Missed opportunity....Ch.13/14 spoilers

[Spawn of Sephiroth]

So one of my biggest peeves about the story is the way the transition between chapters 13 and 14 when Noctis is pulled into the crystal and then just returns 10 years later. They had an opportunity for some major character development with Noctis as he becomes worthy of being a king. They dropped the ball on that big time. This could have been an easy way to plug an extra 4-5 hours doing trials and maybe touching on the darker side of Noct that we seen in the Omen trailer. See what takes of him to go through his inner darkness of fear and anger of everything thats happened. He definitely has a more mature and serious demeanor when he returns and that could have been awesome to see that change take place, not just have him pop back up. Also I think giving us another 4-5 hours alone without the gang like they did in chapter 13 would have made the 10 years feel like it actually took place.

[Scruffington]

It was definitely a huge missed opportunity. It would have been awesome to see how the bros functioned without Noctis around, and how Eos slowly turned into the daemon-infested world it was 10 years later. And it would have been more bearable of a transition if there were more story to explain the timeskip.

Apparently Iris and Lestallum all had older models too, but they never made it to the final release.

Unfortunately this was just another idea in FFXV that wasn't fully realized in development. Rushed.

[Spawn of Sephiroth]

I have a feeling that the episodes dlc will be what each do during that timeframe. Thats really the only time they would be separated. It seems very rushed.

[Wolf Kanno]

I have a feeling that the episodes dlc will be what each do during that timeframe. Thats really the only time they would be separated. It seems very rushed.

Not true.

• Gladio was missing for most of chapter 7 I believe it was, when the group teamed up with Aranea for the first time. He also gained a new scar in that time frame.
• Ignis was missing during the evacuation of Artissia and mentions having an offscreen run in with Ardyn that may have directly caused his blindness.
• Prompto was missing after he fell off the train and was captured by Ardyn.

All three parts would make excellent scenarios for their private episodes though I'm sure we'll all agree they should have been in the game proper.

If I had to change the transition and make it more fun and interactive, I would have Noctis have to battle the previous great Lucian Royalty. Basically you do a sequence where Noctis is walking through a dream that is various places you've visited and then get challenged by one of the 13 Lucian Royals, culminating with a battle with your father. The length of the sequence is directly connected to how many of the weapons you've collected, and each King uses their token weapon against you. Only after you've earned the respect of all the Lucian Kings does Noctis finally wake up and the ordeal technically lasts ten years for everyone else.

[Spawn of Sephiroth]

I have a feeling that the episodes dlc will be what each do during that timeframe. Thats really the only time they would be separated. It seems very rushed.

Not true.

• Gladio was missing for most of chapter 7 I believe it was, when the group teamed up with Aranea for the first time. He also gained a new scar in that time frame.
• Ignis was missing during the evacuation of Artissia and mentions having an offscreen run in with Ardyn that may have directly caused his blindness.
• Prompto was missing after he fell off the train and was captured by Ardyn.

All three parts would make excellent scenarios for their private episodes though I'm sure we'll all agree they should have been in the game proper.

If I had to change the transition and make it more fun and interactive, I would have Noctis have to battle the previous great Lucian Royalty. Basically you do a sequence where Noctis is walking through a dream that is various places you've visited and then get challenged by one of the 13 Lucian Royals, culminating with a battle with your father. The length of the sequence is directly connected to how many of the weapons you've collected, and each King uses their token weapon against you. Only after you've earned the respect of all the Lucian Kings does Noctis finally wake up and the ordeal technically lasts ten years for everyone else.

Thats a great idea!

[fat_moogle]

I completed FFXV this afternoon and I'm pretty disappointed with the game overall, Chapter 13 in particular. Damn, was that a borefest. To me it felt like Tabata struggled with the fact that FFXV was no longer a part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos, so he had to think of something else to quickly fill some plot holes but in turn made even bigger plot holes. I mean, the similarities with FFXIII are there. Ardyn pretty much took the role of Barthandalus, who we know guided Lightning and her fellow l'Cie's to fulfil their focus of bringing down Cocoon. Of course here Ardyn pushed the group along the right path to ensure that Noctis could restore light to the world and put an end to his own madness. When Noct touched the Crystal he fulfilled his focus and entered Crystalstasis, waking up 10 years later. And don't tell me that you didn't think "Cie'th!" when you fought Ravus. It was practically the Cid battle.

[Aulayna]

I have a feeling that the episodes dlc will be what each do during that timeframe. Thats really the only time they would be separated. It seems very rushed.

The DLCs are set when each member of the group "left" the party. The Digital Collector's and Ultimate Collector's came with a PS4 theme that features the art work for each DLC:

- Episode Gladio shows him fighting what is believed to be Gilgamesh on his own (basically when he left the party to do "something)
- Episode Ignis shows the battle at Altissia (basically when he was blinded)
- Episode Prompto shows the snowy tundra near Niflheim (basically when he got knocked off the train)

Edit: Not at home so can't take screenshots, but found some online:

[fat_moogle]

^ Interesting! I was hoping that the DLC was based around the individual characters Brotherhood Anime episodes, but I suppose the in-game events would make much more sense.

[Nice]

Regarding the DLC and its focus on the Gladio, Prompto and Ignis, I think that content may suffer from being too boring.

Most gamers who purchase the dlc would have beaten the game and this added content, months later, will not feel fresh or new. It will not move the story forward at all either. Instead it seems firmly rooted in looking back at events in XV that we the players have already experienced.

Regarding Chapter 13-14 I wholeheartedly agree. I also believe not allowing free roam in the World Of Ruin was a waste. You get to see these incredible bad guys moving about and you can't experience it. Like most of the game, the good stuff takes place off-screen.

I love the early hours of the game, right before boarding the ship. That's when the game was really doing something great. I think beyond that, the game suffers from linearity and repetitiveness. Not a great start for a brand trying to regain its footing.