FFXV story/spoiler discussion thread.
- Thread starter Joe
- Start date
Jason Tandro
Banned
- AKA
- Jason Tandro, Doc Brown, Santa Christ, FearAddict, Thibault Stormrunner, RN: Micah Rodney
X-SOLDIER
Harbinger O Great Justice
- AKA
- X
Well yes. I just get annoyed there're like... 7 of them all going off at different times knocking you around seemingly for all eternity and reducing your max HP to garbage seemingly instantly.
Also, I wish that the Ring of the Lucii (or really anything) let you use Barrier, because not only is the Kingsglaive version of the spell totally awesome looking, there are plenty of times when I'd like to just chuck up a protective wall, vs. dodge things (like with Bombs).
X
ForceStealer
Double Growth
That's a good point, for how much they used it in that movie. And I did like the way parts of it would crumble as it weakens.
ForceStealer
Double Growth
It happened to me once. On the streets of Insomnia. I couldn't figure out where to go and was trying to fight those crazy strong things anyway. Using an item would fix it but it came back as X said. But I ended up getting a game over there. And when I came back it didn't happen.
clowd
Pro Adventurer
Now that I have 70 hours of playtime, I feel I've seen and played enough of the game to give my final review.
Major Spoilers - Do not read if you havent finished the game
Very, very, very, very VERY long review (actually closer to a rant or ramble):
Major Spoilers - Do not read if you havent finished the game
Very, very, very, very VERY long review (actually closer to a rant or ramble):
Theres so many aspects to a game like Final Fantasy XV its hard to start in any one place. But I'll start with what perhaps is the most important element of any story, the characters.
After disliking the foursome like most people based off of all the promotional material, the team turned out to be quite likeable. Noctis I believe is a worthy star hero in the Final Fantasy franchise. He is extremely powerful, his royal lineage helps him feel special, and he gets some nice character moments towards the end of the game.
Perhaps by design Noctis has a 'neutral' personality to help him appeal to a wider variety of people. However his three friends are little more then basic tropes. The saving grace is the writing. With characters like this there could have been far more cringe worthy lines then there already is. But thanks to strong writing the interaction between the characters is quite enjoyable most of the time.
Unfortunately one of the big flaws in the game is the 4 party ensemble. There isnt any new characters to find and add to the team during the adventure. While this allows the game to focus more on the 4 core characters, I personally would have prefered a larger cast of characters.
And it may just be me, but, did anybody else feel such a group of people were totally unsuited to being friends? Each personality was so different I just cant imagine them being as close friends as they are presented in the game.
This leads me to a weird issue I've had with the game - why does nobody recognize Noctis? Him supposedly dying in the attack on Insomnia should have been big news. But hes walking around everywhere and it seems nobody really notices him? If Prince William was thought to be dead, it would cause quite the stir if he showed up in a town running around.
And they find out about the attack on Insomnia through a newspaper? Is it 1922 in Eos?
Oh and therse like 2 or 3 bad guys who look real important that you get maybe 2 scenes of the entire game before they show up dead. Thats poor story telling.
Its just a bunch of 'little' things like that which bothered me. Why did Noctis not appear to be all that sad when is father died? As someone who knew very little of XV's backstory I found myself questioning whether or not Regis was even his father because of how little emotion he showed when hearing of the news.
Backtracking just a little - but starting the player out in the open world was a rookie mistake. If you look at Metal Gear Solid 5 - theres probably 2 hours of linear game time before you get to the open world. In Final Fantasy 7 its 5-6 hours of linear gameplay before you access the open world. The open world has to feel like something you've earned, there has to be that excitement of reaching it for the first time. Just having it given to you day 1 isnt wrong, but its far from the best way to make a game 'fun'.
On the subject of the open world, well, its a mixed bag. The map itself is beautiful in dseign. However several faults hurt the experience.
For starters, too much of the map is accessible by road. And the areas that arent immediately accessible are not difficult to traverse. In the game's dungeons theres certain areas that require you to crawl or tight rope your way past perilous obstacles. This goes a long way to providing a sense of travel, danger, and accomplishment, but it only goes so far as all the dungeons lead to dead ends. The open world of XV does not offer any sense of travel, danger, or accomplishment.
Contrast that with the Mythril Mines 'Dungeon' in FFVII, or VII's Nibelheim mountains 'dungeon', which required climbing jumping, sliding etc. But more importantly they were gateways to accessing new portions of the map. There is no obstacles to clear to access new portions of XV's map. Its all open and easily accessible which neutered the sense of travel and accomplishment greatly.
XV's open world is also lacking variety. Its 30% desert, and 70% greenlands. Theres no large mountain ranges to traverse. No snow lands.
The names of the cities were too complex, thus making them not very easy to remember. The only town I can pronoune correctly is Hammerhead. Look at FFVII. You got to make the city names easy to say. Junon. Midgar. Mideel. Rocket Town. Not exotic fantasy names like Liebestraum.
While I like the battle system, it is deeply flawed. After I got to a certain level I was essentially invincible. Yes Final Fantasy games arent known to be that difficult and I was highly leveled, but even hunts and bosses that were supposedly on my level were easy. Once I lost my fear of losing the fun of the battle system really fell off.
Adamantoise was extremely disappointing. Not because of the repetitive nature of the fight, but because I could literally just stand where I was on the map and do nothing and not get killed for what seemed like forever.
Which brings me to another big issue with the battle system: the AI's tendency to target you and only you. I understand it could get boring if the AI dont attack you, but when all 4 enemies ignore your 3 teammates and go just for you, it gets old fast. Healing yourself 10x more often then you heal your allies gets old, fast.
There desperately needed to be some sort of FFXII gambig system in place to give you control over your AI teammates. As it is they're pretty much useless. They dont heal themselves or you with potions (which slows the pace of the battles down). They hardly ever attack. They're just there to watch you do almost everything.
Dont get me wrong I like the battle system, but it has flaws that needed to be sorted before VII:R. Too many bosses felt like slugfests. Instead of giving the bosses 10 million HP to make them a challenge, a better way would have been giving them appendages to have to break off to help give a sense of progression through a long fight. Perhaps make it hard to reach some of these appendages.
And the KO system needed to be overhauled. At high levels the game is too easy, you can bring back everybody instantly with phoenix downs and teammates limping around can be brought back instantly with potions. This made the battles too easy.
A better way would have been to add a timer to bringing people back with a phoenix down. Maybe it takes them 15-20 seconds to get back to their feet and join the fight. And if they get knocked out a second time they are gone for good until after the battle. Allies who are critical and stumbling around should only be healed by physically touching them, and there should be a limit on that too. As it stands the game is easier then FFVII, and thats saying something.
This is where I feel PC modding can really help the difficulty of the game.
Now as for the story...
The core principals of the story is interesting, but I feel Tabata was handicapped in many ways and the story we got was 'the best they could do to get the game out in a reasonable time frame'
Literally nothing of any real importance happens between the fall of Insomnia to Chapter 9. Its just gathering powers.
Think about it. In FFVII's first 5 hours you blew up TWO reactors, Shinra dropped the plate on the head of countless civilians, president shinra died, you met TWO new party members, you had the fun bike mini-game, you had the fun shinra HQ puzzles, you had the fun wal market puzzles, you heard elmyra's tragic story, you met the turks, you met rufus shinra, you escaped shinra HQ etc etc etc etc
The first 5 hours of XV? Totally forgettable in comparison.
Now I seem to be one of the few people who really, really liked the story from Chapter 9 to the end (excluding the infamous chapter 13 of course). This is the point where the game shifted from story driven to character driven. Finally actions Noctis and co were doing affected the world and the story. You were no longer a bystander. And there was even drama!
I didnt like many portions of the story in chapter 9 through the end, but it was personal taste. Blinding Ignis was a garbage move. What makes it garbage is there is no decent reason given for as to why it happened. It just happened. At least blind him protecting Noctis, or have Noctis blind him after getting tricked by Ardyn. As it stands he gets blind....just because...just because they want to sour the mood of the game. It was crap.
Overall its very hard for me to rate this game, because it does some really good things and some really bad things. It was like Batman vs Superman. It tried to do alot and take risks. Half of it worked the other half backfired. So when you want to criticize it for its failings you cant but help remember the great stuff it did right.
I'll just say I do not regret buying it at nearly full price and dumping 70 hours of my life into it. It was fun.
After disliking the foursome like most people based off of all the promotional material, the team turned out to be quite likeable. Noctis I believe is a worthy star hero in the Final Fantasy franchise. He is extremely powerful, his royal lineage helps him feel special, and he gets some nice character moments towards the end of the game.
Perhaps by design Noctis has a 'neutral' personality to help him appeal to a wider variety of people. However his three friends are little more then basic tropes. The saving grace is the writing. With characters like this there could have been far more cringe worthy lines then there already is. But thanks to strong writing the interaction between the characters is quite enjoyable most of the time.
Unfortunately one of the big flaws in the game is the 4 party ensemble. There isnt any new characters to find and add to the team during the adventure. While this allows the game to focus more on the 4 core characters, I personally would have prefered a larger cast of characters.
And it may just be me, but, did anybody else feel such a group of people were totally unsuited to being friends? Each personality was so different I just cant imagine them being as close friends as they are presented in the game.
This leads me to a weird issue I've had with the game - why does nobody recognize Noctis? Him supposedly dying in the attack on Insomnia should have been big news. But hes walking around everywhere and it seems nobody really notices him? If Prince William was thought to be dead, it would cause quite the stir if he showed up in a town running around.
And they find out about the attack on Insomnia through a newspaper? Is it 1922 in Eos?
Oh and therse like 2 or 3 bad guys who look real important that you get maybe 2 scenes of the entire game before they show up dead. Thats poor story telling.
Its just a bunch of 'little' things like that which bothered me. Why did Noctis not appear to be all that sad when is father died? As someone who knew very little of XV's backstory I found myself questioning whether or not Regis was even his father because of how little emotion he showed when hearing of the news.
Backtracking just a little - but starting the player out in the open world was a rookie mistake. If you look at Metal Gear Solid 5 - theres probably 2 hours of linear game time before you get to the open world. In Final Fantasy 7 its 5-6 hours of linear gameplay before you access the open world. The open world has to feel like something you've earned, there has to be that excitement of reaching it for the first time. Just having it given to you day 1 isnt wrong, but its far from the best way to make a game 'fun'.
On the subject of the open world, well, its a mixed bag. The map itself is beautiful in dseign. However several faults hurt the experience.
For starters, too much of the map is accessible by road. And the areas that arent immediately accessible are not difficult to traverse. In the game's dungeons theres certain areas that require you to crawl or tight rope your way past perilous obstacles. This goes a long way to providing a sense of travel, danger, and accomplishment, but it only goes so far as all the dungeons lead to dead ends. The open world of XV does not offer any sense of travel, danger, or accomplishment.
Contrast that with the Mythril Mines 'Dungeon' in FFVII, or VII's Nibelheim mountains 'dungeon', which required climbing jumping, sliding etc. But more importantly they were gateways to accessing new portions of the map. There is no obstacles to clear to access new portions of XV's map. Its all open and easily accessible which neutered the sense of travel and accomplishment greatly.
XV's open world is also lacking variety. Its 30% desert, and 70% greenlands. Theres no large mountain ranges to traverse. No snow lands.
The names of the cities were too complex, thus making them not very easy to remember. The only town I can pronoune correctly is Hammerhead. Look at FFVII. You got to make the city names easy to say. Junon. Midgar. Mideel. Rocket Town. Not exotic fantasy names like Liebestraum.
While I like the battle system, it is deeply flawed. After I got to a certain level I was essentially invincible. Yes Final Fantasy games arent known to be that difficult and I was highly leveled, but even hunts and bosses that were supposedly on my level were easy. Once I lost my fear of losing the fun of the battle system really fell off.
Adamantoise was extremely disappointing. Not because of the repetitive nature of the fight, but because I could literally just stand where I was on the map and do nothing and not get killed for what seemed like forever.
Which brings me to another big issue with the battle system: the AI's tendency to target you and only you. I understand it could get boring if the AI dont attack you, but when all 4 enemies ignore your 3 teammates and go just for you, it gets old fast. Healing yourself 10x more often then you heal your allies gets old, fast.
There desperately needed to be some sort of FFXII gambig system in place to give you control over your AI teammates. As it is they're pretty much useless. They dont heal themselves or you with potions (which slows the pace of the battles down). They hardly ever attack. They're just there to watch you do almost everything.
Dont get me wrong I like the battle system, but it has flaws that needed to be sorted before VII:R. Too many bosses felt like slugfests. Instead of giving the bosses 10 million HP to make them a challenge, a better way would have been giving them appendages to have to break off to help give a sense of progression through a long fight. Perhaps make it hard to reach some of these appendages.
And the KO system needed to be overhauled. At high levels the game is too easy, you can bring back everybody instantly with phoenix downs and teammates limping around can be brought back instantly with potions. This made the battles too easy.
A better way would have been to add a timer to bringing people back with a phoenix down. Maybe it takes them 15-20 seconds to get back to their feet and join the fight. And if they get knocked out a second time they are gone for good until after the battle. Allies who are critical and stumbling around should only be healed by physically touching them, and there should be a limit on that too. As it stands the game is easier then FFVII, and thats saying something.
This is where I feel PC modding can really help the difficulty of the game.
Now as for the story...
The core principals of the story is interesting, but I feel Tabata was handicapped in many ways and the story we got was 'the best they could do to get the game out in a reasonable time frame'
Literally nothing of any real importance happens between the fall of Insomnia to Chapter 9. Its just gathering powers.
Think about it. In FFVII's first 5 hours you blew up TWO reactors, Shinra dropped the plate on the head of countless civilians, president shinra died, you met TWO new party members, you had the fun bike mini-game, you had the fun shinra HQ puzzles, you had the fun wal market puzzles, you heard elmyra's tragic story, you met the turks, you met rufus shinra, you escaped shinra HQ etc etc etc etc
The first 5 hours of XV? Totally forgettable in comparison.
Now I seem to be one of the few people who really, really liked the story from Chapter 9 to the end (excluding the infamous chapter 13 of course). This is the point where the game shifted from story driven to character driven. Finally actions Noctis and co were doing affected the world and the story. You were no longer a bystander. And there was even drama!
I didnt like many portions of the story in chapter 9 through the end, but it was personal taste. Blinding Ignis was a garbage move. What makes it garbage is there is no decent reason given for as to why it happened. It just happened. At least blind him protecting Noctis, or have Noctis blind him after getting tricked by Ardyn. As it stands he gets blind....just because...just because they want to sour the mood of the game. It was crap.
Overall its very hard for me to rate this game, because it does some really good things and some really bad things. It was like Batman vs Superman. It tried to do alot and take risks. Half of it worked the other half backfired. So when you want to criticize it for its failings you cant but help remember the great stuff it did right.
I'll just say I do not regret buying it at nearly full price and dumping 70 hours of my life into it. It was fun.
Jason Tandro
Banned
- AKA
- Jason Tandro, Doc Brown, Santa Christ, FearAddict, Thibault Stormrunner, RN: Micah Rodney
Edit: Took me 40 minutes but I nabbed the Wind Up Lord Vexos from the Justice Monsters 5 machine.
Edit 2: So
The four hanging in the throne room. I've heard some debate about this but on a second look it seems pretty clear to me.
Correct yes?
Correct yes?
Edit 3:
Ardyn: You think 10 years is a long time? I have lived in darkness for ages!
So I just realised... was Tabata being coy here making it a 10 year gap?
So I just realised... was Tabata being coy here making it a 10 year gap?
Last edited:
Cthulhu
Administrator
- AKA
- Yop
I really don't like the camera in the gaem 
. I haven't had the freeze bug, but it's pretty useless most of the time anyway. Bushes? You're fucked. Combat? No dice.
I'd really like square to fix that shit.
Also chapter 13 was long. I may finish it tonight... but I'll probably do sum moar sidequests.
. I haven't had the freeze bug, but it's pretty useless most of the time anyway. Bushes? You're fucked. Combat? No dice.I'd really like square to fix that shit.
Also chapter 13 was long. I may finish it tonight... but I'll probably do sum moar sidequests.
chapter 15 has rather err, challenging enemies. I'm sure I'm intended to just avoid them. Which I have.
The Twilight Mexican
Ex-SeeD-ingly good
- AKA
- TresDias
Yeah, you're correct about the four bodies (though I think they were probably illusions?).
And yeah, there's no way the 10 years plot point wasn't deliberately waxing meta.
And yeah, there's no way the 10 years plot point wasn't deliberately waxing meta.
Cthulhu
Administrator
- AKA
- Yop
Righto, finished the gaem, assorted thoughts and crappiest review evar to follow
I do like how, despite probably having restarted development a few times over and taking eight years, they kept the mechanics from that first trailer - warping, weapons, etc. So there's that at least. It really didn't fit in with XIII in a lot of ways though, so yeah, good call they called it XV. They should've been years earlier though.
They're going to make two sequels for this gaem, aren't they? I'd rather have FFXVI.
anyway. Tasha mentioned how it felt like a mashup of a lot of previous games, and I'm inclined to agree - probably intentional. Both the game and Kingsglaive have a healthy sprinkling of FF nostalgia, I'd even argue moreso than other FF games (which usually share some nostalgia). It's a direction Square has been headed for a while though - WoFF, all the mobile games, even Dissidia and whatnot, all try to cash in (or idk, creatively use) previous titles, characters and the nostalgia invoked. I digged the random (and poorly done) victory theme singing,
re: Prompto, the OH NOES HE'S LIKE A BLACK MAGE PLOT TWIST thing is... lacking. It serves no purpose besides "orite I can open this door". There's also no explanation why he doesn't melt when exposed to sunlight (although he is rather pale), and it doesn't affect the story in any way whatsoever besides that one scene. The biggest problem with it? It makes him the only character with a semblance of depth and backstory. Noct happens to be the prince / king and Chosen One, even though he doesn't give a fuck. Ignis cooks, drives, and goes blind. No story there. Prompto has a sister and nothing else. Oh he goes apeshit at Noct's CBA-ness, but even that feels out of place - that may have to do with the English VA's and/or me missing some important Japanese character trait thing, but I just think it was poorly done and served no purpose.
well besides the temporary stat boost.
Anyway, thoughts about the final bit.
The 10 year break is... completely unexplained. I don't even know what happened. Did he go full recluse and sit in a stone jail for ten years? Stasis? He doesn't seem to have Learned the Secrets of the Ancients or what have you either, just aged a bit. I don't mind the jump in the future, it's just the reason why is a bit ehh.
The world looks pretty decent despite having been in darkness for ten years. You'd think everything was dead. idk.
The whole thing about Ardyn helping the d00dz out with everything so he can fight Noct0rz in his FINAL FORM!11one is... unconvincing. kind of. So I get starting a war so Noctis goes and collects all thepokemon gods and becomes teh stronger, but stuff like chapter 13 is just needlessly convoluted. Stabbing Luna was probably intended to piss Nekt0 off or something, but if it was, it was told rather poorly.
Final battle(s) were... ehh. The Ifrit fite was neat enough (especially with the showy summons - I do dig the summons in this game, I'll have to add), but the final confrontation seemed lacking - not particularly challenging, very underwhelming music, etc. Compared to that, the Leviathan fight is the climax of the game - much prettier city / environments one goes through beforehand, the actual main (action) theme of the game plays, and Noctis goes full super saiyan - doesn't really top that in the end fight.
The bit where the king gets pwned by all of the Elder Gods / kings, dies, and goes to pwn Sephiroth in the Lifestream is also a bit... convoluted. Although I guess it makes sense that it has to be done, given how his physical form is killed by Shiva earlier on. I guess he returns to the Lifestream to regain his mana and respawn, and following him to omnislash him was the thing to finish him off.
OR IS IT. inb4 he's not really dead, Noctis / Luna aren't really dead (as strongly hinted to by the post-credits scene), and we'll get a few sequels.
Beacause with what little has been established in this game, any sequel will either be an original game with original characters (and tie-ins with this), oooor it'll be like 'yeh not ded lol' and go from there.
I've said it before, but, I'd like them to learn the lessons and move on to XVI instead of trying to milk this game even more.
[/spoiler]
I guess I'll try to do endgame content now - there seems to be plenty of stuff left to do. Haven't seen no Adamantoise yet either.
Someone mentioned a TGS trailer from 2014. The combat in that one seems a lot slower... which I think I like better. At least you can see wtf is going on. I feel that the game in its current form is too fast and unclear in most combat situations. I'm sure the animators and body actors did an excellent jerb, but the speed and choppiness of everything hides it all. Camera is more up close too, which... probably means there's less overview. Ooo it's got finishing moves of sorts. Probably scripted but still.
[spoiler='Member that first XV trailer?]
[spoiler='Member that first XV trailer?]
I do like how, despite probably having restarted development a few times over and taking eight years, they kept the mechanics from that first trailer - warping, weapons, etc. So there's that at least. It really didn't fit in with XIII in a lot of ways though, so yeah, good call they called it XV. They should've been years earlier though.
They're going to make two sequels for this gaem, aren't they? I'd rather have FFXVI.
anyway. Tasha mentioned how it felt like a mashup of a lot of previous games, and I'm inclined to agree - probably intentional. Both the game and Kingsglaive have a healthy sprinkling of FF nostalgia, I'd even argue moreso than other FF games (which usually share some nostalgia). It's a direction Square has been headed for a while though - WoFF, all the mobile games, even Dissidia and whatnot, all try to cash in (or idk, creatively use) previous titles, characters and the nostalgia invoked. I digged the random (and poorly done) victory theme singing,
re: Prompto, the OH NOES HE'S LIKE A BLACK MAGE PLOT TWIST thing is... lacking. It serves no purpose besides "orite I can open this door". There's also no explanation why he doesn't melt when exposed to sunlight (although he is rather pale), and it doesn't affect the story in any way whatsoever besides that one scene. The biggest problem with it? It makes him the only character with a semblance of depth and backstory. Noct happens to be the prince / king and Chosen One, even though he doesn't give a fuck. Ignis cooks, drives, and goes blind. No story there. Prompto has a sister and nothing else. Oh he goes apeshit at Noct's CBA-ness, but even that feels out of place - that may have to do with the English VA's and/or me missing some important Japanese character trait thing, but I just think it was poorly done and served no purpose.
well besides the temporary stat boost.
Anyway, thoughts about the final bit.
The 10 year break is... completely unexplained. I don't even know what happened. Did he go full recluse and sit in a stone jail for ten years? Stasis? He doesn't seem to have Learned the Secrets of the Ancients or what have you either, just aged a bit. I don't mind the jump in the future, it's just the reason why is a bit ehh.
The world looks pretty decent despite having been in darkness for ten years. You'd think everything was dead. idk.
The whole thing about Ardyn helping the d00dz out with everything so he can fight Noct0rz in his FINAL FORM!11one is... unconvincing. kind of. So I get starting a war so Noctis goes and collects all the
Final battle(s) were... ehh. The Ifrit fite was neat enough (especially with the showy summons - I do dig the summons in this game, I'll have to add), but the final confrontation seemed lacking - not particularly challenging, very underwhelming music, etc. Compared to that, the Leviathan fight is the climax of the game - much prettier city / environments one goes through beforehand, the actual main (action) theme of the game plays, and Noctis goes full super saiyan - doesn't really top that in the end fight.
The bit where the king gets pwned by all of the Elder Gods / kings, dies, and goes to pwn Sephiroth in the Lifestream is also a bit... convoluted. Although I guess it makes sense that it has to be done, given how his physical form is killed by Shiva earlier on. I guess he returns to the Lifestream to regain his mana and respawn, and following him to omnislash him was the thing to finish him off.
OR IS IT. inb4 he's not really dead, Noctis / Luna aren't really dead (as strongly hinted to by the post-credits scene), and we'll get a few sequels.
Beacause with what little has been established in this game, any sequel will either be an original game with original characters (and tie-ins with this), oooor it'll be like 'yeh not ded lol' and go from there.
I've said it before, but, I'd like them to learn the lessons and move on to XVI instead of trying to milk this game even more.
[/spoiler]
I guess I'll try to do endgame content now - there seems to be plenty of stuff left to do. Haven't seen no Adamantoise yet either.
Blade
That Man
- AKA
- Darkside-Ky/Mimeblade
Since no one else was going to do it, might as well:
FF MIXTAPE MP3 PLAYER TRACKS FOR DUNGEONS
Keycatrich Trench: (The Tomb of Raithwall - FFXII)
Magitek Bases/Blockades: (Tower of Zot - FFIV / Imperial Army Theme - FFII / Crazy Motorcycle - FFVII)
Greyshire Glacial Grotto: (Dungeon - FFII)
The Disc: (Giant's Dungeon - FFIV)
Deadeye Hunt: (Cosmo Canyon - FFVII)
Fociaugh Hollow: (Ipsen's Heritage - FFIX)
Steyliff Grove: (Sunken Shrine - FFI)
Lestallum Reactor: (Mako Reactor - FFVII)
Cape Caem: (Fisherman's Horizon - FFVIII)
Altissia (Bounty Hunts): (The Magic House - FFVI / Hunter's Chance - FFIX)
Old Quarry: (Judgement Day - FFVII)
Train (on board): (Phantom Train - FFVI)
Train (on top/side): (Hurry! - FFVII)
Imperial Fortress: (Tower of Ruin/Last Dungeon - FFVI)
Malmalam Thicket: (Phantom Forest - FFVI)
The Rock of Ravatogh: (Troops - Dissidia Duodecim)
The Myrlwood: (Dungeon - FFIV)
Daurel Caverns: (Fate in Haze - FFV)
The Boulves Mines: (Gulg Volcano - FFI)
Crestholm Channels: (Find your Way - FFVIII)
Costlemark Tower: (Magician's Tower - FFII)
Pitioss Dungeon: (Floating Castle - FFI)
FF MIXTAPE MP3 PLAYER TRACKS FOR DUNGEONS
Keycatrich Trench: (The Tomb of Raithwall - FFXII)
Magitek Bases/Blockades: (Tower of Zot - FFIV / Imperial Army Theme - FFII / Crazy Motorcycle - FFVII)
Greyshire Glacial Grotto: (Dungeon - FFII)
The Disc: (Giant's Dungeon - FFIV)
Deadeye Hunt: (Cosmo Canyon - FFVII)
Fociaugh Hollow: (Ipsen's Heritage - FFIX)
Steyliff Grove: (Sunken Shrine - FFI)
Lestallum Reactor: (Mako Reactor - FFVII)
Cape Caem: (Fisherman's Horizon - FFVIII)
Altissia (Bounty Hunts): (The Magic House - FFVI / Hunter's Chance - FFIX)
Old Quarry: (Judgement Day - FFVII)
Train (on board): (Phantom Train - FFVI)
Train (on top/side): (Hurry! - FFVII)
Imperial Fortress: (Tower of Ruin/Last Dungeon - FFVI)
Malmalam Thicket: (Phantom Forest - FFVI)
The Rock of Ravatogh: (Troops - Dissidia Duodecim)
The Myrlwood: (Dungeon - FFIV)
Daurel Caverns: (Fate in Haze - FFV)
The Boulves Mines: (Gulg Volcano - FFI)
Crestholm Channels: (Find your Way - FFVIII)
Costlemark Tower: (Magician's Tower - FFII)
Pitioss Dungeon: (Floating Castle - FFI)
Claymore
3x3 Eyes
Hhm. It is quite clear why so many people are calling XV a conflicting mess of half-formed concepts, ideas and very limited-to-poor execution. You are left with a game that struggles to find its core identity. There is definitely a tug-of-war going on as you can see Tabata trying to form the roadtrip concept around the background framework of Nomura's Yakuza family / Shakespearean tragedy. Unfortunately, neither side comes out on top, and it feels more like one-part to one-part rather than the different concepts harmonizing within each other.
Though these has a massive negative impact on the story, the roadtrip concept itself is pulled off to perfection. I really felt a strong affinity between these four characters and their relationship to one another. What impressed me was that it was all the small things which helped to build this sense of camaraderie - the campsites, the random dialogue whilst traversing the world, the link up moves and character interactions which follow, etc... They actually built something truly incredible there.
In terms of length ... I mean, the story is incredibly threadbare. Forget just those incredibly obvious and blatant money-making story segments for Gladio, Ignis and Prompto which they removed for DLC - so much of the story just feels cut out and missing. Sometimes, in quite shocking gaps. I have no sense of understanding or motivation for so much that is going on. It ultimately leaves me feeling cold and uncaring about anything other than the camaraderie of these characters.
So many major plot points had zero impact at all because they weren't built up on at all.
Am I really supposed to feel something at the death of 'Look! She's so much stronger and cooler than Stella' Luna? ... Why? What has she done to make me feel even remotely sad at her passing? What interactions have we witnessed of her beyond a few sparse speeches and flashbacks of her healing people? Heck, am I supposed to really care about any kind of romantic entanglement between Noctis and herself?
Prompto is an MT. Erm, ok, if you say so. And just as quickly, that's the end of that. Let's not mention that again ... because the game surely hell doesn't. Dust in the wind.
Speaking of sudden significant plot points popping up, we suddenly learn that the nights have been getting longer and soon daemons will take over the entire continent. And yet, such an important aspect of the story gets such a small mention (pretty much in passing) right at the end game? Did I somehow miss when the in-game clock started having night encroach earlier more and more throughout the game? Did I miss all the times we saw more and more daemons emerging in darkness, or have more side-quests about daemons attacking outposts more frequently? Did any of this have any significance or relevance outside of that one sentence?!
Oh nice! I'm about to hear something story or character related in the traversing dialo- IMPERIALS ABOVE US!
Arvyn is ... I honestly don't even know who or what he is. We were given one sentence about old bloodlines and daemons and he was turned on and now wants revenge. I mean ... What now? Come on here! And don't even get me started on needing Noctis to be at his best in order to beat him and gain his retribution. That is absolute nonsense that I would have expected from some PG children's show that always happens whenever the villain gains the upper hand. I expect better here - Shakespearean tragedy falling to the wayside or not. But hey, the writing in this...
This goes beyond just taking things out in order to save time and ship the game in time. The game has poor explanations for everything all round - and that is when they even bothered to explain something at all. This has to be the weakest sense of immersion and worldbuilding that I have ever encountered in a modern game ... and I thought XIII was bad on that account.
The battle system achieves the eye-dazzling Advent Children style conflicts that they were aiming for, providing hours of fun and lots of interesting wildlife to take on, but the action all feels at the expense of any real lasting strategy and very limited variation. I was hoping for more in this final version. The camera ... oh god, the camera. If you're fighting amongst the trees, in a corridor or at night - forget it. You might as well just close your eyes and tap 'O'. As for magic, well, I disliked what they proposed for it right back when it was initially announced, and that certainly hasn't changed. I still fiercely dislike it.
Without a doubt, this is a simply beautiful game. I mean - wow. The landscape is breathtaking, and the movement of the character models - especially their clothing and hair - is just exceptional. Altissia itself is a sight to beyond. It's just a shame that it is marred somewhat by the repetitious nature of outposts, cafes and certain items over and over. We all know that SE struggle with HD towns - and they have come right out and said so themselves - but I would have liked a little more diversity here. This becomes more prevalent the more you traverse the world, and then the final chapters of the game seem so boring and lifeless in comparison.
What to say about Chapter 13? ... Chapter 13 can go rot in hell. I have played countless games where the protagonist is suddenly unarmed or have their powers sealed, but this is undoubtedly the worst sequence of such an event that I have ever played. It was dull and uninspiring in both design and execution. This should have been such an epic moment where we see magic come to the fore and really busting shit up ... but no. The fact that it is riddled with glitches doesn't help matters either. You can sometimes accidentally unarm the Soldiers whilst using the counter magic of the ring (since Death magic doesn't work on them) - but you end up with them unable to actually strike you. And you can't attack. And they can't strike you. And you can't attack...
Was this chapter ever tested?
Though if some of the level and town designs need a lot of work, and though I am not overly fond of the overall character designs, the summons are incredible. They look outstanding. I also love the way that the game handled the Gods in that they felt truly epic and were given the scope and magnitude that they deserved during actual battles. Those battles were pretty darn amazing, though unfortunately descended into QTE or one-hit-to-kill events.
I've read some official sites which say that they are so impressed with what XV has managed to salvage from years of developmental chaos. But this feels like a weird sort of praise. It has managed to polish a nugget from the scraps of ruin, but the game is far from the defining shiny moment for FF that I feel that it was expected to be.
Outside of the DLCs and any other aspects that they will push for this game ... am I really going to remember XV in 6 months time? A year from now? Will I be talking about character relationships and who should get with who? Will I be debating the world and character scenarios with others? Will we be talking about the history of certain towns and their customs? Or discussing the merits of using a certain strategy against a boss versus another? Will I be mining the game for all its secrets and discoveries?
Unfortunately not. And it saddens me to say it. It was fun though.
Though these has a massive negative impact on the story, the roadtrip concept itself is pulled off to perfection. I really felt a strong affinity between these four characters and their relationship to one another. What impressed me was that it was all the small things which helped to build this sense of camaraderie - the campsites, the random dialogue whilst traversing the world, the link up moves and character interactions which follow, etc... They actually built something truly incredible there.
In terms of length ... I mean, the story is incredibly threadbare. Forget just those incredibly obvious and blatant money-making story segments for Gladio, Ignis and Prompto which they removed for DLC - so much of the story just feels cut out and missing. Sometimes, in quite shocking gaps. I have no sense of understanding or motivation for so much that is going on. It ultimately leaves me feeling cold and uncaring about anything other than the camaraderie of these characters.
So many major plot points had zero impact at all because they weren't built up on at all.
Am I really supposed to feel something at the death of 'Look! She's so much stronger and cooler than Stella' Luna? ... Why? What has she done to make me feel even remotely sad at her passing? What interactions have we witnessed of her beyond a few sparse speeches and flashbacks of her healing people? Heck, am I supposed to really care about any kind of romantic entanglement between Noctis and herself?
Prompto is an MT. Erm, ok, if you say so. And just as quickly, that's the end of that. Let's not mention that again ... because the game surely hell doesn't. Dust in the wind.
Speaking of sudden significant plot points popping up, we suddenly learn that the nights have been getting longer and soon daemons will take over the entire continent. And yet, such an important aspect of the story gets such a small mention (pretty much in passing) right at the end game? Did I somehow miss when the in-game clock started having night encroach earlier more and more throughout the game? Did I miss all the times we saw more and more daemons emerging in darkness, or have more side-quests about daemons attacking outposts more frequently? Did any of this have any significance or relevance outside of that one sentence?!
Oh nice! I'm about to hear something story or character related in the traversing dialo- IMPERIALS ABOVE US!
Arvyn is ... I honestly don't even know who or what he is. We were given one sentence about old bloodlines and daemons and he was turned on and now wants revenge. I mean ... What now? Come on here! And don't even get me started on needing Noctis to be at his best in order to beat him and gain his retribution. That is absolute nonsense that I would have expected from some PG children's show that always happens whenever the villain gains the upper hand. I expect better here - Shakespearean tragedy falling to the wayside or not. But hey, the writing in this...
This goes beyond just taking things out in order to save time and ship the game in time. The game has poor explanations for everything all round - and that is when they even bothered to explain something at all. This has to be the weakest sense of immersion and worldbuilding that I have ever encountered in a modern game ... and I thought XIII was bad on that account.
The battle system achieves the eye-dazzling Advent Children style conflicts that they were aiming for, providing hours of fun and lots of interesting wildlife to take on, but the action all feels at the expense of any real lasting strategy and very limited variation. I was hoping for more in this final version. The camera ... oh god, the camera. If you're fighting amongst the trees, in a corridor or at night - forget it. You might as well just close your eyes and tap 'O'. As for magic, well, I disliked what they proposed for it right back when it was initially announced, and that certainly hasn't changed. I still fiercely dislike it.
Without a doubt, this is a simply beautiful game. I mean - wow. The landscape is breathtaking, and the movement of the character models - especially their clothing and hair - is just exceptional. Altissia itself is a sight to beyond. It's just a shame that it is marred somewhat by the repetitious nature of outposts, cafes and certain items over and over. We all know that SE struggle with HD towns - and they have come right out and said so themselves - but I would have liked a little more diversity here. This becomes more prevalent the more you traverse the world, and then the final chapters of the game seem so boring and lifeless in comparison.
What to say about Chapter 13? ... Chapter 13 can go rot in hell. I have played countless games where the protagonist is suddenly unarmed or have their powers sealed, but this is undoubtedly the worst sequence of such an event that I have ever played. It was dull and uninspiring in both design and execution. This should have been such an epic moment where we see magic come to the fore and really busting shit up ... but no. The fact that it is riddled with glitches doesn't help matters either. You can sometimes accidentally unarm the Soldiers whilst using the counter magic of the ring (since Death magic doesn't work on them) - but you end up with them unable to actually strike you. And you can't attack. And they can't strike you. And you can't attack...
Was this chapter ever tested?
Though if some of the level and town designs need a lot of work, and though I am not overly fond of the overall character designs, the summons are incredible. They look outstanding. I also love the way that the game handled the Gods in that they felt truly epic and were given the scope and magnitude that they deserved during actual battles. Those battles were pretty darn amazing, though unfortunately descended into QTE or one-hit-to-kill events.
I've read some official sites which say that they are so impressed with what XV has managed to salvage from years of developmental chaos. But this feels like a weird sort of praise. It has managed to polish a nugget from the scraps of ruin, but the game is far from the defining shiny moment for FF that I feel that it was expected to be.
Outside of the DLCs and any other aspects that they will push for this game ... am I really going to remember XV in 6 months time? A year from now? Will I be talking about character relationships and who should get with who? Will I be debating the world and character scenarios with others? Will we be talking about the history of certain towns and their customs? Or discussing the merits of using a certain strategy against a boss versus another? Will I be mining the game for all its secrets and discoveries?
Unfortunately not. And it saddens me to say it. It was fun though.
Jason Tandro
Banned
- AKA
- Jason Tandro, Doc Brown, Santa Christ, FearAddict, Thibault Stormrunner, RN: Micah Rodney
Claymore said:
That's goin' on my wall brother. 10/10 comedy and observation!
JechtShotMK9
The Sublimely Magnificent One
- AKA
- Kamiccolo9
It was. Near the very beginning.
As for using Death on the soldiers in a certain later chapter that was mentioned, it works. It just takes forever.
lithiumkatana17
Pro Adventurer
- AKA
- Lith
Chapter 9/Beginning of Chapter 10 diddly doos
Even though this chapter had been spoiled for me awhile, I was NOT prepared for it. I gotta admit, I teared up in some parts because I couldn't even.
Leviathan fight was cool, but still a pain in the dick at the same time. The mechanics were shite, but I can think of how could it would have been to watch this in a movie or FMV sequence rather than play through it in videogame.
MY POOR IGGY BABY!!
It's kinda funny that I knew this would happen beforehand because Lex and I noticed in the trailers that on the train scene Ignis has a waking stick, but STILL!!!!!!
And we just got into our first scuffle down in the mines by the train station and afterwards Noctis tells him he should hang back next time and Ignis asks "Was I in the way?" and I was all:
Leviathan fight was cool, but still a pain in the dick at the same time. The mechanics were shite, but I can think of how could it would have been to watch this in a movie or FMV sequence rather than play through it in videogame.
MY POOR IGGY BABY!!
It's kinda funny that I knew this would happen beforehand because Lex and I noticed in the trailers that on the train scene Ignis has a waking stick, but STILL!!!!!!
And we just got into our first scuffle down in the mines by the train station and afterwards Noctis tells him he should hang back next time and Ignis asks "Was I in the way?" and I was all:
Mayo Master
Pro Adventurer
Since I've finished the game only recently, I'm browsing this thread only now. First I'd like to say that I've enjoyed reading what people poasted here ; like a lot of people I have mixed feelings about the game. Trying to summarize things...
- Overall I enjoyed the game, it was a lot of fun. For me, the first big plus side is the open world environment, at least on Lucis, which nicely conveyed the feeling of travelling vast expanses of land. The next one is the combat system, which feels seamless, dynamic, and offering a wide array of moves and enemies to provide some diversity. Even though having trees in the way was annoying at times, I didn't feel too inconvenienced by it. Summons were an absolute blast, although I regret their tendency to appear quite randomly and scarcely.
- Really liked how the “road trip” mood was pulled off. Personally, I really enjoy all the tiny bits showing the characters in somewhat mundane moments, as it makes them seem more “human” and relatable. Unfortunately, the interaction between characters has very uneven quality.
- I think what strikes me the most is precisely that characters interactions (between main characters, interactions with NPCs, etc.), narrative behind quests, etc. are of very uneven quality. Or that the world building seems awesome but there's so little exposition that it's very hard to actually feel what's going on. Or that some stuff seems spot on, right on the money, and other stuff feels gratuitous or out of place.
- Example (IMO) of things done right: the sidequests from Holly, from the power plant in Lestallum. You're given a good reason to check on the sidequest, while presenting a minor character, and you do a quest which is pertaining to the safety of civilians while tying it to a core element of the world's background (lights in towns, daemons in the night, etc.). The party has some banter about Holly, and at the end of her series of quests you have a nice and short wrap-up. Other example of stuff done right: Aranea – I don't think it's coincidence if most folks have noted her appearances as highlights of the game. It goes to show that they actually could make a strong female character in this game
- Examples (IMO) of gratuitous stuff that (literally translating a French expression, because it conveys the feeling so well) “falls like a hair on the soup”: Prompto being a MT, Cindy's mechanic attire, pretty much everything about Dino, people not reacting to the fall of Insomnia, the party not reacting to Ardyn's ability to “freeze time”, the concept that Niflheim invades Lucis while at the same time their entire nation has collapsed, the game wanting you to get emotionally involved with some characters but not providing you the means to get attached to them (Luna being of course the main example).
- As I said elsewhere, it feels like the game has so much wasted potential. It could have been so much better with a well-executed narrative, or a better narrative/gameplay combination. Example (IMO), while it wouldn't really make sense to send a prince on miscellaneous fetch quests and hunt missions, it would actually would make a lot more sense if the party had the desire to remain incognito – which would completely make sense with the starting setting of having Insomnia conquered and the line of Kings at the mercy of the Imperials. But for some reason, they completely downplayed that. It suddenly re-emerges in some plot points (like Jared getting offed, or a quest giver saying “I know you're the prince but I won't tell anyone because I'm such a nice guy”
, but it's treated very inconsistently – a shame given that it was integrated in the context of FFXV: Brotherhood. - The experience as a whole, between the great gameplay, the awesome environments, and the cheap story with poor narrative and one-dimensional NPCs, reminded me a lot of Dragon's Dogma. Not a bad game by any means, but not the most fulfilling experience either. As far as recent RPGs go, I dare say DA:Inquisition had better quality.
I guess that's it for now.