Final Fantasy XV is an All Male Road Trip

I'm not really bothered by this, as other people have pointed out, if it works for the narrative then the gender dynamics shouldn't really matter.

Yeah, I'm willing to give it a shot. I mean, I side-eye it a little bit, but then I think that it might be okay.

Don't let us down, Square! :3

Yeah like I said in my first post I try to think of this as Versus rather than FFXV and so it's just not going to have the traditional cornerstones one would expect from the main FF series. The most important thing about the characters is not their gender but their personalities so hopefully SE writes them to be engaging. Hopefully we don't get something like:

1. Rebellious and reckless rich kid
2. Fun loving best friend
3. Mysterious quiet guy
4. Serious older mentor guy

They look pretty engaging already, if you ask me. They seem to have a really fun, organic dynamic.

Originally Posted by Del Murder

1. Rebellious and reckless rich kid

Noctis is said to be a shy person, but he initially tries to hide this by "acting cool". He is a prince, the last heir to a dynasty of the kingdom of Lucis, being the last kingdom to have control over crystals.

2. Fun loving best friend

Prompto maintains a playful attitude towards Noctis despite being a wanted felon. He is described as a skirt-chasing mood maker with a chip on his shoulder from a different social status compared to his other friends, and thus feels inferior to them but wishes to be useful.

3. Mysterious quiet guy

Ignis has a composed, serious, and cool personality, something to contrast Gladiolus and Prompto. Ignis has been friends with Noctis since early childhood. He received a special education for gifted children to work as a staff officer for Noctis and acts as the understanding consultant for him.

4. Serious older mentor guy

Cor is a middle-aged man with short brown hair, light blue eyes, and a grim face. He is a stubborn and stern, no-nonsense military man sworn to King Regis and his country. He is strict with Noctis and his friends, and though he does not always see things eye to eye with them, he is duty-bound to watch over them

Ruh-roh.

Can't tell if Del is trolling or if that was just a happy accident. Both = fun.

A little of column A, a little of column B.

Final Fantasy: Hangover

Can't wait to see what Las Vegas looks like in a Square-inspired world :P

I am a little disappointed, but I too would wait to pass judgement

Though honestly I don't know what bro-trip they're basing this on. Other than The Hangover, I can't think of any road trip movie that didn't involve female cast members. But then again it's not particularly my favorite genre of movie, and I see it more frequently in horror movies, who thrive on sexuality; heterosexuality. Which requires females. So this really isn't something I should compare to experience I suppose. We'll see. But if they need to have all dudes to keep the authenticity of their story and characters, they better actually be writing characters and not tropes and archetypes Japan loves to rely on. Because I won't hesitate to call them out on that bad story-telling regardless of female cast members or a lack there of

I'm glad I never hopped aboard the hype train to begin with. My only interest was playing as Stella and that hope has just been crushed as I expected it to be. I've no further interest in this game and I already commented that I don't like the "road trip" vibe they're going for. That said, Tabata, thank you for actually sharing with us details on the game and I wish you all the best. He seems to have a good track record of putting out high quality games in a timely manner so those who are hyped may see it in a year or two. I'd go with two just to be safe.

Getting mad hype. I guess it's true when people say that gamers don't like change. The first time we've had a male cast in XV games and people are put off. X-2 had all females, but I think people's issue there was with the J-Pop and Yuna and Rikku's personalities in that game.

My only disappointment here is that we may already know the entire cast before the game comes out. I like to be surprised about permanent party members.

The only problem I have with the cast being all male is that I feel like Prompto and Ignis could have very easily been girl characters. At least, from the description of their personality traits, I could see them being female and not doing anything to somehow change the core dynamic of the group. It's kinda sad that writers still believe that there's a specific way to write male and female characters.

sounds boring, tbh.

Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be all-white, too, to compensate.

Individual games can be like this, whatever. It's just too bad that it's such a flagship game that's doing it. It would be better served in a spinoff-style game. I wouldn't want FF6 to have no female characters, but a post-Kefka FF6 bro road trip with Setzer, Locke, Edgar, and Cyan? Sure, that could be cute.

While those description fit the archetypes pretty well, I like that there's a little twist on them. Particularly with Fisto.

Originally Posted by Depression Moon

Getting mad hype. I guess it's true when people say that gamers don't like change. The first time we've had a male cast in XV games and people are put off. X-2 had all females, but I think people's issue there was with the J-Pop and Yuna and Rikku's personalities in that game.

My only disappointment here is that we may already know the entire cast before the game comes out. I like to be surprised about permanent party members.

This is the same issue I have. Worst thing is, it's not a new problem. I think X was the last FF where they didn't show us the entire playable cast before release. I just hope they might be actually lying and we will get more playable characters. I won't complaining that's not the case, though. I already like these characters and a steady party throughout the game can go a long way to properly flesh them out.

Originally Posted by Depression Moon

Getting mad hype. I guess it's true when people say that gamers don't like change. The first time we've had a male cast in XV games and people are put off. X-2 had all females, but I think people's issue there was with the J-Pop and Yuna and Rikku's personalities in that game.

My only disappointment here is that we may already know the entire cast before the game comes out. I like to be surprised about permanent party members.

We've never had the first installment of a main entry with only one gender. The chosen by yourself characters do not count.

People worried about gender dynamics should remember that "all male" allows for different gender dynamics for narrative purposes and general script/attitude.

I'm disappointed at the lack of female playable characters because I tend to prefer having at least one of each gender in my 'main party' for FF games... however I do feel that this could allow for interesting scenes that we wouldn't otherwise be able to see.

Overall will just wait it out. More interesting to me is that it's a road trip. Does that mean we're back in the land of linear gameplay, moving from one location to the next and never returning? Hmm. I hope at some point we can return to the starting areas etc.

Originally Posted by Loony BoB

People worried about gender dynamics should remember that "all male" allows for different gender dynamics for narrative purposes and general script/attitude.

I'm disappointed at the lack of female playable characters because I tend to prefer having at least one of each gender in my 'main party' for FF games... however I do feel that this could allow for interesting scenes that we wouldn't otherwise be able to see.

Overall will just wait it out. More interesting to me is that it's a road trip. Does that mean we're back in the land of linear gameplay, moving from one location to the next and never returning? Hmm. I hope at some point we can return to the starting areas etc.

It's already been stated that it's open-world and you can go wherever you please.

Originally Posted by Loony BoB

I'm disappointed at the lack of female playable characters because I tend to prefer having at least one of each gender in my 'main party' for FF games... however I do feel that this could allow for interesting scenes that we wouldn't otherwise be able to see.

That's true. Now they can all walk around with their pants off at the campsite.

If the females they had with them were a lesbian couple, they still could have done that!