Yeah. Definitely not expecting 6 big cities because that would be insane, but I can see all of them being explorable in some way in the game.
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Yeah. Definitely not expecting 6 big cities because that would be insane, but I can see all of them being explorable in some way in the game.
I like XV more than most but it has 2 cities. Insomnia was a dungeon, and Cartanica and Tenebrae were train stations.
XV has loads of places like Cape Caem, Old Lestallan and Hammerhead which would have been towns in old school FFs, but a) the road trip vibe made them all just seem like service stations and b) in this day and age, a couple of houses and a shop doesn't equal a town.
Yeah like I said three of them are explorable, the other three are more backdrops and settings for where the story is. I'll even agree more could've been done with Gralea in particular instead of only getting several minutes being able to overlook the city before entering Zegnortas Keep. Insomnia is explorable in main game XV and in Episode Ardyn. A destroyed city is still an explorable city as we get that in Shadowbringers with that Insomnia looking city and the destroyed imperial city of Garlemald in the upcoming expansion.
I think SE should license the Final Fantasy IP out to partners. Sony should push for something like this so that they can develop a FF showcase game for PS5 that meets or exceeds the expectations of the 9th generation.
Strangers in Paradise really signals that the IP is primed for expansion by bringing more partners into the mix. SE doesn't have to create every FF game.
Imagine a FF game developed with Decima. It was likely already translated into Japanese for Death Stranding. Sony just needs a ambitious Japanese developer that's pushes technology and embraces new techniques. Cygames is one of the few Japanese developers I see aiming for true high fidelity new gen gaming with Project Awakening. The assets/models/textures/materials look amazing. I just wonder if they're having difficulty getting their own tools to scale, thus the extended radio silence on their game. They'd be a great candidate for Sony to partner with and grant access to Decima.
Cygames - Decima - Final Fantasy - PS5.
Strangers in Paradise really signals that the IP is primed for expansion by bringing more partners into the mix. SE doesn't have to create every FF game.
Imagine a FF game developed with Decima. It was likely already translated into Japanese for Death Stranding. Sony just needs a ambitious Japanese developer that's pushes technology and embraces new techniques. Cygames is one of the few Japanese developers I see aiming for true high fidelity new gen gaming with Project Awakening. The assets/models/textures/materials look amazing. I just wonder if they're having difficulty getting their own tools to scale, thus the extended radio silence on their game. They'd be a great candidate for Sony to partner with and grant access to Decima.
Cygames - Decima - Final Fantasy - PS5.
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Solheim is an ancient dead civilization that made a bunch of the ruins you can explore like Costlemark.
Really hope we get to explore most of XVI's cities at least.
Seems there's always a kingdom that gets destroyed before we get to visit recently.
Pretty much. This is Rabanastre, showing it's relative size:
This is the area of exploration within Rabanastre not counting Lowtown, Gramscythe Waterway or the Palace.
What?
Why though, they don't need another engine, either Luminous or UE5 will suffice.
Hell, I'm pretty sure Luminous is, together with REngine, the most ambitious Japanese engine that's out there.
Square has always been on the front of technically impressive games, hell even VII Remake for all the door memes has way more than 1 impressive graphical feature and Part 2 will be eye melting, can't see why they would need to seek external partners.
If you are referring to XVI, it's a WIP title which also happens to be under a Producer who iirc already sided against forcefully pushing for graphical excellency when it can compromise other aspects of development. And on top of it all, we are early in the gen.
And Project Awakening is not even out yet and has been MIA for a long time, I'd wait to call Cy Games ambitious just because of that.
What a bizarre post.
Yep. As nice as the locations look, I think they tend to clash with each other a little and too much of the world lore is left to the data log. But things actually do happen in XIIIs story and you always know where the characters themselves are in their arcs. I think the game is pretty well-paced for how linear it is, too.
I expect XVI to have medium sized cities too. As a matter of fact the city in the trailer for XVI looks to be in a small/medium town.
As I had said previously with the three I talked about they are a backdrop on the journey you are taking at that point in the story. The party aren't goofing around and they are set in their mission. Cartanica has a dungeon, city backdrop and, yes, a train station.
Tenebrae is a stop I'll agree. A city backdrop but a city nonetheless. Much like cities in previous games that were backdrops but you didn't get to explore. A shame? Absolutely and if the dev team had more time to actually make the game instead of 2.5 years they probably would have had expanded it.
In original release I would agree with you on Insomnia, but in Royal edition the Kingsglaive live there and while it is in ruins it is still a city by and large. If Insomnia is not considered a city by that logic when we get to Garlemald in Endwalker that isn't really a city either cause it too is in ruins.
I disagree but to each his own.
And the big problem apart from it only being 2 cities was the content and how they were placed within the story:
But at the end of the day, it was just two pretty-looking places with absolutely very little to do and not much relevance for your journey (and the open world really lacked smaller settlements that weren't gas stations or random houses. Some smaller villages/towns like that one south of Lestallum would have gone a long way).
Compare Lestallum and Altissia to cities like Midgar, Alexandria, Lindblum, Rabanastre or Narshe: no town in the series has ever been huge (about a similar size as in XV, really), but the games have traditionally featured a bunch of them (enough to let the player be immersed in more than just two different cultures) and given them things to do both for the plot and optionally. They feel, at times, as hubs of sorts, them having arcs in a way since you might return and things might be different.
- Lestallum was small and there's barely anything to do there. Plot-wise, reaaaaally little: most I remember is Jared-related stuff, which as you can imagine isn't very exciting.
- Altissia had some plot relevance, but the city was lacking in meaningful content too and was awkwardly placed within your journey. You never get to care about it or anything that happens there.
But at the end of the day, it was just two pretty-looking places with absolutely very little to do and not much relevance for your journey (and the open world really lacked smaller settlements that weren't gas stations or random houses. Some smaller villages/towns like that one south of Lestallum would have gone a long way).
Compare Lestallum and Altissia to cities like Midgar, Alexandria, Lindblum, Rabanastre or Narshe: no town in the series has ever been huge (about a similar size as in XV, really), but the games have traditionally featured a bunch of them (enough to let the player be immersed in more than just two different cultures) and given them things to do both for the plot and optionally. They feel, at times, as hubs of sorts, them having arcs in a way since you might return and things might be different.
To be fair to Altissia, that isn't the best of pictures of it. It absolutely is like a "what if there were no budgetary limitations" fantastical version of Venice:
And FFXV's initial idea was that we'd begin our journey in a fairly modern, grounded metropolis like Insomnia and then the game would up the ante as far as more fantastical aspects go as we ventured forward in the story, which would also have affected the cities of the game. The above Altissia is already far more imaginative and Tenebrae was like an elven forest kingdom.
Gralea is whatever (I like it, but I prefer Insomnia's vibes). However, Tenebrae looks so gorgeous it hurts we never got to properly be there. Also a shame we never got to see much of Solheim, especially as it was supossed to still be a thriving civilization iirc.
At least we got to explore Altissia, as dissapointing as its content. Beyond the weirdly blue lighting there, it was gorgeous and had really nice vibes.
I'm very excited to see the Crystalline Dominion and kinda surprised they're going for another fantasy Venice (not complaining). If we're to compare the CG shot with the concept art, I'd still choose Altissia. Based on its aesthetics, it's one of my favourites in the series (no city will ever reach Lindblum, though).
At least we got to explore Altissia, as dissapointing as its content. Beyond the weirdly blue lighting there, it was gorgeous and had really nice vibes.
I'm very excited to see the Crystalline Dominion and kinda surprised they're going for another fantasy Venice (not complaining). If we're to compare the CG shot with the concept art, I'd still choose Altissia. Based on its aesthetics, it's one of my favourites in the series (no city will ever reach Lindblum, though).
To be fair Altissia does have quite the fair amount of side stuff you can do if one goes exploring. Doing a sidequest to find the "Lady in the Painting", fighting the Chadernook, doing nighttime hunts, getting your picture drawn, making wishes at fountains, turning in all those Oracle Coins for rare accessories, finding new recipes, monster betting (strangely fun). While its fair the game does not push the player in MSQ to go explore the city even more, it does nudge but its completely up to you and that is XV's greatest strength and weakness. By giving you freedom in how you approach everything, even in combat, it doesn't force you to do it in the "fun" way. Discovering the depth and fun is for you to decide. And unfortunately that also means people can intentionally or unintentionally play it in the least fun way or not explore and get less enjoyment out of it. Which really is a shame.
Edit: And with Royal Edition you get access to driving the boat and doing stuff like fishing on the ocean and finding Bismark.
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Yeah I strongly agree with this. I don't actually understand why people didn't like Altissia and Lestallum, both were great! But if there had been sidequests or something that had given places like Old Lestallum more of a story they might have felt like more than gas stations. Basically i actually think the world of XV is great but it was totally lacking in world building. Few locations had their stories told. You never got to find out what life was like living with Daemons or the empire. It was all just "help me collect frogs!" or "go find these dog tags!". Even the behemoth sidequest (which was great!) didn't add any world building.
XIV towns are so cozy I just log in to idle in them and hear the music.
The Dominion seems positioned as the main city for the story due to its placement at the center of the world and that it's an independent city state. What we've seen from it is ridiculously huge though so it won't be all open but I think we will revisit it a few times through multiple exists.
SunKing said Amsterdam, I also get a bit of French from the buildings besides Venice but yeah I am excited for this city the most.
Go watch the recent Horizon Forbidden West reveal from a few weeks back. The level of detail being pushed dwarfs anything I've seen from the Lunimous engine thus far. Keep in mind I'm excited for Forspoken. I just want a FF game rendered with the vast detail I see in the HFW demo.
I want Japanese art direction and attention to detail married with the tech advancements of the West. This is the key reason Kojima went hunting for a western development solution for Death Stranding. He was among the first to say that Japanese technical expertise in game development had fallen behind. It's one of the key reasons Nomura went with Unreal and dropped Luminous.
But I'm also skeptical of Unreal Engine 5. I just want to see more diverse environments beyond the rocky terrain we've been shown thus far.
WIP? Sure. As are all the titles we get to see before they're shipped. And some of them still manage to impress audiences. WIP is not an excuse for an underwhelming showing. Secondly, pushing the visuals only compromises development if your team lacks the expertise to push the visuals. Not every game has to be a graphics showcase. But Final Fantasy games in particular make great visual showcases. SE has groomed fans with that reality for years. So I'm not going to apologize for wanting a FF game to look as amazing as technically possible.
And I picked Cygames because they seem, at least in the Project Awakening demo, to be really pushing for that next dimension in fidelity. It would be great to see them working with Decima tools to render the assets they're creating. Plus, Decima is a mature, proven engine that can scale. I want this collection of creative energy for a Final Fantasy game. SE wouldn't have to spend resources to get it. They could simply license the IP to a partner like Sony. It's a win win. Not that bizarre.
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LOL yeah. I love just going to the Beehive in Eulmore or Mord Souq.
I'm just keeping my expectations grounded regarding the cities. I feel like they're always somewhat smaller than people expect
Hell I'm remembering how even people on era thought that huge chunks of Midgar would be exploitable in 7R when that was always a stretch
I think there will be places to go but in terms of depth and density, they won't be super packed although I really hope we get at least one Novigrad
Hell I'm remembering how even people on era thought that huge chunks of Midgar would be exploitable in 7R when that was always a stretch
I think there will be places to go but in terms of depth and density, they won't be super packed although I really hope we get at least one Novigrad
Oh, I didn't know that about Bismark (never played RE). Will check it out now.
But yeah, I mean, there's content. But it never felt too engaging or gave you drawn-out storylines. And I honestly think my mind is focusing too much on Altissia (if you don't deviate too much from the plot) being there for literally a couple of hours at best and never returning. That left me a bad taste because it's a breathtaking place they could have gotten so much out of had it been given a more "traditional" position within the world instead of it being a "blink and you'll miss it" kind of thing. Such an insane, in-universe important place deserves more than being a location you rush through.
Once more, though, if there were a bunch of small villages (like Old Lestallum) or a couple more towns around the same quality/size as Altissia and Lestallum, I'd actually be pretty happy and even impressed. I understand, however, how much of a shitshow this game's development was and, even when things were kinda put in place, the devs still had to fight against time, so there was only so much they could do.
Yep... I quite enjoyed Old Lestallum because of that, but there was nothing there and it was the only traditional village I recall seeing in XV. While understandable due to its development, it's a shame, since Eos had so much to offer. Like, one of the biggest flaws I see in XV is the plot itself being very barebones during the open-world.
But it's as you said it, even if they didn't want/couldn't add actual important events there (about the only ones are Titan's and the meeting with Ravus), they could have, at least, used the open world as a way to develop the world through more slice-of-life kinda quests and sidequests.
If there's a hub one I'd say it's got quite the chance, seeing as it's the only neutral nation, it houses the biggest Mothercrystal (unclaimed, too), is probably the biggest city and well, this might very well be the cover I'm betting.
I hope so, only because I know it would be a CG cutscene hehe
i don't give two hoots about how big the cities are. I just want them to be interesting. VII Remakes 4 towns were quite small, but they were each really well explored, narratively .
I think a lot of people misunderstood the quote.
"It meant approaching the project believing this was our last chance. If we don't do it this time, there won't be a next time."
He is talking about approaching the development as though it was their last chance and that if they fail there won't be a next chance, not that Square Enix would literally cancel Final Fantasy and call it a day. It is pretty much a figurative statement and not a literal one.
There is no way that Square Enix would ever issue anyone an ultimatum to cancel the series that made them, just because a few games didn't meet fan expectations. It's not like XIIi actually lost money. XIII-2 and LR were commissioned to fill in release gaps while the rest of the company were saving FFXIV. If they did not cancel and give up on XIV, they are not going to cancel the whole series jsut because FFXV didn't make the cut.
Exactly.
I think people hoping for a lot in terms of literal scale are gonna be disappointed. And the usual junk about "lazy devs" or the game feeling last-gen or w/e will follow, but I don't think SE is going to keep wasting time on pursuing that, especially after FFXV.
Again, this is the stuff Forspoken is probably gonna try to do.
So, how are we in terms of knowing if this game is cross-gen and if it's open world or more like levels/chapters?
It's even on the keyart.
Its gonna really suck that this won't be the cover art. Its literally the one thing I am holding on to that is making me slightly excited for the game (besides the website).
I think the dungeons in XV are seriously a highlight of the game (even though some of them are straight bitches and difficult with puzzles like Costlemark Tower) and are really underappreciated/underrated.
Maybe for LR, but they outright said it was because of fan demand (and the sales of XIII-2 seem to back that up).
as someone who bounced off ff15 pretty hard, my main complaint was actually that way too much of the early game takes place in basically just random environments in the middle of nowhere. I really wanted to spend more time in the cities that they designed, which I tended to think were very cool (conceptually if not in execution). so long as the cities are interesting-looking and there's reason to spend time in them, I'm interested
This keyart is good, i have a feeling it will be a pretty good story.It's even on the keyart.
Clive looking a lot like Velvet tho
yeah, I'd venture to say the game has the best dungeons of the generation
the way you'd stumble upon them in the openworld and how unique they were was something else. I remember randomly stumbling upon the sewers and finding a pretty well realized area to explore
...granted the mythological dragon that looked like it was supposed to be important randomly hanging out in said sewer system was weird but it was fun to fight
I hope forspoken has dungeons like FFXV
i'm kind of perplexed why FFXV didn't make dungeon dives the bulk of the game's "questing". not that the dungeons were amazing or anything but they were more enjoyable than collecting frogs and blue dots or whatever. i wouldn't mind if most dungeons were same-y or even proc gen'd to some extent
Most of the side quest story chains would lead you to said dungeons at some point in the chain if you didn't already go looking for them.
And idk I thought they were really good and probably the best dungeons of the SP FF games. All of them pretty diverse and fun to play and figure out what the solution to them are.
My personal favorite is the poison dungeon Daurell Caverns where you would encounter enemies in pools of poison and you would need to carefully navigate and battle to avoid being poisoned to death. Planning for the dungeon and eating a poison resistance meal before entering is quite fun. Especially if you go in not knowing what lies ahead and running out of it to prepare for it again.
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