Between the success of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the highly anticipated Magic: The Gathering universes beyond crossover set, Square Enix has been highlighting some of its most iconic moments from across the franchise. With such a long-running series having so many fantastic high points over the years, it's only inevitable to have its share of disappointments as well.

From overly campy writing, repetitive gameplay design, or simply being unfinished, a few lackluster entries are par for the course for such a long-running franchise like Final Fantasy. Despite their issues, even the most heavily criticized entries in the Final Fantasy franchise have plenty to enjoy, with one of its most infamous releases having a disappointing amount of untapped potential.

Final Fantasy 15 Could Have Been The Best Game In The Series

Having All The Staples Of A Fantastic JRPG

Even if it still remains one of my most fondly remembered Final Fantasy games to this very day, there's no denying that Final Fantasy 15 is far from a perfect entry in the series. Aside from having its share of bugs and glitches on release, both the convoluted story and gameplay offered by FF15 were incredibly inconsistent, with long stretches of lackluster content and confusing difficulty spikes galore.

There's no denying that Final Fantasy 15 is far from a perfect entry in the series.

What makes these problems even more apparent is how Final Fantasy 15's most fantastic elements still shine through the cracks of the overall experience. Even the premise of FF15 is the most ambitious in the series yet, offering a true open world for the first time in the franchise that hasn't been repeated since, even if it would eventually inspire similar aspects in FF7 Rebirth.

Even if the climactic fights of the series still live on in its successors, the build-up and boss battles in Final Fantasy 15 are some of its most shining moments. From duels with unbelievably massive titans, deadly rivals, and the ever-iconic final boss of the story, Final Fantasy 15 is filled with its share of unforgettable moments in between its longer stretches.

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Even arriving in each of FF15's ever-expansive cities is a breathtaking sight to take in for the very first time, which is only made bittersweet by how underused the majority of these detailed environments inevitably are.

Given the rocky development cycle of FF15, much of the cut content from the story was left to be told in its follow-up DLCs, which were eventually canceled before the last few were able to release and tie up the loose ends of the story. Unfortunately, unlike the overwhelming amount of support games like Final Fantasy 7 have received in recent years, it's unlikely that Final Fantasy 15 will ever get a follow-up like Rebirth.

What Went Wrong With FF15?

An Unfortunate Combination Of Behind The Scenes Disasters

The biggest challenges that resulted in the disappointing and half-baked state of Final Fantasy 15's story were the sheer number of rewrites that occurred during its development. Originally titled Final Fantasy Versus 13, the project would have been a tie-in game with the game world of Final Fantasy 13, before eventually being scrapped in favor of creating a new setting on a new game engine.

While some elements from the original trailer and gameplay footage can still be seen in FF15, the end still appears drastically different, with a whole new story to go along with it. Spending years in development hell with several direction changes and hardware advancements, much of FF15's identity didn't make it past the cutting room floor.

The scars of FF15's development are difficult to ignore.

Even if I prefer the direction and premise that Square Enix eventually took with its story, focusing more on the protagonist Noctis, the scars of FF15's development are difficult to ignore. From relationships that don't have enough foundations to be believable, underdeveloped characters, and rushed story segments, Final Fantasy 15's satisfying gameplay and ambitious concepts are ultimately left hanging in the end.

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Making matters even worse is how Square Enix chose to present Final Fantasy 15's unfinished story. Rather than a self-contained game narrative, the full storyline was split into the prequel film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, an animated series, and several follow-up DLCs that fill the gaps between major story beats.

Final Fantasy 15's most essential DLCs were canceled before making their debut.

Even though these measures were likely taken to still deliver the full experience despite its development struggles, Final Fantasy 15's most essential DLCs were canceled before getting their debut, including an epilogue that would have acted as a true ending for the game. Even if FF15's director Hajime Tabata regretted cutting the game's planned DLC, despite describing the decision as being "completely unavoidable", as noted by TwistedVoxel's interview translation.

You Can Still Experience The True Ending Of Final Fantasy 15, With A Catch

A Saving Grace For Dedicated Fans Of The Series

While the first set of DLC revolving around Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto, respectively, helped to breathe more life into its supporting cast, it's an undeniable shame that the same can't be said for its follow-ups. As it stands, only the Ardyn-centric DLC was ever released for the second season pass, leaving the expanded story of Noctis, Lunafreya, and the true ending of FF15 to never make it into the full game.

The final two DLC were eventually adapted into the second half of the official Dawn of the Future novel.

Despite the grim fate of FF15's story, the final two DLC were eventually adapted into the second half of the official Final Fantasy 15: Dawn of the Future novel, made by the creators of the game themselves. Acting as an alternate ending similar to the events of Episode Ignis, the Dawn of the Future novel explores a world where its cast discovers and rebels against the true mastermind behind the events of its cataclysmic disaster.

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Not only does the novelized version offer a much-needed spotlight on some of Final Fantasy 15's most underdeveloped characters, but it also provides a more heartwarming epilogue for Noctis and his loved ones. Even if Final Fantasy 15's tear-jerking ending is still a core part of the experience, the alternate ending is a much more satisfying conclusion that does a better job at tying up the loose ends of the story.

Even if we won't ever see the ending of Final Fantasy 15 realized in a playable form, hopefully, the next entry in the series can avoid its biggest mistakes while still borrowing some of its more ambitious elements that make it such a memorable experience all these years later, even with its flaws.

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