Final Fantasy XV - Windows Edition Review
Granted, Final Fantasy XV has been released for quite sometime, still, the mysticism around its development and release, as well as the opinions for the finished product remain as fiery as day one, it almost feels to me as if it was just released on March 6. The comments, the excitement, the critiques, all there. Yet, there is a statement in common among favorable reviews: Final Fantasy for Windows is the ultimate version of it itself.
After experiencing it myself I am now eager to go through the additions and the changes made for this release. But first, a brief review of my own experience with the base game, and by this I mean everything that was already there, gameplay, storyline, etc.
The Game
As with a lot of people out there, I have conflicting views about certain elements of this game, mainly because it shines so brightly in some aspects and becomes lackluster in others.
The storyline is both good and not so good at the same time, let me elaborate: The chemistry between the whole party, Noctis, Prompto, Gladiolus and Ignis, is so so so polished, it's incredibly easy to forget what your main concerns are within the storyline and just go about experiencing life with your friends. The interactions and little details are absolutely everything for this game, as you can't help but fall in love with the main characters' quirks and manners and you constantly find yourself overjoyed at everything they do. It's friendship at its best and the amount of effort put into making everything relatable and realistic shows a lot when you see the four of them together, yet each one acting on his own accord and reacting differently to everything around you and among each other. These characters are so packed with personality, it drips from every movement they make. I am convinced that after watching them for even 5 minutes you'd be able to identify who each of them is even if they all were faceless mannequins.
That brings us to the not-so-good portion of the storyline: The rest of the characters, even the rest of the storyline is completely overshadowed by Noctis and his party. As if nothing was happenning outside it and the player needs to be reminded of the bad times going on and what they need to do. I am not saying that I dislike the party and what happens between them, not at all, on the contrary, Conflict? Conflict where? The only conflict I see is the fact that we need to tackle down a huge creature in order to ride Chocobos. And Prompto won't like it if he doesn't ride Chocobos, right?
All jokes aside, the atmosphere gets easily overtaken by the mechanics of the party and the side quests and it's only when you encounter the conflicts related to the main storyline, or rather follow them, that you actually see the extent of the sprawling chaos everything is in. Also, there are many other worthy characters within the storyline that simply don't get as much time or attention because they are so disconnected from the rest of the gameplay until you finally get to them. Even all of the content on the Kingslaive movie is shown as little glimpses, and I'm not saying they should add the whole movie to the game, that's absurd, but I do feel that if you don't watch Kingslaive you might not fully grasp an already disconnected part of the story that's developing.
The gameplay, again, pros and cons. Regarding combat it is ambitious enough to want to create a party of four where three of them are AI controlled and yet they work and support each other perfectly. For the most part, it's accomplished, each of them perform their duties are they must, they cover when they must and try to get out of eachother's way to their best abilities, but as it is to be expected, it's not the case always. Prompto in particular seemed to have a knack of getting in the way, which was curious since he usually should stand back. I am by no means bashing this, in fact I found it almost justified because of his quirkiness and adventurous personality, and then I remembered that I was taking into consideration their personalities for every move they made, and that is beautiful, even if Prompto does get in the way sometimes.
Noctis' ability to warp, when used well, gives great depth to combat, escaping and creating strategies. The tech bar abilities of each character help and redefine how you engage in fights each time and the linked attacks are rewarding and exciting to manage.
It is true that it might not be the most complex combat system ever to be seen but it not exactly the kind of system that renders you useless as a player. It is possible to miss attacks, dodges and parries, it is possible to ruin strategies, it is very possible to get incapacitated by a single blow, specially if you are an over achiever like me and take up on any challenge that gets in your way.
Everything else regarding gameplay, driving, fishing, leveling up, choosing abilities and weapons is a matter of learning and trying things. There are many things to be on the lookout for, the weapons you are using, the abilities you've chosen, the crafting of your elemancy, the accesories you can wear... in my opinion, a little less convoluted on those things and a little more complex on the actual combat would have made everyone happy.
In the graphics section, well, everything is pretty much stunning. The world is huge and worked on to the last detail, traveling and exploring is an experience in itself, even photography and fishing are completely relevant due to how everything looks and how it makes you feel, besides, the expressions, mannerisms, landscapes and CGI are tremendously engaging. I might have sighed a thousand times while looking at a character's face upclose or by a particularly beautiful scenery.
Finally, in the immersion section, let me just say, it feels as if everything in this game was thought about, specially when it comes to the main party. Ignis taking you to the side for a bit to confide in you and ask about your wellbeing or the whole cooking system giving boosts to whoever likes the dish Ignis makes the most, Gladiolus reading a book while car-traveling, that book not being the same book after a few rides because, people get through books when they actually read them, you know?, Prompto being his quirky self and always having a comment, a joke or a remark to make, unless he's too tired and just dozes off on the Regalia while looking at the scenery, sometimes even the most talkative have a moment of silence, everything, everything feels so lifelike, and not only the guys playing on their phones while camping, but also the rest of the people, it is a living and breathing world out there and people have fun, worry, go about their days, they're not there just to please you or sell things to you or serve as NPCs, they live there and you happen to be visiting, and even as important as you might be for the game and the storyline, these people won't stop living their lives for you, specially if you are in an area where the main conflict seemingly has no reach.
Also, Chocobo racing, staying at Inns, commenting on the pictures taken throughout the day, playing around when idle... everything has life of its own and it's so rewarding to see this world be so thriving and bustling, you are always excited.
That is not to say that is the only thing that's immersive, getting news about the situation back in the Kingdom, going outside the safe zones and seeing the striking difference in ambiance, it's unpleasant in the best way, as unpleasant as going out on a road trip with your friends and then facing the reality you left intact, now destroyed.
Having said all of this about the base game it is now that we jump onto the release for PC, which is what's truly new nowadays:
The Royal Edition and the Windows Edition
There are two editions released, the Windows edition available on Steam which is the complete game, with new features, all of the Episodes (Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto), the Comrades multiplayer mode and some skins available for weapons, Regalia and characters, as well as new objects to equip. The complete list is as follows (from the Steam Final Fantasy XV site):
KEY FEATURES:
Includes all of the exciting content released as part of continuous game updates (Chapter 13 alternate route, off-road Regalia customisation, character swap feature and more!). And comes with all of content released in the Season Pass - Episode Gladiolus, Episode Prompto, Multiplayer Expansion: Comrades, and Episode Ignis
Get ready to be at the centre of the ultimate fantasy adventure.
Main game:
- FINAL FANTASY XV
New Features:
“Insomnia City Ruins: Expanded Map” – a new map that takes you right up to the end
First Person Mode
Armiger Unleashed
Use of the Royal Cruiser has been unlocked, with new fishing spots and recipes
Additional quest to acquire and upgrade the Regalia TYPE-D
Additional Achievements
DLC:
FFXV Episode Gladiolus
FFXV Episode Prompto
FFXV Episode Ignis
FFXV MULTIPLAYER EXPANSION: COMRADES
FFXV Booster Pack+
FFXV Holiday Pack+
*Moogle Chocobo Carnival tickets are not included in the FFXV Holiday Pack+.
Bonus Items:
[Weapon] Masamune (FFXV Original Model)
[Weapon] Mage Mashers (FFIX Model)
[Weapon] Blazefire Saber XV (FFXV Original Color)
[Weapon] Gae Bolg (FFXIV Model)
[Regalia Coloring] Platinum Leviathan
[Regalia Coloring] 16-Bit Buddies
[Regalia Coloring] Cindymobile
[Regalia Coloring] Gold Chocobo
[Outfit] Royal Raiment
[Item] Travel Pack
[Item] Camera Kit
[Item] Angler Set
[Item] Gourmand Set
And also the 4K High Resolution pack that happens to be almost as heavy as the game itself as a separate, but free, download.
What is the Royal Edition then?
The Royal Edition is the pack of content that the initial releases for XBOX ONE and PS4 did not have and that are now part of the Windows Edition AND the game itself, while the Royal Pack is only the new content in case you own the game already. In short, what you have to get in order to have the Windows edition in any of those consoles.
Windows Edition Performance
As it would be no surprise, players all over the world have praised the quality of the game graphics on PC, since PCs are much more capable to handle new technologies Final Fantasy XV really outmatches itself in front of consoles, specially with the 4K texture pack, and the differences, while not major, are noticeable, but with higher graphics come higher challenges, such as how well the Nvidia features: TurfEffects, HairWorks and ShadowLibs perform (although I have to say that having these enabled didn't harm the performance in my case). Also the framerate can get kind of picky while in battle on default or preset settings, so if you want to play, you might want to mix and match on the settings screen until you get the right performance.
Overall
While it is understandable that people feel like all of this content should have been part of updates or patches, it cannot be denied that the whole team behind FFXV has been working hard to make this game even better than it is, and while it does have its flaws, they barely take from it at the end of the day. FFXV was as anticipated as it can get, and people are generally pleased with the outcome of so many years of work, and sincerely, so am I.