Final Fantasy XV

[Tyndles]

It's okay.

[V'aleera]

This game was a huge disappointment on so many levels.

[Lydia Lightfoot]

Whoever has beans, spill 'em. I don't have it yet and I don't trust "professional reviewers" and their nonsense "let's give every game by a major developer whom we have nostalgic feelings towards a minimum score of 90% on every game they release because member Cloud oh sure I member Cloud".

[Halstein Mercer]

yeah can we get a pro/con list and or general review from those who have FFXV? I'd love to know what they did right and what they did wrong with this game.

[Valence]

For the objective listing of how things are ingame so far from what I have seen, I'll list in italics below my subjective opinion about it. If you are just looking for how things are and a factual summary, don't read those.

 

 

 

- You evolve on a huge map from the beginning, with a road layout on top of it. You can move around on foot pretty much freely (witcher 3 style), and you can drive the car (or sit as passenger) on the roads only.

 

I never liked open worlds in solo games since I'm here for the story and I generally tend to drop from the game or get bored when I'm just thrown in the middle of nowhere with no clear storyline to follow. Fortunately this one seems to follow a Witcher 3 model and you can perfectly just follow the 'road' and the story without doing much of anything else. At least it's nice that you don't feel any invisible walls around, for sure. 

 

 

- The story makes you move around the map progressively, while you also have secondary quests around, or things to explore.

 

- From what I have heard, the main story is somewhat shorter than usual, but the game tries to balance that by offering more secondary things to do, or explore.

 

As said above, not my cup of tea, as I think open worlds can pretty fast detract on the story... Except for anomalies like Witcher 3 when done right. Secondary quests seem rather dull though. Lots of kill lists and ping pong basic quests, doesn't seem up to the FF usual standards of secondary quests (quantity vs quality here I guess, they chose quantity, unlike in other titles). You can see some scenery and explore for those who like it though. Overall I feel that this game follows a more western approach to RPGs when it comes to world building, rather than standard classical jRPGs. It blends with a very jRPG feel from the combat system though.

 

 

- A lot of the dialog and story actually happens when you drive around. Characters talk between each other a lot like that. They do it too when they fight, although it's not plot oriented when they do, but just combat oriented.

 

I think this adds a lot of flavor overall. It can get annoying though when they are talking and you suddenly enter an area that triggers a story cutscene or what you have, and it just cuts what people where saying earlier.

 

 

- The Combat system is action RPG hack and slash style, where you control the main character and the AI controls the companions. You can momentarily take control or tell companions to execute an action, or a combo. The main character can blink/dash like in the movie as one of his main moves. Some of those moves deplete a MP bar, that regrows over time. Characters can wield several, different weapons. Oh yes, you also meet enemies directly on the map without any transition to combat. It's seamless.

 

I don't mind that kind of combat but I think this one is rather mediocre. I quite enjoyed the one they offered in most Star Ocean games as they do it quite well there (the AI was okay-ish, you could still take control of mates when needed, and there was a depth of skills and mechanics different for every character). The main issue with that kind of system is how incredibly messy it can get. Well, SO did it well since the pace was slowed down a bit and attacks were made obvious enough so that the player had a feeling to at least know what was happening all around. Here in FFXV, not so much. The first feeling you will get is that its an incredible mess where things are being hack and slashd all around in a frenzy. You eventually start to get used to it a bit but you still have very little clue how some of the enemy attacks, or even worse, your own teamates attacks. They seem not to attack or do stuff very often, especially when you are the one spamming slashes on enemies. Overall, the AI is pretty bad. You constantly feel that you are alone fighting and doing all the work, unless you take control at times of your mates. But then better to play in wait mode... I just think that they fell into all the negative sides of the RPG hack and slash model. A huge mess would describe it perfectly. 

 

 

- You can switch combat mode to a more classical tactical combat closer to old FF titles. It basically freezes time at every action and adds timers.

 

In part for all the reasons listed above, Wait mode seems better to me at the first glance, and closer to what made FF combat... FF combat. Except... It doesn't work at all to me either because it just freezes the game and turns the screen in black and white while you choose the action to do... again and again. You still don't get any control on the other members like you do with your own and actually do things exactly like in the hack and slash mode, except you have an active pause now. So it's NOT a tactical mode like in all other FFs, but just a stupid pause that cuts the flow of things and allows you to have time to choose your actions but nothing else. It remains a hack and slash game, and not a good one at that. I haven't been that way ahead so maybe it gets more interesting after, but it also feels way dumbed down tactically compared to other FFs, since well... action game.

 

 

- There is some skill trees for each character.

 

I haven't delved into it that much, but it seems pretty standard to me. 

 

 

- Music is composed by Shimomura Yoko (Kingdom Hearts, etc).

 

I think it's a sign of quality here. Seems very good so far.

 

 

- You get four characters, of which one is the hero you control for the most part. 

 

I really loathe the look of Noctis (the main character). He looks like shit in my opinion (hello Tokyo Hotel). I quite like the look of the three others though, even if the whole band looks very... edgy yeah, with their haircuts and clothes (but I have seen worse... heh). They all have their quirks and personality, I like that Prompto seems always afraid or nervous about stuff that should scare the shit out of anybody, that kind of stuff. Their overall casual discussions as you move around creates a nice synergy and atmosphere, and that's one of the main strong points of the game: the road trip feel. Noctis himself?... Definitely not the best FF main character so far, but definitely far from the worst too. Guy is pretty composed, but I feel like for now that he seems rather... bland. His personality is hard to see, except that he seems dead serious and a bit taciturn. I like how the team keeps teasing him about everything though. 

 

 

The universe is rather contemporary looking, with a few glimpses here or there of slightly futuristic or at least modern designs.

 

Totally subjective I guess but the universe and the world overall leave a rather good feel of something with character. It's unique enough, and pretty. Lots of different places with different flavors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, then, please keep in mind that I haven't been very far into the game.

[Maril]

I went out and got me a PS4 recently because there was a good deal on it, and I got me FFXV as well. I'm not big on console games usually, and I haven't played the other FF-games that weren't FFXIV. So I'm very much a beginner when it comes to FFXV.

 

But I actually really like it. I wasn't terribly convinced that I would like it as much as I do, but it really seems to hit the same notes with me as Witcher 3 did. I'm about ten hours into the game, and there's been a little bit of a learning curve but I haven't exactly got stuck anywhere. I quite like all of the small side quests that pop up, and the main story seems interesting - though I've not got terribly far into it.

 

And then it's a really pretty game. I kinda think it is like it is with a lot of things, if you have huge expectations for a game then you might end up getting disappointed, I never really paid attention to the game or it's news before it came out. For a first experience with a single player game in the series, I'm quite happy with it ^^

[Valence]

I almost forgot. Watch Kingslaive before if you can, or you will miss on things constantly. It's almost mandatory to get a good feel on the story and what's going on, otherwise it's going to be pretty confusing. The story starts just at the end of the movie, so they really are a whole.

 

( On that not I think that's not a really good thing to make additional cross media almost mandatory and I think the game should stand alone on its own, where they could really have summarized things better where it was needed )

[Tyndles]

Oops, that was ugly.

 

Anyway, the game doesn't flow very well because they didn't allow the story quests to level with you, or add a difficulty option that allows this. If you do all the side quests as you come to them, you stomp on the main story, and that takes away some of the fun.

 

But yeah, the game is very Witcher 3 like, with the addition of buddies to talk to and sort of give orders to, but not actually control.

 

I enjoyed the story though, but because the end game+ content doesn't have as much story to it, I don't care, so I won't do it, and that's a shame because that's what the combat (awkward as it is) difficulty and leveling scale were designed for.

[V'aleera]

Kingsglaive is absolutely mandatory to have any idea what is going on in the first part of the game. They literally play a brief montage of movie scenes (sans dialogue) in lieu of having an actual cutscene for the part where this is relevant.

 

I'm not a huge fan of the battle system in general. It's both messy and overly simple, and the magic system is a bit of a travesty on two fronts (the diversity of spells is nonexistent, and their power ping pongs between overpowered, useless, or even detrimental). The exception to this is boss battles. The system becomes a lot of fun when fighting giant enemies with multiple body parts to target and large telegraphed attacks.

 

The story is the biggest offender, largely in part because of how much wasted potential (and likely cut content) there appears to be. Not going to spoil anything, but there are essentially three distinct narratives at play; two of them are missing a second act, and one of them is missing both its first and second act. There is clearly a fantastic story wanting to be told, but they essentially took a story that should have gotten 30-40 hours and crammed it into just 15. On the plus side, the flavor you get from the main cast during the bulk of the game is a lot of fun, and the ending is, in spite of its lack of buildup, fantastic.

 

On a final note, the game director has said that SE intends to release several free patches adding narrative content to fill in the gaps as well as gameplay improvements.

[Tyndles]

 

 

On a final note, the game director has said that SE intends to release several free patches adding narrative content to fill in the gaps as well as gameplay improvements.

 

 

The thing is, I dont think I enjoyed the game enough to want to go back and see all that, and thats kinda poopy.

[Aedan Marceaux]

Ten hours+ in and not even out of chapter one... I feel I've gotten my money's worth thus far. I can't speak to the story as, again, I've not gotten that far into it... but what I have encountered (with kingsglaive and Brotherhood included) I've enjoyed.

 

Combat... is fun... but the block/parry/counter system is buggy at best. Perhaps my skill level is just shit, but I'm pressing square at different times for the same attack and still either getting smacked or rolling/dodging.

 

There are certain things the game didn't explain, or if it did, I missed it.... such as stamina refresh. Thankfully, because I'm a nerdy collector, I bought the guide... and the guide explained the stamina refreshing technique.

 

Driving the car (thus far) has been a little underwhelming. I didn't expect to do jumps off of landscape or anything crazy like that, but I had hoped for a little more freedom than a rail driver. 

 

Delving into all of the side quests and nooks and crannies is quite enjoyable for me... and is the obvious reason as to my being 10+ hours in and not even out of chapter 1 yet.

 

A weird quirk to me is the respawning of "treasures" out and about in the world. Cooking items I get... they regrow... but that greatsword I picked up "respawned" an hour or so later and I was able to pick it up again. I mean... yay, now I have two of the same sword to use for Noct and Gladdy, but... dunno, just feels weird to me.

[Tyndles]

Ten hours+ in and not even out of chapter one... I feel I've gotten my money's worth thus far. I can't speak to the story as, again, I've not gotten that far into it... but what I have encountered (with kingsglaive and Brotherhood included) I've enjoyed.

 

Combat... is fun... but the block/parry/counter system is buggy at best. Perhaps my skill level is just shit, but I'm pressing square at different times for the same attack and still either getting smacked or rolling/dodging.

 

There are certain things the game didn't explain, or if it did, I missed it.... such as stamina refresh. Thankfully, because I'm a nerdy collector, I bought the guide... and the guide explained the stamina refreshing technique.

 

Driving the car (thus far) has been a little underwhelming. I didn't expect to do jumps off of landscape or anything crazy like that, but I had hoped for a little more freedom than a rail driver. 

 

Delving into all of the side quests and nooks and crannies is quite enjoyable for me... and is the obvious reason as to my being 10+ hours in and not even out of chapter 1 yet.

 

A weird quirk to me is the respawning of "treasures" out and about in the world. Cooking items I get... they regrow... but that greatsword I picked up "respawned" an hour or so later and I was able to pick it up again. I mean... yay, now I have two of the same sword to use for Noct and Gladdy, but... dunno, just feels weird to me.

 ya gotta hold square the whole time.

[Lydia Lightfoot]

Man, I'm so sick of games being released unfinished, though. "We're going to release free additional content" = "We released this before it was actually done". In a game with a subscription fee, it makes sense to release content in chunks - but there's literally nothing for a developer to gain by releasing a game that's missing features if there's no additional revenue to be made later from that. So annoying. My enthusiasm for potentially buying the game went into the toilet just hearing that - why would I pay $60 to buy it now when I could get a used copy for $40 in a year which actually has all of the game available to download?

[Gegenji]

Man, I'm so sick of games being released unfinished, though. "We're going to release free additional content" = "We released this before it was actually done". In a game with a subscription fee, it makes sense to release content in chunks - but there's literally nothing for a developer to gain by releasing a game that's missing features if there's no additional revenue to be made later from that. So annoying. My enthusiasm for potentially buying the game went into the toilet just hearing that - why would I pay $60 to buy it now when I could get a used copy for $40 in a year which actually has all of the game available to download?

 

That's... kinda what I'm leaning towards as well for this game. I wasn't all that into getting it to begin with, but now if I feel the need to pick it up, I'll probably wait until the whole thing is ready rather than pick it up as is. Especially since I doubt its replayability is high enough that I'd want to go through a second time to see what they didn't have time to add the first go around.

[Lydia Lightfoot]

Plus, I can't begin to explain how salty I am about being promised Fallout 4 for PS4 would have modding, and then, after they've finished releasing all the DLC, they announce "Hey, that modding thing? Yeah, nah. But thanks for buying our game though, we appreciate the money you gave us which you can't get back even though we flat out lied about a feature the game would have and then lied again saying we couldn't get it in at launch but it'd be coming for free later."

[Tyndles]

I'd been thinking about i t and I came up with the perfect quick description for the game.

 

"It's like Dragon Age 3 without all the choices, romance, character development or customization.  But its sure got a whole lotta quests!"

[V'aleera]

 

That's... kinda what I'm leaning towards as well for this game. I wasn't all that into getting it to begin with, but now if I feel the need to pick it up, I'll probably wait until the whole thing is ready rather than pick it up as is. Especially since I doubt its replayability is high enough that I'd want to go through a second time to see what they didn't have time to add the first go around.

 

As is, I'd put the game as a solid $40 value on its own merits. Maybe $50 if you're dying to get a fresh fix of Final Fantasy and have money to burn.

[Valence]

Just wanted to add that besides the strongest points for me so far being the constant talk at every corner while driving, exploring, cooking and whatnot, making the world more alive, and the road trip atmosphere, I'm rather in awe with most of the work that went into animation. Those idle animations, or even character starting to do stuff instead of remaining static, are amazing. Everything really feels alive.

[Delilah Scythewood]

<---- Baby black chocobo just looks like a little chicken who is tired of your shit. I named him Boco.

[R'nella Eren]

I finished it after 30 hours, will 'go back' to finish up the remaining stuff for the platinum trophy which will probably end me around the 40-50 hour mark. 

 

This is not..an RPG. It's basically Dragon's Dogma stripped of it's RPG mechanics entirely and replaced with some really minor equipment change options. That was the biggest disappointment for me. 

 

Dragon's Dogma is also the way how this story is structured, but with a lot more characters and slightly more character development. The ending is also very Dragon's Dogma without spoiling things with a hint of Dark Souls 3. 

 

Overal though, even though I loved the story and it's twists and turns (and it's symbolic ending even though I needed tissues, as a man), if you're on a tight budget, go get Dragon's Dogma because that's a better version of this game.

 

FFXV is a 7.5 where Dragon's Dogma would get a 8.5 and the Elder Scrolls games a 9.5

 

Did I tell you that this game is a lot like Dragon's Dogma yet?

 

Capcom..please bring Dragon's Dogma Online to the west!

[Gray]

My only real problem with the game was the second half.  Not because it went linear.  Rather, because it was a slideshow.  A cut up mess of disconnected nonsense.  It was like reading a book, and just skipping around to random pages.  I'm not even sure what happened.

[Reylin]

I'm a good 36 hours into it and on Chapter 10ish.  I've enjoyed the exploration and side quests and the main story so far.  Is it perfect?  Nah, but it's better than the 12 and the forty or so FF13 games.

 

I think people forget what Final Fantasy games are like that aren't 14.  They're disjointed, often silly and kind of run the gambit.  There's a lot more here than people are finding I think.  The Adamantoise for example, was pretty amazing as well as several other things found randomly.

 

I do think over all, I will like the Witcher 3 better sure, but on its own merits FF15 is plenty enough if you really dig deep and don't rush through it and just enjoy the trip, as it were.

[Zelmanov]

*has been edited for grammar and further expansion since I was typing this train of thought style*

 

I enjoyed the game immensely. I have clocked 80 hours into it. 

 

My biggest gripe is how it goes from 0 to 100 after facing Leviathan (spoilers but not spoilers because all the commercials show leviathan). You cannot return to the overworld unless its via an in game mechanic to "Relive memories" 

 

While it works in avoiding the old FF gripe of "Missed it, now gone forever" items it also neuters the game of a sense of flow and narrative sense. Before Leviathan, all Main Story quests happen in the Overworld and you can see the effects spiral out from there (constant rain for example or the magitek soldiers harassing you after the first chapter) 

 

However it all goes away after Leviathan as you are railroaded in a way that reminds me too much of FFXIII

 

HOWEVER, unlike FFXIII, this game is miles better, the music is amazing, the set pieces are awesome and in contrast, while the main story is lacking, if you /inhabit/ the world via doing the sidequests, driving around, camping etc. You are inundated with characterizing (not necessarily character building) moments. I feel for my 3 bros, which is way better than asshole Snow, whiny Hope and "I'VE GOT A SOOOOOOOOON" Zasz. 

 

The game entirely hinges on your ability to like your 3 teammates. Because from Leviathan onward, they do everything they can tear apart your group and cause the hurt and stakes via the tension of breaking their friendship. Not only that but the game appeals to a very rare sentiment of the duty of a king, a leader to one's people and to those who serve you. This in itself is hard to relate to for most. This is not just fulfilling your destiny as "Chosen One" This is doing your duty and obligation as /KING/. 

 

The game managed to sell me the boy band, in no small part due to Noct's stellar English voice acting to properly communicate a boy in a man's role which was less angsty and whiny than Tidus or Squall (Yes I chose English willlingly).

 

So when the game decided to punt me in the nuts repeatedly with its tone shift, it worked for me.

 

As Dunkey had said in his review, story takes a back seat to the game play and systems much like Metal Gear Solid 5, another equally polarizing game. If you enjoy the core systems, the game is far from a waste of time. Also, good on the game for promising an ending and having the balls to actually go through with it.

 

Also, I would suggest /against/ overleveling. The game is designed to be beaten at level 40 and I was 73 when I beat it. It made the last encounters less struggle for my life and more triumphant return and took the wind out the sails of the final fight. This isn't an old FF like say, FF7 where even if you got to level 99 you were still rewarded with the idea of sicking Knights of The Round on Sephiroth.

 

However, after you beat the game you are granted with a gambit of high level (Level 120+!) dungeons to put your skills to the test. It has nothing to do with story, but if you love the gameplay system, it is very rewarding.

 

Kingsglaive does help illuminate some things but I am /never/ a fan of periphery media to make a story understandable, it should be all digested via the game alone.

 

 

This game is deserving of an 8/10 easily, there is that AAA polish that we used to associate with quality back in the old days 10 years ago. However, we did wait ten years for this game and while I was not one of those people. I can 100% understand that for some, 8/10 should not be good enough.

[Valence]

Well I guess tastes and all that... I really like the 3 bros. They all have character. 

 

But the main character? Urg. He's the most boring FF hero I have ever seen, and not totally dissimilar to Cloud in my eyes. Better than Tidus or Van? Sure. Those were insufferably whiny or childish (though at least the story made them evolve, which was by design somewhere). 

 

But that Noctics is just flat out tedious and boring. He makes me want to fall asleep everytime he speaks, and fortunately he doesn't speak a lot. I don't know, he feels like an apathetic scrawny dude with a severe case of bad looks and totally uninteresting lines put directly in contrast with the nice flavorful lines of his bros. He is basically the least charismatic of the band, and maybe it's by design? He's supposed to be king and is actually as Cid tells him in the first minute of the game, like his father stripped of any dignity? I haven't been to the end yet of course so... Maybe he will change and mature too like Tidus does, which I hope. 

 

I must also disagree on Squall. I loved the hell out of that cynical ass and while his evolution is nice enough (and expected), the first part of the game is where he literally shines.

[V'aleera]

I will admit that, given the context and the delivery, "Dude, are you seriously trying to kill me?" is probably the greatest spoken line of dialogue in the entire series.