Final Fantasy XV

[Darklink42]

Damn. I hope they don't release KH 3 for PS4 only, even if that would make sense as far as their track record goes. I haven't even had the money to buy a PS3, and have gotten lucky on the handheld department.

On topic: FF13, for me, fell flat for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the linearity was a killer. After being able to run around in fairly large regions in many of the previous games, constraining a game series known for exploration to hallways is, and remains, an awful decision. Getting to the planet and the open space 8-10 hours in (at least) was worse. I might not have liked it, but I got used to the linear system in place, only to have it yanked out from under me, and then once that was done, once again have the open world yanked away. The second thing that killed it for me was the weapon crafting. I was under the impression I was a gamer, not a facking alchemist. I gave up even bothering with any new weapons at about the time I realized I was never going to gather enough junk to make anything but the weapons I was using worth while. There wasn't even an incentive to try. Finally, I liked the sense of taking down massive creatures, but therein lay the problem: I couldn't. Maybe I didn't pick up the right methods of gameplay along the way, but trying to get through mandatory mini-boss battles before the main baddie a la FF1-4, in this case was nearly impossible. I gave up trying about the 8th time one of those elephant things stomped my whole party to death long before I made a dent. I really felt let down that the game didn't do a good job of teaching me the mechanics necessary to take on that level of mandatory challenge.

I guess I'm an oddball in saying that I kind of liked Snow and Sazh. Snow made sense to me, some of the time. And while Sazh's freakout mid-game was contextually weird, that I felt was a fault of the localization. Who I didn't like was Lightening. I get that she's a "Strong Female Lead," but that's all she is. In a funny sort of way, she reads to me as a hyper-masculine woman (Not to say I don't like that she reads that way, but rather that I wish she was more complex in addition to being so). Her surliness just comes across as awkward and out of place, and she struck one note consistently for me throughout the game: "Must destroy, must kill, must complete the mission." She had, to my memory, three or so scenes of interesting human emotion, and then backpeddled right back into "kill the new thing" as soon the opportunity presented itself. Not all the heroes of previous games have been perfect, but they at least had changes of character motivation or broad realizations happen to them that stuck. Lightening never gave me that impression.

Here's the thing. I'm one of those seemingly rare folk that liked 12, and there's a reason for it. The grindy bits were obnoxious(the lore, however, almost made it worth it), but the characters and their motivations were interesting to me. I liked the political intrigue. I liked Balthier's attitude under pressure, and that his past was relevant to what was going on. I liked that even the side characters had complex motivations and pasts, like Reddas and Ondore. Every character, even the occasionally unlikable Vaan and Penelo, felt like they had a place in the story. The world, such as it was, made sense too (don't get me started on the Occuria ex machina though.) 13 never even got close to that for me. I was always looking up related story things in the logs. Worse still, despite the written exposition, I was still left with questions I couldn't figure out the answer to. Even towards the end game. All of the motivation and intrigue felt weirdly rushed, despite taking so much time to get to. What's our focus? Nevermind, go find this thing. What is a focus? Let me explain with some flash backs. Why are we fighting? Don't worry, just run over there and fight. What is Ragnarok? We might explain that later, but here's a bit of awkward development with Hope first. Why is the leader Fal-Cie two wholly different creatures, why is he both helping and fighting us, and for that matter, what is the deal with this whole Fal-Cie thing anyways? Up to the point where I got, none of that is all that clear.

So if 15 ends up being a new entry, I want to see the series return to form a little bit. I don't think it a deal-breaker that SE tried something new, but for me personally, it didn't work. Let ambition be fueled by actual success, not potential success (I.e. don't reach for a trilogy+ before you know if the first one will take off the way you plan.) De-complicate the interlocking gameplay systems a little bit, and take the time to make it work together. Simplify the story telling and world building so it all fits in one (main) game. There's always room for spinoffs, or side plots later. Bring back exploration, for the love of Ifrit. And, on a personal note, dial back on the child(ish)-sidekicks a little or make them more than a static character in a dynamic world. The Onion Knight from 3's portrayal in Dissidia, for example.

Edited June 8, 2013 by Darklink42

[Mirby]

Kingdom Hearts 3 is never coming out. They make too much money with spinoffs.

a) none of those "spinoffs" are actually spinoffs; they're all important to the plot. the only true spinoff or side title is Kingdom Hearts X (chi), a web browser title that, for now, is japan-only. and it's not even fully out there yet.

kh3d's plot leads directly into where 3 will pick up. therefore the next game (aside from a probable 2.5 HD ReMIX) will be 3.

[Brandon Strader]

This thread is about Final Fantasy XV.

If it is Versus, that'd be awesome. If it is PS4 exclusive, that will be terrible and I will be forced to skip it. Hopefully SE has the brains to put out a PC version if so.

[Thin Crust]

Last piece of the puzzle.

http://www.novacrystallis.com/2013/06/tetsuya-nomura-to-attend-e3-this-year/

Can't wait for tonight. I just happen to have today off so it works out great.

[Mirby]

Well here's a complete schedule of SE's E3 programming.

There could be surprises in there somewhere, but that's everything they've confirmed.

[Brandon Strader]

Sony conference: tonight at 9pm until 11pm

Edited June 10, 2013 by Brandon Strader

[Thin Crust]

There's going to be another FF14 ARR trailer tomorrow morning. That might be part of the "future"

[Brandon Strader]

OOOOOOOOO Fuggin called it son of a bish!!!

HOLY FUCK KINGDOM HEARTS 3

Oh, Ps4 exclusives.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

I take back every negative thing I've said about VersusXIII.

Actually I don't, since that was the trailer for Final Fantasy XV!

Sony is seriously winning this thing for me as a side note.

[Mirby]

OOOOOOOOO Fuggin called it son of a bish!!!

HOLY FUCK KINGDOM HEARTS 3

Oh, Ps4 exclusives.

for once, i'm in agreement with you

[Brandon Strader]

Makes me wonder, was this the big announcement they teased at TGS, or are they still announcing a "brand new Final Fantasy game" at E3?

[Mirby]

I'm pretty sure FF15 is the big announcement.

also KH3 is big as well. Massive, even.

[Dexie]

Well, that's disappointing. I've stuck with the KH series for so long, only for the game that seems to be the conclusion to the storyline they've been building up to end up on a system I care nothing about. What a shame. :/

It's nice of Squeenix to put FF15 on PS3 as well as PS4, though. Though I still wonder if it's actually going to come out anytime in the next few years. ;P

[Brandon Strader]

It's nice of Squeenix to put FF15 on PS3 as well as PS4, though.

I haven't heard this confirmed yet

[Modus]

I'm waaaaay onboard for FF15, and simultaneously sad they're straying further from traditional fantasy.

These mixed feels.

[Sir_NutS]

Trailer looked impressive. Not touching this game though. After playing through one of the worst games I've played in my life (FFXIII) I lost all hope on FF long ago. Pretty trailers won't convince me. I could be wrong and I hope I am but my hopes of being wrong are near zero.

KH3 a much, MUCH more exciting announcement.

Edited June 11, 2013 by Sir_NutS

[Modus]

But the trailer looked like the counterpoint to the XIII saga midlife crisis. Whether that shows through the gameplay as well, I guess we'll have to wait and see, but by God the characters seemed tolerable at worst. No more Snow! No more whiny insecure kid!

Edited June 11, 2013 by Modus

[Sir_NutS]

But the trailer looked like the counterpoint to the XIII saga midlife crisis. Whether that shows through the gameplay as well, I guess we'll have to wait and see, but by God the characters seemed tolerable at worst. No more Snow! No more whiny insecure kid!

It's Final Fantasy. There will be whine.

But my problem with FF13 weren't the characters as much. It's the much deeper issues with it.

I even wrote a huge analysis *coughrantcough* back then.

As I said, trailer looks very nice, but my excitement level is currently sitting at zero. I would love final fantasy to go back to its roots gameplay wise, but that seems impossible now.

[Thin Crust]

Thing is though, FF10 FF10-2, FF13, FF13-2, FF13-3, were all made by Kitase. FF14 was a failure at launch but since they got the new guy Yoshi-P to replace Nobuaki Komoto, the game has been been getting better and better. Everyone in the beta is saying how great the game is now.

And FF15 is directed by Nomura and his own team, the man behind Kingdom Hearts that has never had a bad game. (Unless you didn't like chain of memories.) Nomura's track record is very good and there's no reason you should judge it based on FF10-FF14.

Can't wait to get a PS4 now.

[Mirby]

Also the Lightning trilogy is directed by Motomu Toriyama, who couldn't direct himself out of a box. (He's responsible for The 3rd Birthday as well). He has no hand, as far as I'm aware in FF15.

That said, I noticed in the trailer that you can actually see the resemblance between Noctis and Regis, who is (i think) his father. I love when they do that.

[Brandon Strader]

I slept through the "Future of Final Fantasy" this morning, and pretty much all of the "Square Enix Presents" content on their youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/squareenixpresents

But honestly, after last night's Sony conference reveal, I'm still blown away. If anyone actually saw today's stuff and can summarize the goodness of it, that'd be great and much appreciated.

[The Legendary Zoltan]

Thin Crust is correct. Nobody needs to judge FFXV (I totally called that it would just be Versus rebranded^_^) based on how they felt about XIII. Totally different guy. Totally different game. I can't wait for it and I'm going to give FFXIV a fair chance despite the initial launch failure.

[Brandon Strader]

I've waited for this for like 15 years since it was first announced and I'm STILL PUMPED for it even with a new name. Watch this trailer (in 1080p) and tell me you're not equally pumped:

Even if it takes until 2015 to come out. I have a feeling we won't be disappointed with it or the PS4. I could be wrong, and if I am, then allow to issue an awww sheeuttt in advance, but I hope I ain't!

[Mirby]

half that time

it was only announced 7 years ago

but yeah, it looks fantastic

[Thin Crust]

MEGA excited for this. But my only complaint that really bothered me was that the soldiers were firing continuously but it didn't visibly show any effect on Noctis.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Thin Crust