A game of substantial highs and lows that just cannot find its consistency to be considered a ‘great’ Final Fantasy.
The biggest surprise is that for bringing in Platinum Games to help with development, the combat feels like such a surface level attempt at the type of hack ‘n slash that studio does better than almost anyone. And no matter how many particle effects the game throws at you (far too many btw, in some of the more action packed fights it’s a fucking nightmare to see anything) its clearly trying to compensate for the fact the combat is built around smashing Square and occasionally dodging.
But there’s some positives to be had; a decent story with fairly rounded characters and motivations, an epic and soaring soundtrack that stands alongside the best the series has to offer, the Titan fight (the one time it actually feels like Platinum Games gets to pull their muscle and an effective and emotional ending - just a shame getting there gets a bit tedious.
The biggest surprise is that for bringing in Platinum Games to help with development, the combat feels like such a surface level attempt at the type of hack ‘n slash that studio does better than almost anyone. And no matter how many particle effects the game throws at you (far too many btw, in some of the more action packed fights it’s a fucking nightmare to see anything) its clearly trying to compensate for the fact the combat is built around smashing Square and occasionally dodging.
But there’s some positives to be had; a decent story with fairly rounded characters and motivations, an epic and soaring soundtrack that stands alongside the best the series has to offer, the Titan fight (the one time it actually feels like Platinum Games gets to pull their muscle and an effective and emotional ending - just a shame getting there gets a bit tedious.