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Final Fantasy XV |OT| There and back again.

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HeelPower

Member
Man I expected so much more out of the soundtrack.

Yes,battle tracks are cool ,but its really shaping up to be the weakest soundtrack in tbe entire series.

There is so much silence & the ambience/ sound design isn't good enough to make up for it.In fact sometimes running outside in the massive field sounds like running in a closed room.
 
So after watching the Kingsglaive blu-ray, I finally booted up the game last night and got a few hours in. I have to say I'm really impressed, the gameplay is really good and actually fun. The opening text saying its "a Final Fantasy for newcomers and fans" is spot on, as it feels different and familiar at the same time, its strange but it just works.

I really like the open world design, I've done a few of the hunting missions and found a few side quests while exploring, done a spot of camping and cooking too, I'm finding it all very enjoyable so far. Its a little weird having to camp or rest before you level up, but again it works and makes it feel less of a grind when suddenly you go from Level 1 to level 6, after a number of quests and battles while out on the road.

Playing on the Pro with High Quality mode with HDR, the game look great on my 4k TV. I'm not one for being bothered by frame pacing but I was a little worried hearing how the frame pacing was really really bad but after playing for a few hours, it confirms that I'm really not sensitive to it, I've hardly noticed it and its not ruining the game for me at all.
 

nOoblet16

Member
Hmm, Ignis doesn't seem to be cooking meals anymore whenever we bunk somewhere overnight. Do only certain things trigger that?
He only cooks when you camp.
That's the trade-off, if you want XP bonus you go to a lodge/hotel but not stat boost. If you want stat boost then you camp but don't get XP bonus.

If you want both then you lodge first and then eat a meal at a diner next morning..but it costs Gils.
 

nOoblet16

Member
Man I expected so much more out of the soundtrack.

Yes,battle tracks are cool ,but its really shaping up to be the weakest soundtrack in tbe entire series.

There is so much silence & the ambience/ sound design isn't good enough to make up for it.In fact sometimes running outside in the massive field sounds like running in a closed room.
You can buy an MP3 player to get soundtracks on the go. Do thst and put FFXV soundtrack on play and you have your soundtrack while running outside.
 
So after watching the Kingsglaive blu-ray, I finally booted up the game last night and got a few hours in. I have to say I'm really impressed, the gameplay is really good and actually fun. The opening text saying its "a Final Fantasy for newcomers and fans" is spot on, as it feels different and familiar at the same time, its strange but it just works.

I really like the open world design, I've done a few of the hunting missions and found a few side quests while exploring, done a spot of camping and cooking too, I'm finding it all very enjoyable so far. Its a little weird having to camp or rest before you level up, but again it works and makes it feel less of a grind when suddenly you go from Level 1 to level 6, after a number of quests and battles while out on the road.

Playing on the Pro with High Quality mode with HDR, the game look great on my 4k TV. I'm not one for being bothered by frame pacing but I was a little worried hearing how the frame pacing was really really bad but after playing for a few hours, it confirms that I'm really not sensitive to it, I've hardly noticed it and its not ruining the game for me at all.

When i put game mode on i see it and its bad for some reason. So for this game only i keep my tv normal with the higher refresh rate its barely noticeable that way. :(
 

rataven

Member
He only cooks when you campp.
That's the trade-off, if you want XP bonus you go to a lodge/hotel but not stat boost. If you want stat boost then you camp but don't get XP bonus.

If you want both then you lodge first and then eat a meal at a diner next morning..but it costs Gils.

Ooooh sure that makes sense. Explains the little scene with Noct pulling Iggy out of the trailer and away from the stove to join them for some cards or whatever. I love the detail in this game I just didn't expect all of it to have meaning lol.
 

Mailbox

Member
Okay, just finished the game, Have some general impressions to give, won't spoil anything (much, I'll tag anything spoilery)

Likes:
+ Combat as a whole is very fun.

+This game takes the Last of us's use of character banter and character-environment story telling and just runs with it. My god the amount of voice work in this game is downright crazy!

+This game handles the day to day very well.

+Prompto's photos.

+Aranea and Iris are great!

+The open world design is good imo. I do wish there was a village or 2 in Duscae though. Would have made it that much better,

+Dungeons are freaking crazy good.

+The four main characters are legit great.

+The final chapter is seriously great. And the ending will fuck you up inside (mind you, context is very much needed for it). Its good.

+There are a couple of boss battles that are legit amazing. specifically the fights with
Ravus (poor guy)
and
Ifrit (seriously, why weren't all the other Astral fights like this one, my GOD)

+the extra activities are great. Chocobo's are the best (makes me want to play hot and cold on ff9 again :p )

+the villain. Would have liked a better twist on why he does what he does, but man he is fucked up.


Dislikes (a lot of these are nit-picks or things I don't really care about overall, but they are of note):

- The game is seriously short for an RPG. I know you can technically finish FF9 in 12 hours if you really really try (you need to in order to get Excalibur 2), but I should not be finishing a Final Fantasy game in 27 hours after grinding, hunting, and doing a bunch of side-quests. Mind you, I completed Kh2 in around that time after maxing out all my Drives and whatnot, so maybe its not as big of a deal as I think it is.

- A LOT of the plot in the first 8 chapters is relocated to micro-story stuff. If you don't hear what people are saying or listen to the radio at ALL, you will lose out on a LOT of story and context.

- Combat area management: you can't see the combat area when you are fighting outside of the minimap. Sometimes you might be attacking an enemy but since its outside a battle zone, it doesn't really bother with you. Or worse yet is when you accidentally leave the battle area.

-Combat camera: You can get around this by not locking on unless necessary and using the lock on to adjust if things get weird. But seriously the lock-on cam and the regular cam need work.

- Luna needed more screen time. She, along with many other characters, are pretty damn shallow in characterization. I personally think Gentiana is fine. Cindy gets way too much hate (and I'm one of the people who don't like her outfit). I do like the whole note-book love-ish story aspect though.

-
Leviathan
part has serious jank. And if you don't battle Titan at night, you are missing out. Nothing really changes, but the whole scene just works so much better at night.

- Chapters
10-12
go by WAYYYY too fast. The also have way too many loading screens :/. And conversely, Chapter
13
overstays its welcome way too much.

- Too many events happen off-screen.

-
The final boss
is a bit too try-hardy for me.

- there is a few things left unexplained or are presented in a way that just doesn't make sense or is anti-climactic. There was also a lot of stuff that would be huge revelations in other FF's just sorta happening or being mentioned.

- where the fuck was Pryna? I didn't see her anywhere in the game. Anyone know? And by that extent,
Regis appears basically not at all except for kingsglave footage or the ending.
Actually, even more to that point:
The scientist old asshat that appears with ravus in the beginning doesn't appear ANYWHERE else in the game. wtf? And the Emperor doesn't really either



Theres a few other likes and dislikes, but in all honesty, my biggest complaint is that there needed to be more in some of the later chapters, and there needed to be better presentation in some of the earlier chapters. This game is a damn masterclass in micro-story telling, but its main plotline is weak.


Overall, despite the above, I think its an overall good game. It has its share of faults, and I personally do not believe it will be stated as one of the "great Final Fantasies". BUT, I do think this is a damn good first iteration on open worlds and micro-story design. If Square can make an FF game that has the same attention to detail in its banter and environment interaction, but with a great story, we will be in for a damn treat that's for sure!

Good, not amazing.
Gaf will hate it in less than a year and deem it horrid trash. :/

Also, what the fuck was Square thinking with some of the last trailers, especially in the judgement demo. There's some
end game stuff
in them, not okay Square.
 

HeelPower

Member
You can buy an MP3 player to get soundtracks on the go. Do thst and put FFXV soundtrack on play and you have your soundtrack while running outside.

Can I get the game's soundtrack to play ?

I know there is the move & anime along with old FF games ,but I just wanna experience FFXV's own new ost as I play...
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
XII had the best gameplay in the series IMO while the story kind of fell apart around the middle. Hated everything about X and XIII. How is the gameplay/combat in XV compared to X, XII and XIII? I played that Platinum demo or w/e it was called, the one with Noctis' dream, and it left me unconvinced.
Gameplay/combat is totally different from any of those games. If I had to make a comparison to another game's combat, it would be to Kingdom Hearts, but even that is stretching it a bit. Gameplay is... Witcher 3 and World of Warcraft?

This is really a very unique game. It's hard to draw comparisons to other titles.
 

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Has anyone else fought a Catoblepas yet? Because holy shit, that fight's a spectacle. Like, the
Leviathan
fight is nice and all, but it feels less special since it's a setpiece and not a normal fight. When I first saw the Catoblepas I was legit freaking out and wondering how the hell I was supposed to kill this thing.

(Leviathan showed up and saved my ass, thankfully.)
 

preta

Member
Can I get the game's soundtrack to play ?

I know there is the move & anime along with old FF games ,but I just wanna experience FFXV's own new ost as I play...

Well, there's Braver by Afrojack, and the Lucian Cruisin' Collection is a collection of XV original songs meant for driving. But you can't get anything else from XV for the MP3 player/car radio.
 
Has anyone else fought a Catoblepas yet? Because holy shit, that fight's a spectacle. Like, the
Leviathan
fight is nice and all, but it feels less special since it's a setpiece and not a normal fight. When I first saw the Catoblepas I was legit freaking out and wondering how the hell I was supposed to kill this thing.

(Leviathan showed up and saved my ass, thankfully.)
Size doesn't matter much.

Wait till you fight Sir Tonberry.
 

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Well, there's Braver by Afrojack, and the Lucian Cruisin' Collection is a collection of XV original songs meant for driving. But you can't get anything else from XV for the MP3 player/car radio.

Speaking of the Cruisin' Collection, EZ Drum n' Bass is SO GOOD.
 

Gbraga

Member
Ooooh sure that makes sense. Explains the little scene with Noct pulling Iggy out of the trailer and away from the stove to join them for some cards or whatever. I love the detail in this game I just didn't expect all of it to have meaning lol.

There's a lot of attention to detail in this game, I love it.

Like at the end of Chapter 1, when you get a new spear, I immediately went into the equipment screen so I could look at the model, and noticed the engine design, similar to the Engine Blade, and wondered if that would be the theme for every weapon in the game, and was actually kind of disappointed in that. But then after I went back to Cid on Chapter 2, he asks to look at it, and it turns out that it's in fact a Lucian design (explaining the engine theme), and because he understands it, he can upgrade it for you.

Even small details like Noctis being the last one to wake up is thematically consistent.

- A LOT of the plot in the first 8 chapters is relocated to micro-story stuff. If you don't hear what people are saying or listen to the radio at ALL, you will lose out on a LOT of story and context.

This is already true for me, even though I'm still early into the game, but I personally like it, so I'd list it as a positive. Two of the best rewards for exploration are, in my opinion, story and unique content. This game delivers on both with this kind of storytelling and entire optional areas for you to explore, fight and get stuff.

I found the Amazon pre-order DLC items for $12, thinking of biting on that.

I want the suit :(

They'll probably put it on PSN at some point. I hope it just doesn't take so long that I'm not even playing the game anymore.
 
I'm liking this game more than I expected. Only got time to play a bit, but still chapter 1 but I completed all the hunts I can from the 3 places, even the lvl17 ones. It's nice that you don't need to grind to be able beat things stronger than you, even though it does take much longer at a lower level.

Even though I wish the battle system was more responsive and stuff like cancelling out of animations (they really like to play out Noctis' animations), one neat thing I found to make it easier not to get hit while doing something with long animation recovery like the heavy sword is to call one of those L1 link attacks during it before you get hit. Since you are invincible during it and can call it anytime, just do it before you get dunked on. People probably figured this out but it will help people starting out the game and running into higher level enemies.
 

Peroroncino

Member
- where the fuck was Pryna? I didn't see her anywhere in the game. Anyone know? And by that extent,
Regis appears basically not at all except for kingsglave footage or the ending.
Actually, even more to that point:
The scientist old asshat that appears with ravus in the beginning doesn't appear ANYWHERE else in the game. wtf? And the Emperor doesn't really either

Pryna is dead, iirc the old Fleuret servant lady in Tennebrae gave us this piece of information after we talked to her outside of story

As for the rest, the story was rushed as hell, so don't be too surprised you ended up with a lot of questions and no answers.
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
What is the GAF consensus on XV? As good as XII or trash like X and XIII?

One of the weaker entries in the franchise, but has some positives worth experiencing. I feel in the minority here though and I haven't finished it, but each session has me coming away more and more dejected by its lack of polish, shallow combat and progression, lifeless world, and contextual narrative issues. Yet there is a charm and mystique through it all. I won't be looking back on in this with much fondness a year from now, but I can't outright condemn it either given how many are able to see past my gripes and adore it all the same.
 

Gbraga

Member
I'm liking this game more than I expected. Only got time to play a bit, but still chapter 1 but I completed all the hunts I can from the 3 places, even the lvl17 ones. It's nice that you don't need to grind to be able beat things stronger than you, even though it does take much longer at a lower level.

Even though I wish the battle system was more responsive and stuff like cancelling out of animations (they really like to play out Noctis' animations), one neat thing I found to make it easier not to get hit while doing something with long animation recovery like the heavy sword is to call one of those L1 link attacks during it before you get hit. Since you are invincible during it and can call it anytime, just do it before you get dunked on. People probably figured this out but it will help people starting out the game and running into higher level enemies.

Unlock the skill that makes your dodge cost no MP if done at the last moment. The ascension screen doesn't mention it, but it lets you cancel any attack into a dodge if you time it right.

It's still not an universal form of animation cancelling, but at least it's there to avoid getting hit, which is the most important situation.
 

Batman7

Banned
Played the tutorial that I skipped and now everything makes sense. What a turnaround. I'm in chapter 3 and loving the combat now. I feel like Neo x Dante, it's just so much fun. The story is still bare bones for a final fabtasy so far either very little cutscenes ( which by the way do look very bad) but I'm sure it'll pick up.
 
So a bit of context: ive been incredibly sceptical about this game. In fact, very negative. I was starting to hate it before i even played it. Everything i saw in the preview trailers, that godawful demo and the battle system and quick videos i had seen....It looked boring, uninspired and directionless. I even posted many times here venting those things and voicing my fears. I was praying that i finally had a good FF since i strongly disliked FF10, hated ff12 and 13 and the last FF i truly loved was 9.

I am now 10 hours in and i absolutely love this game. I actually really like the story too. On the surface, i hated the characters so much. They just seemed like they would be extremely annoying and corny. I am actually enjoying all the time spent with them on screen. I dont think any one character is great per se, but the 4 characters make up the "character" that i am enjoying a lot.

The quests are great, the music is PHENOMENAL, i love the combat in both wait mode and normal. And before this i had no interest in watching kingsglaive but now with the story really getting somewhere i will get the movie to fill in my interest for the lore now.

I am so surprised. I cant stop playing the game and i had absolutely zero faith in the game. I thought it was going to be FF13 all over again (reviewed well but still pretty shit in every regard apart from one or two aspects at best) but fuck. This may well end up being a contender for GOTY for me. BUT, for my tastes thats not saying a lot since i dont like FPS or shooters in general and im not overly insane about indie games apart from the odd one here and there.
 

AlanOC91

Member
Occasionally when I'm sprinting a green aura comes out of Noctis and he gets faster for a few seconds.

No idea how I'm doing it?
 

preta

Member
So a bit of context: ive been incredibly sceptical about this game. In fact, very negative. I was starting to hate it before i even played it. Everything i saw in the preview trailers, that godawful demo and the battle system and quick videos i had seen....It looked boring, uninspired and directionless. I even posted many times here venting those things and voicing my fears. I was praying that i finally had a good FF since i strongly disliked FF10, hated ff12 and 13 and the last FF i truly loved was 9.

I am now 10 hours in and i absolutely love this game. I actually really like the story too. On the surface, i hated the characters so much. They just seemed like they would be extremely annoying and corny. I am actually enjoying all the time spent with them on screen. I dont think any one character is great per se, but the 4 characters make up the "character" that i am enjoying a lot.

The quests are great, the music is PHENOMENAL, i love the combat in both wait mode and normal. And before this i had no interest in watching kingsglaive but now with the story really getting somewhere i will get the movie to fill in my interest for the lore now.

I am so surprised. I cant stop playing the game and i had absolutely zero faith in the game. I thought it was going to be FF13 all over again (reviewed well but still pretty shit in every regard apart from one or two aspects at best) but fuck. This may well end up being a contender for GOTY for me. BUT, for my tastes thats not saying a lot since i dont like FPS or shooters in general and im not overly insane about indie games apart from the odd one here and there.

Make sure you watch Brotherhood too!

Occasionally when I'm sprinting a green aura comes out of Noctis and he gets faster for a few seconds.

No idea how I'm doing it?

If you try to stop sprinting when your stamina bar is about to run out, Noctis gets a burst of speed and the bar refills completely. Basically allows you to sprint infinitely if you have the Stamina bar turned on so you can see when to do it.
 

Mailbox

Member
Occasionally when I'm sprinting a green aura comes out of Noctis and he gets faster for a few seconds.

No idea how I'm doing it?

There is a stamina meter that is default off. If you press l3 or let go of O just before it empties, the whole bar will refill.
 

Gbraga

Member
So a bit of context: ive been incredibly sceptical about this game. In fact, very negative. I was starting to hate it before i even played it. Everything i saw in the preview trailers, that godawful demo and the battle system and quick videos i had seen....It looked boring, uninspired and directionless. I even posted many times here venting those things and voicing my fears. I was praying that i finally had a good FF since i strongly disliked FF10, hated ff12 and 13 and the last FF i truly loved was 9.

I am now 10 hours in and i absolutely love this game. I actually really like the story too. On the surface, i hated the characters so much. They just seemed like they would be extremely annoying and corny. I am actually enjoying all the time spent with them on screen. I dont think any one character is great per se, but the 4 characters make up the "character" that i am enjoying a lot.

The quests are great, the music is PHENOMENAL, i love the combat in both wait mode and normal. And before this i had no interest in watching kingsglaive but now with the story really getting somewhere i will get the movie to fill in my interest for the lore now.

I am so surprised. I cant stop playing the game and i had absolutely zero faith in the game. I thought it was going to be FF13 all over again (reviewed well but still pretty shit in every regard apart from one or two aspects at best) but fuck. This may well end up being a contender for GOTY for me. BUT, for my tastes thats not saying a lot since i dont like FPS or shooters in general and im not overly insane about indie games apart from the odd one here and there.

What a twist! Hahaha. I really thought you wouldn't enjoy it either.

You should watch Brotherhood too, since it's free. And imo better than Kingsglaive.

If you try to stop sprinting when your stamina bar is about to run out, Noctis gets a burst of speed and the bar refills completely. Basically allows you to sprint infinitely if you have the Stamina bar turned on so you can see when to do it.

If you look at Noctis, the moment he starts to slow down and brings his back up, you can let go of the button. I'm not using the stamina meter and can still do it consistently.
 

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Gameplay/combat is totally different from any of those games. If I had to make a comparison to another game's combat, it would be to Kingdom Hearts, but even that is stretching it a bit. Gameplay is... Witcher 3 and World of Warcraft?

This is really a very unique game. It's hard to draw comparisons to other titles.

Hmmm. That does seem interesting. Maybe not $60 interesting, but I'll most likely get it sometime later. So the gameplay has improved from that Noctis' dream demo?

Watched a video of that Leviathan fight. Looked so ridiculous it sort of became awesome. Like Final God of Fantasy War.


One of the weaker entries in the franchise, but has some positives worth experiencing. I feel in the minority here though and I haven't finished it, but each session has me coming away more and more dejected by its lack of polish, shallow combat and progression, lifeless world, and contextual narrative issues. Yet there is a charm and mystique through it all. I won't be looking back on in this with much fondness a year from now, but I can't outright condemn it either given how many are able to see past my gripes and adore it all the same.

Hm. Well, I'll end up getting it then, but not until it's $20-$25.
 

sora87

Member
WHOA that was fucking awesome! Around chapter 9 but it happened randomly in the open world,
Aranea just dropped down and joined my party while I was fighting 2 red giants, what a battle!
 

Harmen

Member
Every single of the frequent complaints about this game is completely true, yet despite all of these faults I am having an absolute blast with this game. It frequently gives me that same sense of awe and magic the older FF's gave me as well.

While the characters are a bit stereotypical, the way their friendship is depicted and actually integrated in the gameplay makes me really care for the main crew. And while the story is basically not explained at all at the point where I am, I don't think the story itself is worse than most other FF's, it is just that the game does a poor job in telling the player crucial information and Kingsglaive is indeed a complete must see (people can't stress this enough).
 

ZeroX03

Banned
It doesn't happen often, but there's a few spots on the map where regular enemies, daemons and magitek soldiers all spawn in the one area and it makes trying to pick up an item for a quest hell.
 

jrush64

Banned
16 hours in and still in Chapter 3... there's so much to do and the best part, the combat is fun!!!

Gone 5 days without sleeping exp is 16000. Trying to boost it up before sleeping at the double exp hotel.

Cactuar's are hard to find though.
 
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