Final Fantasy XV - Review @ RPS

HiddenX

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Henriquejr spotted a Final Fantasy XV review on Rock Paper Shotgun:

Wot I Think: Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

The story of Final Fantasy XV is a tricky one to unpick. There’s the story about how it took ten years to actually come out, transforming from a Final Fantasy XIII spin-off into the boyband roadtrip-stag-do adventure we know today. There’s also the story of what happened after it came out, where a large chunk of its third act was almost completely rewritten and streamlined after people started complaining about how linear it had suddenly become after spending hours and hours on the glorious open road.

Then there’s the story of the game itself, which, at this point, has been spread across so many different forms of media, including a film, four anime episodes, four bits of DLC, a mobile spin-off and a multiplayer expansion (with even more to come, no less), that only three people in the entire universe actually understand it and would be able to recite it to you from start to finish.

But the story of four lads saving their home from an invading imperial army isn’t really what Final Fantasy XV is about. In fact, it’s arguably the least memorable thing about it. That might sound blasphemous for a JRPG, where the story is traditionally one of the most important parts of a game, but every conservation I’ve had about Final Fantasy XV over the last sixteen months always boils down to one of three things: food, photos and friendship. And it’s those that make it one of the best and most interesting goddamn JRPGs of the last decade.

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I loved this series until the setting entered “modern” times but then lost interest in the series. I think modern times setting started asserting itself around ff6 or 7.... been a long time can’t quite remember.
 
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I loved this series until the setting entered “modern” times but then lost interest in the series. I think modern times setting started asserting itself around ff6 or 7…. been a long time can’t quite remember.

I don't mind the modern setting as long as there are crazy weapons and inventions. I loved ff12.
 
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Six for sure.

Setting just doesn't matter that much to me as long as it's done well and thought-through. If you've got everyone riding flying horses but still put big walls and moats around your castles then I start getting upset.

Switch to first-person, however, and I can now look those hulking garula in the face and watch every last Nvidia Hairworks-enabled follicle flop about on their furry backsides (which works even if you’ve got an AMD graphics card, I might add), letting me see another side of this world I never thought possible.
He better add, because otherwise it's clear that the other side he's talking about is some critter's butt!

Those photograph things sure were strange to me in the demo. *I* am supposed to be taking the screenshots, not some NPC!
 
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Those photograph things sure were strange to me in the demo. *I* am supposed to be taking the screenshots, not some NPC!
Selfies and taking shots of everyone and everything rubbish is one of major parts of the game. I guess they needed to suck up somehow to Instagram audience.
Me? I'm pretty much disgusted with that part of this game, it's too excessive. Life is Strange, a game about students of photography, wasn't this annoying.

Honestly I'm finding more negatives than positives in FF15. Subjective ofc, for example anyone who is using phone camera constantly will adore this game.

I'm still on chapter 3 doing crapload of sidequests of which only one had a decent script - killing oneeyed chocoboeater. The problem? In a proper RPG I'd be able to help him, not kill him!
The rest of sidequests are horrible low quality repetitive MMOlike filler - waste time to reach some distant spot on the map by car, riding or foot, then kill/pick/buy something, then return to the questgiver just because. Is that garbage supposed to be a pinnacle of jRPG?
 
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The rest of sidequests are horrible low quality repetitive MMOlike filler - waste time to reach some distant spot on the map by car, riding or foot, then kill/pick/buy something, then return to the questgiver just because. Is that garbage supposed to be a pinnacle of jRPG?
Yeah, I got that feeling playing the demo. Straight up go-kill-10-whatevers then come home? Not a good sign - but not doom if there's interesting stuff to find while going there and back again. There wasn't so I didn't bother getting the game.

The reviews all seem to be concentrating on the relationship stuff and how the guys all interact with each other as the main selling point. The RPS review even says the story flat out comes off the rails in the second half. There's also a lot of folks liking the food thing for reasons I can't fathom.
 
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Erm… One by one…

- Relationship stuff might impress "pro" reviewers who were living under a rock all these years and played nostory rubbish games. There is absolutely nothing fresh or noncliche here, nothing we haven't seen already in other games (at least so far in my game).
Those guys are supposed to be BFFs I guess, yet fail to impress like ME Garrus or TW3 Vesemir or Berseria Magilou, to name a few, managed.

- I have no idea what happens with the main story. I'm still on chapter 3 doing sidequests that are available (some cannot be finished as areas where they need to take place are still locked). As usual with "pro" reviewers, I bet RPS is fastrunning the main story and misses to spot how horrible sidecontent is.
Perhaps some sidecontent later will fill story gaps, but I cannot know that. All I know is that the emperor is chasing the ring, some princess has it and 4 guys you're leading in the game are searching for the princess. What goes off the rails I cannot possibly predict. If anything. It's japanese game and it wouldn't surprise me ignorant reviewers fail to understand stuff as they don't know how to read between lines.

- Different food provides all sorts of buffs and in all honesty, I can't care less about recipes or food that don't give XP bonus. I can understand people who enjoy looks of those food - if nothing FF15 developers made a believable pics of nonexisting dishes and that's something you don't see in other games. Sadly… To me it's not anything fun, when it comes to RPGs, I'm practical.
Note that you could try to roleplay a vegetarian or vegan but immersion breaker is favorite dish thing where party members have different ones so better not go there.

My opinion from what I've seen so far is that the game is mostly dull and shallow, just as every single reviewer that praises it. Sure, visually it's on par with TW3. Music is also top notch and I want it's OST. Japanese voiceover is so good I can't even believe I started it with silly english dub.
But I'm telling you that I had more fun with ME4 stupid RNG MMOlike tasks than with sidequests in this game.
 
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VIII is the best, no FF will top that.

Mildly enthusiastic about this, they even added codexians to the game!

final-fantasy-15-geld-verdienen-fotografie.jpg
 
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FF VIII was total shite. Only someone from Croatia could possibly like that game. ;)

FF IV, V, and VI were the golden age of FF for me. It started getting a little weird with FF VII.
 
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FFXV is basically a road trip game, that's it. Put all the chocobos you want on it, it's still a game about nothing.
 
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There were some playable Final Fantasy games after eight, but I agree, they in no way compare to the earlier ones. After what I've heard about this newest game, I'm simply in no rush to play it. I didn't expect Zodiac to be nearly as good as it was, and I think I'll just end right there, on a semi-high note.
 
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FFXV is basically a road trip game, that's it. Put all the chocobos you want on it, it's still a game about nothing.
Road trip? Not really.

- To upgrade your car for "road trip" you need to find stuff (usually through sidequests).
- Certain car upgrade makes it possible to drive it outside of the road. Before that you can't drive it away from asphalt so you'll have to go to interesting spots either on foot or on chocobo.
- Post endgame certain upgrade turns the car into flying machine where you can access some areas not possible otherwise. Because no roads lead there.

- Chocobo riding is a skill that levels up based on the amount of time you spend on their backs and it improves their stamina and stuff (max is lv 99).
- Chocobo does not care if it's road or not, you can ride them everywhere.

- You want to stay on foot as much as possible till you get Survival skill to level 10 (max) so you can loot the best items. Yea, it improves by you just walking/running all over the place. No, it doesn't improve so fast you'd soon abandon it for good and go "roadtrip" only, after doing all possible sidequests in chapter 3 and staying on foot as much as possible, I barely reached level 7.

- While in car, you can fasttravel (to certain spots). Where's the trip?


FF15 is not roadtrip game. It's endless respawns game with enjoyable visuals, music, sounds and japanese voiceover.
In it's core it's still a mindless grinder designed to look beautiful on streams. I have a hard time to call it a game. It's more of a decoration.
 
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FF VIII was total shite. Only someone from Croatia could possibly like that game. ;)

FF IV, V, and VI were the golden age of FF for me. It started getting a little weird with FF VII.

How's that wall coming up, eh? Just say the word and I'll send a few of the boys to help your

5bE6g1b.gif

Anything to protect from those nasty Mexicans. ;)
 
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I haven't paid attention to this series for over 25 years (wow). I played FF1 thru FF3. Started but never finished 4 or 5. Seems like at least the last few iterations of this game have little to do with its roots other than lots and lots of combat. I can't think of any other cRPG series I've played that has changed so dramatically over the years.
 
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