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[Mister Megative]

So now the game is "bad"?

All I'm reading here now are negative impressions and opinions.

Before Ardyn fight leak "Game looks amazing".

After Ardyn fight leak "Game looks shit".

Almost none of the people critiquing the game have played it. Most impressions I've seen are positive. *shrug*

 

[chozen]

Story feels super rushed and underwhelming from what I am seeing and hearing.

A lot of bad execution as well in many areas of the scenes.

Really seems like they just had to choose something to go with
no matter how good or bad it was 2 years ago and craft a game based around strictly that.

So much was cut out too. But everything thing else from a gameplay standpoint seems cool.

Just really disappointed at the squandered potential, and that whole ending sequence does not look good after thinking that I waited 10 years for .. that.

 

[Charamiwa]

So now the game is "bad"?

All I'm reading here now are negative impressions and opinions.

Tune in tomorrow for the positive ones.

 

[poipoipoi9]

So now the game is "bad"?

All I'm reading here now are negative impressions and opinions.

Par for the course for every FF game. My advice is to seek out opinions from people you trust first.

And keep in mind most people here don't have the game yet and are basing their opinions on streams.

 

[Solid Sora]

But Bioshock Infinite has worse gameplay then all of the ones before it. Gameplay seems fine in this one.

Also question did you take blind Iggy with you to fight Marlboro?

Yeah gameplay is good for the most part. What I meant by the infinite comparison is that the story feels like a mishmash of half-assed ideas. You can sense the development issues and the one thousand rewritings everytime a cutscene starts.

Most of the scenes from the Dawn trailer (2015) didn't even make it into the game..

And yeah I took it with me, I think he comes anyways whatever what you choose.

 

[poipoipoi9]

Yeah gameplay is good for the most part. What I meant by the infinite comparison is that the story feels like a mishmash of half-assed ideas. You can sense the development issues and the one thousand rewritings everytime a cutscene starts.

Most of the scenes from the Dawn trailer (2015) didn't even make it into the game..

And yeah I took it with me, I think he comes anyways whatever what you choose.

I'd like to ask, since you have the game, how much of Altissia do they let you explore? From the stream it looks like you only get to explore a small portion of the map.

 

[Falk]

Before Ardyn fight leak "Game looks amazing".

After Ardyn fight leak "Game looks shit".

Almost none of the people critiquing the game have played it. Most impressions I've seen are positive. *shrug*

But everything thing else from a gameplay standpoint seems cool.

I think chozen nailed it on the head - the game's impressions so far shine brightest in its most basic gameplay - exploration, combat, towns (lol) - while a lot of negativity seems to surround set pieces.

I find it a little amusing, considering FF often meets with the opposite - somewhat bland gameplay when grinding normal enemies and running around on the map, and everyone-talks-about-this-nonstop set pieces.

 

[Mifec]

I was about to ask before Falk posted, how easy is it to grind for levels?

 

[Solid Sora]

What frustrates me isn't the game quality, XV is my favorite game of the year, and I had a lot of fun with it. The problem is that it had potential to be one of my favorite games of all time, it just needed more time and a clearer vision.

I'd like to ask, since you have the game, how much of Altissia do they let you explore? From the stream it looks like you only get to explore a small portion of the map.

Yeah you don't explore the full city, but it's big enough as it is. Full of interesting hunts too. Loved the Altissia chapter.

 

[Falk]

and I had a lot of fun with it.

Wait, you're already finished?

 

[chozen]

I think chozen nailed it on the head - the game's impressions so far shine brightest in its most basic gameplay - exploration, combat, towns (lol) - while a lot of negativity seems to surround set pieces.

I find it a little amusing, considering FF often meets with the opposite - somewhat bland gameplay when grinding normal enemies and running around on the map, and everyone-talks-about-this-nonstop set pieces.

Exactly, Story and Setpieces seem weak, in comparison to the everything else the game offers. Combat, Open World, Music, Setting, Animations, Monster designs/hunts, Dungeons, Activities and so on.

 

[Via Purifico]

I honestly was not expecting to explore all of Altissia anyway but glad to know it's big enough.

 

[AkirraKrylon]

So now the game is "bad"?

All I'm reading here now are negative impressions and opinions.

I think some people are blowing things wayyy out of proprtion. We've been seeing bits and pieces of the game in a disjointed manner.

I'll take the word of people who have played it themselves (SolidSora, Jason from Kotaku, etc.). They are all saying the same thing: The story has some presentation issues here and there but it's overall a very good game.

 

[Impulsor]

It's a Bioshock Infinite situation really. The game itself is very good imo.

Before Ardyn fight leak "Game looks amazing".

After Ardyn fight leak "Game looks shit".

Almost none of the people critiquing the game have played it. Most impressions I've seen are positive. *shrug*

Tune in tomorrow for the positive ones.

Par for the course for every FF game. My advice is to seek out opinions from people you trust first.

And keep in mind most people here don't have the game yet and are basing their opinions on streams.

I'm getting the game regardless.

10 years waiting for this. Really hyped. I know I'll even enjoy it it is over the top, like the leviathan battle.

Just a little disheartening reading some stuff here.

But in the end, it will be my opinion that counts. I may agree with some here, and disagree with others. But that's the fun part of posting here, if you agree one verything, you can't have a nice discussion.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[ced]

So now the game is "bad"?

All I'm reading here now are negative impressions and opinions.

I still think it looks like a mess, but I'm not a huge FF fan so there is no bias. Last FF I enjoyed was 12 (which I freaking loved) so I was hoping this one would be like it.

I'm hoping I'll still enjoy it.

 

[Impulsor]

I still think it looks like a mess, but I'm not a huge FF fan so there is no bias. Last FF I enjoyed was 12 (which I freaking loved) so I was hoping this one would be like it.

I'm hoping I'll still enjoy it.

When 12 launched I started it and dropped it really soon, almost half way through.

I didn't enjoy the story too much, but I didn't dislike it either. I can't wait for the HD REmaster so I can play thorugh it propperly.

At one point it even excited me more than FFXV.

 

[Solid Sora]

Wait, people didn't like the set-pieces? I throughly enjoyed each one of them, wished there were more! The Leviathan segment was anime as fuck and I loved it for that. There was also an entire chapter that had you running on a moving train, teleport into moving airships and destroying them from inside before warping again, that shit was HYPE. Ardyn's battle was some personal shit and every single qte hit in the end was super satisfying.

Even smaller ones like chasing ghost Ardyn inside the train I felt were well done and intriguing. Overall I prefer the chapter from 9 onwards over the open world chapters.

Wait, you're already finished?

Yup.

 

[Via Purifico]

Maybe I am missing something but the past 4 pages I see opinion pieces and some thoughts on the story we've seen not that the entire game is "shit"

Anyways, I am pretty excited still.

 

[benzy]

Wait, people didn't like the set-pieces? I throughly enjoyed each one of them, wished there were more! The Leviathan segment was anime as fuck and I loved it for that. There was also an entire chapter that had you running on a moving train, teleport into moving airships and destroying them from inside before warping again, that shit was HYPE. Ardyn's battle was some personal shit and every single qte hit in the end was super satisfying.

Even smaller ones like chasing ghost Ardyn inside the train I felt were well done and intriguing. Overall I prefer the chapter from 9 onwards over the open world chapters.



Yup.

Do you get to go to and explore Tenebrae?

 

[AkirraKrylon]

There are two thoughts I have seen shared not just here but other places that I don't quite agree with.

1.) Ardyn doesn't have a final form.

2.) Ardyn is actually the final boss/baddie.


Am I the only one who kind of appreciates that he is the bad guy, always was the bad guy, he doesn't have some mutated monstrous form, and you just need to beat him?

For example in FFIX (probably in my top 3 favorite FF games) Necron was basically a "who the fuck is this guy now? Oh well I just gotta beat him I guess..." boss at the end that you had no real emotional attachment to. Were there things in the game that kind of hinted he would be there? Sure...but you were never given any emotional motivation to want to take him out.

Same in X. Jecht/Sin was always your final destination even though you knew there was some other power at work that made the infinite sin reincarnation possible. But fighting Yu Yevon was kinda anti-climatic.


tldr; I kinda like the fact that Ardyn is the final boss in the same human form we see him in throughout the game and it doesn't really bother me that he doesn't have some god like form. Hopefully the game builds up enough tension over the second half to make you really want to stab this asshole in the chest.

 

[chozen]

I throughly enjoyed each one of them, wished there were more!

That's also my issue is while it seems people are mixed on the setpieces,
there aren't too many and I thought this game would have like war sequences and air ships invading cities often that you would have to protect several times over.
I also thought every summon would have their own battle like older FFs. Then Ardyn doesn't have his own giant setpiece fight, and Knights of the round are never used.

The game sounds really small/short.

I thought the last fight of Kingsglaive was setting a bar of what to expect in the game.

 

[Charamiwa]

I'm getting the game regardless.

10 years waiting for this. Really hyped. I know I'll even enjoy it it is over the top, like the leviathan battle.

Just a little disheartening reading some stuff here.

But in the end, it will be my opinion that counts. I may agree with some here, and disagree with others. But that's the fun part of posting here, if you agree one verything, you can't have a nice discussion.

Thanks for the replies.

I think you have to remember where you are. This is a spoiler thread for a hyped game that comes out in a week. Which means it's populated by people who either have a rather unhealthy obsession with the game to the point that they want to know right away before playing it, or people that were set on never playing it or aren't that interested but have a morbid curiosity about the game (I'll admit, that's me).

Either way, I don't think it's a reliable sample of people who can judge the game fairly. We know nothing about the journey, the little moments, the flow of the game, what it's like to go back to the game regularly, if it makes you want to play again and again... All we can react to are little samples here and there, so when the people in this thread see something like the Leviathan fight being a mess, it's all doom and gloom. Because we have nothing to balance it out.

 

[Impulsor]

Wait, people didn't like the set-pieces? I throughly enjoyed each one of them, wished there were more! The Leviathan segment was anime as fuck and I loved it for that. There was also an entire chapter that had you running on a moving train, teleport into moving airships and destroying them from inside before warping again, that shit was HYPE. Ardyn's battle was some personal shit and every single qte hit in the end was super satisfying.

Even smaller ones like chasing ghost Ardyn inside the train I felt were well done and intriguing. Overall I prefer the chapter from 9 onwards over the open world chapters.



Yup.

How many hours did it take you to complete your playthorugh?

 

[AkirraKrylon]

Wait, people didn't like the set-pieces? I throughly enjoyed each one of them, wished there were more! The Leviathan segment was anime as fuck and I loved it for that. There was also an entire chapter that had you running on a moving train, teleport into moving airships and destroying them from inside before warping again, that shit was HYPE. Ardyn's battle was some personal shit and every single qte hit in the end was super satisfying.

Even smaller ones like chasing ghost Ardyn inside the train I felt were well done and intriguing. Overall I prefer the chapter from 9 onwards over the open world chapters.



Yup.

Didn't realize you had finished the entire game already. How is the overall exploration aspect from chapter 10 onward? Don't need specific details just curious on the overall feel.

The current understanding is that the completely open world feel is gone but there are still plenty of medium-to-large areas to wander around in.

Overall feel for the game?

 

[Solid Sora]

Do you get to go to and explore Tenebrae?

.

It was the biggest cockblock in my entire life.

You go there, you see it in the background, get super excited, few mins later you discover that the game won't allow you to leave the train station. Tenebrae is just a (very beautiful) background in this game.

 

[Falk]

Wait, people didn't like the set-pieces?

I was just summarizing general impressions from the thread. Withholding personal opinion until release date even if I'm posting in this thread.

 

[chozen]

.

It was the biggest cockblock in my entire life.

You go there, you see it in the background, get super excited, few mins later you discover that the game won't allow you to leave the train station. Tenebrae is just a (very beautiful) background in this game.

WOWWWW.

 

[Seven Force]

.

It was the biggest cockblock in my entire life.

You go there, you see it in the background, get super excited, few mins later you discover that the game won't allow you to leave the train station. Tenebrae is just a (very beautiful) background in this game.

Wow.

 

[paolo11]

.

It was the biggest cockblock in my entire life.

You go there, you see it in the background, get super excited, few mins later you discover that the game won't allow you to leave the train station. Tenebrae is just a (very beautiful) background in this game.

Is there a possibility for a true ending aside from the ending we got?

 

[Dark_castle]

There are two thoughts I have seen shared not just here but other places that I don't quite agree with.

1.) Ardyn doesn't have a final form.

2.) Ardyn is actually the final boss/baddie.


Am I the only one who kind of appreciates that he is the bad guy, always was the bad guy, he doesn't have some mutated monstrous form, and you just need to beat him?

For example in FFIX (probably in my top 3 favorite FF games) Necron was basically a "who the fuck is this guy now? Oh well I just gotta beat him I guess..." boss at the end that you had no real emotional attachment to. Were there things in the game that kind of hinted he would be there? Sure...but you were never given any emotional motivation to want to take him out.

Same in X. Jecht/Sin was always your final destination even though you knew there was some other power at work that made the infinite sin reincarnation possible. But fighting Yu Yevon was kinda anti-climatic.


tldr; I kinda like the fact that Ardyn is the final boss in the same human form we see him in throughout the game and it doesn't really bother me that he doesn't have some god like form. Hopefully the game builds up enough tension over the second half to make you really want to stab this asshole in the chest.

No I liked that too, even if I know next to nothing about Ardyn and the things that's happening between him and the heroes. JRPG's always have you fighting some kind of god or ancient demon or some shit as the final boss it's tiring. For once having just a plain human (with some crazy powers granted) as the main villain, final boss is a breath of fresh air.

 

[semiconscious]

Really seems like they just had to choose something to go with
no matter how good or bad it was 2 years ago and craft a game based around strictly that...

basically, yes, this. possibly true (to a lesser extent) of last guardian, as well. eventually, whatever aspects are still not close to completion just have to be discarded, & what's left reshaped to accommodate for the absence...

 

[Desi]

.

Tenebrae is just a (very beautiful) background in this game.

guess I can always hold out for solo party dlc

 

[Via Purifico]

.

It was the biggest cockblock in my entire life.

You go there, you see it in the background, get super excited, few mins later you discover that the game won't allow you to leave the train station. Tenebrae is just a (very beautiful) background in this game.

Ouch.

 

[Charamiwa]

.

It was the biggest cockblock in my entire life.

You go there, you see it in the background, get super excited, few mins later you discover that the game won't allow you to leave the train station. Tenebrae is just a (very beautiful) background in this game.

Pls fix this in dlc

 

[ced]

When 12 launched I started it and dropped it really soon, almost half way through.

I didn't enjoy the story too much, but I didn't dislike it either. I can't wait for the HD REmaster so I can play thorugh it propperly.

At one point it even excited me more than FFXV.

I should have mentioned I could care less about the stories of these games. I loved the gameplay of 12.

 

[Impulsor]

I think you have to remember where you are. This is a spoiler thread for a hyped game that comes out in a week. Which means it's populated by people who either have a rather unhealthy obsession with the game to the point that they want to know right away before playing it, or people that were set on never playing it or aren't that interested but have a morbid curiosity about the game (I'll admit, that's me).

Either way, I don't think it's a reliable sample of people who can judge the game fairly. We know nothing about the journey, the little moments, the flow of the game, what it's like to go back to the game regularly, if it makes you want to play again and again... All we can react to are little samples here and there, so when the people in this thread see something like the Leviathan fight being a mess, it's all doom and gloom. Because we have nothing to balance it out.

Yeah, I'm still keeping my head cool regarding these opinions. Wise words.

I should have mentioned I could care less about the stories of these games. I loved the gameplay of 12.

I assumed as much seeing you really liked 12 and what you said about the saga in general.

I think 12 is one of the strongest entries when you take gameplay into account.

 

[RubberJohnny]

I'm honestly really disappointed - the bit I was looking forwards to was exploring the world, because I love that from fantasy games and the FF series do worldbuilding and unique production design so well and there was a lot of emphasis on the experiential aspects of it with the road trip and camping out and so on. Going to all the cities a big RPG whose gameplay is a bit more western-inspired? Great.

But it's kind of obvious they couldn't get everything done. Looking back they were building out the train station in the start of 2015, so after a few years of development they seemed to realise they were nowhere near completion and couldn't get it done in under 10 years or something.

I thought they were just being coy with their marketing, with a lot of it focused on areas early in the game, but nope we've kind of seen everything and that's all they have. No Solheim, Tenebrae is a few rooms, loads of towns on that map not there.

I'm kind of amazed more people aren't disappointed in this and are still obsessed with arguing nonsense like if Luna is strong or the ending is good tbh.

It's a third of a game.

 

[Mister Megative]

It's a third of a game.

Amazing hyperbole.

 

[Mister Megative]

Wait, people didn't like the set-pieces? I throughly enjoyed each one of them, wished there were more! The Leviathan segment was anime as fuck and I loved it for that. There was also an entire chapter that had you running on a moving train, teleport into moving airships and destroying them from inside before warping again, that shit was HYPE. Ardyn's battle was some personal shit and every single qte hit in the end was super satisfying.

Even smaller ones like chasing ghost Ardyn inside the train I felt were well done and intriguing. Overall I prefer the chapter from 9 onwards over the open world chapters.



Yup.

What was your playtime? Average I've heard is around 40 hours. Also, how many bosses were there roughly? Any word on ultimate weapons?

 

[DKHF]

.

It was the biggest cockblock in my entire life.

You go there, you see it in the background, get super excited, few mins later you discover that the game won't allow you to leave the train station. Tenebrae is just a (very beautiful) background in this game.

Damn that's disappointing, but not that unexpected since we hadn't seen gameplay of it.

 

[jb1234]

Amazing hyperbole.

This entire thread has been a fascinating social experiment.

 

[scarlet]

*reposting*

1. What happened to Cor Leonis?

2. How many summon that we actually can summon in battle?

 

[semiconscious]

This entire thread has been a fascinating social experiment.

when infinite possibilities transform into harsh realities ...

 

[chozen]

The game sounds really small. It's as if they only started creating it all in 2014.

 

[Pooya]

.

It was the biggest cockblock in my entire life.

You go there, you see it in the background, get super excited, few mins later you discover that the game won't allow you to leave the train station. Tenebrae is just a (very beautiful) background in this game.

Is Niflheim even in the game?

 

[RubberJohnny]

1. What happened to Cor Leonis?

Someone said he dies

How many summon that we actually can summon in battle?

Three big ones plus Chocobo and Carbuncle

 

[Falk]

Is Niflheim even in the game?

rofl

Spoiler

yes

 

[poipoipoi9]

How much of Niflheim do you get to explore?

 

[dramatis]

Watched the much-vaunted Luna speech. It's the equivalent of "let us pray for the victims", not a powerful or moving speech at all, just a lot of grandiose nothing lines. Voice actor portraying the meek Luna was restrained from putting more power into the speech.

These kinds of princess characters are pretty hollow.

I'm honestly really disappointed - the bit I was looking forwards to was exploring the world, because I love that from fantasy games and the FF series do worldbuilding and unique production design so well and there was a lot of emphasis on the experiential aspects of it with the road trip and camping out and so on. Going to all the cities a big RPG whose gameplay is a bit more western-inspired? Great.

But it's kind of obvious they couldn't get everything done. Looking back they were building out the train station in the start of 2015, so after a few years of development they seemed to realise they were nowhere near completion and couldn't get it done in under 10 years or something.

I thought they were just being coy with their marketing, with a lot of it focused on areas early in the game, but nope we've kind of seen everything and that's all they have. No Solheim, Tenebrae is a few rooms, loads of towns on that map not there.

I'm kind of amazed more people aren't disappointed in this and are still obsessed with arguing nonsense like if Luna is strong or the ending is good tbh.

It's a third of a game.

Why are you disappointed that marketing lied to you when it was extremely obvious that it was a lie?

I looked at the history of game development from both west and Japan and the only conclusion you could reach, particularly with the troubled development history of 15, was that map was going to be a huge lie. Other developers more seasoned in creating open worlds and who have made multiple games with open worlds, they have never done a fully fleshed out map that size. If Ubisoft with its hundreds of people per Asscreed/Watchdogs and its well-defined production pipeline isn't doing it in 2016, if Bethesda with their long development times and RPG experience wasn't doing it, if Rockstar with its enormous GTA budget and longer development times wasn't doing it, what on earth made you think Square Enix Japan, a company that is only getting over its technology hurdles from the previous generation in the past TWO years, was going to be able to do it?

 

[Solid Sora]

Is there a possibility for a true ending aside from the ending we got?

Highly unlikely.

How many hours did it take you to complete your playthorugh?

What was your playtime? Average I've heard is around 40 hours. Also, how many bosses were there roughly? Any word on ultimate weapons?

Ah, I was trying to avoid mentioning that, since I don't want to start another shitstorm, but here it goes. I finished the game in a total of 25 hours. Admittedly, I didn't do much of the side content, and I was rushing a little bit since I have midterms next week, but I did a few (reached Rank 4 in hunts), and never skipped a dialogue or a cutscene.

I'm sure of one thing, it's not a 50 hours for main story like Tabata has claimed.

Also, how many bosses were there roughly? Any word on ultimate weapons?

I thought you were reviewing it for a site, or am I mixing you with another gaffer? Anyway, Can't remember how many bosses were in the game (and not sure what exactly qualify as a boss, some are very strong monesters, others have their own parry animations and little set-pieces), but there was a good amount, then there's the hunts.

Didn't encounter any ultimate weapons, didn't even get the whole royal arms set, there's a few tombs for me to find out later. I plan to dig into the post game content soon, but not in the next few days. I can see myself playing the game for a hundred hours more.

How much of Niflheim do you get to explore?

Not much of the city itself, but there's a very lengthy (and amazingly creepy) dungeon.

Also, you can make Young Noctis wear the king's suit, and he's rocking it.