17. Final Fantasy XV (2016)

There’s a lot of talk about “what makes a Final Fantasy game” these days, and it does feel like Final Fantasy XV is the product of Square itself trying to figure that out.

There’s a lot to love in Final Fantasy’s first swing at an open-world action-RPG. Its road trip format means you get a lot of time to hang out with Noctis and his buddies. It’s certainly gorgeous to look at, with every swing of your sword or summoning a visual feast to behold. But it’s also oddly rigid for an open-world game, and lacks a lot of what makes action games feel engaging, even compared to its distant cousin Kingdom Hearts. Perhaps most confounding, Final Fantasy XV sequesters crucial exposition in expanded universe media like a bad feature film which, for some reason, stars Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul.

All of this came before a DLC plan that was ultimately scrapped, leaving fans who were invested in the story without closure on some major story threads. Final Fantasy XV had great ideas, but ultimately was torn down by weird business decisions, long-term creative difficulties, and inconsistent execution. The greatest impact Final Fantasy XV had on pop culture was the Songs from Final Fantasy XV EP by Florence + The Machine. — Kenneth Shepard

Read More: Final Fantasy XV: The Kotaku Review