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6:39 pm
December 2, 2018
| | lydeck | | Member
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Post edited 10:40 pm – December 2, 2018 by lydeck
3 years later and I finally got a chance to play XV thanks to the PC version. My god what an absolute abortion of a game. Easily the worst FF both in narrative and it's story telling. Square should be embarassed.
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7:47 pm
December 2, 2018
| | dystopia
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The narrative can definitely suffer and the voice acting in some cases is.. uh.. iffy at best.. but combat isn't that bad really and if you relgate all that open world stuff to the side and just play the main story it's passable and at moments pretty good. It's a hell of a lot better than XIII…. That being said Square has still been pretty lost with the franchise since XII and at the time I didn't even like XII that much but I have warmed to it.
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11:13 pm
December 3, 2018
| | lydeck | | Member
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Post edited 3:15 am – December 4, 2018 by lydeck
Yeah, I don't have a lot of issue with the actual gameplay. The combat is fun enough, though the camera can get a big whonky, and the music is absolutely wonderful. The world itself is really nice, and the depth of the towns (that I saw, anyway) and the places you can go was really impressive. It's definitely near the top of games I've played when it comes to the detail in the physical locations.
Admittedly I didn't give the game much time (about 6 hours), and I figure I'll go back and try it again. Honestly I was so insulted at how they did Noctis' home being invaded and the intro in general that I checked out. A huge moment in the begining of the game and it's relegated to a quick slideshow and a TV news report when Noctis wakes up lol. All because they wanted you to have watched Kingsglaive beforehand. Heck, the game itself gave us no reason to care about his home, his dad, Luna, or really anything because the game doesn't show or tell you about them at all in. Maybe they do later? In a past FF game we'd have had an awesome cinametic for the invasion. The intro sure would have had more explanation of the people and what was going on.
Maybe I'm just not being fair to the game but if that's what Square can produce with a 10 year dev cycle I'm not feeling real good about the future lol.
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12:16 am
December 4, 2018
| | dystopia
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Post edited 4:18 am – December 4, 2018 by dystopia
Okay so yes this game takes awhile to really get going, I can agree to that. For my playthrough at least the early parts seems to invite you to ignore the main narrative and just explore the world doing side missions etc. A lot of people complained about this, however FF games have been doing this literally forever. Eventually in the second half of the main narrative things become more streamlined and there is a little bit more weight to everything and it starts to come into its own. To be completely fair to the game, 10 year dev cycle doesn't really describe what happened here. The game they started with was pretty much scraped 3 years before it was actually released. They retained as much of the original Verses XIII that they could but this is not that game, it's sorta a mashup of two games and it definitely plays like one. The fact they turned Verses XIII into anything usable is a feat in it's own right and the game it became, while not in the same league as previous entries, is at least a step in the right direction for what FF has to be to continue to be relevant in the current gaming era. The fact is, FF has to sell in the west or it just isn't financially viable anymore because the luster of games like FF and DQ have fallen in Japan as home console sales have fallen. Sure they'll move a million or two units there (two being pretty damn good sales for a game in Japan period) but for what it costs to make one of these games now, especially since Square continued to pursue developing its own engines for them, they really have to move games here and sales peaked with FF7 and and have been falling steadily since.
I at least found FFXV to be a game that was entertaining enough to keep me involved, I finished it and most of the on disc side content (I have not, but probably will eventually play the DLC that is available). I liked the main narrative, it definitely gets better and there are some pretty epic boss fights and moments later in the game. The side content is mostly a bunch of fetch quests and stuff but there are some fun things like fishing and optional dunegons and super bosses that are pretty great. Like I said, it's way better then anything with the FFXIII name on it, so that is progress. Hoping they take the right next step with FF7 Remake (that's a whole other mess…) and the inevitable FFXVI.
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5:48 pm
January 25, 2019
| | fictive | | Member
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Post edited 9:48 pm – January 25, 2019 by fictive
Cant get into this at all, the road trip theme they got going on is distracting. Its great they wanted to veer off from the linearity XIII locked you into but there's no way i can stomach this in the form they present it (which is largely reminiscent of an open quest system). Worst part is we'll never know what the actual game was like behind closed doors before Tabata got on board. Also not a fan of the art difection, the photorealism is amazing itself but its not for me. I'm sure it does well to match the theme and setting however it doesnt sweep me off my feet.as far as variance in its usage.
Tabata also departed from SE last month, but he was reliable as far as getting games out the door. Nuts how the company has changed in just the past decade and a half.
At this point, I'd love an FFV and FFVI remake, as well as the next big thing, FFXVI! I wonder who will be the head behind their next title??
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8:28 pm
January 25, 2019
| | dystopia
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I sorta liked the road trip theme, the first probably 10-15 hours don't really acurately show what the second half of this idea holds in store. The back half of the game has so much more weight to it then the first. I've read a lot about how people didn't like how different the 3rd act is but I found that it worked for me. Honestly I feel like FFXV, while in the lower rankings of modern FF titles (FFVII onward) It's far superior to all the XIII games and X-2. It's a mess sure, but there is some charm to it still.
Where the FF series is going… now that's a question. Square seems like it's a mess right now. Let's hope the FFVII Remake turns out okay, because the future of the franchise probably depends on it.
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3:00 pm
January 27, 2019
| | fictive | | Member
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One thing for sure, I tried to warn folks about that hype especially with this talent (or lack thereof) currently at Square. Should get to those V and VI 3DS style remakes. Have you checked out Octopath btw? It looks good… except I can’t get behind the DoF blur effect it has going on.
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10:32 am
January 28, 2019
| | dystopia
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I actually 100% Octopath last year. It's a mixed bag. The game looks and plays amazing, combat is stellar and the visual effects they use definitely capture the SNES style they were going for in a modern way. However the way you play the game is a bit off. Playing though one chapter of each character, then doing that again three more times. After the second chapters I decided since I was going to have to grind 5-10 levels before starting the next set of chapters anyway I would just grind my main four to level 50 (5 levels above the 4th chapter baseline suggestion) by going to some high level areas, and then just play everyone's chapter 3 and 4 back to back. That actually allowed me to enjoy the game a little more because all the characters have interesting stories you just lose them by the way the game is structured.
As far as what's going on at Square, man… They have some issues with getting those games finished. I hope the FFVIII Remake ends up coming out next year or so and actually being good, that would do a lot to help whatever is next for FF. KH3 finishing up should free up some talent and help that, plus I expect the game will sell well and make Square some money (not that they are hurting these days)
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7:09 pm
May 17, 2019
| | fictive | | Member
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Don’t know if you’ve seen that new FF7 remake trailer last week, looks more of the same. Reminds me too much of this game from a cursory look which is not something I’m too interested in. I just want them to move past FF15 and anything even remotely taking cues from it. But that’s just my soured self
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8:42 pm
May 23, 2019
| | dystopia
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I did see it, though I looked over this post somehow. I mean, the FF7 Remake was never going to be turn based, they stated that clearly years ago when it was annouced. It did look to have some FFXV qualities but I didn't mind the combat in XV, it was alright. I figure it will have some KH qualities which also is sorta in line with what Crisis Core was (and I'm a pretty big fan of CC overall.)
I'm pretty hyped for FF7 Remake honestly, visually the trailer was pretty nice and while there are some things I'm still concerned about (is it going to be linear or more open world?, how many seperate games is it going to be?, how long are the development cycles going to be between games?) from what I've seen it looks like they have righted the ship here to me. Looking forward to E3 as there have been some rumors online that at same day E3 demo might drop on PSN which would sorta fall into line with how they marketed FFXV with the demos (make reactor mission/guard scorpion battle inbound?!)
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4:45 pm
May 25, 2019
| | fictive | | Member
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It’s since been confirmed that the # of parts is just two (with the first half ending right at Aeris’ Death). For me, it looks like a reskinned FFXV to be more exact. At this point, I’m more interested in what and who has FF16. This E3 could be the one not just for SE but a handful as the new gen is just overhead.
I was completely mixed on CC actually, felt incredibly dull in terms of combat. However, this guy’s (Nomura) best action RPG combat has to be Birth by Sleep by a longshot. It’s worth noting Tabata did work on CC, not Nomura (there’s a distinct style to how they both execute battle mechanics).
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7:30 pm
May 25, 2019
| | dystopia
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I was under the impression that the 2 part thing was still unconfirmed, that's part of a rumor that has been going around on reddit and other places. I honestly don't think that makes a ton of sense to end part one there, not THAT much happens after that point, aside from Cloud's weird lifestream visions and the final showdowns with the weapons and the final dungeon. To me it makes way more sense that if it is just going to be two parts to end it after the Nibelheim fire. That being said they could be looking to expend the “disc 3″ post Aerith part of the game into something different. My early fears have been that part one ends after Midgar.
As for Crisis Core, there are some tonal things in certain parts of the game that clash with the overall tone of the game (I mean, we all knew how it was going to end) and some questionable decisions about using a pop idol as the basis for your main villain and how that effects doing anything with the game in the future, but overall I was still very happy with it. I've told several people how much I loved Square's emphasis on the PSP, most of their PSP games are pretty good.
As for E3… I seriously hope Square has learned not to go teasing the next FF unless they know what the release window is. They have been doing very poorly with this since FFXII. I'm sure FFXVI is a thing, if history tells us anything it's that they always have several main series FF games in some sort of planning at any given time and sometimes which game ends up which number changes over time (or becomes a completely different RPG—See Xenogears, Parasite Eve which both have some connection to being a mainline FF at one point early in development. I'm going to hope they don't drop a bunch of logos for future games and instead focus on FFVII Remake.
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4:18 pm
May 27, 2019
| | fictive | | Member
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I wouldn’t be surprised if the opposite ends up happening more compared to PE/XG for them to recoup those dev costs. I’m certain that’s most fans concern with Midgar being the first half of release. While it has the cathartic feeling of transitioning of an on rails to open world path, it wouldn’t be a strong move as far as content goes. FF13 did this terrribly, no room for the player to breathe.
My money is on that collaboration with Platinum, Babylon’s Fall. That’s more my type at this moment.
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8:19 pm
May 27, 2019
| | dystopia
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Post edited 12:21 am – May 28, 2019 by dystopia
Final Fantasy XIII did a lot of things terribly, and I definitely am worried that the FFVII Remake could end up very linear, even if the overall narrative of FFVII lends itself to a linear narrative, especially through the first third or so of the game. That being said, the story of FFVII is probably strong enough to carry said linear narrative in the way that many modern games structure themselves (Uncharted series for example.) I would still rather see some of the JRPG elements of that world exploration and side question structure retained, though that might be a lot to ask.
I also wouldn't bet on a main series FF game being developed by an outside studio. While this has happened with Dragon Quest, there is much more of a formula for a DQ game so the danger there isn't the same as with FF where so much of the series character has come from how it changes from game to game. I fully expect whatever FFXVI is to be developed in house by Square, that's their #1 main money ticket and they're not going to hand that off to Platinum Games.
Back to linear narratives though, FFX is notible for having an extremely linear narrative but without the same backlash as XIII had, this comes down to the story itself. FFXIII was a god damn mess and while there are definitely faults with FFX (the dialog writing is pretty horrid at times, blame this on the translation or whatever but considering how good the translations were for FFVIII and FFIX I just don't think that's what it was. Voice acting didn't help this though) at least the overall arc of the story was compelling where as FFXIII simply was terrible. FFVII has a more compelling story than FFX so if the game does end up being very linear it could still prove to be a solid release.
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9:53 pm
May 29, 2019
| | fictive | | Member
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Post edited 1:58 am – May 30, 2019 by fictive
Ofc they’re not going to outsource their main line, I’m talking about the side/B-game projects like the one I mentioned. It was the highlight for me at last E3, I’m looking forward to its return this year round. X And XIII are both god awful but… I would rather deal with 13’s world, lore and battle system than 10’s. Never played any of the 13 sequels either but they look like a slight improvement.
But anyway. These guys waste so much time and money on in-house priperitary engjnes/tools just to dump them a few years later. I’m looking at Crystal Tools and Luminous Engine. How much more are they going to churn out I do wonder. I mean it’s clear they cut dev cost and time rehashing 13’s assets for its sequels after all. Interestingly, as far as the whole outsourcing (or on a tangent) at least they’re not opposed to using engines like Unreal and Unity (which they have for non FF games like Octopath, KH3, and I Am Setsuna).
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5:43 pm
May 30, 2019
| | dystopia
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FFX has some things going for it that are at least redeemable. The narrative is strong enough to carry the linear aspect of the game and that linear aspect also makes sense in regards to what's happening, even if the dialog writing for several of the characters is just okay at best and horrid at worst. The combat system is solid, the last of the true turn based FFs, even if reserve characters only gain XP/AP if they are used in the battle itself. The Sphere Grid is pretty nice, definitely among the better FFs in this regard. The weapon/armor customization is great, love that aspect of the game. Overall FFX has grown on me for sure. I don't put it in the same breath as any of the FFXIII games which are much worse overall. At least the exposition of the narrative in FFX is straight forward and it gives you everything you need to understand what's happening without having to pull you from actually playing to read a ton of lore (which comes along as convoluted still and at times nonsensical. FFX is a game I can go back too and still enjoy, I'll never go back to FFXIII.
I will agree they definitely seemed to shoot themselves in the foot in their development of their inhouse engine and tool set. I don't know if the transition from SD to HD just somehow got them out of whack but it seems like most of the other major developers who create their own engines didn't have anywhere close to the amout of hardships as Square did. This probably comes down to missmanagement in the departments. It seems though that they have sorted this out and with the next generation seemingly less a giant leap as last time most of those tool sets should be usible still through expansion instead of just scraped. It's good that Sony is keeping the system architecture for the PS5 pretty close to the PS4's where as we all know what a mess it was to develop for the PS3 (which surely also impacted Square's engine troubles)
I sorta expect the FFXV engine to be the backbone for a lot of what we see in the future from FF (seems like FFVII Remake is probably running on this engine) and I'm fine with that because whatever you have to say about the story, nobody is going to say that world wasn't beautiful, and as far as modern action oriented FFs go FFXV's combat was acceptable.
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7:13 am
June 6, 2019
| | fictive | | Member
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Nah, I will pass and a half on FFX all day man.
But… new PE trademark has shown up. I’ve been calling it forever as PE is a series they should try out in HD. With RE being the big dog, I don’t see why they can’t send something the same genre to compete. A full remake of the first would be legendary using that same engine FF7’s running on I bet.
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7:34 pm
June 6, 2019
| | dystopia
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Considering how well Capcom has down remaking old Resident Evil games it really does make sense for Square to at least try that out. I'm pretty fond of the first Parasite Eve myself, though the sorta hybrid turned based combat of the first game would surely give way to third person combat in the way it sorta did with 3rd Birthday. I'd rather them just make a fourth game in that series then remake the first though, there are a lot of dorment franchises Square could revive. I mean a true new Mana game or a new SaGa. I doubt will see those though, probably another Mana game at some point but SaGa has never don't that well in the west to begin with.
We'll know more soon though, that Square E3 conference isn't that many more days away.
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7:43 pm
June 7, 2019
| | fictive | | Member
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Post edited 11:45 pm – June 7, 2019 by fictive
I think there is no better way to round up a new base of players than to “reboot” the series effectively. I mean I wouldnt trust whoever they'd have writing behind the games these days but at least it'd start from step one than step four just going by your example. Not to mention as time passes less are going to want to go back to replay old games with a (somewhat) orderly plot.
I would be for a remake, even if they change the year it takes place in too. It's a perfect fit for the series… like an RE//Watch Dogs feeling (strictly referring to the atmosphere of the latter).
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9:37 pm
June 8, 2019
| | dystopia
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The other thing about PE is it's actually based on a (maybe series of) Japanese novel and then built upon from there. I don't even know if Square does own the rights to still work with it, it has been 10 years since 3rd Birthday. I mean, if they did a faithful remake I'd be for that since I like the atmosphere of the first game so much. The story goes off the rails after that first game though. I'd be down from another cliche romp through the new york sewers with a wack ass alligator boss, or central park, or the meusem of natural history. Not sure if a big budget remake would really do that well though.
Maybe we can get another Bushido Blade? lol
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