Every series has a standout game that the rest of the series is compared to. For Legend of Zelda it’s Ocarina of Time. While, until a few days ago, Final Fantasy had FFVII. Since, if sales are anything to go by, Final Fantasy XV is now the game you compare the others to.
This is because the newest ironically titled RPG has sold five million copies already. In Final Fantasy VII‘s defence, digital downloads and multiple platforms make higher sales easier. Yet Final Fantasy XV‘s great start puts it on track to meet the studio’s personal goal of 10 million copies.
XV‘s success is well deserved considering its development time was almost as long as Duke Nukem Forever. XV was first announced in 2006 as Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Ten years of work have transformed it into a main series entry. While there are many familiar elements, there are many new ones as well. Especially relevant is the move away from turn based combat. XV, instead, goes for action RPG combat closer to Kingdom Hearts than classic Final Fantasy.
There are other elements, such as the open world you travel by a modern car. Furthermore, Square Enix seem to be planning lots of new content via DLC. Most notable is the planned boss battle against Square Enix CEO Yoskue Matsuda. Yes, according to Gamestalk, this is actually happening.
Final Fantasy has struggled for relevance with modern gamers for a while. With Final Fantasy XV‘s success, it seems that the problem might have been clinging too closely to the past. In the meantime we’ll keep you updated on DLC news here at The Nerd Stash.
