When Final Fantasy XV was released in 2016, it was met with a mixed reception. While certain elements of the game, such as its visuals, were praised, other parts were critically panned, most notably its story. The game's development was so abysmally rushed to make its release date that Square Enix had to release major patches in an attempt to fix the game post-launch. However, no patch could've fixed its story for one big reason: how it's told.
Final Fantasy XV, before it became what it is, was conceived as a spin-off game called Final Fantasy Versus XIII by game director Testsuya Nomura back in 2006. The game was intended to be bold and ambitious, but after years in development hell, proved too ambitious and was rebranded as Final Fantasy XV.
While the new director, Hajime Tabata, was able to turn the whole project around and work towards a playable game, FFXV still had some deep-rooted issues that rendered the story an incoherent mess. The game initially starts off very promising. The open-world appears beautiful, and exploring it in the Regalia along with four friends -- Noctis, Ignis, Prompto and Gladio -- is perhaps where FFXV shines brightest. However, as the game progresses, there's one thing that seems off.
While Noctis' storyline progresses, the other three characters were just there. Sure, they are fun characters to watch banter and joke with one another, but they never seem to develop much. The four are portrayed as close friends, but players never get to know why. There are no flashbacks or plot developments that shine a light on the relationship between these four characters, at least not in the game itself.
FFXV's release was preceded by various promotional content meant to supplement the game when it finally released. Square Enix claimed these spin-offs were not cut content from the game, but only bonuses that are not needed to enjoy FFXV. But while it's true that the game's plot is perfectly understandable without these spin-offs, they are way more important to the overall enjoyment of the main game than Square Enix says they are.
Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV was a five-episode anime spin-off that explored the friendship and backstory of the four main characters. While FFXV's plot can be understood without watching the anime, Brotherhood provides a lot of context that would've helped players feel more emotionally invested in the characters. Fans who play the game after watching the anime are in for a good story they care about; conversely, the vast majority of fans who play FFXV without watching the anime find the plot to be thin.
This isn't the only spin-off that contains important bits of context not found in the game. The fall of Insomnia and the death of Noctis's father, King Regis, is relegated to a movie: Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. What would have otherwise been a catastrophic and memorable moment is diminished in the game, as Insomnia and King Regis hardly matter to players. On its own, the game fails at making Noctis' frustration and sorrow resonate with players.
Final Fantasy XV's story content is further divided into the Platinum Demo, various spin-off novels, a game called A King's Tale and multiple DLC packs that ultimately affect how enjoyable the game itself is. Ignis, Prompto and Gladio's character arcs are hidden away in paid DLC that's barely referenced in or influential to the main story. At one point, Ignis vanishes and later returns blind for reasons only explained if you buy his DLC episode. Meanwhile, FFXV's side-quests are bland and uninspired, mostly consisting of Noctis, the Prince of Lucis, doing mundane errands for random people.
What could've been emotional main story moments or narrative-driven side-quests lost their impact because of Square Enix's decision to split up FFXV's story between a variety of spin-offs and DLC packs. If its story had been told cohesively, the game probably would have been more warmly received, but instead, Final Fantasy XV had its story neutered and its emotional core sidelined. Though it tried to tell a vast and epic story about friendship, romance and adventure, cutting into so many pieces turned what could have been a decent game with a good story into a vapid tale about an angst-ridden anime boy doing epic stuff.