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[Kuni]

I'm still so disappointed with the story and how it was handled.

So many cheap plot points along with just utter confusion in the second half as numerous things happened off screen, explained on a loading screen or just never explained at all (this was the most infuriating). Additionally the first half's pacing was just all kinds of mess, namely due to the open world design.

I couldn't bring myself to finish it, the first mainline FF I've not done that with in a long time. The game was also the final straw that I just had to accept the franchise is no longer god tier for me anymore.

What a shame.

 

[pashmilla]

Off the top of my head:

- 2 scenes of Luna reading Noctis' magic dog diary
- One scene with Iedolas and Verstael
- One scene of Ardyn and Ravus
- Nonsensical Kingsglaive montage
- Like 3...? Luna flashbacks

So... nah.

 

[Gasian]

I'm not saying that though.

Why is he even talking about it at all.

Hell, he could have just left it at, the development was a bit troubled but we're trying to make amends through patches and updates. Turn a negative people already know into a positive.

Yeah I agree with you. There is no need for him to have all this pride and defend it. He could show some humility and focus on making amends through patches like you said. Freaking Square Enix ,man :/

 

[10k]

You don't gotta make a balanced and comprehensive story if you say the player should only see things as Noctis sees them.

 

[ebil]

That's a terrible excuse, especially after seeing these cutscenes you get from completely random characters during chapter 12.

 

[Ydelnae]

Are we actually sure that this "Hajime Tabata" person that is giving the interviews is the same one that worked on the game?

 

[TheGreatLugia]

Actually we don't know what was there and wasn't when Tabata took over, pretty sure the guy was just rowing with the oars he had. I don't think FFXV turned out the way it did because of his so-called incompetence.

Sure, but we can also look at the last game Tabata and his team worked on. Final Fantasy Type-0 was directed by Tabata from the start, and it suffers from the exact same storytelling problems as Final Fantasy XV.

 

[Irishonion]

If you're apprehensive about XV, I'd still play it now. Because the game is going to be a whole lot different in a year from now, and I imagine future versions of the game (Steam + PS5) won't let you play it without the story/character additions.

Now, I don't know what will change with pc version, but I get the feeling not a whole lot is going to change. They said there isn't going to be a lot of heavy story changes, and they seem proud of the story they put together.

It definitely needs more freaking scenes though, wtf is up with all of the stuff that happens off screen?

 

[LiquidSolid]

Does he explain why Type-0 had a similarly poorly told mess of a story?

I don't buy this bullshit. I really don't think Tabata knows how to tell a good story.

 

[James Scott]

Sure, but we can also look at the last game Tabata and his team worked on. Final Fantasy Type-0 was directed by Tabata from the start, and it suffers from the exact same storytelling problems as Final Fantasy XV.

XV is at least not as bad as Type 0 so there's something for Tabata.
I am still perplexed by people saying that Nomura wouldn't finish the game as if that's something he has always done.
Also don't think Tabata finished the game himself despite the delay.
I'm sure Tabata is a nice guy but I'm not sure evangelizing him due to being in charge of the latest mainline FF seems warranted. He made a bunch of mediocre PsP games before trying to stitch together a game that has been in dev hell for a decade while casualizing the combat and deciding that casuals dont like pressing buttons which seems to be spreading to other SE games like DQ Heroes 2

 

[Setsu00]

Are we actually sure that this "Hajime Tabata" person that is giving the interviews is the same one that worked on the game?

Maybe that's the Tabata from the future who used a stitch in time to manipulate his former self!

 

[TheGreatLugia]

XV is at least not as bad as Type 0 so there's something for Tabata.

Agreed but I wouldn't call a game having better storytelling than Type-0 much of an accomplishment.

 

[Ydelnae]

Maybe that's the Tabata from the future who used a stitch in time to manipulate his former self!

Or the Tabata from the past which came into the future by releasing his heart from his body! A gathering of different Tabatas.

 

[Raven117]

LOL!

Bullshit.

They may have tried to stitch together a story, realized they couldn't do it, then made it "from Noctis' eyes." I MIGHT believe that...maybe. But there is no way they came up with that from the very beginning.

Shame...you could see where they were headed with some of it. Would have been pretty awesome.

 

[Setsu00]

Or the Tabata from the past which came into the future by releasing his heart from his body! A gathering of different Tabatas.

And now he's trying to turn the rest of SE's management into Tabatas? What a fantastic plan!

 

[Septimus Prime]

If you're supposed to be seeing through Noctis' eyes, how come you can see Noctis? Checkmate.

 

[Papercuts]

Complete bullshit. If they were dedicated to it being through his eyes there wouldn't even be the half assed scene showing the flashes of kingsglaive stuff, or pretty much any of the luna scenes.

 

[Koozek]

How Can FFXV Be Real If Noctis' Eyes Aren't Real.

 

[pashmilla]

Complete bullshit. If they were dedicated to it being through his eyes there wouldn't even be the half assed scene showing the flashes of kingsglaive stuff, or pretty much any of the luna scenes.

They had to include the Luna scenes or else she would literally be in four scenes in the entire game lmao

my soul hurts

 

[TheGreatLugia]

They had to include the Luna scenes or else she would literally be in four scenes in the entire game lmao

my soul hurts

It's not like she did anything in half of them, anyway.

 

[Squishy3]

At least Tabata and Toriyama know how to release games. The series wouldn't release another game if Nomura had to hold up the mantle.

Nope, no other directors at Square-Enix releasing games. None whatsoever.

Spoiler

Not to mention the content patches that happen roughly every 3 months

 

[Killer Queen]

So, it's not getting fixed.

 

[pashmilla]

It's not like she did anything in half of them, anyway.

Things Luna Does In FFXV

- Exposition through childhood flashbacks
- Heals some ppl in a missable scene
- Summons some Astrals or something
- Cries about Noctis
- Talks about Noctis
-

Spoiler

dies

 

[Setsu00]

It's not like she did anything in half of them, anyway.

What? Luna - as foretold by Tabata - is obviously the centerpiece of the story. And the logo shows her for a reason and not a totally unrelated goddess that was removed from the game during development.

 

[TheGreatLugia]

Things Luna Does In FFXV

- Exposition through childhood flashbacks
- Heals some ppl in a missable scene
- Summons some Astrals or something
- Cries about Noctis
- Talks about Noctis
-

Spoiler

dies

How can you forget that time she read Noctis' message and looked out a window?

 

[Zugma]

Even if you MUST tell the story this way, it could have done more to build the relationships of Noctis with his father, his friends, Luna, etc, through more use of flashbacks. This would still be through his eyes, and we would then have had a greater reason to care about these people when the dramatic moments occur.

So even in their own particular way of wanting to tell this story, they told it poorly.

 

[ZangBa]

He has to be bullshiting, that doesn't even make sense with some of the random scenes in the game.

 

[RoyalFool]

fair enough, doesn't explain the cut scenes without noctis present though such as the Luna flashbacks.

 

[Clear]

If you're supposed to be seeing through Noctis' eyes, how come you can see Noctis? Checkmate.

By limiting the perspective to what's happening immediately around Noctis, it achieves the basic effect. It makes it specifically subjective to what that character experiences, ergo "through his eyes".

Its not a difficult concept to grasp, and something I personally didn't have problem with.

 

[Toth]

Agreed but I wouldn't call a game having better storytelling than Type-0 much of an accomplishment.

The whole FF XIII trilogy had better storytelling than Type-0.

 

[hamsjams]

The rationale seems perfectly sound, but like a lot of things in FFXV the execution of that rationale is not quite right. It's a shame they couldn't make the idea work better. I think it would have been quite unique. Personally, I find distance in narrative and reality to add a more chilling effect to events.

I still found some of it compelling and the story did affect me by the end, despite itself.

 

[Squire]

Tabata spins like a seemstress that's been out of work for years.

 

[Lunafreya Nox Fleuret]

The whole FF XIII trilogy had better storytelling than Type-0.

That's not impressive when type-0 is a disaster.

 

[Byronic Hero]

The whole FF XIII trilogy had better storytelling than Type-0.

Jesus, if this is actually the case, I'm glad I dropped it after a couple of hours.

 

[Yabberwocky]

Jesus, if this is actually the case, I'm glad I dropped it after a couple of hours.

Yeah, it makes Lightning Returns look good.

...I feel so unclean saying that.

 

[ScrapBrain]

Nope, no other directors at Square-Enix releasing games. None whatsoever.

Spoiler

Not to mention the content patches that happen roughly every 3 months

You. I like you

 

[Xadjim]

Fine by me. I really enjoyed the story and the ending was so good.

so did I.

 

[Muzicfreq]

If lightning had been in the game it would have been better.

 

[UrbanRats]

Next time i want to experience Uncharted's story by the eyes of someone stuck in an airport's bathroom, in another country, hearing about the events of the game by occasional News Radio.
It's a great approach.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Tabata is going a long way in all of these interviews to essentially say "Nomura fucked things up so badly we didn't have the budget or time to make things more fleshed out"

 

[PhilipDoesMatter]

Confusing story. Empty world. Filler quests. Terrible Final Fantasy Mr. Tabata.

 

[Blobbers]

But even as it is, not every story bit is from Noctis' perspective so I'm calling bullshit.

Try again, Tabata

 

[Devilinthiscity]

So, it's not getting fixed.

Pretty much them saying, "missing scenes? What are you taking about? It was our intention for the story to be told like that. It's supposed to feel like stuff is missing and handled off screen because you are experiencing it through Nocts point of view..."

I'd rather him admit that stuff was cut because of time instead of this bold lie he is trying to sell to everyone. Then again, type 0 was pretty garbage when it came to telling its story.

 

[mindatlarge]

I mean, I understand what he's saying, but it sounds a tad manufactured. I have really enjoyed the game so far though.

 

[Autoignition]

Tabata is going a long way in all of these interviews to essentially say "Nomura fucked things up so badly we didn't have the budget or time to make things more fleshed out"

The degree to which some people will find excuses to blame everything on Nomura is astounding.

 

[AgentLampshade]

It's actually pretty funny the team managed to take a really interesting story and set of characters, and deliberately make it boring/incomprehensible.

 

[dan2026]

I miss Final Fantasy IX.
That was a good story, with interesting characters.
Even with the silly final boss.

I feel the Square of 2017 have no idea what they are doing.

 

[Toth]

That's not impressive when type-0 is a disaster.

I know but given how some people greatly dislike XIII's story (I enjoyed the whole ride), I hope it provides context to people about Type-0's story.

Full disclosure but I enjoyed Type -0 a lot aside from the disjointed narrative.

 

[kennyamr]

excuses, excuses. How can I even start believing in something like that.
The story was pretty bad compared to other previous entries, period, including XIII.

 

[shark sandwich]

Pretty sure he just read that on NeoGAF and said to himself "yeah, that's the ticket! It was. . . Uh, a deliberate artistic choice!"