Final Fantasy 15's development was fraught with numerous issues. Production began in 2006, and the game was initially called Final Fantasy Versus 13. Many ideas were chucked into the melting pot, and at one point there was even a proposal for the game to be a musical. Final Fantasy 15's development time was extended by many factors, including Tetsuya Nomura handing over his role as director to Hajime Tabata, but Final Fantasy 15 was eventually released in 2016.

Fans of the Final Fantasy franchise were impressed by the game's crisp visuals and movie-quality cutscenes. Plenty of praise was also directed toward Noctis and the relationship he has with his friends, who accompany him on his quest to rescue the Crystal and claim his throne once again. Despite nailing the feelgood aspects of friendship quite well, Final Fantasy 15 is regularly criticized due to its poorly designed open world. Analyzing Final Fantasy 15's open world reveals the many ways an open world design can work against a game.

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Final Fantasy 15 Feels So Big, Yet So Dead

Final Fantasy 15 Noctis, Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto

Few games have an introduction as enchanting as Final Fantasy 15's. After Prince Noctis is addressed by King Regis, he begins his journey to Altissia where he is supposed to marry Lunafreya. However, Noctis will not be making the journey alone, and he is joined by his friends Prompto, Gladiolus, and Ignis. They hit their first snag when the car breaks down, forcing the friends to push it. As "Stand by Me" plays, and the camera pans out, players get a view of the expansive world, and the moment seems to carry a promise of upcoming epic adventures with friends.

Unfortunately, for many, the game fails to live up to the promise, and it is in part due to how dead the world feels. Final Fantasy 15's open world is a marvelously large one, which becomes immediately obvious whenever players are riding in the Regalia, Noctis' sleek car the Regalia. The world features dramatic mountainscapes, pleasant meadows, and strange geography that creates interesting rock formations. Despite how beautiful the world is, much of it is painfully boring to explore. Large swaths are filled with nothing but patchy grass and random rocks, and it is possible to run for minutes at a time without coming across anything of note to interact with.

When it comes to open world games, balance is key. Filling up an open world with too many mundane activities has the potential to fatigue gamers, leaving them too unmotivated to tackle the main quests. However, going the way of Final Fantasy 15 and crafting an expansive yet empty open world can be an issue, too.

Final Fantasy 15's Open World Makes No Sense

Final Fantasy 15

One of Final Fantasy 15's strengths is its ability to make players feel like they are taking part in an epic road trip with their best friends. During its best moments, Final Fantasy 15 genuinely does capture that feeling of closeness and comradery that comes with traveling with friends. To achieve and amplify that experience, the game has to immerse players into its world. One of the ways it does that is by making the interactions between Noctis and his friends feel meaningful. This is achieved, for example, through Prompto, who regularly takes photos of the gang. When players browse through the photos, they can see all the fun Noctis and his friends have, along with the goofy moments they share. This immersion that is so strongly built by the characters is unceremoniously torn down by the open world, however.

As Noctis and his friends explore the open world, they come across all kinds of monsters in the wilderness. It is quite clear that these creatures are dangerous because Ignis prefers to camp instead of traveling at night until the player receives the appropriate upgrades. Despite the existence of these frightful creatures, the settlements and gas stations that pepper the world are not fortified in any way. There are no walls, glass domes, or anything of that nature to protect humans from the vicious creatures roaming not too far away. Within the confines of the game, the monsters are of course programmed to only roam certain areas. However, in terms of internal world-building, the fact that the design of the settlements does not seem to take monsters into account feels like a gaping plot hole that breaks immersion.

Final Fantasy 15's Open World Breaks Immersion

Final Fantasy 15 Fifth Anniversary

The consequence of Final Fantasy 15's open world making no sense is that gamers are given constant unwanted reminders that they are playing a game. While players would rather be immersed in the game and, during their playtime, feel as though Noctis and friends are real people with real relationships, the game frequently exposes itself as a game and the immersion is painfully broken.

The open world structure of the game creates opportunities for Final Fantasy 15 to remind players that it is a game. A glaring example of this occurs during encounters with monsters in the wild. When players come across monsters, battle music will play. The music is meant to inform players that they are about to have an encounter with a monster so they better get ready, and it is triggered when players are a certain distance from a monster. However, players still have the opportunity to avoid the monsters and just continue their journey. This becomes an issue when players are searching for an object that is near an area where monsters roam, as this can cause players to constantly trigger battle music. Rather than getting players pumped for a battle, the music just informs players that they are playing a game that is misreading the situation.

Despite all Final Fantasy 15's flaws, it is a wonderful addition to the Final Fantasy franchise. Very few games have managed to capture the intricacies of male friendship the way the game has, and the high-quality visuals still hold up to this day. Unfortunately, some poor design choices with the open world prevent Final Fantasy 15 from being a masterpiece.

Final Fantasy 15 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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