Replaying FFXV

[Wolf Kanno]

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

[Fynn]

I now get why you never got into the Sims

[Wolf Kanno]

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

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

[Fynn]

Yeah I imagine it was probably better with friends

[Wolf Kanno]

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

[Wolf Kanno]

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

[Wolf Kanno]

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

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

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

[Fynn]

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

[Wolf Kanno]

FFXV is done!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Christmas]

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

[Vincent, Thunder God]

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

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