Let's share our first (spoiler free!) impressions!

I know some members here have already beaten the game, but for those of us who have just got the game I thought this would be a nice place to put down our thoughts about some of the little touches, fun moments and any gripes we have without the risk of any spoilers. I've been playing for an hour or so and I'm having a good time so far!

• The relationship between the four main characters is really enjoyable and believable, I enjoy their chemistry a lot.
• You can buy and play soundtracks from other FFs to play in the car? smurfing sold. Cruisin' the highway with Man With the Machine Gun playing :cool:
• I love that Prompto takes pictures of things! That's such a neat little way to document the journey.
• I do NOT like that it grades my stealth and defence in the battles because I don't believe in either :colbert: Offense is consistently an A+ ranking... defence and stealth? Ah, not so much.
• The story is really minimalist, isn't it? Blimey, just straight in there. Feels very un-FFy! Well, recent FFs anyway.

I met a cat and now me and the cat are besties. Game of the year? Game of the year. Or at least tied with Stardew Valley I guess.

About 7 hours played and very little story so far. Lots of hunting.

You know, I would rather a turn based combat system as I such at this one, but it is still fun to use. That combat mechanics are not what makes this game feel slightly off to me. No, the issue lies with the open world. The more I play the convinced I am that the open world was a mistake.

I'm thinking back to the events of FFVII: Reactor 1 > 7th Heaven > Reactor 5 > Church in the slums > Aerith's house > Wall Market > Don's Mansion > Sector 7 Plate and so on. Each beat of the story leads into the next beat of the story.

Here we have "Eh, one of these missions might progress the story if you like. Oh, but you're not at the recommended level for that mission, so you might want to do some hunts first!"

So as fun as this is, I'm struggling to engage with any of the events that are happening because there are such looooong stretches between anything of note actually happening. Oh, and as cool as it is that I've got the FFVIII soundtrack on the radio, I would rather the game rely on its own soundtrack instead of nostalgia for the good ol' days.

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Originally Posted by Fox

I'm thinking back to the events of FFVII: Reactor 1 > 7th Heaven > Reactor 5 > Church in the slums > Aerith's house > Wall Market > Don's Mansion > Sector 7 Plate and so on. Each beat of the story leads into the next beat of the story.

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Exactly.

Quite honestly I think people need to really really love open world exploration in order to get very much out of this game. I don't have a ps4 so I have been watching a playthrough off of youtube but after a few hours of gameplay that I have watched (have to admit I fastforwarded through parts of it because it is simply that boring) seem to be about 95% open world exploration, 4% combat, and 1% story.

I honestly don't even know any of the names yet of any of the four main leads that you start out with. They don't really talk much at all to each other besides your standard 'let's go' type of lines when they are running through the countryside. No real cutscenes to develop and let the player get to know them and the world they are living in.

There is this girl that came into the story after a while. Not sure exactly what her name was but you might as well call her Aeris because it sounds a lot like Aeris. When she first appeared I thought the game might actually get into some story development, but nope, she pretty much is just there to lead the character around town (guess the other characters needed a coffee break or something). Most development I could find out about her was that she seemed to be a childhood friend of the main character.

I stopped after she left the game and the other three characters (the ones you started with) came back and the group just carried on with their explorationary ways.

It really seems like Square is about ten to fifteen years behind the norm with their game development. These types of games and stories were fun back in the '90's and early '00's but these days where we have games that have practically movie quality stories these Final Fantasy releases just seem really, really, really, outdated.

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Originally Posted by Fox

About 7 hours played and very little story so far. Lots of hunting.

You know, I would rather a turn based combat system as I such at this one, but it is still fun to use. That combat mechanics are not what makes this game feel slightly off to me. No, the issue lies with the open world. The more I play the convinced I am that the open world was a mistake.

I'm thinking back to the events of FFVII: Reactor 1 > 7th Heaven > Reactor 5 > Church in the slums > Aerith's house > Wall Market > Don's Mansion > Sector 7 Plate and so on. Each beat of the story leads into the next beat of the story.

Here we have "Eh, one of these missions might progress the story if you like. Oh, but you're not at the recommended level for that mission, so you might want to do some hunts first!"

So as fun as this is, I'm struggling to engage with any of the events that are happening because there are such looooong stretches between anything of note actually happening. Oh, and as cool as it is that I've got the FFVIII soundtrack on the radio, I would rather the game rely on its own soundtrack instead of nostalgia for the good ol' days.

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Honestly, that format is reminding me so much of FFTA and Xenoblade Chronicles, which I adore. Yeah, I think I'm gonna be fine :3:

Thanks to this thread, and the reactions generally (both fan and media) I think I'm sold. Having seen Kingsglaive and Brotherhood, I have enough background that I already know and care somewhat about these characters and their world, which is likely to help, based on reviews to date.

A lot of the specific criticisms seem to boil down to "it's not like every other FF" or "I had to figure things out for myself, therefore it's bad", which actually bodes well based on what I'm looking for in a game.

It's "okay."

I'm only a few hours in and the bros are already recycling the same voice clips over and over "man sure is hot" "take off your jacket then" "this place is sultry" "yeah" - and the fact Cindy says her voice line every single time you go back and forth in a menu when modifying the Regalia is ... infuriating. Oh and some of the dialogue just seems so out of place - middle of the night, getting smacked up by some Goblins "this place is nice" "sure is." Wat?

Voice acting gripes aside, the combat is good - though it rapidly flips between being fun and downright infuriating. The camera is still the worst enemy of the combat system, but it's come leaps and bounds since Episode Duscae and feels a little more responsive than Platinum Demo. However there's still too many occassions where I'm holding down Square when the prompt comes up, have plenty of MP, yet still get twatted by whatever attack is coming.

I think open world will be the death of the game for me in the long-run, I have a huge issue with open world games in that I'm afraid I'm going to miss something, so I have to canvas literally every crevice, nook and cranny - and FFXV makes this even more of a chore by forcing me to go and camp every night to avoid getting rekt by an Iron Giant. This is doubly confounded by the FF series history of having items you could easily miss and never have the opportunity to pick-up again, so my worries of "missing something" are like tenfold.

I can't really speak much to the story, as I'm still in Chapter 1 after about 6 hours of play. I only just went to the Quay before I stopped for the night last night (shows how much exploring I did). Speaking of which I decided to head back to Insomnia, found a dungeon near the blockade, went in, discovered everything was lv45+ and I got destroyed - that was rad!

Right now my feelings tend to alternate from "this is fun, I'm enjoying it" and "eh, this is pretty bland." I'll binge over the weekend and share some more thoughts then.

I guess to flesh it out more than "okay" - the game has some interesting ideas, some of them are a lot better executed than others, it's just not falling together into a compelling package for me right now.

(I smurfing love Prompto's photos though! And fishing is surprisingly fun too.)

If it makes you feel any better, apparently you can always go back and get stuff you may have missed earlier. No such thing as a point of no return in this game, from what I heard.

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Originally Posted by Aulayna

I think open world will be the death of the game for me in the long-run, I have a huge issue with open world games in that I'm afraid I'm going to miss something, so I have to canvas literally every crevice, nook and cranny - and FFXV makes this even more of a chore by forcing me to go and camp every night to avoid getting rekt by an Iron Giant. This is doubly confounded by the FF series history of having items you could easily miss and never have the opportunity to pick-up again, so my worries of "missing something" are like tenfold.

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I'm on Chapter 5 and my recommendation to you for the open world is this: only do hunts (and maybe one or two other quests if they happen to be easy), just to get you to the recommended level for the next story quests. The vast, vast majority of side content in this game is bog-standard awful fetch quests.

Today I'm enjoying the world a bit more; I have chocobos to ride and I can powerslide them! Also I can name my chocobo and dye her feathers and things like that, which is nice. Apparently you can get things by racing them but I haven't found how to do races yet. I still suck at the combat but it's getting flashier, even as my skill level remains the same, which is nice. I have at least gotten better at picking the right weapon for the right time, which is good.

As much as I miss a properly fleshed out magic system, I do like how you are encouraged to use your items. I'm using Elixirs in normal fights, and I even used a Megalixir on a hunt! The days of hording all my items and then never actually using them are long gone. I really like the regenerating HP vs maximum HP mechanic.

I have multiple techniques for my entire team but I don't like how I can only equip one at a time for them. The first technique they each have is some kind of "do awesome damage" ability, but then the second one is "do some kinda debuff". Which just isn't as appealing, so I've kept everyone with their defaults.

It sounds like they tried to make an MMO.

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Originally Posted by Jinx

It sounds like they tried to make an MMO.

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Yeah, I'd agree with that. It feels like a single player MMO in many ways.

Same holds true for FFXII, Xenoblade Chronicles, etc. A lot of JRPGs are made using that style nowadays.

Just because it happens a lot doesn't mean it's a good thing.

Play time: 7 & a half hours.

Currently on: Chapter 2 (beginning of)

Verdict: I'm enjoying it so far. There are some gripes that have been mentioned above such as the constant repeating of dialogue by the four as they're wandering around. Because I played the judgement demo I haven't really got anywhere new as I played through the first chapter already, minus the side quests which weren't included. They're a standard affair, again that's been mentioned above. I've been doing them all though to gain the extra EXP, AP and items. I've also been doing the hunts as well to get the gil and rewards. I'm currently level 11 but I've amassed about 7000 exp which I haven't rested yet to level. I got thousands of EXP for slaying a cactuar which I came across! So once I've levelled I'll do some more hunting before moving ahead to the next story quest.

The combat in this game feels so smooth, but I've still yet to master dodging properly. I don't think it helps that I haven't used ANY of my AP yet to help improve this. The Ascension board is overwhelming as there's so many different areas which you need to consider to spend them on. I'll start spending some points when I play the game again tonight.

I'll be sure to give some updated impressions once I've had a chance to play more.

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Originally Posted by Jinx

Just because it happens a lot doesn't mean it's a good thing.

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Doesn't mean it's a bad thing either.

Personally, I really like that format and am looking forward to seeing how XV handles it. XII is probably my favorite numbered FF so far, and Xenoblade is my favorate game, period. So far, everything I've seen of this game seems to be what I'm looking for in a gaming experience that I'll enjoy.

But of course, i understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea, and I didn't say that as any kind of proof that it's good or anything. Just that the fact that this borrows many MMO elements isn't some weird thing they just came up with for the sake of being quirky.

I've played just a few hours, but this is a first impressions thread after all.

I was playing it while my boyfriend watched. He first learned about the game probably a week ago and was interested in giving it a try.

I guess the best way to explain how I feel is to just start from the beginning and ramble from there.

The tutorial was good. There were some things that didn't quite make sense at first but I was able to pick up on them and it's nice to know it's accessible from the menu if I need to go back. That Carbuncle was really damn annoying, though. The annoying sounds and sending me an emoji of a Cactuar. That's not an expression of emotion! Bah.

When the game finally did start, I saw a scene of something burning for a few seconds before being taken away. ...okay? I'm sure it will come up again but I was really confused by the point of that scene even being there.

Then we see dad who says "go and don't come back!" and then cut away to broken down car. Push the car for a minute or so and then title screen.

Then cut to asking Cindy for money and going on a quest to kill things.

I guess I'm really just disappointed by how flat it is. Things are happening, yeah, but there's no exposition. I keep coming back to FF VI. The player doesn't know who Terra is, hell her name is just ??????. But within the first ten minutes of the game, you see her blowing trout up, see she has a connection with the Esper, she blacks out, and not long after there is a flashback to the slave crown scene. It gets the game going and also helps to build a connection between the player and Terra as a character. The player may still be confused about what all is going on, but the game has established the foundation you need to have empathy for her and to have a motivation to stop the bad guys.

I'm trying not to jump to a judgment about the story itself too early, but it certainly does feel like Square just can't tell a damn story anymore.

And I'm sure there is information in the movie and anime and whatever whatever. But that is not satisfactory to me. Why can't I enjoy a game with a self-contained story? I shouldn't have to pour hours into other media to understand or care about the story. It's no different from the datalogs in Final Fantasy XIII. It's not a good way to tell a story.

Anyway, the combat is good. Well at least better than I was expecting. I still prefer turn-based over what we have here, but it is working and I should judge it on its own merits. I think it's silly that Noctis just whips weapons out of thin air. I know it's explained that it's because of his royal lineage and whatnot, but that really just sounds like a cop out for a game mechanic they needed to put in.

The questing so far is pretty bland. "Hey go do this!" It plays like an MMO, as has been mentioned before, but it's also been done before and in much better ways. It's just not that innovative, and I can't understand why all this took ten years to make. I'm expecting the quests to pick up later, but I really don't expect the basic format of questing to change, which would be a disappointment. We will see.

The game so far is full of really mundane things as well. It's just silly to me. I don't think I've ever been playing a Final Fantasy and thought to myself, "you know what would really make this game great?? If I could cook toast and take selfies!" It just makes me laugh.

The design of the four main characters clash so much with the other characters that it's jarring. It looks like a lost JPop band talking to average, mundane people. I guess you could argue that it's because they are from royalty and also are in a somewhat foreign land, but it doesn't feel like that's really what they were going for here. It feels more like these characters were designed ten years ago and they didn't know what the hell to do with them so they built this world and decided to throw them in. It feels odd.

And the product placement everywhere oh man. If that isn't one of the most wrong things about this game. It is really killing the sense of immersion for me. Who would have known that in the fantasy world of Eos they would have Cup Noodle and Coleman camping equipment? But I guess that's a price you have to pay for taking a decade to produce a game.

The world itself is gorgeous and doesn't feel so copy paste. So that's good. The graphics are gorgeous, which is pretty par for the course for SE.

I'm having fun with the game but I really don't feel like it's the way the developers intended. I'm enjoying this game much in the same way that I enjoy the Twilight movies. It's not good but makes me laugh and I'm getting a sense of enjoyment out of it, in some mean spirited sort of way.

I'm actually kind of digging the combat style. I just finished the tutorial and it doesn't bother me at all, like I thought it would. That said, the tutorial locked up on me once, leaving me just standing there and unable to do anything. That was pretty stupid since it made me sit through ALL OF IT again.

Also, is it possible to do Libra/Scan outside of Wait mode? I want to play in Active mode, but forcing the player to switch into Wait just to see what an enemy is weak to is massively counterintuitive.

Defeated the Adaman. Took me 3 days ingame.

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Originally Posted by Momiji

Also, is it possible to do Libra/Scan outside of Wait mode? I want to play in Active mode, but forcing the player to switch into Wait just to see what an enemy is weak to is massively counterintuitive.

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That was another gripe of mine. Why can't it just automatically do Libra when I lock on?

I haven't had too many bug issues yet. One that did bother is that I was driving around and one of my guys starting saying someone was shouting for help. The guy wasn't shouting, so I had to walk around for 15 minutes to find him. I'm assuming it's a bug and that he's supposed to be shouting.

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Originally Posted by Momiji

Also, is it possible to do Libra/Scan outside of Wait mode? I want to play in Active mode, but forcing the player to switch into Wait just to see what an enemy is weak to is massively counterintuitive.

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Ignis will use Analyse sometimes (he may need it unlocked in the Ascension Grid? I'm not sure), but there's no way to order him to do it.

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Defeated the Adaman. Took me 3 days ingame.

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That seems pretty advanced to be a spoiler-free first impression. :shobon:

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Originally Posted by Fox

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Originally Posted by Momiji

Also, is it possible to do Libra/Scan outside of Wait mode? I want to play in Active mode, but forcing the player to switch into Wait just to see what an enemy is weak to is massively counterintuitive.

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Ignis will use Analyse sometimes (he may need it unlocked in the Ascension Grid? I'm not sure), but there's no way to order him to do it.

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That's... kind of upsetting, to be honest. I may just have to get used to playing in wait mode or something, because switching them is kind of tedious when you do it over and over.

He tends to do it quite frequently for me now but I have absolutely no idea if there's something I have done/am doing to make that happen. It's weird how the game will bury the workings of these mechanics at times, whereas at others it'll beat you over the head with the minutiae. Yes I KNOW it's dangerous to drive at night, Iggy, but this hunt only comes out at night and it's 2 MILES AWAY so we are GOING TO SMURFING DRIVE THERE AT NIGHT.

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Originally Posted by Momiji

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Defeated the Adaman. Took me 3 days ingame.

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That seems pretty advanced to be a spoiler-free first impression. :shobon:

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That was in the trailers already. And they talked about it.

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

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Originally Posted by Momiji

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Defeated the Adaman. Took me 3 days ingame.

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That seems pretty advanced to be a spoiler-free first impression. :shobon:

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That was in the trailers already. And they talked about it.

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I think his comment was more that it's not really much of a first impression if you're that far.

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Originally Posted by Yar

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

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Originally Posted by Momiji

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Defeated the Adaman. Took me 3 days ingame.

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That seems pretty advanced to be a spoiler-free first impression. :shobon:

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That was in the trailers already. And they talked about it.

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I think his comment was more that it's not really much of a first impression if you're that far.

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But people already know I have finished the game and I do not want to be excluded from this club.Also it was my first time I fought the superboss.

Going by the opening post...

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Originally Posted by OP

I know some members here have already beaten the game, but for those of us who have just got the game I thought this would be a nice place to put down our thoughts

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Sephiroth, if you want to discuss the superboss, feel free to in another thread, but it doesn't really belong in this first impressions thread.

So basicaly because I have beaten the game I am not allowed to post in this thread?

EDIT: Ah, yeah. First impressions about something you have never done before in a game are no first impressions. Okay. If first impression is just supposed to mean "really only the first experience you get after starting the game but not first impression xy because that is already out of what is meant" then it gets very confusing. Don't worry, I won't post anymore.

This thread is about first impressions - if you want to discuss your first impressions, post away. But defeating a superboss isn't a first impression, and belongs in its own discussion.

Why don't you make a thread called post game content where you talk about that sort of thing? I think you're not the only person here to have beaten it. Plus when the rest of us catch up we can join you there.

It's obvious from the reviews of the game out so far (by both gamers and professional reviewers) is that this is just a very niche style of game. Some will like it if it has what they are looking for in a game but it definitely is not a game for the masses.

It's just weird to think of Final Fantasy as a Niche type of game these days. It used to be one of the most highly praised series out there. Now it just seems that it is stuck in place watching everything pass it by hoping to get one last great hurrah.

I know it is not a game for me given the fact that I put story and character development above most everything else and that definitely seems to be the weak point for FFXV.

I don't think it's any more niche than normal. FF has never been a huge mainstream hit, no matter how much it may have seemed like it within the fandom. And the fandom being as it is, it's just as polarizing as any other FF starting from VIII

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Originally Posted by Yar

I'm enjoying this game much in the same way that I enjoy the Twilight movies. It's not good but makes me laugh and I'm getting a sense of enjoyment out of it, in some mean spirited sort of way.

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:bro:

Got to Chapter 3, still enjoying it! Some good parts, some little gripes.

I do still genuinely enjoy the talking between the main characters and Prompto is the star. It seems people either love him or hate him and I unashamedly am in the former camp. He's a dork with a heart of gold. I also think the voice actors did a great job.

With that said, some of the NPCs are... awful. Like Dino, a guy you meet early and he talks like a cheesy mafia wise guy? ...why? I... what? What is the point of that? Is it meant to be funny or am I just meant to be suspicious because he's Italian, or...? Trying too hard!

A lot of the side quests seem to be pointless busywork that exist for their own sake. Which is a criticism you can label at pretty much any open world game these days. Never really got the appeal.

There have been some really enjoyable and memorable moments. Exploring a cave as Prompto freaks out was great, and I've now done a couple of nice boss fights which I had a good time with. On the whole I still think the combat system is good, although sometimes it can feel a little overwhelming.

Why the smurf do I jump when I want to interact with things?! I think Marshall Banana made this point somewhere and she was spot on. People must think Noctis has some sort of problem when he comes up to them like he wants to talk and instead prances about for a few seconds before engaging in conversation. When the Press X prompt comes up on screen, pressing X shouldn't do anything but activate that prompt! It's basic stuff!

Finally, chocobos. Customisable chocobos. smurf. yes.

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

Why the smurf do I jump when I want to interact with things?!

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A fantasy based on reality?

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Originally Posted by Fynn

I don't think it's any more niche than normal. FF has never been a huge mainstream hit, no matter how much it may have seemed like it within the fandom. And the fandom being as it is, it's just as polarizing as any other FF starting from VIII

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I think it hit mainstream from about games VII-X. After that when it started to try to delve into online play combined with mature material started becoming a little more common place around that same time period is when it fell off the mainstream charts a bit.

Quite honestly it is hard not to poke a little fun at some of these characters final fantasy XV has when we have had games like Last of Us and TellTale's Walking Dead (amongst many more) released in recent years.

Aaaah, I'm more than 2/3rds in so I'm now at that really awkward point where I can no longer post 'first impressions' but I also can't go into any spoiler threads! *grumble grumble* xD

smurfed off exploring for a bit and got up to chapter 3, just focused on doing hunts and sidequests.

I have to go to Lestallum now, for a main story thing which recommends level 10. My characters are now level 23... whoops.

It definitely roped me in more with the couple of the more traditional "dungeon" type things.

The banter is generally enjoyable, and I'm seeing a bit less repeated dialogue now I'm not exploring as much.

Combat is still hit and miss, it most hits and is fun, but when it misses my gosh it's annoying. Had an epic ongoing battle with some Garula's, some beasts I forgot the name of, and 3 different squads of Magitek being dropped in at various points. That was a lot of fun. Then in another fight a Garula was pretty much chain stunning me against a rock due to the square button doing nothing. Only got out of it one I had enough tech to get Glad to Tempest it.

Extremely addicting. I think the trophies are far too easy, but I don't even care because the game is so damn enjoyable.

I've been playing for about four hours now and I can honestly say all my fears have been put to rest. It's a very fun game with a very likable cast of characters. I really enjoy listening to the banter between them. I also love just how vast and open everything is. Sometimes it's fun to just run around aimlessly and see what you find. I explored the first dungeon from top to bottom, with absolutely no hurry to move on. I can't tell you off hand the last time a game gave me that feeling.

Kitty Catering is my favorite side quest so far. :)

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Originally Posted by Fox

Aaaah, I'm more than 2/3rds in so I'm now at that really awkward point where I can no longer post 'first impressions' but I also can't go into any spoiler threads! *grumble grumble* xD

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Just tell us if you're enjoying yourself :p

Matt and I played about an hour last night (I didn't get a hands on go at the game because my mother chose that as the inopportune time to phone for a chat) and from what I saw it seems pretty fun, and the main guys seem likable enough. I don't think we'll be putting too much time into it at this point - the endless backlog exists. xD

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Originally Posted by Fynn

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Originally Posted by Fox

Aaaah, I'm more than 2/3rds in so I'm now at that really awkward point where I can no longer post 'first impressions' but I also can't go into any spoiler threads! *grumble grumble* xD

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Just tell us if you're enjoying yourself :p

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I am absolutely enjoying myself. However that comes with a few Titan sized caveats that would, by necessity, take us into spoiler territory unfortunately. They will have to wait for another thread :)

I have spent two days playing this basically endlessly. I am up to chapter six or seven, pretty much on the switch point of the two. I've been streaming it as DrAssenov wanted to see what it was like.

Impressions go like this...

- J-Pop Skyrim. I am going to spend forever in this game purely because there is so freaking much to do.
- This may be the most perfect chocobo music ever.
- Unlock all the FF soundtracks. It's so great that way.
--- But that makes you realise just how poorly some of the older songs have aged. It would have been nice if they put in the orchestra versions instead of the MIDI files.
- Love the little 16 bit character icons on the weapon store menu.
- Disappointed at the lack of insane fantasy environments that I'm used to enjoying in a Final Fantasy game, but I must say the environments really grow on you and a lot of the scenery is beautiful.
--- Case in point, go to that place at the bottom of the desert region at night and feel like you're at a honeymoon venue. Utterly beautiful.
- Fishing is actually kinda fun.
- Despite Cindy being hated by so many people for her attire, she's actually the most "real" girl in the game. I say this despite favouring another girl. Also, bit of a harem anime vibe going on in this game.
- Night time travel is a butt. Darn you Fire Giant. Darn you to heck. I am literally typing this as I wait for a Fire Giant to expire at dawn so I can finally get back to my non-fast-travel AP mining on my way to the next quest. Fast travel is for suckers.
--- Also, daytime auto drive is the perfect thing for when you have to do chores but want to game. I kick it off and scrub down a few dishes. Lookit me, being productive.
- Chocobo colouring was never so much of a conundrum. I mean Noctis obviously gets Honey Yellow, but what about the other guys? The important questions. I think I'll make a thread about this.
- That moment when you finally get a girl in your party as a guest party member? Yeah, okay, that was the most real moment of this brotrip. Because when you spend forever with your dudebros and then a girl enters the mix, you all suddenly get on this weird high.
- Love that when you wake up in a town, you aren't immediately surrounded with your bros, but they are waiting for you when you get out.
- Hunts are cool I guess.
--- Unless they're Flans.
----- I don't really use magic.
- What the hell Psy you get graded on Defence and Stealth? I get graded on Time and Finesse. I also get A+ pretty much every single battle, the other two can kind of mix up a bit.
- That was a massive bird.
--- Oh thank goodness I don't have to fight that bird yet.
----- Oh I can fight that bird now!
-------- Oh okay not yet then.
---------- Okay this time it's for realsies.
------------- ...Right. I'll reattempt that in about 20 levels then.
- Prompto says what I'm thinking when I get Ramuh after the epicness of Titan.
- Okay Fire Giant is gone, back to the game.

yeah, apparently they changed the Defense and Stealth to Time and Finesse with an update

Okay BoB WoFF vs FFXV GO

WoFF. Currently it's not a contest. That's not to say FFXV isn't great, but more that WoFF absolutely nailed pretty much everything.

I've been playing the game for a while now. Way better than the XIII fiasco, but the game just doesn't feel like Final Fantasy. It has far more in common with WRPGs to be honest. Characters are likable, but extremely one dimensional. The biggest problem is the story though. So far nothing has any impact. We are being told rather than shown what happens most of the time. It's insulting. Not showing Lucis fall was a major offender.

That said, it is a good game. Just not the "OMG BEST GAME EVER!" that people have been hyping it up as.

Here are my first impressions of a puzzle dungeon where all your combat abilities are taken away!

"UUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHH"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fox

Here are my first impressions of a puzzle dungeon where all your combat abilities are taken away!

"UUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHH"

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You are fast.

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fox

Here are my first impressions of a puzzle dungeon where all your combat abilities are taken away!

"UUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHH"

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You are fast.

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Multiple hours later my impression of this area remains the same. Except maybe a few more HHHHHHs

Ugh


Don't you just hate it when a game suddenly changes the rules

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Originally Posted by Fynn

Don't you just hate it when a game suddenly changes the rules

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Here's looking at you, any stealth section in any game that isn't a stealth game! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fox

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fynn

Don't you just hate it when a game suddenly changes the rules

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Here's looking at you, any stealth section in any game that isn't a stealth game! :D

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You're one to talk pal, I bought F1 2016 and all was going well in my Championship until Suzuka when suddenly I had to sneak into Rosberg's trailer and steal his lucky jockstrap.

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

WoFF. Currently it's not a contest. That's not to say FFXV isn't great, but more that WoFF absolutely nailed pretty much everything.

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I agree with this statement too, so far. I think part of my problem is I've been more in the mood for a game like woff than xv.

I am enjoying xv though. Just hit chapter 2. I will say that the scenes from kingsglaive (or at least I assume they are from the movie... Still haven't seen it) feel out of place. I'm also annoyed at jumping when I try to interact with stuff. I also have noticed the frame rate still isn't the most stable and have seen some visual glitches, but nothing that really irritates me too much. I've seen a lot of the same character model too. I feel like I saw 4 of the exact same girls standing in a room at one of the outposts, which I thought was funny. Those are my only criticisms for now. A few other things but I'll wait to pass judgment on those just because I'm not very far.

Anyone who has a ps4 pro, how has the game been running

Finally had a chance to actually start the game beyond the tutorial.

- I think the general premise of the game is shallow and the overall execution of the game so far is kinda... stupid, to be really blunt. Like, past FF games really get you immersed into the story through the prologue and make you care about what is going on, or at least intrigue you to know what is going on-- and I'm not really getting any of that here. The beginning of the prologue makes little sense unless you watched Brotherhood and Kingsglaive, and I'm glad I took the advice I was given and watched them before starting. It's poor execution to require the player to do stuff like that though, I feel. But I'm really struggling to feel intrigued by the story. And suspending disbelief on how the Regalia, the Royal Car, likely treated with extreme care and high quality maintenance, would break down, leaving a Prince stranded in the middle of nowhere, completely broke (this fancy futuristic world, and no currency exchange devices? Okay.)-- it's just a bit much for me.

- The Cup Noodle billboard. I salute you, overt product placement.

- Input in the game feels... kinda clunky. You have to position yourself just right to interact with things. Or when one of the quicktime events happens in combat, sometimes they won't execute even if I'm pushing the button. It's a little frustrating.

- That said, I'm really enjoying the flow of the combat style. It feels very Kingdom Hearts-ish and I'm definitely a fan of that-- but the camera kinda sucks trout sometimes. I was doing a sidequest battle and the camera would constantly fling a bush right in the foreground and I could not see what was happening. But all of the stuff you can do in combat, and switching weapons on the fly? Yeah, I'm a fan of that.

- The Ascension system reminds me of FFX's Sphere Grid and I like that. Giving the player the option to decide how they want to proceed with developing skills is something I do enjoy-- but it does feel a little overwhelming when AP is in such short supply, in the early game. It makes it hard to know what is best to prioritize. I've invested most of my AP into combat techniques. Seemed useful.

- I like Elemancy a lot! I'm a huge fan of having the freedom to experiment and craft my own things in RPGs to work with is very cool. Though I hope it's more advanced than it leads on. I was kind of hoping that mixing Fire and Ice and Lightning and so on would go on to create their own unique spells, but so far that doesn't seem to be the case. Hoping that it gets more depth as the game continues. But being able to tweak spells with items is really neat!

- So far, I am looking forward to playing more. I'm hoping that the story will grab me more than it is right now, for sure, but at least the gameplay is interesting.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scotty_ffgamer

Anyone who has a ps4 pro, how has the game been running

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Haven't had any issues beyond the tutorial freezing up on me. Framerates feel consistent. Seems pretty good. Though, my TV doesn't have HDR compatibility, so I'm running it on Lite. Don't really have a reason to run it on High.

Here's a thing I like about the game: you have good chocobo music when you're riding your chocobo at a normal pace. But when you are walking slowly with it the music seamlessly fades into a soft woodwind arrangement of the theme.

I like both versions and it's nice how it dynamically adapts that sort of thing. There are a few other points the music does that as well, where you have these layers that fade into each other depending on what's going on. Its good audio design.

Had a few glitches myself: Game completely crashed on me last night. Got the PS4 equivalent of a BSoD. Also Ignis's hair got stuck in a glitched position, then he completely went invisible. Definite FPS drops in places, but I think those are on "invisible boundaries" where the game starts background loading in assets of the next area.

Still haven't been to Lestallum... nearly Level 30 now and nearing 17 hours played...

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Originally Posted by Aulayna

Still haven't been to Lestallum... nearly Level 30 now and nearing 17 hours played...

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And I thought I was farting about xD

Yes, some glitches for a game this big justn cannot be avoided. I have experienced some myself already, fortunately nothing too bad- Some even funny like when the bros try to load next to Noct and then end up towering on top of each other.

Lol, now if that wouldn't be a bug. Imagine Ignis not taking anything seriously.

about 6 hours in and finally leaving Hammerhead Station south toward the beach to make a delivery for Cindy, to a rest-stop... so far i'm really loving it, maybe later we'll see if it really fits on my favorites list with VII, VIII, X, & XIII, early impressions feel like it will though... my only complaint is the lack of monsters and stuff to fight during the day, you really have to go out looking for a fight, what happened to that monster whistle that was supposed to be in that massive 2 day long patch?..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elly

about 6 hours in and finally leaving Hammerhead Station south toward the beach to make a delivery for Cindy, to a rest-stop... so far i'm really loving it, maybe later we'll see if it really fits on my favorites list with VII, VIII, X, & XIII, early impressions feel like it will though... my only complaint is the lack of monsters and stuff to fight during the day, you really have to go out looking for a fight, what happened to that monster whistle that was supposed to be in that massive 2 day long patch?..

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The whistle does exist.

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Lol, now if that wouldn't be a bug. Imagine Ignis not taking anything seriously.

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"I know how important reclaiming your throne is to you, Noct, but I've decided to quit lying to myself. I was born to dance. I wish you all the best."

*leaves party and becomes the greatest dancer in all of Eos and brings harmony to the world*

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elly

about 6 hours in and finally leaving Hammerhead Station south toward the beach to make a delivery for Cindy, to a rest-stop... so far i'm really loving it, maybe later we'll see if it really fits on my favorites list with VII, VIII, X, & XIII, early impressions feel like it will though... my only complaint is the lack of monsters and stuff to fight during the day, you really have to go out looking for a fight, what happened to that monster whistle that was supposed to be in that massive 2 day long patch?..

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The whistle does exist.

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i guess that's a Dungeonmaster way of saying i will get it later, lol...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elly

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elly

about 6 hours in and finally leaving Hammerhead Station south toward the beach to make a delivery for Cindy, to a rest-stop... so far i'm really loving it, maybe later we'll see if it really fits on my favorites list with VII, VIII, X, & XIII, early impressions feel like it will though... my only complaint is the lack of monsters and stuff to fight during the day, you really have to go out looking for a fight, what happened to that monster whistle that was supposed to be in that massive 2 day long patch?..

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The whistle does exist.

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i guess that's a Dungeonmaster way of saying i will get it later, lol...

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Indeed. I mean I can hardly tell you when. Or how.

Started last night after finishing off another game, not bad so far.

Pros:

• I actually enjoy a bit of the banter the characters have, gives a good idea of how the characters feel about each other.
• Combat is pretty good so far, really loving the party techs and how they make the rest of the cast a bit more playable.
• Holy crap! an interactive scene! Just stirred some soup but it's been years since an FF did something like this.
• The skill tree system is pretty nice and I like that it deals with more than just combat as well.
• Choosing Prompto's photos is a pretty neat.
• Despite all of the controversy surrounding her, I really like Cindy.
• I love the 16-bit sprite version of the party members.
• Clothing customization? Hell yeah.
• Elemancy is pretty cool, brings back memories of drawing magic in VIII. What it lacks in variety it makes up for in power.
• Dialogue options? With benefits/consequences? Yes please.

Cons:

• Kind of feel the opening could have been done better, it would have been so much cooler if it hadn't already been spoiled.
• I agree with some others, if you hadn't watched Brotherhood or Kingsglaive, you'll feel a bit loss on who is who, and what's going on.
• I know we're going for an Americana feel for the first section but the accents are killing me.
• Seen a few graphical glitches.
• Great, one of my beefs from XIII is back. Why is the font so tiny? SE needs to stop assuming I'm playing this in a movie theater.

I don't be get why y'all are hatin' on those Southern accents so much :p They're really nice to listen to! I had a whole BA thesis written about them!

Wonder how many who complained about magic realize that you can actually even fuse items with it. It is Materia Fusion all over again. And a pretty powerful one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fynn

I don't be get why y'all are hatin' on those Southern accents so much :p They're really nice to listen to! I had a whole BA thesis written about them!

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It's different when you're not far from the region they are trying to emulate. I'm sure if they were using Polish dialect but the game's setting was obviously West Germany, you would be a bit put off too. I mean the southern dialect is more on the Texas side of things, but even people in Texas don't really have accents that thick throughout the state.

But they've do in rural areas. And Hammerhead isn't exactly a metropolis.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fynn

But they've do in rural areas. And Hammerhead isn't exactly a metropolis.

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Nor do they do so in every rural area. ;)

WELL THEN MAYBE IT'S BASED ON A SPECIFIC RURAL AREA, HUH? :colbert:

i'm from Tx and not taking offense at the accents, actually squeed with joy when i heard Cindy speak, yeah it's super thick but it really exists around here... the way they use "y'all, varmints, critters, ect..." is just spot on, i love it, they're speakin' my dialect in Hammerhead...

Since I started playing the game, I've decided to wait to watch the movie until I beat it. Will that in any way make the movie less enjoyable, or would the movie make the game more enjoyable? I don't mind picking up what's going on or who is who from context in the game.

I was a bit startled by the first Southern accent that blared at me, but since then I've really grown fonder and fonder of them. It just takes time to settle in.

As for "but they aren't nailing that Southern accent right" - dude it's not actually America. xD They don't *have* to nail a Southern accent. It's like when people criticised that one girl for her Aussie accent in FFXIII. It's technically a fictional accent, guys, they can talk as incorrectly as they like.

It's just a bit jarring when you first get there is all, and I've never really cared for the accent since it always feels a bit overused in our media. With that said, it's a minor gripe, not a "IT'S RUINED FOR ME!" I was just trying to figure out things to whine about but I'm only two hours into the game and it was one of the few things that made me roll my eyes. I'm sure our British members roll their eyes when they have to listen to a Cockney stereotype every time something takes place in place modeled after "good ole merry England guv".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

I was a bit startled by the first Southern accent that blared at me, but since then I've really grown fonder and fonder of them. It just takes time to settle in.

As for "but they aren't nailing that Southern accent right" - dude it's not actually America. xD They don't *have* to nail a Southern accent. It's like when people criticised that one girl for her Aussie accent in FFXIII. It's technically a fictional accent, guys, they can talk as incorrectly as they like.

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To be fair, Georgia actually was an Australian, so it was so weird how people said she was fake


Gang was totally fake, though, and get people liked her accent more. Go figure.

Yeah, that always amused me. xD

I dunno why Cindy gets so much judgment. I like her so far, she's adorable. Could probably use a more reasonable wardrobe for her job, but that's about it.

full body coveralls in that heat would be brutal, i've seen gearhead girls wear less... the way i see it if a guy can work on his car with his shirt off what's wrong with Cindy's cloths, it's more than one would wear to the beach... though it is funny to hear how jelly the girls in the diner are of her...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Momiji

I dunno why Cindy gets so much judgment. I like her so far, she's adorable. Could probably use a more reasonable wardrobe for her job, but that's about it.

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I don't think it's her character that is generally judged, everyone seems to like her for the most part. It's her visual design that tends to be criticised and it is totally legitimate to like one aspect of her character and dislike another.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

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Originally Posted by Aulayna

Still haven't been to Lestallum... nearly Level 30 now and nearing 17 hours played...

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And I thought I was farting about xD

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Just arrived in Lestallum.

screenshot hidden, it's for Pyschotic mostly!Attachment 71090

Is there a way to skip some hours of time? There was a hunt I wanted to do, but it was only available at night. I tried camping, and it just skipped me to the next day. Can I skip half a day somehow instead of wasting time running around waiting for night? It felt like such a waste of time, and there was so little to do during that time since the next part of the story said I'd be away from that area for a while. Where on earth are all the monsters to beat on? :(

Play the Sun's Song, Momiji!

You're just makin' me want to go play Zelda again. :p

I met that Dino dude Paul was talking about earlier. He's such a hilariously bad stereotype. I like how I tried to turn him down, but Ignis made me go through with his request anyway. What an illusion of choice!

Time to go fishing before moving on.

I'm just into chapter 2, and my impressions to date have been overwhelmingly positive. The charcters and world feel real and organic, with self-evident layers of history and back-story beyond what the game's showing us. Material from Kingsglaive has been well-incorporated thus far, though I can see why it'd be more difficult to make sense of this game without having seen the film.

The gameplay and storytelling offer some pretty big departures from earlier Final Fantasies, and I'm actually grateful for that. It's a new way to approach the world and interact with it. Gameplay mechanics like driving, combat and levelling are quite different from other games, but again I like that there's a new way of doing this in this game, instead of just a repeat of what's already been done elsewhere.

The game's a downright visual marvel, too. I don't think I've ever played something that came so close to photo-realism, with the possible exception of Uncharted 4.

While I'm still getting used to FFXV's combat and side-quests, I'm looking forward to continuing the journey and continuing to learn.

I LOVE single player MMOs. This game feels like that right off the bat and I'm adoring it.

My favorite aspect so far is the character interactions with one another. I love their jabs and dialogue. Prompto's photographs are amaaaazing! I thought it was a little corny AT FIRST, but I was hooked immediately. I wish I knew more about them buuuut I know there's like story episodes I could watch. If I can bring myself away from running around stabbing things I'll have to give those a watch.

The combat system makes me feel like a total badass. I like games that make me earn my wins, and I get the impression that this game isn't going to let me just roll over entire areas of baddies. Then again - challenge accepted! I am a grind machine! Over leveling is my thing.

Cindy's boobs bother me so much. So much. Gravity doesn't work like that. At all.

Also, I LOVE that I camped out in a trailer. Abandoned, dirty south wasn't something I expected at all, but I'm kinda digging it.

I just got to Chapter 3, going a bit slow since I'm trying to explore and do optional quests over story missions first.

The Good:

• Did I mention how much I like the Technique system? Ignis especially wins for having some super useful abilities.
• I love the fact that Prompto's Flare Gun move will actually stun the nocturnal daemons. Saved my ass a few times on hunts.
• Much like the demo, Goblins are a freaking pain in the ass with a bent on screwing with your party. I love it.
• My first Guest Party member didn't disappoint.
• I like that equipping a party member with one of their secondary weapons will have them switch up their combos like Noctis.
• Magic was starting to lose it's pep when I encountered the Flan's and I smiled because the game brought back memories of FFIV.
• I just had my first heart-to-heart with Prompto and was surprised to see it actually featured a dialogue tree akin to Mass Effect.
• While it's a bit on rails, I'm digging the Regalia and traveling by it.
• Having played the Duscae Demo, it's really interesting to get back there and see how much has changed.
• The Javelin/Spear is my favorite weapon so far. The perfect balance of speed and power.
• Cid upgrades my weapons? Hell yeah!
• The fishing mini-game is easily my favorite mini-game so far, brings back fond memories of Breath of Fire.
• Collecting recipes is pretty fun.

The Bad

• While there are very few of them, the load times in this game are pretty annoying.
• What does a prince have to do to get his hands on new weapons for his entourage?
• I'm hoping we can get more clothing options besides the four you start with.
• Quick Travel my ass, you're almost always better off just driving the Regalia instead of relying on QT.
• Party banter conversations are starting to repeat.
• Gladious has my least favorite skill, scavenging items I can get pretty easily isn't quite as engaging as Fishing, photography and cooking.
• While I appreciate the scale of the areas, there is a real sense that 90% of my play time is just trying to get to somewhere interesting.
• Why yes FFXV, I totally love it when I'm fighting a Mark Hunt and you spawn a monster encounter and a Magitek Soldier encounter at the same time. That was totally fun in the demo as well...

I've just completed chapter 5 (SPOILER)where Noctis and company have to infiltrate an enemy base in order to retrieve their stolen car, and I came to the first serious round of frustration, and it was due to the map system. I set the mini-map to always have north at the top because I prefer the map not rotate. However, (SPOILER)when I tried to escape the base after Noctis had Ramuh clear it out, it was very confusing that the larger map of that area on the menu's map screen was fixed, but rotated so north wasn't at the top, nor was it close. At least they put a compass on that screen, so that helped. I wish I could have rotated the menu (larger) map for the area, though.

Other than that, and having to hear the same things over and over (like Prompto singing the Chocobo theme or "I feel so sluggish") this game has been very enjoyable. There's plenty of things to do and the scenery and people look really good. Now to figure out why the diners have booths that could fit 10 people each when the places are mostly empty when I walk in. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Momiji

Is there a way to skip some hours of time? There was a hunt I wanted to do, but it was only available at night. I tried camping, and it just skipped me to the next day. Can I skip half a day somehow instead of wasting time running around waiting for night?

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The ability to freely skip time is one of the many very basic open world game features missing from Final Fantasy XV. That said, accepting a nighttime hunt during the day will give you a prompt that lets you skip to night. You can abandon & re-accept if need be. It isn't perfect, but it gives you some amount of control at least.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Momiji

It felt like such a waste of time, and there was so little to do during that time since the next part of the story said I'd be away from that area for a while. Where on earth are all the monsters to beat on? :(

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You get some dingus later that lets you "summon monsters" to fight which you would think would cure this problem, but in my experience it doesn't really work. I think I was able to call one giant bee one time. Maybe I'm doing something wrong or not using it in the right place, but of course the game won't actually tell you.

For summoning monsters, I found it works once you find a good spot and just keep whistling and then running around for a few seconds. It doesn't seem to work on roads, but if you go into areas where monsters normally spawn then chances are it'll work alright. I use it to farm AP.

Also, Snap Jumper: Yes! That map thing frustrated the crap out of me too. I didn't even spot a compass, I just looked at the minimap and kind of figured it out based on that.

Someone on Reddit typed out the default control scheme

Quote:

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X jumps. It also interacts. Square isn't used for interacting because it's the walk button. There's a walk button. L3 or Circle sprint. Unless you're on a chocobo in which case Square sprints. R3 opens the map. In the Regalia R3 doesn't do anything and the touchpad opens the map. Dpad Up starts the radio. L2+Dpad Up starts the MP3 Player. Dpad Up otherwise does nothing useful outside the car unless in combat in which case L2+Dpad Up does nothing. Circle automatically walks to points of interaction. I'm not sure why but it does. L1 and R1 are used for the Armiger but can be hard to use because both buttons need quick execution on time with each other and can't be held. Summoning gets its own dedicated button on L2 despite needing several seconds of holding to perform.

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The amount of time I've spent jumping in front of an object I'm trying to pick up :lol:

I had an odd glitch yesterday in Chapter 7, fighting one of the Imperial robots. It fell through the floor! I tried locking on and warp-striking at it and Noctis did the same and the screen went black for 5 seconds and the game quit to a loading screen which never completed :lol: I had to reset the game.

That is actually a result of the classic localization confirm/cancel swap. In this case the localization team swapped only some functions of O and X and not others, exacerbating the problem even further. The control scheme is actually a pretty good metaphor for the game as a whole.

Still Chapter 3, but I'm finally breaking away from sidequests to focus on the main story, especially now that I've most likely shot myself in the foot and am probably over-leveled as hell for the part I'm going into.

Pros:

• CHOCOBOS! Enough said...Okay more seriously, I'm seriously digging the way they were implemented in this game and I love the fact they are more useful than past installments (not counting the MMOs) since they can be used everywhere and the time limit for them is quite generous. Being able to customize them was cool too, especially when you notice the first color palette you unlock are the color schemes for the basic Chocobos you race against in VII.
• Prompto taking selfies with his Chocobo are adorable.
• Finally got some better weapon options and really opened up combat.
• I appreciate the fact that weapons are more standardized and not filled with dumb "increases the Tech bar when evade ground based moves" nonsense from more recent battle systems. I got a Lightning Spear and it does exactly what it says it does and not some arbitrary boon to an overly complicated battle system.
• I love that character quests have a bit of story to them.
• While I am way under-leveled for them, I love the Dungeons I've encountered so far. The Mine Shaft one with the low level Goblins and the freaking Lv. 50 Ronin prowling on the bottom floors was pretty cool.
• Iris is adorable and her little story mission was really cool. She's my favorite NPC so far.
• I love the way Iris breaks the fourth wall in the menu system since when you open it up, she'll be sneaking a peak at Noctis until she notices the player is watching her and then starts acting like she wasn't just gawking at him.
• Finally took out that Lv. 30ish mutant monstrosity behind the Hammerhead, which is as satisfying as the first time you take out a Saurion in the Estersands in XII.
• After what feels like a lifetime of gas stations and silly resort locations, I finally reached an honest to goodness town and it didn't disappoint.
• I can finally beat some of the Daemons that appear at night.

Cons:

• I never thought I would say this but the world might be too big. Again, going back to my previous posts, I often feel like too much of the game is just trying to get to the interesting places, and I find my favorite quests tend to be ones that don't require me to go far from the mission giver. I mean thank god for the Chcocobos cause I can't imagine I would have finished half of the quests in Duscae if I didn't have them to shorten the walk. It doesn't help the fast travel system is just as slow.
• While I love the concept of Mark Hunts, much like FFXIII, XV seems to have failed to understand what made them so interesting in XII. That would be the fact that many of them either had some interesting, non-repetitive, story component to them which often expanded the lore of the world, but XV sadly has very few story based ones and many of them were unique creatures that may look like something you faced a hundred times before but always offered some unique gameplay element that made you really have to think on the fly and learn the ins and outs of the gameplay to finally beat. Instead, XV's is much like XIII's with many creatures just being beefier palette swaps of things you've faced over and over again which can be beaten with the same tactics. My favorite fights tend to always be ones against creatures I've never encountered before, but I assume they'll become the new standard later.
• The Deadeye quest was so much cooler in the demo than the final game. In fact, despite the amount of fanfare you get for beating it, the fight was completely underwhelming.

Chapter Five baby!

Pros:

• The battle against (SPOILER)Titan is much more exciting when you actually play it for yourself. In fact, I feel like XV's gameplay has a similar problem with Xenoblade Chronicles, where the combat looks utterly boring and repetitive when watching videos of it, but the actual playing of it is so much more fun.
• Armiger Mode is pretty broken, and then you gave me a group attack with it? What the hell were you thinking XV?! I love it. :love:
• Barring his really weird Raven wing sleeve, I'm really digging Ardyn. He's giving me a Kuja vibe with his theatrical personality.
• I actually found one of the Lucian Royal Weapons on my own, and I feel pretty proud.
• Midgard Zolom?! and he's still an unsuspecting kick in the teeth for an unprepared party? I'm digging these subtle shout outs to the classic series.
• The Ice dungeon was pretty amusing, and running into freaking Mindflayers in there is just as unnerving as it was in FF1.
• Now that I'm actually ignoring quests to push forward on the story mode, I've been growing more invested in the game again.
• Gladious' Survivor Skill has reached the point he can find Phoenix Downs on the field.

Cons:

• While I absolutely appreciate the fact that XV doesn't lower itself to the typical overuse of the "collect 100 bear butts for me" type quests that tend to ravage open world games like Syphilis in a whore house, I do feel the quest system of the game has some issues. The issue is that while some of the more mundane quests are pretty comical the first time you do them (pick up some guys groceries? Is "Prince" Eos' special term for "town chore bitch"?) they quickly lose that quality when you go back to the person and he gives you five different versions of the same damn quest. Overall, like Xenoblade, I feel XV has a quest problem and I feel a simple "less is more" approach would have sufficed much like it would have in Xenoblade. It's great to have things to do in the game, don't get me wrong , but I could have done without going to Duscae and having what I'm guessing is about fifty samey quests open up all at once. There is a bit of a story thread for them so their may be some pay off later when the quest chain ends but we'll have to wait and see.
• While I appreciate the ability to play classic FF music in the car, the song selection isn't always the best. I could have done with less battle themes and more character/event themes. None of this is helped by me playing Theaterhythm on the side and the song selection for many of the collections is the same in both games.
• After accidentally reading somewhere that some of the items are used as a special currency late in the game, I have become absolutely paranoid about selling any of my loot, which has led to some money shortages here and there.

I gave up. I'm about four or five hours into it and I just cannot go any further, not even just to laugh at it. This game is not good. The story makes no sense and is poorly told. The characters are awful. And most importantly, this game is just really smurfing boring.

Enjoy the game, guys. Ten years waiting for a game where you just hold down the circle button. woo

4 or 5 hours is nothing! What Chapter were you on?

WK: http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread....16#post3645916 just for you, baby

I've had barely any time to play this with baby illnesses but what I've played I've really enjoyed! Still trying to get the hang of fighting but it's a struggle. I was so close to death on the boss fight in the first dungeon. I was just getting battered. The boss at the end of chapter 2 was much more enjoyable though. It felt Final Fantasy-esque even with the action-based combat style.

Just started chapter 3 and having a play around with fishing. I'm not bad! I haven't been disappointed in the slightest. I'm also glad I watched Kingslaive again the night before this came out.

Fishing is the one thing that hasn't really clicked with me gameplay-wise. I really don't enjoy it. I'm still on Level 1. xD

the fishing is really easy as long as you do not reel in at any time the tension bar is up, even when it's white, just pull in the direction it tells you to and reel in only when the tension bar is gone completely and your line will last so much longer... just let go of R2 any time the tension bar appears and all will be good...

so far i'm 40.5 hours in and almost done with Chapter 3, only a couple more side quest to go and i can begin Chapter 4, i'm really loving it, it really feels like a Final Fantasy game should to me... blows my mind how people are already done when there is so much to see and do in this game (they must have skipped 90% of the game), but i've never been one to rush through to the end if i love the world, setting, and characters... so far this really is an awesome game and it belongs on my favorites list of VII, VIII, X, XIII, and now XV...

My struggle was getting them hooked in the first place. I can get the red bar to appear (ie they are alert) but it disappears after a few seconds.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elly

blows my mind how people are already done when there is so much to see and do in this game (they must have skipped 90% of the game)

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Indeed I did! I love these games for their stories. So the fact that 90% of the game is something other than story content is a) why I finished it so quickly and b) why I don't like it very much.

I am 100% done and have already played through the game 2 1/2 times so no, not skipped. 100% as long as we do not have the DLC for story and all, that is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kappy

My struggle was getting them hooked in the first place. I can get the red bar to appear (ie they are alert) but it disappears after a few seconds.

---

the red bar is their interest, some fish like fast moving bait, others like it to not move at all, while others like slow moving bait, the faster the bar fills the more their interested... jig it around a bit too see which fills the bar faster and recast (Circle Button) to the same spot using what you learned from observing the red bar... also try changing the Lure, different fish like different bait, you can check each Lures description to find out which bait are for which fish...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

I am 100% done and have already played through the game 2 1/2 times so no, not skipped. 100% as long as we do not have the DLC for story and all, that is.

---

lol, i should have expected that from you though, you remind me of this guy i knew with eidetic memory that would play through games in under a weekend, he'd buy/rent them and be done by time i'd come back over the next day, it always amazed me...

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Originally Posted by Fox

Indeed I did! I love these games for their stories. So the fact that 90% of the game is something other than story content is a) why I finished it so quickly and b) why I don't like it very much.

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but there is still story in those side-quests, the one with Dave and the Dog Tags is a really good example of one that further develops the boys character...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fox

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elly

blows my mind how people are already done when there is so much to see and do in this game (they must have skipped 90% of the game)

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Indeed I did! I love these games for their stories. So the fact that 90% of the game is something other than story content is a) why I finished it so quickly and b) why I don't like it very much.

---

Looking at people's opinions on reddit, I kind of noticed this trend that people who took the time to actually go and explore everything actually have a much greater appreciation of the story because the way the world builds it in subtle ways is really effective. And people who rushed through it are incredibly disappointed for the very same reason :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fynn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fox

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elly

blows my mind how people are already done when there is so much to see and do in this game (they must have skipped 90% of the game)

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Indeed I did! I love these games for their stories. So the fact that 90% of the game is something other than story content is a) why I finished it so quickly and b) why I don't like it very much.

---

Looking at people's opinions on reddit, I kind of noticed this trend that people who took the time to actually go and explore everything actually have a much greater appreciation of the story because the way the world builds it in subtle ways is really effective. And people who rushed through it are incredibly disappointed for the very same reason :p

---

To be fair, I did some exploration while going through the story. And even doing as much as possible would not help erasing my complaints because I complain about what is not in the game. Which I hope is mostly covered in DLC.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elly

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kappy

My struggle was getting them hooked in the first place. I can get the red bar to appear (ie they are alert) but it disappears after a few seconds.

---

the red bar is their interest, some fish like fast moving bait, others like it to not move at all, while others like slow moving bait, the faster the bar fills the more their interested... jig it around a bit too see which fills the bar faster and recast (Circle Button) to the same spot using what you learned from observing the red bar... also try changing the Lure, different fish like different bait, you can check each Lures description to find out which bait are for which fish...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sephiroth

I am 100% done and have already played through the game 2 1/2 times so no, not skipped. 100% as long as we do not have the DLC for story and all, that is.

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i should have expected that from you though, you remind me of this guy i knew with eidetic memory that would play through games in under a weekend, he'd buy/rent them and be done by time i'd come back over the next day, it always amazed me...

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Funnily enough I did finish Final Fantasy XV over the course of one weekend. Friday Night, Oct 25th 2016-Sunday Night, Oct 27th 2016. Not 100% though, of course.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elly

but there is still story in those side-quests, the one with Dave and the Dog Tags is a really good example of one that further develops the boys character...

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FFVII had story in the side quests too. The difference is, if you ignore the sidequests you still get a satisfying story.

Also for every "Dave and the Dog Tags" quest there's half a dozen "Fetch me a mushroom" quests, which don't advance plot/characters in any meaningful way. And it's tedious going through them just on the off chance there are a couple of nice ones. It's not like I did absolutely 0 side content, I did experience a reasonable chunk if only to get to the recommended levels for the main missions...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fynn

Looking at people's opinions on reddit, I kind of noticed this trend that people who took the time to actually go and explore everything actually have a much greater appreciation of the story because the way the world builds it in subtle ways is really effective. And people who rushed through it are incredibly disappointed for the very same reason

---

It's also likely that the people who took the time to go and explore every nook and cranny were happy to play a game that forces them to do that. I'm not one of those people. I would like to point out though that FFXII was a game that did exactly the same but also gave you sufficient detail on the linear path to be satisfying. It's not either/or. Plus, what are we defining as 'subtle' ways here? I hope that doesn't count turning on all the radios so that you don't miss really important plot details, 'cause that infuriates me!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fox

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elly

but there is still story in those side-quests, the one with Dave and the Dog Tags is a really good example of one that further develops the boys character...

---

FFVII had story in the side quests too. The difference is, if you ignore the sidequests you still get a satisfying story.

Also for every "Dave and the Dog Tags" quest there's half a dozen "Fetch me a mushroom" quests, which don't advance plot/characters in any meaningful way. And it's tedious going through them just on the off chance there are a couple of nice ones. It's not like I did absolutely 0 side content, I did experience a reasonable chunk if only to get to the recommended levels for the main missions...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fynn

Looking at people's opinions on reddit, I kind of noticed this trend that people who took the time to actually go and explore everything actually have a much greater appreciation of the story because the way the world builds it in subtle ways is really effective. And people who rushed through it are incredibly disappointed for the very same reason

---

It's also likely that the people who took the time to go and explore every nook and cranny were happy to play a game that forces them to do that. I'm not one of those people. I would like to point out though that FFXII was a game that did exactly the same but also gave you sufficient detail on the linear path to be satisfying. It's not either/or. Plus, what are we defining as 'subtle' ways here? I hope that doesn't count turning on all the radios so that you don't miss really important plot details, 'cause that infuriates me!

---

:gator: I haven't played it yet, so I can't say what it is, just going off what I heard other people say. Tbh, though, I still like that approach on paper, and I figure I'll like it in the game as well, considering how much XIII has killed any desire to ever see forced, ham-fisted melodrama as the epitome of being "human" ever again. I like a more laid back narrative now, where I get to fill in the gaps myself, and maybe catch up on some things more organically, like, idk, by listening to the radio as the characters would in the game.

Of course it's all subjective. Everybody likes different things. But everything I hear about XV so far makes it look like exactly
the kind of FF I've been waiting for all my life.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kappy

4 or 5 hours is nothing! What Chapter were you on?

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I'm guessing I was still on Chapter 1.

I still feel burned the the FF XIII "oh if you put up with it for twenty hours then it gets good!" bulltrout. No thank you. Why can't the game be good now?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yar

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kappy

4 or 5 hours is nothing! What Chapter were you on?

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I'm guessing I was still on Chapter 1.

I still feel burned the the FF XIII "oh if you put up with it for twenty hours then it gets good!" bulltrout. No thank you. Why can't the game be good now?

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Yeah, I figure that if you don't want to continue it at this point, it probably isn't your cup of tea

Probably not want you want to hear, but I'd stick with it until at least Chapter 3 or 4. I had grievances with the game and then it sort of clicked once the map opened up and the quests got a bit more interesting.

There's always going to be a certain amount of investment with a game of FFXV's size

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fynn

Looking at people's opinions on reddit, I kind of noticed this trend that people who took the time to actually go and explore everything actually have a much greater appreciation of the story because the way the world builds it in subtle ways is really effective. And people who rushed through it are incredibly disappointed for the very same reason :p

---

I played both ways back to back (35 hours on first playthru and nearly 100 hours on second) and came away with the same opinion. If anything, going through the game with a fine-toothed comb hurts the experience because it exposes how shallow and rushed everything is.

I do feel there are certain story moments between the characters that just "randomly" show up. I'm sure there is a checkpoint in the code for when these events play out but it's definitely not a scripted in the sense it plays immediately after a certain moment but instead just triggers when you make camp/stay at an inn. Which frankly has been kind of nice for me. Of anything, I'm appreciating the fact the game is a bit more interactive with it's story content, dialogue choices, funny non-consequential mini-game activities with the party members. I like the fact Tabata and his team are hearkening back to the V-IX era and pushing the fact that story scenes shouldn't just be me sitting there listening to characters drone on for fifteen minutes. There is also just the various conversations your characters will do together while just walking around.

Gameplay-wise, my beefs with the game so far are mostly my issues with Open-World games in general, so it's a bit harder to nail XV for anything new problem-wise that hasn't been heard before when discussing things like Skyrim, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Fallout.

Pros:

• I'm enjoying some of the subtle things in the game, such as having the car need to stop to let a herd of monsters cross the road.
• I found the original Crow's Nest, though the Kenny "Special" is a bit too expensive for my taste at the moment.
• I'm really enjoying the variety techniques bring to combat, not just by breaking up the simple monotony of ARPG combat in general but because several of them do either offer some tactical advantage or some interesting gameplay addition that requires you to do some more stuff than just press the circle button.
• The game kind of keeps the XC thing where anything ten levels higher than you will most likely murder you outright. As it stands there is still one Daemon at night I have to avoid.

Cons:

• Wow, while I can appreciate returning the Couelir enemy back to it's "Nope *hit run command*" status, I feel the team may have gone too far with them in this one. Three of them were a handful but I did a hunt that had me fight eight of them and in addition to burning through my Phoenix Downs, I had to resort to having Ramuh deal with them. Speaking of which...
• I have the boon of two Astrals already, but I've only seen one of them so far in combat. How the hell do they work? Does the newest Astral just replace the old one so I missed out on the chance to see Titan, or is it just random and the game for me seems to favor Ramuh more?
• I'm torn between finishing exploring the area and advancing the story, especially since the story mission says up front that I may not be back in the area for some time. I keep feeling there is another Lucian artifact or two for me to pick up in the area. On the other hand I get to roll with Iris in the story mission...
• Okay game... it's "Eye-Ris" not Ee-Ris" that's starting to get on my nerves.

My review of the game:

I vaguely remember the original trailer for Final Fantasy versus XIII. It was a long time ago and seemingly right around the time I was playing Final Fantasy XII.

For years, I always thought the trailer was for Kingdom Hearts 3 for some reason, as terrible as that sounds.

It never mattered to me that Final Fantasy Versus XIII was delayed, forgotten and put aside. Final Fantasy XII was lackluster and XIII, the successor, was bland and mediocre.
I never finished either game.

When it was announced that Final Fantasy XV, the game Versus XIII eventually became, was being released in 2016, I could care less. My love affair with the Final Fantasy series was over.
After years of believing in Square Enix and the series, I was done. I was done with Final Fantasy and I was done with Japanese Role Playing Games (JRPG).

However, with each new trailer I became curious about this new game. Four friends on a journey across a fantasy world. Ok.
The return of summon monsters. Ok.
Gorgeous graphics. Meh.

Then it was announced at E3 2015 that Final Fantasy VII was being remade for the PS4. Suddenly my interested in the series was rekindled.
More information was revealed about XV as well, but I could care less about the four metro-sexual dudes on their journey to come out the closet. Final Fantasy VII was being remade. The game that seduced me to the series. The game that I completed 100 percent. The game I beat 20 times in one summer. smurf Final Fantasy XV, give me VII!

Then the hype for the remake died down. I played a bit of the FF VII PS4 game and was satiated for a bit.
This was when I started paying attention to XV. Square announced a tie in movie and YouTube series for the game.
Square showed what a summon looked like in the game – Ramuh. That’s when I got the bug. In older Final Fantasy games, summons were cool. They were allies you’d call into battle who would unleash devastating damage on your enemies. Awesome.
The same principle applies in XV, except now the summons are smurfing huge in scale and cinematic glory.

This is when I decided that if reviewed favorably, I would pick the game up.
I’ve played the Witcher 3 and Dragon Age 3, role playing games set in an open world with dynamic stories and interesting characters.
I’ve played what I consider to be the best modern RPG series in the world, Mass Effect. My tastes have matured over the years. JRPGs are stuck in the past. That’s my issue with the majority of them. Some teeny bopper had the fate of the world placed on his shoulders. Also some big breasted nymph would accompany our hero to show her titts – I mean save the world.

The Witcher 3 and the Mass Effect series blew that crap out the water. Not simply because sex and violence were introduced, but because of the emotional weight placed on the player.
Could XV deliver?
No. But that’s ok.

I started playing FF XV the day it was released last month and I love it. It’s definitely a game for fans and new comers, as the title screen in the game reads. It’s also quite fun.
While everything is not perfect, like the poor controls and camera in dungeons, the game does have some redeeming qualities.
Riding Chocobos is awesome. Driving the Regalia is awesome. Killing giant beasts – awesome. Being murdered by Quetzalcoatl only to be saved by that badass Ramuh summon – smurfing awesome.

I couldn’t tell you what the smurf the story is. Your dad is murdered and some imperials want to hunt you down and some other imperials don’t. You’re supposed to be marrying this oracle to bring peace to the world. I don’t smurfing know. Kill trout and don’t think too much. Camp and eat luxury food in the woods.

Also, save yourself the trouble and don’t watch the movie Kingsglaive – it’s the worst movie I’ve seen in 2016. Aaron Paul, Sean Bean and Lena Heady should be given Oscars for trying to save that piece of trout.
The YouTube series, brotherhood, is better. It’s shorter, and offers insight into XV’s characters.
Other than that, stock up on elixirs and prepare to be weirded out by all that bro love.

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Thoughts?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

• Wow, while I can appreciate returning the Couelir enemy back to it's "Nope *hit run command*" status, I feel the team may have gone too far with them in this one. Three of them were a handful but I did a hunt that had me fight eight of them and in addition to burning through my Phoenix Downs, I had to resort to having Ramuh deal with them. Speaking of which...
• I have the boon of two Astrals already, but I've only seen one of them so far in combat. How the hell do they work? Does the newest Astral just replace the old one so I missed out on the chance to see Titan, or is it just random and the game for me seems to favor Ramuh more?
  

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My understanding is that each summon has a certain set of conditions that have to be met before getting the summon command like being in danger for a certain amount of time. I don't know the conditions or anything, but I believe I've read that ramuh is the easiest to trigger.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

I'm torn between finishing exploring the area and advancing the story, especially since the story mission says up front that I may not be back in the area for some time. I keep feeling there is another Lucian artifact or two for me to pick up in the area. On the other hand I get to roll with Iris in the story mission...

---

Without spoiling too much, you get given a way of traveling back fairly quickly, so even if you feel there's stuff you missed but really want to carry on with the story - feel free to carry on, you'll have multiple chances before the end of the game to go back when you desire. Most of the Armiger Weapons are tied directly to the story, there's only a few that come from optional stuff.

I just realized today that I've put in close to 50 hours into the game at this point and I'm still only in Chapter 6. I have seven of the thirteen royal arms, two of the Six Astrals, Hunter Rank 4, and my average party level is 46. I also just noticed last night that the fourth peg in the Elemancy section was for adding items so I've been having more fun with it.

I'm at level 47 now - is that enough to complete the game?

I'm at Chapter 15 but tried going to (SPOILER)Insomnia and got my arse handed to me, so I've gone back to level up.

I think I might complete the game and then start afresh now I know the game's intricacies, and start doing side-quests and hunts from the beginning. I kind of launched myself into the story straight away :lol:

I completed the story in my second playthrough on Level 38. Are you playing on Normal? If that is too hard for you, switch to Easy. I almost spent my entire time on Easy because it really does not matter, except for one trophy. And ha, ha. For one dungeon I went like 2/3 of the way through on Normal without even noticing but when it became harder for me to proceed I just wondered that it was actually on Normal for me and I forgot to change. But in all seriousness, switch to Easy if you are on Normal. This has nothing to do with "being hardcore", if you have no personal preference you can end it on that mode as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kappy

I'm at level 47 now - is that enough to complete the game?

I'm at Chapter 15 but tried going to (SPOILER)Insomnia and got my arse handed to me, so I've gone back to level up.

I think I might complete the game and then start afresh now I know the game's intricacies, and start doing side-quests and hunts from the beginning. I kind of launched myself into the story straight away :lol:

---

I was at 44 when I did it. Just run through that area and into the subway! You're not meant to fight every monster in town. Hope that helps! :)

Yeah, I'm on Normal and Active - I quite like the way the combat feels so I'll probably leave it at that. It's just I bumped into a Level 80 something monster almost straight away, so I figured I might be underlevelled!

Just found this

http://i.imgur.com/PLx3P3p.png

Just reached Chapter 7, Minor Spoilers for Chapter 6.



Pros:

• Iris is so adorable and a total badass in combat. She's like one part Larsa and one part Seifer. Easily my favorite Guest Party member so far.
• Oh my god, she gets her own colored Chocobo as well! She even tends to race Noctis when you're prowling about.
• Really enjoyed the Deep Thicket and Volcano Rock something or other dungeons.
• Holy crap, there is a witch in the woods that sells potions!
• Took down a Catoblepas finally which was quite fulfilling considering how powerful they are in the demo.
• Finally saw the Titan summon. Ramuh appears when either Noctis is at 0hp or if the battle takes too long, while Titan appears when allies are weak.
• The new Highwind does not disappoint. I especially enjoyed the ability to engage her in aerial combat.
• Finally got to see the Chocobo help me fight in battle. He's also Lv. 10 finally.
• Maxed out Cooking and Photography.
• The stealth missions are not so bad.

Cons:

• It's been mentioned by others, but I will also mention that the interface in the game is finicky and will test your patience when trying to mount a Chocobo or interact with an item.
• I keep running into a bug during combat when the Chocobo is around, basically it negates Noctis' ability to move or respond to button commands. Tends to not shop up as long as I engage in battle after leaving the Chocobo a ways away.
• I feel like the Hunter Tags and Royal Arms quests are a missed opportunity for some story telling and expanding the world. Like it's neat to do them but they feel a bit empty afterwards. It doesn't help that the nature of the Royal Arms weapons makes them situational at best.
• Kinda wish the Thicket dungeon had been blocked off since its one of the few dungeons you can bring Iris into and the car trip makes a point to stop off to go see it. Thank god for the Bandersnatch hunt, but I almost feel like I missed some intriguing ambient party banter because I finished the dungeon before continuing the main story.
• I've decided that Noctis has awful pictures taken of him when he poses, his half smile is annoying to look at and just makes me want to punch him in the face. I'm also surprised how few pictures of Ignis and Prompto there seems to be that I actually like.
• Only 150 photos are saveable?! NOOOooooo!!! I need more scrap book fodder.
• Okay game, I seriously need you to stop making me trek halfway cross the damn country only to give me a story quest that sends me back to the other side.

SO there's so many things that I love about this game, the first of all ( kinda silly ) is the pictures that Prompto takes. I really love that haha. Sec of all, I've bought a music protable player so I can listen to ff music all THE TIME I WANT. ( Epic in quest ) THAN that your friend can heal you? OMG that's so perfect if you ran out of potions. THE CHOCOBO may be the things that I love the most! It's open landed, easy to easy and cute. Even tho I hate fishing.
So yeah this is my ( at the moment ) review. 10/10

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

I keep running into a bug during combat when the Chocobo is around, basically it negates Noctis' ability to move or respond to button commands. Tends to not shop up as long as I engage in battle after leaving the Chocobo a ways away.

---

I *think* - and I'm far from sure - that this might be something to do with your chocobo being able to fight in battle with you once you hit a certain level. They don't stick around, so it's probably just a quick triggerable action that happens (and negates Noctis doing anything while it happens) at the start of the battle.

Just finished a bunch of quests without resting yesterday and managed to bank a good 275,000 EXP at the Hotel in Altissia. Jumped from Level 39 with Prompto to Level 56 (who had a Moogle Charm on so earned even more) :D

Part of me really likes the resting to level up thing - it's quite satisfying when it all comes in one go!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

I keep running into a bug during combat when the Chocobo is around, basically it negates Noctis' ability to move or respond to button commands. Tends to not shop up as long as I engage in battle after leaving the Chocobo a ways away.

---

I *think* - and I'm far from sure - that this might be something to do with your chocobo being able to fight in battle with you once you hit a certain level. They don't stick around, so it's probably just a quick triggerable action that happens (and negates Noctis doing anything while it happens) at the start of the battle.

---

I think it was meant to be combat but it glitched and I simply watched the Chocobo run from battle while Noctis chased after it or it simply vanished and Noctis just sat there like a dead log, so I feel it is a glitch but nothing terrible.

Chapter 9, average level 51, 8 of the 13 Royal Arms found.

Pros:

• The third Guest party member also did not disappoint and I especially loved the banter with them.
• Despite all the hate Lunafreya and Cindy got before the game's release, I really love most of the girl characters so far.
• While I was a bit disappointed that Cindy wasn't the only Cid, I do actually like this one.
• Fishing is still super fun, even if I do have a knack for finding the "big ones" Noct has no business trying to catch with his meager tools.
• The plot has finally picked up.
• The new town is massive and really aesthetically pleasing. The team wasn't lying when they said the world would get more "fantasy" as you progressed.
• Have I mentioned how amusing it is that Lunafreya's hand maiden loves to photobomb you?

Cons:

• I'm hoping that (SPOILER) the whole story concerning Gladios departure in Chapter 7 get expanded upon.
• Oh hey, a sewer dungeon, those are never frustrating...
• I feel I've reached the point where I am quest out, I just can't really bring myself to do them anymore. Yet my OCD won't let me stop.
• You know, I'm close to two thirds of the way into the plot at this point and I'm still trying to figure out what the villains really want. What little I see of them is interesting but there is just so little of it, it wouldn't have hurt the devs to switch back to them more often.
• I feel like I should have seen that Adamantoise by now.

tbh WK I found it a lot more fun to do the quests post game rather than during the game. I'd have become too burnt out otherwise but now I can go at my own pace without having to know how the story ends and I'm enjoying it a lot more.

Also Adamantoise is this is the most minor of spoilers ever but some people might not appreciate me saying so!post-game. Sorry!

Also also I have still NEVER had Titan appear for me!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

tbh WK I found it a lot more fun to do the quests post game rather than during the game. I'd have become too burnt out otherwise but now I can go at my own pace without having to know how the story ends and I'm enjoying it a lot more.

Also Adamantoise is this is the most minor of spoilers ever but some people might not appreciate me saying so!post-game. Sorry!

Also also I have still NEVER had Titan appear for me!

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Adamantoise - (SPOILER)Is he actually post-game? I've done the initial quest and I have the Hunt available to me now and haven't accepted it yet, because it's Level 99. And I've not completed the game yet.

I am certain the summon that appears depends on the number of enemies you have beaten before the summon.

I am just fighting MagiTek Armor-X Angelus 0 to get the MagiTek Suit Version 2. Everytime I summoned during the battle by constantly and without saving, resetting to fight him again (by the way, this enemy is invulnerable to that) Titan appeared. Everytime. Then I happened in one of those battles to kill a Dual Horn inbetween and poof, Shiva appeared.

EDIT: Or maybe not. Now Shiva appeared again. I mean, it could still be, I did not notice if another enemy was defeated inbetween. I have to observe this more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kappy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

tbh WK I found it a lot more fun to do the quests post game rather than during the game. I'd have become too burnt out otherwise but now I can go at my own pace without having to know how the story ends and I'm enjoying it a lot more.

Also Adamantoise is this is the most minor of spoilers ever but some people might not appreciate me saying so!post-game. Sorry!

Also also I have still NEVER had Titan appear for me!

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Adamantoise - (SPOILER)Is he actually post-game? I've done the initial quest and I have the Hunt available to me now and haven't accepted it yet, because it's Level 99. And I've not completed the game yet.

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Ahhhh, I see my mistake now. (SPOILER)It pops up if you return to Lucis after Chapter 9, and I did not do so until after the game so I wrongly assumed you only get the call post game.

Titan appears if more than one party member that is not Noctis is at 0hp or dead, if the terrain works for him, and if you haven't fulfilled some other condition for another summon.

Ramuh I know appears either when Noctis health is 0hp for an extended period or if the battle takes too long.

I can't say about the others, though I know Leviathan will only appear if you're near a body of water, and I've heard Shiva's requirement overlap with Titan and Ramuh.

As for Adamantoise, this is likely my mistake, I thought you were suppose to encounter it early in the game and have to run from it and then later, in the post game it becomes a Mark Hunt. Either way, I've never even seen it beyond the trailers, I just thought I was suppose to is all.

I've had Leviathan appear when I've been inside a base.

Yeah, there is still a lot of variables.

Finally bought it. Played the tutorial after that pain of a day one patch download ugh. Fun combat? I love carbuncle?

I'm on Chapter 12 I believe? Just left (SPOILER) Tenebra(sp?) Now that the plot has picked up in full swing, I'm probably going to be a bit more vague.

Pros

• Fantasy Venice was just as cool as Fantasy Havana.
• The negotiations was pretty neat. I'm curious to know if I had haggled more if I could get something more from it.
• Jedi Yoda Tonberry indeed.
• Fishing, so much fishing....
• If Noctis' climatic battle in Chapter 9 is anything to go by, he might be the strongest protagonist of the series barring sequels.
• Chapter 10 was pretty gut wrenching.
• Thanks you for making Malboros scary as smurf again.
• As heartbreaking as they were, the new walking/combat animations were pretty neat.
• Did Ardyn just hum Kefka's theme?
• Not only does he dress like a Doctor Who knockoff but apparently Ardyn is a smurfing (SPOILER) Time Mage
• The Train sequence was interesting.
• Finally getting more info about the Empire and the Daemons.

Cons

• You know Gladio, Chapter 10 was already a low point for the party and might have been better if you weren't being such an ass.
• (SPOILER) Again, Ignis' losing his eye sight might have been more impactful had the trailers not spoil it already.
• It seems to me that FFXV has a bit of a villain problem like XIII did. (SPOILER) I mean what the hell happened to Ravus? He's a total revenge seeking dick in Kingsglaive, comes across as such again during the Imperial Base invasion quest, and now you're trying to tell me he really had Noctis and Lunafreya's best interest in hand and now he's no longer working for the empire cause he lost his position off screen? Hell, now you're telling me the Emperor himself is kind of out of the picture? What the hell game, you can't introduce a whole rogues gallery and then get rid of most of them off screen and with little fanfare. I'm already overlooking the fact that Noctis' treacherous uncle from the early pre-XV trailers is absent. Ardyn is great, and better than Dysley but it would have been nice to contrast him with the other villains. So far this revelation has been the first major story element I'm not really digging.
• Just learned I couldn't do the picture quest in Altissia due to not finishing up the quest line for Vys the Meteor Magazine dude, maybe later.
• (SPOILER) Despite all of the controversy surrounding her, I feel like Lunafreya was definitely a letdown. I didn't really feel anything for her as a character and her death was more frustrating than tragic for me. She's definitely the weakest female cast member for me.
• I finally get to (SPOILER)Tenebrae and I can't even really explore it? Argh!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

• I finally get to (SPOILER)Tenebrae and I can't even really explore it? Argh!

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Yep :( Enjoy the view from the (SPOILER)train station cuz that's all you get.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aulayna

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

• I finally get to (SPOILER)Tenebrae and I can't even really explore it? Argh!

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Yep :( Enjoy the view from the (SPOILER)train station cuz that's all you get.

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I feel like Plucky Duck in the Tiny Toons: What I did on my summer vacation film. :(

Reached Chapter 14 tonight.

Pros

• Holy crap they brought back X-Zone, I don't care if it has another name, it's pretty much X-Zone.
• Farewell my worthy steed.
• Congratulations Ardyn, you're the first real bstard to come out of the series since Kuja, I salute you.
• Got some really cool story things going on here, and some out there plot revelations.
• So happy I invested on that "Gain MP when you Phase Shift" Upgrade came in real handy in Chapter 13.
• The FFVI references are strong with this one.
• It took me up until Chapter 13 to get the name "MT"
• The final story Royal Arm doesn't disappoint. It's finishing move is pretty OP.
• Chapter 14 did a great job selling the story changes.
• And I am seriously grateful I didn't have to walk all the way back to Hammerhead.
• New outfits for the gang!

Cons

• I didn't mind it at first but my god did Chapter 13 drag on. It really needed to be shorter.
• While there was several revelations going on here, not all of them were really well done.
• While I really enjoy Ardyn as a villain, I'm disappointed with the rest of the villains and really felt the game dropped the ball with them.
• Not my favorite design for Bahamut.
• Wait one second. (SPOILER) We jump ten years into the future and we get to see the boring old kid with the old man, but deny me a chance to see anyone else like Cor, Arane, Iris, or Cindy? Screw you FFXV.

8 hrs in and just to chapter 3. I've decided prompto is my spirit animal

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Originally Posted by Freya

8 hrs in and just to chapter 3. I've decided prompto is my spirit animal

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When you get access to Chocobos, he will always take a selfie with his everytime you use them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Freya

8 hrs in and just to chapter 3. I've decided prompto is my spirit animal

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When you get access to Chocobos, he will always take a selfie with his everytime you use them.

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When you get access to Chocobos, he will always take a picture of Noctis mounting his everytime you use them.

xD Yep pretty much.

And WK, I'm really enjoying reading over your posts.

Oh man I just got them last night but had to turn it off before either ended a day.

Prompto IS my spirit animal if he loves chocobo as much as me.

I like it when he hums the victory song

Been super busy so I haven't had a chance to play any further. Instead I'm finishing up some of the last minute side quests, mainly just trying to collect the last two Royal Arms I'm missing and maybe have Cid finally upgrade a few weapons for me.

Pros

• Looks like I'll finally get to see that Adamantoise.
• Glad to see that flower picking quest I did for Gladio amounted to something and it was adorable.
• So that's what all those Cauctar trinkets were for...
• I have a garden now?!
• After getting through to Chapter 14, there is something really gut-wrenching about returning to do the side quests due to the nature of how it works in this game.
• I just found out Aranea's VA is the same one for Lady Ashe, which just upped my love for this girl.

Cons

• I'm hoping to finish these few quests quickly so I can finish the game, and hope the sidequest avalanche I seemed to have open doesn't swallow me whole.
• Not sure how I feel about the info on the Starscourge. It's scientific explanation feels kind of counter-intuitive to how mystical the game treated it up to this point.
• On further thoughts, I've decided I really hate the plot twist concerning Prompto in Chapter 13, largely because it's poorly explained, comes out of nowhere, and ultimately doesn't have any lasting impact on the story overall. It was a just a cheap shock value tactic which is something the series has been getting worse about over the years.
• A Cup of Noodle quest Squenix? Really?

How very dare you put the cup noodle quest on the cons list.

I discovered chocobo racing :3 :chocobo:

Finally got some time in today.

Pros

• Okay, the Cup of Noodles Quest was a bit better than I expected, mainly because it felt a bit fourth wall breaking, like the characters seriously seem to be overreacting to Cup of Noodles because they know they are being paid to care.
• Finally obtained the last two Royal Arms, so I feel much better about finishing the game.
• After what felt like a lifetime, I finally saw the Leviathan and Shiva summons and they did not disappoint.
• The final Techs for the party are also quite impressive and powerful enough to justify using up the whole tech bar.
• I finally discovered the Hunter's HQ.
• Freya reminded me that there was Chocobo Racing!
• I saved a baby Black Chocobo!
• The Samurai monster class is probably my favorite group of enemies in the game.
• Holy crap an actual dragon!
• After listening to it more, I really love the soundtrack to Brotherhood.
• I just unlocked my favorite filter for Prompto's camera, Black & White.

Cons

• Tried Wait mode finally and can say I'm not impress.
• I seem to be missing one of the components needed to make the Regalia fly.
• I also discovered that there are several Tool/Machinery weapons in the game but I seem to have only obtained two of them. Apparently most of Edgar's tools are represented in the game.
• I've reached my first moment of trying to grind for materials so Cid can upgrade my gear, and it's a bit jarring at the moment so I may save it for post game.
• Ramuh seriously needs to stop hogging all the Astral glory, I get it man, you always get the shaft in the summon appearance department but would it kill you to let the others show up more often?
• Is it me, or does the Regalia MP3 player seem to really love the Dissidia OST the most.?

Man, I hardly ever get Ramuh. xD Different playstyles, I guess!

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

Man, I hardly ever get Ramuh. xD Different playstyles, I guess!

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Ramuh makes up about 95% of what I see when I summon, Titan makes up 3% and everyone else is the last 2%.

Okay, so I finished the game tonight and I'll post my final thoughts in the other thread but here's my last "first impressions" post since the final impression will probably be more comprehensive and not just my first reaction.

Pros

• Got the Ultima Blade finally and the Hammer Key Item is hilarious.
• Got to do the Haunted Portrait Quest and it did not disappoint.
• Love the King Behemoth's new design.
• I had this totally random moment in the game where I got attacked by Daemons at night and a cutscene jumped in and showed (SPOILER)Aranea appearing, who then proceeded to help me fight the battle, which was unexpected and totally super special awesome.
• I've come to the conclusion that this game has so many secrets and Easter eggs that it may be years before fans uncover everything and that it awesome.
• Love how the advertising logos in Insomnia are named after various FF related things like Nanaki and Bank of Spira.
• Despite the long ass dredgery of Chapter 13, I mostly enjoyed Chapter 14 and the ending sequence.
• The battle with Ifrit was pretty intense and I loved how it ends.
• I am so happy that I was right (SPOILER) and your pictures are used as a slide show in the ending credits
• I found the ending rather moving, especially the bit after the first set of credits when (SPOILER)the game flashbacks to Noctis talking to the guys before they go retake the city and he starts to break down cause he knows he'll miss his crew

Cons

• While not a complete joke like some final bosses in the series *cough*KefkaSephirothBraska'sAeon*cough* the final boss fight was pretty easy, largely cause it was more interactive cutscene than battle. I had a tougher battle with the King Behemoth and that Lv. 71 mecha bug thing than either of the bosses of the final area.
• I'm a bit split on this, but I was a bit disappointed to find that Insomnia was rather short and straightforward.
• While I mostly enjoyed the ending I would have liked to see (SPOILER) whether Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio survived to see daybreak and perhaps some reaction shots from the rest of the cast to see dawn after ten years. Though this isn't a huge deal and I still liked the ending. also what was up with the very last sequence where the logo element appears? I know it's meant to be happy but it's kind of macabre when you think about it.

Really glad you enjoyed it, Wolf! I hope you mess around a bit afterwards as well, because the postgame experience in this one is far better than any other FF I've played. There's so much to do. I think t's actually the first time I've maxed out all my characters at L99 and I still have so much I haven't tried yet. I beat the L120 superboss (thanks to excessive use of curatives) and I caught the toughest fish, but I still have a lot of dungeons to check out in particular. Some weapons to get, too.

I summon Ramuh the most often. I also get Leviathan a lot. Don't see Shiva too often, but she's shown up a few times. I HAVE NEVER SUMMONED TITAN. I just figured he couldn't be summoned... but after reading this thread... >:(

Shiva and Leviathan are my most common. I've seen Ramuh twice and Titan once, I think.