Was the wait worth it? Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition.

here are games that have surprised us and others that have disappointed us. From Dragon Ball Fighter Z to Assassins Creed Origins, going through Destiny 2 or Call of Duty WWII. Yes we can say, to warn previously, perhaps this is the toughest review to date. Even with everything we will also see its virtues, which it has. We will do everything from our point of view. Leaving ideological impositions and without carrying the flag of absolute truth, we hope you enjoy this entry.

The game that never came

Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

To put yourself in situation, I will tell you my personal experience. In the case of a server, I’ve played Final Fantasy XV before. Although a decade ago I did not buy a console, I do have friends who still use them. It’s no wonder that when I go to his house to visit, we end up playing something. A while ago a friend of a PS4 owner, he left me with the FF XV. It’s not my favorite RPG saga but I have a few behind me (FF I, III, VI, VII, IX, X and XIII). I know the franchise from the NES until now, and there are titles that I have loved and others that have left me cold. My friend is a staunch follower of the saga and he has them all, and when he plays them he usually invites me to see them.

This makes you have seen all the titles, their evolution, and know them well.

That’s why I can say first that I thought it was a sad disappointment. Remember that it was announced 10 years before with the name of Final Fantasy XIII Versus. It already added to other titles like Kingdom Hearts 3 or The last guardian. We knew it would come out and it would not end up being a Half Life 3, but we did not want it to be a Duke Nukem Forever either.

The fact is that if we review the first videos and trailers, it is far from what has finally reached us. It is enough to see them compiled to realize that even the appearance of the protagonist has changed three times.

Watch the end of the first videos “for Playstation 3” now it’s funny. Maybe those who bought a PS3 waiting for the XIII Versus, the VII Remake and the KH3 would not laugh so much. Of course those consumers / users do not like the joke. It is a game that created a lot of ‘hype’ , which has been blurring. In fact, its launch was good in sales, but quite less than expected. After a decade of waiting and endless trailers, it is normal for people to get tired.

Starting with a bad foot

If your past has been uncertain and disastrous, your present is not being better. Already warned some, that Final Fantasy XV would be an incomplete game. Nobody believed them and with obvious reasons: Square has always released long, full and closed games. But as you know, there is always a first time. Remember that there have been thousands and thousands of people who bought the game for the consoles. A cost of 60 euros on average that will now be increased. Do you want more content? Or spend the season or pay them separately.

Is it abhorrent to do something like that? I think particularly that companies are made up of people and those people have a bad habit of needing to eat. It does not seem bad that they do it if they already do almost all the developers. What is wrong is how they announced Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition.

Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

Final Fantasy XV in consoles was the “prototype”

They have released the game commenting that it has native 4K and 8K resolutions. Who does not have a 55-inch TV with 8K resolution at home today? Also with NASA technology in terms of audio. They also offer capacity for mods (free modifications of users that add or improve aspects of the game). And if that were not enough, they give additional content such as a new map, missions, articles and objects.

Now surely you are wondering, and that seems wrong? PC users can give jumps of joy if we want. But if we analyze everything well, Square “tricked” the previous players (again). No wonder critics are melting them. Some say they paid for a beta or early access. Others complain that the “Royal Edition” was original content of the game that was hidden. In short, announcing the game on PC as they have done it has created among the console players a sense of deception.

Now let’s move directly with the analysis, although I think it was important to mention this. Whatever platform you are, all users must be united. If a company of games, consoles or hardware does something wrong, it must be said.

Before your departure, demo and release

A few months ago they already said that as recommended requirements, an 8GB GTX 1080 would be needed, which was nonsense. So much was the commotion and fear of the users, that the company had an idea. He pulled out a benchmarking software so that, once you install it, he will tell you how the game will work on your computer. This showed that the game had been optimized better. Now a GTX 1060 is enough to enjoy it well.

Of course, all benchmarks are usually done in the current standard resolution, 1080p. In 720p the performance goes up a lot, and also improves a bit in window mode. By reducing or removing some heavy filters, we will have good FPS with normal graphic cards.

What was the problem? The huge drops of framerate seen during the demo. This has hardly improved after playing it on launch. When we test the games, we always do it with a 1080Ti to make sure. In this way we know that if something does not go well with that graph, it will not go well with the others.

The graphic section

If there is a word that can define the graphics of this game it would be “irregular”. You find incredible cities, magnificent beasts and effects that cut your breath. But in turn you come across textures that are not very worked and badly finished. You walk through the barren areas and some stones look like painted cardboard. Other zones or scenarios look like the ‘props’ of a movie, or a chroma. Of course, we can not say, even remotely, that the graphics are bad. We are facing a precious game, ambitious and spectacular in many parts.

Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

Within all the graphic development, I want to highlight two things. The first is the system of collisions and animations, which works very, very well. The movements of the characters are very successful. The facial and clothing details have taken care of them. The second is the design of the big beasts, bosses and other prominent enemies. I already said that there were not going to be any negative comments. It has good things and you have to say them, value them and thank them.


I’m not going to expand too much because there’s no place to do it either. His soundtrack is fine, but for me, it is below what we usually find. It is very, very much noticeable, the absence of Nobuo Uematsu in front. They have not done badly with the music of the game, but all the epicity has been lost. It was already noticed in the Final Fantasy XIII and here it has happened again. If Nobuo is not in charge, the soundtrack does not stand out.

Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

History / Argument

In this I have to say that, particularly, I have liked it considerably. It is clear that it will not be a FF IX or an FF VI, that’s for sure. But if we go beyond the simple comparison, it meets very well. Of course, in the same way that they said that the game was incomplete, here also it seems in a certain way. The animated film that we saw as “prequel” did not tie all the ends. Neither did the anime episodes that came out before the release. It gives the feeling that history has a lot of potential to explode. Hopefully, this is the case and even if we have to go through the box, give us a more complete world.

Battle system and game mechanics

I will not say it myself and I will quote my friend: “a boring machacabotones”. That someone who always defends Final Fantasy to death says that this is “a truño” is serious. Then you test it on the console, you repeat it on PC, and you can confirm the words of your friend. The difficulty is conspicuous by its absence. You start with a cumbersome and cumbersome battle system that is getting faster. The more you learn and master techniques, the more fluid the fights become. But that does not mean exactly that they are going to become enjoyable. There comes a time when, repeatedly pounding a button, you gain everything. With the well done Action RPG in their Kingdom Hearts, something like that is inexplicable.

Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

In addition to the huge loss of interest involved in the battles, so are the missions. The most hardcore RPGs remember those insufferable bottlenecks in some missions. You did not know exactly where to go or what to do. They told you to talk to someone and maybe some clue and then already, get your life. Here, at the moment they give you a mission, the GPS will tell you everything to the millimeter. What time those at the beginning of World of Warcraft where they gave you a mission and did not tell you where. Or when you played a Suikoden, Wild Arms or Breath of Fire and you left a thousand things to do because they did not warn you about it.   It was horribly frustrating, but the other extreme, simplicity, is also.

Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

In short, visually spectacular combats, but terribly easy.


It’s not that I’m a very experienced player, but I’m not one of the clumsy ones either. That, coupled with astonishing ease, result in shorter games. It must also be said that this game has less content than the previous ones. It is a logical move if we consider that they want to stretch their profitable life. This is why we will see a game that, for at least the next two years, will offer more. A duration that is not short but that still moves away from the durations of other RPG, whether or not Final Fantasy.

In my case, I reached the end of the game in 60 hours and with almost 90% of the total missions done. I died twice and for not having potions during a concrete battle. I guess the ease made me trust me. My friend was glad that he returned his PS4 so soon. Now when I’m playing it on PC I can say that I doubt very much that I’ll finish it again.

Other sections

Highlight a very good thing and another very bad thing. The first is that you have such low minimum requirements. As I noted above, in the end the optimization turned out to be much better. The bad, is that it is inconceivable to have a game of more than 100 GB. We already know that a lower compression of the game makes the quality higher. But what is not normal is that 1TB hard drives are running small. At this rate the games will take more time than the hard drives advance in improving their capacity.

Another very good thing and another very bad thing to say. The very good one (speaking of the PC version) is its price, the improvements and the completeness that comes. As I said above, it is much the difference with what was initially sold in consoles. That is why we understand your discomfort. In PC, we can find it for 50 euros or even 35 euros in pages like Instant Gaming. Considering the technical improvements and the additional content, it is a spectacular exit price.

As for the bad, repeat the same thing that happened with Final Fantasy XIII. And it has no replay value. Maybe some have loved the game and want to play again. But just think about easy missions and battles for hours with a single button / key, the desire disappear. Yes it is possible that, if in a time they put many new things to him to the history, deserve more the pain. But currently, it is not the case.

The key in this Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

Maybe many have not noticed yet, but the mods make a big difference. If you played Skyrim or any Fallout on PC, you know it very well. Other games like Grand Theft Auto or Total War also improved greatly. In fact, games like Minecraft have become what they were for their modder community. If Square is ready, it will release all the code so that the modders can put the glove on it.

In the case of doing so, we will find, with almost absolute certainty, a much better game and an infinite number of possibilities. Perhaps, as has happened before, the base game is limited and with the mods it becomes a jewel.

Conclusions and video gameplay

Complicated conclusions for a complicated game to analyze. I know perfectly well that the franchise has very faithful followers and detractors. In my case, I am neither one nor the other. It’s not my favorite role saga, but I do not dislike it either. Maybe that’s why in this review you see a lot of balance between the good and the bad. In my opinion, you should not review games being a fan or being a hater.

This is why, unlike other titles, here I can not tell you whether to buy it or not. It will be your choice once you have read this entry. If you do not want complicated games and “walk” for them enjoying the story, it’s a good choice. If you are RPG veterans who like challenges, you will not approach or you will have a bad experience. Many other factors, such as the existing potential and the mods make it much more attractive, but I would not buy a game for “what it could be”.