Final Fantasy XV Final Review and Dragon Quest Builders

I finally finished Final Fantasy XV and it's time to give my final take on the whole game. It's hard to say really because my main play was interrupted by the Moogle Chocobo Carnival for a month. Having said that, I realize I still spent nearly two months on just the first eight chapters and then sped through the last five chapters in about a week. I don't know whether to complain about how fast the end went by or how long the beginning took. This is where it becomes a matter of opinion, and my opinion is that the story was solid at the end, but the extras that they are throwing in to make it bigger and better are taking away from the main story, and that's on top of all the sidequests that already got in the way. Next week, DLC is coming up that I believe will add to the game and I respect them for seperating the other characters like this, as a writer I know that perspective is important and it's easier to keep people focused if you follow just one character, much as we see our own lives entirely from our own perspective, limiting this to Noctis gives us a more focused story. Learning what the others were up to at critical points when they were away from Noctis will be fun, but we needed a chance to get through the story without the distractions, which is why it is so frustrating that so much already happened. It reminds me of Final Fantasy VI, only in reverse, the beginning was very linear with only one sidequest in the entire first half, and then suddenly after following a very structured and engaging story it becomes nothing but sidequests between you and the final dungeon. The abrupt shift leaves the game feeling disjointed, the story seems weak, not because it's bad, but because the player is too distracted by side shows to focus on the main attraction. Ultimately, this game was awesome but it could have been better if it they had focused on the main story and filled in the gaps they left behind instead of making the open world so open. Here's my highlights from the finale:

Now that FFXV is done, I'm on to Dragon Quest Builders, the most retro piece of nostalgia I have seen from a game company that seems to specialize in it. This game is like Minecraft, only it takes place in the world of the original Dragon Quest after an alternate ending to the original game. Dragon Quest actually has two endings, the real ending in which you defeat the Dragon Lord, and the bad ending in which you take his offer to join him. Dragon Quest II followed the former, the latter leads to this game, the Dragon Lord rules, the world is a mess, and you are the second chance to save the world, the Builder, who will rebuild the towns of the game, destroyed by the Dragon Lord and the fallen hero. The basic concept is interesting, especially when part of the original lore was about the legend of a town builder named Galen, and at one point you get to rebuild that town. Is it possible that you are the legendary Galen or his descendant? As you seek the answer to this question, DQB plays out with a retro feel that is simultaneously a thumbs up to the fans and a middle finger to any progress the industry has made since the original game. The world is made of blocks like Minecraft, but much is rounded out in cel shading to fit the anime style of Akira Toriyama. Not only are the graphics retro, but the soundtrack is clearly the same as the original game, upgraded in performance quality, but unmistakable tunes that any true fan will recognize and be taken straight back to the 80's 8-bit debut of the franchise. Deceptively cute monsters wander the world, appearing in exactly the frequency necessary to collect the materials needed to build whatever you need next. The simplest thing to do is break down blocks to rebuild the buildings, but you also craft verious items ranging from storage and decorations, to weapons, armor, and food. I don't know if younger players can fully appreciate this game because to me it relies heavily on knowing what this world was and how you are to put it back together, but I imagine once you're young enough to not know Dragon Quest, you are drawn in by Minecraft style play. The best part is that unlike the random, aimless sandbox of Minecraft, DQB tells a story, with characters who direct you to perform particular tasks. Some players may feel it limits creativity to have to wait for all your resources and tools to be unlocked through story play, but as I've said, I like having some direction, I like a story, I like knowing that I'm building everything for a reason. It also doesn't hurt that a twenty year old memory hints at how this will end. Galenholm, here I come!