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One of the most accessible entry points to the Fire Emblem franchise, but it comes with a few foibles that might put established fans off.
Like many Fire Emblem games, our story here is centred around some heroic folk having to resist oppression and deal with a great big fantasy bust-up. In this case we take command of the twin scions of Renais, Eirika and Ephraim. The pair escape the invasion of their home by an evil empire and rally forces across the world to fight back, as well as investigating what caused their once-allies to turn so bad. The overall narrative's never really the draw in Fire Emblem though - it's all about the character writing! It's reasonably good stuff, and taking the time to do multiple playthroughs to find all the different interactions is as rewarding and satisfying as ever. The twins at the core of the story are a bit Game-of-Thronesy though, if you get my drift, and their interactions are just on the side of too uncomfortable.
The general gameplay is the usual Fire Emblem fare. It's a tactics RPG, so we've got a big grid around which we move our units, paying attention to terrain and the series' typical weapons triangle to make sure that you've the best chance each turn of winning your battles and not losing your units. Of course, this is Fire Emblem, so when I say "losing" a unit I mean that they die; yep, we've got permadeath as per the series' wont, and it's part of what makes any entry in the franchise brilliant for stat-obsessed weirdos who are happy to plan every turn meticulously and then reset through furious tears because one unit died (hi, it's me, I'm the problem, it's me). However, The Sacred Stones upsets some fans because it lets you level grind units in a repeatable dungeon; I personally love this because it helps alleviate some of the challenge, making the entire game more accessible. It is optional though, so you don't have to engage with it.
Like many Fire Emblem games, our story here is centred around some heroic folk having to resist oppression and deal with a great big fantasy bust-up. In this case we take command of the twin scions of Renais, Eirika and Ephraim. The pair escape the invasion of their home by an evil empire and rally forces across the world to fight back, as well as investigating what caused their once-allies to turn so bad. The overall narrative's never really the draw in Fire Emblem though - it's all about the character writing! It's reasonably good stuff, and taking the time to do multiple playthroughs to find all the different interactions is as rewarding and satisfying as ever. The twins at the core of the story are a bit Game-of-Thronesy though, if you get my drift, and their interactions are just on the side of too uncomfortable.
The general gameplay is the usual Fire Emblem fare. It's a tactics RPG, so we've got a big grid around which we move our units, paying attention to terrain and the series' typical weapons triangle to make sure that you've the best chance each turn of winning your battles and not losing your units. Of course, this is Fire Emblem, so when I say "losing" a unit I mean that they die; yep, we've got permadeath as per the series' wont, and it's part of what makes any entry in the franchise brilliant for stat-obsessed weirdos who are happy to plan every turn meticulously and then reset through furious tears because one unit died (hi, it's me, I'm the problem, it's me). However, The Sacred Stones upsets some fans because it lets you level grind units in a repeatable dungeon; I personally love this because it helps alleviate some of the challenge, making the entire game more accessible. It is optional though, so you don't have to engage with it.
Despite the criticism, I think Final Fantasy XV remains a strong entry into the franchise and one that, should you manage to connect with it emotionally, can be incredibly cathartic.
Our protagonist this time around is Noctis and his 3 bodyguards, Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis. Noctis is due to be married so he and his buddies take off on one last boyband road trip, but as they do the empire of Niflheim invade his home, kill his dad and nick his family's magic crystal. Noctis suddenly finds himself forced into a quest for a set of magic weapons in order to win back the crystal and save the world. One of the criticism leveled at XV is that its story isn't well-told and that's true to a degree; the choice to make XV an open world adventure does take a lot of the impetus out of the narrative. Worse yet, the open world falls apart in the final third and we're shoehorned onto a very linear track for the last hours of the game which feels jarring.
But what fun those preceding hours are! Much of the game is spent driving around in the gang's car before hopping out to fight enemies or do quests - or, yes, to do fishing, the most important activity in an RPG. There's a lot to do in XV's world but equally important are the moments spent outside, just driving with Noctis' friends. This is where so much of the incredible character work in XV comes out; the four friends are exceptionally well-written and realised, and engaging with them is a joy. Whether you can connect to the cast like this - and whether you can accept sinking into the peace of driving and enjoy the atmosphere - will go a long way to defining your final opinion of XV. For me the strength of writing absolutely carries XV, although I'm also still a fan of the real-time combat and brilliant world-building.
Our protagonist this time around is Noctis and his 3 bodyguards, Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis. Noctis is due to be married so he and his buddies take off on one last boyband road trip, but as they do the empire of Niflheim invade his home, kill his dad and nick his family's magic crystal. Noctis suddenly finds himself forced into a quest for a set of magic weapons in order to win back the crystal and save the world. One of the criticism leveled at XV is that its story isn't well-told and that's true to a degree; the choice to make XV an open world adventure does take a lot of the impetus out of the narrative. Worse yet, the open world falls apart in the final third and we're shoehorned onto a very linear track for the last hours of the game which feels jarring.
But what fun those preceding hours are! Much of the game is spent driving around in the gang's car before hopping out to fight enemies or do quests - or, yes, to do fishing, the most important activity in an RPG. There's a lot to do in XV's world but equally important are the moments spent outside, just driving with Noctis' friends. This is where so much of the incredible character work in XV comes out; the four friends are exceptionally well-written and realised, and engaging with them is a joy. Whether you can connect to the cast like this - and whether you can accept sinking into the peace of driving and enjoy the atmosphere - will go a long way to defining your final opinion of XV. For me the strength of writing absolutely carries XV, although I'm also still a fan of the real-time combat and brilliant world-building.
Final Fantasy's first foray into the PS2 era, and it's an incredible one. In many ways a distinct and weird entry into the franchise, X stands out amidst its fellow Final Fantasy games with an unique charm and flair.
In a change from the norm for Final Fantasies, this time we follow a jock! Tidus is a professional sportsball player in the technofuture city of Zanarkand when he's pulled through a vortex and wakes up in the land of Spira where it turns out his home was destroyed thousands of years ago. He winds up tagging along with Yuna, a summoner on a quest to defeat a monster called Sin that terrorizes Spira, joining in her pilgrimage across the world.
X has a lot of aspects that I simply adore. For one, Spira is the most imaginative and frankly weird worlds in a Final Fantasy to date; it captures that feeling that fantasy as a genre thrives on in a way that other more familiar genre settings can't hope to match. I also love its hyper-traditional turn-based battling, which ditches the series' long-standing ATB system in favour of a far more old-fashioned option with clear turn ordering on the side that can be manipulated through skills. I'm also a massive fan of the summons in this game, which are essentially VIII's Guardian Forces done right.
In a change from the norm for Final Fantasies, this time we follow a jock! Tidus is a professional sportsball player in the technofuture city of Zanarkand when he's pulled through a vortex and wakes up in the land of Spira where it turns out his home was destroyed thousands of years ago. He winds up tagging along with Yuna, a summoner on a quest to defeat a monster called Sin that terrorizes Spira, joining in her pilgrimage across the world.
X has a lot of aspects that I simply adore. For one, Spira is the most imaginative and frankly weird worlds in a Final Fantasy to date; it captures that feeling that fantasy as a genre thrives on in a way that other more familiar genre settings can't hope to match. I also love its hyper-traditional turn-based battling, which ditches the series' long-standing ATB system in favour of a far more old-fashioned option with clear turn ordering on the side that can be manipulated through skills. I'm also a massive fan of the summons in this game, which are essentially VIII's Guardian Forces done right.