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Final Fantasy XV |OT| There and back again.

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Gbraga

Member
Man, that little chapter of the Cosmogony book about
Bahamut and the Oracle
was really cool. The lore of Eos is so interesting.

I actually wasn't expecting them to explain
the Oracle's existence, and why she's able to commune with the gods
. I thought it would just be a part of that world that we needed to accept. And they explained it in a very mythological way, I like it.
 
Discussed for what? Its above average combat? The open world was decent, the dungeons were great, but it's got nothing on games like Witcher 3.

It definitely left a lot to be desired. At least FFXIII had a somewhat cohesive storyline, and it took longer to complete even though I spent probably 30 hours doing side content in XV.
The combat is ass though.
 

crimilde

Banned
I did the costlemark tower before I got the quest about the tomb. And after I killed the boss I didn't get the sword. I later did the quest from Viv, does anyone know if I get the weapon if I do the Costlemark again or am I doomed?

There's no tomb quest for Costlemark that I can remember. I just read the paper in the original tomb and after a while went to Costlemark and got the sword after killing the boss.
 

sappyday

Member
Man, that little chapter of the Cosmogony book about
Bahamut and the Oracle
was really cool. The lore of Eos is so interesting.

I actually wasn't expecting them to explain
the Oracle's existence, and why she's able to commune with the gods
. I thought it would just be a part of that world that we needed to accept. And they explained it in a very mythological way, I like it.
What's the explanation?
 

Demonfang

Banned
Chapter 13 spoilers question

so Ardynn is Noctis's ancestor. What exactly is his purpose helping noctis this whole time? Will everything be explained in the last two chapters? ... so confused about his motives
 

LNBL

Member
Jesus christ, i think ive spent atleast 4-4,5 hours in the Pitioss Ruins. Pff, atleast the reward is awesome hehe
 

Alucrid

Banned
jared-mus00.jpg

trevor was one of the best characters in the game
 

Pygrus

Member
*Above average. There's better MMOs out there if you want basic fetch quests and an open world. If they could just put a tiny bit of story behind their "quests", it would be so much better. Seeing as what we got with the main story though, I'm not surprised.

I felt better about the game before I went into chapter 9. I just wanted to finish it and unlock post game content. But now I feel so disappointed I don't even wanna continue playing. The game doesn't even have a proper
final boss.

MGSV's problems are very similar to XV's. I'm surprised you liked it.

There are no MMOs out there that have great combat like 15. Also, most MMOs have worst side quests, because they need to make a ton of them just to fill up the level grind.
 

Slaythe

Member
I just got the platinum trophy for this game, and I have to admit it has been a massive letdown. It's the first game I've purchased and felt slightly conned -- not by SE but by the reviewers + general consensus about the game upon release. Like Schreier's review is all about how nostalgic this game is, about how it has all the essential FF components, etc... but this game doesn't feel like a classic FF whatsoever. It's certainly not as polished or high quality as FF7-10.

I can respect that, but at the same point in time, when you look at the FFXIII debacle, the reviews make a lot of sense.

I loved FFXV personally, despite some really nasty issues. Once it's patched (new game + and DLC) it will probably be in my top 3. Currently in my top 5.
 

Ishida

Banned
Chapter 13 spoilers question

so Ardynn is Noctis's ancestor. What exactly is his purpose helping noctis this whole time? Will everything be explained in the last two chapters? ... so confused about his motives

Ardyn is not Noctis' ancestor.

Ardyn was the original Lucis Caelum, thousands of years ago. He was destined to be King. He spent his life healing people and absorbing Daemons into himself in order to protect and heal everyone. However, when it was his turn to ascend to the throne, the Crystal and the gods deemed him "unfit" for the throne due to his soul being corrupted by the Daemons he absorbed. Ardyn became immortal due to him no longer being human.

The gods and the Crystal instead chose a man named Izunia (And this Izunia dude started a smearing campaign against Ardyn, apparently). Izunia was crowned King and changed his last name to Lucis Caelum. Noctis is a descendant of this man.

Long story short: Noctis' family are not the real Lucis Caelums. They are the Izunias (Or descended from a man called Izunia). The Crystal chose them to replace Ardyn's bloodline to rule the Kingdom because Ardyn was deemed as corrupted.


His plan in FFXV is revenge against pretty much everything for shitting on him thousand years ago. He wants to fuck up the world, he wants to slay/fuck up the gods, he wants to destroy the Crystal that denied him the throne, and he wants to kill the last "True King", or the last descendant of the man who "stole the throne".

He needs Noctis to absorb the Crystal's powers, become the "One True King" and them slay him in order to destroy the Crystal and pretty much any hope of the world being recovered.
 

eizarus

Banned
I can respect that, but at the same point in time, when you look at the FFXIII debacle, the reviews make a lot of sense.

I loved FFXV personally, despite some really nasty issues. Once it's patched (new game + and DLC) it will probably be in my top 3. Currently in my top 5.
Top 5 FF game or just a general top 5? I'm about to take the plunge and buy but I'm just curious.
 

Falk

that puzzling face
I must be one of the very few that dont really like Altissia...

It is so much "Venice" that doesnt feel like a Final Fantasy city at all... even the damn gondoliers look exactly like they do in Venice.

Lestallum on the other hand is beautiful, a proper Final Fantasy town.

Lestallum is based on Cuba though. In fact it's been brought up in the thread a couple of times that it's very reminiscent of Tropico.

And going back further, a lot of Final Fantasy towns are based on real life counterparts. Balamb being based on Greece for example.
 

Renmyra

Member
Ardyn is not Noctis' ancestor.

Ardyn was the original Lucis Caelum, thousands of years ago. He was destined to be King. He spent his life healing people and absorbing Daemons into himself in order to protect and heal everyone. However, when it was his turn to ascend to the throne, the Crystal and the gods deemed him "unfit" for the throne due to his soul being corrupted by the Daemons he absorbed. Ardyn became immortal due to him no longer being human.

The gods and the Crystal instead chose a man named Izunia (And this Izunia dude started a smearing campaign against Ardyn, apparently). Izunia was crowned King and changed his last name to Lucis Caelum. Noctis is a descendant of this man.

Long story short: Noctis' family are not the real Lucis Caelums. They are the Izunias (Or descended from a man called Izunia). The Crystal chose them to replace Ardyn's bloodline to rule the Kingdom because Ardyn was deemed as corrupted.


His plan in FFXV is revenge against pretty much everything for shitting on him thousand years ago. He wants to fuck up the world, he wants to slay/fuck up the gods, he wants to destroy the Crystal that denied him the throne, and he wants to kill the last "True King", or the last descendant of the man who "stole the throne".

He needs Noctis to absorb the Crystal's powers, become the "One True King" and them slay him in order to destroy the Crystal and pretty much any hope of the world being recovered.

Do you also have the answer to why
Noctis is gone for 10 years and ends up on a random island? What happened besides him talking to Bahamut?
 

Ishida

Banned
Do you also have the answer to why
Noctis is gone for 10 years and ends up on a random island? What happened besides him talking to Bahamut?

That's the time it took for him to absorb the Crystal's powers completely. Think of it as a cocoon of sorts. Why he ended up in the island? No answer yet. Maybe Bahamut took him there?
 

Renmyra

Member
That's the time it took for him to absorb the Crystal's powers completely. Think of it as a cocoon of sorts. Why he ended up in the island? No answer yet. Maybe Bahamut took him there?

Alright. So Ardyn puts him in the crystal to absorb its powers so he can sacrifice himself to kill Ardyn. The duty of a king.
This game needed way more cutscenes/fleshed out story.
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Ardyn is not Noctis' ancestor.

Ardyn was the original Lucis Caelum, thousands of years ago. He was destined to be King. He spent his life healing people and absorbing Daemons into himself in order to protect and heal everyone. However, when it was his turn to ascend to the throne, the Crystal and the gods deemed him "unfit" for the throne due to his soul being corrupted by the Daemons he absorbed. Ardyn became immortal due to him no longer being human.

The gods and the Crystal instead chose a man named Izunia (And this Izunia dude started a smearing campaign against Ardyn, apparently). Izunia was crowned King and changed his last name to Lucis Caelum. Noctis is a descendant of this man.

Long story short: Noctis' family are not the real Lucis Caelums. They are the Izunias (Or descended from a man called Izunia). The Crystal chose them to replace Ardyn's bloodline to rule the Kingdom because Ardyn was deemed as corrupted.


His plan in FFXV is revenge against pretty much everything for shitting on him thousand years ago. He wants to fuck up the world, he wants to slay/fuck up the gods, he wants to destroy the Crystal that denied him the throne, and he wants to kill the last "True King", or the last descendant of the man who "stole the throne".

He needs Noctis to absorb the Crystal's powers, become the "One True King" and them slay him in order to destroy the Crystal and pretty much any hope of the world being recovered.

End game spoiler
What's sad is that Ardyn still wins despite what Noctis has done. The last Izunia/Lucis Caelum is gone, the world was already fucked up, all the gods are dead, and Ardyn was finally able to Rest In Peace. This is truly the first bleak mainline FF ending with barely a ray of hope.
 

valkyre

Member
Lestallum is based on Cuba though. In fact it's been brought up in the thread a couple of times that it's very reminiscent of Tropico.

And going back further, a lot of Final Fantasy towns are based on real life counterparts. Balamb being based on Greece for example.

It is kinda funny because I am greek and Balamb town resembles nothing of greece (except the sea maybe). The buildings and overall architecture is totally different. I believe the same holds true for Lestallum, but i have only seen pictures of tropico so i could be wrong. Even so Lestallum has exquisite details that set it apart from what we have here on earth. The amount of piping the overhead energy thing the crystals there is s lot going for it.

Altissia really has no fantasy in it, except maybe the huge buildings in the background that you never really get to see up close. Even the damn boats look to be completely copied from what Venice has. I honestly was disappointed from her design or lack thereof.
 

Gbraga

Member
What's the explanation?

Bahamut, the Aetherean came down to the realm of men in Tenebrae to bless its people, and among his worshippers, he chose a woman to concede the power of the stars and his trident. Using her newfound powers to help people, she became the first Oracle, the link between the gods and Eos.

Like I said, it's very mythological, not exactly a grounded explanation, but I find it very cool.

Final Fantasy XV |OT2| Who's Jared?

LMAO

But seriously, we need a name. I'm fine with your suggestion.
 

Kalentan

Member
Testing out HDR...

HDR off

HDR on

Not sure if it's accurate but those are the two screenshots I took. HDR I think looks better, sometimes gives the impression of 60 fps (I think) or maybe not so much 60 fps but I noticed the picture seems clear and smoother when doing something like sprinting. Although I'm not sure how good my TV's HDR is.
 

SilentRob

Member
I disagree, I think this game is a step in the right direction for the franchise if they can fix their narrative issues. I think this game will still be discussed years down the line.

It will, but I think that's down to its namesake and developer legacy. If it would have a different name and a normal history I'm pretty sure it would be forgotten pretty fast. Because everything it does, another game in the same genre does it better. The Witcher 3 has both better main & side quests, way more fluid traversal options and a more fleshed out narrative. There are dozens of side characters with more intricate backstories than FF XV's main characters, the main characters like the Baron are in a completely different league even. FF XV has its Banter, which is fun, but there is nothing behind it.

If we are just talking about the design of the open world, role playing systems and side content games like Fallout, Skyrim or Witcher 3 do a way better job. If you just want a really good, intricate, deep combat system with good controls, Dragon's Dogma would be your way to go.

FF XV does a few things terribly, yes (chief among them the narrative, storytelling and most characters, since they get way too little time to actually leave an impression), but must most aspects of the game are just OK. They aren't bad, but they can't really compete with the best of the industry, either. The only aspect in which FF XV holds a candle against these games is in relation to its presentation. It has an amazing soundtrack and looks incredible, which makes the world fun to look at, even though there is very little to do in it except of fetch and hunt quests that make use of the inconvintient, slow traversal options or the often OK, often frustrating combat that suffers from imprecise controls and a terrible camera. If you just want to explore a beautiful fantasy world, Xenoblade Chronicles X's is bigger, more varied and easier to explore.

After every positive point I want to make, I have to continue with "BUT..." and explain all the reasons they don't actually pull it off. The game is way better than I feared after playing the gamescom demo, which left a terrible impression, but I have trouble seeing what it actually does great or how it's a step forward compared to games like The Witcher 3 or Skyrim in their respective strong points.
 

Ishida

Banned
Alright. So Ardyn puts him in the crystal to absorb its powers so he can sacrifice himself to kill Ardyn. This game needed way more cutscenes/fleshed out story.

Ardyn puts him in the Crystal because otherwise Noctis would not become the One True King, and he would not have a direct link to the Crystal. Killing Noctis while he's fully linked to the Crystal would apparently cause the Crystal to shatter. So he would be killing two birds with one stone: Destroying the Crystal that denied him his ascension, and the last heir of the man who slandered and stole the throne from him.

End game spoiler
What's sad is that Ardyn still wins despite what Noctis has done. The last Izunia/Lucis Caelum is gone, the world was already fucked up, all the gods are dead, and Ardyn was finally able to Rest In Peace. This is truly the first bleak mainline FF ending with barely a ray of hope.

Yes, Ardyn pretty much won. And I think it is implied that he also wanted to die, so he even won in that aspect. I think he succeeded in his objective much closer than even Kefka did.
 

Freeman76

Member
It will, but I think that's down to its namesake and developer legacy. If it would have a different name and a normal history I'm pretty sure it would be forgotten pretty fast. Because everything it does, another game in the same genre does it better. The Witcher 3 has both better main & side quests, way more fluid traversal options and a more fleshed out narrative. There are dozens of side characters with more intricate backstories than FF XV's main characters, the main characters like the Baron are in a completely different league even. FF XV has its Banter, which is fun, but there is nothing behind it.

If we are just talking about the design of the open world, role playing systems and side content games like Fallout, Skyrim or Witcher 3 do a way better job. If you just want a really good, intricate, deep combat system with good controls, Dragon's Dogma would be your way to go.

FF XV does a few things terribly, yes (chief among them the narrative, storytelling and most characters, since they get way too little time to actually leave an impression), but must most aspects of the game are just OK. They aren't bad, but they can't really compete with the best of the industry, either. The only aspect in which FF XV holds a candle against these games is in relation to its presentation. It has an amazing soundtrack and looks incredible, which makes the world fun to look at, even though there is very little to do in it except of fetch and hunt quests that make use of the inconvintient, slow traversal options or the often OK, often frustrating combat that suffers from imprecise controls and a terrible camera.

It also gets the 'feel' right. That alone engrosses a lot of people, dont forget that element.
 

Astral Dog

Member
Lestallum is based on Cuba though. In fact it's been brought up in the thread a couple of times that it's very reminiscent of Tropico.

And going back further, a lot of Final Fantasy towns are based on real life counterparts. Balamb being based on Greece for example.
Unless you make it highly fantastycal like underground, inside a monster or below water, or go very sci fi, cities will take inspiration from a real life location
i think
 

SilentRob

Member
It also gets the 'feel' right. That alone engrosses a lot of people, dont forget that element.

Yeah, I think that's part of the presentation, however. Being able to ride a chocobo through a beautiful world with the FF X soundtrack playing in the background is fun in and on itself for many.
 
End game spoiler
What's sad is that Ardyn still wins despite what Noctis has done. The last Izunia/Lucis Caelum is gone, the world was already fucked up, all the gods are dead, and Ardyn was finally able to Rest In Peace. This is truly the first bleak mainline FF ending with barely a ray of hope.

End Spoilers:
I actually really like that twist on the story and genre. The "bad" guy, even though he "loses" he still in the end got what he wanted. Usually with villains who have Ardyn's "blessing" don't plan well enough to be defeated by the Chosen One. Ardyn's plan was set up to a point where even if he loses he wins. I actually like that dark take on the ending. Yes, when all is said and done Noctis was able to bring the light back. But it came at a very high cost.
 

Gbraga

Member
How do you even use the airslip moves and such? I've played for a while and still don't understand aerial attacks all that much.

Airslip is the air dodge, isn't it? Just press your dodge button while in the air, and you'll be able to dodge moves as if you were on the ground.
 

Jarmel

Banned
I don't understand how anything can be considered hard when it is literally impossible to get a game over unless you run out of items. As long as you have 1000g for another Phoenix Down you are immortal. Noct takes a knee and waits for you to revive him.

The only measure of challenge is how many items you had to use.

Good(or bad I guess) thing then that the Castlemark Sealed Dungeon doesn't allow you to use items.

I don't think you're supposed to ever get to the point where there's 3 flaming giants. That's a penalty room.

I think there's a deterministic way to get to the right route on the second attempt, but we just haven't figured it out, RNG included.

But yeah, the bombs beforehand, lol. I think bombs are just overtuned in general. Either you armiger and they evaporate, or you gotta be prepared for pain. Not just confined to Costlemark either.
I'm not talking about thhe regular Castlemark Dungeon. I beat that a long time ago. I'm talking about the Sealed (Super) Dungeon inside them.

In the Sealed Dungeon, there is a room with four Iron Giants that you have to beat by default because that's how the Sealed Dungeons work.
 

Falk

that puzzling face
It is kinda funny because I am greek and Balamb town resembles nothing of greece (except the sea maybe).

My bad, specifically wanted to reference Havana and Mykonos

I'm not talking about thhe regular Castlemark Dungeon. I beat that a long time ago. I'm talking about the Sealed (Super) Dungeon inside them.

In the Sealed Dungeon, there is a room with four Iron Giants that you have to beat by default because that's how the Sealed Dungeons work.

Oh right. Well, nothing more gratituous pot-spamming won't fix!
 

SilentRob

Member
Just starting to play. In combat as the game installs. How does blocking work exactly. Seems super random.

As long as you hold square and aren't in an attack animation you evade automatically. Every enemy also has an attack you can parry. In that case, a huge square will appear in the middle of the screen. Just hold the square button (no need to time it) and when the monster hits you, you can parry him.

However, there's animation priority so when Noctis is attacking and you see someone starting to attack and start holding Square, it won't actually do anything and you will get hit either way. Because the attack animations are often really, really long and it's often hard to judge when one of your attack ends and the next one starts, it's pretty imprecise. At some point you just have to accept you never have 100% control over what happens, the combat works OK anyway.

You either hold to block, or block by tapping at the right time and then you can parry an attack with a prompt, if you don't time right you'll be hit.

As long as you hold the Square Button while the huge "BLOCK PRESS SQUARE" sign appears in the middle of the screen and are not in the middle of an attack animation you will block and then parry the attack. There is no need to tap the button at the right time.
 

Gbraga

Member
Can you still get S rankings if you use a Phoenix Down or a bunch of healing items?

Oh I guess I mean the air attack ones? Airstrip that's it.

The offensive ones you just use the left stick to do an airstep and reset your aerial combo. So you won't fall to the ground after your third hit, you can "air jump" and start over. If you do it after the second hit instead of the third, it's much faster.

As long as you hold square and aren't in an attack animation you evade automatically. Every enemy also has an attack you can parry. In that case, a huge square will appear in the middle of the screen. Just hold the square button (no need to time it) and when the monster hits you, you can parry him.

However, there's animation priority so when Noctis is attacking and you see someone starting to attack and start holding Square, it won't actually do anything and you will get hit either way. Because the attack animations are often really, really long and it's often hard to judge when one of your attack ends and the next one starts, it's pretty imprecise, even after 50 hours of playing. At some point you just have to accept you never have 100% control over what happens, the combat works OK anyway.

If you unlock the Blink ability from the Ascension Grid, you can cancel animations into a dodge/block, as long as you press the button when you're about to get hit:

https://gfycat.com/BonyJealousAmericanwirehair

https://youtu.be/n55P1czN6o4?t=53
 

Falk

that puzzling face
The Castlemark Sealed Dungeon is a special dungeon in the game where you're not allowed to use items. It's the only area in the game where that's the case.

Well, color me interested. I got the plat and had to put the game aside for now due to work, but this actually fixes a gripe I had about the tuning. I thought no warp points in the other sealed dungeons were already great.

I really don't have time :(

I'll make time
 

Ishida

Banned
One thing about the ending I still don't catch is
what happens to the gods? Do they die alongside the Crystal and the True King? Are they also linked to him? We know that at least Bahamut, Shiva, Ramuh, Titan and Leviathan are alive during the final battle, but if Ardyn really succeeded in his plans this means the whole Hexathon must be dead.

Wonder if Tabata will ever reveal this.
 

Shahadan

Member
End Spoilers:
I actually really like that twist on the story and genre. The "bad" guy, even though he "loses" he still in the end got what he wanted. Usually with villains who have Ardyn's "blessing" don't plan well enough to be defeated by the Chosen One. Ardyn's plan was set up to a point where even if he loses he wins. I actually like that dark take on the ending. Yes, when all is said and done Noctis was able to bring the light back. But it came at a very high cost.

Still ending spoilerz:

I feel that the funny thing is that Ardyn still functions as a savior/chosen one in the end. His schemes eventually result in the gods being dead so no more of this War of Old and he gets rid of the last crystal and the power behind it that would always end up creating another power hungry nation trying to steal or use it. And Lucis had too much magical power anyway.
Killing himself and Ifrit remove the starscourge/daemon for good.
Ardyn fixed all the problems in the world and got his revenge on everyone, he just took the darkest path to do it
 
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