Final Fantasy 15’s first 10 hours: A car ride that asks, “Are we there yet?”

More to come, but for now, we talk about new battling system, disappointing plot.

Read the whole story

 

[Resolute]

Tofystedeth[/url]":14j16zix]

billyok[/url]":14j16zix]This looks so bloated to me.

I assume Square is all out of money after finally pushing this expensive monster across the finish line after 10 years of development....

Nah, they're doing fine. FFXI and now FFXIV basically print money for them.

Not to mention Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts remakes and sequels dropping all over the place, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Hitman and Just Cause. Also, importantly, FF: Record Keeper and FF: Brave Exvius have been popular enough on mobile that Square has returned to profitability before FF XV shipped.

 

[herozero]

BasP[/url]":1a6xunj4]Remember when Final Fantasy was about hunting down elemental orbs in a straight-up fantasy world?

Hey there fellow thirty something!

 

[Falsadoom]

FFXV has 4 graphic settings on the PS4 Pro.

HDR is NOT on by default either...

The 4 settings in Options are:

HDR OFF with HIGH resolution (better visuals, default for those on 4K).
HDR OFF with LITE resolution (best performance).
HDR ON with HIGH resolution (best visuals, most demanding).
HDR ON with LITE resolution (good performance without sacrificing HDR)

 

[alanmies]

OK, after playing a little while longer, two annoyances. Very minor ones, but I can get irritated by the minutest of details. First of all, the menus. They only allow the use of the D-pad instead of the left stick - sure, this mirrors the experience of FF games way back, and in some situations makes sense (say, the map - you can move around with the left stick and select options with the D-pad, but this could be easily rectified by having the options mapped to the left stick and cursor movement to the right stick). But really. It's 2016 we live in. It's not like sticks are an optional luxury not being available to every user. And then there's the in-game "timer" that keeps track of how long you have been playing. That is great, more games should feature one. But it keeps running, even if you enter the pause menu. If you want to have an accurate measurement of how long you've spent with the title, PS menu it is.

As said, very minor annoyances. Just things that irritate me on a personal level.

EDIT: OK, annoyance number three. This has been an issue with many PS4 titles, but apparently, with no frame rate locks in place, the system can end up running at "full steam" displaying something as simple as a menu. Rocket League was a famous example - leave it at the main menu and hear the main fan in all its glory. This has been since patched (in Rocket League, and really, I think this is more of an OS level issue), but this seems to be present in FFXV as well. Just tried this, annoying fan noise in pause menu, press the PS button to go to the "main menu" of the console, it is barely audible. Otherwise I've found a Pro being way more silent than a regular PS4 (the first hardware revision).

 

[Crazy Diamond]

FF1*, FF4*, FF6*, FF7, FF12 are the only good Final Fantasy Games. Thank you. (I played first ones on NES and SNES, so they were known as 1, 2 and 3).

 

[apoclypse]

Zer0.exe[/url]":2fa3bktv][

Edit: FFIX is my favorite one by a longshot, but even I can admit that the zooming panning camera for like 15 seconds at the beginning of every battle just slows everything down. Not hating, I love the game, but it wasn't without its faults.

Most of that was due to the game streaming and loading content from the cd. It was unavoidable because the PSX had very little ram. So it needed to stream data in and out of memory constantly.

Before FF7 I didn't think it was possible for game with that much going on to not have loading screens. They smartly used transitions, and animations etc to hide the deficiencies of the hardware.

 

[apoclypse]

Tofystedeth[/url]":1llbwb2f]

billyok[/url]":1llbwb2f]This looks so bloated to me.

I assume Square is all out of money after finally pushing this expensive monster across the finish line after 10 years of development....

Nah, they're doing fine. FFXI and now FFXIV basically print money for them.

So maybe their next MMO should actually be their final Final Fantasy. Just call it Final Fantasy no numbers etc. I mean if they make more money off of those games and almost everyone agrees that 14 is probably the closest we'll get to a classic ff game, why does square waste so much money on a game that could be hit or miss, and will probably get played only once by most people?

At this point bite the bullet and go full mmo and spend all the money on making that awesome.

 

[Asvarduil]

Resolute[/url]":2ra597cw]And don't get me started on Cindy. They took a character with great potential - a female Cid - and tropified it into a Daisy Duke wannabe so badly that even SE was too ashamed to properly call her Cid.

I wanna know how she works on cars while clad in two layers of essentially bikinis. One can only assume she got stuck in a wormhole to Eorzea, where she picked up a sizable supply of glamour prisms, and really, really likes that particular ensemble to the point where all of her clothes are glamoured with it.

Especially the mechanic jumpsuits.

 

[BoJolly]

alanmies[/url]":383yid5z]

Radcliff[/url]":383yid5z]Maybe they'll slit their writs and I won't have to read about another Final Fantasy.

You're being so edgy I think I just got a paper cut by reading your three (basically the same, but hey, you have a ever-so-important-and-completely-original point to make) comments.

Paper-cut from reading an internet comment? You sound like a complete moron.

 

[Saikaici]

Crazy Diamond[/url]":12dyi9l3]FF1*, FF4*, FF6*, FF7, FF12 are the only good Final Fantasy Games. Thank you. (I played first ones on NES and SNES, so they were known as 1, 2 and 3).

I understand if you like the older games, and not all of them. Everyone has their own cup of tea.

But FFXII? Seriously? The one with super boring characters that hate each other, aren't a cohesive group, and has a cliche evil empire plot? The one with a programming-like battle system that is painfully inefficient? And you dislike so many of the others?

 

[alanmies]

BoJolly[/url]":1mng7lj2]

alanmies[/url]":1mng7lj2]

Radcliff[/url]":1mng7lj2]Maybe they'll slit their writs and I won't have to read about another Final Fantasy.

You're being so edgy I think I just got a paper cut by reading your three (basically the same, but hey, you have a ever-so-important-and-completely-original point to make) comments.

Paper-cut from reading an internet comment? You sound like a complete moron.

And you sound like a person completely unable to grasp the concept of sarcasm, but it takes all kinds.

 

[raitox]

So main characters who drive around in cars all the time, stare at their cell phones, and avoid talking about anything meaningful for the duration? They really are targeting an American audience!

The only thing that's off is they seem to be carpooling.

 

[Asvarduil]

raitox[/url]":15bpy517]So main characters who drive around in cars all the time, stare at their cell phones, and avoid talking about anything meaningful for the duration? They really are targeting an American audience!

The only thing that's off is they seem to be carpooling.

Not the only thing. It's a Maserati, not a Humvee loaded with guns. The boy band in the Maserati would be too easily recognizable here in Texas.

Luckily, that Maserati seems fast, so they could (possibly) outrun whatever the locals have cobbled together in a crude approximation of an automobile. Even though the lead can magic weapons out of thin air, it's likely a bad idea for them to get in a fight - Texas has many, many, many guns. Huge guns. The best guns.

 

[artifex]

puppies[/url]":3c1kw05k]
It's always been a bit nebulous to me what "makes" a Final Fantasy game. The game mechanics change, and there's no world or plot continuity save for some recurring elements. Do people really like Cid and Bahamut that much?

Chocobo racing.

article[/i]":3c1kw05k]They battle together. They drive together (via an auto-driving Maserati). They camp together. And they talk to each other all of the time, especially as they tour a giant overworld either on foot or in a car. This could have resulted in a great organic way to let players dive into a bunch of meandering plot between missions and dungeons. I would have loved to see a "press X to recap" button while spending 60 to 90 seconds driving from place to place.

Instead, during long car drives and cross-country runs, Noctis' companions tend to gloss over major plot details and instead obsess over complaints and one-liners.

Except for the car, this sounds a lot like the party interaction in Dragon Age games.

 

[Jurrasic]

Zer0.exe[/url]":9e0z7dac]

J.King[/url]":9e0z7dac]

puppies[/url]":9e0z7dac]

There's a real tension with the fact that these games developed in a 2d/barely 3d graphics world and long time fans (20 years for me, people!) enjoyed the gameplay that were a result of the very limited computers of the time.

1. I liked the cartoony style, esp in IX.
2. I liked the turn based battles - just downloaded FFT to my phone, actually.
3. I liked the 'reasonably closed' open worlds of the old RPG maps.
4. I loved the minigames

If they want to go all modern, they need to go all the way. Skyrim makes sense, GTA makes sense, CoD makes sense, this pastiche of old tropes doesn't. Just look at the driving menu! In an 'open world' game, shouldn't you just drive? Or give them a self-driving car like the old airships, where you just pick a destination?

I haven't played the series in years, maybe I shouldn't get a say at this point. But I don't see the point in a JRPG without the turn-based combat. Yes, FF always reinvented itself, but ALSO it takes more than spikey hair to be Final Fantasy.

It's always been a bit nebulous to me what "makes" a Final Fantasy game. The game mechanics change, and there's no world or plot continuity save for some recurring elements. Do people really like Cid and Bahamut that much?

Anyway, the tone of this review is pretty relevant to me. I stopped playing after VIII and the last one I truly loved was III/VI. I do hear that IX was delightful so maybe I'll pick that up someday.

I'd suggest that combat was a unifying mechanic. With minor tweaks the way combat works is the same in the first ten games, the greatest change being the pseudo-real-timedness in, er... IV, was it? The back row also survived a surprisingly long time (I'm not sure of VIII or X had it), and spells and their effects have been pretty constant. You were also guaranteed a globe-spanning conflict, an airship, and a party of some size. There are certainly some commonalities. That all ended with XI, and then XII. I've not played any since X in any great amount, though.

You'll want to pick up XII when it's remake comes out then. It had a more "steampunk" look to the airships, but it was still your standard fantasy fare (power hungry villain "muh crystals"). The Steam port of FFIX is excellent as well, they sped up the crazy long battle sequence intro and made some other mechanical improvements. A game that wouldn't normally age well with time got a shot in the arm on Steam.
Edit: FFIX is my favorite one by a longshot, but even I can admit that the zooming panning camera for like 15 seconds at the beginning of every battle just slows everything down. Not hating, I love the game, but it wasn't without its faults.

XII was criminally underrated.

In my opinion, it's the 2nd best in the series overall after VI, and the best with a bullet it it's game world mechanics. It is for it's time an almost perfect fusion of western CRPG and Japanese JRPG mechanics with a huge and sprawling world that wonderfully filled out the already existing world of Ivalice from the FF: Tactics series and Revenant Wings.

I really hope the refresh gets the attention and sales that it deserves. One of the PS2 era's greatest games of all time.

 

[Akemi]

Jurrasic[/url]":25n88yr2]

Zer0.exe[/url]":25n88yr2]

J.King[/url]":25n88yr2]

puppies[/url]":25n88yr2]

There's a real tension with the fact that these games developed in a 2d/barely 3d graphics world and long time fans (20 years for me, people!) enjoyed the gameplay that were a result of the very limited computers of the time.

1. I liked the cartoony style, esp in IX.
2. I liked the turn based battles - just downloaded FFT to my phone, actually.
3. I liked the 'reasonably closed' open worlds of the old RPG maps.
4. I loved the minigames

If they want to go all modern, they need to go all the way. Skyrim makes sense, GTA makes sense, CoD makes sense, this pastiche of old tropes doesn't. Just look at the driving menu! In an 'open world' game, shouldn't you just drive? Or give them a self-driving car like the old airships, where you just pick a destination?

I haven't played the series in years, maybe I shouldn't get a say at this point. But I don't see the point in a JRPG without the turn-based combat. Yes, FF always reinvented itself, but ALSO it takes more than spikey hair to be Final Fantasy.

It's always been a bit nebulous to me what "makes" a Final Fantasy game. The game mechanics change, and there's no world or plot continuity save for some recurring elements. Do people really like Cid and Bahamut that much?

Anyway, the tone of this review is pretty relevant to me. I stopped playing after VIII and the last one I truly loved was III/VI. I do hear that IX was delightful so maybe I'll pick that up someday.

I'd suggest that combat was a unifying mechanic. With minor tweaks the way combat works is the same in the first ten games, the greatest change being the pseudo-real-timedness in, er... IV, was it? The back row also survived a surprisingly long time (I'm not sure of VIII or X had it), and spells and their effects have been pretty constant. You were also guaranteed a globe-spanning conflict, an airship, and a party of some size. There are certainly some commonalities. That all ended with XI, and then XII. I've not played any since X in any great amount, though.

You'll want to pick up XII when it's remake comes out then. It had a more "steampunk" look to the airships, but it was still your standard fantasy fare (power hungry villain "muh crystals"). The Steam port of FFIX is excellent as well, they sped up the crazy long battle sequence intro and made some other mechanical improvements. A game that wouldn't normally age well with time got a shot in the arm on Steam.
Edit: FFIX is my favorite one by a longshot, but even I can admit that the zooming panning camera for like 15 seconds at the beginning of every battle just slows everything down. Not hating, I love the game, but it wasn't without its faults.

XII was criminally underrated.

In my opinion, it's the 2nd best in the series overall after VI, and the best with a bullet it it's game world mechanics. It is for it's time an almost perfect fusion of western CRPG and Japanese JRPG mechanics with a huge and sprawling world that wonderfully filled out the already existing world of Ivalice from the FF: Tactics series and Revenant Wings.

I really hope the refresh gets the attention and sales that it deserves. One of the PS2 era's greatest games of all time.

What do you mean? The X/XII HD remaster has been out for some time now on Steam and consoles. Since May of this year on PC. They're quite well done on the PC, so I'm assuming the console releases are in the same boat.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/359870/

 

[mikehild]

Akemi[/url]":uw6swhz5]

Jurrasic[/url]":uw6swhz5]

Zer0.exe[/url]":uw6swhz5]

J.King[/url]":uw6swhz5]

puppies[/url]":uw6swhz5]

There's a real tension with the fact that these games developed in a 2d/barely 3d graphics world and long time fans (20 years for me, people!) enjoyed the gameplay that were a result of the very limited computers of the time.

1. I liked the cartoony style, esp in IX.
2. I liked the turn based battles - just downloaded FFT to my phone, actually.
3. I liked the 'reasonably closed' open worlds of the old RPG maps.
4. I loved the minigames

If they want to go all modern, they need to go all the way. Skyrim makes sense, GTA makes sense, CoD makes sense, this pastiche of old tropes doesn't. Just look at the driving menu! In an 'open world' game, shouldn't you just drive? Or give them a self-driving car like the old airships, where you just pick a destination?

I haven't played the series in years, maybe I shouldn't get a say at this point. But I don't see the point in a JRPG without the turn-based combat. Yes, FF always reinvented itself, but ALSO it takes more than spikey hair to be Final Fantasy.

It's always been a bit nebulous to me what "makes" a Final Fantasy game. The game mechanics change, and there's no world or plot continuity save for some recurring elements. Do people really like Cid and Bahamut that much?

Anyway, the tone of this review is pretty relevant to me. I stopped playing after VIII and the last one I truly loved was III/VI. I do hear that IX was delightful so maybe I'll pick that up someday.

I'd suggest that combat was a unifying mechanic. With minor tweaks the way combat works is the same in the first ten games, the greatest change being the pseudo-real-timedness in, er... IV, was it? The back row also survived a surprisingly long time (I'm not sure of VIII or X had it), and spells and their effects have been pretty constant. You were also guaranteed a globe-spanning conflict, an airship, and a party of some size. There are certainly some commonalities. That all ended with XI, and then XII. I've not played any since X in any great amount, though.

You'll want to pick up XII when it's remake comes out then. It had a more "steampunk" look to the airships, but it was still your standard fantasy fare (power hungry villain "muh crystals"). The Steam port of FFIX is excellent as well, they sped up the crazy long battle sequence intro and made some other mechanical improvements. A game that wouldn't normally age well with time got a shot in the arm on Steam.
Edit: FFIX is my favorite one by a longshot, but even I can admit that the zooming panning camera for like 15 seconds at the beginning of every battle just slows everything down. Not hating, I love the game, but it wasn't without its faults.

XII was criminally underrated.

In my opinion, it's the 2nd best in the series overall after VI, and the best with a bullet it it's game world mechanics. It is for it's time an almost perfect fusion of western CRPG and Japanese JRPG mechanics with a huge and sprawling world that wonderfully filled out the already existing world of Ivalice from the FF: Tactics series and Revenant Wings.

I really hope the refresh gets the attention and sales that it deserves. One of the PS2 era's greatest games of all time.

What do you mean? The X/XII HD remaster has been out for some time now on Steam and consoles. Since May of this year on PC. They're quite well done on the PC, so I'm assuming the console releases are in the same boat.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/359870/

Not X-2, XII as in 12. Square is currently working on that remaster, with the name Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age.

 

[Jurrasic]

Akemi[/url]":1yn5y4kh]

Jurrasic[/url]":1yn5y4kh]

Zer0.exe[/url]":1yn5y4kh]

J.King[/url]":1yn5y4kh]

puppies[/url]":1yn5y4kh]

There's a real tension with the fact that these games developed in a 2d/barely 3d graphics world and long time fans (20 years for me, people!) enjoyed the gameplay that were a result of the very limited computers of the time.

1. I liked the cartoony style, esp in IX.
2. I liked the turn based battles - just downloaded FFT to my phone, actually.
3. I liked the 'reasonably closed' open worlds of the old RPG maps.
4. I loved the minigames

If they want to go all modern, they need to go all the way. Skyrim makes sense, GTA makes sense, CoD makes sense, this pastiche of old tropes doesn't. Just look at the driving menu! In an 'open world' game, shouldn't you just drive? Or give them a self-driving car like the old airships, where you just pick a destination?

I haven't played the series in years, maybe I shouldn't get a say at this point. But I don't see the point in a JRPG without the turn-based combat. Yes, FF always reinvented itself, but ALSO it takes more than spikey hair to be Final Fantasy.

It's always been a bit nebulous to me what "makes" a Final Fantasy game. The game mechanics change, and there's no world or plot continuity save for some recurring elements. Do people really like Cid and Bahamut that much?

Anyway, the tone of this review is pretty relevant to me. I stopped playing after VIII and the last one I truly loved was III/VI. I do hear that IX was delightful so maybe I'll pick that up someday.

I'd suggest that combat was a unifying mechanic. With minor tweaks the way combat works is the same in the first ten games, the greatest change being the pseudo-real-timedness in, er... IV, was it? The back row also survived a surprisingly long time (I'm not sure of VIII or X had it), and spells and their effects have been pretty constant. You were also guaranteed a globe-spanning conflict, an airship, and a party of some size. There are certainly some commonalities. That all ended with XI, and then XII. I've not played any since X in any great amount, though.

You'll want to pick up XII when it's remake comes out then. It had a more "steampunk" look to the airships, but it was still your standard fantasy fare (power hungry villain "muh crystals"). The Steam port of FFIX is excellent as well, they sped up the crazy long battle sequence intro and made some other mechanical improvements. A game that wouldn't normally age well with time got a shot in the arm on Steam.
Edit: FFIX is my favorite one by a longshot, but even I can admit that the zooming panning camera for like 15 seconds at the beginning of every battle just slows everything down. Not hating, I love the game, but it wasn't without its faults.

XII was criminally underrated.

In my opinion, it's the 2nd best in the series overall after VI, and the best with a bullet it it's game world mechanics. It is for it's time an almost perfect fusion of western CRPG and Japanese JRPG mechanics with a huge and sprawling world that wonderfully filled out the already existing world of Ivalice from the FF: Tactics series and Revenant Wings.

I really hope the refresh gets the attention and sales that it deserves. One of the PS2 era's greatest games of all time.

What do you mean? The X/XII HD remaster has been out for some time now on Steam and consoles. Since May of this year on PC. They're quite well done on the PC, so I'm assuming the console releases are in the same boat.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/359870/

Not 10-2. I mean 12. XII not X-II.

While 10 was decent, if extremely linear, 10-2/XX-2 was a gigantic steaming piece of chocobo splatch that needs to be buried alongside such other ill-concieved abortions as the Star Wars Holiday Special.

 

[Akemi]

mikehild[/url]":1xez43el]


Not X-2, XII as in 12. Square is currently working on that remaster, with the name Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age.

Okay, the one upcoming in 2017. The naming system for the FF games gets under my skin. With X-2 and XII, then the sometimes different numbers for the same game between Japan and US releases. Like FF II (initial US title) being released in Japan as FF IV with all subsequent releases also falling under the IV heading. Just weirdness.

 

[hel1kx]

I wish demos were still a thing. I'd like to try FFXV, but it looks like it will be like any other JRPG I've tried lately, where the story is a snooze-fest and the characters are one-dimentional and fit anime tropes to a T (and are annoying), and I'll be bored of it after a few hours. Maybe the combat would keep me engaged, but that's not a $60 risk I want to take.

I loved FFX, so maybe I'm just getting crotchety as I get older, but I don't have the patience to sit through crappy stories with crappy characters anymore. But it's hard to find a JRPG these days without those traits :-( (suggestions welcome).

EDIT: How bad is the story, really? The Metacritic reviews seem to be split on the quality of the story and dialogue.

 

[Zra]

One of my favorite JRPGs in recent years is Trails of Cold Steel, and after 10 hours, you're still basically in tutorial mode.

To be fair, I think both Trails of Cold Steel and Trails in the Sky FC are just long world building and tutorials for the sequels (ToCS 2, TiTS SC) that end with ultimate cliffhangers and require almost 100 hours to complete list.

 

[freedfromdeath]

hel1kx[/url]":tq0wx5z7]I wish demos were still a thing. I'd like to try FFXV, but it looks like it will be like any other JRPG I've tried lately, where the story is a snooze-fest and the characters are one-dimentional and fit anime tropes to a T (and are annoying), and I'll be bored of it after a few hours. Maybe the combat would keep me engaged, but that's not a $60 risk I want to take.

I loved FFX, so maybe I'm just getting crotchety as I get older, but I don't have the patience to sit through crappy stories with crappy characters anymore. But it's hard to find a JRPG these days without those traits :-( (suggestions welcome).

EDIT: How bad is the story, really? The Metacritic reviews seem to be split on the quality of the story and dialogue.

There's 3 demos for this game. Episode Duscae which was included on Final Fantasy Type-0, Platinum Demo which is available on the PlayStation Store and Judgment Disc which is a Japanese Exclusive.

 

[hel1kx]

freedfromdeath[/url]":14rbzc1l]

hel1kx[/url]":14rbzc1l]I wish demos were still a thing. I'd like to try FFXV, but it looks like it will be like any other JRPG I've tried lately, where the story is a snooze-fest and the characters are one-dimentional and fit anime tropes to a T (and are annoying), and I'll be bored of it after a few hours. Maybe the combat would keep me engaged, but that's not a $60 risk I want to take.

I loved FFX, so maybe I'm just getting crotchety as I get older, but I don't have the patience to sit through crappy stories with crappy characters anymore. But it's hard to find a JRPG these days without those traits :-( (suggestions welcome).

EDIT: How bad is the story, really? The Metacritic reviews seem to be split on the quality of the story and dialogue.

There's 3 demos for this game. Episode Duscae which was included on Final Fantasy Type-0, Platinum Demo which is available on the PlayStation Store and Judgment Disc which is a Japanese Exclusive.

Hmm, either I'm missing it or the Platinum Demo isn't there anymore. Guess I should have tried earlier.

 

[Little-Zen]

You're not missing anything, the demos really aren't demos, more like alpha tests, going by comments on some reviews I've seen so far. Horrible framerate issues, combat system not representative of what's actually in the game, etc.

 

[thatguyfromthatplaceoverthere]

This game looks like GTA with Chocobo's. Meh.

 

[mogbert]

I'm concerned. I'm a long time FF fan, from grinding through the Giant's hallway, to shedding a tear at the end of FFX. However I haven't liked the turn the last couple of games have had.

I really couldn't get into the plot of FF XII. This was a first for me. I've gotten used to playing these games for the plot, and usually find them very enjoyable. FF XII plot was forgettable, and in fact, they seem to have forgotten a few of their characters when writing it. Instead of following Vaan and... I can't recall the princess's name, they SHOULD have made the main characters Bal-something or other and Fran (as he often insisted he already was). They were actually interesting characters. The game also seemed to forget that Penelope was even in the game. I stopped playing it three quarters through and didn't finish until about a week before FF XIII came out.

I actually really like FF XIII. It was pretty good, and enjoyed it the most of the FF XIII series (three of them). FF XIII-2 was OK, with the plot making less sense, but it was still pretty fun to play, as long as you had some sort of guide to keep you from going too far wrong. FF XIII-3 had a horrible, horrible game mechanic and I refused to play it. I watched some other guy's perfect playthrough, and didn't even enjoy that very much. You pretty much NEEDED a walk through in order to do the right things at the right time, otherwise you wasted time, and each play through had a limited amount of time, so if you wasted some at the beginning looking for an objective, you get to the end and find you can't get the good ending. As a matter of fact, FF XII had something similar where if you opened one of twelve unremarkable chests throughout the game, you had less then a 0.4% chance of getting the strongest weapon in the game.

It seemed like the games were little more then a means of marketing playguides. And don't get me started on the monthly residuals that are FF XI and FF XIV.

Favorites of the FF series have been FF X, FF X-2, and FF VII. This game, FF XV, doesn't seem to be what I've been waiting for. If anything, it reminds me of FF XII- with characters I don't really care about, a political story line that doesn't really catch my attention, and game play that tries to make up for it. I just feel they put the wrong foot forward, that's all. I don't mind the game not being action packed as long as the story is good.

 

[kalzekdor]

Saikaici[/url]":87xy5tt3]

Crazy Diamond[/url]":87xy5tt3]FF1*, FF4*, FF6*, FF7, FF12 are the only good Final Fantasy Games. Thank you. (I played first ones on NES and SNES, so they were known as 1, 2 and 3).

I understand if you like the older games, and not all of them. Everyone has their own cup of tea.

But FFXII? Seriously? The one with super boring characters that hate each other, aren't a cohesive group, and has a cliche evil empire plot? The one with a programming-like battle system that is painfully inefficient? And you dislike so many of the others?

I actually really liked the combat system in 12. Being able to plan out complex battle strategies was a lot of fun. But, then, I'm a programmer, so I'm probably biased there.

 

[Falsadoom]

I've noticed some posts about frame rates and such. So I want to point out another advantage to why you may want a Samsung LCD high end panel when you get a 4K TV.

LCD traditionally had an issue with "Ghosting" mainly around fast moving things on the screen, particularly sports and especially soccer. So Samsung came up with Auto Motion Plus (Smoothing). It's a way to combat that issue. Panels have been engineered to tackle ghosting other ways and that technology may be getting phased out at some point, but I urge Samsung to keep it around. You see above what it was made for, it makes some games look amazing. But the best advantage is for devices like the PS4 Pro. With "Smoothing" on and properly set, frame stuttering is practically eliminated. The only time you will see frame breaks in FFXV with "smoothing" on (and Game Mode OFF) is when you rapidly spin the camera. That vibration (stuttering) you probably see at max graphic settings with other TVs or modes is fixed by TV post processing and a feature that was designed for something completely different. This works on PCs as well. Just something to think about if you are getting a 4K TV or already have a Samsung with Auto Motion Plus.

Edit: Keep in mind the downside of using the TV this way is that you add a nearly imperceptible amount of latency. You probably would not want to run it this way for PVP, fighting games, racing games etc... But for many RPGs and things latency tolerant, you can use it to your hearts content. FFXV works just fine with it without noticeable drawbacks.

 

[NTripleOne]

Falsadoom[/url]":usmet1dq]snip

Even in a "latency tolerant" game, any disconnect between control and response just makes for a generally bad experience.

 

[Hazy_dave]

O

BasP[/url]":1iyduex2]Remember when Final Fantasy was about hunting down elemental orbs in a straight-up fantasy world?

Oh yeah, I member..........
Member Cloud Strife?

 

[Asvarduil]

BasP[/url]":2ulsie18]

Mawich[/url]":2ulsie18]Is it just me whose first thought when reading about the game's party is "why is it all guys?"? Sounds like the only female character of significance at least at the start of the game is a damsel in distress with lots of cleavage. Do Square still think all gamers are straight men?

With protagonists like these guys? Hardly.

I think protagonists like these guy are helpful - we now know what One Direction does on their days off.

 

[Tofystedeth]

mogbert[/url]":17a80efi]
I really couldn't get into the plot of FF XII. This was a first for me. I've gotten used to playing these games for the plot, and usually find them very enjoyable. FF XII plot was forgettable, and in fact, they seem to have forgotten a few of their characters when writing it. Instead of following Vaan and... I can't recall the princess's name, they SHOULD have made the main characters Bal-something or other and Fran (as he often insisted he already was). They were actually interesting characters. The game also seemed to forget that Penelope was even in the game.

There's a reason for all that. XII had a very troubled development. Late in the process the director/writer was replaced. Basch was originally the main character, but Vaan (and presumably Penelo)was added because they felt Basch didn't appeal to teenage girls enough.

 

[Asvarduil]

Tofystedeth[/url]":1lx4xa5l]

mogbert[/url]":1lx4xa5l]
I really couldn't get into the plot of FF XII. This was a first for me. I've gotten used to playing these games for the plot, and usually find them very enjoyable. FF XII plot was forgettable, and in fact, they seem to have forgotten a few of their characters when writing it. Instead of following Vaan and... I can't recall the princess's name, they SHOULD have made the main characters Bal-something or other and Fran (as he often insisted he already was). They were actually interesting characters. The game also seemed to forget that Penelope was even in the game.

There's a reason for all that. XII had a very troubled development. Late in the process the director/writer was replaced. Basch was originally the main character, but Vaan (and presumably Penelo)was added because they felt Basch didn't appeal to teenage girls enough.

That explains why Vaan/Penelo felt tacked on... they were indeed tacked on.

What could've been, if only they hadn't been...oh well.

 

[Saikaici]

kalzekdor[/url]":3hbh6gu1]

Saikaici[/url]":3hbh6gu1]

Crazy Diamond[/url]":3hbh6gu1]FF1*, FF4*, FF6*, FF7, FF12 are the only good Final Fantasy Games. Thank you. (I played first ones on NES and SNES, so they were known as 1, 2 and 3).

I understand if you like the older games, and not all of them. Everyone has their own cup of tea.

But FFXII? Seriously? The one with super boring characters that hate each other, aren't a cohesive group, and has a cliche evil empire plot? The one with a programming-like battle system that is painfully inefficient? And you dislike so many of the others?

I actually really liked the combat system in 12. Being able to plan out complex battle strategies was a lot of fun. But, then, I'm a programmer, so I'm probably biased there.

I enjoy programming. The combat system is to essentially code your allies' actions with a scrappy language that you have to slowly unlock. I found it incredibly frustrating to see abilities charge to 90% on my allies, then cancel because the enemy took an ally to barely under a percentage for the heal to proc. So it would take double time for many actions to happen. It just felt like a waste of my time. If the system performed the appropriate action upon full charge gauge instead of charging a specific spell it would have been much, much better.

Other major issues I had was that they expected you to grind levels to keep up with the story. I was getting severely underleveled, and mana became a crisis. They were really stingy with ethers too, so I couldn't compensate with items. On top of that the license board let characters do whatever, but it didn't mean they could be competent at whatever. There were definitely base stats that made certain people less effective out of the area they were supposed to be.

To top it off, the whole party really is comprised of three couples. Each set of couples doesn't really have a good reason to stick together. Vaan seems to be fanboying over Mr Sky Pirate, but other than that, everyone seems to dislike, or be indifferent to each other. Ashe hates the pirates and the sewer rats, the sewer rats are along for the ride, and I guess the pirates are there for treasure(?)? Despite what you think of FFX, it does a really good job of making the party have a reason and drive to work together. Yuna binds them all.

FFTactics is my favorite game of the series. FFT Advance invented its own new "Ivalice" which I didn't care for. FFXII derives from that Ivalice. Ivalice and the Viera and other races are at odds in my mind, so for me it even further drives world dissonance. It's more personal baggage that also just makes FFXII not work for me. So yes, definite Bias on my part.

Usually in FF games prior, interesting story would carry me the rough gameplay(FF8), or the gameplay would carry me through the mediocre story(FF7). A boring generic storyline with annoying characters, and a mess of a combat system just came together to leave the game thoroughly uninteresting to me.

I mean, I blame the merger with Enix for why the series has declined. Game balance in general with Square Enix at the helm has not been my favorite. I really liked Squaresoft's balance in FFX and Kingdom Hearts, but the future installments in both series have always been too grindy or too easy.

So yeah, /rant

 

[Resolute]

freedfromdeath[/url]":6yxhrx19]

hel1kx[/url]":6yxhrx19]I wish demos were still a thing. I'd like to try FFXV, but it looks like it will be like any other JRPG I've tried lately, where the story is a snooze-fest and the characters are one-dimentional and fit anime tropes to a T (and are annoying), and I'll be bored of it after a few hours. Maybe the combat would keep me engaged, but that's not a $60 risk I want to take.

I loved FFX, so maybe I'm just getting crotchety as I get older, but I don't have the patience to sit through crappy stories with crappy characters anymore. But it's hard to find a JRPG these days without those traits :-( (suggestions welcome).

EDIT: How bad is the story, really? The Metacritic reviews seem to be split on the quality of the story and dialogue.

There's 3 demos for this game. Episode Duscae which was included on Final Fantasy Type-0, Platinum Demo which is available on the PlayStation Store and Judgment Disc which is a Japanese Exclusive.

The Platinum demo does not sell the real game at all, however. I'd stay away from that one entirely if you want a sense of what the real game is.

 

[Tofystedeth]

Asvarduil[/url]":9vve6ci9]

Tofystedeth[/url]":9vve6ci9]

mogbert[/url]":9vve6ci9]
I really couldn't get into the plot of FF XII. This was a first for me. I've gotten used to playing these games for the plot, and usually find them very enjoyable. FF XII plot was forgettable, and in fact, they seem to have forgotten a few of their characters when writing it. Instead of following Vaan and... I can't recall the princess's name, they SHOULD have made the main characters Bal-something or other and Fran (as he often insisted he already was). They were actually interesting characters. The game also seemed to forget that Penelope was even in the game.

There's a reason for all that. XII had a very troubled development. Late in the process the director/writer was replaced. Basch was originally the main character, but Vaan (and presumably Penelo)was added because they felt Basch didn't appeal to teenage girls enough.

That explains why Vaan/Penelo felt tacked on... they were indeed tacked on.

What could've been, if only they hadn't been...oh well.

You're so Vaan, you probably think this game is about you.

 

[hel1kx]

Resolute[/url]":e7ivezdk]

freedfromdeath[/url]":e7ivezdk]

hel1kx[/url]":e7ivezdk]I wish demos were still a thing. I'd like to try FFXV, but it looks like it will be like any other JRPG I've tried lately, where the story is a snooze-fest and the characters are one-dimentional and fit anime tropes to a T (and are annoying), and I'll be bored of it after a few hours. Maybe the combat would keep me engaged, but that's not a $60 risk I want to take.

I loved FFX, so maybe I'm just getting crotchety as I get older, but I don't have the patience to sit through crappy stories with crappy characters anymore. But it's hard to find a JRPG these days without those traits :-( (suggestions welcome).

EDIT: How bad is the story, really? The Metacritic reviews seem to be split on the quality of the story and dialogue.

There's 3 demos for this game. Episode Duscae which was included on Final Fantasy Type-0, Platinum Demo which is available on the PlayStation Store and Judgment Disc which is a Japanese Exclusive.

The Platinum demo does not sell the real game at all, however. I'd stay away from that one entirely if you want a sense of what the real game is.

I rented FFXV from Redbox last night and played a couple hours. So far I'm enjoying it. The battles are fun, albeit a little clunky, but I think they'll get smoother the more I get used to the mechanics.

I think the story's interesting enough (what I was able to get in 2 hours, anyway). It's a little slow, but at least there aren't a ton of apostrophe-riddled names for things like in XIII, and so far not a lot of emo angst, and the characters are interesting enough. It has a light-hearted but mature feel.

The weirdest thing about the game to me so far is the setting of the first portion. It's some weird mix of fantasy, mid/southwest USA, and sci-fi. It's not bad, but doesn't feel very "Final Fantasy" to me so far.

So, in short, it's the first FF game since FFX that I'm looking forward to playing more of, enough that I'm planning on buying it later today.

 

[Asvarduil]

hel1kx[/url]":3mepzuni]

Resolute[/url]":3mepzuni]

freedfromdeath[/url]":3mepzuni]

hel1kx[/url]":3mepzuni]I wish demos were still a thing. I'd like to try FFXV, but it looks like it will be like any other JRPG I've tried lately, where the story is a snooze-fest and the characters are one-dimentional and fit anime tropes to a T (and are annoying), and I'll be bored of it after a few hours. Maybe the combat would keep me engaged, but that's not a $60 risk I want to take.

I loved FFX, so maybe I'm just getting crotchety as I get older, but I don't have the patience to sit through crappy stories with crappy characters anymore. But it's hard to find a JRPG these days without those traits :-( (suggestions welcome).

EDIT: How bad is the story, really? The Metacritic reviews seem to be split on the quality of the story and dialogue.

There's 3 demos for this game. Episode Duscae which was included on Final Fantasy Type-0, Platinum Demo which is available on the PlayStation Store and Judgment Disc which is a Japanese Exclusive.

The Platinum demo does not sell the real game at all, however. I'd stay away from that one entirely if you want a sense of what the real game is.

I rented FFXV from Redbox last night and played a couple hours. So far I'm enjoying it. The battles are fun, albeit a little clunky, but I think they'll get smoother the more I get used to the mechanics.

I think the story's interesting enough (what I was able to get in 2 hours, anyway). It's a little slow, but at least there aren't a ton of apostrophe-riddled names for things like in XIII, and so far not a lot of emo angst, and the characters are interesting enough. It has a light-hearted but mature feel.

The weirdest thing about the game to me so far is the setting of the first portion. It's some weird mix of fantasy, mid/southwest USA, and sci-fi. It's not bad, but doesn't feel very "Final Fantasy" to me so far.

So, in short, it's the first FF game since FFX that I'm looking forward to playing more of, enough that I'm planning on buying it later today.

That's all not even counting the fact that you're in essence leading One Direction in warfare against The Empire™.

You know, I just convinced myself to pick it up with that line. Excuse me.

 

[Katana314]

Akemi[/url]":jz7r97op]

mikehild[/url]":jz7r97op]


Not X-2, XII as in 12. Square is currently working on that remaster, with the name Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age.

Okay, the one upcoming in 2017. The naming system for the FF games gets under my skin. With X-2 and XII, then the sometimes different numbers for the same game between Japan and US releases. Like FF II (initial US title) being released in Japan as FF IV with all subsequent releases also falling under the IV heading. Just weirdness.

Worse, if it was released today:

F-Fantasy Xx: UNDER_real:IZE ExTend//

 

[hel1kx]

I stayed up way past my bedtime last night and got about 10 hours into the game, and I'm counting down the hours at work until I can play again. I can't say this game will appeal to everyone, but it really clicks with me. If you're a fan of FF but were dissatisfied with the XIII trilogy (or however many they made), I'd highly recommend giving this one a try.

Driving in the rain listening to EZ Dub & Bass...awesome.