Drew M

First off, for those expecting this to play like old school FF games, this is not that game. Some of the traditional JRPG elements have been toned way down. However, the more action oriented combat, fluid and strategic battle structuring are as good as I have seen. Various items provide ability aids in combat if you don’t like keeping track of so much at once, but it’s certainly not hard. I can tell the team took a good bit of inspiration from FFXIV, in fact, some of the boss fights feel more like they from a MMORPG. And O..M..G…the eikons (summons, eidolons, aeons, etc. as they are known in other FF titles). The eikon battles, especially some of the eikon vs eikon fights, would alone almost be worth playing the game for. I cannot stress how well done they were. I won’t spoil anything, but when one particular eikon has a shocking reveal, it was epic. The characters are really well done and I love the depth the devs put into them. One annoyance for some is the game is cutscene heavy, but the scenes are beautiful and really make sense with the story. And, while many seem all over the place with the story, I love it. It’s darker, deeper, and more mature that most FF games. As someone who played FF games way back when, there is a lot less “light and fluffy” feel to it. But, as I’m also not a child anymore, I appreciate that the series’ storytelling has evolved as well. Overall, this ranks up there for me, and I think SE is on the right track to continue the franchise. Definitely give this a try