guybrushfreeman
Unconfirmed Member
They should consider posting this old classic from FFXIII in the review thread OP just to get things started. https://www.destructoid.com/100-objective-review-final-fantasy-xiii-179178.phtml
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Final Fantasy XV Impressions: Mark All Spoilers
- Thread starter Primethius
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They should consider posting this old classic from FFXIII in the review thread OP just to get things started. https://www.destructoid.com/100-objective-review-final-fantasy-xiii-179178.phtml
Tribes of Trusty
Member
Some dipshits whose only pleasure in life is spoiling others' fun, ah well I don't even resent them as their life must be quite sad ¯\_(ツ
_/¯ But lesson learned, I shouldn't have trusted other sites which seem to have a population of idiot users on their forums.
I'm waiting for reviews from a few selected outlets before deciding, I don't want to be burnt like FF XIII :/
NoctisCaelum
Member
I really want this game to be for me but the more impressions come in, the more depressed I get. I'm not an open world fan, haven't particularly liked the combat system in any of the demos and was hoping that a good story would push me through the experience. And it sounds like that just isn't there.
Maintenance
Member
Played all of them, only ME2 gets close, but still not as good.
MGSV had 10/10 gameplay though.
I don't know, all 3D Zelda fell for this same problem(excluding maybe MM) while doing much smaller worlds than BOTW, I'd wait until we see the game before saying they succeeded with BOTW.
1. Are there a lot of touching bro moments?
2. Are the bros more Backstreet boys, N'Sync or Boys II Men?
3. Does the banter between the bros ever get repetitive?
4. We know the story is about Noctis but is there enough character development for the rest of the bros?
5. I know you said Prompto was your favorite bro prior to the game but now that you've beaten it who is your favorite bro?
Solid Sora
Member
I thoroughly enjoyed this game, more than any other game this year for sure. It's a unique game, much different than anything in the market, which I really appreciate. It has many great, memorable moments that reminded me of why I loved FF in the first place. However, I think the opinions on it will be very polarizing, mostly due to how uneven it is and how the 10 years development hell is apparent on it.
Please keep in mind that I'm a person who waited 10 years for this game. It was part of my childhood, teenage years, and adulthood. I was - and still - very emotionally invested in it. I don't know if that makes me more forgiving, or more critical, but I tried to be objective as much as I can writing this post.
Final Fantasy XV is more than the sum of its parts, and I loved it for that.
It's not exactly the return to form that people hoped for, but it certainly a huge step in the right direction, and I absolutely can't wait to play Tabata's next big game, where he hopefully won't have to deal with someone else baggage and development mess.
I hope you all enjoy Final Fantasy XV as much as I did and more.
EDIT:
- I loved the battle system. It's a different take on RPG battle systems, that values positioning and strategy, and combine it with action elements like timing and execution skills in a very engaging combat. I think many people will dislike it, due to the fact that it's not a 100% Action RPG, but looks like a one. I personally loved it, and enjoyed the high learning curve it needs to master it, regardless of how - sadly - easy the main story is.
- Loved how every royal arm has it's different animations, attributes, and warp strikes. They add so much needed variety to the combat.
- Magic crafting is an interesting system. There's a lot of options to craft, including stop, venom, heal, etc. Sadly, I don't the system works well with the fluid flow of the combat, but I found it to be a good battle starter against bosses.
- Enjoyed the ring magic. Can't say more about it due to spoilers, but there's more to it than the death spell, and it got really flashy effects.
- Sadly, side quests are very xenoblade-y. However, there's much good side content in the game, in the form of Niffelhim basses to infiltrate, super bosses hunts to take, and optional dungeons to explore.
- Sadly, side quests are very xenoblade-y. However, there's much good side content in the game, in the form of Niffelhim basses to infiltrate, super bosses hunts to take, and optional dungeons to explore.
- You've already seen most of the open-world part in the promotional material, sorry guys.
- The art direction, music, and monster gallery were all excellent, but most of you already know that.
- I think I overall prefer the linear part over the open world part, but I expect this to be an unpopular opinion. The linear part, for those who asked about how linear is it, consists of large dungeons mixed with crazy set pieces. One of those dungeons I absolute adored, and the setpieces I found very impressive for an open world game, and surely very memorable. Loved each one of them. I have to say though that most people who watched the set-pieces in the spoiler thread thought they sucked, so maybe I just have a bad taste, or maybe they're just much better if you're the one playing!
- The story is a hot mess. Can't talk about it without going into spoiler territory, but the rewritings are very apparent here, and the first 8 chapters have basically no story. Story and its presentations are the weakest links in the game, and its major problems.
- That said, it had it's moments that I adored. Highlight was the last chapter, which I thought was truly perfect, including the ending that I consider as one of my absolute favorite endings in the series. I also thought the villain was overall pretty good, with some issues that I'll detail when the game is out.
- That said, it had it's moments that I adored. Highlight was the last chapter, which I thought was truly perfect, including the ending that I consider as one of my absolute favorite endings in the series. I also thought the villain was overall pretty good, with some issues that I'll detail when the game is out.
Please keep in mind that I'm a person who waited 10 years for this game. It was part of my childhood, teenage years, and adulthood. I was - and still - very emotionally invested in it. I don't know if that makes me more forgiving, or more critical, but I tried to be objective as much as I can writing this post.
Final Fantasy XV is more than the sum of its parts, and I loved it for that.
It's not exactly the return to form that people hoped for, but it certainly a huge step in the right direction, and I absolutely can't wait to play Tabata's next big game, where he hopefully won't have to deal with someone else baggage and development mess.
I hope you all enjoy Final Fantasy XV as much as I did and more.
EDIT:
- Can't believe that I forgot to talk about the party! I know they're controversial, but I loved them! One of my favorite parties in the series, and a return to form after disliking XIII and XII parties. Friendship is a recurring theme in most JRPGS, but this the first time it was done that well imo. While not terribly interesting individuals, XV's party works great as team, and they have on of the realest chemistry I experienced in any game.
Death Penalty
Member
This. I'd really like to know more about the Ring of the Lucii. What sort of spells can you get? Are there optional spells? Is the Ring the only arcana? Was it fun to use?
Okay, I just finished the game and since the game is till fresh in my mind I thought I'd come here to share my thoughts about it. Let me start off by saying that I LOVE the game, to me its a flawed game but a very lovable one due to the amazing cast. (seriously, the bros are awesome give them a chance)
Let me start off by saying that I am extremely disappointed at how the story was short. I know they've said the main story would take about 40 - 50 hours but I can tell you that its bullshit, I finsihed the entire game after doing some hunts/side quests and some exploration in 35 - 40 hours. I found myself always wanting more and feeling there is little to no story at all, yes I know they've said they were aiming for a simple story, but a sense of purpose or even a slight direct plot would have helped with this issue. This actually brings me to the next problem in the story, how it was presented/directed. Through chapters 1 - 8 you can tell that there is always something off with the cutscenes, they feel a bit disjointed and weird, and some feels like its there to fill in space. You can tell that they had to rewrite and to repurpose some of the scenes, and unfortunatetly you can also tell the troubled development it went through.
However, the main cast made up greatly for that, I just LOVE how they developed and how deep their growth was. I came to this game only caring about Prompto but soon after I started to care about the rest as well, I started looking at them as a bunch of really good friends that anyone would be lucky to have. The characters and their moments together are what kept me enganged and entertained for the entire game. I wish that attention to the main cast was extended a bit to the supporting ones cause man they had potential! I thought they did a great job withbut I wanted to see more ofIris, it was sad that they were pretty much ignored right after their quests were over.Cor, Aranea, and Gentania
I am also sad to see that locations are not as varied as I hoped they would, it isn't that much of a big deal to me but the wholenot even being explorable is such a shame. I was very disappointed that we never get to see anything new outside of what we have already seen. ShameTenebrae
I liked the dungeons though, they are just awesome (mainly cause the party are actually aware of them and comment on them accordingly), I love how varied these dungeons are and the interesting monsters you get to fight inside. I also like the combat A LOT, once I got used to the gameplay and I unlocked a lot of its features, I was able to fully realize the potential of it. It was smooth, responsive, and innutitive, definitely one of the high-lights of the game.
Despite the rocky beginning in the story, the game did have a great ending that will forever be engraved in my mind. I love everything about the finale and how well it was directed, I just wish the first half of the game had that level attention to it. It would've turned out to be a flawless game and possibly even be the best I've ever played had they just not rewritten a lot of its scenes.
Well that's the end of my impression, feel free to ask me anything you want about the game.
I too come out of it with similar thoughts you have had!
I literally also just finished the story and I have to say that this is a Final Fantasy that I wanted after having to go through the trash that is the 13 franchise. However, it wont be as memorable to me like X, VI and VII. It is not as good as the whole premise that surrounded Versus too, but its a great FF game and is probably my game of the year together with U4 and Cyber Sleuth. To me though, I see this as a game the franchise needed as they can hopefully build on the good aspects of XV in future mainline entries.
Things I didnt like:
- The length. It was too short for me. And I really wished it was longer. The first half of the game had some great characterization and it honestly made you love the cast, but it was still off at times and it was obvious that thing had changed. I really wish we got to see what the original premise would have been for the first half of the game. But then again, the first half may have been a large part of Nomura's contributions rather than Tabata changing things up in order to get it released. Regardless, the fist half of the game was a bit off but it was saved by the cast and by the world.
- Talking about the world:
I am disappointed and I expected more. I seriously hope they plan to expand on it more through a major DLC.
- Magic: The whole magic system is a major step back to me. I really disliked what they have done with it and hope they change from using this system in future mainline entries.
- Sidequests: They can be a little tiring at times but generally they are good. Could be better though but hopefully they can work on this for XVI.
- Cast: Yea I know I said the cast was amazing and that they really grow on you the more you play with them and I know I am beating a dead bush, but I seriously wish there were more permanent members. Maybe its just something Ive grown accustomed to in previous FF where there have been quite a number of choices.
I reaaaaaaally hope they have more gender diversity in the next game. Dumb peeve but whatever.
- English VA. I didn't like it but then I am an ass and I generally go for the Japanese dub whenever possible.
Things I liked:
- The cast: might as well get into this since I just bought them up but they seriously grow on you as the story goes on. I went into this game with reservations against an all male cast but I was pleasantly surprised at how attached I got to them. The dialogue between them was honestly not a cringefest like I imagined it to be.
- The story: Holy moly was the second half good. The ending was great. I wont lie and i will have to say that I did feel nervous at about 10hrs in when there seemed to be little direction but dam, when the plot started moving it was super good. I did not want it to end.
- The combat: People are mistakenly leading other people to think that combat is mindless and its easy to win any battle. They are wrong. The combat is pretty good and has some great depth to it. Encounters get harder later in the game.
- Character Progression is reallllly good.
- The music is great. And also I love the feature where you can buy songs from old FF and play it on the car radio. Nostalgia at its greatest.
All in all, this was a really good game and I would recommend it. Its not the game we were waiting those long years for. But it is still an incredible game and worthy of being a mainline FF. Hopefully, going forward, Square can build on this and give us more amazing experiences. Its not a perfect game by any means, but it is definitely worthy of being played.
Deckard Chapel
Banned
Quoted for truth.
I've felt this way for over a decade. You explained/expressed it extremely well.
Kudos!
There's also the fact the voices aren't great and the writing doesn't seem much better.
Honestly, the point at which you turn on Pokémon should be the same time at which you turn off XV. LOL
Great impressions! Very happy about the second more linear part of the game since I'm really not enjoying the open world. Huge dungeons sounds just like my cup of tea so I'm excited to power through now.
I am sorry for asking things that are possibly mentioned in the impressions here but I have to ask because I am a spoiler pussy and avoid reading.
From the answer you give me it will depend if I will buy a Pro now or wait a little longer.
Is the framepacing fixed at all in the final version? (patched)
Also, is the world map totally different than what we thought it was (considering the map that was circulating all this time)?
From the answer you give me it will depend if I will buy a Pro now or wait a little longer.
Is the framepacing fixed at all in the final version? (patched)
Also, is the world map totally different than what we thought it was (considering the map that was circulating all this time)?
Munba
Member
Thanks for impressions!
Can i have some little info about 1-2 spells (not all XD) about ring magic in spoiler tag pls?
LowParry
Member
I wonder what will be the deciding factor of lowering a score for the game. If we're really missing a good chunk of story at the beginning, but we get the big pay off and the end, will reviewers knock it down?
I'm looking at the comparisons here with MGSV. Where we get a great beginning but a lack luster ending. Yet it scored fairly well. Will we see the same type of forgiveness with FFXV?
I'm looking at the comparisons here with MGSV. Where we get a great beginning but a lack luster ending. Yet it scored fairly well. Will we see the same type of forgiveness with FFXV?
Hard to tell when it comes to story. In MGSV's case reviewers seemed to give out high score just to say "fuck you" to Konami.
LowParry
Member
That's a good point. I think the game will score between 80-90 though. And that should be something to praise.
The lack of story or at the very least a disjointed one is what I expected (actually better probably). The weird dev cycle for this game did it no favors.
the gameplay loop seems fine. I loved XBX for example and the game getting more "focused" as it goes on SHOULD help alleviate the open world fatigue issue.
This game is going to have a crazy variant in reviews. I hope most reviewers finish it if the second half is where the meat is. That thread is going to be filled with bodies though...wooooo
the gameplay loop seems fine. I loved XBX for example and the game getting more "focused" as it goes on SHOULD help alleviate the open world fatigue issue.
This game is going to have a crazy variant in reviews. I hope most reviewers finish it if the second half is where the meat is. That thread is going to be filled with bodies though...wooooo
This may sound a little sounds petty, but when comparing reviews vs MGSV specifically, MGS as a franchise was(/is) still a hot property. MGS4 was still a solidly (heh) received game. Final Fantasy has become a little bit of a punching bag as of late, and XV needs to work double time to bring back goodwill. As Haz says, Square Enix is well aware they aren't the champions in today's gaming landscape but the challengers.
Reviews aren't objective. They never will be. It's not a vacuum. This isn't a knock against reviews btw - non-objectivity is pretty much a mirror of how general reception of an entry of this or that franchise will be - also likewise not in a vacuum.
That said, it's going to be interesting to see how longtime fans and newcomers alike react to the game when it's more widely available.
Things have changed in the past few years.
I think it will be above 85. Heck FFXIII got 83. No reason for FFXV to get lower than that. And no, I don't think reviewers are stricter now. It's not like this gen is incredibly stacked with great games anyway so of course the average score is lower.
LouisaFerre
Member
Didn't FFXIII-2 and LR both get lower scores despite reviewers saying they were better than XIII?
So it's literally just dungeons? No open-air regions with a small freedom of exploration? What about the side content present in the first part (camping, hunts, fishing, chocobos), is that gone for good?
Also, would you say that the later areas are indeed more fantastical looking than what's in the beginning?
Are they varied enough?
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
1) Are there towns explorable in the sense that they have a considerable size/stuff to do?
2) Does the map resemble the one that has been circulating all this time? I remember back then that people were saying the sum of Duscae, Leide and Cleigne were only like 30% of the game world. Does that still hold true?
3) How is the exploration in the more linear part? Is it completely removed from the equation?
4) Framepacing/performance comments?
Thanks
2) Does the map resemble the one that has been circulating all this time? I remember back then that people were saying the sum of Duscae, Leide and Cleigne were only like 30% of the game world. Does that still hold true?
3) How is the exploration in the more linear part? Is it completely removed from the equation?
4) Framepacing/performance comments?
Thanks
Been playing for about three hours.
My names for the main four are Sasuke, Abs, Posh Spice, and Hashtag. I will probably never think of them as anything but.
Combat seems promising and flashy, but man, there's unbelievably little narrative structure here. It's like they put together a bunch of quests and desperately needed some justification to keep Noctis and crew moving between them. Really hope things pick up in this regard.
My names for the main four are Sasuke, Abs, Posh Spice, and Hashtag. I will probably never think of them as anything but.
Combat seems promising and flashy, but man, there's unbelievably little narrative structure here. It's like they put together a bunch of quests and desperately needed some justification to keep Noctis and crew moving between them. Really hope things pick up in this regard.
nelsonroyale
Member
After just having watched Kingslaive, and noting how dark that is, the start of the game is really weird. I am not sure what they were thinking. I mean, I will just accept the disjunct and hopefully enjoy, but I find some of the choices here weird.
Off topic, but I actually did this in 13-2, taped the analog stick to keep going in a circle and a special controller to keep attacking.
Left the console on for weeks and then progressed through the game for the story.
It was fun breaking a game like that.
Am planning to go in near-totally blind so I don't want to Google anything, but... who are the English translators for this game?
If any of the illustrious names that have worked on previous SE games are on the roster, I'll wait a while and play this in English rather than pre-order the Japanese version (which I could have on day 1, being in Japan).
It's hard to add much flavor to a game that is set in a modern world like this one compared to ancient/medieval -- even Industrial Revolution -- society where old-style speaking styles feel natural, so I'm not as hyped for a gorgeous English translation like FFXII and TO had.
If any of the illustrious names that have worked on previous SE games are on the roster, I'll wait a while and play this in English rather than pre-order the Japanese version (which I could have on day 1, being in Japan).
It's hard to add much flavor to a game that is set in a modern world like this one compared to ancient/medieval -- even Industrial Revolution -- society where old-style speaking styles feel natural, so I'm not as hyped for a gorgeous English translation like FFXII and TO had.
Ahh 8/10?
Its better than XIII, i'll give you that.
The weather system is really cool but I have only encountered fog and rain tbh. It affects some types of enemies if you use thunder, and some only spawn when its raining.
1. How would you compare this to say... FFX, FFXII, and FFXIII?
2. How "Final Fantasy" is it compared to XII?
It has more interesting characters than XII for sure. X has a better story of course and XIII should never be brought up again ;P
- Yes there are but there is not a lot of them but when they happen they are really deep and touching. (some occur after side quests)
- They are better.
-ummm no not really, they repeat few things but overall they always have something to say about the main quest, dungeon, or side quests so it never gets boring.
- Yep, its really cool too.
- Still Prompto ;P but Gladio is my 2nd best character now even though I never like characters of his type at all. He surprised me!
- They are not that big and there really nothing much to do besides eating, shopping, and sleeping
- Ummm nope, its much smaller
- linear part is basically some high action stuff going on so you couldn't explore even if you wanted to >~<
- few stutters here and there but nothing major honestly.
Solid Sora
Member
Thanks for impressions!
Can i have some little info about 1-2 spells (not all XD) about ring magic in spoiler tag pls?
There's a total of
3
You use them by
holding O, square, or triangle. A button for a spell.
The linear chapters are dungeons and set-pieces. Some of them are open dungeons, but still dungeons. No side-activities, no.
The locations don't get more fantastical than Altisia. They're varied enough for an open world game, but less than you expect for a FF game.
1) Yes.
2) No.
3) The linear chapters dungeons are large and well designed, with alternative paths and hidden items to find.
4) I don't know about framepacing, since I don't really understand what it is, and - luckily -couldn't even feel it in Bloodborne while everyone was complaining. Frame-rate though was very solid most of the times. The only drops I got was when there's a lot of physics stuff is happening on the screen (explosions and destructible environments), and in Altissia.
Benzychenz
Member
I haven't read too much of the thread so I don't know if this is common knowledge by now, but how long are we talking here?
I'm honestly ok with a shorter JRPG, especially with the amount of stuff coming out Q1 next year, that's assuming it's at least over 30 hours though.
Also, do we know what the trophy list is like? I kind of want to start a Final Fantasy platinum collection
I didn't read through the whole thread, since I'm a bit afraid of spoilers, but hopefully someone can answer my question from the previous thread.
To those with the US version of the game - what text and audio languages are available in the language selection menu?
To those with the US version of the game - what text and audio languages are available in the language selection menu?
- They are not that big and there really nothing much to do besides eating, shopping, and sleeping
- Ummm nope, its much smaller
- linear part is basically some high action stuff going on so you couldn't explore even if you wanted to >~<
- few stutters here and there but nothing major honestly.
Thanks a bunch for these answers guys. They kinda deflate my hype considerably though.
I am sure I am perhaps exaggerating, but the map comments, the linear part comments kinda put me off. I had a completely different game in my mind. I dont even know if it feels like a roadtrip anymore.
One final question. If you remember the Environment Video, it featured a lot of locations. Are those in game or are some of them removed as well from the final game?
Blackthorn
"hello?" "this is vagina"
I suspected from watching Brotherhood, which I liked, and Kingsglaive, which I thought was trash, that I'd enjoy the smaller character moments far more than the larger machinations of the plot.
I'd be content with a game with no big, save the world plot which was purely just exploring the world and interacting with friends, I find that far more relatable, intimate and true to life.
I'm very interested to see how my feelings towards the game will compare to others once I've played it.
I'd be content with a game with no big, save the world plot which was purely just exploring the world and interacting with friends, I find that far more relatable, intimate and true to life.
I'm very interested to see how my feelings towards the game will compare to others once I've played it.
Thanks a bunch for these answers guys. They kinda deflate my hype considerably though.
I am sure I am perhaps exaggerating, but the map comments, the linear part comments kinda put me off. I had a completely different game in my mind. I dont even know if it feels like a roadtrip anymore.
One final question. If you remember the Environment Video, it featured a lot of locations. Are those in game or are some of them removed as well from the final game?
Yeah sadly that's what I thought too, I feel like going open world was a mistake. It would have been better if they had big areas or something like that instead.
Well ..
Tenebrae
Yeah, I'm starting to think that if they nail the characterizations and I start caring about the bros, I won't care as much if the story isn't up to par. At least, that's my hope.
nelsonroyale
Member
As much as I am excited for the game, this is very disappointing and stupid. Part of what makes FF great is the crazy locales. In the end, I will happy when they drop this 'fantasy based on reality' stuff. It was a nice idea for one game, no more. To be honest, I already prefered the environment in the Agni's Philosophy video. Here is hoping that will be the basis for the next game.
I am also a little miffed that this game doesn't actually have a world map...but an open world half and a linear half...I think Tabata was somewhat coy on this up until the last month or so. I would have preferred a more seemless world.
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