Final Fantasy XV Demo Previews/Impressions Thread

Falk said:
I'm not sure if Square Enix can objectively 'win' this one regardless of how little or how much info is doshed out up to actual release.

- Final Fantasy has redefined itself in significant ways in virtually every entry starting from 6
- Fanbase thus has a very varied idea of what constitutes an ideal Final Fantasy game
- FFXV is arguably the biggest departure from the 'norm' (whatever norm there is) while still maintaining the tenets of the franchise.
- Every video or information blowout results in negative impressions of people who want the opposite (see: #2)
- Every omission of information results in negative impressions of people who want to see how the game is coming along (see: inverse #2)

I honestly think that Duscae is near ideal balance of what Squeenix could have done - a vertical slice with a good portion of the more important core systems (buddies, core combat, exploration, level-up loop, main quest, a summon, offensive equipment, overall aesthetic incl. visuals & music functionality) while leaving out quite a few auxiliary systems (transportation, gambits, defensive equipment, magic, the other ~95% of the world/quests/arcs/etc and virtually all of the story)

I'd argue that of the two lists I mentioned, the former are core to what Square Enix are looking for feedback on to tweak in meaningful ways for polish in the final game, and the latter, while non-insignificant features, either aren't going to change the core experience of the game, or are things Square Enix aren't looking for feedback on anyway (such as the story and setting). The exception to that would be magic which I think definitely would benefit from some public feedback regardless of how well (or not) it's built.

Many of the other issues, especially pertaining to stuff that's explicitly not in the demo (regions other than Duscae, the 'lack of plot', lack of enemy diversity, cities, 'what happened to our grimdark versus XIII' blah blah blah blah) are going to disappear once Duscae drops and the marketing shifts away from it. That's not that far off, anyway.

Considering the somewhat unique decade-long nature of the game's evolution since its inception, and its position as Square Enix's largest egg-basket and all the stakes inherent to that, I'm expecting quite a bit of info leading up to the actual game, but there's two things to keep in mind - one, a game the size of FFXV is going to have way, WAY more to it than can be shown in even a plethora of media blowouts and is going to have a shit ton of surprises in store even if you follow everything, and two, it's completely on you to adhere to a media blackout if you think too much is being revealed if you want to go in fresh. No one has a gun to your head forcing you to spoil yourself silly.
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Well said.
 
royox said:
Well...if a saga based on turn combats stops having turn combats why keep calling the games Final Fantasy? Create a new IP with the same FF feeling but a diferent gameplay and you have it. They did a Final Fantasy withouth calling it Final Fantasy (Bravely Default)...and now they are making a no-final fantasy calling it Final Fantasy.

Imagine the next WiiU Zelda game is not an action game with dungeons an suddently it becomes a Turn based RPG withouth dungeons. Tell the zelda fans " i think the days of action based combat and dungeons are long gone at least when it comes to this franchise and some people have a hard time coming to grasp with that."

You can't change a core mechanic of a 25 years old saga and say "deal with it" to the people that likes a saga because it has that gameplay.
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...what?
 
DarkLordMalik said:
Screenshots
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SickHand.gif


Doesn't even look 720p.
 
Boke1879 said:
I think everyone should give Type-0 a shot at least. You're paying 60 bucks. Might as well give it a chance.
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I'm really glad that's not a boat I was ever on. When Type-0 was announced to be released in the states at E3, it was honestly the biggest shocker of the entire show to me because I've been really excited for it since it came out in Japan. The FFXV demo is therefore by no means the reason I'm buying it. It boggles me to think that some people would buy Type-0 and ditch the game completely.
 
Falk said:
This really sounds like when people were complaining FFIV ATB was too much of a departure from actual purist turn-based in FFIII.

(Yes, I'm old)
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I know. But in that case the genre was still "turn based JRPG", now they are changing the genre of the saga. FFXV is an action RPG, the 1st Action RPG in the main saga. That's a big change.
 
DeSolos said:
[...]
Maybe it's a bit of a pipe dream, but I kind of wish they would only cover content from the first half of the game. I mean if you can't win someone over in the first half of your game, you've got a serious problem.
FFXIII
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Well, we already saw the snowy train scene which was confirmed to be in the latter half of the game.
LeftImmediateButterfly.gif
 
royox said:
Well...if a saga based on turn combats stops having turn combats why keep calling the games Final Fantasy? Create a new IP with the same FF feeling but a diferent gameplay and you have it. They did a Final Fantasy withouth calling it Final Fantasy (Bravely Default)...and now they are making a no-final fantasy calling it Final Fantasy.
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They did that already (Mana series), and that IP didn't end up very well...
 
Final Fantasy XII and Lighting Returns taught me that I don't really need traditional battle methods in an RPG as long as they're still RPG's. They still had more traditional elements but were different from everything before XII. There are still many elements that should help it feel like a Final Fantasy game. I'm not terribly concerned about that. I'm glad they're trying new stuff, which I think is okay when you really take a step back and realize this is the fifteenth mainline game.
 
brandonh83 said:
Final Fantasy XII and Lighting Returns taught me that I don't really need traditional battle methods in an RPG as long as they're still RPG's. They still had more traditional elements but were different from everything before XII. There are still many elements that should help it feel like a Final Fantasy game. I'm not terribly concerned about that. I'm glad they're trying new stuff, which I think is okay when you really take a step back and realize this is the fifteenth mainline game.
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Yeah exactly. Look at how CoD or AssCreed (I know they are yearly releases) but everyone always complains that the gameplay is always the same. That it hardly ever changes and all that.

That's why I love FF. It is never afraid to make changes, and we have also known about the battle system for Versus since 2006 so I don't get people acting like we haven't known this for 9 years.
 
royox said:
Well...if a saga based on turn combats stops having turn combats why keep calling the games Final Fantasy? Create a new IP with the same FF feeling but a diferent gameplay and you have it. They did a Final Fantasy withouth calling it Final Fantasy (Bravely Default)...and now they are making a no-final fantasy calling it Final Fantasy.

Imagine the next WiiU Zelda game is not an action game with dungeons an suddently it becomes a Turn based RPG withouth dungeons. Tell the zelda fans " i think the days of action based combat and dungeons are long gone at least when it comes to this franchise and some people have a hard time coming to grasp with that."

You can't change a core mechanic of a 25 years old saga and say "deal with it" to the people that likes a saga because it has that gameplay.
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This guy gets it, very well said..your kind are rare now bro.
 
Psycho_Mantis said:
Also, its a good game :o
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It really is. It's a little frustrating to see people dismiss it entirely because they're "only interested in the demo". Admittedly, its $60 price point means it's directly competing against non-remake/remaster current-gen games, and perhaps SE should have priced it differently, but the game itself isn't at fault here. For a PSP game, it really was quite fun and a step up from Crisis Core. The HD remaster looks good for what it is -- even if SE could have done some more work with the textures and stuff -- so I wish people would give it a fair chance instead of scoffing at it like it's overpriced garbage.
 
It's just weird to read that people would trade in Type-0 so easily..

I mean it wasn't even too long ago that people complained about it being a Japanese exclusive and that Square is dumb for not bringing it over. Some went even so far and said Type-0 coming to the west was impossible. And now they announced a current-gen version with improvements and overhauled visuals and people already talk about trading it in.

Some people just don't know what they want. I for one just hope to put together enough money to get it since it seems like a good and long JRPG.
 
DarkLordMalik said:
Xbox One is certainly not 1080p but there are rumors (pixel counters) that PS4 version is native 1080p, or close to it atleast.
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I just noticed they're PNG's as well. I first thought there was a heavy dose of S-E jpeg screenshot blurring going on as well.

edit: on closer inspection maybe I was right the first time, they are heavy with artefacting.
 
Falk said:
You sure it's not 810p? 800p is bizarre for 16:9 and only common in 2.35 (film, etc)

link to counts etc
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It is impossible to get a proper estimate of the resolution simply by pixel counting. So I bet it is either 810p or the TitanFall res (792p?)

Shin-Ra said:
I just noticed they're PNG's as well. I first thought there was a heavy dose of S-E jpeg screenshot blurring going on as well.
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They are hosted on Imgur which compresses each image. You can find better and higher res images from SE PR although they are not linked in OP.
 
royox said:
Well...if a saga based on turn combats stops having turn combats why keep calling the games Final Fantasy? Create a new IP with the same FF feeling but a diferent gameplay and you have it. They did a Final Fantasy withouth calling it Final Fantasy (Bravely Default)...and now they are making a no-final fantasy calling it Final Fantasy.

Imagine the next WiiU Zelda game is not an action game with dungeons an suddently it becomes a Turn based RPG withouth dungeons. Tell the zelda fans " i think the days of action based combat and dungeons are long gone at least when it comes to this franchise and some people have a hard time coming to grasp with that."

You can't change a core mechanic of a 25 years old saga and say "deal with it" to the people that likes a saga because it has that gameplay.
Click to expand...
Considering that Final Fantasy has had 7 wildly different combat systems ranging from turn based, action turn based to straight up action over it's 14 mainline titles, the people that like Final Fantasy for it's turn based combat should have learned not to bitch about combat mechanics by now.

It's like people forget Versus was a thing and this is simply a rebranded Versus.
Gutss said:
This guy gets it, very well said..your kind are rare now bro.
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And I'm very glad for that. We need good games, not forced rehashes of decade old mechanics just because.
 
Nibel said:
It's just weird to read that people would trade in Type-0 so easily..

I mean it wasn't even too long ago that people complained about it being a Japanese exclusive and that Square is dumb for not bringing it over. Some went even so far and said Type-0 coming to the west was impossible. And now they announced a current-gen version with improvements and overhauled visuals and people already talk about trading it in.

Some people just don't know what they want. I for one just hope to put together enough money to get it since it seems like a good and long JRPG.
Click to expand...

i guess you could add some people were burned over the vita fiasco.
 
Nibel said:
It's just weird to read that people would trade in Type-0 so easily..

I mean it wasn't even too long ago that people complained about it being a Japanese exclusive and that Square is dumb for not bringing it over. Some went even so far and said Type-0 coming to the west was impossible. And now they announced a current-gen version with improvements and overhauled visuals and people already talk about trading it in.

Some people just don't know what they want. I for one just hope to put together enough money to get it since it seems like a good and long JRPG.
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Umm.. I wasn't one of those people. Type 0 just seems like the least Final Fantasy thing of all time and way more typical Japanese shovelware garbo.

1. Excessive violence and blood
2. School uniform character design
3. Muted color palette of browns and yellows
4. Lame monster mechs
5. Action based combat

None of this sounds like Final Fantasy to me.

If you told me this was a really old From Software game, I'd believe you.
 
MultiJhonny said:
That's why I love FF. It is never afraid to make changes, and we have also known about the battle system for Versus since 2006 so I don't get people acting like we haven't known this for 9 years.
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I also think there's a bit of pressure when it comes to developers who are being relied upon to sort of revitalize franchises each new generation. I don't really need every Final Fantasy game to be a radical departure, but I do think that the first new installment of every new generation should take risks and change things up. I wouldn't have complained about "more of the same" as long as it was good, but I do think that in order to keep something alive and fresh that some level of evolution should occur.

There is definitely a more modern approach to some things, such as seeing waypoints or trailing the behemoth, but the waypoints are probably going to be very helpful and I think the behemoth/monster tracking is an incredibly exciting concept and evolution of your traditional monster hunting in the other games. It doesn't look that much different to me than tracking down game in Final Fantasy XII to me.

I'm not going to criticize someone's opinion who thinks that this is too different or not Final Fantasy as I get where they're coming from, but at the same time I do think people should sit back and maybe wait to see what the rest of the game is like. I think so many things define Final Fantasy and RPG's in general that you can't really look at bits of the game and say "this isn't Final Fantasy." Things change. Teams shuffle, new blood comes in, etc. Uematsu for example has been the composer staple for the series, but while he's not returning for FFXV, I think Shimomura has damn well earned the right to score one of these beasts.
 
Kagari said:
Yeah, the guy who posted about it said it was a rough estimate here: https://forum.beyond3d.com/threads/...ased-games-read-the-first-post.44654/page-226
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Thanks. It's definitely higher than 720 and lower than 900.

Also I'm revising my opinion that the UI layer (everything from markers and prompts to the HP bars) is definitely drawn at 1080p on a separate pass over an upscale.

edit: frame in question
0wqsTms.jpg
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royox said:
You are literally the 1st person in this fucking planet that said that. Other forums, my friends, college...EVERYBODY said I'm crazy or wrong T.T
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Not gonna interrupt your backslapping spree or your right to an opinion, but even discounting the fact that multiple numbered Final Fantasy titles (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14) aren't turn-based*, if you want a fair comparison, turn-based no-dungeon Zelda should be equated to ARPG, no-dungeon Final Fantasy. Do you see a no-dungeon Final Fantasy? I sure don't.

*You probably meant "Final Fantasy where you don't pick commands out of a menu as the primary means of action" in which case we're still looking at 11, 12, 14 running counter to that. I'm not keen in going into the discussion of why ATB is more of "everything has a cooldown" rather than turn-based, since that's been done to death on multiple occasions and frankly I'm quite sick of retreading it yet again.
 
brandonh83 said:
I also think there's a bit of pressure when it comes to developers who are being relied upon to sort of revitalize franchises each new generation. I don't really need every Final Fantasy game to be a radical departure, but I do think that the first new installment of every new generation should take risks and change things up. I wouldn't have complained about "more of the same" as long as it was good, but I do think that in order to keep something alive and fresh that some level of evolution should occur.

There is definitely a more modern approach to some things, such as seeing waypoints or trailing the behemoth, but the waypoints are probably going to be very helpful and I think the behemoth/monster tracking is an incredibly exciting concept and evolution of your traditional monster hunting in the other games. It doesn't look that much different to me than tracking down game in Final Fantasy XII to me.

I'm not going to criticize someone's opinion who thinks that this is too different or not Final Fantasy as I get where they're coming from, but at the same time I do think people should sit back and maybe wait to see what the rest of the game is like. I think so many things define Final Fantasy and RPG's in general that you can't really look at bits of the game and say "this isn't Final Fantasy." Things change. Teams shuffle, new blood comes in, etc. Uematsu for example has been the composer staple for the series, but while he's not returning for FFXV, I think Shimomura has damn well earned the right to score one of these beasts.
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I agree with every point. I think a lot of change also is coming from new developers. A lot of those older Square guys are gone. There are of course a good amount who are still on, but things change. I feel like if it wasn't rebranded as XV there would be like no backlash, but I think the name change was absolutely necessary. I probably shouldn't say no backlash but lessened I guess.

Also I think this action style will bring in a ton of new fans, and players. And I don;t think it is alienating older players, I still love turn based and love the change, since it isn't really your run of the mill action game. There are some really cool mechanics in there.

But the first time I heard Somnus I fell in love with the OST, even off that one song. She has really done outstanding.
 
Falk said:
Thanks. It's definitely higher than 720 and lower than 900.

Also I'm revising my opinion that the UI layer (everything from markers and prompts to the HP bars) is definitely drawn at 1080p on a separate pass over an upscale.
Click to expand...

That was something they actually did with the 360 version of FFXIII - that is, despite the game part being 576p or whatever it was, the UI was 720.
 
Playing Final Fantasy 15 for the First Time - Gamespot

I may not have loved every second of Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae, but I walked away with a desire to keep playing. I want to get better at combat, which is unusual for the series but oh-so enticing at the same time. I want to find out why the characters in Noctis' crew are so loyal to him, and see if, at all, how their relationships evolve. For all of questions Episode Duscae raises, it's a great opportunity to experience a taste of what's to come in the full game. I don't know when we'll get chance to see Final Fantasy XV proper in all its glory, but I know that I'm more excited for it than ever before. Once everyone has a chance to sink their teeth into Episode Duscae, I bet I won't be the only one.
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Regarding the technical issues

There are times when playing Episode Duscae that I was wowed by its visuals. Gorgeous vistas with long draw distances were easy to gawk at, and combat is both exciting and beautiful, with lots of particle effects and fancy maneuvers.

However, there were also plenty of times where I was surprised and disappointed to see poor anti-aliasing and dips in the frame rate. Overall, the game's art is splendid, but perhaps too ambitious given that the PlayStation 4 was struggling to keep up. Everyone wants Final Fantasy XV to be a beautiful game, especially given it's prolonged development cycle, but I'd rather there were a few less blades of grass and a few more frames per second than the otherway around. Hopefully this is ironed out in the long run.
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I know this doesn't mean anything because we all know this game is 2016 material, but yesterday I was messing with the computer at work (fnac) and I checked some release dates. FFXV appears listed for 15/10, impossible I know, but the funny thing is that all TBA re usually listed as 31/12 so this striked me as rare. I went ahead and tried with Uncharted 4 and it showed 30/10 as the release date.

Fnac got Rayman Legends and Watchdogs releases laked way before anyone else so there's a precedent. What do you think?
 
A-One said:
I enjoyed it.

http://thekoalition.com/videos/final-fantasy-xv-panel-and-new-footage-drops-at-pax-east-2015

That's the best version I could find... The other YouTube video was very off on the audio.
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For whatever reason I'm getting malware warnings from the ads on that site

http://www.twitch.tv/squareenixpresents/v/3873671

Actual Square Enix Presents link.

Tiamant said:
I know this doesn't mean anything because we all know this game is 2016 material, but yesterday I was messing with the computer at work (fnac) and I checked some release dates. FFXV appears listed for 15/10, impossible I know, but the funny thing is that all TBA re usually listed as 31/12 so this striked me as rare. I went ahead and tried with Uncharted 4 and it showed 30/10 as the release date.

Fnac got Rayman Legends and Watchdogs releases laked way before anyone else so there's a precedent. What do you think?
Click to expand...

No. lol
 
Tiamant said:
I know this doesn't mean anything because we all know this game is 2016 material, but yesterday I was messing with the computer at work (fnac) and I checked some release dates. FFXV appears listed for 15/10, impossible I know, but the funny thing is that all TBA re usually listed as 31/12 so this striked me as rare. I went ahead and tried with Uncharted 4 and it showed 30/10 as the release date.

Fnac got Rayman Legends and Watchdogs releases laked way before anyone else so there's a precedent. What do you think?
Click to expand...

Interesting but this is Fall 2016 title imo.
 
We know we have to camp to level up but I reaaalllyyy hope that we are able to choose which stats to raise similar to the sphere grid, license board or more recently the crystarium system. How long did it take them to reveal the crystarium system in XIII since I don't think it was included in the demo correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Tiamant said:
I know this doesn't mean anything because we all know this game is 2016 material, but yesterday I was messing with the computer at work (fnac) and I checked some release dates. FFXV appears listed for 15/10, impossible I know, but the funny thing is that all TBA re usually listed as 31/12 so this striked me as rare. I went ahead and tried with Uncharted 4 and it showed 30/10 as the release date.

Fnac got Rayman Legends and Watchdogs releases laked way before anyone else so there's a precedent. What do you think?
Click to expand...
I think that the computer might be bugged.
 
royox said:
Well...if a saga based on turn combats stops having turn combats why keep calling the games Final Fantasy? Create a new IP with the same FF feeling but a diferent gameplay and you have it. They did a Final Fantasy withouth calling it Final Fantasy (Bravely Default)...and now they are making a no-final fantasy calling it Final Fantasy.

Imagine the next WiiU Zelda game is not an action game with dungeons an suddently it becomes a Turn based RPG withouth dungeons. Tell the zelda fans " i think the days of action based combat and dungeons are long gone at least when it comes to this franchise and some people have a hard time coming to grasp with that."

You can't change a core mechanic of a 25 years old saga and say "deal with it" to the people that likes a saga because it has that gameplay.
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Excuse me... what? who are you or any bitchy fan to decide what's what?
I'd be totally dissapointed if Bravely Default, a low budget game for a portable console with half of the game being totally unbearable was what Final Fantasy is supposed to be.

The series has had drastical changes since Final Fantasy IV came out and will always have them, if you were more of a traditional guy you'd just play Dragon Quest
 
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