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Final Fantasy XV Impressions: Mark All Spoilers

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If you are using the logic of "this is better than 13 so it will score better" you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

There were a TON of reviews for 13-2 that said its better than 13 but got a lower score. Review scores are not a perfect science. The less importance people give to these arbitrary number the better off this industry will be.
 

rjinaz

Member
Bad story, ok gameplay, hideous graphic, no optimization and all the glitches in the world. I seriously don't know where the "reviewers are harsher" conclusion comes from.

Atmosphere. Content. I go back to Fallout 4 time and time again. I can get lost in settlement building and just randomly exploring. That's why I'm hoping I'll like FFXV for the world to explore and all the side content. That's what I appreciate most in games. People get different things out of games basically.
 

Burbeting

Banned
13 also got lot of good will from reviewers during it's release. Some sites even said basically "we should have reviewed it lower", like Gametrailers (which scored it 8.6).
 
I have played 10 hours so far and just like everyone, my initial impressions for the first 2 chapters were so-so. I was getting tired of Leide and since there are no chocobos, I skipped on exploring on foot. However once chapter 3 started and the party headed to Duscae, I was pleasantly surprised because the game slowly begins to pick up in chapter 3. I never thought I would be so happy to see Duscae and let me tell you, it's huge. Way way bigger than demo.

I will post detailed impressions in a few hours but as it stand, my playtime is aroud 10 and half hours and My party is level 22. I am havig a blast doing the side content in Duscae after getting chocobos and honestly it is overwhelming. There is just so much to do :/
 

MilkBeard

Member
People don't wanna say the real answer..games aren't hitting those highs like they use too


Out of the ones I played only time they were critical was X and Xiii

I do like how in VI, the Espers had quite a nice sidestory, and they were treated like mystical animals, that Kefka pretty much massacred.
 

ViciousDS

Banned
People don't wanna say the real answer..games aren't hitting those highs like they use too


Out of the ones I played only time they were critical was X and Xiii

VI, VII, VIII, X, XI


all had summons crucial to the story, having a good story or being bad as fuck for destroying bosses

I guess XIII counts......but eh
 
I do like how in VI, the Espers had quite a nice sidestory, and they were treated like mystical animals, that Kefka pretty much massacred.
Yea see that's the thing when the guy said critical did he mean in combat or story? Because I don't have to play the full game to say these summons seem way more integrated into the story than most ff's
 
MGSV's was an absolutely pointless open world. Nothing to do but run endlessly from base to base. I don't get how you say you like that but are over western open worlds, Which, in Witcher 3's case, is chock full of varied points of interest.

I'm specifically referring to how it was more like zones instead of one big land mass and how it wasn't full of useless map markers every 10 seconds. I don't need one big artificially dense map in my games. I liked the Witcher 3 (well I still haven't beaten it after a year and a half but I'm really close) but personally I can't handle another open world like that for a long, long time.

I'm Final Fantasy XV's case, I appreciate how it feels more realistic for the road trip theme of the game. And I don't think I want to be spending all my time in a Final Fantasy game clearing every monster nest or bandit camp on a map. Even when you remove that you are left with the sense of scale and realism provided by an open world which I think is it's greatest asset.
 
I have played 10 hours so far and just like everyone, my initial impressions for the first 2 chapters were so-so. I was getting tired of Leide and since there are no chocobos, I skipped on exploring on foot. However once chapter 3 started and the party headed to Duscae, I was pleasantly surprised because the game slowly begins to pick up in chapter 3. I never thought I would be so happy to see Duscae and let me tell you, it's huge. Way way bigger than demo.

I will post detailed impressions in a few hours but as it stand, my playtime is aroud 10 and half hours and My party is level 22. I am havig a blast doing the side content in Duscae after getting chocobos and honestly it is overwhelming. There is just so much to do :/

Have you played xenoblade, how is the "so much to do" when compared to that game where so much of the stuff was like bad MMO quests.
 

MilkBeard

Member
I wonder when a new FF will reach the levels that the old entries did in the golden age (FFVI, FFVII, FFIX)

Perhaps they will see what works and what doesn't with XV, and then, with XVI, a game that, hopefully, won't be under surgery from different doctors, they will get that spark and the right direction. From impressions, it does seem that XV is a step in the right direction, if flawed.
 
Both TW3 and MGSV got 90+ though, with one having terrible gameplay and the other having terrible story. Reviewers are not harsher. Games are getting worse that's all.

Define "shitty gameplay." You didn't enjoy the combat? Fair, Witcher 3 was pretty divergent in that regard. Of course if you played it on normal like most press did you missed out on a lot - harder difficulties force you to rely on systems like oils, potions, bombs, and more clever allocation of skills. The combat takes on nuances it just doesn't have on easier modes.

To my point, what is "shitty" about either games in regard to gameplay? Both games have tremendous production value. Both games have fully developed systems that build on each other. Perhaps you don't care for the particular flavor, but objectively speaking those games are not "shitty."
 

robotrock

Banned
Bad story, ok gameplay, hideous graphic, no optimization and all the glitches in the world. I seriously don't know where the "reviewers are harsher" conclusion comes from.

I came into this thread and saw this quoted and assumed it was about FFXV and got worried
 

notaskwid

Member
VI, VII, VIII, X, XI


all had summons crucial to the story, having a good story or being bad as fuck for destroying bosses

I guess XIII counts......but eh
VII? What summon is vital to the story, Phoenix? And VIII? There are boss battles against GF's but they don't really show up in the plot, more like side content (they are, however, intrinsical to the character level up system).
You left outside 9 that is literally the game where the summons are more important to the plot.
 

Burbeting

Banned
I wonder when a new FF will reach the levels that the old entries did in the golden age (FFVI, FFVII, FFIX)

Most likely never.

FF4 to FF9 (maybe 10) is different in that Square was really the pioneer in that genre, and pushing the boundaries of what stories could be told with games, at least from western perspective. This isn't that much of a hyberbole, the stories in games were usually very simple, with few exceptions like MGS.

Now lot of games try to tell stories, some are good at it, some are not. Square isn't alone in that playing field any more, and "wowing" people isn't going to be easy. Returning to turn based battle system is not going to "wow" people, it won't bring back "the golden age" either. The question is, what would.
 

Gbraga

Member
Perhaps they will see what works and what doesn't with XV, and then, with XVI, a game that, hopefully, won't be under surgery from different doctors, they will get that spark and the right direction. From impressions, it does seem that XV is a step in the right direction, if flawed.

We need YoshiP directing an offline mainline Final Fantasy.

When they announce that, it's happening.
 

Ran rp

Member
following this game has been terrible for my health

edit: haven't played xiv but I'd happily accept yoship based on the reception of xiv.
 
I wonder when a new FF will reach the levels that the old entries did in the golden age (FFVI, FFVII, FFIX)

That's such a nebulous goal to reach. Assuming that any game could actually do that, even though I expect XV to be great I feel like it couldn't have met the expectations of people who say stuff like this after its troubled development. That and I'm not sure one game could do it alone. However if XVI knocks it out of the park (like I think it will, the right lessons are being learned over at SE), then maybe you can look at XIV, XV, VII:R, and XVI as "the return of Final Fantasy."
 
So what are the main complaints from this thread so far. Weak story and poor side content is what I've gathered which has never been the biggest selling point for ff games for me at least.
 

rjinaz

Member
VI, VII, VIII, X, XI


all had summons crucial to the story, having a good story or being bad as fuck for destroying bosses

I guess XIII counts......but eh

Interestingly enough, FF IX was the only game where I actually used summons in battle. Dagger's Ark summon with a pumice was a 9999 attack. I didn't bother with the other games, even VIII. Though obviously I used the GFs in other ways in that game.
 

Altairre

Member
Both TW3 and MGSV got 90+ though, with one having terrible gameplay and the other having terrible story. Reviewers are not harsher. Games are getting worse that's all.

Not like in the good old days. When videogames were still videogames. "Terrible" gameplay, get outta here. Criticism is fine and all but the hyperbole is a bit tiring.
 
Well, I guess this is as good a place as any. I've been somewhere between extremely interested and actively uninterested in this game over the years, and I'm still on the fence about picking it up. Here's what matters to me:

1.) Story - Is the story an important part of the game? Does it make sense with your activities in the game? Does it feel meaningful and cohesive? This is the thing I'm most worried about.

2.) Quest Design - Are there endless fetch-quests like Xenoblade Chronicles and X? Can you safely ignore the ones that sound boring like Xenoblade? Are there a lot of larger, fulfilling quests? Do these dovetail with the main quest, or do you feel like there's no way you'd be doing these things in a real world?

3.) Combat - Does it play like Xenoblade Chronicles? It certainly looks like it (And I loved that).

Your feedback on these 3 points would be greatly appreciated. I want to be excited, but I just have so much doubt.

Both TW3 and MGSV got 90+ though, with one having terrible gameplay and the other having terrible story. Reviewers are not harsher. Games are getting worse that's all.

Ooph... Maybe this thread is the wrong place to go for advice.
 

cackhyena

Member
I'm specifically referring to how it was more like zones instead of one big land mass and how it wasn't full of useless map markers every 10 seconds. I don't need one big artificially dense map in my games. I liked the Witcher 3 (well I still haven't beaten it after a year and a half but I'm really close) but personally I can't handle another open world like that for a long, long time.

I'm Final Fantasy XV's case, I appreciate how it feels more realistic for the road trip theme of the game. And I don't think I want to be spending all my time in a Final Fantasy game clearing every monster nest or bandit camp on a map. Even when you remove that you are left with the sense of scale and realism provided by an open world which I think is it's greatest asset.

Filling the open world up with things to do, and mostly optional at that, seems a far better way to make it seem "realistic". There was absolutely zero point to it being open in MGSV. I loved the game, but that was for it's amazing mechanics. But I understand having fatigue after playing something like The Witcher.

Unfortunately, it sounds like these devs could learn a thing or two about plot progression and story telling in general. Something else a game like The Witcher 3 isn't too shabby at. Especially Hearts of Stone. I'm going into this looking forward to the battles and spectacle. Everything else is whatever.
 
Have you played xenoblade, how is the "so much to do" when compared to that game where so much of the stuff was like bad MMO quests.
I haven't played Xenoblade so i can't compare it to the game. As for the side content, dead eye quest returns and there are hunts given by the big outposts throughout the world map. These hunts can be challenging at times but let me tell you, if you don't enjoy the combat, you won't enjoy hunting. They require utilizing warping mechanics and using parry defense moves along with party skills to complete. Even some hunts that I was overleveled for gave me quite a challenge and food buffs are a must for them.

As for so much to do comment, Exploring the map unlocks new discoveries on them and being a completionist, I was trying to unlock as much as I could so yeh, this took a big chunk of my time. Right now, you can do the following stuff and that is just chapter 3.

Side quests from NPCs, mostly fetch but some have boss fights/monsters etc
Race chocobos
Customize regalia
Upgrade weapons from cid
Do party based missions that occur randomly when camping or driving
Do the hunts
Explore using chocobo to level it up
Explore the world map as you desire to unlock new landmarks

So yeh, there is a lot to do now which is why it feels overwhelming to me.
 

Aters

Member
Define "shitty gameplay." You didn't enjoy the combat? Fair, Witcher 3 was pretty divergent in that regard. Of course if you played it on normal like most press did you missed out on a lot - harder difficulties force you to rely on systems like oils, potions, bombs, and more clever allocation of skills. The combat takes on nuances it just doesn't have on easier modes.

To my point, what is "shitty" about either games in regard to gameplay? Both games have tremendous production value. Both games have fully developed systems that build on each other. Perhaps you don't care for the particular flavor, but objectively speaking those games are not "shitty."

??
I never said either game is shitty. I said TW3 has terrible gameplay because I hate the combat system and the Witcher's sense. I should be clear that I haven't played many WRPGs. Maybe WRPG fans are immune to bad combat because a lot of them seem to enjoy Skyrim which I simply can't play for more than an hour. I said MGSV has terrible story. To be honest I never played MGSV but terrible story seems to be a consensus.

And more importantly, I never used the word "shitty" in my entire post so I'm betting on you are drunk.
 
I haven't played Xenoblade so i can't compare it to the game. As for the side content, dead eye quest returns and there are hunts given by the big outposts throughout the world map. These hunts can be challenging at times but let me tell you, if you don't enjoy the combat, you won't enjoy hunting. They require utilizing warping mechanics and using parry defense moves along with party skills to complete. Even some hunts that I was overleveled for gave me quite a challenge and food buffs are a must for them.

As for so much to do comment, Exploring the map unlocks new discoveries on them and being a completionist, I was trying to unlock as much as I could so yeh, this took a big chunk of my time. Right now, you can do the following stuff and that is just chapter 3.

Side quests from NPCs, mostly fetch but some have boss fights/monsters etc
Race chocobos
Customize regalia
Upgrade weapons from cid
Do party based missions that occur randomly when camping or driving
Do the hunts
Explore using chocobo to level it up
Explore the world map as you desire to unlock new landmarks

So yeh, there is a lot to do now which is why it feels overwhelming to me.

Did you do any of optional dungeons yet and if yes, are they well done?
 
I wonder when a new FF will reach the levels that the old entries did in the golden age (FFVI, FFVII, FFIX)

Hey what about FFVIII the best one?!

There was something incredibly magical about those games. A sense that we never experienced a world like those before. The change to 3D created detailed areas to explore and they still had the overworld filled with secrets and stuff to do. It was like the Wild West in those days with devs trying to find out what works in 3D and since 3D action was still in its infancy the turned based stuff worked great and was amazingly flashy (those summons were mindblowing at the time).

The other thing was that those games took risks. At the time they weren't risks cause that's just how games were but now games don't have the level of variety those games had. FFVII had snowboarding, bike riding, a wall assult mini game, a full casino, chocobo raising and races. Hidden playable characters, entire optional areas. This stuff didn't have icons on a map telling us about it, we didn't have a quest log that categorized everything. It was organically part of the world, they were things the player just stumbled on and it felt magical.

Now everything seems forced, like it's all made in an assembly line. The open 3D worlds are not unique anymore. 3D combat has evolved and now the JRPG combat is outdated so they look for unique ways to have a combat system (which I feel is FFs strength, trying new combat systems with every game). So many games can hit the production values FF has now, it's not an event like it used to be. I don't know if they can reclaim that magic. It will take some really great new ideas to give us the sense of wonder again.
 

Jennipeg

Member
VII? What summon is vital to the story, Phoenix? And VIII? There are boss battles against GF's but they don't really show up in the plot, more like side content (they are, however, intrinsical to the character level up system).
You left outside 9 that is literally the game where the summons are more important to the plot.

Are you forgetting the infamous plot twist in 8? You also fight a GF in the final boss.
 
I've put 20 hours in the Judgment disc demo,
I can't even imagine how awesome the game will be-
I hear many people are saying the open world parts are not even all that good compared to the actual chapters that follow.

That's insane!
 
I have played 10 hours so far and just like everyone, my initial impressions for the first 2 chapters were so-so. I was getting tired of Leide and since there are no chocobos, I skipped on exploring on foot. However once chapter 3 started and the party headed to Duscae, I was pleasantly surprised because the game slowly begins to pick up in chapter 3. I never thought I would be so happy to see Duscae and let me tell you, it's huge. Way way bigger than demo.

I will post detailed impressions in a few hours but as it stand, my playtime is aroud 10 and half hours and My party is level 22.

Nice, thanks!

I am having a blast doing the side content in Duscae after getting chocobos and honestly it is overwhelming. There is just so much to do :/

Awww, no! I love that but i hope it doesn't trigger the FOMO Brigade :(
 

robotrock

Banned
Is there a good comprehensive summary out there yet on what that crazy "second half" actually was? You know, the one EDGE was talking about
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
The game we followed died long ago.

That should have been obvious. I mean, changing name, changing director, and changing platform not strong enough indicators? One of those, sure, I can see why creative continuity would be more likely than not, but all 3! Come on.
 
It has two. Lestallum and Altissia.The latter is comparatively big.

Hmmm. Are the smaller inhabited areas like villages or outposts?

I can deal with a poor story, I love some RPGs that are woeful in that area, but a nice sense of connecting parts of the world with new NPCs, new music, and shops/trader is always appreciated.
 

Z3M0G

Member
So I played the game for around 12h. Reached Level 22 for my characters.

Likes:
- I like the battle system. Its dynamic, quick and fun. The combo of different weapons can make great combos.
- Main Quest is good until now. Haven't played a lot of it though since I'm focusing on mob hunts and side quests.
- Boss fights are great.

Dislikes:
- The open world is terrible. Huge and mostly barren. Its boring as hell.
- Side quests are 90% boring fetch quests (literally go to way point find a gold colored small orb and return it. Rinse and repeat) and 10% actual good quests. Also, you have to return said items to quest givers :( I though JRPGs fixed that shit already like Xenoblade Chronicles X and SMT4A. (Nitpick)
- Traveling by Car or even Chocobo is pretty boring and time consuming. I mostly play Pokemon whenever I travel by car since it can take more than 5 minutes sometimes.
- Magic is shit. I like the effect and its actual use but the fact that I have to go into a menu everytime to "craft" magic gets annoying.
- I will never understand them assigning X as the jump button AND the action button. Whenever I try to open a door or pick up an item I end up jumping. Its a nitpick but pretty annoying after 10h of gameplay lol.
- You can't fast forwarded time. If you go to an inn or camp you always wake up in the morning (from what I can tell since the Time menu is confusing as fuck). So you'll have to wait for mob hunts that are required to do in the night.
- THE FUCKING DEFAULT SPEED at Caves and dungeons is slow as hell!!!! You have to actually always press the sprint to run and wait between stamina refreshes. Ugh.


These are my impressions so far. Overall not enjoying my time as much as I'd like. I guess since I'm focusing on Side quests. I'll probably focus on the main now and skip the rest. Not worth my time tbh. Main quest overall seems pretty good.

These are the kind of details I've been waiting for. Thank you! Much of this is far more worrying.

My GF watched the movie with me and wants to know what happens next, but this is NOT a game she is going to want to watch me play. Since something of importance may only happen every 3-4 hours of empty running around... :/
 
Customizable controls and hud ?

From the demo I played-
two control settings and yes hud can be turned off and on by parts
e.i map,running bar, weapons display, ect.

Question to those who have played the real deal,
is the link strike system still buggy, as in ignis,prompto,glad pop up or miss all the time when doing joint attacks?
 

chefbags

Member
I've put 20 hours in the Judgment disc demo,
I can't even imagine how awesome the game will be-
I hear many people are saying the open world parts are not even all that good compared to the actual chapters that follow.

That's insane!

Seriously lol I'm clocking in now close to 30 plus hours and Im not even bored at what I'm able to do even if it's sparse.

The demo gameplay is just so fun to me that I can see myself playing this forever with hopefully expansions and dlc coming our way in the next year.
 
I have a friend whose getting his copy today. He really enjoyed the Judgment Demo, especially the combat. He's also a huge JRPG nut (saying the words April and Persona breaks his soul).

I'll try to aggregate and post his impressions here as he plays the game. But he might just spend a week doing everything in the first area, so... let's see :p
 
Personally I think it's a dumb idea that changing the title on the cover of the box would suddenly make it a better game.

IMO, if it's good, then it's good. If FFXV turns out to be a great game but not a "great FF game", I won't give a damn.

Eh, i should have been more explicit. The lack of an interesting narrative made the experience feel rather flat to me, and the open world settings, while well structured, lacked the sense of place and interest of previous games. It fell into the same trap that many open world games do. A lack of narrative to pull you along and integrate the characters with the scenarious in an interesting way. That is why Witcher 3 is such an anomoly, I can think of any open world game which integrates a cinematic narrative with an open world scenario half as well.
 

bigol

Member
Is there a good comprehensive summary out there yet on what that crazy "second half" actually was? You know, the one EDGE was talking about

Second part much more linear,you are on a train making various stops to reach Tenebrae. After the train stops you can explore a small dungeon and another tiny location near train station. Then there are a couple more chapters with the Chapter 13 being a really complex dungeon in Tenebrae (this is the part Edge was talking about when referring to jump scares and Resident Evil like puzzles). Honestly i really like that part,atmosphere there is amazing. Then there is the final Chapter that is night Insomnia exploring until you reach the final boss.
 
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