Final Fantasy XV is an extremely fun romp in the first half and an extremely non-committal tragedy in the second. The plot is okay, but paced very strangely with all of the emphasis put on all of the wrong things. It simultaneously draws attention to the problems of its world and says nothing about them in favor of portraying itself as a typical fantasy epic. The characters have zero agency, as it feels as though they simply go wherever the plot takes them, which I can see resulting in many feeling frustrated and which I personally believe results in Noctis's so-called development feeling unearned.

That all said, GOD, that first half of the game has a feel to it unlike anything else I've played. The open world is expansive and empty, yes, but against all odds I believe this to work in the early game's favor. Bluntly speaking, the main cast is the reason to play FFXV. They're all engaging and lovable characters and their chemistry and banter with one another is off the charts; after playing so many games where you're told the characters are friends and have nothing to prove of it, the palpable sense of love between the boys is like a breath of much needed fresh air. Thus does traversing the world- as long and admittedly tedious as this may be- truly does succeed in feeling like a road trip with your loved ones. There's a reason why I believe the interpersonal drama to be better than that of the main plot. On the topic of agency from earlier, I do feel as though the lack thereof amongst the cast is crucial to the narrative, for as much as FFXV fails to fully capitalize on its own themes. All of the characters are pawns in the cruel and unusual scheme of callous beings far beyond their comprehension from long before their time. They're often given no choice but to follow the path laid out before them like lambs to the slaughter. But check out how cool the Six are! Isn't Noctis so cool? At least Ardyn's a good antagonist and a pretty great parallel to Noctis, in concept.

The presentation of the game is great. It looks good and sounds even better. The gameplay of FFXV ranges from fun to frustrating entirely depending on how ambitious it's feeling at any given point in time, but when it's fun it feels pretty fucking great. Its semi-modernized world never bothered me; in fact, I think that contrast to be found in the combination of aesthetics was one of the cooler aspects of the game. I liked fishing, I liked Prompto's photography, I liked camping... Despite everything, I cannot understate how much I liked Final Fantasy XV. Is the game good? I don't know! Did I, even in all of my critiquing, enjoy my time with it immensely? Very much so. If you happen to spot it on sale, then I would suggest giving it a shot, at the very least.

(Last thing I'll mention is how ridiculous it is how much you have to turn to external material in order to see all that FFXV's world has to offer. Locking some of its best/most important stuff behind DLC and a fucking movie of all things is bokers.)