Gamers, a notoriously fickle bunch, have come to loathe the Long Delayed Game. Look at Silicon Knights’ action RPG “Too Human” or Maxis’ god game “Spore.” They promised to revolutionize not just their respective genres, but the entirety of electronic entertainment, before budget cuts and missed deadlines hobbled their 2008 launches.
“Final Fantasy XV,” the latest in Square’s flagship RPG series, is a game 10 years in the making. Though it’s impossible to say how many iterations of the game Square Enix had to make and scrap before arriving on the current version, the road-tripping, action role-playing game set in an open world that’s equal parts modern and magical is worth the wait.
Like many extensively-delayed games, it has some issues. Yet these barely detract from the fact that “Final Fantasy XV” is one of the most ambitious, creative and flat-out fun Japanese role-playing games in recent memory.
It’s been a rough road. For the last decade, the series has slipped away from its inherent strengths of slick combat, likeable characters and goofy anime melodrama toward increasingly-convoluted gameplay mechanics, grandiose but near-incomprehensible plots and angstier plots.
“Final Fantasy XV” doesn’t completely pull out of that vortex. The combat is flashy and challenging. But the shift from turn-based to real-time battles has lost some of the strategy and nuance of past versions, and introduced a problematic camera.
The story features the strongest characters yet by focusing on its four central characters, without the extraneous goofballs present in previous games. But the big story beats don’t track and plot points are borrowed from everything from “The Lord of the Rings” to “Star Wars.”
Where “Final Fantasy XV” really succeeds is in its open-world structure. The world of Eos absolutely sprawls — its design a unique mix of modern cities, sports cars and smart phones mashed up against Godzilla monsters, evil empires and ancient magic. Your very own sports car, the Regalia, rarely makes it a chore to move between all the game’s locales.
If you’re not interested in cruising through the lengthy main quest, you can hunt monsters from “wanted” posters hanging in road-side diners. You can camp with your companions. You can waste hours fishing. You can explore the game’s vast deserts, rolling plains and beautiful cities and listen to your party banter about it all.
The final product isn’t perfect.
For how much it gets right - innovative and stylish combat and engaging content with AI party members - there’s often a dropped frame, uncooperative camera or wonky plot twist to soften the magic somewhat.
But taken as the sum of its parts, “Final Fantasy XV” is a rare game that, despite a decade in development, has emerged to make good on its promises. The opening credits call it a “Final Fantasy for fans and first-timers,” and with its charming characters and genre-changing design, “Final Fantasy XV” has re-established its franchise as one of gaming’s most important series.
