Funny enough, in my latest issue of Game Informer I got in the mail, they also did a One Year Later article on FFXV discussing it with the staff their trials and tribulations as well as plans for the future. Most of it was old info if you've kept up with interviews, probably the only new info was the challenges of making the Open World elements which is more interesting from a background setting since Tabata mostly explained how their development schedule was still based on their more linear design, and then the issue with XV being developed as a service model and the team's failure to really get that across to the fans before launch.

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As for my own thoughts, I enjoyed FFXV, even if it wasn't really the type of game I genuinely like. I'm not fond of Action-RPGs outside of Dark Souls/Secret of Mana style games, and I generally dread Open World tropes. I largely had fun and I enjoyed the main cast and the novelty of the road trip style they were shooting for. I appreciated having more to explore and I loved the design of the actual dungeons you can find with the party banter and amusing events like the Mine Shaft with the Goblin infestation that feels like a horror movie as the little smurfers kept pulling stunts on you along with ambushes. The plot is weak, but serviceable, it's the cast that feels more lop-sided with half of them being really well developed and the other half kind of feeling like they were there to fill a quota. I may change my mind on these elements once I get around to the DLC but I'm waiting for the bulk of it to be released before venturing a new playthrough.

Frankly, I felt XV succeeded better than expected considering the tumultuous development it had and the unfounded fan expectation placed upon it when it was still Versus XIII. I feel my general disinterest in Versus XIII helped save me from too much disappointment. With all that said, the game has some weak elements in the story and gameplay; and while it did generally surprise me with several cool elements and moments, it didn't save the game from me feeling like it was a middling experience. Not bad, but not great either. Perhaps a second playthrough with all the DLC can change that, but that may be awhile since the team seems to be gearing up for some new ideas for that in the coming year. None of this was helped by playing the fantastic Persona 5 and currently playing through FFXII:TZA which both are still really flooring me and showing how SE was way ahead of it's time ten years ago, whereas XV kind of felt like SE's attempt to appeal to the modern market base.

I'd still recommend the game, but I doubt I would hype it up as some of my more personal favorite FFs.