To be frank, after nearly a decade of delays I was expecting Final Fantasy XV to be awful. What I was not expecting; however, was a uniquely Japanese take on the open-world genre. To say that FFXV exceeded my expectations would be an understatement. The game completely shattered my expectations and blew my mind. Between the main story, hunts, side quests, and dungeon crawling, there is more than a hundred hours of content in this game. Moreover, with a day/night cycle and seamless transitions from game world to dungeon with no loading screen, the game feels like a living world. Nevermind that the main story of the game is mostly flash with no substance, and that the ending makes no sense whatsoever-- the main attraction to this game is experiencing the world, and it will provide a game experience which is well worth your money. One more thing of note-- this game is an easy platinum trophy; however, you will want to continue playing long after you get the platinum. All of the optional dungeons-- including the most mindblowing dungeon in the game are not worth any trophies, but they are worth your time.
The good:
- A massive open world with a ton of things to do.
- More than a game-- it is an experience.
- Optional dungeons which are mindblowing-- and very challenging!
- Fantastic music.
The bad:
- Story is all flash and no substance.
- The ending makes absolutely no sense.
- Pretty bad initial loading times, as well as some bad loading times when fast traveling.