I've really been enjoying this (hard lock default and try to never touch right stick pretty much fixes camera). The characterization is weak, but liking everything else. Finally got good enough to reliably beat king behemoth in the besnal cave treasure room with about half of my crew (all around level 35) which has nicely padded my arsenal. They did a great job balancing out all the play styles.
As expected, the game wasn't all that. Isn't that always the way with Japan exclusive games? People always hype them up like they're the second coming of christ, but then when they eventually get localised people realise they're not that great.
Anyway, I just beat the game. The story really fell apart at the start of chapter 8, but I'm glad to say that I was actually attached enough to Class Zero (read: everyone but Machina and Rem) that it still hold my interest. Not to mention that the final dungeon was actually pretty good. The final boss is probably one of the worst in Square history though.
This game had so much potential, but it's all so wasted.
The game was very mediocre. I'm sort of kicking myself in the behind for being excited for this game after all these years.
The story hardly made any sense unless you go into the 2nd playthrough to get all the additional cutscenes.
But basically the entire story was:
War happened. Suddenly out of nowhere darkness/evil happened. We need to become i'ce. No we don't need to become i'ce. Rem and Machina dead. They not dead. We dying from boss. We brought back to life by people we thought dead. We beat boss. We all die. DE END.
Machina had no redemption and he wasn't a likable character in anyway. Everyone was pretty boring and I felt like I really never got to know Class Zero until the very end in the daydream of them in class hanging out with each other before class, and at the final scene. Then there's that bonus what if scenario that really brought out that cliche school setting that felt like gave the characters more justice then the entire game combined.
Overall the cutscenes were all done horribly, terrible directing on that part. Camera angles just everything. BLAH. It wasn't until the very end of the game when they started to become decent/good.
The exp grind in this game is too great, if it wasn't for the exploit I seriously wouldn't have bothered finishing this game. (Or.. Would had waited until the Summer to pick it back up.) The game needed some serious balance issues overall, Gameplay was pretty much spam dodge, charge attacks, or use the most OP move you have to kill anything. OH! Your 2 levels underleveled? Well sucks everything is too OP for you.
I do want another game though, mostly because I want to see this game done right. There core mechanics could had been great it just wasn't executed well, and they didn't even bothered fixing any of the problems for the PS4/XB1 release.
Holy Shit! Are you me? Completely agree with your points. I am only at chap 5-6, but I'll add the following to your list:
- The game's mission-rest-mission-rest structure sucks. It becomes repetitive going through all the areas of Akademia every single time. And that teleport restriction adds to the annoyance.
- The missions all feel the same (some even repeat an old area).
- The game should pause when you read SOs.
- The game should pause when you fill dead spots in your party.
Honestly, it feels like the devs didn't really give a crap while making this game. When devs just throw in fetch quests, repeat areas etc., I just don't feel like doing any extra work in the game. If the devs don't care, why should I?
EDIT - Now why did you delete those points? They were really good.
Is it impossible to get a good rank on the first mission, I keep replaying it just for SPP (surprised you can earn 500 in 5 minutes), but my phantoma harvested keeps giving me a D rank :/
Think you need about 50 or so. You need to go to the areas where there's a commander and not kill him but kill all the other soldiers first, they'll keep respawning for a bit. I got S on all 3 difficulties which was fine, it was just the time that made it a pain so I made sure I did it with Ace.
Holy Shit! Are you me? Completely agree with your points. I am only at chap 5-6, but I'll add the following to your list:
Honestly, it feels like the devs didn't really give a crap while making this game. When devs just throw in fetch quests, repeat areas etc., I just don't feel like doing any extra work in the game. If the devs don't care, why should I?
Game was orginally a PSP game and they didn't alter it in any major way aside from some half-assed graphical updates. I remember Tabata saying Type-0 HD was just getting started around E3 last year (only 9 months ago). Wish they spend another couple of months in going over all the levels and getting the repetitiveness/PSP-ness out as well as address the points you mention, and release the game in June/July.
Now it feels and was was a really rushed job and I'm surprised some sites even give this a 8 or 9 out of 10 purely because the combat keeps the game together, very much like FFXIII.
^ The combat was okay, but got boring since you keep fighting the same enemies in mostly the same areas in missions. And honestly, I didn't delve much in to the combat, coz I could mostly take care of everything with just the basic attack button and dodging (Cater and King FTW).
Anyway, I finished the game just now. What the hell was that last chapter? The story was progressing nicely up to chapter 7, and then it all went to shit. The only thing I was wanting from the game was a decent story, ending and to see the secret ending. And guess what, you have to play the game one more time to see the secret ending? WTF? Hell, the current story didn't even explain some stuff.
Absolute waste of time. Hopefully Tabata doesn't bother with another game. Argh! Maybe I'm just growing out of these teenage FF games.
^ The combat was okay, but got boring since you keep fighting the same enemies in mostly the same areas in missions. And honestly, I didn't delve much in to the combat, coz I could mostly take care of everything with just the basic attack button and dodging (Cater and King FTW).
Anyway, I finished the game just now. What the hell was that last chapter? The story was progressing nicely up to chapter 7, and then it all went to shit. The only thing I was wanting from the game was a decent story, ending and to see the secret ending. And guess what, you have to play the game one more time to see the secret ending? WTF? Hell, the current story didn't even explain some stuff.
Absolute waste of time. Hopefully Tabata doesn't bother with another game. Argh! Maybe I'm just growing out of these teenage FF games.
I get not delving into the combat mechanics because they're not needed to progress through the primary missions (particularly if you're just playing for the story).
But the high point of type 0 is most definitely the full depth of the combat mechanics (and the soundtrack I suppose).
I've found I most enjoy the game when going up against a really difficult enemy high above my level, and learning to read its tells and maximize damage using different strategies with different characters.
As for outgrowing Final Fantasy, I've seen it happen to many once-ardent fans over my 25+ years of interest in the series
As expected, the game wasn't all that. Isn't that always the way with Japan exclusive games? People always hype them up like they're the second coming of christ, but then when they eventually get localised people realise they're not that great.
As expected, the game wasn't all that. Isn't that always the way with Japan exclusive games? People always hype them up like they're the second coming of christ, but then when they eventually get localised people realise they're not that great.
They are a support system you can choose to use (they ask if you want them at the beginning of missions).
They're basically a single player version of the multiplayer, and they give you points to buy stuff in a specific store at the academy.
Not worth it imo as they replace your own characters and you get stuck playing as only one...
But apparently in the HD version the store where you use these points have decent weapons in them, so I guess it's your choice (and yes, you do get more weapons as the game progresses that you can buy with Gil).
As threelights say, they pretty much replace your party members, so if you're planning to grind while on missions (which isn't a good idea, imo), then it's not worth it.
However, you can buy weapon with your SP points, and from what I gather, you get unique spells as you move up the SP rank. These spells are pretty awesome though, "Hellthunder" is Thunder-SHG that inflicts a shit ton of status effects (including Freeze) to your enemies, "Boost" pretty much gives you invisibility plus a ton of other buffs. The spells are tied to a specific rank though so once you change ranks, you also change the unique spell which you can use.
Seriously. The OST is god damn awesome. As I said in the other thread, Zero is also one of the best FF vocal theme songs ever. I don't understand the hate when it was revealed.
Seriously. The OST is god damn awesome. As I said in the other thread, Zero is also one of the best FF vocal theme songs ever. I don't understand the hate when it was revealed.
Seriously. The OST is god damn awesome. As I said in the other thread, Zero is also one of the best FF vocal theme songs ever. I don't understand the hate when it was revealed.
Arg .. That blur FX is so annoying. Why are they not releasing a patch to turn that off? .. I'm playing on a 70 inch .. this is way too much for my head.
Even Trophy Screens are so blurry that we are unable to tell what the picture is.
Arg .. That blur FX is so annoying. Why are they not releasing a patch to turn that off? .. I'm playing on a 70 inch .. this is way too much for my head.
Even Trophy Screens are so blurry that we are unable to tell what the picture is.
I would recommend not touching the right stick if you don't have to. Just lock on and dodge. Made it much more tolerable for me and a few others in this thread.
Arg .. That blur FX is so annoying. Why are they not releasing a patch to turn that off? .. I'm playing on a 70 inch .. this is way too much for my head.
Even Trophy Screens are so blurry that we are unable to tell what the picture is.
I would recommend not touching the right stick if you don't have to. Just lock on and dodge. Made it much more tolerable for me and a few others in this thread.
Okay so after playing when it came out,I stopped after the tutorial and just got back into it this week...a few things I am not sure of that are bothering me...the active,reserve,which 3 people I want to play with,for the regular missions...I get that if I am running around Arkemedia,the one I set Active is the one that will go out on tasks and stuff like that..? or is it always Ace by default when I enter...?
Also to head for the real day missions...I have to leave the 3 I want to play with/level up on the left screen of the reserve screen or the assignment screen...? those that go on the right are the ones that will replace one of my 3 main guy if one dies(by hitting the D UP...?)...also when I move them around on the left screen,whats the use of doing that...?
As expected, the game wasn't all that. Isn't that always the way with Japan exclusive games? People always hype them up like they're the second coming of christ, but then when they eventually get localised people realise they're not that great.
Anyway, I just beat the game. The story really fell apart at the start of chapter 8, but I'm glad to say that I was actually attached enough to Class Zero (read: everyone but Machina and Rem) that it still hold my interest. Not to mention that the final dungeon was actually pretty good. The final boss is probably one of the worst in Square history though.
This game had so much potential, but it's all so wasted.
Who the hell did that? Reminds me of when someone claimed fans were saying Trails in the Sky was one of the best jrpgs ever(no one actually did). Type 0 had a mixed reception in Japan, these hyperbolic expectations are coming from people's asses.
After all the talk of listening to feedback and improving the camera before the release and still keeping the motion blur in, I doubt they'd take it out. It seems like a deliberate decision to have it in for some reason.
Actually quite liked this game, definitely preferable to the mainline XIII titles. Confused about the ending though,
is there any good reason why Arecia didn't/couldn't revive the Class Zero members despite basically being a god who revived them numerous times in the past from fatal injuries?
Okay so after playing when it came out,I stopped after the tutorial and just got back into it this week...a few things I am not sure of that are bothering me...the active,reserve,which 3 people I want to play with,for the regular missions...I get that if I am running around Arkemedia,the one I set Active is the one that will go out on tasks and stuff like that..? or is it always Ace by default when I enter...?
Also to head for the real day missions...I have to leave the 3 I want to play with/level up on the left screen of the reserve screen or the assignment screen...? those that go on the right are the ones that will replace one of my 3 main guy if one dies(by hitting the D UP...?)...also when I move them around on the left screen,whats the use of doing that...?
Yes, the active character is the one you're controlling around the academy. When you enter the academy after a mission or from the world map the character that appears is the last one you were using in the mission/world map. You can also change the active character from a save point.
And for the mission screen, Basically first you select everyone who will participate in the mission (both the active and the reserve members), so basically you put everyone on the right. And then the last screen before the mission starts is a screen with only three slots on the right, which is for you to choose the 3 active members on the mission.
As for changing their order on the left it's mostly just to set a preferred order for the reserve members. Let's say I level up Ace, Queen, Nine and Eight. If my team on a mission is Ace, Queen and Nine, then I'll change the reserves list to have Eight on top of everyone, because if I ever need to bring him in, he'll be the first on the list.
Actually quite liked this game, definitely preferable to the mainline XIII titles. Confused about the ending though,
is there any good reason why Arecia didn't/couldn't revive the Class Zero members despite basically being a god who revived them numerous times in the past from fatal injuries?
Who the hell did that? Reminds me of when someone claimed fans were saying Trails in the Sky was one of the best jrpgs ever(no one actually did). Type 0 had a mixed reception in Japan, these hyperbolic expectations are coming from people's asses.
It's not the fans in Japan who are saying such things, it's the importers. For some reason importers always hype up games way more than they deserve, maybe it's to try and get people to beg for a localisation or something. However, it's actually true that importers have claimed TitS and its sequels to be among the best JRPGs ever made, did you see all the begging from TitS fans to get them localised over the past couple of years? Then there's claims like "Type-0 should have been a mainline game" and "Tales of Xillia 2 is one of the best entries in the series".
Sure they probably all got mixed receptions in Japan, but how are we supposed to know that? Most of us don't know how to read moonrunes, all we know is what we hear from importers.
Yes, the active character is the one you're controlling around the academy. When you enter the academy after a mission or from the world map the character that appears is the last one you were using in the mission/world map. You can also change the active character from a save point.
And for the mission screen, Basically first you select everyone who will participate in the mission (both the active and the reserve members), so basically you put everyone on the right. And then the last screen before the mission starts is a screen with only three slots on the right, which is for you to choose the 3 active members on the mission.
As for changing their order on the left it's mostly just to set a preferred order for the reserve members. Let's say I level up Ace, Queen, Nine and Eight. If my team on a mission is Ace, Queen and Nine, then I'll change the reserves list to have Eight on top of everyone, because if I ever need to bring him in, he'll be the first on the list.
She didn't revive them because she left. After reviving Machina/Rem she decided to leave everyone and see what Class Zero would do.
But I thought they died prior to her leaving and she revived Machina/Rem to get the full story on how they died. I somewhat remember her mentioning that she won't be able to revive them before they set out on the final mission, but no real reason why.
As threelights say, they pretty much replace your party members, so if you're planning to grind while on missions (which isn't a good idea, imo), then it's not worth it.
However, you can buy weapon with your SP points, and from what I gather, you get unique spells as you move up the SP rank. These spells are pretty awesome though, "Hellthunder" is Thunder-SHG that inflicts a shit ton of status effects (including Freeze) to your enemies, "Boost" pretty much gives you invisibility plus a ton of other buffs. The spells are tied to a specific rank though so once you change ranks, you also change the unique spell which you can use.
But I thought they died prior to her leaving and she revived Machina/Rem to get the full story on how they died. I somewhat remember her mentioning that she won't be able to revive them before they set out on the final mission, but no real reason why.
No, they die after going back to the academy, not after fighting Cid (they die because of him, but not right there with him).
The thing of Arecia saying she wouldn't be able to revive them I guess refers to her leaving. If not, then there's also the thing they've said that the Lulusath (Rursus in the English version? Something like that, the guys from the last dungeon) and the Arbiter will damage directly your phantoma, and you can't heal it back, so Arecia wouldn't be able to bring you back either.
No, they die after going back to the academy, not after fighting Cid (they die because of him, but not right there with him).
The thing of Arecia saying she wouldn't be able to revive them I guess refers to her leaving. If not, then there's also the thing they've said that the Lulusath (Rursus in the English version? Something like that, the guys from the last dungeon) and the Arbiter will damage directly your phantoma, and you can't heal it back, so Arecia wouldn't be able to bring you back either.
Hahaha, I had these same exact thoughts while playing the other day. I'm still somewhat early, Chapter 4 I believe, but I can't help but think, man, I bet my teenage self would have loved this game, lol (I'm 33). I am enjoying the game, don't get me wrong, but part of me is like, eh... I think I would have liked it more years ago.
The music in this game is sick though. So f'n good. (a thought I doubt my teenage self would have had, lol)
Well, after declining to pick up my reserved copy from the library, I've held another one that should come in soon. Since I can play it for free and have a mild interest in Final Fantasy, I'm planning to pick it up and play through it. Though, I'm still a bit unsure of my plan, haha.
I watched the GT review on YouTube, and they said it's challenging even on easy. How hard is it, really? I'm not a veteran of this type of game, or strategy at all.
Will I lose out on much by playing on easy?
Also, HLTB says it's about 22 hours long? Is that fair? I wouldn't try to do everything or get too invested in the side stuff.
Well, after declining to pick up my reserved copy from the library, I've held another one that should come in soon. Since I can play it for free and have a mild interest in Final Fantasy, I'm planning to pick it up and play through it. Though, I'm still a bit unsure of my plan, haha.
I watched the GT review on YouTube, and they said it's challenging even on easy. How hard is it, really? I'm not a veteran of this type of game, or strategy at all.
Will I lose out on much by playing on easy?
Also, HLTB says it's about 22 hours long? Is that fair? I wouldn't try to do everything or get too invested in the side stuff.
It's an action RPG, so if you're good with action games you'll be fine here, there's not much focus on strategy itself (unless you want to do the deep stuff, which is not required at all)
Yes, the game can be quite challenging at times, but that's because the game puts such a big focus on dodging and learning enemy patterns to know when to strike.
If you don't want to get involved with the side stuff however, I'd recommend you play it on easy (and if you're REALLY having trouble there's an exploit you can use to level up super fast - like, 3 minutes and you're level 99, but that will just suck the fun right out of the gameplay).
But yeah, it's worth a playthrough, definitely.
Also, if you don't plan on doing much of the side stuff, you won't even be spending 22 hours really... And if you do, that 22 hours can become 30-40 too.
I get not delving into the combat mechanics because they're not needed to progress through the primary missions (particularly if you're just playing for the story).
But the high point of type 0 is most definitely the full depth of the combat mechanics (and the soundtrack I suppose).
I've found I most enjoy the game when going up against a really difficult enemy high above my level, and learning to read its tells and maximize damage using different strategies with different characters.
As for outgrowing Final Fantasy, I've seen it happen to many once-ardent fans over my 25+ years of interest in the series
Yeah, I can see how the gameplay would make it enjoyable. I enjoyed the gameplay in the XIII games even tho the stories were crap and ended up having a better opinion on the games than I would have if I didn't delve into the gameplay.
Hahaha, I had these same exact thoughts while playing the other day. I'm still somewhat early, Chapter 4 I believe, but I can't help but think, man, I bet my teenage self would have loved this game, lol (I'm 33). I am enjoying the game, don't get me wrong, but part of me is like, eh... I think I would have liked it more years ago.
The music in this game is sick though. So f'n good. (a thought I doubt my teenage self would have had, lol)
It's not the fans in Japan who are saying such things, it's the importers. For some reason importers always hype up games way more than they deserve, maybe it's to try and get people to beg for a localisation or something. However, it's actually true that importers have claimed TitS and its sequels to be among the best JRPGs ever made, did you see all the begging from TitS fans to get them localised over the past couple of years? Then there's claims like "Type-0 should have been a mainline game" and "Tales of Xillia 2 is one of the best entries in the series".
Sure they probably all got mixed receptions in Japan, but how are we supposed to know that? Most of us don't know how to read moonrunes, all we know is what we hear from importers.
I'm sure a few importers who played the game with online multiplayer 5 years ago on a psp liked the game. There are people in this very thread who love it even when it's flaws are much more apparent. I have never seen anyone claim that about Tits, favorite, yes. Not best, it's too traditional for that.
After finishing my second playthrough and reading some of the new lore in the Rubicus I have some questions about Machina and Rem
So I guess I understand that their influence is what led to Class 0 defeating the Rursan Judge and Arecia allowing the world to continue after their deaths, but the Rubicus seems to imply that they were part of the "original" Class 0 along with Tiz and Joker. But why were they abandoned and then brought back in? I guess every cycle is subtly different from the last rather than the same events repeating over and over. Would that mean Machina's decision to become a l'Cie was the big difference that changed everything or had they just not been included in the cycles up until now?
After finishing my second playthrough and reading some of the new lore in the Rubicus I have some questions about Machina and Rem
So I guess I understand that their influence is what led to Class 0 defeating the Rursan Judge and Arecia allowing the world to continue after their deaths, but the Rubicus seems to imply that they were part of the "original" Class 0 along with Tiz and Joker. But why were they abandoned and then brought back in? I guess every cycle is subtly different from the last rather than the same events repeating over and over. Would that mean Machina's decision to become a l'Cie was the big difference that changed everything or had they just not been included in the cycles up until now?
I don't think they imply that. Maybe Machina and Rem always joins Class Zero later on, but I don't think they were always a part of the class like the rest. At least that's not what I understood from the Rubicus... I might have to re-read some stuff.
It's an action RPG, so if you're good with action games you'll be fine here, there's not much focus on strategy itself (unless you want to do the deep stuff, which is not required at all)
Yes, the game can be quite challenging at times, but that's because the game puts such a big focus on dodging and learning enemy patterns to know when to strike.
If you don't want to get involved with the side stuff however, I'd recommend you play it on easy (and if you're REALLY having trouble there's an exploit you can use to level up super fast - like, 3 minutes and you're level 99, but that will just suck the fun right out of the gameplay).
But yeah, it's worth a playthrough, definitely.
Also, if you don't plan on doing much of the side stuff, you won't even be spending 22 hours really... And if you do, that 22 hours can become 30-40 too.
I plan to try to do a regular playthrough, which for me is going past the surface and not just beating the game. I do some side stuff, but don't spend hours upon hours perfecting it. I don't have the time for that.
I plan to try to do a regular playthrough, which for me is going past the surface and not just beating the game. I do some side stuff, but don't spend hours upon hours perfecting it. I don't have the time for that.
Yes, the active character is the one you're controlling around the academy. When you enter the academy after a mission or from the world map the character that appears is the last one you were using in the mission/world map. You can also change the active character from a save point.
And for the mission screen, Basically first you select everyone who will participate in the mission (both the active and the reserve members), so basically you put everyone on the right. And then the last screen before the mission starts is a screen with only three slots on the right, which is for you to choose the 3 active members on the mission.
As for changing their order on the left it's mostly just to set a preferred order for the reserve members. Let's say I level up Ace, Queen, Nine and Eight. If my team on a mission is Ace, Queen and Nine, then I'll change the reserves list to have Eight on top of everyone, because if I ever need to bring him in, he'll be the first on the list.
She didn't revive them because she left. After reviving Machina/Rem she decided to leave everyone and see what Class Zero would do.
Mmm ok thanks...I have to say,if I wasn't playing this game on Cadet,I would of probably died a million times by now...and since its easy on Cadet,its not as fun but I am so confused half the time that I am leaving it on Cadet...I find the controls,combined with the camera, just awful.
Happy to see I'm not the only one who loves Class Zero, but hates Machina and Rem. And people thought Vaan and Penelo were annoying lol. I feel like they were not originally intended from the beginning, the old artwork from the game doesn't even have them. They're so annoying, really dragged the game down somewhat. Oh well. I still liked the rest of the cast, even goofy Nine.
Yeah, I can see how the gameplay would make it enjoyable. I enjoyed the gameplay in the XIII games even tho the stories were crap and ended up having a better opinion on the games than I would have if I didn't delve into the gameplay.
Yeah, the OST was great, and my young self would not have had that thought either lol.
I'm looking forward to playing Witcher 3 though, and I think it will end up being a better mature RPG out of the two by far.
Also looking forward to Witcher 3, but I think FF XV might be a more fair comparison to it than type-0 (large, sprawling, story-based games optimized for current-gen).
Obviously Witcher 3 will be grittier than XV. What I'm most curious about though is whether it can avoid the pitfalls that most Western open-world RPGs fall into (boring quests, poor pacing for main story, repetitive scenarios and areas). If so, it might give XV a run for its money for folks like me who's primary interest in RPGs is story. Not to say, of course, that these titles need to be viewed as in competition. There's certainly room enough in my PS4 for both.
Just got the game and I keep getting Controller Disconnected error messages every 90 seconds. No other game has this issue and my controller functions well with other games too. Reading up on it seems this is a common issue, has there been any response from Square on if it will ever be fixed?
I just love using the Katana dude on monsters over leveled because his parry is so good and when you get the critical hits he wrecks shit. My Team right now is Sice,Seven (My white haired queens) and sometimes Jack or Cater. Ace also gets top billing. But when I run into the increasing monster levels I just bring in Sice or Seven.
I'm on the final mission and really enjoy the game, its definitely a change of pace with its flaws. I'm sure a sequel can build upon it.
My squad is: Ace, Deuce, and Rem. My backup squad is Cater, Jack, and Queen. Deuce is seriously a one girl wrecking crew, her and Rem are so damn overpowered once they get some better abilities. Hymn of Healing and Dying Wish makes it so its almost impossible to die in battle.
Also looking forward to Witcher 3, but I think FF XV might be a more fair comparison to it than type-0 (large, sprawling, story-based games optimized for current-gen).
Obviously Witcher 3 will be grittier than XV. What I'm most curious about though is whether it can avoid the pitfalls that most Western open-world RPGs fall into (boring quests, poor pacing for main story, repetitive scenarios and areas). If so, it might give XV a run for its money for folks like me who's primary interest in RPGs is story. Not to say, of course, that these titles need to be viewed as in competition. There's certainly room enough in my PS4 for both.
I don't play WRPGs for mostly the same reasons you've mentioned (haven't played a single one yet). I also find that their art styles look mostly the same with that medieval look. After spending a few months following Witcher 3 though, I've come to see how W3 differs from the rest, and that's why I'm really hyped for it. All quests in the game are hand crafted, and there is not a single repetitive quest. In fact, story and side quests are fairly intertwined and sometimes it's hard to figure out which is which (going by impressions).
I think FFXV might suffer more in terms of boring repetitive fedex quests going by the demo. Having quest markers to show exactly where to go in an open world game focused on exploration is really bad game design. W3 doesn't have this problem. Quest markers can be turned off, and the game is designed so people can find areas without relying on markers.
Also, the target audience for FFXV is a much younger audience compared to W3. And going by how crap SE has been with its story telling, I have more faith in W3's story than XV's.
Anyway. I'm still buying both games regardless, and it's a great time to be RPG fans.
I don't play WRPGs for mostly the same reasons you've mentioned (haven't played a single one yet). I also find that their art styles look mostly the same with that medieval look. After spending a few months following Witcher 3 though, I've come to see how W3 differs from the rest, and that's why I'm really hyped for it. All quests in the game are hand crafted, and there is not a single repetitive quest. In fact, story and side quests are fairly intertwined and sometimes it's hard to figure out which is which (going by impressions).
I think FFXV might suffer more in terms of boring repetitive fedex quests going by the demo. Having quest markers to show exactly where to go in an open world game focused on exploration is really bad game design. W3 doesn't have this problem. Quest markers can be turned off, and the game is designed so people can find areas without relying on markers.
Also, the target audience for FFXV is a much younger audience compared to W3. And going by how crap SE has been with its story telling, I have more faith in W3's story than XV's.
Anyway. I'm still buying both games regardless, and it's a great time to be RPG fans.
I played some of W1, and played W2 to completion, and, frankly, the writing was just serviceable (certainly not great), so I think CDPR still has to prove themselves there. The plotting in 2, and the way decisions genuinely shaped the story was cool, and well executed. But can that be done in a game as apparently sprawling as 3? It's a little hard to envision, but I'm hopeful. Duscae's quest design was nothing amazing, but it was just a demo, and it's the main quest line that matters most to me in these sorts of games. I'll hold judgement on quest design and implementation until I actually see it in action in a final product.
Also, while the writing in recent FFs has been workmanlike at best (and I see no evidence yet that it's been greatly improved in XV (though it least it's not type 0 level so far!)), the plotting and world-building has been excellent. W2 still felt a fairly generic medieval world with a heavy smearing of grim-dark. Now, 3 looks a far site more interesting with its stronger Eastern European vibe, and apparently tying the main quests more intimately into Geralt's history, so I'm hopeful there. I have limited patience for the whole "mud and blood makes it mature!" trend in recent mainstream fantasy fiction, so it's going to take more than gratuitous dismemberment and toothless peasant women to get me to fully buy into Witcher 3's story and world. But what they've showed does seem fairly promising.
Of course, XV has Nojima working on it, and I think he has a very strong record of excellent (and unique) world building and plotting in mainstream FFs.
Also, while story arc/pacing matter to me most, W2's combat was leaden and highly repetitive, while all recent console FFs (really from X-2 on) have impressed me on that front (as I said previously, the real high point of type 0). I'd say Duscae's combat, unfinished and unpolished though it was, was far more engaging than anything in W2. I'm hopeful they've really improved this aspect for 3, because it would be a shame to have some of the awesome looking monster encounters undermined by uninspired combat.
All that's to say that I think it too early to make any informed judgements about the relative merits of W3 and XV. But I'm anticipating enjoying both, and I do think they'll end making for some very interesting contrasts
One killer cinque combo: cast boost magic (makes you invisible, enemies won't target you even when you're attacking them, unlocked at a certain SSP rank), stand next to enemy, and use her continuous spin attack. I took out a king behemoth this way in about three seconds.
