Loved FXV. First FF I enjoyed since X.
Actually, I liked it so much, I bought it again on PC.
Actually, I liked it so much, I bought it again on PC.
Last edited:
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
LTTP: Actually Loving Final Fantasy XV
- Thread starter IronFalcon1997
- Start date
The story was an absolute mess and handled in pretty much the worst possible way, but I really enjoyed the gameplay, main four characters, and world such that I still sunk over 90 hours into the game and played the first three DLC episodes. I liked it a lot in the end despite the major, major problems it has. Tabata deserves all the credit in the world and then some for essentially pulling off a miracle and repurposing Nomura's messy husk of an incomplete concept into a mostly coherent game.
It also has some of the best dungeons in the whole series, which I wasn't necessarily expecting.
It also has some of the best dungeons in the whole series, which I wasn't necessarily expecting.
I'm an old 80's kid that grew up on the franchise. Played em all and XV ranks probably at the bottom or very close to it.
I'll give it some credit for having a pretty likeable cast. Well Noctis did nothing for me, but his mates won me over. Some occasional well delivered moments, despite a lot of forced drama and poorly managed exposition. Although absolutely nothing of merit or substance stemmed from the combat, the world, or quests. Just tepid all around and I really tried to be optimistic throughout playing. Very little ever satisfied about the experience.
I'll give it some credit for having a pretty likeable cast. Well Noctis did nothing for me, but his mates won me over. Some occasional well delivered moments, despite a lot of forced drama and poorly managed exposition. Although absolutely nothing of merit or substance stemmed from the combat, the world, or quests. Just tepid all around and I really tried to be optimistic throughout playing. Very little ever satisfied about the experience.
OP
OP
I haven't heard much of the development woes of this game, so that's interesting to hear. As far as story goes, I'm honestly not too put off by it. Maybe it gets really bad, but if the ending is good, I'll probably be fairly happy with it. It's nothing incredible, but I do really love the themes present.
OP
OP
I haven't watched either yet. Should I watch them before I get any farther into the story? I'm in Chapter 10.
The game got so many nice additions with the royal edition. I hope one day they are able to merge the DLCs episodes with the main game.
I just replayed this for the first time since the first batch of DLC. I was MASSIVELY hyped for the game, and felt it turned out... alright, even if a bit disjointed. Playing it again, now that it's as "complete" as it'll ever be has been a truly transformative experience -- I LOVED it, and it might go down as one of my favorite games of the generation.
-Wanted a better explanation of the world-building lore?
Episode Ardyn starts with a gargantuan info dump about the astrals, and how Noctis's bloodline fits into it all.
-Want freedom to explore?
The game basically gives you the monster truck Regalia at the start, and my save had an accessory for unlimited stamina.
-Want better gameplay?
You can now freely switch between party members after spending a few AP, and they all have their unique styles from their DLC.
-Didn't like the stealth section?
They completely revamped chapter 13, so that you're super powerful instead of weak.
-Didn't like the sloppy storytelling in chapter 13?
They completely revamped too. My favorite character in the game is now actually Ravus, Luna's brother -- you know, the guy who was originally so insignificant that you find out he died by a random piece of paper lying on the ground.
-Liked the fishing?
They added a boat you can freely control to explore the sea between Gauldin Quay and Altissia. You can see a whale, catch new super boss fight, and have some pretty wonderful photo ops.
-Felt like they really rushed things at the end?
They added a whole giant area with a billion extra boss fights and cutscenes before the final area, and so you can spend time with your boys and get closure.
-Watched Kingsglaive and messed around with Comrades and wondered what the point of it all was?
They added late game stuff that heavily ties in the story threads in both of them, and it truly feels like the culmination of everything they set up.
-Didn't feel an emotional connection to the characters?
I only slightly embarrassed to say that episode Ignis serves as the real emotional ending of the game to me now, and got me pretty misty in the eyes.
-Find the OST repetitive even though it's one of the best soundtracks in ages?
They added an mp3 player, so you can play Nier songs as you run around fighting giant birds in volcanos.
The game is still gorgeous and the video-gamey open world is a nice change of pace after living in FF7R for a while. I followed this story guide (because there's just SO MUCH easily missed cutscenes and optional dungeons) and despite still being a little disjointed, by the time the credits rolled around, I felt like I truly had closure and played the game I was so excited for, those fleeting few years ago when it first came out.
It was really the perfect quarantine game to get lost in, and I'm sad it's over now.
-Wanted a better explanation of the world-building lore?
Episode Ardyn starts with a gargantuan info dump about the astrals, and how Noctis's bloodline fits into it all.
-Want freedom to explore?
The game basically gives you the monster truck Regalia at the start, and my save had an accessory for unlimited stamina.
-Want better gameplay?
You can now freely switch between party members after spending a few AP, and they all have their unique styles from their DLC.
-Didn't like the stealth section?
They completely revamped chapter 13, so that you're super powerful instead of weak.
-Didn't like the sloppy storytelling in chapter 13?
They completely revamped too. My favorite character in the game is now actually Ravus, Luna's brother -- you know, the guy who was originally so insignificant that you find out he died by a random piece of paper lying on the ground.
-Liked the fishing?
They added a boat you can freely control to explore the sea between Gauldin Quay and Altissia. You can see a whale, catch new super boss fight, and have some pretty wonderful photo ops.
-Felt like they really rushed things at the end?
They added a whole giant area with a billion extra boss fights and cutscenes before the final area, and so you can spend time with your boys and get closure.
-Watched Kingsglaive and messed around with Comrades and wondered what the point of it all was?
They added late game stuff that heavily ties in the story threads in both of them, and it truly feels like the culmination of everything they set up.
-Didn't feel an emotional connection to the characters?
I only slightly embarrassed to say that episode Ignis serves as the real emotional ending of the game to me now, and got me pretty misty in the eyes.
-Find the OST repetitive even though it's one of the best soundtracks in ages?
They added an mp3 player, so you can play Nier songs as you run around fighting giant birds in volcanos.
The game is still gorgeous and the video-gamey open world is a nice change of pace after living in FF7R for a while. I followed this story guide (because there's just SO MUCH easily missed cutscenes and optional dungeons) and despite still being a little disjointed, by the time the credits rolled around, I felt like I truly had closure and played the game I was so excited for, those fleeting few years ago when it first came out.
It was really the perfect quarantine game to get lost in, and I'm sad it's over now.
For the DLCs, you should only play Ignis and Ardyn after finishing the game.
You can already play Gladiolus's, I would've recommended to play it right at the start of chapter 8, I think? When Gladiolus comes back basically, after the power plant.
As for Prompto, play it after finishing chapter 13.
There will not be any spoilers if you play it after chapter 13, I recommend doing it that way for a better experience overall.
Ignis and Ardyn should absolutely be played after finishing the main story though.
You can already play Gladiolus's, I would've recommended to play it right at the start of chapter 8, I think? When Gladiolus comes back basically, after the power plant.
As for Prompto, play it after finishing chapter 13.
There will not be any spoilers if you play it after chapter 13, I recommend doing it that way for a better experience overall.
Ignis and Ardyn should absolutely be played after finishing the main story though.
Started streaming it for my friends this week, haven't played since episode Prompto released. I really enjoyed it when it was released, it finds a really good rhythm in the first few hours. The story becomes kinda nonsense but seeing the subtle ways the boys interact is still really neat. Overall FF7R was a much tighter experience but this still holds up as one of my favorite open world RPGs.
I would personally say that the ending is really good. In fact I think the story itself is really good too, it's just very badly told. But the ending holds up for sure.
OP
OP
That's good to hear! Hopefully the Royal Edition changes help the storytelling later on. If not, that's fine, especially since people are saying that the ending is good.
My feelings. I liked it at launch but after Royal it's a way better game. Under normal circumstances I would've loved to see this teams vision completely realized. But between having to use already made assets, turn a trilogy into a single game, a rushed development time frame. They clearly just couldn't do it
When you're cruising around with the boys, going around on quests and taking in the scenery, it's a pretty good experience. The boy band, while not really deep, are a likeable bunch and and their quips and banter liven up the exploration. Considering that the majority of the game consists of just that is great since everything else is an utter mess.
Everyone except for the main 4 characters is woefully underdeveloped which leads to some incredibly jarring moments where our protagonists are visibly upset by some event and I'm just there watching the cutscene and being like "ok" (remember Jared lmao). It's evident that the development of XV was tumultuous and that the story suffered the most because of it. The last quarter, where the majority of the story was crammed in, is the worst part of the game for a reason. So many baffling twists, characters who fail to justify their existence in the story with how irrelevant they turn out to be, emotional story beats that fall flat on their face... It was wild seeing a story so poorly executed that even the ending, while a successful sequence in its own right, failed to move me.
XV is best when you ignore the overarching plot and just take your time exploring and fighting your way through the gorgeous fields and caverns of the world. That's what I did and I had a blast for the most of my time with the game and I'd recommend the same to anyone interested in playing it.
Everyone except for the main 4 characters is woefully underdeveloped which leads to some incredibly jarring moments where our protagonists are visibly upset by some event and I'm just there watching the cutscene and being like "ok" (remember Jared lmao). It's evident that the development of XV was tumultuous and that the story suffered the most because of it. The last quarter, where the majority of the story was crammed in, is the worst part of the game for a reason. So many baffling twists, characters who fail to justify their existence in the story with how irrelevant they turn out to be, emotional story beats that fall flat on their face... It was wild seeing a story so poorly executed that even the ending, while a successful sequence in its own right, failed to move me.
XV is best when you ignore the overarching plot and just take your time exploring and fighting your way through the gorgeous fields and caverns of the world. That's what I did and I had a blast for the most of my time with the game and I'd recommend the same to anyone interested in playing it.
I liked it quite a bit but I think it highlighted that SE really needs to relook their open world designs or try to go back to what it was like pre PS2 era. It was a beautiful world but it felt pretty shallow in regards to quest variety. The main characters were really good and felt like an actual group of friends.
I left the game with high praise for the villain but then FF14 just had to do it better with the villain in Shadowbringers lol
Combat was okay but it felt like it still needed some time in the oven. Especially more apparent after FF7R.
Luna was a massive disappointment tho.
I left the game with high praise for the villain but then FF14 just had to do it better with the villain in Shadowbringers lol
Combat was okay but it felt like it still needed some time in the oven. Especially more apparent after FF7R.
Luna was a massive disappointment tho.
It is deserving of its rating. I have played it twice, once on vanilla and once with windows edition.
Poll needs a 'Conflicted' option. I find it an extremely fun game to just play and run around the main continent in and I love the bros' banter, but much of the plot is atrociously executed with a whole slew of characters left embarrassingly underdeveloped. Several scenes I can't even watch without snorting or rolling my eyes at cuz they're just so badly handled. Yet despite that, I still find myself thinking 'man playing XV sounds fun' and wanting to go back to it every so often. I have a real love-hate relationship with it. :/
Having played up to around Ch8 around the original launch and shelving it until after Royal released, it felt like a new game when I came back to it.
I liked it enough when I first played but really came to enjoy it, warts and all, with all the updates. It's definitely a lot better than people on ERA like to act like it is. Still has a lot of issues but it's a good time!
I liked it enough when I first played but really came to enjoy it, warts and all, with all the updates. It's definitely a lot better than people on ERA like to act like it is. Still has a lot of issues but it's a good time!
It's imo a mediocre game, that could've been good, maybe even great had they not split the game into a hundred pieces to create the FFXV Universe. The game should've been that universe. Even though they cut so much out they still weren't able to actually finish it. Reaching Altissia the game is just barely holding together by its seams. I outright hated the last chapters and the end.
It's crazy that I still cared so much for Noctis... He's one of my favorite FF characters actually.
Why doesn't the actual game have anything on that level of awesome? :/
It's crazy that I still cared so much for Noctis... He's one of my favorite FF characters actually.
Why doesn't the actual game have anything on that level of awesome? :/
I've played every Final Fantasy game except 3 and XI, loved all of them. XV is still in my top 3. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Y'all quit needing to act like only people who don't like Final Fantasy like the game.
i to haven't really played a FF game (just the original on NES). And also started it on Game Pass today. Was digging it until i stumbled into a fight with a lot of enemies. And it was so hectic and i kept getting killed by parrots. The camera was all over the place. i kept getting disoriented
Well i never said "only" and it's no secret FFXV was made to reel in a new audience for the franchise cause hardcore fans would buy it anyway.
Last edited:
I'm playing it right now and I don't get/like the combat at all. Also playing at level 1 (apparently completely possible due to food buffs) because of reading that the game is super easy, and its been rough for all the wrong reasons due to the combat. Any tips?
I will say this about FFXV, the bros were awesome. The dialogue between them semed very natural and everyday sounding in, tone and speech pattern insted of the very anime like mannerism in a lot of other Square RPGs. They were the best thing about the game and lt's why the ending sticks so well, FFXV has one of the best endings I've seen in a game, just a shame the rest of the game is very uneven (eventhough I loved it).
I played it at launch and was mostly disappointed. Story felt like it was chopped up and served piecemeal at the cost of coherence. Combat felt clumsy and I remember getting through every encounter by just spamming potions. Best thing was the characters and their interactions.
I've been slightly interested in replaying it with all the DLCs and Royal edition improvements. I really wanted to like the game.
I've been slightly interested in replaying it with all the DLCs and Royal edition improvements. I really wanted to like the game.
I wish we got this game. There were so many good ideas here that were squandered. Imagine a sequence where the boys need to put on Nifleheim soldier outfits to sneak back into Insomnia. Then you can have that sequence where they ride the train and walk through the city and soldiers are everywhere. And when they escape you can have the sequence where the ships chase the car out of the city and wreck it. Ugh so many missed opportunities
I voted average though I think it's slightly better than average when considering the cute road trip aspect, which was where most of the joy derived from for me. And the music, as with any Final Fantasy.
Combat's serviceable but pretty boring by the midway point. Open world looks pretty at times and has its moments of discovery but feels kinda hollow still.
The banter is fun and Noctis has a great voice actor but the story mostly sucks. Many characters are uninspired or under developed and the central premise of the whole story just isn't relatable.
Ardyn's one of the series more interesting villains though. Had great potential.
Combat's serviceable but pretty boring by the midway point. Open world looks pretty at times and has its moments of discovery but feels kinda hollow still.
The banter is fun and Noctis has a great voice actor but the story mostly sucks. Many characters are uninspired or under developed and the central premise of the whole story just isn't relatable.
Ardyn's one of the series more interesting villains though. Had great potential.
OP
OP
It's interesting to see the split here. People who played it at launch tend to say that the last third is what caused them to dislike the game, while people who played the Royal Edition tend to really like the latter third.
OP
OP
Thanks! I'm really hoping I love it as much as I do now when the game is over.
I just started this about 2 weeks ago and I'm actually enjoying it more than I thought I would. I guess going in with zero expectations after constantly seeing it get shit on also helped. The only major grip is despite how pretty the world is, exploring it just feels like a whole lotta nothing. So far the game is just fine.
Granted I'm not that far in yet because I'm stuck on side quest and I have a problem ignoring them.
Granted I'm not that far in yet because I'm stuck on side quest and I have a problem ignoring them.
I certainly did and I only played vanilla XV. I replayed it when Windows Edition came out on PC so in total XV gave me 300 hours of joy. One of my favourite games of all time, something just so charming and satisfying about what they crafted, you're so lucky to experience the complete version with all the QoL improvements on first go!
I replayed it recently with the Royal Pack and all the DLC on NG+ and actually liked it less than the first time. The intent was to do a sort of story run with no exploration. I had the best time with the Ardyn DLC. I thought that was great. I wish the whole game played like that.
Probably because of the updated final chapter from the Royal Edition, it is the best chapter of the game imo.
The ending was good in the og but the updated chapter is amazeballs
I really liked it. I was going to say that I probably wouldn't have played ff7 remake without that game, but idk if that's true. Maximilian dood 100% influenced me into buying ff7 remake. Him alone. I fell for it. Someone sold me the game through being an influencer. RIP me
It's kind of all over the place, but I really enjoyed it. I don't know if I'd say that I loved it, but I enjoyed it very much. The plot kind of ricochets from one thing to the next without any connective tissue, but I found the main cast of characters charming. I also just really love running around in the open world, and that goes a long way for me. Getting on a chocobo and seeing the wonderful vistas and landscapes roll out. Definitely worth playing, but temper your expectations.