Edge previews 40 hours of Final Fantasy XV

They have played through to the end. At 40 hours, they've doubtless missed quite a bit of side content (probably earlier on in the game, given what we're reading here) considering that usgamer's Jeremy Parish spent 15 or so hours moving up to the beginning of Chapter 3. But yeah, they've played to the end.

Yes, this is also a fair point. They have doubtless missed a ton of side content. You could even say that it's possible this writer has missed some important things that flesh out the mechanics that have been criticized. It is important to wait for more finalized comments about these things before jumping to conclusions.
 
Very reasonable points. I think folks on Gaf want to be ahead of the curve and are simultaneously very sensitive to in-group out-group dynamics that form around particular games. People want to have the majority opinion, and they want to have it now (obviously this isn't everyone).

This can lead to a lot of disruptive tension in the lead up to anticipated and potentially divisive games like XV.

Yeah, definitely. You pretty much summed up what I was trying to convey, here, except in a more direct and streamlined fashion. The history here speaks for itself, heh. It's a fun ride, and again, this community is second to none with its in-depth analyses whenever folks calm down a bit and go all-in.

I'm certainly excited for XV, but this is the first big impression of the later chapters, and it doesn't sound super positive. It's not totally negative either, but mixed, with highs and lows. Just because the author isn't the best writer (or at least didn't bring their A game to this preview (maybe there was no room in their bag once they stuffed their thesaurus in there?)) doesn't negate their general impressions.

From my perspective, regional specificity of content (e.g. chocobos) and a fair bit of linearity aren't a priori bad. I'm more concerned with how the narrative develops as the game becomes more linear, and I don't feel this preview gave us much to work on there.

Same, same. And ultimately our interpretations of the narrative development in the more linear chapters will be among the most subjective bits possible. It is my chief concern, because it is my major love for the series, and I hope that I enjoy what Tabata's team has on-offer here. If I don't, I won't deny that my experience will be soured considerably, but I'll still try to make the best of the scenario because it's been entirely too long since I've spent some time in the whimsical multi-tonal lands of Final Fantasy, heh.
 
Wait wait wait wait wait
Have I read this correctly ?

You can't visit the world in the second half of the game, unless you go back to some sort of corridor of time, which teleports you to the past ?
 
I feel like some people are putting too much weight on their opinion.

Now, I don't mean to invalidate their claims, on the contrary, from the quotes posted here I feel like they articulated their points quite well and I can totally see what they dislike about it, but for example, when they say that the alt outfits are useless because they're all worse than the defaults, you can extract the fact and the opinion here. The fact is, there are more alt costumes, and that's great. The opinion is that they all suck anyway. But we've seen one alt costume (with a variation) for every character, and personally I already like a couple of them more than the defaults, so I'm not too worried about that. How can you be concerned about the quality of alt costumes because one person didn't like them more than the original?

Unless he's talking about stats, which is something I care much less about, but I can totally see why others would disagree.
The fact that alt costumes being weaker than the main costume has a good logical reason, though. The default costumes are official battle fatigues, while the alts seem to be more casual wear. It makes total sense.

Also, lest we not forget that Bloodborne had a ton of alternate costumes that were equal, or worse than the main hunter garb. The reason being, they were more for fashion, as well as their negative stat protection. It could be a similar situation here. Perhaps one outfit is better against fire, while another is better against ice. You just can't say for sure without going in-depth.
 
That you can literally travel back in time? Guess I need to avoid every single thread on this game, they're revealing too much before release honestly if that's the case.

Yeah, that was something I didn't want to know.

People here read every little detail about a game and get surprised when some of us consider a huge plot detail a big spoiler.
 
Pretty certain Edge hasn't played the full game.

I am actually curious as to which build they played on as well. I had the fortune to play No Man's Sky for a couple of days without the Day 1 patch. The differences between getting it pre-patch and post-patch were very noticeable and changed the game play. Was it a un-patched copy? or retail copy?
 
Just play Kiseki, Souls or Persona if you want the best and most important JRPGs right now. FFXV is irrelevant.

Yikes, I personally disagree. I am taking my inaugural trip through Kiseki this year and I am loving it, but I'm still not sold on Persona. I don't think this amounts to XV's irrelevance. I realized by the end of Trails in the Sky: First Chapter that FFXV is unlikely to hit such incredible depth of script, but there's something to be said for a smaller-scale flashy presentation which is so utterly flashy that it can feel larger. I think there's room in my heart for Estelle and Noctis both, potentially.

Yes, this is also a fair point. They have doubtless missed a ton of side content. You could even say that it's possible this writer has missed some important things that flesh out the mechanics that have been criticized. It is important to wait for more finalized comments about these things before jumping to conclusions.

Mhm, and I won't be surprised if their final review is in many ways a rehash of this article but makes certain mention of a few corrections "upon further reflection" in which the latter portions of the game do allow for some semblance of continuation "if you know where to look." 40 hours spent with the game, relative to Parish's 15 hours with 2.5 chapters, really speaks volumes to how much this fellow might have missed. It doesn't negate the fact that his impressions will likely be repeated here by players who spend twice as much time in Eos, but still, yeah.
 
i don't really get the FFXIII Comparison

calling the latter half of XIII openworld is actually an insult to that term

the game forces you to run hours & hours trough corridors without any variety and then comes that big green area which offers basically nothing ! A punch in your face, when you thought finally it will open up

In FF15 atleast i know that the open areas in the first half offers cities, dungeons, quests, minigames, an airship, chocobo races and some secret missions

if both parts of the game are decent enough, i don't care.

also iirc i heard it many times from other previewers, that this game will appeal to new and old fans.
 
I wish they would make more games like FFVI-IX with more and deeper story and less stupid and mindless action. And after reading the word 'stealth', I will not buy this game for sure.
 
I am actually curious as to which build they played on as well. I had the fortune to play No Man's Sky for a couple of days without the Day 1 patch. The differences between getting it pre-patch and post-patch were very noticeable and changed the game play. Was it a un-patched copy? or retail copy without the day 0 patch?

..Assuming there is a Day 0 patch.

There will be a Day 1 patch not as extensive as it would have been on Sept 30th, Tabata said it will help with the camera.
 
I am actually curious as to which build they played on as well. I had the fortune to play No Man's Sky for a couple of days without the Day 1 patch. The differences between getting it pre-patch and post-patch were very noticeable and changed the game play. Was it a un-patched copy? or retail copy without the day 0 patch?

..Assuming there is a Day 0 patch.

They delayed the game because the day 1 patch ''would be too big'' it should be on disc with I assume a tiny one as well.

Still no news on what the PS4 Pro enhancement gonna be besides there's gonna be a patch for it ?
 
Hmmmm...

Seems my purchase of a PS4 will take a while because FFXV has been getting these shaky previews.

Please be good FFXV. Please be good.
 
I wish they would make more games like FFVI-IX with more and deeper story and less stupid and mindless action. And after reading the word 'stealth', I will not buy this game for sure.
This thread is going places. Come on guys let's just try the game for ourselves.
 
i don't really get the FFXIII Comparison

calling the latter half of XIII openworld is actually an insult to that term

the game forces you to run hours & hours trough corridors without any variety and then comes that big green area which offers basically nothing ! A punch in your face, when you thought finally it will open up

In FF15 atleast i know that the open areas in the first half offers cities, dungeons, quests, minigames, an airship, chocobo races and some secret missions

if both parts of the game are decent enough, i don't care.

also iirc i heard it many times from other previewers, that this game will appeal to new and old fans.

Yes, a big field with monsters walking around and no active towns in the entire game. Yes, comparing FF XV to XIII in that regard seems a bit silly.
 
The linear segment doesn't sound like a "second half", plus wasn't this already reiterated by Tabata?

More like "end game". Like I'm not expecting the linear segment to be as lengthy as the open world.

Also I like tone shifts so the end game sounds interesting to me. Especially the horror comments. As long as it's not poorly designed I'll probably like it. The stealth doesn't bother me as this is an RPG...you have the option to fight head on. Not to mention, we saw stealth in that military base video a while ago, so it's not coming out of nowhere.

Plus if the conclusion is strong then great. I'll judge the rest of the story myself...you know just because one person said the story's not that strong doesn't mean everyone will share that same opinion.

Chill.
 
This entire year of FFXV news has been a complete disaster. Everything about it sounds really bad, Platinum Demo was the deal breaker to me. Glad I cancelled the LE preorder

"Season Pass no included".

Just play Kiseki, Souls or Persona if you want the best and most important JRPGs right now. FFXV is irrelevant.

I don't even totally disagree, I doubt FFXV will come near Souls or Persona as far as my favorite games go, but I don't think it's that black and white (and I'm usually a very love-or-hate guy). A game can be my GOTY and still not even close to being as good as Persona 4 or Bloodborne. It's just the way things are.

2016 will definitely be one of these years, at least as it stands right now, maybe The Last Guardian will blow me away, but yeah, even with a Souls game this year, I don't think my GOTY will come anywhere near Bloodborne.
 
Final Fantasy XII had a similarly troubled development cycle, and ended up one of, if not the, best games in the entire series.

I don't know, XII has a bad case of single player MMO. I enjoy it, but there is a ton of garbage in that game.

Thinking about it some more I have a feeling these stealth section will be pure ass. Like, why have it?
 
Welp, FFXV Twitter account says they haven't given Edge the full game, I don't know who to believe, lol.
R2Rr7
 
How much i don't care about a linear gameplay. my biggest fear is how what i'm doing in the open world portion have little to no impact on the linear portion. What would be nice it's go back in time, and it's unlock gradual side quest or side content, that would make back and forward more fun.

But I'll wait more preview or review before put my judgement...
 
XII is a strong world with flashes of narrative brilliance restricted and often marginalized by layer after layer of padding which accentuates a cast chemistry far less engaging than the high quality of its writing should approve. It is the best-spoken and the most mature-feeling of the Final Fantasies but it is held back considerably by its frequent tendency to forget the story it is telling. Just my two cents on that front. I like that game a lot but it kind of breaks my heart sometimes.

Welp, FFXV Twitter account says they haven't given Edge the full game, I don't know who to believe, lol.

Interesting.

I am not going to doubt that Edge's previewer played the full of the main story, though; it just seems like such a potentially catastrophic backfire if they get found out as such. The plot thickens, as it were.
 
I don't know, XII has a bad case of single player MMO. I enjoy it, but there is a ton of garbage in that game.

Thinking about it some more I have a feeling these stealth section will be pure ass. Like, why have it?

I dunno, because it's a very basic thing for a game with a cover system to have? This is the first real time seamless action FF, and it makes sense to have these segments.

I don't know why people are focusing so much on this, especially when there's nothing here that suggests it's been done poorly. In fact, the short synopsis of that segment sounds really cool.
 
So, a part of the late game content changes mood and adds not only horror elements but stealth elements? How is this a problem? Square has injected these sorts of things in their RPGS since the SNES days. It doesn't seem like the entirety of the late game will be made up of this, just a section, which isn't too bad. Late game linearity is more of an issue, though a lot of JRPGs tend to go "event cluster" where you are whisked from event to event only to take the reins sometime after all those have been completed.

Did this person writing the article actually FINISH the game? I'm confused too, because going in depth regarding late game content tends to be reserved for reviews, not previews.
 
Sounds like MGS4 which is one of my all time favorite games. First half is the standard gameplay, second half totally different with constant new mechanics and set pieces. I love variety so hopefully it surprises with some good stuff.
 
Welp, FFXV Twitter account says they haven't given Edge the full game, I don't know who to believe, lol.
R2Rr7

Who you'll believe : professionnal press, with more than 30 years of experience, or some random PR on a social media account ?
 
I guess I'm one of those rare breeds that don't mind stealth sections on non-stealth games. It can be a nice change of pace and add to the atmosphere of the place if well done. Like, the first Viper Manor visit in Chrono Cross is a stealth segment and it's one of my favorite sections of the game, really cool and atmospheric. A few of them are annoying and add nothing to the game (Majora's Mask comes to mind) but they're usually not as bad as people say.
 
I think what happened here is that Edge's writer traveled back in time from a few weeks ahead of the rest of us in order to continue some side quests in the open world part of reality. Along the way, he forgot his past self hadn't yet beaten the game, so he submitted this early.
 
I guess I'm one of those rare breeds that don't mind stealth sections on non-stealth games. It can be a nice change of pace and add to the atmosphere of the place if well done. Like, the first Viper Manor visit in Chrono Cross is a stealth segment and it's one of my favorite sections of the game, really cool and atmospheric. A few of them are annoying and add nothing to the game (Majora's Mask comes to mind) but they're usually not as bad as people say.

Yeah, it's really nothing new as far as JRPGs go either.

It's not like you'll be knocking on closets to draw enemies near it. There's no system like that. From what we know it's cover to stay out of an enemies FOV, and that's fine.
 
I absolutely loathe horror games, for some reason they give me so much trouble. Movies or anything else no problem but I get really nervous while playing games. I was frightened in the submarine section in Uncharted 1. I'll plow throught but I really hate this, personally.
 
Did this person writing the article actually FINISH the game? I'm confused too, because going in depth regarding late game content tends to be reserved for reviews, not previews.

The hell is going on? Lol

Who you'll believe : professionnal press, with more than 30 years of experience, or some random PR on a social media account ?
It doesn't matter if they have played the whole game, they're critiquing what they played. But regardless, many people hadn't even read the full article and they act like one stealth segment is the entire end game.
 
!!! Second half spoilers !!!

(...) Here, Noctis, working alone, must duck into doorways in order to hide from the stalking, haunted guards. The stealth is delivered in a horror style, complete with jump scares, a disembodied, Joker-like voiceover, and Resident Evil-style key-card puzzles.

This sounds fucking incredible :o

Holy shit I'm HYPED!
 
Even more worried after seeing Edge's review scores for previous FF games, their opinions are mostly right and correspond with mine. ( :P )
 
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