Hajime Tabata, director of Final Fantasy XV, wants to make some changes to the worst part of his game. He should not.
On November 30, the role-playing game Final Fantasy XV finally dropped after 10 years of development. But the development team wants to keep developing it anyway. Patching bugs out of a released product is not unusual, but the scope of what Tabata is suggesting very much is: He wants to add in more storyline sequences, more playable characters, maybe even a roll-your-own avatar system. And specifically, he wants to add "gameplay enhancements" to the game's controversial Chapter 13. Having played through the game this week, I can tell you that said chapter is an odd and unexpected moment, and one that likely doesn’t play as intended. From my talk with other early players of the game, it’s a moment that is as surprising as it is frustrating.
But you know what? I love Chapter 13, and to those who want to change it, I have news: You’re wrong. Hear me out. (Some gameplay and light narrative spoilers follow. You’ve been warned.)
The majority of Chapter 13, as it exists now, takes place in a maze. Noctis has been separated from his friends and, inexplicably, his combat abilities have been taken away from him. You can’t warp, or use your weapons, or access your magic. You can’t even change your clothes. At this point in time, Final Fantasy XV locks down, shrinking from a broad, open-world roadtrip to the barest elements. Darkened hallways of steel and concrete. Shadows to hide in. A character who is as baffled and lost as you are. Alone. It feels, within the continuity of the game, as if Final Fantasy XV has given up. All its clever design ideas, all the goofy flourishes of its character writing, every single interesting thing about it has shriveled up and been blown away in a sharp breeze.
And it lasts foreeeeever. For an hour or so, you have to move through a winding, repetitive maze. You’ll see the same reused room assets over and over again, hide in alcoves from killer robots in canned stealth encounters, and listen to an unbearably smarmy voice taunt you about being alone and confused. Of course I’m alone and confused, I wanted to shout back. Hajime Tabata betrayed me!
Not only was this not in any of the trailers, it doesn’t even make sense. The narrative by this point has become disjointed to the point of nigh incomprehension, leaving you with only the most elliptical explanation for where you are or what has happened. You’re alone, frustrated, storming the enemy stronghold in what should be the climactic moment of the game, and nobody, not even the game developers, have bothered to show up.
