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All-New Press Previews of Final Fantasy XV's First 5 Chapters

OrionX

Member
Oh shit I almost went a whole day without posting in a XV thread. Can't have tha-

The set pieces in this game, they haven't shown shit. Hot damn.

sQec.gif


uQec.gif


Flying behemoth?

tQec.gif

O_O

Blackout time!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL
 
Oh shit I almost went a whole day without posting in a XV thread. Can't have tha-



O_O

Blackout time!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL
Thought the same. It's starting to be a bit too much for me.
I'd have prefered not knowing about that Leviathan gif, especially. :D But considering that we might see it as an advert, maybe we wouldn't have been able to avoid it anyways?
 
Yeah, we haven't seen even 1/3 of the game yet. And this is a good commercial even without any sound, I guess it must be airing really soon.
 
God damn. I love a good set piece in an RPG. This really emphasizes that they've just made the epic set pieces playable parts of the game.
 

Hastati

Member
Man, I've been on an unintentional blackout on the vast majority of the music, that leaked trailer had me hyped. It's gonna have an amazing soundtrack, isn't it?
 

Mailbox

Member
So my ps4 pro came today and I set everything up.
Put Platinum demo first thing, just to temper my expectations of the final game. (No performance increase, don't worry. I'm just saying all this since my old ps4 died and now I can play the demo that killed it and get Carbuncle again :3)

Noticed a bunch of things honestly.

1: New controller while plugged in: Due to lower latency, the demo felt much more responsive to me.

2: The battle system: Way more things have changed since Platinum to the final game than I thought.

Warping is really confusing in the demo, now tap to maneuver, hold to go to objects, and lock-on+hold to warp-strike. The demo is kinda similar, but locking on requires the L3 hard-lock to function in that way.

You can ONLY R1 soft-lock while in an attack position, now in the final game, you just use it as a regular soft-lock.

3: Some actual fun?: SERIOUSLY, things get SOOOO much better when you experiment with the hidden weapons. When I finally figured out how to hold myself up in the air, things got a lot more fun. The MP gauge is kind of annoying since it always got in my way during these instances, but since the above 2 changes were made, I expect the ground game to be MUCH more tolerable. But seriously the Cross Shuriken is a real joy!

4: Rain: The demo has this messed up sharpening filter. Makes all the jaggies WAY more pronounced than they have any right to be. BUT in Altissia, when you make it rain, that filter seems to go away (or it may be the rain effects soften things up, thus making the sharpening moot). In these moments, the demo, minus framerate hitches, shines graphically. Knowing that the full game will probably look crisper and overall better than this makes me giddy.

But with all that said, the demo is still crap and should have NEVER been used as promotional material. If you don't get the secret weapons, only play the boss 1 time and never figure things out, etc. you will hate this demo. Its a confusing slog and a bore fighting as young noctis.
 

bigmac996

Member
Did they use Platinum Demo footage in that trailer or do we actually fight the Iron Giant there in the full game? I'd guess they're reusing old footage. Not sure why they'd need to.
 

Mailbox

Member
Did they use Platinum Demo footage in that trailer or do we actually fight the Iron Giant there in the full game? I'd guess they're reusing old footage. Not sure why they'd need to.

That was PC footage from platinum, for sure.
The new stock UI (so, basically the PC UI) is more blue-heavy now and more bulky than that slim one.

Wouldn't be surprised if we fought them upon returning to insomnia

We can fight them in the first hours of the game if you guys wanna get your asses handed to you :p
 

bigmac996

Member
That was PC footage from platinum, for sure.
The new stock UI (so, basically the PC UI) is more blue-heavy now and more bulky than that slim one.



We can fight them in the first hours of the game if you guys wanna get your asses handed to you :p

You're right it totally is. The gem counter is in the top right of the screen and there's tutorial info on the screen.
 

MogCakes

Member
But with all that said, the demo is still crap and should have NEVER been used as promotional material. If you don't get the secret weapons, only play the boss 1 time and never figure things out, etc. you will hate this demo. Its a confusing slog and a bore fighting as young noctis.

As a KH fan I enjoyed the romp through different locales and weather effects.
 

Good video. Im not too worried about the combat being confusing or too 'chaotic' as i've seen videos of people being really good with the combat. Im guessing its just a steep learning curve.

Although i'm a little worried about the Prompto chat spam that they brought up. Every video i've seen its just far too much. Hopefully theres some story arc which makes him tolerable to me.
 

Rappy

Member
Good video. Im not too worried about the combat being confusing or too 'chaotic' as i've seen videos of people being really good with the combat. Im guessing its just a steep learning curve.

Although i'm a little worried about the Prompto chat spam that they brought up. Every video i've seen its just far too much. Hopefully theres some story arc which makes him tolerable to me.
This clip was was brought up before but it was part of the whole podcast, but I'll just say it again. It really is mostly just the one that sounds like he is not a fan of the main cast/party at all. The rest don't seem like it's a big deal. And watching the hour long play-through vids of other outlets it doesn't sound much worse than any party banter in other games at all to me. But if you've seen all those videos, then I don't know...might just need to play with voices off if possible. They generally sound like useful tips while sounding more organic during battles. @Polygon, when Gladio says "it's hard to swing" a sword here stop using your slow ass fucking greatsword!

Of course, if you hate Prompto or other characters' behavior (or on a superficial level) then I don't think there's much helping that. Jason Schreier from Kotaku did say there is a Prompto moment that made he like him a lot more. And generally, lots of other previewers say they start to like/get invested in the party after their time playing.
 
This clip was was brought up before but it was part of the whole podcast, but I'll just say it again. It really is mostly just the one that sounds like he is not a fan of the main cast/party at all. The rest don't seem like it's a big deal. And watching the hour long play-through vids of other outlets it doesn't sound much worse than any party banter in other games at all to me. But if you've seen all those videos, then I don't know...might just need to play with voices off if possible. They generally sound like useful tips while sounding more organic during battles. @Polygon, when Gladio says "it's hard to swing" a sword here stop using your slow ass fucking greatsword!

Of course, if you hate Prompto or other characters' behavior (or on a superficial level) then I don't think there's much helping that. Jason Schreier from Kotaku did say there is a Prompto moment that made he like him a lot more. And generally, lots of other previewers say they start to like/get invested in the party after their time playing.

Is this an option?

My opinion might change for him, but just watching a video and not controlling anything myself its harder to ignore. The rest of the cast are fine, its just Prompto's voice/personality thats grating. As the game progresses into a more serious tone so might Prompto. We shall see.
 

Tyaren

Member
Is this an option?

My opinion might change for him, but just watching a video and not controlling anything myself its harder to ignore. The rest of the cast are fine, its just Prompto's voice/personality thats grating. As the game progresses into a more serious tone so might Prompto. We shall see.

Have you watched the anime? If not even episode 2 sways your opinion on Prompto (it did for many people) then it's probably not going to happen ever. ;)

I really hope though that the game itself will have enough moments like the anime. I'm not a fan of cutting all that stuff out and putting it in movies, anime series and mobile games. :/
 

Rappy

Member
Is this an option?

My opinion might change for him, but just watching a video and not controlling anything myself its harder to ignore. The rest of the cast are fine, its just Prompto's voice/personality thats grating. As the game progresses into a more serious tone so might Prompto. We shall see.
Eh well, lots of games have volume mixers right (Master, BGM, SFX, Voice)? No idea if that's in FFXV, but it seems likely it would be considering all the other options they have. But man, people really hate those cheerful types, don't they? Don't think you should get your hopes up on Prompto changing personalities. They'll all have their serious and deep moments in the game but they'll remain who they are at heart (aka their trope). But yeah, watch EP 2 of Brotherhood as suggested, and if your opinion doesn't budge even the slightest than get ready to mute all the voices.

And maybe some of it is just the fault of the localization. I'll be playing it with JPN voices and even though the ENG text will remain the same, I know enough to likely be able to tell the difference and ignore what's written.
 
Think I've seen enough now but I really feel like this game is going to end up being really good. Recently I've been fearing that I'll have (we all would have) wasted 10 years of our lives hyped for a shit game, but the previews are instilling my confidence in me.
 
Small bits of the newest Edge issue's FFXV preview, where the author played 40 hours:

The elevation of supporting characters is designed to appeal to fans but it's been done at the expense of a strong plot.

[...]

In many of it's fragments of ideas and mechanics, FFXV shines. But by its stentorian conclusion, it's difficult to shake a feeling of confusion.

[...]

Full of hope, ambition and no shortage of things to see and do... Like a folly extended by successive architects, it's a peculiar artefact that can't escape it's past.​

Source: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=223539203&postcount=58

Stentorian conclusion - did they play to completion?

Stentorian is a weird adjective here - it connotes strength and gravitas and doesn't dovetail with "confusing." I suspect the author was awkwardly reaching for a synonym to bombastic.

Don't get the supporting character quote. Don't fans like a strong plot?
 

Geg

Member
Is it saying the story gives a lot of focus to characters outside the main four? I don't see how that could be a negative thing
 

Renmyra

Member
Shit. Kinda regret reading that spoiler. Definitely not reading anything else about this game before it comes out.

I wish.
 
Small bits of the newest Edge issue's FFXV preview, where the author played 40 hours:

The elevation of supporting characters is designed to appeal to fans but it's been done at the expense of a strong plot.

[...]

In many of it's fragments of ideas and mechanics, FFXV shines. But by its stentorian conclusion, it's difficult to shake a feeling of confusion.

[...]

Full of hope, ambition and no shortage of things to see and do... Like a folly extended by successive architects, it's a peculiar artefact that can't escape it's past.​

Source: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=223539203&postcount=58


!!! Second half spoilers !!!
"The creative pressures and arguments that have coloured Final Fantasy XV's development are most evident in the second half, where it almost switches geenre, away from the open world desidn of the The Witcher 3, which was an influence on the current team, to a much more traditional linear series of cutscenes and dungeons. Late in the game, a network of cramped corridors, stockrooms and baffling barracks feels like a hangover from another game entirely. Here, Noctis, working alone, must duck into doorways in order to hide from the stalking, haunted guards. The stealth is delivered in a horror style, complete with jump scares, a disembodied, Joker-like voiceover, and Resident Evil-style key-card puzzles."

Sounds...weird. Although apart from the implication there isn't much in that paragraph to actually generate an image of how it will play out except for the last bit.

The supporting character critique isn't necessarily a bad thing. For instance, Uncharted trades far more on the strength of its characters and writing than its actual plots.
 

Geg

Member
!!! Second half spoilers !!!
"The creative pressures and arguments that have coloured Final Fantasy XV's development are most evident in the second half, where it almost switches geenre, away from the open world desidn of the The Witcher 3, which was an influence on the current team, to a much more traditional linear series of cutscenes and dungeons. Late in the game, a network of cramped corridors, stockrooms and baffling barracks feels like a hangover from another game entirely."

That basically matches up with what Tabata said about the game's structure a while back. The only thing mentioned here that has me worried is the
"baffling backtracking"
, hopefully that's not too bad.
 
That basically matches up with what Tabata said about the game's structure a while back. The only thing mentioned here that has me worried is the
"baffling backtracking"
, hopefully that's not too bad.

Barracks not backtracking...
 
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