Let's share our first (spoiler free!) impressions!

[Nice]

My review of the game:

I vaguely remember the original trailer for Final Fantasy versus XIII. It was a long time ago and seemingly right around the time I was playing Final Fantasy XII.

For years, I always thought the trailer was for Kingdom Hearts 3 for some reason, as terrible as that sounds.

It never mattered to me that Final Fantasy Versus XIII was delayed, forgotten and put aside. Final Fantasy XII was lackluster and XIII, the successor, was bland and mediocre.
I never finished either game.

When it was announced that Final Fantasy XV, the game Versus XIII eventually became, was being released in 2016, I could care less. My love affair with the Final Fantasy series was over.
After years of believing in Square Enix and the series, I was done. I was done with Final Fantasy and I was done with Japanese Role Playing Games (JRPG).

However, with each new trailer I became curious about this new game. Four friends on a journey across a fantasy world. Ok.
The return of summon monsters. Ok.
Gorgeous graphics. Meh.

Then it was announced at E3 2015 that Final Fantasy VII was being remade for the PS4. Suddenly my interested in the series was rekindled.
More information was revealed about XV as well, but I could care less about the four metro-sexual dudes on their journey to come out the closet. Final Fantasy VII was being remade. The game that seduced me to the series. The game that I completed 100 percent. The game I beat 20 times in one summer. smurf Final Fantasy XV, give me VII!

Then the hype for the remake died down. I played a bit of the FF VII PS4 game and was satiated for a bit.
This was when I started paying attention to XV. Square announced a tie in movie and YouTube series for the game.
Square showed what a summon looked like in the game – Ramuh. That’s when I got the bug. In older Final Fantasy games, summons were cool. They were allies you’d call into battle who would unleash devastating damage on your enemies. Awesome.
The same principle applies in XV, except now the summons are smurfing huge in scale and cinematic glory.

This is when I decided that if reviewed favorably, I would pick the game up.
I’ve played the Witcher 3 and Dragon Age 3, role playing games set in an open world with dynamic stories and interesting characters.
I’ve played what I consider to be the best modern RPG series in the world, Mass Effect. My tastes have matured over the years. JRPGs are stuck in the past. That’s my issue with the majority of them. Some teeny bopper had the fate of the world placed on his shoulders. Also some big breasted nymph would accompany our hero to show her titts – I mean save the world.

The Witcher 3 and the Mass Effect series blew that crap out the water. Not simply because sex and violence were introduced, but because of the emotional weight placed on the player.
Could XV deliver?
No. But that’s ok.

I started playing FF XV the day it was released last month and I love it. It’s definitely a game for fans and new comers, as the title screen in the game reads. It’s also quite fun.
While everything is not perfect, like the poor controls and camera in dungeons, the game does have some redeeming qualities.
Riding Chocobos is awesome. Driving the Regalia is awesome. Killing giant beasts – awesome. Being murdered by Quetzalcoatl only to be saved by that badass Ramuh summon – smurfing awesome.

I couldn’t tell you what the smurf the story is. Your dad is murdered and some imperials want to hunt you down and some other imperials don’t. You’re supposed to be marrying this oracle to bring peace to the world. I don’t smurfing know. Kill trout and don’t think too much. Camp and eat luxury food in the woods.

Also, save yourself the trouble and don’t watch the movie Kingsglaive – it’s the worst movie I’ve seen in 2016. Aaron Paul, Sean Bean and Lena Heady should be given Oscars for trying to save that piece of trout.
The YouTube series, brotherhood, is better. It’s shorter, and offers insight into XV’s characters.
Other than that, stock up on elixirs and prepare to be weirded out by all that bro love.

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Thoughts?