For the past couple weeks one question has been on my mind. Is Final Fantasy 15 my favorite game of all time? Even after my review of it which is by far my favorite article that I've ever written, the answer at the time was no. I gave this game so much praise because for the first time in a long time, I truly felt overjoyed playing a game. I've played a lot of games over the past 26 years that I've been a gamer, but Final Fantasy 15 was something truly special. The story wasn't the greatest, but the gameplay was by far the best of any game that I've ever played. Even after playing Skyrim (a game that I scored a perfect 10) that statement still holds true.
For the last 15 years, if you would have asked me what my favorite game of all time was the answer would always be Final Fantasy 10. While the gameplay wasn't as great as Final Fantasy 15, the story for Final Fantasy 10 has stuck with me for a decade and a half at this point. I connected emotionally more with Final Fantasy 10 then any game I've ever played before.
I sat and thought about the question of which game I enjoyed more though over these past couple weeks. The answer to "What is your favorite game of all time?" can sometimes be tough for gamers to answer. Sometimes it's not. Imagine this for a moment though. Think of your favorite game of all time. Got it? Good, now answer this. How good would a game have to be to replace it as your new favorite game of all time? It'd probably have to be something truly special huh?
That question has been with me since I beat Final Fantasy 15, but more so these past couple weeks.
The only way to answer this question once and for all was to redownload Final Fantasy 15 and play it again. I've redownloaded Final Fantasy 10 countless times, but have just never found it nearly as enjoyable as the first time that I played it. I figured that if I could enjoy Final Fantasy 15 just as much the second time around that the answer would yes. If not though, Final Fantasy 10 would remain as my favorite game of all time.
Yesterday, I finally redownloaded it and played it.
Within only a few hours of playing it, I finally had the answer that I'd been searching for...
Final Fantasy 15 is my favorite game of all time. Period.
Even though it's been months since I played it, the experience brought me just as much joy as it did the first time around. Final Fantasy 15 is something that is truly special to me personally. I still think Final Fantasy 10 has a much better story, but Final Fantasy 15 beats it in pretty much every other aspect.
The graphics are absolutely stunning for starters. The world is huge and you could easily spend over 100 hours just exploring all that the world of Final Fantasy 15 has to offer. The first time around, I played it for around 70 hours and still had a lot left to explore and do. Often, I'd go off the beaten path and find new sites, treasures, and foes to defeat. Speaking of which, the combat is awesome in this game. I was never personally the biggest fan of the turn based combat in the Final Fantasy series, but the real-time hack and slash gameplay of Final Fantasy 15 is incredible.
I won't go into full detail about everything that I love about the game because I wrote an amazing review of Final Fantasy 15 already which you can read here.
The question of which game was my favorite of all time between the two came down to which game could I download and enjoy just as much the second time around and in that regard, the answer was clearly Final Fantasy 15.
I plan on playing this game even more so this time around. While I'd beaten the story last time, there's a lot left to do and explore after I get myself caught back up to where I was before. I decided that the best way to play it would be to start a new save and see where this incredible journey takes me!
It's not about the destination. It's about the journey and for me, this journey has really only just begun.