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

[Wolf Kanno]

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.

[Psychotic]

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

[Sephiroth]

Yeah, there is still a lot of variables.

[Freya]

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

[Wolf Kanno]

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!

[Aulayna]

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

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

[Wolf Kanno]

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

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

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

[Wolf Kanno]

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.

[Freya]

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

[Wolf Kanno]

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

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

[Psychotic]

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

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

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

[Loony BoB]

xD Yep pretty much.

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

[Freya]

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

[Wolf Kanno]

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?

[Loony BoB]

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