Replaying FFXV

[Wolf Kanno]

Been replaying this entry since I'm doing my own FF marathon, but starting backwards.

I haven't touched this entry since the OG came out and I finished it before the DLC even landed and never looked back. Now I'm playing Royal Edition with all the patches and it's been an interesting experience to say the least. Definitely one of those moments where I can see how someone who came in later is going to have a radically different impression from us Day 1 scrubs.

New cutscenes that clear up stuff or just add in more promotional stuff. More books filling in the background of the world, a datalog to keep track of characters, more gameplay options like making the rest of the squad playable, more enemy variety with Imperial and Daemon encounters, more music options for the car, and other little tweaks. It's been interesting going through it with just my memories of the original.

I'm at Chpter 6 heading to the Vesperpool to get a part for the boat to Altissia. I'll be playing the first of the DLC soon as well.

[Psychotic]

That's probably going to be an interesting experience. I've always held that the game was released half-finished and it was really disappointing, because it wasn't without its charms. I find it a bit difficult to reconcile. I am, as you say, a Day 1 scrub. They charged me full price and I paid it because I'm a sucker for this series, and I guess the original FFXIV aside, they've never lacked for quality or polish.

I'm particularly intrigued by the background lore being added in. It felt weird that the most info we got about the world and characters was totally outside of the game, in Kingsglaive and Brotherhood. You can tell interesting stories this way, so I hope it's not just a case of "show, don't tell? What does that mean?" info dumping.

[Wolf Kanno]

Most of the background info is really about the regions themselves. Like we know that Lestallum is based around a power plant using the heat of the meteor to power the region. This was old in the OG as well, but the new info expands this to talk about how the person who pioneered this was a woman, and she pioneered the new town and had the factory built. It's the reason why there are more female NPCs wandering around too, because the founder made it a female centric vocation. Likewise, a lot of the dungeons get expansions too from these books you can find or reading the bestiary. The Goblin Daemons in the Balouve Mines are actually the corrupted miners that formally worked there.

The Datalogs just give you character bios and will slowly expand as the story unfolds. It also gives you info on the monsters of the game and the Astrals as well. Pretty neat. It's a lot of little things that add up to make the experience more smooth than the OG version.

[Fynn]

Yeah I’ve only ever played the game when it came out on Windows, so basically complete, and I had a blast with it. I can never excuse the politics that led to the original release being so lackluster, but I’m exceptionally happy with the game I got and I hope more people give it another shot abdcsee

[Vincent, Thunder God]

Most of the background info is really about the regions themselves. Like we know that Lestallum is based around a power plant using the heat of the meteor to power the region. This was old in the OG as well, but the new info expands this to talk about how the person who pioneered this was a woman, and she pioneered the new town and had the factory built. It's the reason why there are more female NPCs wandering around too, because the founder made it a female centric vocation. Likewise, a lot of the dungeons get expansions too from these books you can find or reading the bestiary. The Goblin Daemons in the Balouve Mines are actually the corrupted miners that formally worked there.

The Datalogs just give you character bios and will slowly expand as the story unfolds. It also gives you info on the monsters of the game and the Astrals as well. Pretty neat. It's a lot of little things that add up to make the experience more smooth than the OG version.

I find it interesting that so many of these games, or rather in how they are presented in the media, get so preoccupied with gender, the gender of the characters, and arbitrary distinctions in and around not just parentage and whatnot, but who created what race, whether the protagonist is male or female, and so on. Surely with the advances of feminism where they currently are, even in videogame media, specifically in a series better known, supposedly, for somewhat better representation, we wouldn't still be hung up on whether a character is male or female.

[Wolf Kanno]

I imagine part of it was to compensate for a lot of the controversy surrounding the game in terms of how it handled female characters. A lot of fans were turned off by the fact the whole team was male only, and disappointed by how Cindy and Lunafreya were handled as well. Whether this little tidbit even makes up for it depends on the person. I just thought it was neat and I reached Lestallum not too long ago, so it's one of the new world building info dumps I remember.

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Even though I haven't gone to the Vesperpool yet, I'm currently going to try and tackle Castlemark Tower and get the final optional Royal weapon for Noctis. I've been more aggressive about using hotels and waiting until I have huge XP amounts to do so, but I'm already in the low 60s for my team and only in Chapter 6. I kind of feel like the devs should have balanced this out a bit more by either lowering XP games the longer you go without rest or start penalizing your stats and/or status. The worst you get is some whining. There are some other immersion breaking elements as well such as night being extremely dangerous for people to wander around, and yet fishing is still available to do and monsters and the empire are kind enough not to bother you, as though some how everything in Eos has signed a treaty to never harass fisherman because fish are the true menace of the gods and planet.

The other thing that has struck me as interesting due to some recent developments in One Piece of all thing is how the game refers to Eos as a star instead of a planet. Turns out this is because star shares the same word as planet in Japanese and they don't make much of a distinction of either.

[Vincent, Thunder God]

Do you have any tips for a first-time player of the Royal Edition? I am just downloading the PS4 update file now.

[Wolf Kanno]

Start off prioritizing skills that earn AP 9Exploration skills), then accessory slots, then combat skills. I'm currently experimenting with the stat boost skills because their description sounds incredibly vague but essentially they sound like you get bigger boosts the longer you wait to unlock them since the boost is based off your level. If you're not going to use Wait mode, then ignore it.
Likewise, you should prioritize survival over raising attack power in the early to mid game. Most Foods offer an attack boost, so focus on items that raise HP and defense first. You will also want to invest in status protection items for the team.
You can't travel by car at night until you reach a certain level (Like 40ish), and even then, you won't be able to travel without being harassed until at least halfway through the game when you finish Cindy's quest line. Your best option is to unlock Chocobos ASAP to circumvent this since they can easily outrun enemies.
Staying at hotels gives an XP boost, but camping allows Ignis to make food which often give way better stat buffs than what you can buy at diners. If you complete a huge set of quests and earn a ton of XP quickly, go to a hotel (preferably the beach resort one or Altissia) but if you need to tackle a dungeon or fight a powerful hunt above your average party level, then camp first to get the food buff.
There is a Coeurl that spawns by the first Royal Tomb you visit in the plot with Cor in Chapter 2. Make sure you target it's head with Warp Strikes and skills so you can earn a Coeurl Whisker needed to upgrade the Drain Lance. Likewise, once you reach Duscae, you can find a mark hunt that pits you against a Helixacorn which is an Ixion/Unicorn like enemy but massive. Make sure you Warp Strike it's head to get its horn because you need it in the chain of quests to upgrade the Engine Blade into the Ultima Blade.If you fail, remember that Hunts can be repeated.
The DLC items are mostly okay for the early chapters, with the exception of the Ragnarok which is got serious legs on it with a huge base ATK and a secondary ability to boost Warp Strike damage. It won't become obsolete until you get some serious levels. Some of Noctis' LC outfits also confer bonuses.
Don't forget to use items when you use Elemancy. They can help boost magic to higher damage tiers or you can give them secondary effects like healing or debuffing the enemy. Magic is especially great at dealing with random Magitech Troops since they usually drop down from their airships in tight formations, making them easy targets for a spell.
If you want a serious boost early on, then do the FFXIV and Terra Wars collab quests as soon as they open. XIV gives you a powerful Astral summon and Terra Wars gives you an OP one handed sword.
Timed Quests are a pain, but give you massive XP boosts if you complete them.
Mission objectives can be a pain o implement but reward huge AP boosts. So try to complete them as they appear.
Always buy every new food item you find in restaurants, Ignis can usually make them after he tries them.
Fish, a lot, and any chance you get. Especially after you unlock the skill to earn AP. Fish also have a day/night cycle, so you should always fish at both times to catch everything.
While it can be a pain, you do have the ability to switch out a characters skill and equipment mid-battle. So don't be afraid to switch around if you need to use different skills. Prompto has a great low level skills to deal with daemons that debuffs them, but you can then switch him back to one of his more offensive skills after. Likewise, Ignis should probably start boss fights and hunts with Enhancement equipped to boost Noct's attack and then you can switch him to his other skills based on your needs.
Don't rely on Astrals too much. There are certain dungeons and plot points where they won't activate no matter what, and while there damage is ridiculous, it is still possible for high level enemies to survive their wrath. Fun fact though, Noct will use every summon he earns (except Garuda from the XIV event) at least once in the course of the plot.
Always check every item shop. The car section will sometimes have expensive but useful parts you can install for the Regalia to make it more efficient. Just make sure you go back to the Hammerhead to have Cindy install them for you. Likewise, the shops will also occasionally have recipes for Ignis to buy and new music for the car.
Always check things your party members point out, they usually will net you an item or recipe.
Like FFXII before it, always take advantage of having a guest character in your party. You usually can't do dungeons with them, except for one with Iris, but you can do Hunts to a limited degree depending on how bad the plot railroads you.

[Vincent, Thunder God]

well i always like a good "survival" playthrough, if you catch me drift! /dun take me lucky charms, mwaha

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm going to start the Gladiola DLC tonight. Just finished the Vesperpool sequence with Aranea, who is easily one of the game's best characters.

One thin tha surprises me still about this game is how buggy it still is. I've had characters try to use items and freeze with their animation and I feel the game has a bit of a path finding problem like SoM did. Labyrinth dungeons can be a pain because seven daemons will spawn and it's just Noct fighting because the other three are still trapped two rooms back.

I also did the XIV event quest, and I forget how Garuda winds up being your most used summon since her conditions are so easy to meet. But ran into a bug where the game switched to the summon music, but I finished the battle before the summon option even loaded, so the music just stayed until I finished the dungeon.

Hunts are also amusing to me because there are Rank 7 hunts (I'm only rank 6 currently) that have me fighting enemies I regularly trash in dungeons right now that I can't access. Meanwhile I just took on two Rank 5 missions that involve challenging harder versions of two dungeon bosses that are higher levels than the Rank 7 missions. Progression for hunts is weird.

Also holy elemental weapons are a bit broken in this game and it's a shame Prompto doesn't have one. I also wished that collecting all the Royal Arms awarded you something more in this game. specifically, I would like acquiring all of them to either drop the HP drain effect or remove the weapons drawbacks. They are an interesting if underutilized element of the game and plot for me.

[Vincent, Thunder God]

HOLY HOLY, LET GO OF EVERYONE (https://youtu.be/L42LOcH09O0)

[Wolf Kanno]

Episode Gladio is done, and was a bit weird. More action game than I was expecting, but that's not a bad thing. The timed block/rage bar mechanic was really neat, even if I suck at blocking style action mechanics. The full Maelstrom Weapon Art is also badass. I also never realized how strong Gladio is. He's swinging around a greatsword one-handed and lifting stone pillars out of the ground to use as a club. Some of his counter moves are really cool too.

I especially loved how most of the boss type enemies are named after characters from Mesopotamian mythology such as Nergal and Humbaba. While XV Gilgamesh isn't the usual comic relief boisterous bruiser we all know and love, I do like the narrative he's given in this game.

I unlocked both the Genji Blade and Rugged Attire. The sword is cool, and I like the design and story behind it. The Rugged attire is a bit disappointing but at least SE finally gave us a shirtless design. I also feel like Glady should have gotten a more serious injury for beating Gilgamesh. Also, Cor is a beast.

Now that the Vesperpool opened up, I have a smurf ton of quests opening up. I'm starting to get a little burnt out, so I may dive back into the main plot and slam dunk this game instead.

[Fynn]

Episode Gladio is certainly the weakest of the DLC. It’s clear they still didn’t really know what they were doing with these episodes and it’s just weird how little it actually adds to the story, let alone explaining why Gladio left the party in the first place. Also, I personally was disappointed with Gilgamesh. If you’re gonna do a completely different character, why not just give us a completely different character? Anyway, im definitely not complaining about shirtless Gladio. Still shame about his lack of ass though lmao

[Wolf Kanno]

I actually dig the interpretation of Gilgamesh in this. I don't feel he has to always be the boisterous moron we all know and love. It also brings back the idea of him being a recurring, though not necessarily the same, character he was given in earlier games.

I haven't played the other DLC, so I can't compare at the moment, but this one was neat and offered a nice diversion. I would agree that nothing was really gained by missing out on it though since its impact can be explained in a sentence of "Gladio left to to do some training with the dude who started his position" and leave it at that.

Other than that, I'm just slowly burning myself out with the glut of side-quests that unlock in Chapter 8. I know it's the final chapter with Open World elements, but this feels a bit excessive. Like did every dungeon need two additional quests to go back in, especially since one is usually just looking for an item and the other is just a rematch with the dungeon boss with higher stats?

So I may cut my losses and just jump back into the plot proper. Not like my team isn't Lv. 81 and going to curbstomp everything else in the main plot now. :roll2

[Fynn]

Yeah if you’re feeling burnt out, I’d just make a beeline for the end. Once I get to XV I actually plan to do as little side content as possible. There’s some cool worldbuilding in some of the quest lines, but most of them are completely skippable

[Vincent, Thunder God]

I'd like to see a dlc package that gets trapped between time zones in a time travel movie B-plot.

[Wolf Kanno]

Okay, finished up the last quests in Altissia, soon it will be Leviathan time, then it's all down hill from here.

I do wish there was an item that lets you change the time of day where you're at for Hunts and missions, Killed two days playing the monster betting game just so I could finish the hunts i took in. Also, 300,000 gil for a dish?!

[Wolf Kanno]

Alright, finished Altissia and Episode Ignis. I am still processing how I feel about everything. I both love and hate Episode Ignis, and I can say that Altissia didn't age as well as I would have liked. I'll elaborate later when I have more time to think about it.

[Fynn]

Yeah, episode Ignis is simultaneously the best one and also the one that kind of exacerbates the FFXV problem

[Wolf Kanno]

That's pretty much how I'm feeling. The Ignis DLC hows the team had some great ideas and could have delivered a fantastic game if given more time to sort out the direction. Granted, some of this may have also stemmed from fan reaction. The 2013 Trailer highlighted this moment and almost none of it was used but the idea of it in the main game. The Ignis DLC delivers better and the DLC has better combat to boot.

The frustration of FFXV is the potential that is here, and how it fails to quite reach greatness. Like it's never bad, but FFXV often falls a bit flat in places.

[Wolf Kanno]

Finishing up Chapter 12 now. Just lost Prompto, so it's another DLC to do. I plan on doing Ardyn's after Chapter 13.

[Wolf Kanno]

Episode Prompto is done. A step up from Gladio, but not quite as fun as Episode Ignis. Of Course, I blame that on my general aversion to shooter style games. I was hoping for more stealth sections personally.

Overall, Prompto's DLC feels the most relevant since it actually expands the plot. Gladio's is interesting, but largely fluff. Ignis chapter feels like it should have been in the main game, but ultimately isn't as important as you would think it is in hindsight. I feel like Ardyn's episode is going to piss me off a bit, but we'll see.

[Fynn]

Yeah Episodd Ardyn is also the best one and the worst one. It really fleshes out the world but also clearly builds up to some alternate golden ending we never ended up getting that got put in a novel instead and completely undoes the themes established in the main game :monster:

But it is very cathartic. It also has a single episode anime prologue so I recommend checking that out

Also, are you going to be doing Comrades? If so I recommend doing it (or at least creating your avatar) before World of Ruin

[Wolf Kanno]

I'll dabble in Comrades, but I'm likely not going to do much. I'm pretty much tapped out for XV, so I'm going to try to wrap this up within the next few days.

Finished the infamous Chapter 13, still did Noct's version, but I may do the alternate path in the future. I pretty much hold to my original opinion about it. It's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. It just overstays its welcome. I did appreciate the Ring of Lucii getting beefed up. I remember in the original you had to practically do a dodgy dance party with an opponent to kill them with Holy, but now it just straight up murders most enemies.

Furthermore, I still think the whole prophecy of this game is contrived nonsense. Something all the games originating from the FNC seem to have in common.

[Fynn]

I’m always of the opinion that prophecies are allowed to be contrived ;)

[Wolf Kanno]

I’m always of the opinion that prophecies are allowed to be contrived ;)

I am of the opinion that there is a limit to how contrived a prophecy can be. FNC has a habit of pushing said limit.

Finished Episode Ardyn, and that was... something, I guess. I like some parts of it, but overall, it felt a bit unnecessary. I also don't like when stories retroactively add in big prequel event nonsense that the main story never addresses because, you know, we decided to add this in after we wrote the main plot. The only thing that helps all this is that Ardyn's VA really sells this character. XV is lacking in charismatic characters, but Ardyn is definitely one of the best.

I did like the subtle shout-out to Type-0, with the names of the two Niflheim Units sent to retrieve him being named after the two l'Cie from the Byyakko faction.

Comrades is next, and I've already made a character for it, but I had to download the rest and overall, XV is a bit of a bitch in terms of using up my PS4's lackluster hardrive space.

Afterward, I can tackle Chapter 14 and move onto my next title on my backwards marathon.

[Psychotic]

I've enjoyed reading your thoughts. Maybe I'm wrong but I saw you starting out quite enthusiastically but seem to be less keen as you progress further.

Also what will the next title be on your backwards marathon? FFXIV? Type-0? Lightning Returns? (though surely you'd have to begin with FFXIII if you were going to do that?)

edit: and now I see your thread in gen ff where you specifically talk about this :blush:

[Wolf Kanno]

I've enjoyed reading your thoughts. Maybe I'm wrong but I saw you starting out quite enthusiastically but seem to be less keen as you progress further.

Also what will the next title be on your backwards marathon? FFXIV? Type-0? Lightning Returns? (though surely you'd have to begin with FFXIII if you were going to do that?)

edit: and now I see your thread in gen ff where you specifically talk about this :blush:

I plan on doing a short write-up in the other thread when I'm finished. But it has been a sobering experience.

[Wolf Kanno]

Comrades... is a thing.

[Fynn]

lmao have fun


The one thing I actually enjoyed about it was the character creator

[Wolf Kanno]

Lol, I honestly hate them. I just don't have the patience for them. ^^;

[Fynn]

I now get why you never got into the Sims :p

[Wolf Kanno]

There are reasons why I stick to helmet builds in games like Dark Souls.

In Comrades news, I've got maybe a fifth of the map lit up. It's an interesting premise overall, but it does leave me with more questions than answers. My biggest beef of the game is just how grindy it is.

[Fynn]

Yeah I imagine it was probably better with friends

[Wolf Kanno]

I don't think having friends would solve how simple but grindy the game is.

[Wolf Kanno]

Comrades, is more or less done. It's doing that annoying thing where you finish the "story" but then the other half of the game seems to open up in the new post game. I'll likely drop it and simply finish FFXV soon.

[Wolf Kanno]

Still working on the last story chapter. I had heard they expanded it, but wasn't expecting quests and Cor to show up. The new Chapter 14 is significantly better than the OG. Which composed of maybe three streets and the initial underground subway section you take to reach the Kingsglaive camp.

The quests were cute, and I tried my hand at Omega, but was severely outmatched. With the quests done, I'm probably going to just beeline it to the final gauntlet of boss fights and finish this.

I'll post my final thoughts in this thread and then likely start a new one in *shudders* FFXIII...

[Fynn]

Good luck :D and yeah Omega pretty much expects you to be level 120 of close to that

[Wolf Kanno]

FFXV is done!

Overall, a middling experience. Not the best I've played, not the worst. I find the issue I have with FFXV is similar to issues I have with games like FFVIII where all the elements are there, it just doesn't ever work together like I want it to. I will say the changes to Chapter 14 were certainly for the best. Late players will not understand how short and lackluster the final story chapter really was in the OG version. You finally get to explore Insomnia, and there is more plot and better resolutions to some minor story arcs that were non-existent in the original.

I stand by some of my feelings, though. I think the biggest mistake in XV's narrative was the opening. The game should have stuck with Versus XIII's supposed opening, where Noct and crew were at the signing ceremony when all hell broke loose, and they had to escape. I feel book ending the game with seeing Insomnia before the fall, watching its collapse, and then returning during the climax would have been more powerful than what we got.

Altissia was another missed opportunity. It really should have been spread into two chapters, and most of Episode Ignis should have been there. Like, I really wanted to see all hell break loose and switching between the multiple characters getting through it. XV has this knack of underperforming during its biggest cinematic moments. Likewise, I don't feel XV sells me on some of its characters. The most glaring being Ravus and Lunafreya, whom never manage to muster enough character development to make me care, despite their background notes saying I should feel otherwise. I feel everything about Tenebrae, along with Insomnia, are poorly utilized for something that is supposed to be so important to the setting, the characters, and the main plot.

I do love the slower buddy road trip moments, and I do feel the chemistry of the main four saves a lot of the story, but XV just feels like what it always was, a game of two very different visions that don't mesh well together. Like you can see Nomura's penchant for big ass cinematic scenes, but obviously Tabata opted for something smaller, quieter, and more personal and that's why I feel the plot isn't as strong as it should be. When Tabata's team plays to their strengths, the game shines, but when it has to deal with all the Versus XIII stuff, it falters. Likewise, I feel XV has a similar issue to its two non-MMO predecessors. Namely, from XIII it suffers from godlike forces using convoluted plans that don't really make much sense in hindsight outside a need for drama in the plot, and from XII, it gives a goal that involves doing a specific task that fixes a greater scope issue that doesn't seem as contingent to this action as the game makes you believe. How does killing Ardyn really end the Starscourge? Hell, why do we need a crystal and 113 royal souls to kill a magic virus? Because drama, dear WK, drama. :wcanoe:

Gameplay is also a mix bag. It's not the worst ARPG combat I've seen, but it's certainly not the strongest either. Sadly, I often found the DLC combat to be superior. The biggest problem I have with it, is that the overall gameplay structure really is designed for a more casual play style. Breaking this game is surprisingly easy, and having even a modicum of skill at the combat allows you to thrash tougher targets than intended. Then maximizing it at the high-end hotels lets you skyrocket your levels. Yet, that quick step to godhood makes it, so you miss out on the camping aspect and the more intimate moments of the game. So trying to play the game with a more hardcore, maximizing mindset really hurts the flow the creators had going for it. An easy solution would be to start handicapping the player and give diminishing returns for XP and AP if you don't rest often, but that's a patch that will likely be left to the mod community to fix. I also wish there was a way to modify which summons you see. The idea is neat, but it's also easy to never see them outside of cutscenes.

The service model structure of the game is the biggest thorn in this game's side, and likely the legacy that will forever taint this entry. The DLC always feels both necessary and paradoxically pointless at the same time. Comrades is the most glaring, considering how little the Kingsglaive factor into the main game. Which again is a missed opportunity. XV has some really cool world building elements, but never really utilizes them cohesively enough to build a rich setting. Royal Edition puts a band-aid on the issue, but it still feels very lackluster overall.

Overall, it's a middling experience. Flawed, but not bad enough that I hate it.

[Christmas]

I was left pretty divided and I chose to hate it cuz it consumed what ltitle time I have as an adult. :(

[Vincent, Thunder God]

I was left pretty divided and I chose to hate it cuz it consumed what ltitle time I have as an adult. :(

Aww! If u were my gf I’d give you way more time to spend.:bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile: