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[PowderedToast]

this game is so weird and memorable.

i kind of wish i didn't know anything about versus though.

generally, i liked how the story centred around noctis' POV. when it worked, it made the world feel so mysterious and huge, and it's always fun when you learn information alongside the characters. driving around an americana style world and stopping off at diners really drove home the feeling of local, small scale realism, and when it eventually combines with epic high fantasy you really feel the power of that contrast. where it failed was in contextualising and building up important relationships. but generally i feel like it was a successful solution to having to compress and cut parts of the story.

i'm a huge fan of chapter 13. i'm finally in nifelheim, but i'm trapped in this gigantic labyrinth and the city is completely abandoned...ardyn is taunting me through a microphone, all my bros are missing, and i have a single ring to survive. i really got the sense of being thrust into a vast faraway world, full of history, but all of which happened without my involvement or knowledge. and then arriving at the empty throne room, recognising it from the earlier cutscene, and trying to piece together wtf was going on. and then finally, the satisfaction at reaching the elevator to the crystal. just so awesome.

if that style doesn't work for you, i can understand the huge disappointment around the empire getting no screen time. but regardless of the motivation for why they told the story that way, i found it really effective.

 

[TheTux]

this game is so weird and memorable.

i kind of wish i didn't know anything about versus though.

generally, i liked how the story centred around noctis' POV. when it worked, it made the world feel so mysterious and huge, and it's always fun when you learn information alongside the characters. where it generally failed was in contextualising and building up important relationships. but generally i feel like it was a successful solution to having to compress and cut parts of the story.

i'm a huge fan of chapter 13. i'm finally in nifelheim, but i'm trapped in this gigantic labyrinth and the city is completely abandoned...ardyn is taunting me through a microphone, all my bros are missing, and i have a single ring to survive. i really got the sense of being thrust into a vast faraway world, full of history, but all of which happened without my involvement or knowledge. and then arriving at the empty throne room, recognising it from the earlier cutscene, and trying to piece together wtf was going on. and then finally, the satisfaction at reaching the elevator to the crystal. just so awesome.

if that style doesn't work for you, i can understand the huge disappointment around the empire getting no screen time. but regardless of the motivation for why they told the story that way, i found it really effective.

This applies to me too

And I knew Versus XIII was scrapped and XV was a completely different game...

 

[ebil]

Beat the Adamantoise earlier. Took 2 in-game days to beat it lol

The way I fought it was pretty boring (

Spoiler

9999 warpstrike over and over

), but I didn't have much of a choice considering my party members didn't know how to attack it. Everytime I ordered a Technique it would miss the giant fucking mountain lol
I still feel like there was something I was missing in the fight but whatever, I got it done.

Also the audio cut out like halfway through the battle.

Nah, it's just a terrible fight. There's a neat, really badass parry command in it but it's overall half-baked. I had major sound issues as well for whatever reason.

 

[Solid Sora]

Nah, it's just a terrible fight. There's a neat, really badass parry command in it but it's overall half-baked. I had major sound issues as well for whatever reason.

Is there any gif/video available for that parry animation?

Also, do Ifrit and Ravus have there own unique parry animations? I couldn't trigger any.

 

[Kagari]

Here is my vague ranking:

IV-XII + XIV:ARR >>> XV >>> Everything else.

I regard this series pretty highly though, so XV is still pretty good. I think a non-rushed version of this game could have easily been one of the best Final Fantasies.

The original concepts always seemed like a contender to top FF7 for me. But the game we got? It's essentially middle of the road, ranking behind 20 years of the series.

 

[ULTROS!]

The original concepts always seemed like a contender to top FF7 for me. But the game we got? It's essentially middle of the road, ranking behind 20 years of the series.

Do you hate it more than XIII?

I hope you don't hate Tabata more than Toriyama now.

 

[TheTux]

Also another important question:

Spoiler

Why the hell is Prompto the Emperor's son? WTF? I didn't understand anything ingame but I read it on GAF and on the strategy guide... wtf? Is it explained? Is there a reason? Or is it just another major plot-hole?

Ofc correct me if I'm mistaken, please.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

This applies to me too

And I knew Versus XIII was scrapped and XV was a completely different game...

I feel for you man. Honestly this is like the biggest burn upon finishing the game.

Since everyone is posting their favorite FF rankings. Here is mine.

FFVII > FFX > FFIX > FFXV > FFIV in that order for me.

Also another important question:

Spoiler

Why the hell is Prompto the Emperor's son? WTF? I didn't understand anything ingame but I read it on GAF and on the strategy guide... wtf? Is it explained? Is there a reason? Or is it just another major plot-hole?

Ofc correct me if I'm mistaken, please.

DLC-bait. Verstael was a scientist for Niflheim and Prompto was supposedly his son. He is a genetically modified human being. Maybe the real Promto died and the dude used something to clone the fake Prompto.

 

[Kagari]

Do you hate it more than XIII?

It does some things better than XIII and some things worse than XIII. XIII at least had actual narrative direction and a more complete story. I just didn't like the contents of it.

So it's a wash, really.

 

[TheTux]

DLC-bait. Verstael was a scientist for Niflheim and Prompto was supposedly his son. He is a genetically modified human being. Maybe the real Promto died and the dude used something to clone the fake Prompto.

Thanks... makes more sense now.

Another huge opportunity wasted

 

[ULTROS!]

I'll adjust mine a bit, since I'm near the plat anyway:

FFX > FFVII >= FFIX > FFIV >= FFVI >= FFXV > FFXIII >= FFVIII > FFXII > FFV > FFIII > FFI > FFII

Why IV and VI and XV are on par? Well that's a good question. I played IV and VI after playing FFVII-FFX. So the 2D nostalgia didn't work for me as much, but for some reason I'm inclined more towards IV. XV had glaring problems but I loved the cast and world. Moreso than FFX.

It does some things better than XIII and some things worse than XIII. XIII at least had actual narrative direction and a more complete story. I just didn't like the contents of it.

So it's a wash, really.

I hope this isn't the worst FF for you though

Spoiler

coz that title belongs to II

 

[minameissteve]

Also another important question:

Spoiler

Why the hell is Prompto the Emperor's son? WTF? I didn't understand anything ingame but I read it on GAF and on the strategy guide... wtf? Is it explained? Is there a reason? Or is it just another major plot-hole?

Ofc correct me if I'm mistaken, please.

That's new to me. How would that make any sense? Isn't Prompto's whole character about how he's just some normal pleb? How would that fit into how he was portrayed in Brotherhood?

That extremely vague explanation in Chapter 13 came out of nowhere.

 

[TheTux]

That's new to me. How would that make any sense? Isn't Prompto's whole character about how he's just some normal pleb? How would that fit into how he was portrayed in Brotherhood?

That extremely vague explanation in Chapter 13 came out of nowhere.

Little of this game makes sense to me.

Also why

Spoiler

is that Angelgard Island special? I understand that Noctis was gathering the power from the crystal but did he just live there for 10 years alone? WTF?

 

[Chase17]

I definitely hear the Skyrim theme in that Leviathen song now that I saw it pointed out haha

 

[minameissteve]

Little of this game makes sense to me.

Also why

Spoiler

is that Angelgard Island special? I understand that Noctis was gathering the power from the crystal but did he just live there for 10 years alone? WTF?

I have a feeling that's a remnant of Nomura's original story. What Noctis went through reminds me a lot of what Sora goes through in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.

 

[The Last One]

Now I get it why the game has a timeskip of 10 year. That would be the time Nomura would take to release the other 2 games after the first one if it was still Versus XIII. Truly immersive.

 

[Kagari]

I'll adjust mine a bit, since I'm near the plat anyway:

FFX > FFVII >= FFIX > FFIV >= FFVI >= FFXV > FFXIII >= FFVIII > FFXII > FFV > FFIII > FFI > FFII

Why IV and VI and XV are on par? Well that's a good question. I played IV and VI after playing FFVII-FFX. So the 2D nostalgia didn't work for me as much, but for some reason I'm inclined more towards IV. XV had glaring problems but I loved the cast and world. Moreso than FFX.



I hope this isn't the worst FF for you though

Spoiler

coz that title belongs to II

It's not the worst because of gameplay and some other things but it certainly has the worst execution of story/wasted potential of the story in the series.

 

[PowderedToast]

do we know what noctis actually did in the crystal? sleep? think? train ala DBZ?

 

[Solid Sora]

for me it's something like:

VII = VI > IX > XV > X = IV > XII > V > I > XIII > VIII > II.

Never played III nor made a decent progress in the MMOs.

 

[ULTROS!]

It's not the worst because of gameplay and some other things but it certainly has the worst execution of story/wasted potential of the story in the series.

Sadly the execution was bad, especially for those who have been following the Versus concepts for a decade. It's a big waste of potential if you're really into it. :/

If I wasn't following Versus as much, I'd think the story is still "lacking" but as understandable as it can be.

I guess a protip for all FF fans: don't follow a newly announced FF game too heavily or else you'll be disappointed.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

do we know what noctis actually did in the crystal? sleep? think? train ala DBZ?

Sleeps for 10 years to gather power in his royal ring of magic.

 

[Golnei]

DLC-bait. Verstael was a scientist for Niflheim and Prompto was supposedly his son. He is a genetically modified human being. Maybe the real Promto died and the dude used something to clone the fake Prompto.

That's believable, but going by the series precedent, mad scientists experimenting on their actual children isn't exactly unheard of, Lucrecia even physically carried her freakish mutant fetus herself. 'Genetically-modified lab experiment' might not be incompatible with being Verstael's 'ordinary' son, at least to begin with.

Because it's expanded on so little and Verstael might as well not be a character, I'm not sure which would be the most dramatically satisfying option. Maybe Prompto's DLC will go the Orphan Black route and star five separate Promptos with different haircuts and accents trying to uncover their true origins.

 

[The Last One]

My ranking would be:

X > IX = VII > XV > VIII (YES, VIII) > XII > VI > V > IV > III > XIII > I > II.

Not counting the MMOs. (Never played XI for more than 15 minutes anyway).

 

[TheTux]

It's not the worst because of gameplay and some other things but it certainly has the worst execution of story/wasted potential of the story in the series.

Sadly, I agree with every single word. Looking back at the old trailers I find myself disappointed... we don't even have to go back to the old Versus XIII days since the Dawn trailer was a fake and the E3 2013 trailer was completely scrapped (except a few scenes being made a movie).

Also how is

Spoiler

Nyx involved with FFXV? Is he one of the bodies of the final boss?

 

[hamchan]

I only watched the trailers, which were just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo out of context, and didn't really follow the game's development from there.

I think it's pretty evident just by playing the game that there were a bunch of good ideas for the story that were wasted. I certainly noticed it quite clearly.

 

[Kagari]

Sadly the execution was bad, especially for those who have been following the Versus concepts for a decade. It's a big waste of potential if you're really into it. :/

If I wasn't following Versus as much, I'd think the story is still "lacking" but as understandable as it can be.

I guess a protip for all FF fans: don't follow a newly announced FF game too heavily or else you'll be disappointed.

Tabata really needs to learn about balanced game design. YoshiP had it right when he said this to me in an interview:

We’re going to start off with the basic development concepts behind Final Fantasy XIV 2.0 and the three pillars which is like a tripod. Each of these three pillars support our game and we’ll be touching on that.
The first pillar would be a high level of gameplay, the second supporting pillar is going to be a Final Fantasy-feeling storyline – a high quality, deep story that will work alongside the high level of gameplay. The third pillar will be the high quality graphics that will support the high quality storyline, which will all be supported by the great gameplay. With these three we’ll finally have what we’re aiming for in Final Fantasy XIV 2.0.

Just with those three, the game is still not complete. When you have your tripod you need something that sits on top of it and this being an MMORPG, what’s going to be sitting on top of it is the player community. Once you have the three pillars – the gameplay, storyline, the graphics and the community on top of it then you can say that that is finally Final Fantasy XIV 2.0.

A good metaphor here is that currently in the version we have now the graphics pillar is pretty good. It’s high quality, probably the best still in the world, but the other two are not long enough so you have a very unbalanced tripod and because those two are unbalanced, the community on top remains unbalanced. It’s going to be our priority to make all three legs strong so we can have a strong community supported by it.

You might say “The graphics were fine, so why not leave that as is?” As you know, only high end PCs could experience that so by going in and revamping the graphics we’re keeping that pillar strong but we’re allowing more players to experience it.

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

It does some things better than XIII and some things worse than XIII. XIII at least had actual narrative direction and a more complete story. I just didn't like the contents of it.

So it's a wash, really.

Think you nailed my opinion of it. To be melodramatic FFXIII made me sad since I couldn't explore that beautiful world. FFXV makes me sad because this beautiful world has no background. Somewhere between the two lies the game I want.

 

[minameissteve]

Tabata just wasn't the best person to replace Nomura. You have to give him credit; none of what he did could've been easy, but he still got a functional and overall good game released. It just came at the expense of a lot of other things, and I wouldn't doubt that Tabata made a lot of his own personal sacrifices.

 

[ULTROS!]

Tabata really needs to learn about balanced game design. YoshiP had it right when he said this to me in an interview:

Maybe YoshiP should direct FFXVI now. If ARR:FFXIV is that good, then the next mainline game should definitely be from that team.

If I compare Tabata to Toriyama, Tabata's major issue is the direction of the storylines in almost all his games (3rd Birthday, Crisis Core, Type-0, FFXV). The game either was told badly (3rd Birthday) or a lot of it had missing pieces (Type-0, XV, Crisis Core I think - though I remember having a lot of empty parts within the game). Sadly his endings are pretty bleak and impactful, it's just that going to the ending isn't... So nice. Toriyama on the other hand is full of fanservice (let's not forget who was in charge of the Honeybee Inn) and incredibly confusing storylines that are still complete... But we have to give him credit for good cutscene directions.

Tabata just wasn't the best person to replace Nomura. You have to give him credit; none of what he did could've been easy, but he still got a functional and overall good game released. It just came at the expense of a lot of other things, and I wouldn't doubt that Tabata made a lot of his own personal sacrifices.

Nomura and uppers are probably to be blamed for the storyline mess. It looks like Versus/XV was too ambitious for a trilogy that Tabata had to condense the 3 plots into one and revise several stuff.

 

[TheTux]

Tabata really needs to learn about balanced game design. YoshiP had it right when he said this to me in an interview:

Pretty much, I feel like this game is too much focused on gameplay .

As someone joked before the game's release: VERSUS XIII

 

[Chase17]

There's something that really bugs me about Noctis and co's relation to the world/kingdom.

 

[hamchan]

I'll support YoshiP if he wants to do a XVI. The man is responsible for the best FF game in the past decade. Though I bet they'll want him to be on XIV for the rest of his life.

 

[ULTROS!]

I'll support YoshiP if he wants to do a XVI. The man is responsible for the best FF game in the past decade. Though I bet they'll want him to be on XIV for the rest of his life.

They can put back Toriyama if they want.

But just don't make him write the story.

 

[The Last One]

The

Spoiler

cutscene in the middle of the credits with the whole group crying at the camp fucking destroyed me

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Well, I just finished it.
There are so many things wrong with this game. But at the end of the day, I loved it. Any game that can make me tear up so many times during the credits deserves some respect.

Regarding the ending, what is the general consensus around here? Is it a dream? It certainly looks like it but I wouldn't mind a happy ending for Noctis. He might be my new favorite FF protagonist and his post time skip look was badass.

I wouldn't mind a FFXV-2.

 

[The Last One]

Well, I just finished it.
There are so many things wrong with this game. But at the end of the day, I loved it. Any game that can make me tear up so many times during the credits deserves some respect.

Regarding the ending, what is the general consensus around here? Is it a dream? It certainly looks like it but I wouldn't mind a happy ending for Noctis. He might be my new favorite FF protagonist and his post time skip look was badass.

I wouldn't mind a FFXV-2.

It can't be real because he's still young in this scene you're speaking of.

 

[Kagari]

Well, I just finished it.
There are so many things wrong with this game. But at the end of the day, I loved it. Any game that can make me tear up so many times during the credits deserves some respect.

Regarding the ending, what is the general consensus around here? Is it a dream? It certainly looks like it but I wouldn't mind a happy ending for Noctis. He might be my new favorite FF protagonist and his post time skip look was badass.

I wouldn't mind a FFXV-2.

They're dead. And no, they chopped up the original script to avoid sequels.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

The

Spoiler

cutscene in the middle of the credits with the whole group crying at the camp fucking destroyed me

It was simple yet beautifully executed. The game needed more scenes like that to establish side characters.

 

[jimmypython]

XV feels like packing all PS1 games side content as a game, with some occasional main story because it has to have some sort of a story.

So it feels like a giant tech demo with some proof of concept content lol

The upside is, it plays like a FF game......

The original concepts always seemed like a contender to top FF7 for me. But the game we got? It's essentially middle of the road, ranking behind 20 years of the series.

yeah! I would put XV = XIII or maybe slightly above - it's just me.

 

[The Last One]

Speaking of both of them dying. I guess this is really like Romeo and Juliet. Guess Stella would also die in the Versus XIII.

 

[ebil]

It's not the worst because of gameplay and some other things but it certainly has the worst execution of story/wasted potential of the story in the series.

It hurts all the more because there are still glimpses in it of how good it could have been.

I can get past a bad story if the game has engaging gameplay though, and the side content has been very satisfying for the most part. It scratches that classic FF itch for me and it's more than I was expecting already.

Maybe YoshiP should direct FFXVI now. If ARR:FFXIV is that good, then the next mainline game should definitely be from that team.

I'll support YoshiP if he wants to do a XVI. The man is responsible for the best FF game in the past decade. Though I bet they'll want him to be on XIV for the rest of his life.

Don't even dare suggesting to take Yoshi-P away from my FF14. Find yourself another director!

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

They're super dead and no sequel? Well, I'm even sadder now!
I don't expect much from the DLC but hopefully it'll be good. Any additional time with the bros will be welcome.

 

[Mifec]

Speaking of both of them dying. I guess this is really like Romeo and Juliet. Guess Stella would also die in the Versus XIII.

They would have killed each other OuO

 

[The Last One]

It was simple yet beautifully executed. The game needed more scenes like that to establish side characters.

YES! That would have been good. It's a shame they didn't.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

They would have killed each other OuO

I would pay real money to see this version of fight.

P.S I am a straight guy but good lord, the post time-skip Noctis was beautiful. I really wanted another game with him as main character. Such a great character design that barely stays in the game. The CG render doesn't look better than the actual real-time version TBH.

Hopefully they patch it so we can play him in post-game or something =/

 

[JTripper]

Secret dungeon took me 4 hours. My hands were sweaty and I was losing my voice in frustration, but that was one of the most memorable things I've played this year.

 

[The Last One]

They would have killed each other OuO

That would be awesome.

 

[jimmypython]

Maybe YoshiP should direct FFXVI now. If ARR:FFXIV is that good, then the next mainline game should definitely be from that team.

If I compare Tabata to Toriyama, Tabata's major issue is the direction of the storylines in almost all his games (3rd Birthday, Crisis Core, Type-0, FFXV). The game either was told badly (3rd Birthday) or a lot of it had missing pieces (Type-0, XV, Crisis Core I think - though I remember having a lot of empty parts within the game). Sadly his endings are pretty bleak and impactful, it's just that going to the ending isn't... So nice. Toriyama on the other hand is full of fanservice (let's not forget who was in charge of the Honeybee Inn) and incredibly confusing storylines that are still complete... But we have to give him credit for good cutscene directions..

His story telling routine fits perfectly for a smart phone game, not surprising as his best game was BCFF7. Maybe he should consider going back to this root and taking advantage of SE's giant mobile game division.

annnnnd please let Ito make FFXVI. the man directed FF6 (Co-), FF9 and FF12 for f* sake

 

[Meowster]

VIII > IX > X > VI > VII > XV > XII > IV > XIII > I > III > II

So perfectly in the middle. Just about what I would have expected by the end of things. There's so much potential that just got wasted. The storyline is a huge mess until the last chapter or so, side characters get tossed around for one scene, and then you have strange scenes where nobodies like Jarred get more grieving time than King Regis. Women are the biggest victims of this unless you are Aranea. Just thrown in for their one scene and then don't have much to do after that. But the four bros are so strong and Tabata really succeeded in making it feel like an intimate journey between some friends. The fighting system will probably end up one of my all time favorites in the series.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

The story feels in-cohesive, parts of it are just scrapped/ never explained or behind behind an awful "transmedia" wall, that godawful chapter 13...

I just need a bit f time to absorb. Feels like such a disappointment

Up till Altessia trip the game was really growing on me, despite some archaic mechanics, but its all downhill from here.