Anime Review - Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV Ep. 1
By: Mithrandiel[yasr_multiset setid=3] Following the long-awaited "Uncovered" event last night, fans had a lot to look forward to: the game officially launches on September 30th, there's a full CGI movie titled "Kingsglaive" that will be arriving sometime this summer, and some awesome deluxe and collector's edition goodies were showcased as well. However, for those who are dreadfully impatient (like myself), there were a couple of very pleasant surprises: the Platinum Demo, which launched last night, and the first episode of Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV; an anime series that chronicles how the four main characters came to know one another.
Even though the episode is fairly short (About 10 minutes once you take out the credits), it does a great job of establishing the conflict and characters of the Final Fantasy XV universe. As FFXV has started to materialize in its current form over the last few years (the project itself being nearly 10 years old at this point), there was some concern over the limited party/characters and whether it would still offer the same experience that we've come to know and love within the franchise. After last night, and watching this first episode of Brotherhood, that's certainly not a concern for me.With such a limited run-time, I was impressed by the restraint that Brotherhood has exhibited so far. With only 10 minutes it could be very easy to get lost in a single thread of the story, but it skillfully lays out Noctis' situation, the objective of their mission, and builds to an effective cliffhanger.The animation of Brotherhood is crisp, and the Final Fantasy style shines through in the character design, as well as the engaging combat scene at the climax of the episode. Each of the guys plays a specific role that is true to their personality when they're in combat, and Noctis' warp-strike attacks and summoned blades would be cool enough without the realization that soon you'll be controlling these characters in very similar scenarios.
Overall, I'm impressed with how Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV has started out. I'm excited to see the upcoming episodes, and hope that it maintains its commitment to story-telling and world-building.If you haven't seen it yet, you can view the first episode of Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV right here, right now:[iframe id="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fsVhwsUFaDE"]
