Final Fantasy XV SPOILER THREAD

Jorgie said:
Honestly, they could have dropped the main plot(s) from the first half of the game and made it about the deamons being actual people. Chapters 13 and 14 pretty much made everything that happened prior irrelevant. knights blades? Who cares you get them ALL when you enter God mode! Awakening of the Astrals? Who cares when they play no part in actually defeating the big bad.

I also refuse to blame open world design on shitty writing / what was chosen to stay in the game.
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Frumix said:
Open world has nothing to do with anything. Open world didn't prevent Assassin's Creed 2 or Infamous SS from being cohesive stories. A lot of content just seems gone.
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Basically these.

Open world design can at times impede narrative structure, no doubt. But, in a well done game that properly paces its story.and actual information inside of the game world provides sufficient structure to the events presented, what kind of design said game has is irrelevant.

The problems of FF15 is that most of the characters themselves have been hollowed out of any meaning or relevance to any proceedings, and the plot and pacing structure of the game is completely effed, leaning heavily on Kingsglaive and the brotherhood anime to even have a basic start to an understanding of what's going on, even then, events rely heavily on dismal plot convenience and incomprehensible contrivance
 
I must also say, the summons are impressive (despite the lack of them or how to summon them). It now tops FFX amongst my favorite FF summon scenes.
 
Is it possible that they had to cut so much stuff because they were running out of disc space and SE didn't want to ship a 2 disc game?
I mean they even said that they added some additional event scenes with the latest patch because it couldn't fit on the blu ray disc.

I just can't imagine that they didn't produce a playable version of Tenebrae or some of the other underused/cut areas (Accordo, Nilflheim, the big train station from last year...etc.).
 
ULTROS! said:
I must also say, the summons are impressive (despite the lack of them or how to summon them). It now tops FFX amongst my favorite FF summon scenes.
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They are all amazing to me. Never get over how Ramuh's staff twitches as the lightning strikes.

Sapientas said:
They are pretty awesome, but I'm still not sure how you even activate them. I would love to choose too.
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They are chosen at random from what I can tell when you are near death.

Another thing about summons: Find it as a huge let down that Bahamut and Ifrit aren't true summons.
 
ULTROS! said:
FFXVI shouldn't attempt an open world. I'm fine with towns as big as Lestallum and field areas as big as say... The Calm Lands of FFX.

Though what they can lift from FFXV are the dungeon designs and strong characterizations.
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I keep saying, Square had the perfect JRPG world template with Dragon Quest 8. You don't need excess of space to make a world seem big, but you can't do that without SOME space. Find the balance between exploration and linearity and you might strike gold.

Don't get me wrong, I am at awe with the explorable area in FFXV, but even I feel it's too much. Downsize it to something that is half its original size and use the extra space to flesh out other areas and make them larger(areas that FFXV totally skimped on)... BOOM!

I really hope, one day, we get another FF game where you can travel the entire world(another FF game with a world-spanning adventure, not just an adventure that spans a few countries or regions)
 
Jorgie said:
They are chosen at random from what I can tell when you are near death.

Another thing about summons: Find it as a huge let down that Bahamut and Ifrit aren't true summons.
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I thought that was it, but I got the chance to summon in a few lengthy battles too.
 
Sylas said:
Alright, no. Fuck the Pitioss Ruins. Parts of it feel like My First Unity Platformer™.
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That's exactly what it is. I'm amazed they even attempted to make that with Luminous.

Some of the puzzles were good, though (but the last 2 sections broke me).
 
The fact that the collectors edition of the strategy guide gives a better history of the Lucis/Niflheim conflict than the game is crazy.
 
Socivol said:
The fact that the collectors edition of the strategy guide gives a better history of the Lucis/Niflheim conflict than the game is crazy.
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I believe certain crucial backstory to FF13 was also only available through side materials such as guidebooks and novelettes. Which is nothing new to Japanese media, unfortunately.

Infest said:
I just can't imagine that they didn't produce a playable version of Tenebrae or some of the other underused/cut areas (Accordo, Nilflheim, the big train station from last year...etc.).
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I mean, even things that are in the game are underproduced:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXN1KJ2_G0M

This is their hyped up superboss. Embarrasing.
 
ebil said:
That's exactly what it is. I'm amazed they even attempted to make that with Luminous.

Some of the puzzles were good, though (but the last 2 sections broke me).
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I lost all interest when I got to the faux 2d portion. Don't make a 2d level while giving me 3D movement. Like, Christ. That was miserable.
 
Here's a summary of Kingsglaive + FFXV's story: http://www.oneangrygamer.net/2016/11/final-fantasy-xv-ending-explained/17808/

And here's a summary of the summary!

Everybody dies trying to save Noctis because he’s the chosen one to restore light to the land and remove a growing daemon invasion from an immortal savior named Ardyn, who became tainted over time. The only way to remove the daemon threat for good requires Noctis to give up his own life and purge all the daemons from Ardyn’s soul in the afterlife. Thus even Noctis dies at the end in order to restore the kingdom of Lucis and remove all the daemons from the land.
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Reading all this, god this game is depressing and sad. Saddest mainline FF game I've played.
 
preta said:
Are we really sure that the bros die in the ending? It seemed pretty ambiguous to me.
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I think that's still vague, but the one who posted the summary hits all the points.
 
ULTROS! said:
I think that's still vague, but the one who posted the summary hits all the points.
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There were some other things in there that I certainly don't remember, like Regis and Luna knowing Noctis would have to sacrifice himself. Also, that summary claims that Ardyn was denied a right to the afterlife - I watched that scene again, and no such thing is mentioned. He was denied a right to the throne, it seems, and this person misunderstood it. They also seem to mix up the Six and the old kings of Lucis.
 
So what they did with the logo post credits, pretty cool.

Story wise this might be the worst FF has been in terms of plot. There are so many good ideas, the characters were all pretty likable this time, the world seems interesting, but they just utterly failed to execute properly.

Chapter 13 was terrible to play and they made it super long too, holy heck.

At least I enjoyed actually playing the game though. The combat does seem a bit simple this time but it was fun. I liked the open word even though a lot of the side quests were fun. Plus I still have to go through a few dungeons, which are top notch btw in terms of how beautiful they are.

I guess I leave with a more positive experience than I did XIII. At least I actually wanted a happy end for the characters in this one than I did XV. XIV still the best FF product in the last 10 years though.
 
I'm just baffled by Chapter 9 (which I finished). It could be because I'm dense at times but while the general shape of the plot is relatively clear, the little details are missing, the connective tissue needed to get from one section to the next.

Example: Luna is under protective custody before doing the rite. After the lady in charge leaves, a bunch of soldiers charge in and point guns at her. Why, exactly? The imperials hadn't arrived yet, right? And is she being forced to do this? It doesn't seem that way in other scenes. I honestly can't figure out what is motivating anyone at this point. Is it just me?

As for her dying, who cares? I'm sure the game is going to work very hard to make me believe Noctis is devastated over this but they didn't get one present-day scene together (aside from some random goodbye dream). XIII's story was its own special form of bad but at least it was more or less engaging. XV might have the worst story (in terms of execution) in a modern FF simply because it's boring as fuck and I don't give a shit about any of the characters.

And good god, the leviathan battle was a hot mess. If they couldn't make it fun, it should have just been a cutscene.
 
I actually quite liked the second half of XV's structure. Would you say that the linear parts of XIII are similar? I've been meaning to play it at some point, and if they're like XV's, I don't think I'll have a problem with them, as many have.
 
preta said:
There were some other things in there that I certainly don't remember, like Regis and Luna knowing Noctis would have to sacrifice himself. Also, that summary claims that Ardyn was denied a right to the afterlife - I watched that scene again, and no such thing is mentioned. He was denied a right to the throne, it seems, and this person misunderstood it. They also seem to mix up the Six and the old kings of Lucis.
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Hmmm... Does that mean Ardyn is technically a relative of Noctis? Or was Noctis from this "Izunia" line?
 
ULTROS! said:
Hmmm... Does that mean Ardyn is technically a relative of Noctis? Or was Noctis from this "Izunia" line?
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The way I took it, Izunia was a pretender to the throne ("not chosen by the Crystal") who is actually the ancestor of the Lucian kings since. This would make Noctis from the Izunia line.
 
Ardyn is not related to Noctis. He says his name is Ardyn Lucis Caelum but a jealous King who wasn't chosen demonized and banished him. Its safe to assume Ardyn was bigger than that king, this also goes with the UCE artwork.

So the one who ascended wasn't a Lucis Caelum from birth, which means Noctis isn't related to Ardyn but to the guy who fucked him over.
 
I was so tempted to make the picture I took into the final battle one that was almost exclusively Cindy's chest. It would have been hilarious in that cutscene, I may have to do that once I start getting tired of the postgame. I also considered some Gladio butt shots but my Prompto couldn't get one that was centered well.
 
I just beat the game, Ch 13 was probably the worse but overall loved the game.

Here is the image i got from it

gHhROK9.jpg
 
preta said:
Are we really sure that the bros die in the ending? It seemed pretty ambiguous to me.
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It's assumed they're dead because when you have your final face-off against Ardyn in the afterlife, they appear alongside King Regis followed by Luna and the KOTR.
preta said:
Also, that summary claims that Ardyn was denied a right to the afterlife - I watched that scene again, and no such thing is mentioned. He was denied a right to the throne, it seems, and this person misunderstood it. They also seem to mix up the Six and the old kings of Lucis.
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Kinda hard to reach the afterlife when you've become an immortal
 
Deadly said:
It's assumed they're dead because when you have your final face-off against Ardyn in the afterlife, they appear alongside King Regis followed by Luna and the KOTR.

Kinda hard to reach the afterlife when you've become an immortal
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I interpreted it more as a Naruto moment.

"I'm not alone... my friends are with me" and you can see them besides him.
 
CcrooK said:
That's kind of the impression I got from the after credits scene around the camp fire.
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I didn't get that at all. It was Noctis coming to terms with his own death and saying goodbye to them. I didn't get anything about them all dying.
SkylineRKR said:
Ardyn is not related to Noctis. He says his name is Ardyn Lucis Caelum but a jealous King who wasn't chosen demonized and banished him. Its safe to assume Ardyn was bigger than that king, this also goes with the UCE artwork.

So the one who ascended wasn't a Lucis Caelum from birth, which means Noctis isn't related to Ardyn but to the guy who fucked him over.
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I just assumed they were brothers. It would fit with a Cain/Abel theme. That way it would make the whole thing a family spate and give more emotional reason as to why it had to be Noctis to clean the mess up.
 
I can't get over how good and unique the story OUTLINE to this game is. It's dark, it's tragic, it's about bonds and destiny and sacrifice without feeling cliche. It has tragic turns with Ravus being good all along and then dying, the Emperor falling to his own greed and becoming this horrible Daemon, Luna's death, the gods dying and slowly killing off the world, Ardyn being a hero of a past generation who had everything stolen by Noctis' ancestor. Prompto learning he's from Nifleheim only to be casually reassured by the others is amazing. But THE DETAILS. The details are missing. I have never been so in love with a story's overall ideas and so disappointed with how they are told at the same time.

Here's my ending card:

U2nsqrg.jpg
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And a couple of end game shots I took:

The bros before the final battle
hUcTWyW.jpg
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Scene kid Noctis

Mz8738R.jpg
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Putting aside Chapter 13's gameplay, I think the biggest disappointment in it is how the Emperor is so casually disposed of. As Sol points out, there's a great idea in there but he gets virtually no screen time and ultimately, I just shrugged after killing him. The game's script feels like 70% of it was chopped out and there was so much potential.

Hell, the only reason Ardyn works at all is because the voice actor is the best of the bunch and is working overtime to sell the character's sliminess.

Even with all of its flaws, this could have been my GOTY. It probably would have been, if it had more time in the oven. And yes, I recognize the irony. But I'm far too disappointed in its story and several aspects of its gameplay to give it that honor.
 
Kinda ironic how this story which started out as an "alternate" FFXIII has an immortal as the villain, while Lost Odyssey, a game some people consider "the true FFXIII", has an immortal as the protagonist.
 
Infest said:
It's such a slap in the face, especially after this trailer... https://youtu.be/BTRVyyJ-yp8?t=1m39s

Who would've thought that we would see more of Tenebrae in the trailer than the actual game. :/
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I hate the phrase "slap to the face," so goddamn much. They didn't purposely insult you or the fans explicitly. Game development happened, for better or worse.
Frumix said:
Open world has nothing to do with anything. Open world didn't prevent Assassin's Creed 2 or Infamous SS from being cohesive stories. A lot of content just seems gone.
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My own definition of open world isn't necessarily "open city," since AC2 was more or less structured into large "levels," and wasn't focused on the in-between of those places. The cities were large but they still had very clearly defined goals for each activity inside of them. Same with Infamous SS. It's more the scale that makes a game completely open world to me, not necessarily the ability to fuck around. Plus what makes the side content. Afair both AC2 and Infamous SS mostly focused on collectathons as side content.

There's no doubt in my mind that XV would've benefitted from less content cuts, but I do think a truly open world design stands at odds with the overarching narrative. It best succeeds at telling smaller stories--I.E. The Bloody Baron.
 
Did they ever explain what happened to the other three crystals? Is it assumed they once had chosen as well?
 
Black Materia said:
Other 3? isnt the kingdom of Lucii's crystak the only one?
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There used to be more. They just kinda... stopped being there I guess? They say they were lost in wars, so maybe the Crystal only started "choosing" people when the others were destroyed or the daemons arose.

I dunno.
 
Jarmel said:
I just assumed they were brothers. It would fit with a Cain/Abel theme. That way it would make the whole thing a family spate and give more emotional reason as to why it had to be Noctis to clean the mess up.
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That's what I thought as well. But it'd also fit kind of strangely with the idea of Ardyn taking his name - even if "Ardyn Lucis Caelum" was erased from history, he'd still bear the name of the actual recorded king through going by Izunia. I also wasn't a fan of the implication that his wardrobe was the exact same as a mortal compared to his present-day appearance,going by the concept art. His current design works better as a deliberate facade; a costume change post-timeskip to reflect him dropping the pretense would have made the final battle feel like less of a non-event. Even ignoring the idea of not changing clothes for hundreds of years.
 
Looking at some of the ending cards, the average playtime seems like ~30 hours. I thought I was just really fast with 31h (including some sidequests and dungeons) but it's really that short.
"40-50hours if you ONLY follow the story" ..... meh.
 
Infest said:
Looking at some of the ending cards, the average playtime seems like ~30 hours. I thought I was just really fast with 31h (including some sidequests and dungeons) but it's really that short.
"40-50hours if you ONLY follow the story" ..... meh.
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I'm at 24 and almost finished. Did at least several hours of side content as well.
 
What bothers me is that reviews overall mention very little of the whole lot of problems this game has and reduced everything to nostalgia or what the game feels like.

Everytime i boot the game i found a new issue or weird design choice that makes me facepalm.
 
I just finished the game and jesus does this game feel unfinished the region of niflheim is just around for the story and you can't explore it at all and the story just keeps skipping all over the place come on SE what gives?

It's a shame too becasue i like the characters and world a lot but the presentation is just sad to watch.

add to that only a forest and desert fully made it into the game so it can get super dull to look at when doing things in the open world
 
Black Materia said:
Other 3? isnt the kingdom of Lucii's crystak the only one?
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Accordo, Nifleheim, and Tenebrae all had their own crystal at one point.

You can obviously tell where Nomura's trilogy turned into a single game. Chapter 9-12 is likely the second game, while 13-15 is the third. The second would have likely had an explorable Accordo and Tenebrae, where the third would have had Solheim/surrounding empire area. It feels very condensed. Noct ending up in the prison with Regis' boat (somehow) is till the biggest plot hole for me. Everything else that was lacking story-wise was at least explained in passing or in newspapers to some extent.

Thinking what could have been is a dangerous slippery slope, though, I know. What we have is ten thousand times better than a cancelled game.

By the way, a really cool loading tooltip tells you that the empire has a serum to make daemons and explains it in Resident Evil file fashion. It has a scientific name and everything, haha.
 
Yea you could tell that Chapter XIV was supposed to be the final game in the Nomura trilogy. The 'breaks' of how the story was supposed to be divided up is fairly clear.
 
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