FINAL FANTASY XV WAS WORTH THE WAIT
Channel: 1,999,999 VIEWS
Date: 2016-11-29

About a dozen hours into Final Fantasy XV, after I’d slain countless monsters and traveled hundreds of miles and bonded with tight-knit group of friends, a strange feeling swelled in my chest. The four of us stood on the rocky beach of a picturesque lake surrounded by towering green trees. The sun began to set, bathing everything in a gorgeous yellow light. 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. As the shutter made its loud “click!” it dawned on me: I’m really going to miss these guys when this is over.

Like its predecessors in the long-running series, Final Fantasy XV is an epic role-playing game that spans dozens of hours. The kind of game where you travel across a fantastical world in order to save the planet from some kind of ultimate evil. But it also differs from past Final Fantasy games, which were often defined in part by linear stories and strategic, turn-based combat. 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.

The core of Final Fantasy didn’t get lost in this transition, though. Instead the new elements bolster the experience, making for an exciting journey across a fascinating world. 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. 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.