Just finished it. That ending though.

This is comfortably in my top 3 Final Fantasy games alongside VII and VIII, initially I hated the fact that they switched to a real time battle system but having spent some time with it I've grown to love it, even more so when wait mode is turned on as you almost get the best of both worlds. At the moment I'm about 20 hours in and only on chapter 6, I just keep getting distracted by chocobos or driving and listening to balamb garden or VII's oversold theme and I rarely fast travel because of the music. Tonight for example I found a couple of fishing ponds near one another and that was almost my entire gaming session taken over with. Yes it's not perfect but what game is and there are some frame pacing issues in high resolution which are completely eradicated in lite mode, luckily for me I'm one of those people who barely notice such issues so I can enjoy in high resolution (I suspect this'll be patched anyway). For me this isn't just one of the best Final Fantasy games but one of if not the best game on PS4 for me

Wait mode and the ascension tree is what elevates this game to masterpiece Final Fantasy status.

Yes I love it, truly love it.

@zimbogamer Yeah, you need to stick the best Bangle you can find, or two, on him asap!

I've not played this yet as I was completely put off by the Platinum Demo but after everybody saying how good the combat works I downloaded the Judgement Disc demo on my Japanese account and it was a lot better. I'll pick this up when it hits the £10-£15 mark, though.

It's good to see that quite a few loved FFXII, I can't wait for the remaster.

Final Fantasy IX will always be the best for me! Will pick up 15 when it is around £25 and wait for the half price season pass in the near future.

I never got into FF mainly because of its turned base combat, but will be picking this up sometime soon just need to finish some other games first.

I've been playing the series since the start on the NES, from age 13 to 39. There are few things that have been part of my life longer, honestly, especially when talking about pop culture and media. I'm very thankful for the direction that the series has taken with XV, after falling off of a cliff with XIII and its family. I haven't finished the game, but am 60 hours in. I wish that there was an option between "love it" and "its ok", because my feelings fall somewhere in between. There are many things that are great about the game, but many where it falls short of other more recent RPGs from other studios as well. Right now, I'm looking at it as a good experience, and hopefully the starting point of another golden era from Square as they make more.

@OldSchoolHeel I had the same experience actually. Yes there are many a quests that require a bit of here, go fetch, but, they all have a unique set of how, where and when. And with this there are still many ways that combine how you decide to do it. For instance if I were to go do a hunt that is beyond my level I would say hey I got the whole day to myself, before it, imma go race my purple chocobo and finally beat iggy! That or whoa hey there's a fishing new fishing spot time to get that weirdo rare fish. But wait dude there's an ingredient that ignis needs for a new dish nearby too, grab that, grab my elements for magic balls, camp. New day customize my weapons put new stronger gear on and head out to kill these bird. I get there and I'm like oh what there's a dungeon eh? Let me kill these birds first. So I end up doing crazy epic combos warp attacking from bird to bird (literally battles are a giant play ground) counter attack them, call my boy gladdy to slam the downed birds, I throw magic at them, take my Lance and jump spear them counter attack with my ring take my huge sword out pull and hold back and circle..... charging..... charging.... he's about to hit me-BOOM SHAKALAKA! Triple A+. Damn I'm good. But it's about to get better... a new dungeon to raid that is mine to conquer, take a little chocobo ride to the dungeon and then the real fun begins... and I could go on and on about how much there is to mix it all up. But if you don't mix it up, you can easily get frustrated and overwhelmed if you don't take your time and just enjoy what's around you during a quest. I love the pictures, it's a vivid reminder of all the things/feelings I went through and the things/monsters I saw/fought and keeps me ever so sucked in to keep on pushing those 100+ hours... a bit long of a statement but overall there are just so many different things to do to mix it up, in my opinion. Try what I do and just get distracted by all the little things lol

_{Language -Tasuki-}

I liked FFX more than I did FF7, but that's just me. I liked FF7 and while picking between 7 and 10, it's really close, but there were so many badass bosses in FF10, but they both had tons of content and treasures in them.

@OldSchoolHeel sorry for the late response but I do agree now that I've finished the game it does hold your hand quite often... but I hope the future updates and season pass changes that and the repetitiveness for ya! I think the highlights for me was the combat, character growth, story and the things lost along the way... I cried like 5 times!!!

@OldSchoolHeel what you got a beanie? That's awesome. And actually I'm kinda turning towards your statement and I was left wishing and hoping for more... it's alright if you're bitter tho, I know I am after this first DLC with nothing to do with the story or anything... so weird. Anyway hope it picks up sooner than it falls but thanks for the tip on watchdogs I was skeptical but I'll give it a shot if I can relate to you about how ff15 actually kinda sucked compared to the old ones... Happy gaming! P: