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Final Fantasy XV |OT2| For Jared!

The second half of the game really does fly by!
I went from around Chapter 8 to 12 in one sitting, I'm kind of experiencing the second half as one big narrative build up.
I am really enjoying the story focus here, even though both it and the gameplay are a complete shift from my first 55 hours of play time.
 
And the no-sidequest run is complete!

Level 37/33/33/32

Things I tried to do:
- No sidequests. Though I think I accidentally did a Prompto photo-op at one time.
- No resting at anything other than camp, or at the end of a chapter (which sometimes gives a multiplier. I think I may have slept at a caravan once out of convenience)
- Avoid random battles if possible (some dungeon battles I ended up fighting out of convenience, like when going to get the second royal arm or
Ramuh
)

Money was hard to come by for a lot of the game since I wasn't out actively searching for items, and since I wasn't killing many monsters, there wasn't much to sell in that area.

I did end up playing a bunch of JMV for two Platinum Bangles, and the monster arena for two Centurion Bangles though.

Man you get way too much XP in this game just naturally.

Cz1xFLUXUAAlhhS.jpg:large

Ah damn it. Thanks for making me feel bad. You did that while I wasted a lot of time running around at times even at night just waiting for morning to come (rookie mistake I know) and barely beat it at lvl 45 with many side quests done. I must've done something wrong... Did use the multipliers right.
 

Malcolm9

Member
Not older JRPGs though, which is where I can see the disappointment coming from. That's been more of a recent trend for JRPGs.

Not really, they filled it up with constant turn based battles instead or walking around a fairly barren open world of some sort.
 

Zafir

Member
Not really, they filled it up with constant turn based battles instead or walking around a fairly barren open world of some sort.

I mean this game does too. If you took out the random battles as well, you'd be looking at way fucking less still.

Pointless comparison.
 

Mediking

Member
I fought Aranea last night and it was so hype. Air combat is amazing!!! She and I was fighting in mid-air!!! I would chase her with air-strike then we literally fought in the air!!! It was amazing!!!

Oh and... Add a Bestiary and a cutscene viewer and a LOG to see conversations that get interrupted. I missed the guys talking about Ravus because I fast travelled to Hammerhead.
 

Perfo

Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
Not really, they filled it up with constant turn based battles instead or walking around a fairly barren open world of some sort.

Exactly this. "Old" jrpgs were boring repetitive battle for 80% of their time. Probably considering this they're even shorter if you remove the battles.
 

Eylos

Banned
My New rank of final fantasy games that i finished (never finished 6)

7>8(cd 1 and 2)>10>9>15>12>4>5>1>8(cd3and4)


Its been a long time since i played 12, i don't remember the story, so next year this can change.
 
Last Hunt of the game :(


I've done all the hunts, virtually all quests in the game that are not upgrading useless weapons and so forth. Once I'm done with Adamantoise I'll just get fishing and survival to level 10, pick up the plat and call it a day. Terrific game.

The hardest hunt in the game are the Elder Coeurls btw.
 

pLow7

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

Some Hunts are pretty nice and the Dungeons are really great, so there IS interesting sidestuff. I agree some quests are pretty boring though.

Last Hunt of the game :(



I've done all the hunts, virtually all quests in the game that are not upgrading useless weapons and so forth. Once I'm done with Adamantoise I'll just get fishing and survival to level 10, pick up the plat and call it a day. Terrific game.

The hardest hunt in the game are the Elder Coeurls btw.

Did you do the Randolph quest line?
 
Some Hunts are pretty nice and the Dungeons are really great, so there IS interesting sidestuff. Some quests are boring too.



Did you do the Randolph quest line?

Yes, I did all the quests in the game other than the upgrading (I did upgrade my Engine Blade to Ultima Weapon) and the fishing ones.

The only thing I haven't done are the Adamantoise (which I'll do today or tomorrow) and the locked gate dungeons which I'll probably not do.
 

tanod

when is my burrito
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.

Accidentally change your control type?
 
This game is really pleasant to just do a couple of little things per night in. Normally I'd take a week off for an FF, but this little bit at a time aspect has really helped in not overdoing the experience.

Some of these quests are rubbish though. The girl that sends you to check the lighting system on the outposts, and they're all fine. Gripping vignette storytelling, SE.
 

Koozek

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.
Nice, interesting read!

Btw, most of the amazing battle/boss-themes are composed and arranged by Yoshitaka Suzuki (using some of Shimomura's motifs). Some of the games he worked on before are MGS4/PW, Bayonetta, The Last Story, or FFXIII-2/LR. He's on Twitter too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exxw72LQFLU


Town/city/outpost/Hammerhead music is by Tetsuya Shibata (ex-Capcom - composed for DMC and Monster Hunter games):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZlH5SpacQc


Also Keiji Kawamori (has been Synth Programmer at SE for a long time - worked on FFs since FFVIII) and Yoshino Aoki (ex-Capcom - composed for Breath of Fire III & IV) on many songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzRxZEhOTWY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfm3UXY4RQs
 
That's a good thing, it means that some of the plot developments work better for you than they did for me. I wish I cared, I really do.
I really cared for Luna during my playthrough of the game.
After finishing the game, I felt like her involvement in the story is way bigger than her involvement in the game. Actually I would regard Luna as the 3rd most important character in FFXV universe. My biggest complain is that a lot of scenes are clearly missing, and her story and her importance is not really explained well
 

Nestunt

Member
Btw, most of the amazing battle/boss-themes are composed and arranged by Yoshitaka Suzuki (using some of Shimomura's motifs). Some of the games he worked on before are MGS4/PW, Bayonetta, The Last Story, or FFXIII-2/LR. He's on Twitter too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exxw72LQFLU


Town/city/outpost/Hammerhead music is by Tetsuya Shibata (ex-Capcom - composed for DMC and Monster Hunter games):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZlH5SpacQc


Also Keiji Kawamori (has been Synth Programmer at SE for a long time - worked on FFs since FFVIII) and Yoshino Aoki (ex-Capcom - composed for Breath of Fire III & IV) on many songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzRxZEhOTWY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfm3UXY4RQs

Did not know!

Definitely going to take a closer look :)
 

Kingsora

Would rather have no penis than have to show his to a medical professional
So question. At the end of chapter 8 you go to
Altissia
. Can you always go back to the open world after that or do you have to wait some chapters?

I am asking because otherwise I keep doing sidecontent for a while if it isn't possible
 

jrush64

Banned
I'm about 40 hours in and just finished the boss in chapter 6. I gotta be honest, the game just isn't hooking me that much anymore, the story isn't particularly interesting right now. I hope it picks up soon.
 

GeeTeeCee

Member
I just started Chapter 3.

I'd finally adjusted to the massive size of the Hammerhead/Galdin Quay area, and now I'm in a place that's even bigger.
 

Jennipeg

Member
I really cared for Luna during my playthrough of the game.
After finishing the game, I felt like her involvement in the story is way bigger than her involvement in the game. Actually I would regard Luna as the 3rd most important character in FFXV universe. My biggest complain is that a lot of scenes are clearly missing, and her story and her importance is not really explained well

Yeah I agree with a lot of this, but it's also the reason I feel she has been shafted as a character.
For the 3rd most important, it's crazy that we know so little about her personality, less than the other 3 bros. I find it infuriating as a big fan of FF female's. The missing scenes would have developed her character and let us get to know her. As it is, there isn't much there but wasted potential for me.

So question. At the end of chapter 8 you go to
Altissia
. Can you always go back to the open world after that or do you have to wait some chapters?

I am asking because otherwise I keep doing sidecontent for a while if it isn't possible

I think you can go back in chapter 10. Go to a rest point and there will be an option. The story bit in
Altissia
is only a couple of hours.
 
I really cared for Luna during my playthrough of the game.
After finishing the game, I felt like her involvement in the story is way bigger than her involvement in the game. Actually I would regard Luna as the 3rd most important character in FFXV universe. My biggest complain is that a lot of scenes are clearly missing, and her story and her importance is not really explained well

I don't even know what she did or her purpose. (all game spoilers)
Okay, she gave Noct the ring. That's good - he needed it, but any character could have done that. She woke up the Astrals - I guess Noctis needed them for some reason? To be more powerful? I barely even used them, so maybe he didn't need them after all. :p Except for the mandatory story ones like Shiva killing Ifrit at the end. And Bahamut delivering a plot dump of information when Noctis went inside the crystal. Her importance to the story was not conveyed AT ALL to me in the game which is sad if she truly had an important role lol. I felt nothing about her death.
 

pablito

Member
Doubt I need to spoiler tag this but I will

I heard about a side quest to
lower NPC vendor prices. If it's true, what quest is it?
 
Yeah I agree with a lot of this, but it's also the reason I feel she has been shafted as a character.
For the 3rd most important, it's crazy that we know so little about her personality, less than the other 3 bros. I find it infuriating as a big fan of FF female's. The missing scenes would have developed her character and let us get to know her. As it is, there isn't much there but wasted potential for me.

I don't even know what she did or her purpose. (all game spoilers)
Okay, she gave Noct the ring. That's good - he needed it, but any character could have done that. She woke up the Astrals - I guess Noctis needed them for some reason? To be more powerful? I barely even used them, so maybe he didn't need them after all. :p Except for the mandatory story ones like Shiva killing Ifrit at the end. And Bahamut delivering a plot dump of information when Noctis went inside the crystal. Her importance to the story was not conveyed AT ALL to me in the game which is sad if she truly had an important role lol. I felt nothing about her death.
there is also a beautiful optional cutscene of Luna... I mean, why is it optional??
 

Jennipeg

Member
I don't even know what she did or her purpose. (all game spoilers)
Okay, she gave Noct the ring. That's good - he needed it, but any character could have done that. She woke up the Astrals - I guess Noctis needed them for some reason? To be more powerful? I barely even used them, so maybe he didn't need them after all. :p Except for the mandatory story ones like Shiva killing Ifrit at the end. And Bahamut delivering a plot dump of information when Noctis went inside the crystal. Her importance to the story was not conveyed AT ALL to me in the game which is sad if she truly had an important role lol. I felt nothing about her death.

I guess you also don't know
what a covenant is? I ask because I genuinely don't. Luna wakes them up and asks for a covenant, this takes it's toll on her physically. But does anyone know what it is? She isn't summoning them, or controlling them, she's just their alarm clock.
 
So question. At the end of chapter 8 you go to
Altissia
. Can you always go back to the open world after that or do you have to wait some chapters?

I am asking because otherwise I keep doing sidecontent for a while if it isn't possible

When you get to the
hotel in Altissia you'll unlock the ability to go "back in time" to the moment just before leaving for Altissia. Time travel is the only way to go back to the open world from that point forward. Everything carries over though, mechanically speaking it's basically just a warp even though narratively it's time travel.
 
Nice, interesting read!

Btw, most of the amazing battle/boss-themes are composed and arranged by Yoshitaka Suzuki (using some of Shimomura's motifs). Some of the games he worked on before are MGS4/PW, Bayonetta, The Last Story, or FFXIII-2/LR. He's on Twitter too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exxw72LQFLU


Town/city/outpost/Hammerhead music is by Tetsuya Shibata (ex-Capcom - composed for DMC and Monster Hunter games):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZlH5SpacQc


Also Keiji Kawamori (has been Synth Programmer at SE for a long time - worked on FFs since FFVIII) and Yoshino Aoki (ex-Capcom - composed for Breath of Fire III & IV) on many songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzRxZEhOTWY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfm3UXY4RQs

Holy fuck, Yoshino Aoki worked on this? Breath of Fire III's OST is my favorite RPG soundtrack of all time.
 

Adaren

Member
Much earlier in the OT, I posited that
Luna was a McGuffin. Now that I've finished the game, I don't think my opinion's really changed.

Also, fun fact: this game's Bechdel Test score is
1, thanks to the scene where Luna and the poorly voiced Altissa politician talk about the Leviathan summoning.
 

Toth

Member
So according to the SE blog post:

On top of both the Holiday Packs, FINAL FANTASY XV players can get access to NEW GAME+ mode! NEW GAME+ will be available once the December 22nd update is applied. To note, the update is completely free, but internet connection is required to download it. That’s right, once you’ve beaten the game, you can carry all of your gear, abilities, Ascension tree to play through the game again!

Looks promising, especially if you want to do very low level runs but still have the gear needed to succeed on the really nasty mobs and hunts (especially accessory slots)
 

Gbraga

Member
Ultima Blade :')

It kinda looks like shit, but I can appreciate the fanservice here.

Also really happy that we can airstep with this game's Ultima Blade :p

I think this is the first time I got to hear Noctis' theme in-game. Very briefly, unfortunately. Cute cutscene with Cid about Regis, it's a shame we can't actually see the hammer, like we can with our weapons, it'd be cool.

Also Keiji Kawamori (has been Synth Programmer at SE for a long time - worked on FFs since FFVIII) and Yoshino Aoki (ex-Capcom - composed for Breath of Fire III & IV) on many songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzRxZEhOTWY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfm3UXY4RQs

So he's the one responsible for Wanderlust? Damn, this dude is godlike. Still my favorite song.

So according to the SE blog post:



Looks promising, especially if you want to do very low level runs but still have the gear needed to succeed on the really nasty mobs and hunts (especially accessory slots)

So we'll start over from level 1 on NG+? That's fantastic!

I think I'll do a level 1 run on NG+ then.

And for future playthroughs, I'll just use the level stopper to keep myself always on the current main quest level.
 

TheBowen

Sat alone in a boggy marsh
Almost finished chapter 13 ( i think) god that chapter was horrednous

How long does the game have to go after this? I want to finish the game today so i can trade it in for £32. Sidequests are so boring so have no interest in playing it after i finish
 

LordKasual

Banned
Holy fuck, Yoshino Aoki worked on this? Breath of Fire III's OST is my favorite RPG soundtrack of all time.

I think most of my favorite tracks from III were actually Kaida, but Aoki did IV basically solo and I loved that, so either of those 2 names always make me happy to see.
 

Mediking

Member
WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!!!!!!!!!

WHAT'S THE NAME OF THAT CATCHY AND SEXY SONG THAT PLAYED WHILE NOCTIS IS LAYING IN BED IN LESTALUM AND IS HAVING DREAMS OF THE OMEN TRAILER?!?!?!? IT JUST HAPPENED AND IT SOUNDED SO GOOD. WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE SONG???

SORRY FOR SCREAMING!!!

Reposting for a 3rd time. Somebody please tell me. I will PAY you.
 
What the fuck.

Fighting behemoth and it tells me to cast fire when he's standing over the oil drums and the shit will not work. I have fire equipped and it will NOT cast and it just keeps getting me fucking skewered by him.

I don't understand why I don't get the combat in this game and it's not clicking with me but it's driving me insane.
 

Cornbread78

Member
Fuck...

Just finished ch.4 and the
Titan fight. The flashbacks were great again, but death flags all over Lady Luna,..
the ending is going to be painful, isn't it...
 
Man, Castlemark Tower was a bitch, even at level 64. Luckily Ramuh saved my ass when I had to fight three red giants, a snake thing, and a platoon of Flan.

Well, all the dungeons are cleared, back to finishing the story in Chapter 9.
 

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
Is there any decent combat guide out there? I want to get gud with weapons like the Greatsword.
 
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