The reviews are in!

[FinalxxSin]

It's the curse of the FF brand in all honesty. The more entries that come about, the more divided the fan base will become. Since every game from FFVI and onward has been radically different from the previous game, this end result is even more apparent. It isn't uncommon for a person to view something being or not being "Final Fantasy" to them based on past game experiences that they deem to be their favorite.

[Del Murder]

Like I mentioned somewhere else, your impressions will be different depending on if you review FFXV as a stand alone game with standard expectations and without any of the history of its 10 year development or the legacy of the series it calls itself a part of. Many of these reviewers seem to be doing that, and the consensus is that it is a good game. Is that the fair way to look at it? I'm not sure. It's not how I plan to look at it. My time is too valuable to sink myself into 'another good open world RPG'. I want to play the next great FF game. Is FFXV it?

[Slothy]

or when it was suggested that Cid might be a woman this time.

I have no issue with a female Cid. But as someone who has been known to work on a car or two here and there, I find her choice of work attire not only unusual, but probably a little bit dangerous as well. Just shows a general lack of concern for on the job safety.

[theundeadhero]

My expectations for disliking it aren't based on it not living up to "the Final Fantasy name." I expect to not enjoy it because I dislike open-world games, am not a fan of the combat style chosen, and prefer games with heavy story elements instead of what current reviews say FFXV lacks. The only reason I'm giving it a chance is because it does have the FF name.

[FinalxxSin]

I dislike open-world games,

Then I have to ask why you even bother playing Final Fantasy mainline games at all, given that a majority of them do have a large open world. X, X-2, XIII, and XIII-2 are the only ones I can think of that have a more linear structure in terms of navigation.

[Fynn]

Except a traditional world map and an open world are two completely different things. Before XV, FF had never been open-world. Sure, you had relative freedom in roaming the world map, especially if you compare that to X or XIII, but you still really only had access to a very limited space between various points of the plot.

I'm pretty fresh on this, since I'm doing a marathon right now, but take a look at FFVII. After you leave Midgar, you find yourself on the world map, but the space you have available to you is not that large and the only place you can really go to is Kalm. Sure, you can sequence-break and go visit the chocobo stables first, but that will still get you nowhere. Not to mention that the world map is not an actual open world in the sense that it's a scaled down represenation of some parts of the world, something that is completelyu different to XV's design philosophy.

So yeah, people who enjoyed the old world maps won't necessarily enjoy XV's open world because it's a completely different thing when it comes to player experience.

[FinalxxSin]

...

They aren't as different as you make them out to be. Sure, traditional world maps were a lot more common back in the past due to technology limitations. FFXV's open-world today is the equal to world tradition maps back in the past. As you had pointed out in your post, in the past the open-world was not able to be accurately depicted. If the worlds of some of the past FF mainline games were to be realistically scaled, they would turn out like the world of FFXV. The biggest difference today is that the person doesn't have to try and insert imagination nearly as much to generate an image; technology can make it happen.

[Fynn]

But that change in scale makes a huge impact on how the game is played

[FinalxxSin]

But that change in scale makes a huge impact on how the game is played

No, it's the same situation. You can either stick to the main story mainly or explore the world and conduct in side activities of various degrees if present.

[Fynn]

Except that, in all older FFs, the world map is basically just a means of reaching specific destinations, rather than the whole point of exploring. You don't get any real quests and diversions until the very late game. It is a huge difference, and it's why many fans of previous FFs are not wild about what's being offered in XV.

[FinalxxSin]

My prior point stands then. The benefits, or lack of benefits, of exploring are irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that it was both in past and present presented as an option.

[Del Murder]

I guess an option to do nothing is still technically an option.

[Fox]

My prior point stands then. The benefits, or lack of benefits, of exploring are irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that it was both in past and present presented as an option.

Not so at all. It's not really an 'option' in XV. Every story quest has a recommended level - you don't technically have to do side stuff in order to progress through the story but you will really struggle if you don't. It starts off not too bad: recommended level 4? Well I'm level 3, no problem! So I complete the mission, and now I'm level 4! Well the next story mission is recommended level 8. Hmm... OK, I did that. Now I'm level 6. Oh the next story mission is level 12. It gets harder and harder and harder to progress with the story unless you do a bunch of side content.

Also: the open world is the be all and end all of XV. The other games always put progression through the story first, then started gradually opening up some more chances to explore if you wanted. XV chucks you into Hammerhead and says "off you go!" FFVII took you through Reactor 1, Reactor 5, Meeting Aerith, Wall Market, Corneo's Mansion, Sector 7 Plate, Shinra Building, Discovering JENOVA, Battling Rufus, Escape from Midgar... all before it even put you on the world map. Which, as was mentioned above, isn't what you would call 'open to explore' at that point.

The fact that after 25 hours you get an airship and can go off the beaten path if you choose isn't really the same thing as the open world of XV. So it is 100% valid to say "I don't like open world games" without including previous games in the series within that group.

[Formalhaut]

I think the main thing that will detract the open-world element of FFXV for me is the side-quests. It was a similar situation with my experience of Dragon Age: Inquisition. Stunning open world, lots of exploration... but the side-quests actually filling that world were very displeasing. Find a letter here, read it, go to location, the end. Sometimes they don't even require combat. And it required you to actually read the letter, as opposed to helping a traveller orally tell you his issue, which gives you a sense of humanity.

I still like Inquisition, but it can be a tad of a slog.

[theundeadhero]

They make my point for me. There's a vast middle ground between open world in FFXV and from point A to B in FFXIII. Most games, especially the older ones, fall in that middle ground. The ones that come closer to either extreme are my least favorite.