It took Square Enix twelve years to finally finish development on Final Fantasy XV, and while the end result was a good game by many measures, it also felt needlessly bloated and meandering in many ways. There’s a saying going around now that Final Fantasy XV went from being the game that would never come out, to being the game that would never stop coming out, with Square producing several spin-offs, a slew of DLC expansions, a movie, an anime and more, all in an effort to get the most out of the project. The latest venture to be born from this is Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition HD — a pared-down ‘demake’ designed for weaker hardware — and while it does a great job of capturing the spirit of the original, a little too much is left on the cutting room floor.
The story of Pocket Edition HD follows that of the original game almost to a tee, making nips and tucks where necessary to keep the experience truncated and bite-sized. You play as Noctis Lucis Caelum, the prince of the kingdom of Lucis, on a road trip with his three best friends to be married to a princess from a neighbouring kingdom. Things quickly go awry when the empire of Niflheim reneges on peace negotiations and captures the crown city of Lucis, leaving Noctis no choice but to go on a quest to claim the power of his bloodline and save his people. It’s a touching story of love and loss, but the true beauty is found in the strong friendship that exists between Noctis and his three companions. Whether driving to a new location, battling monsters or just walking around, the four heroes are constantly bantering and chatting with each other, building up a believable and natural rapport. Noctis and his gang are the heart and soul of this narrative, and Square has done a fantastic job in characterizing them and making the player care, but the plot stumbles much more in a broader sense.
The same criticisms of the original Final Fantasy XV’s plot apply here as well; what starts out as a seemingly straightforward narrative of a hero’s journey quickly becomes unfocused and increasingly more confusing. You’ll find yourself enjoying Noctis and the crew for the whole adventure, but there are too many non-sequitur moments where it’s not made very clear why the team is going somewhere, or the events that occur have little bearing on events that follow. Pocket Edition HD does feel a little more tolerable than the original, however, in how it cuts out plenty of the extraneous side content and the open world in favour of a more streamlined storytelling approach, but there’s only so much that can be done with a core storyline that, frankly, isn’t very good.
Gameplay in Pocket Edition HD does an admirable job of shrinking down that of the original, sometimes in surprising ways, but it often goes a little too far in how much it removes. For example, Final Fantasy XV received some criticism for the design of its open world, so Pocket Edition HD goes hard in the other direction and removes any semblance of open-ended design, moving you between small levels that are experienced in a linear fashion. It’s rather fascinating to see how smartly some of the locales have been turned into cutesy levels, but one tends to feel claustrophobic in these environments with all the invisible walls and environmental clutter funnelling you down very specific paths. There are moments of more open-ended design, such as in dungeons, or how exploring a brief side path may net you an extra potion or junk to be sold to a store, but this is very much a game that gives you little leeway in how you experience it.
Combat is impressively close to the style found in the original, eschewing turn-based action for a more hands-on approach. Each party member fights on their own and holding down the attack button causes Noctis to automatically wail on the enemy you’re targeting, while occasional prompts will give you the option to perform a special attack with one of your teammates. Noctis can warp-strike to any enemy on the field at the cost of MP, and occasional QTEs can give you a brief window in which an incoming attack can be dodged or parried. The issue with all of this isn’t so much the design of the battle system, but the way in which Pocket Edition HD makes little effort at pushing you very hard.
Final Fantasy XV wasn’t a difficult game to begin with, but Pocket Edition HD strips away almost any hint of challenge, leaving you with a product that’s a bit of a chore in extended play. It can be fun to battle through enemies and dungeons in brief sessions, but after enough time passes, the illusion of challenge wears off and you realize that you’re fighting through the same basic enemies that pose no real threat. In the rare event that your health does get too low, maybe in one of the boss fights, you can just pop one of the dozens of hi-potions the game doles out in generous supply and keep up the attack. This results in a combat system that becomes less about smartly outpacing worthy opponents and more about wailing away on damage sponges until you can progress further; it’s flashy and exciting in small servings, but there’s not a ton of substance to keep you invested.
This extends somewhat to the progression system as well, which gets the job done, but feels much too basic. Characters acquire XP after each battle and have it applied to them at the end of every story mission, bumping up their stats and generating AP to be invested in the skill tree, which doesn’t have a ton of meat to it. Rather than feeling like you’re speccing the party to a specific playstyle, it’s more like you’re just unlocking the next node in a close-to-linear set of abilities. There are noticeable improvements to be found, of course, but many of them can feel like overkill given how weak most enemies are relative to your team.
In terms of presentation, Pocket Edition HD opts for a low-poly, 'chibi' visual style that takes some cues from the look of the Bravely Default series. Environments are full of chunky objects and buildings, and the characters are cute, big-headed creations with fixed facial expressions. When in gameplay, this art style does a fine job, but the cutscenes can feel a bit weird when a character’s voice is full of emotion and pain while the model just has the same facial expression. What’s a little more disappointing, however, is how often pop-in happens in bigger environments and how performance tends to chug in places, despite the basic art style. Oddly enough, we noticed far more framerate drops when playing in docked mode, too, with Tabletop offering a much more stable 60fps. Pocket Edition HD’s presentation leaves something to be desired, both from a visual and performance standpoint, but it’s not exactly hard on the eyes.
Conclusion
Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition HD is the sort of game that you play and then wonder why exactly it needs to exist. Though it does a great job of capturing the spirit of Final Fantasy XV in several ways, it drops the ball in some others, resulting in an inferior facsimile of a game that is already seen as something of a rough gem. There’s very little reason to give Pocket Edition HD a go if you’ve already played Final Fantasy XV, and if you haven’t, we’d give this a tenuous recommendation at best. There are many moments where the live-action combat is satisfying and the cutesy visuals are charming, but this is hardly something that we’d say should be close to the top of your wish list.
Comments 123
I've been enjoying my time with it.
Looks good to me but I understand if someone is coming from the full version this doesn't hold up nearly as well. For $18 I can't complain.
Not having the hardware to experience the full FFXV I'm enjoying this. I'd say 6/10 is the right score in a world where people use all 10 points of a 1 - 10 grading scale.
The linearity has been an increasing issue with FF for a good while now outside of the MMO installments, would certainly like some more ability to explore. Don't regret spending $18.51 on this. (Man what a savings with all my gold points thanks my nintendo cough cough)
The real thing was already trash so making it worse is an amazing feat.
If the original FFXV did not exist, I’m sure this game would be getting a little more love.
As someone who owns the original I’m not too interested in this version, especially at this price. If it was cheaper I would try it. The style is growing on me and it looks a bit more magical now than previously.
Having said that though, I’m really looking forward to some of the other Final Fantasy games that are on the way.
I can't wait for 12!
I just finished chapter 1 so far and actually have enjoyed it so far.
I almost bought it, and now I'm glad I didn't. I'll wait for the time I can experience the full version...
@NintendoFan4Lyf I just need to get the highest level of Survival for the platinum. I've walked over the map and done all other content in the game. What on earth do I have to do in order to get this level up?
It's actually not as bad as this reviewer is making It out to be. I've played both the full game and this pocket edition (albeit on mobile) and I have to say this version does a lot right by cutting the fat. It's also really fun to play.
The only thing that really does make this version seem a bit over priced is that the vanilla version of the full game can be had for close to this game's price and now dlc exists and loads of new story elements have been added. For those not interested in all of that and have never played the game before, it's not a bad way to experience the game. But frankly if you have any of the other consoles, play the full game. At least you have optional dlc
Never played an FF game. So many hitting Switch....
The trailers looked awful to me.
But I decided to give it a chance after the announcement of mainline FF games coming to the Switch. Surprisingly, I'm enjoying my time with it so far. (I'm currently on Chapter 3.) There were even times when I wished I had the non-Pocket Edition so I could explore its world a little more.
FFXV is one of my favourite games on PS4 but I won't be getting this version, if you only have access to a Switch then i can see why you could be tempted but if you have another console just buy the real thing.
I'm going to be honest. I genuinely really like the original. It has fun gameplay, incredibly good characters with fantastic chemistry, is full of awesome moments and music, and whilst the story is flawed, it is nevertheless deeply moving.
That being said, what theyve done post-launch has been genuinely terrible.
Despite breaking even with development costs on Day One, SE seem to be milking it for all it's worth. I stuck by it to begin with. I got the first season pass, and I really enjoyed some of it, especially Episode Ignis. Then they started regularly updating it so that the file size was almost 100 GB. They added meaningless clothing options that were blatant marketing, like the cup noodle cap. They then announced more DLC, expanding on things that should really have been discussed in the base game, and demanded even more money for a SECOND season pass (i decided not to spend any more money on this game at this point). They then make a few new dungeons, a new boss or two and add some cutscenes. Good, things are going in the right direction! ...for £20. They finally port a mobile game to consoles, including the PS4 and Xbox One, where the original is already available, for a worryingly simialr price.
Sorry, rant over. I'm honestly not hating on this game, or the series, both of which I love, only the way that it has been handled since. I just wanted to show how they have dramatically changed my opinion on this game simply because of the way they have handled it and the sheer amount of money they have demanded from me.
Whay can't Square port FF 9 & FF Tactics, 2 undervalued and excellent games. so they decide to port a game and make it into a weak ass piece of junk and have the guts to charge $30? heck, even PS4 & XBO only sell for $20, the cost of a physical cartridge and a case are only an extra $3, so what the heck, sell it $25 might be acceptable, I REALLY hate it when companies port or create new games but don't use the system's benefits yet over charge, it gets old real quick
As someone who's never played Final Fantasy XV (and in fact has only ever played the Final Fantasy games on NES Classic and Final Fantasy III and IV on DS), would FF XV Pocked Edition HD be worthwhile? I'm curious about the game but haven't found many reviews that actually do recommend it. Ideally I'd like to know before the price increases on September 20, LOL! Thanks!
I'm not a fan of most open world games these days. Most of them take the Ubisoft model and structure them all the same way, and the ones that stand out are usually RPGs like Skyrim and The Witcher 3. Breath of the Wild is actually my favorite open world of all because they don't even bother very much with telling a good story and focus on exploration. I love The Witcher 3, but i thought the story was inferior to 2 because of pacing issues. With these open world games, stories suffer because of pacing. You have to get somewhere urgently because something big is happening? Take your time, come back in literal in-game weeks while you go do side content and when you get to the next story quest, a day has passed. It really makes no sense and spending hours doing side content between story quests means that the next big event's impact is lessened. I heard FFXV has plenty of these pacing issues and it's why I prefer playing this bite sized, streamlined pocket version.
@DarthFoxMcCloud
I'd say it's worth it if you just want to see the story. If not, I wouldn't worry about playing the main game on other consoles because there are better open world games out there.
I’m glad that I’ve waited for Switch review.
Wow I really disagree. I loved Final Fantasy XV and it was my GOTY that year. And the Pocket Edition is a great way to experience the game in a way that isn't intimidating or a huge time sink. Without getting the real game, its the next best thing. Especially for $18
Just get this game on PS4 for $20. No real hassle. Also, I thought the general reaction to XV was that everyone liked it and it wasnt divisive at all
@DarthFoxMcCloud Yes. It replicates the full story of XV without the complexity or pacing issues. Its a steal at the price its at right now
The worst part about this mobile port is that it actually looks like one. First screenshot 100% settled my wallet saying no thx on this one. Oh well, hope other people can enjoy it for what it is.
I’ve been having a great deal of fun so far unlike the original which I put down for a more interesting game. Sometimes less is more.
Funny, i like the art style in this game more than the original. If there were a full-content remix of this, that would be sick.
rather wait to play FFVII for the umpteenth time
I'm impressed by the honest review. Congrats Mitch !
I actually prefer the pocket-version aesthetic to the original – not a fan of modern FF design but still love the old 8/16bit sprites and chibi characters of Bravely Default and the DS remakes.
Considered picking it on iphone but was really hoping for a Switch release... Square always overcharge for their lazy ports but with the 40% discount it's acceptable
It was 40% off on the eShop so I was tempted to pick it up but glad I waited for the review. I prefer to play RPGs on my Switch but it looks like i’ll have to get FF15 on PS4 since the pocket edition doesn’t seem to cut it.
The fact that they're discounting it 40% at release suggests to me that it might be worth waiting a while longer for a bigger discount. I've got all the others to play first anyway.
I love FFXV, and it’s cool that this is a thing. If I want to replay though, I’ll definitely pick the regular version.
Since the DLC plans for XV are STILL ongoing, I’ll probably replay once they’re finally done announcing new content. That game might never be truly “finished.”
"twelve years to finally finish development"
Only they aren't finished yet, 4 more DLC episodes to go next year.
All the people playing the first few chapters of this, enjoying it, and not knowing what all the hate was about, oh to be so naive again. Just wait until you get to chapters 8, 9, 10 and 11. Then you'll know. Unless they did everyone a favor and dropped a few of those in this. Word of advice, don't get on the boat, just enjoy the world and the game while you can. When you decide to go on the boat, just stop playing instead.
Yea, no thanks
I also got it at the discount launch price. In chapter 4 and liking it so far! Though it makes me wanna play the real one even more but I have no ps4. CANNOT WAIT FOR FF9.
i cant believe this game is second on the eu eshop ranking
Why? WHY?
a port of a port of a game from the same year. Brilliant square enix, now give us Octopath 2
You can have FF15 for less than that on ps4.
@rjejr What's so bad about the world after the boat? I haven't gotten there, but I have heard they fixed some of the tedium of later chapters.
@Malcrash It's an FF game that drops all pretenses of being a turn based RPG. If that's not divisive what is? (Ok, it's still better than 13..... )
@jhewitt3476 Err....but...they are porting FF9.....
Thinks it's a good idea to have the option for low power hardware. Not sure if I'm going to get it though. I'll save the money for the 2019 dlc.
@0muros Free in some cases if you have a hacked PS4
I am surprised because so far I have only heard good things about this game in both forms.
Garbage.
I used to be a Final Fantasy nut, and I still have a lot of love for the series pre-XIII. I tried XV on PS4 and found myself terribly bored with it. I was wondering if a more straightforward approach, plus the portability factor, would interest me more (I'm not a graphics nut so the changed visuals don't bother me), but the review's mention of increased linearity and lack of challenge turn me all the way off.
Oh well. I guess I'll stick with old school FF, and Octopath on Switch for my on-the-go RPG needs.
Just play the real one - And take your time. This mobile nonsense on Switch is a travesty.
It just drags you by the nose from point A to B. Thankfully I only spent $1.98 (Chapter 1, is free. 2&3 0.99) on iOS before coming to my senses.
True PS4 version all the way, and I love that one. Just hope this doesn’t become a trend with other games like Dragon Quest 11, or Capcom getting any ideas about Monster Hunter World. Games coming to Switch is fine, but not as a cash-grab demake.
@Agramonte On one hand I want to say the mobile version is a bad reproduction because as you say it just instantly drags you in a line from a to b. On the other hand it's remarkable how faithful it is in some ways to the full game. More importantly it mostly just highlights how the main game is open world filler masking a relatively mashy action game on rails. Which, to be fair, is what it was promised to be back when it was FFXIII Versus.
I want to say combat is so much worse than the main game, but then I realize combat is almost identical to the main game. Which says how lame the main game actually is more than how good this is.
But it's mindless fun (the main game) regardless.
I still stand by: FFXV is an excellent action game, but a terrible FF, while FFXIII was just a terrible game with a good combat system
@VR32X DQXI is safe since it was already dual-released on 3DS and PS4, with the 3DS version being a DQ8-style 3DS game on the top screen with an SNES style 3DS game in the same world on the bottom screen. No doubt FFXVPocket was aiming for the same concept but as a cut down version of an open world game it's not quite as direct as DQ which, "pretty over the shoulder camera" version or not, is still DQ, fixed turn based battle screen battles on a menu in a fixed path world. I'd bet however WoFF turns out is a good indicator of DQXI since IIRC they use the same engine.
@Jokerwolf True but not ethic.
@NEStalgia Yeah, DQ11 is just waiting for an engine update I think. I still get a little scared they’ll take the easy way out to make a quick buck. Lol
6/10 for your score YET it wound up no 1 on the EShop best sellers list. Im serious, look it up on your Switch. Its been that way in the past few days. The love for the mainline FF coming back home to Nintendo is real, and seeing FFXV Pocket up there can be seen as a big thank you to Square Enix.
As a huge Final Fantasy fan, I am happy to have this on the switch. While it is a downgraded version of the made game, it still is extremely faithful to the original. The story is still in tact and the combat is almost identical to the original. The game is also fully voice acted, so I think it is pretty good for a de-make of the original game. (The art style of the game actually reminds me of the 3d remake of final fantasy IV so that actually gives me some nostalgia) I know that the original would be great on the switch, but I am just happy to be able to play Final Fantasy portable on the switch at all.
@NEStalgia
"FFXV is an excellent action game, but a terrible FF"
That is so true 😂
What drives me nuts is that everyone called it. SE was just going to dump this on Switch. The Switch is not an iPhone.
I picked it up out of a mix of curiosity, already having money on my eshop account, and wasn't expecting it to be perfect. And yeah, I'd say a 6/10 is a reasonable score for it. Not great, not terrible.
Really, my biggest issue is that it's TOO linear. I wasn't expecting them to stick the open world in the game (though if they did that would have been awesome), but I was hoping for more side content. Let me explore areas I've already gone to, do side quests, stuff like that. If it had some exploration as opposed to all going from point A to point B, then I'd probably recommend it for people. I don't regret paying for it while on sale, but it wont be worth the full price.
@N1ntendodo It's a top seller because it's 40% off and not a bad buy for $18 if you're an FF fan. But that doesn't mean it's not a 6/10
@Agramonte Well to be fair they didn't just dump it on Switch like Switch is a phone. They dumped it on X1 and PS4 too, so Switch got the day and date release with all consoles Somehow the brass at S-E actually believe in this as a game worth purchasing in addition to Royal.... It's an interesting stand-in but who on X1 is buying this instead of the full game that has gone on sale for less than the full price of this? Still this is a fun way to re-play 15 later without having to play through the entire 100+ hour open world.
I'm just not sure how they decided the next mainline FF should in fact not be a JRPG after 11 entries that are JRPGs and two MMOs. Isn't that like making Battlefield 6 a turn based strategy game?
Purchased instantly. Loving it so far. Played the main version on Xbox but like many other games i didn't have the time to dedicate to it. Delighted this has made its way to the switch.
@N1ntendodo Not saying much... the top 10 right now is a sea of budget games - and this is 40% off.
Not even in the top 100 in the PSN or Xbox store. Who got to play the real one. And can go buy it for $15/$19 physical.
Basically it's about as good as the main game. The open environments and side quests were NOT a positive for that game. But then they went the opposite route in almost every way for this and ended up being about the same quality
@NEStalgia It is not... why not even in the top 100 in the PSN/Xbox shop.
I can understand they can make a buck so push it over. But the difference is that everyone else has both... The PC version is even getting "Ray Tracing" for the 1% crazy enough to buy a RTX2080 this month. Yet the "SE brass" think the 20+ million on Switch should just be happy with the iPhone LaLa Land reject. I just cant wait for Lineage 2 Revolution hits the Switch as a "AAA Action RPG" 😅 (Oh!... /s)
Because they following the money West.
http://www.siliconera.com/2017/05/11/final-fantasy-xv-rise-tomb-raider-helped-square-enix-bring-big-sales-profits/
Why (like you said) they made an open world action game and not a FF game. Don't give them ideas... or a FPS, "FF Battle WARS" will be next 🤣
This is the worst version of this game.
I'm glad to see that this site isn't demonstrating bias just because this is the only version we have gotten. It gives me hope.
For every great game Square Enix release (Octopath Traveler) on Switch, there's like 2 garbages (Lost Sphear and Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition) they will throw at you. No one ask for this Square.
Got it this morning andddd...
I’m enjoying it. I love the chibi design. Glad I get to experience the shortened story.
Definitely agree with the 6/10 score though.
I can’t stand the typical mobile game look of the textures. I really don’t like the frozen faces. The combat isn’t awful, but it’s not entertaining enough to impress.
The four road buddies interacting with one another keeps me happy, so THAT is a reason to keep playing.
See, the thing is, I don't have a PlayStation or Xbox and my PC can barely run emulators let alone anything modern. Switch is currently my only method of experiencing Final Fantasy XV in any capacity, with actual physical controls anyway. I'll probably pick this up in the future when I have money to spend.
@NEStalgia Thats pretty much what Im saying. Yeah, I have the original for a long time and do consider it superior. Im surprised this version made it this far. Lets see how it continues with Undertale out today. Judging by the composition of comments Ive been seeing, Id say this is a fair 7/10 maximum.
@ap0001 I totally agree with you. 6/10 is still above average in a 1-10 grading scale. I also used some gold points in addition to the discount already in the eshop.
I actually really enjoyed FFXV, but still took several issues with the game.
It was painfully obvious the developers didn’t have time to finish the game they wanted to make. This would explain the need for an entire film of exposition to set up the main game plot as well as the quick train ride through Niflheim with tacked on plot twists (Prompto) and the lack of exploration of that area and the need for constant DLC to flesh out the story.
The film I actually enjoyed, but it was like squashing down the entirety of Queen Brahn’s warmongering into a cut scene and starting FFIX with the hunt for Kuja. Nyx should have come back as a playable character at least.
The developers spent too long building a western-style open world and filling it with stuff to do rather than building a Final Fantasy game. If they had made a ‘classic’ FF with an HD-quality world map and then filled it with detailed locations they would have had time to build the whole of Eos to explore, rather than a tiny corner of it.
All this is a shame because what FFXV gets right is really good. The combat system is incredibly fun, the 4 main characters an absolute treat (how refreshing in 2016 to play a JRPG with realistic, non-otaku titilation depictions of women!) and the world building they did do was really good. Having the game narrow down as it went on rather than open up helped push the story on at its later stages when you want to see the through.
It’s just a shame Xenoblade Chronicles puts it to shame, building a huge, cohesive world with large areas full of side quests, really strong female characters (again, treated as actual humans and not eye candy) a highly original premise and plot, an incredible battle system and really good voice acting. I could quite Reyn all day long.
I haven't played XV but that doesn't sound much different than getting a chibi version of X, except NO LAUGHTER.
This, XIII, and X-2 are the only non-MMORPG entries that I haven't played. I've almost bought it several times for PS4, but the amount of options and the reviews keep turning me off. I'll probably get it sometime, but it won't be this version.
I brought it even though I don't have time current to play since I didn't want to miss the sale (wouldn't pay $30 for it). Figured I can fit it in my commute after some backlogs.
It's funny because one of my reason in getting this was because of my ever shortening attention span. Lately I get so distracted by side quest and exploring, I don't beat the game and either move on to the next game or restart it because I forgot my progress.
Ex. Got Breath of the Wild since launch and I still haven't fight Calamity Ganon because of the completionist in me wants to do everything else before then.
"Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition HD is the sort of game that you play and then wonder why exactly it needs to exist."
Doesn't exist because systems like the Switch probably can't handle the original version??
I played Chapter 1 for free from the Android Play store. Enjoyable enough voice and visuals, but it did feel like the game was almost playing itself...
Im waiting for ff12/7 instead
It's Actually quite fun game to play on handheld, the review score way 2 harsh. The battle and upgrades and weapons is also excellent.
only issue is battle lag in some fights, until they will fix it I will finish the game.
While I enjoyed the original FFXV, this is about what I expected. This game looks like a goofy travesty, with the silly artstyle undercutting the game's drama. I can only imagine how ridiculous chapter 12 and beyond must look with this graphic style, and I'm definitely not a graphics w**** because I'm a retro gamer. The photo-realistic graphics of FFXV were part of the charm, especially when fishing.
I knew something was amiss when this game launched with a 40% off discount. Talk about desperate to sell copies. 6/10 is pretty fair since underneath the Federation Force-level graphics is a pretty decent game.
@NEStalgia The area after the boat is ok, as long as you see it all before you enter the cutscene and then they kick you out right after. And then the game goes from a big beautiful open world game to an ugly inside slow dungeon crawler.
Did you play 13? In 13 the first half of the game was all never ending hallways and then the game opened up on the moon. This is the opposite, except worse. And they did add some stuff, but at the time I played the game it wasn't there. Not sure what's in this version though.
And I can't remember the exact chapter numbers, but there were 3 chapters, maybe 9, 10 and 11 that probably should have been 3, or 1, it was weird. For a game that took 10 years I'm not sure how the 4th 5th turned out so poorly.
Anyone complaining about "after the boat" clearly did use the dog to go "back in time" and go back to that main area and continue their fun open world. As far as the "story on rails" issue that everyone is complaining about, the game was actually a really great story!!! Don't forget that Jrpg games are all about the plot and Arpg games (American) are all about the open roam and the feeling of some sense of control over the character. The game was not meant to be Skyrim, Breath of the Wild, or Witcher; it was a FF game!!!
As far as this version of the game, I added it to the collection of games I own but I haven't played it yet. The game's graphics are offputting but I would love to play the story line again without all the grinding. My biggest concern is the zombie area near the end; was it included in this version?
@rjejr @ryu_niiyama hes asking if i played thirteen. Funny guy.
But yeah sounds like 13 in reverse.
Yet another review that rips a game to pieces. I'm enjoying this game. Carry on tearing games to pieces the way you do and developers will just stop making/porting games to the switch and then we'll all have something to get upset about.
@NEStalgia @rjejr Rjejr....you opened up a can of worms. I'm going to go hide under my desk. NES is going to hit you with a wall of text about 2 miles long.
@Kienda I'm no Final Fantasy guy (I just game to read the comments), but Federation Force leads me to think fans would be less accepting of having a chibi Final Fantasy came in the place of a core one. Then again, I don't know if the series had had a 10+ year hiatus like Metroid.
I think the game would score much higher if not for the original release, which obviously is going to be superior and make this one look like a lesser than.
But in truth I am really enjoying this game and I actually played the original. It feels a lot more like a traditional Final Fantasy game. I think if you just judged it on the same grounds as say, World of Final Fantasy, it would stand on its own.
So ya. If you can get the original and you'd rather play that then just go do that. If you don't have access to the original then by all means jump in because this is a legit release. It's still Final Fantasy 15 even if it is slimmed down with a goofy art style. But some people can get both and have purchased both (like me) and... ya, I'm enjoying this one too!
I'd only buy FFXV on Switch if it's the real version. Square Enix got so much support from 3DS and Switch owners from Bravely Default to Octopath Traveler. The least they could do is give us the full version of this game, too. All those other old FF games coming are cool too, but FFXV, DQ11, and all of the Kingdom Hearts series are still MIA.
Does Pokect Edition contain the new story details added in Royal Edition or any of the DLC side-stories?
@Agramonte
Yet the "SE brass" think the 20+ million on Switch should just be happy with the iPhone LaLa Land reject
No, I think the SE brass think the 20+ million on Switch would be happier having an option to experience FFXV, even if slimmed down, rather than not experiencing it at all.
And they'd be right. It's not like this is the only Final Fantasy game they're bringing. Sony just lost the vast majority of Final Fantasy exclusives they've had for the last 20 years. They announced like 9 different games. So I definitely don't think that they believe Switch owners should "just be happy with a phone game reject". I think they believe Switch owners will be happy with 9 different Final Fantasy games, and the one newest entry that won't run, they will provide an alternative so that at least people can experience the story and the core experience rather than completely miss out altogether.
Plus it's not like they didn't bring the game to other consoles. And it's not like it's crap just because it existed on a phone. Inferior? Absolutely. Crap? Definitely not. It existed on a phone, but only as a slimmed down port of a modern AAA console game. So it's still, at its core, the essence of that modern AAA console game.
I for one am very pleased this game has come to Switch. As someone who actually played the original all the way through chapter 9 before losing interest, I can see that this is a fun game and definitely worth it for 18 bucks if you don't have the original as an alternative.
@eaglebob345
I don't think it's a matter of them withholding the full game from Switch owners. I think it's a matter of, it simply can't run, but they want to provide an alternative (just like they did for mobile gamers) to still experience FFXV..
DQXI is confirmed coming and on the way (hints at news coming during TGS?). So you definitely don't have to worry about that (and exclusive content is supposedly coming in some form). As for Kingdom Hearts, well... judging by the fact they just announced nearly a dozen Final Fantasy games all at once, I think it's all but certain Kingdom Hearts is going to be announced soon enough. Especially since every Nintendo portable has gotten KH games since GBA. I think you can pretty much count on both collections coming. Not sure about KH3 though. That one might be a tossup. If they can get it running adequately though, I would think they will bring it.
I've had quite a few frame rate drops when battling lots of enemies on screen. Other then that it's been a half decent adventure nothing special. I had no intentions of actually buying this but soon as I found out Square are giving us basically every Ff game I love apart from 8. I am happy supporting you guys. We're basically going from the worst to best but ff7 is coming that's the main thing 😁
Wasnt the original game unfinished? saying it was bloated is just not true. There is so much story lacking in the middle of the game. The beginning was slow just lots of running around, but after that the story progression felt rushed, the ending especially so.
@Ryu_Niiyama "NES is going to hit you with a wall of text about 2 miles long"
That's just par for the course for him.
I'm still on the fence. On one hand, I'm on a Final Fantasy kick and wouldn't mind experiencing XV (either on Switch or the full version on PS4). On the other, XIII left a bad taste in my mouth.
I just really don't like the character re designs. They are too pencily and look like odd CG claymation.
@rjejr
Par... For the course.
I got hit with 3 sixers (6 full, girthy paragraphs each) back to back to back just earlier today. Might start dispositioning posts into print media and selling newsletters around the sight
@Heavyarms55
I'm not a fan of the art style myself and I think it's fair to say most people aren't. I'm not sure why they thought that was the best style to go with. But I will say when you're actually playing the game it looks pretty good during gameplay. You only really noticed the kind of awkward faces during close-ups of cut scenes, and even then it kind of grows on you. Or maybe just the connection to the characters grows on you so you look past it more, Idk. But I know by the time I finished the first chapter I didn't really seem to mind the art style anymore. Not that it was ever a game breakin factor anyways but, ya...
@chiefeagle02
Well, I liked FFXIII, but there's no denying a lot of people didn't (although I think the initial backlash has since died down and a lot of people look back on that game more fondly given the years that have passed, similar to FFXII which also saw a lot of backlash, but is now looked back on fondly, even as one of the best)
What I can tell you though, is FFXV (neither version) is really similar to FFXIII. I can't tell you whether you'll like FFXV, but what I can tell you is that whether you do or don't, it will have nothing to do with whether you liked FFXIII.
@JaxonH That actually helps a lot. Thank you!
@jhewitt3476 they actually are making ff9 and ff7 plus others on switch.im with you i loved nine so cant wait for it plus zodiac age cause never played it
@Majora101 Not a coincidence.
@Not_Soos I see your point and agree. I wasn’t thinking that if this came out by itself without the original existing that it would not be a mainline game, but kind of a chibi spinoff like World of Final Fantasy.
I think for a mobile game this game should be commended. For a the Switches mainline versions of FFXV though I can see why people are disappointed.
@JaxonH I'm not sure Sony has had too many true FF exclusives - FF7 came out for PC in 1998, so that's only one year of exclusivity.
FF7 Crisis Core, though... the shining exclusive of the PSP! Though the DS got FF12 Revenant Wings.
Yes its a severely dumbed down version, it's not open world like the original... and you can't control the camera, it points in one direction. It skips many scenes to move things forward quickly. The characters look like they were copied and pasted from Final fantasy Theatrhythm.
@JaxonH I don't mean I think it's bad. I just personally really don't like this style. Not everyone likes pizza, that doesn't make pizza a bad food. It's that kind of thing.
@Spectra To be fair, I would probably give the original version a 7. It's a pretty safe bet that we won't see it come to switch either, the game ran like crap on the PS4 and I doubt Square would invest the resources in properly optimizing a port. Still, given how much they've been milking it, perhaps it's still possible!
I was having a dilemma: buy it in all it's "glory" on PS4, which I've not enjoyed playing games on since I have my Switch, resulting in the almost-certainty I'd never finish it, or buy a watered-down version on the Switch, on which I probably WOULD finish the entire experience of the complete game.
I went with the second option, and am enjoying my time with it, while it seems to be advancing at just the right pace to finish it (up until chapter 4 as for now), put it aside, and having had a good time.
@retro_player_22 lost sphear is not a bad game. It is not the developers fault that people hyped it as the new cronno trigger because it had sort of time travel...
@ap0001 yep, 6/10 is above average, which I think is a fair assessment here. I was lucky and picked this up for a little over £5 due to having £10 in eShop credit and a few gold points, not to mentioned the discount. I haven't played it much (maybe a couple of hours) but so far, it's fun. My main gripes have been that it's quite sluggish, and I've had a couple of issues where the loading screen between areas hangs, the Switch gets really hot and the fans go crazy. Restarting fixed it and I didn't lose my progress, but this isn't the best experience.
What made the original FFXV so good was the beautiful and relaxing scenery, open world, excellent music, and car/highway system. It's super well done. Also, it has a very light mood, unlike the other series that can get super intense. It never takes itself too seriously. You can be in a major boss battle but when you hit the menu screen, soft relaxing music plays and it really takes the edge off. Not to mention the camping, fishing, cooking, chocobo exploring, etc. The list goes on. After playing through it twice, it's easily in my top 3 favorite final fantasies.
However, the Pocket Edition is much different. Although you can have fun with this game, it really doesn't do it for me. It took my favorite things from the original game and just tossed it in the trash. There is no more open world map, beautiful scenery, or relaxing atmosphere. It's constricting and linear (seems like they would've learned from their mistakes of FFXIII). Also, the major issue with the original game was its lack of depth in the story and character development (you need DLC for that), but the Pocket Edition cuts out more story to make it even shallower. For those reasons, to me that ruins it. Like really, really ruins it.
Overall here's my rating:
Original Final Fantasy XV - 9.2/10
Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition - 5.1/10
@0muros I only worry about ethics when it relates to the real world not the digital one.
It amazes me how much crap people talk on 15, I loved the open world style, and while it definitely had some problems in a few spots especially the chapter that shall not be named it's still a great game. Personally I actually enjoyed the story a lot, though I wish they hadn't purposely cut content to force you to see it in DLC which I still haven't gotten around to. Being that FF6 is my favorite final fantasy, I'd still probably rank XV in my top 5 final fantasy's of all time. I can say though that I absolutely hate the look of the characters in this game, and I'll never play this based off that alone. I hope most people get a chance to play XV in a form other than this at some point.
@JaxonH Pocket edition looks and plays the way it does because the "brass" calculated it was the amount of work they could invest and still turn a profit in the mobile sector. Where they had to give a chapter for free and keep things simple for touch play (and $19 is considered "premium") Nothing really with what the Switch "can" or "cant do". They didn't even try to make a Switch version like for PS4 and PC.
Maybe for some that is good enough - but honestly - the way publishers are, that mentality will not end well. We should not just expect effort from Nintendo.
I moved my FF collection to PC when I realized SONY and Nintendo had no plans of letting me keep my games pass a few years.
https://store.steampowered.com/sale/final-fantasy/
Only "exclusive" that was left was Crystal Chronicle... and Nintendo lost that one.
Ok, Maybe "crap" is a bit harsh - I'll give you that. But as someone who is only missing the DLC to finish the original. I could not get out of Chapter 3 in PE.
@Jokerwolf I only have one version of myself who act the same way in whatever circumstances. My personality is stable as Nintendo updates. 😌 Ethic is the only good thing is stay in this world.
@0muros People make enough money off of their games don't you worry.
My respect for giving this game a 6. I feared that you guys would hype: "its final fantasy 15, on the Switch (even if it is the alternative version)!!"
Its basically the version nobody wanted. You guys had the guts to score it accordingly, I appreciate that!
@Thaswizz & NEStalgia, thanx bros, I went to S/E's website and looked it up, sounds great, I hope some are bundled, and I'd still like to see FF Tactics (preferably bundled) & I REALLY hope they release thse games on cartridge, I hate download or part cart, part downlowd like some games, like Bayonetta 1&2 & Resident Evil collection, ect, I like to buy used games, I like to sell my games, let my daughter borrow, ect. and because of Nintendo's security things, games loaded to sd cards make that a pain also, carts are just better in the long and short run
@JaxonH Sadly, I think it's more that they don't want to put in the work to get FFXV to work on the Switch. Even if it can't run games as well as more powerful hardware, it could still be made to run on the Switch. From BOTW and Skyrim to Doom and Wolfenstein, it's been proven that the Switch can do open world and good graphics. Whether or not games like KH3, FFXV, or even MHW make it to Switch depends on the publisher/developer's dedication to the platform, not so much the power of the console. I just want all my favorite games on the Switch so I don't have to be stuck to the tv... 😭
@eaglebob345
Any game can run on any console. But there comes a point where the juice is definitely not worth the squeeze, and this is one of those games.
A linear shooter on super scaleable engine than can have its framerate cut in half, is different than an open world on a horrible engine that's already running 30fps on base PS4.
I'm sure it could be done with enough working man hours, but then you're talking about something that is completely reworked ground up, and at that point it's not really a simple port anymore. Sure they can invest the resources to do all that and get that one game on the system or they could divert those resources and port 9 different games on the system, including a version of FFXV that can be easily brought over.
It's not always about the technical possibility of making something run, it's the opportunity cost. And I'd certainly rather have 9 different games than 1 or 2.
@JaxonH I see what you mean. I'm quite the opposite, though. I'd be more receptive to great ports of newer games, even if there are fewer of them. I'd have been happy with just FFX/X2, FFXII, and FFXV. I'd gladly trade the others for the actual version of XV. Heck, nix all of those and throw the KH collections on there instead. Actually, I would have LOVED it if they only gave us FFXV, KH3, and DQ11 (the holy Squeenix trinity). At least then we'd be on par with the XBO.
This is one of the few times I'm glad I didn't wait for the review - that discount was way too tempting.
The game has many things that would normally be red flags to me: story progression by chapters, limited exploration, and no way to go back to a previous area (chapter resets aside).
And yet I'm having a blast with this game.
Each to his own, I guess, and, please, before any of you choose to rant at this post, I, at least, have the greatest of respect for YOUR opinion ( whoever you may be ), and I honestly hold to the most accurate truism ever coined - That it all comes down to " individual taste "!
So — Okay, this is a "flawed" game, as was the much hyped original, ( at least, in the beginning!!). I have a pristine copy of the PS4 version, as, I'm guessing, most of you have. I played it, and played it, BUT, I could never " get it "!!
It's graphics, including some of the fabulous scenery, as well as the character-models, told me this should be a brilliant game.
Only it wasnt! And, eventually, I gave up!
And the thing is, I KNOW, I'll never go back to it.
As I said in another post, in my opinion, it's just a "beautiful picture" posing as a game!
So now, here I am, with the Switch version happily ensconced in my sd card — and to echo what "ALEXSORA89 " ( forgive the upper case Alex ) says, above: I'm having an absolute blast with it!
The reason? Don't ask me, cos it makes no sense at all — or does it?
Maybe this is how it should always have been?
As someone who owns a recording studio, I know, only too well, how a track can become: fussy, too busy, too loose and open, too much compression, too much reverb.... too much EVERYTHING!
Then you get a handle on it. You pare it down, edit out all the excesses, make it TIGHT!
Maybe that's what's happened here - but it'll take us all a while to realise it?
And like I intimated earlier, I'm well aware I'm in a minority!
But I don't care, Im just going to carry on having a ball with it, 'cos, to me, anyway, it really IS, an absolute blast.
I’ll echo some of the sentiments here. Have the PS 4 version and tried to like it. This condensed version (although flawed with some slowdown, and other problems) gives me so much more fun.
Been a long time since I played a FF game but i’m really enjoying this.
@NintendoFan4Lyf FF13 was my only platinum on ps3. I need to finish FFXV. I bought it w the season pass on release day & it never grabbed me so I'm barely in like chapter 3 or 4 I think. I did do the assassin's Creed & chocobo carnivals tho & spent like 40 hours between those things (& the music started grating on me but then), which I really liked.
I experimented a strange bug in the game. Everytime there was a timer on the top of the screen, the seconds were going down waaay too fast. I watched video on youtube of people playing with the ios version and it was not that fast. So if somebody is having the same problem, close the game and open it again. It will fix it.
Played the original and i loved it.
Playing the Pocket Version and its actually very fun!
I downloaded. It is better than I thought, I enjoyed it!! The big disappointment is the face of the characters which is always the same when the voices have emotions. They could fix it I think, for a 30 euros game.
Does anyone find how spells work? I bought the Firaga, Thundaga spell with 50 AP points but I am not sure how it works.
@Sparkus
Did you find maybe how to spell Firaga, Thundaga etc? I cannot find this info on youtube or anywhere else.
@Geobros Yes you need to absorb magic in dungeons, from runestones, and then you can 'throw' them like special skills in the middle of the battles, sadly it doesn't work like other FFs, maybe because Noctis isn't a magic user, but Ignis is, he can freely use magic but i don't know if he's playable on Pocket Edition (on the full game he is).
I want a switch pro solely for the reason of getting the base versions of more FF games
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