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Final Fantasy XV |OT2| For Jared!

timshundo

Member
There has to be something I'm missing with fishing.

When the rock music starts playing that just means "you're not actually allowed to catch this fish yet so for now we're just gonna make you keep reeling until the fishing line breaks" right?
 
Story spoilers

Ravus just one example. Did Arydn just kill him, what happened there? To just find him dead like that was bullshit. Iedolas Aldercapt (he became a deamon I know but wass he just killed?) another one where the gap in what happened to him is just not there but massive opportunity missed with Ravus's character that in disappointed me.

They could have done so much better with it. Honestly I loved the game which is why the story upset me that they did this. They are just a couple of examples but there are many.

The encounter with
Leviathan went very poorly for the Empire (I guess because Noctis succeeded) and Ravus was sentenced to death since I guess that was his responsibility. They say as much in newspapers and radio broadcasts while riding the train. Really poor way of a reveal like that, IMO.
 

Jennipeg

Member
The encounter with
Leviathan went very poorly for the Empire (I guess because Noctis succeeded) and Ravus was sentenced to death since I guess that was his responsibility. They say as much in newspapers and radio broadcasts while riding the train. Really poor way of a reveal like that, IMO.

Yeah and the
diary pages helpfully left next to his body were laughable.
 

FrankWza

Member
You don't need to watch Kingsglaive ever.

But especially not to better understand Final Fantasy XV's story.


The movie is pretty bad. But at least it introduces some characters to help commit some names to memory and gives you a better idea of what is happening in this world. It adds depth. Any additional info helps in this games case.
 

Laughing Banana

Weeping Pickle
And now I know why this thread is named after Jared....

Whoever wrote the script.... do you REALLY think the gamer cares for Jared??? Was the writer trying to aim for some symbolism with Talcott and Jared = Noctis and Regis? If so.... they have FAILED.

LOL yeah. It's hilarious they're trying to elicit a response from a character that you just met for like, 5 minutes, lol. I am not even sure what relationship he and the kid has with Noctis...? Seems like just some random old man and brat he knew from somewhere...? I didn't remember seeing him or the kid in Kingsglaive or Brotherhood?
 

neojubei

Will drop pants for Sony.
Is the soundtrack on itunes? There is one there by Sasaki Kudasai but i thought the composer's name is Yoko Shimomura
 

Jennipeg

Member
LOL yeah. It's hilarious they're trying to elicit a response from a character that you just met for like, 5 minutes, lol. I am not even sure what relationship he and the kid has with Noctis...? Seems like just some random old man and brat he knew from somewhere...? I didn't remember seeing him or the kid in Kingsglaive or Brotherhood?

I cared more about Jeff in Uncharted 2.
 

TheFatMan

Member
I hate Chapter 13....I can't even play it. I play for fifteen minutes, and then take the disc out and put in Titanfall 2 every time.

Shit is killing me.
 

tonypark

Member
So I just started playing this game after coming home from a Rogue One screening. I like the road-trip through middle America setting, but they sure reduced the Crown Prince Noctis ouji-sama to a mere gofer. I immediately switch their outfit to the casual attire. Nobody wears all-black ensemble in a 33 degrees C weather. :-

There is a reason for the clothing but yeah if its your only grip with the game for now thats great!
 
The movie is pretty bad. But at least it introduces some characters to help commit some names to memory and gives you a better idea of what is happening in this world. It adds depth. Any additional info helps in this games case.

Literally all of the relevant info from Kingsglaive is in Final Fantasy XV. The film adds absolutely nothing of its own to the game's story, instead spending nearly 2 hours focusing on unimportant side characters from a region that is never even mentioned in the game proper.

Sure, you could watch it for the lore and nifty effects, but honestly, playing FFXV itself shows what little regard Tabata and co. had for the film or its story beats beyond
1) crystal stolen
2) dead Regis


End game spoiler
Seriously, seeing Nyx hanging up there in the throne room with everyone was silly. Here's an emperor, a king, an Oracle, and some dude just hanging out to torment Noctis
 

Jennipeg

Member
Literally all of the relevant info from Kingsglaive is in Final Fantasy XV. The film adds absolutely nothing of its own to the game's story, instead spending nearly 2 hours focusing on unimportant side characters from a region that is never even mentioned in the game proper.

Sure, you could watch it for the lore and nifty effects, but honestly, playing FFXV itself shows what little regard Tabata and co. had for the film or its story beats beyond
1) crystal stolen
2) dead Regis


End game spoiler
Seriously, seeing Nyx hanging up there in the throne room with everyone was silly. Here's an emperor, a king, an Oracle, and some dude just hanging out to torment Noctis

I think it's helpful to watch the first 10 minutes. That crappy VO prologue tells us how Noctis and Luna actually know each other and why Ravus is not a happy bunny.
 

FrankWza

Member
Literally all of the relevant info from Kingsglaive is in Final Fantasy XV. The film adds absolutely nothing of its own to the game's story, instead spending nearly 2 hours focusing on unimportant side characters from a region that is never even mentioned in the game proper.

Sure, you could watch it for the lore and nifty effects, but honestly, playing FFXV itself shows what little regard Tabata and co. had for the film or its story beats beyond
1) crystal stolen
2) dead Regis


End game spoiler
Seriously, seeing Nyx hanging up there in the throne room with everyone was silly. Here's an emperor, a king, an Oracle, and some dude just hanging out to torment Noctis

Because in the movie
doesn't he take on a huge storyline with the ring and mentions noctis in his dying words?

Either way, their presentation of story is a mess. Im just saying it adds depth to a game that has none story-wise
 
doing the level 99 turtle quest.

i had to put the game in rest mode in the middle of the battle as i had to leave for the weekend. i just keep hitting one toe for 4 hours.

i'm at level 76.
 

Lightning

Banned
The encounter with
Leviathan went very poorly for the Empire (I guess because Noctis succeeded) and Ravus was sentenced to death since I guess that was his responsibility. They say as much in newspapers and radio broadcasts while riding the train. Really poor way of a reveal like that, IMO.
I know about that but seriously that's really shitty storytelling. Can do MUCH better than that. So much wasted potential there.
 

Jennipeg

Member
I know about that but seriously that's really shitty storytelling. Can do MUCH better than that. So much wasted potential there.

Ravus seemed like the type of character we'd face multiple times throughout the story, like Seifer or Seymour. We could have got to know him through that.

Thinking about it, there aren't many story related bosses, except for
the summons and chapter 14
 
I think it's helpful to watch the first 10 minutes. That crappy VO prologue tells us how Noctis and Luna actually know each other and why Ravus is not a happy bunny.

We find out in the game how Noctis and Luna know each other too, though I'll give you Ravus. He's the least developed (and pretty inconsistent) character to appear in both movie and game. It really seems like the devs had no idea what to do with him. Great battle theme, though.

FrankWza said:
Because in the movie doesn't he take on a huge storyline with the ring and mentions noctis in his dying words?

Nyx's story exists to pad Kingsglaive out to feature length, but is wholly uninteresting on its own. His dying words are essentially "Please look forward to the game." In Final Fantasy XV, we find out Lunafreya leaves Insomnia with the ring to deliver to Noctis. Watching Kingsglaive lets you know a guy borrowed it briefly for an anime battle.
 
I finally received this today (I know its very late)

Cz2z3klXgAA0WAK.jpg

I am surprised by the quality of the guide. It is really good and full of details!

The extra behind the scenes information is really interesting too.
 
I kinda wish Tabata and crew didn't mention the whole "flesh out our mess of a game" update as now I'm wondering if I should just shelve this and wait for the narrative/PS4Pro patch

I just got past the bit where
Luna died
(which I actually fell asleep to) and I'm just getting increasingly more and more frustrated with the game's narrative holes



I'm not enjoying myself anymore honestly :(
 

Jennipeg

Member
I kinda wish Tabata and crew didn't mention the whole "flesh out our mess of a game" update as now I'm wondering if I should just shelve this and wait for the narrative/PS4Pro patch

I just got past the bit where
Luna died
(which I actually fell asleep to) and I'm just getting increasingly more and more frustrated with the game's narrative holes



I'm not enjoying myself anymore honestly :(

It's one of those games where I can see why people love it and why they don't. I have had a fun time with it, but as a Final Fantasy game it ranks at the lower end due to the huge story issues.

And Luna ranks as the absolute worst FF heroine. Is she supposed to be filling that role? Maybe i'm being harsh.
 
So many attempted emotional beats in this game are sooo fucking unearned, it's infuriating:

- Luna's "dramatic/epic" face off against Leviathan
- ...and her Death
- Her and Noctis' supposed adoration of each other
- Fucking Jared

Dat Risotto tho, right?

>=(

I'm thinking I'm just gonna completely restart the game, go strictly story/no sidequests/distractions, watch Kingsglaive again and see it goes
 

massoluk

Banned
Finally finished the game just now.

1. The combat is fine, but couldn't really master the combat until the very end, I mean I beat the bosses fine, but I never felt like I "got" it.

2. The open world is fine, but I felt like I spend way too much time either traveling or LOADING.

3. The cities and towns are fine. But really, when you got to the 2nd and 3rd Continent it just screamed Xenogears Disc 2, especially Altisia, when you first got there, I thought I would get a whole new giant ass city to explore, but nope, it's fenced off.

4. The story is fine, but I'm confused as fuck at some point, especially about the whole episode with Leviathan.

5. The Quests are fine, but really the hunting are pure padding

So in conclusion, what I'm trying to say is "FF XV is fine, but..."
 

shmoglish

Member
Bossfightspoiler (Chaotwr 10, I guess): The fight against
Leviathan
may be one of my worst gaming moments ever. Oh my god, so bad imo.

Redt of the game is great. Not much story elements so far, but I like the open world, even when there is not much to explore (compared to the Bethesdagames or The Witcher)
 

Gbraga

Member
So I finally did the waterfall main quest yesterday, and it was kind of awesome.

But first of all,
apparently there are at least two different Zus? Sheeeit. Can't wait to fight them. I hope you get to fight them.

Anyway, I absolutely loved how you're at this outpost, go forward a little bit, down some stairs and then you're already in a linear part of the game. That small section of the world exists solely for that quest. It's full of roadblocks to prevent you from leaving or accessing it from a different point, it's seamlessly integrated as part of the world, but it's still a linear bit. It's so cool.

The fight against
Midgardsormr
was really fun and challenging, even having around 60 hours on chapter 3, I was still below its level, and it was a blast. I hope the game has more of these optional challenging fights in the main path to keep things interesting to overleveled folks. I imagine most people just ran from it? Or used A LOT of items.

The dungeon itself was really well designed, once again, and exploring it all was a blast. It actually scared me with some enemy spawns a couple of times, even though they weren't very tough at all for my current level. The final encounter was also quite interesting, and even being overleveled it wasn't boring, I was able to use all of the combat mechanics during it.

Got my 5th Royal Arm and the Armiger, finally! Already got all of the available ascension nodes for it, but still didn't get to actually use it. This Royal Arm has an interesting moveset too, I'm having a good time using it during my combos. Also loved the Bow of the Clever, so hopefully there are more fun ones from now on. It was my biggest disappointment with the games, as far as mechanics goes, that my first three Royal Arms were so boring.

Assuming I have no 333 AP skills acquired yet, what should I get first? I'm in chapter 8 at level 70 and can't imagine getting too many of these tier skills before I finish the game.

Impervious is really damn good.
 

dreamfall

Member
Spent some time leveling - does anyone where to get more Debased Coins? I also feel like I haven't acquired the proper weaponry to really handle some of these >level 60 monsters. Sometimes it feels like a real war of attrition. I finally got around to watching Kingsglaive after completing the story portion of the game and it was a wild ride! Really neat to see some backstory on Regis and Luna.

As someone who never finishes JRPGs, I loved this. The combat system keeps me coming back for more, and after finishing the story I was really eager to get back to the open world just to explore. And to drive and listen to old soundtracks! The best.
 

Chessr

Member
It's one of those games where I can see why people love it and why they don't. I have had a fun time with it, but as a Final Fantasy game it ranks at the lower end due to the huge story issues.

And Luna ranks as the absolute worst FF heroine. Is she supposed to be filling that role? Maybe i'm being harsh.

I think Luna is a very interesting character and i care for her. Even though you dont control her
 

Haunted

Member
The fuck were they thinking, using confusing quick-cut CG video snippets from promo material as actual cutscenes in this game.


what a mess
 

Nestunt

Member
Here's my review:

Final Fantasy is my favorite videogame franchise. I think it is important to contextualize my following arguments with that premise, because, not only my past experiences with this series molded my journey through Final Fantasy XV, but also because nostalgia can be a powerful bias. For example, last year, I ended Metal Gear Solid V with feelings of anger, frustration and sadness due to nostalgia. Metal Gear Solid is my second favorite videogame franchise, and seeing how Phantom Pain was so poorly built in terms of open world design and progression systems made me react in a more hyperbolic way than I anticipated. This year, my reaction to Final Fantasy XV was the complete opposite: happiness, grandness and hopefulness for the future.

At first, XV is not a very impressive game. The game looks good but a bit flat and empty. For me, it was not the occasional PS3-looking texture that was bugging me, but how antiquated and lifeless some nature and human settlements were designed and populated. Still, as the hours passed these minor disappointments started to be superimposed by iconic landmarks, a beautiful skybox (that makes the player be connected to one of the central themes of the game) and even how diverse and realistic the “always boring” dungeons looked like.

What also did not help with my first impressions of the game were the voice acting and some of the tunes of the game. Voices I can somewhat live with, yet, in 2016 I should expect more honest performances and less archetypal tones. But the game does a good job complementing that excessive characterization with hobbies and fighting styles of your companions, and even the main protagonist, that, by the end of the journey, you start to tolerate some of the overacting and underacting. Music, on the other hand, is a staple of Final Fantasy. And, even though, Yoko Shimomura (the composer of this game) is revered as a very great musician and has a portfolio full of quality, I think she performed below hers and Nobuo Uematsu’s (legendary Final Fantasy composer) standards. In particular, I felt that some of the human settlements’ themes were a bit on the nose. On the other hand, I should also give credit where credit is due, the battle themes were some of the best in Final Fantasy history.

One aspect, which immediately makes for a good first impression, is how Noctis (the main protagonist of the game) controls. Running around the open world, fighting groups of small enemies or single giant ones, combining evading with defense and attack always feels good with great animations and pace, and that helped mitigate some repetitiveness and lack of depth of some encounters, as well as the emptiness of the world I talked about previously.

Talking about that gameplay loop and how you progress through the game is where Final Fantasy XV shines the brightest. You are on a journey with your companions to reclaim your throne. The city you are supposed to rule has just been destroyed by an evil empire and your father – the King – has been murdered. And despite being fairly young and inexperienced, you and your three companions (Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto) are tasked to travel the world of Eos to garner the power of ancient kings, ancestors to you, and also to go to key landmarks where Gods are said to reside and ask for their support in your fight against the rise of evil.

Pretty generic, right? Yes, but the game manages to convey the dimension of that adventure in a very convincing way through gameplay and other quirks that give heart to this story. First of all, I think the game does a masterful job in making you feel the dichotomy that is the cornerstone of this game’s message: you might be powerful by name, but you are nothing without your friends. You might have access to magic, potions and all other powers but the game starts immediately with concepts like scarcity in money (even fuel to travel in your one-percenter car has to be paid) which leads to initial constraints for easy curatives in battle, making you relying on a nice mechanic where you have to physically reach your companions to recover a bit of health. Magic has natural limits and has to be collected from deposits throughout the world. Or even summoning the Gods ends up being a rare phenomenon, because you have to be in particular battle conditions for each one, turning those grandiose audiovisual moments into something much more meaningful than in past Final Fantasy games.

The gameplay loop rapidly encourages you to do side-quests to earn money and experience, and with that rises an interesting facet of the game: knowing the people you are supposed to be King of. Instead of doing one side quest for 100 different NPCs you do several quests for 10 to 15 people or so, and that gives a flavor of the perception and relationship the “common folk” have with their political leaders and world-changing events. Nothing on the level of The Witcher 3, but still, a direction I want more open-world games to try.

And, even though, those side-quests are not filled with detail, they never felt tedious because the game has two interesting solutions to pace them properly. The day-night cycle and camping to cash-in the experience gained. When travelling from quest to quest you can do most of the distance by car, but there’s a catch. At night, the roads get populated by a different kind of enemy – Daemons – and these foes are, most of the times, stronger than your own party. So, there is a trade-off: you either try to fight them and gain proportionally more experience or you run to a safe spot to camp and ensure you cash-in the experience you gained throughout the day. Once again, nothing on the level of the Souls games, but it manages to imbue in the player a wariness of the night time and makes you appreciate even more the subtle changes that occur in the beautiful skybox. Oh, and camping is amazing because Ignis (your companion) cooks some of the most beautiful food in videogame history.

Talking about the main quest and its story, the phrase I would say is: it grows on you. As I described before, the plot is generic. But, instead of focusing too much on a line of events that would not surprise any player, the game creators clearly knew where the weaknesses might emerge from, and turn the focus of the drama to the characters and their arches. For me, the narratives that feed the progression, ground the world building and give credible life to the fantasy, are three: the main villain’s past story, the secret that Noctis’ father and Noctis’ love interest share, and the evolution of the friendship between the four companions.

Yes, the world is plagued by larger than life problems and advents. But those three main themes of the game use all that lore as a canvas and not a pretext. A beautiful and properly scaled canvas, if I might add. In the end, the creators knew where their limits were and focused on giving identity to the game and not overexposing the player with information that would only serve as a distraction from core concepts like human condition and the human constraints of the fate to do good. I was positively surprised by finding myself engaged in understanding the villain’s motives. I was surprised by how unconventional the love story was. And I was really surprised with how well the game captures the evolution of true friendships when you go through hazardous times.

Final Fantasy XV has its problems: the world is a bit empty; you don’t really get the feeling that you are driving the car; the combat lacks some weight; having to use the main menu to manage strategies in combat is a step back; constantly curing your companions breaks the pace of the real-time combat; and when the game leaves the open-world and goes linear the decrease in quality is evident.

Still, all those issues are mitigated by something truly great on its own: the landmarks on the empty world are beautiful and give flavor to your journey; the car is where you get the best conversations between the companions; the combat lacks depth but makes you feel like a true future King; I never expected this game to have old Final Fantasy strategy and was so happy that it has; having to cure your companions is in line with the main theme of the game; and the linear parts have some of the most iconic moments of the game – the beautiful city of Altissia, a travel by train that rekindles most of the magic of past Final Fantasy games, the infamous Chapter 13 that was poorly executed but you understand the idea behind it, and the last chapter which is worthy of the “Fantasy” legacy.

Hajime Tabata (the game Director) said several times, throughout the hellish development this game went through, that Final Fantasy fans would be the biggest challenge this game would have to face. He called it “Final Fantasy disease”, because the franchise has so many memorable moments in a story full of critical and commercial successes. And, as I said before, I include myself in that diagnosis. The last Final Fantasy I played was X, in 2001, because I felt that the following entries did not have the cure for that disease. And I was convinced this was going to be the last straw. Oh boy, was I wrong! Not only does Final Fantasy XV manage to make me feel like those games did, but also, I no longer crave for a good “AAA” turn-based JRPG.

Now, I am looking forward to Final Fantasy XVI.
 

Hustler

Member
Has anyone had this issue? I'm on chapter 6.... and all of a sudden I'm unable do regular attacks using the circle button and I can't use jump. I can warp attack and shift still, but holding circle does nothing. I'm at a loss what to do here.
 
Chapter 14 spoilers:
Is this the part where most people go back in time to level up and do some of the stuff they missed? Or should I just leave Hammerhead in the present and get the story out of the way? Think I'm lv45 by the way.
 

RedAssedApe

Banned
Psa

Game will be $39.99 at Target the week of 12/26. Great for those waiting on the patches and for those of us who bought from stores with price match/adjustment policies.
 

Nestunt

Member
Chapter 14 spoilers:
Is this the part where most people go back in time to level up and do some of the stuff they missed? Or should I just leave Hammerhead in the present and get the story out of the way? Think I'm lv45 by the way.

I ended the main story by level 50 playing in Normal difficulty. So, I don't think you NEED to go farm. Especially if you have a nice loot of Elixirs.
 

Majmun

Member
The sidequestst are really bad. Typical boring fetch quests.

I'm 16 hours in and only chapter 3 lol. So I'm still enjoying myself :p
 
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