Review for Final Fantasy XV. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 29/11/2016 The version for PC came out on 06/03/2018
Final Fantasy XV is a more than good game, victim of problems and internal changes in Square Enix that have undermined the depth of gameplay and the organic narrative. The difficult production situation was a contributing factor to the repeated postponements of the title and it is therefore not surprising that fans reacted with fear in the face of the double delay of Final Fantasy XV: Comrades.
To aggravate the situation, the closed online test of the multiplayer expansion of Final Fantasy XV it was not the rosiest: very serious crash and matchmaking problems forced the software house to extend its duration to patch the problem, complete with an accompanying official apology. Fortunately, the malfunction has been resolved in the full version of the expansion, although the disconnection of one or more players from the session could still cause a block in the progress of the current mission.
Final Fantasy XV: Comrades it is certainly not without problems, the most serious of which is undoubtedly the duration of frequent uploads, often more than a minute and a half even on PlayStation 4 Pro and / or when playing offline. It is in fact possible to live the experience offered by Final Fantasy XV: Comrades also in singleplayer, as long as you accept the idea of facing battles that are considerably longer and more tedious than necessary. Not infrequently matchmaking combines beginners with over-leveled players and this helps a lot during the most difficult missions but, in the case of a solo experience, the bots will have a level equivalent to that of the human player and fairly mediocre stats.
Despite the 90% of the game's assets are taken from the base title, Final Fantasy XV: Comrades still manages to present a fascinating atmosphere and perfectly in line with the events of the story; the main campaign of version 1.0.0 requires about 10 - 15 hours to complete, but the introduction of new missions with the release of the next updates is not to be excluded. It has already been confirmed the possibility, in the future, of impersonating Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis and of course the remaining Royal Seals and the camp not yet accessible will be made available.
The gameplay of Final Fantasy XV: Comrades has remained almost unchanged compared to the online test, if not for the obvious greater variety of equipment available. These are recoverable from various merchants scattered around the maps or as drops of defeated enemies and can be upgraded through crafting materials. Each material provides different experience and statistical gains based on its nature and the process of evolution, customization and optimization of weapons will certainly not be "refined" as in a Diablo-like, but it is fun and offers that sense of advancement and completeness that was missing, in fact, in the online test, giving the right push for players to repeat the same missions over and over, in search of the right material for their favorite weapon.
The quests vary in nature, from hunting a certain number of creatures, to taking down a single and powerful boss, passing through the protection of a building or escorting it to a car; whether it is attack or defense, Final Fantasy XV: Comrades always offers the right opportunity to play with a decent arsenal, all accompanied by spells and unique abilities provided by the Royal Seals ... Without forgetting the photos that the annoying reporters Vyv will not fail to shoot during the battles, capturing even the least opportune moments.
Missions, aesthetic customizations, and plot advancement depend on the diffusion of electricity in the kingdom of Lucis: the nation, plunged into darkness after the disappearance of the Chosen One, asks for the joint effort of Angoni, the Royal Guard and the Hunters to ensure that the population can survive pending the return of the King. By concluding the missions, the player obtains money and Meteorshard, the latter needed to power the Lestallum power plant and activate the various electrical nodes scattered around the map. Furthermore, the end of the battle also sees the arrival of the chef on duty (usually Monica, but there are unexpected appearances) who, based on the ingredients collected, will cook a dish that can offer statistical benefits until the end of the next quest.
If even little or nothing original is shown in Final Fantasy XV: Comrades, the visual impact of the expansion is remarkable, as well as the editor for creating your own alter ego. You can save up to eight different avatars, which will share inventory and in-game currency, but not level and active buff. The achievable aesthetics amaze both for quantity and photorealism and with the right investment of time it is possible to faithfully reproduce within the world of Eos in a "warrior of light" version. Even the customization of clothing and colors is not a small thing, while it lacks variety in hairstyles, beards and accessories, so it is plausible (and hopefully) that future updates will add content to the editor as well.
In addition to biblical uploads, version 1.0.0 of Final Fantasy XV: Comrades does not miss also many variegated glitches, from the harmless disappearance of the soil of Lestallum to the most serious blockade of an ongoing mission due to the failure of enemy creatures to spawn, the latter unfortunately very frequent in both online and singleplayer games. On the other hand, the gameplay turns out much more dynamic and versatile than that of the original game, as well as devoid of the problems related to the camera and the abuse of healing items during the clashes, completely absent in the expansion.
Last, but not least, the narrative sector: the expansion of Final Fantasy XV begins six months after Noctis disappeared and is experienced from the perspective of an Angone who survived the attack on Insomnia and that thanks to the intervention of the Oracle he managed to recover his magical powers. The events of the story are few, dense and treated with superficiality, touching and showing practically every secondary character of the title, without however offering insights for any of these.
Impossible not to mention the highly questionable choice to modify the events of a cutscene of the main game only to make the player's avatar interact with an extremely important character and offer that fanservice so dear to the land of the Rising Sun, but which in this case (unless in the future the thing is also updated in the base game) causes a bifurcation of the story, of which there are now two different versions: the elementary and hasty one of the main title and the best animated one with additional dialogue and interactions, for players who have invested their money in optional paid content.
Final Fantasy XV: Comrades is nothing more than the improved version of the original combat system; it currently has several technical issues that will almost certainly be fixed in future patches. It remains a far cry from multiplayer co-op titles like Capcom's Monster Hunter, but it deserves its price thanks to satisfying clashes, high-level design and music, and an interesting background for the protagonist and his actions.
► Final Fantasy XV is an Action-JRPG game developed and published by Square Enix for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 29/11/2016 The version for PC came out on 06/03/2018
