Relaxed Muscle
Member
Does that really count as third phase?
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Final Fantasy XV SPOILER THREAD
- Thread starter Kagari
- Start date
Does that really count as third phase?
Mister Megative
Banned
Mister Megative
Banned
Agreed. I'm lvl 58 and routinely get my ass handed to me by hunts with mobs 8 lvls below me.
Yes. And I still think that the leaker meant that phase with "monster ardyn" because he starts to get corrupted in that battle.
Lunafreya Nox Fleuret
Member
It is actually such a shame that was cut. Not that I believe the 4chan leak or anything but I just hate that he doesn't have a 2nd form so I'll just assume something was cut.
Well rounded like a fox.
DiipuSurotu
Banned
Would have been nice if Noctis was the one to transform into a final form in the final battle. Like King Arthur armored form or something.
LordKasual
Banned
Well...I have interesting feelings about FFXV, now that i've beaten it. I loved the fuck out of it, but not without a few issues.
It's easier to list the issues i had with the game rather than what I loved about it.
- Everything faulty about XV's gameplay is almost directly caused by the game's camera. It ranges from kinda wonky (Titan, Final Phase Ardyn) to bad (Leviathian's helpless phase) to literally unplayable (Adamantoise). I will defend this game's camera shortcomings only because I thoroughly enjoy the combat, but effing hell, the Adamantoise fight left a terrible taste in my mouth.
- This game's story is very gripping. But it's obvious that the flow of the tale was heavily affected by the game's development, and the early announcement after release that scenes were being added isn't even surprising to me. FFXV's cutscene shortcomings come from a very different place that, say, FFX or FFXIII's would come from, dealing with Square Enix. They just look like they either didn't get much time in the oven, or they were heavily edited with haste.
- The linear aspect of the final half of the game was great, it was just poorly paced. It just drove the point home that there probably should have been similar sections in the game BEFORE you get to that point. The set pieces you take part in during that point felt awesome, but a different type of awesome than what the game has you used to. The train in particular felt fucking amazing, warping onto flying ships and destroying them, and i wish there was some of that action going on in the main continent. It wasn't until that stuff started happening that I realized that the game was devoid of that kind of action up until that point.
- I didn't dislike Chapter 13, i actually loved its concept. The game was attempting to drive multiple strong emotions into you all at once (Friends are gone, it really sucks being alone, daemons are actually kind of terrifying, this roadtrip aint fun anymore), with the Ring of Lucii being the icing on the cake. Death and Alterna were so thematically far removed from any magic or ability shown in FFXV thus far. But the problem with Ch.13 is that it was a lore-dump chapter. There were way too many juicy plot details that only got explained in the lab notes. So while I actually enjoyed myself playing through it...i couldn't shake the feeling that the game was trying to play catch-up way too fast. It was very obviously rushing itself to conclusion.
- The Final Boss was awesome, but it definitely felt...hollow somewhere. This is the first Final Fantasy game I can recall that actually takes mechanics away from you during the final boss. So Ifrit actually felt closer to the true Final Boss than Ardyn did. It really felt like it should have went, Solo vs. Ardyn > Full Party vs. Daemon Ardyn > Bros taken out, Armiger Noctis vs. Armiger Ardyn > Cutscene Ardyn to death.
- World of Ruin was a much bigger cocktease than reuniting with Luna was. I really thought the game was going to make me run a gauntlet all the way from Galden to Hammerhead, and I was SO fucking ready. The atmosphere was crazy dark, the battle theme was amazing, enemies absolutely everywhere, I get randomly attacked by a Demonwall...
Then Talcot comes, and they lock me in a cage until i go to Insomnia. I really thought I was about to have to go find my friends across the ruined map. But they just wisk you to saftey when you get your first taste of the true dread at hand.
It's easier to list the issues i had with the game rather than what I loved about it.
- Everything faulty about XV's gameplay is almost directly caused by the game's camera. It ranges from kinda wonky (Titan, Final Phase Ardyn) to bad (Leviathian's helpless phase) to literally unplayable (Adamantoise). I will defend this game's camera shortcomings only because I thoroughly enjoy the combat, but effing hell, the Adamantoise fight left a terrible taste in my mouth.
- This game's story is very gripping. But it's obvious that the flow of the tale was heavily affected by the game's development, and the early announcement after release that scenes were being added isn't even surprising to me. FFXV's cutscene shortcomings come from a very different place that, say, FFX or FFXIII's would come from, dealing with Square Enix. They just look like they either didn't get much time in the oven, or they were heavily edited with haste.
- The linear aspect of the final half of the game was great, it was just poorly paced. It just drove the point home that there probably should have been similar sections in the game BEFORE you get to that point. The set pieces you take part in during that point felt awesome, but a different type of awesome than what the game has you used to. The train in particular felt fucking amazing, warping onto flying ships and destroying them, and i wish there was some of that action going on in the main continent. It wasn't until that stuff started happening that I realized that the game was devoid of that kind of action up until that point.
- I didn't dislike Chapter 13, i actually loved its concept. The game was attempting to drive multiple strong emotions into you all at once (Friends are gone, it really sucks being alone, daemons are actually kind of terrifying, this roadtrip aint fun anymore), with the Ring of Lucii being the icing on the cake. Death and Alterna were so thematically far removed from any magic or ability shown in FFXV thus far. But the problem with Ch.13 is that it was a lore-dump chapter. There were way too many juicy plot details that only got explained in the lab notes. So while I actually enjoyed myself playing through it...i couldn't shake the feeling that the game was trying to play catch-up way too fast. It was very obviously rushing itself to conclusion.
- The Final Boss was awesome, but it definitely felt...hollow somewhere. This is the first Final Fantasy game I can recall that actually takes mechanics away from you during the final boss. So Ifrit actually felt closer to the true Final Boss than Ardyn did. It really felt like it should have went, Solo vs. Ardyn > Full Party vs. Daemon Ardyn > Bros taken out, Armiger Noctis vs. Armiger Ardyn > Cutscene Ardyn to death.
- World of Ruin was a much bigger cocktease than reuniting with Luna was. I really thought the game was going to make me run a gauntlet all the way from Galden to Hammerhead, and I was SO fucking ready. The atmosphere was crazy dark, the battle theme was amazing, enemies absolutely everywhere, I get randomly attacked by a Demonwall...
Then Talcot comes, and they lock me in a cage until i go to Insomnia. I really thought I was about to have to go find my friends across the ruined map. But they just wisk you to saftey when you get your first taste of the true dread at hand.
I thought it was fine. Liked that he used all the Royal Arms one by one at the end. Altho I wish the main game forced us to collect them all so that sequence made sense. I was like "where'd all this shit come from?" lol
Relaxed Muscle
Member
I don't remember any new move know in that phase. Basically that part of the battle went very fast and I was doing the qte before I knew.
toastyToast
Member
Noctis being able to fly when he brings out the full set of cutlery still has me scratching my head.
If there absolutely had to be a playable battle with Ardyn in the afterlife, maybe the "decaying Jesus" approach would be worthwhile for a final form that provided a meaningful visual progression but retained the 1v1 intimacy.
I'd imagine it being kind of like the Shadowlord in Nier.
I'd imagine it being kind of like the Shadowlord in Nier.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Is like advent children fight with bad gameplay and paired down graphics.
Mister Megative
Banned
If there absolutely had to be a playable battle with Ardyn in the afterlife, maybe the "decaying Jesus" approach would be worthwhile for a final form that provided a meaningful visual progression but retained the 1v1 intimacy.
I'd imagine it being kind of like the Shadowlord in Nier.
Honestly, if there was some sort of godly/monstrous transformation, I'm glad it got cut. Wouldn't fit his character IMHO.
Agreed. I was actually super glad that they didn't put the monster transformation stuff this time around. It was a refreshing rest from the cliché.
Agree.
Isn't it still pronounced like Lunafreya?
Relaxed Muscle
Member
It would have been nice, some kind of transformation. Like an humanoid godly being.
The game went animu for the final battle, may as well go full animu.
Any excuse to remove those awful clothes.
The game went animu for the final battle, may as well go full animu.
Any excuse to remove those awful clothes.
It'd help reflect another side of his character; the person he was before becoming 'Izunia.' There's already concept art exploring that side of him, bringing it into gameplay might have worked; especially if it's after Noctis has sacrificed himself.
That's the main issue I have with him. Like I said before, for me the costume works when he's playing the part of an eccentric Imperial chancellor, not so much with his later role.
Awful clothes? Ardyn was stylish as hell.
MagnaderAlpha
Member
That's kinda the look I wanted to see in a "final form", Ardyn with darkness streaming out of his body (like in the painting), but seeing him break apart (revealing darkness within him) would've been damn awesome.If there absolutely had to be a playable battle with Ardyn in the afterlife, maybe the "decaying Jesus" approach would be worthwhile for a final form that provided a meaningful visual progression but retained the 1v1 intimacy.
I'd imagine it being kind of like the Shadowlord in Nier.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
It fits for his role he played before the final battle. But it would have been cool have a design that traced back to his origins as a corrupted jesus.
Most FF boss designs has a fascinating imagery in their final transformations (Kefka, Ultimecia, Sephiroth,...) and that is sadly missing on Ardyn.
Dosn't need to be as overdone as the examples I used, but what we got is not good.
Mister Megative
Banned
It reached the height of ridiculousness with Ultimecia.
I disagree. I think having it after made it much more impactful for me. I do agree about the Luna thing though.
Maybe but Faceless Ultimecia is iconic.
Mister Megative
Banned
Having said this, it's Tabata. Given the ending of Type-0, I wouldn't be surprised if NG+ added some new element to the final battle, perhaps a battle with monster Ardyn in the beyond. I frankly think the final boss is perfect without it, but still....wouldn't surprise me.
How would it not fit ?
The dude's entire existence is tightly linked to Daemons.
If anything it would finally make sense,like for the first time in the series.lol
Mister Megative
Banned
I dunno. Just feels out of place for him. Not just in FF, but I feel like RPGs in general use the trope of "I'M THE FINAL BOSS, WITNESS MY GLORIOUS TRANSFORMATION" is overused. I enjoyed the hint of darkness within Ardyn without turning him into some sort of demon. King vs Usurper felt more appropriate to me than Party vs Final Boss Demon Monster.
The "this isn't even my final form" cliche is so overdone. I'm glad they kept it simple with Ardyn.
Phase 2 could have been a bit more challenging, but it was pretty damn flashy.
Plus we got the Ifrit battle right before Ardyn, which was pretty much fighting a giant god like being. We kind of got the best of both worlds.
Phase 2 could have been a bit more challenging, but it was pretty damn flashy.
Plus we got the Ifrit battle right before Ardyn, which was pretty much fighting a giant god like being. We kind of got the best of both worlds.
Now that I'm finished, I can finally join the spoiler thread! Despite the story being such a mess, I really loved the game and it's one of my favorite FF's. My spoilery thoughts:
1. The Fleuret's were robbed. I feel so dumb for thinking Ravus might be the main villain, even dumber than when I thought Nabaat would be for XIII. The short clips of Stella were more interesting to me than anything we got from Luna. I was more than willing to give Luna a chance, but she felt like such an afterthought. It's not that I hated her character, but I barely got the chance to know her at all. I mean, she had two whole scenes where she said NOTHING AT ALL, and she only had like 6 or 7 overall! MESS. Surprisingly though, her death scene still managed to move me somehow, and the flashbacks in Tenebrae showed some vulnerability behind her "must help Noctis" persona.
2. Prompto's a robot?? I mean I'm sure he has a soul and obviously ages like a human, but this was glossed over so damn fast with no explanation, I can only assume it'll be covered in his DLC episode.
3. I didn't care for Ardyn at first, but by the end I thought he was a great thematic foil to Noctis. At times I wondered if Ardyn wanted to die and was trying to create the perfect circumstances for Noctis to be able to end his immortality, but in the end I guess he just wanted revenge on the Lucis line and wanted the showdown to be as theatrical as possible. I loved the final battle, but I didn't like that the bros were left out of it completely, considering the whole "Stand by Me" theme, lol. Also, since getting those summons seemed so important, I would've liked to see them used against Ardyn.
4. Noct was a fantastic FF protagonist, and atm my favorite. I found him to be a charming, caring person with amusing quirks that made him feel real, and a good but subtle sense of humor. His journey of a prince burdened by the weight of destiny and learning to embrace his fate was one of the well told aspects of the story for me. His sacrifice at the end was very moving, especially the moment with Regis. The camp scene was so damn sad. ;_;
5. Loved the logo reveal. I always figured it was Luna/Stella in some ethereal form, but I wasn't expecting the Noctis addition. I assume the idea is that they've become "gods" or that they've finally found peace together in the afterlife? I guess it's left rather ambiguously.
1. The Fleuret's were robbed. I feel so dumb for thinking Ravus might be the main villain, even dumber than when I thought Nabaat would be for XIII. The short clips of Stella were more interesting to me than anything we got from Luna. I was more than willing to give Luna a chance, but she felt like such an afterthought. It's not that I hated her character, but I barely got the chance to know her at all. I mean, she had two whole scenes where she said NOTHING AT ALL, and she only had like 6 or 7 overall! MESS. Surprisingly though, her death scene still managed to move me somehow, and the flashbacks in Tenebrae showed some vulnerability behind her "must help Noctis" persona.
2. Prompto's a robot?? I mean I'm sure he has a soul and obviously ages like a human, but this was glossed over so damn fast with no explanation, I can only assume it'll be covered in his DLC episode.
3. I didn't care for Ardyn at first, but by the end I thought he was a great thematic foil to Noctis. At times I wondered if Ardyn wanted to die and was trying to create the perfect circumstances for Noctis to be able to end his immortality, but in the end I guess he just wanted revenge on the Lucis line and wanted the showdown to be as theatrical as possible. I loved the final battle, but I didn't like that the bros were left out of it completely, considering the whole "Stand by Me" theme, lol. Also, since getting those summons seemed so important, I would've liked to see them used against Ardyn.
4. Noct was a fantastic FF protagonist, and atm my favorite. I found him to be a charming, caring person with amusing quirks that made him feel real, and a good but subtle sense of humor. His journey of a prince burdened by the weight of destiny and learning to embrace his fate was one of the well told aspects of the story for me. His sacrifice at the end was very moving, especially the moment with Regis. The camp scene was so damn sad. ;_;
5. Loved the logo reveal. I always figured it was Luna/Stella in some ethereal form, but I wasn't expecting the Noctis addition. I assume the idea is that they've become "gods" or that they've finally found peace together in the afterlife? I guess it's left rather ambiguously.
The transformation didn't have to be grossly exaggerated.It could be subtle.
Its very relevant to his character to show that he's been corrupted & thus transformed physically into something inhuman.
I think its a missed opportunity.
Mister Megative
Banned
Well like I said, I wouldn't be shocked for this to be added in NG+. And I'm gonna play through it again anyway, so if he wants to add it, sure.
He is not a robot but a normal human being, as all the MT and daemons started out. He was experimented on though when he was a little child and if he didn't manage to escape Niflheim he would have probably ended an MT and ultimately a demon.
Another interesting thing:
The official game guide reveals he is Verstaels biological son. Let's see if this will be ever addressed in the actual game.
1. Yea this is the biggest tragedy of the game really, 2 really good characters that needed more exposition. They are planning on patching in scenes for Ravus though, dunno about Luna, I would assume Ravus' scenes could also feature Luna.
2. I think the assumption is that not all MTs are robots. He could have been a prototype of some kind. This part was totally DLC bait though.
3. If the Bros were in the last fight, I don't think it would have been as enjoyable. Your essentially fighting yourself and the other guys don't have nearly as much movement options. The fight would have been a lot more boring IMO.
4. Yea Noctis is a great character, credit to the voice actor as well. I really think the main cast benefited greatly from the "Fantasy based on reality" thing they were going for. I just felt like I could relate with those characters more so then any other FF characters.
5. I think the overall consensus is that they find peace in the afterlife.
I guess Noctis could have taken his shirt off as well?
Prompto's situation isn't totally clear - as Verstael's son, he's not a typical MT; but he obviously had some part in the Niflheim demon experimentation program. I'm hoping the DLC will clear it up as well.
I think he was created to be a daemon. Just like what happened to iedola or the other general.
Imagine that final battle where two naked guys are flying around the city...
Prompto was probably part of a cloning program that the empire orchestrated after they realized they could mass produce MTs.
''I am the real me'',maybe he was based on Verstael's son & not his actual son.
I felt like this totally came out of nowhere.Was this hinted at in brotherhood ?
''I am the real me'',maybe he was based on Verstael's son & not his actual son.
I felt like this totally came out of nowhere.Was this hinted at in brotherhood ?
Lol wow what a potentially amazing plot twist that was completely wasted. Instead we get:
Prompto: "Oh guys btw I was created by Niflheim."
Bros: "Who cares, best friends forever!!! <3"
I mean it's great that they didn't care, since Prompto is Prompto after all, but seriously nobody has any questions?! XD
I wonder if Verstael will be in his dlc. I believe he was in all of ONE scene in the game.
TissueBox
Member
"And so it was that for all the man-inclined, the final payoff was worth a Cindy or two." - Random reviewer
Nope, though it does show him wearing the wristband covering his code thing.
I dunno if I like that twist.
It would've been nice to have prompto be someone who's just naturally insecure as so many of us are.
It didn't have to be ''Oh well didn't you know I am a lab rat! Its why I am so insecure about having friends''
Prompto's entire arc isn't convincing anyway.He already has 3 amazing lifelong friends,that's more than can be said about most people in real life.
Why am I supposed to be convinced that he's struggling socially ? His actual situation doesn't betray that.
TheGeniusArcana
Member
Who the hell is Verstael?
DiipuSurotu
Banned
Ardyn's final form should have been this instead of the red filter
You just ignore the years of not having friends? Were playing a FF game, it's going to have wacky twists.
Not sure if you watched brotherhood, but it does give some pretty good exposition to Prompto.
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