Jimmy XH
Pro Adventurer
I’m about as far through as the rest of you and my thoughts are much the same.
I see a lot of debate elsewhere around how ‘Final Fantasy’ the game feels and whilst yes it has undoubtedly taken a turn in direction, there are still plenty of overriding FF elements that make me feel right at home.
There are one or two nitpicks I have around gameplay elements which feel a bit tired in this genre but that doesn’t really detract at all from the overall experience. I don’t mind the early sidequests being a bit boring to be honest, they were a nice change of pace from a frantic opening so I felt like I wanted a breather. I won’t go into too much else at this stage given I’m not even halfway through and there is plenty more to find out that may make things clearer around some of the gameplay/exploration elements.
I was concerned about the combat prior to starting having watched the trailers as it felt very rushed and/or hammer the attack button, but the truth is it’s a lot of fun. That becomes more true the further I progress as I settle into a strategy that I’m comfortable with. Easy to learn, hard to master. I’ve no doubt that there are many more layers to the system that will come with time and repeated play throughs. I’m getting plenty of Game Overs through overuse of potions, but we’re getting there!
I like how there are different “levels” of battle. Standard battles and bosses yes, but then you get almost a mid-tier boss too. And the Eikon battles speak for themselves. Remarkable so far.
To this point, I’m highly engaged with the story, Clive is terrific and the VA is about as strong as I can recall from any FF. In fact, it’s streets ahead. That’s helped along by the writing and the dark tones of the story, giving that altogether more serious feel, whilst retaining the familiar FF feel. Cid is really strong as well, I can’t believe we have Finchy from The Office in a FF title, but here we are.
Visuals speak for themselves. Attention to detail is fantastic and they’ve designed some beautiful views and each area seems to have its own distinct look and feel.
The music is also excellent. Several tracks are burned into my mind already and really help to set the tone. I loved the darkness around Lostwing early on and the area approaching Oriflamme.
Can’t wait to plough on!
I see a lot of debate elsewhere around how ‘Final Fantasy’ the game feels and whilst yes it has undoubtedly taken a turn in direction, there are still plenty of overriding FF elements that make me feel right at home.
There are one or two nitpicks I have around gameplay elements which feel a bit tired in this genre but that doesn’t really detract at all from the overall experience. I don’t mind the early sidequests being a bit boring to be honest, they were a nice change of pace from a frantic opening so I felt like I wanted a breather. I won’t go into too much else at this stage given I’m not even halfway through and there is plenty more to find out that may make things clearer around some of the gameplay/exploration elements.
I was concerned about the combat prior to starting having watched the trailers as it felt very rushed and/or hammer the attack button, but the truth is it’s a lot of fun. That becomes more true the further I progress as I settle into a strategy that I’m comfortable with. Easy to learn, hard to master. I’ve no doubt that there are many more layers to the system that will come with time and repeated play throughs. I’m getting plenty of Game Overs through overuse of potions, but we’re getting there!
I like how there are different “levels” of battle. Standard battles and bosses yes, but then you get almost a mid-tier boss too. And the Eikon battles speak for themselves. Remarkable so far.
To this point, I’m highly engaged with the story, Clive is terrific and the VA is about as strong as I can recall from any FF. In fact, it’s streets ahead. That’s helped along by the writing and the dark tones of the story, giving that altogether more serious feel, whilst retaining the familiar FF feel. Cid is really strong as well, I can’t believe we have Finchy from The Office in a FF title, but here we are.
I’ve just gained Ramuh, so you’ll know what happens until that point.
I’m not feeling the rafts of emotion that I’ve seen mentioned by some players. That’s not to say I don’t care, maybe it’s just me as I get a bit older!
That said, it was a shame to lose Benedikta so early. I get it, but her breakdown after losing Garuda seemed to have a lot more potential to explore given her backstory. Chances are we’ll see more but maybe a missed opportunity.
Let’s face it, there’s a long way to go yet and more characters that I have barely seen yet so I’m not making any judgments yet.
I’m not feeling the rafts of emotion that I’ve seen mentioned by some players. That’s not to say I don’t care, maybe it’s just me as I get a bit older!
That said, it was a shame to lose Benedikta so early. I get it, but her breakdown after losing Garuda seemed to have a lot more potential to explore given her backstory. Chances are we’ll see more but maybe a missed opportunity.
Let’s face it, there’s a long way to go yet and more characters that I have barely seen yet so I’m not making any judgments yet.
Visuals speak for themselves. Attention to detail is fantastic and they’ve designed some beautiful views and each area seems to have its own distinct look and feel.
The music is also excellent. Several tracks are burned into my mind already and really help to set the tone. I loved the darkness around Lostwing early on and the area approaching Oriflamme.
Can’t wait to plough on!
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). I feel like there's some elements of the combat that have been glossed over. I'm struggling a little to understand why certain enemies don't have elemental weaknesses. Why aren't the vultures susceptible to thunder? Why do those poisonous plant things not have a weakness to fire? Maybe I've played too many RPGs in the past, but I'd have thought there might've been some elemental focus - considering some of the Eikons are elementals. I'm also yet to notice any status effects. Maybe I just haven't come across any enemies that inflict these effects yet, but being half way through, I'd have expected to have been poisoned a few times by now. Finally on the combat, I'd have liked a better thought out stagger mechanic. It just seems a bit rushed. Stagger an enemy and wail on it with all your abilities to get it's health down. I'd have preferred a stagger system like Remake's, but I certainly don't hate it.
