Current Events > ffxvi is okay, but it has a bunch of issues

(+) Yeah! (+)

-they stripped away the entire illusion of a cohesive world by making it level-based. people shat on ff7r for being a collection of squeeze-through loading zones and open areas with enemies and 13 for being a literal corridor, but 16 is those things times ten. thus far the levels have all played out like ff14 dungeons, which is not a positive thing

-even after 13 and 15, they still haven't re-figured out how to bake exposition and world-building into the game proper and instead ask you to read page after page of codex entries if you want to understand more about the world and the characters. the ATL thing is a neat bandaid but completely destroys the flow of the cutscenes if you use it during them

-there are two types of enemies, one being a sandbag that flinches whenever you look at it funny (letting you do cool combos and live out your power fantasy) and the other no-selling everything you throw at it so you occasionally have to bayonetta-dodge their slow-ass telegraphed attacks. it looks cool but it doesn't feel good, there's no impact to anything happening in combat

-most of the rpg mechanics seem soulless and purely there because it has final fantasy in the title

without the FF name, the game on its own merits probably wouldn't have been much of a blip on anyone's radar

Im only at the beginning so I have no room to judge yet, but one thing that irked me is fast traveling to that place after saving Jill. I would have much preferred walking there and getting a feel of the world around me. Maybe interact with some monsters or some random traders. Something. Anything. Instead I was just there instantly.

SomeLikeItHoth posted...

Im only at the beginning so I have no room to judge yet, but one thing that irked me is fast traveling to that place after saving Jill. I would have much preferred walking there and getting a feel of the world around me. Maybe interact with some monsters or some random traders. Something. Anything. Instead I was just there instantly.

if you played stranger of paradise, the flow of the game is very similar to that. every level is basically a one-off set piece with nothing but a fast travel map connecting them together

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

they tried and failed the world map thing with xv, they were unable to fill it with enough things to make it worth exploring. with how much modern asset generation takes and costs, you're never going to get a functioning one of those unless they scale the games down from AAA

Linear levels isnt a negative point. I wish people would stop shitting on games just for not being another completely empty open wasteland. Didnt bother reading the rest

Kloe_Rinz posted...

Linear levels isnt a negative point. I wish people would stop shitting on games just for not being another completely empty open wasteland. Didnt bother reading the rest

TC's complaining that the levels are just hallways, so it's overly linear. I've only played a little bit of the first proper chapter and he's not wrong about that. The most exploration I've seen so far is one path that split into two branches that had items down both that joined back together at the end.

Sounds like the game is like FFX.

Small hub areas broken up by linear paths. I don't have an issue with that.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

They've always been shifting away from turn based, its only gotten farther and farther along that line.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Unfortunately, the closest we'll get to that are their smaller studio projects.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Yeah, but its not "these days". They've been shedding Turn Based since FF4

SHRlKE posted...

Sounds like the game is like FFX.

Small hub areas broken up by linear paths. I don't have an issue with that.

But you could walk your whole way through most of the game which helped sell the real world experience.

So far I agree with most of TCs complaints, but the high production values, music, graphics, epic events really sell you on it. Stories very intriguing so far. Kinda worried cause some say it goes to shit in the 3rd act...which is something a bit common within jrpgs cause thats when they show you the real story/ antagonist and some dont nail it.

The lack of a true open world in this game actually makes me feel more at home with it. It feels more like a modern 'old game' if that makes sense haha.

(I'm still very early though, only like 2 or 3 hours past the end of the demo)

Ive watched a bit of it and the combat looks kind of cool but everything else is blah at best

has final fantasy ever not been this? all im hearing is they cut out meaningless meandering on an overworld map

all story progression has always been through "levels"

that being said
final fantasy hasnt put out a world worth exploring since 11

I stopped a little bit after I got to the hideout. Like I'm about to leave the hideout for the next story point. So I can't really say anything definitely yet and maybe it changes later in the game, but I admit I am EARLY.

So far the areas I have to explore are a straight hall into a circular room where you fight and then into a hall again and then another circle. I'm sure it will get better but my initial gut impression is meh about the level design. On the other hand I think I stopped playing 15 early because the first area was wide open and I kept getting sidetracked doing bullshit. It's been a while so my recollection may be off. But there's a happy medium somewhere.

I'm glad they have a dude who you can go and view all the lore entries with. It was bugging the hell out of me that I might miss one while I'm playing so each cutscene I was going into the lore screen a BUNCH. Anytime something new or someone new was mentioned I would go into it and it was getting kind of annoying stopping a dude in a sentence two times to view the menu. What worried me that I would miss something is it only seemed to show 5 or 6 things at once.

Combat is kinda fun. I only have a few abilities but I'm enjoying it. It's smooth.

The Titan/Shiva thing at the very beginning was one of the coolest things in a game I've experienced. Running along the paths and seeing them fight in the background was awesome.

My biggest positive for the game is the setting. It's more a return to crystals and magic and swords and more fantasy than a more current time with cars and guns and stuff. This setting is what I miss most from the FF games I grew up with.

WrkHrdPlayHrdr posted...

So far the areas I have to explore are a straight hall into a circular room where you fight and then into a hall again and then another circle. I'm sure it will get better but my initial gut impression is meh about the level design

I've only gotten far enough to get through the next area you're about to visit and it's the same, just in a forest this time.

WrkHrdPlayHrdr posted...

My biggest positive for the game is the setting. It's more a return to crystals and magic and swords and more fantasy than a more current time with cars and guns and stuff. This setting is what I miss most from the FF games I grew up with.

Yeah, the story is what has me interested so far. It really is Game-of-Thrones-esque, at least so far.

My passing familiarity with the franchise makes me think the big plot is gonna be about whatever ancient civilization left these ruins though lol

the performance is also starting to grate on me. like i get if the "more graphics, less frames" setting is going to run like ass, but why is the performance mode constantly chugging and hitching whenever there's more than 2 particle effects on screen?

Performance is the only real issue and exactly why I hate sony paying for bullshit exclusivity

It being level based is fine and works exactly like the entire series was all the way through the PS1

It just looks like a generic PS2 game, in all the good ways.

Looked a bit like Drakengard to me.

Questionmarktarius posted...

It just looks like a generic PS2 game, in all the good ways.

That's what I felt too. I love it. A PS2 game but with epic graphics.

kawalimus posted...

Ive watched a bit of it and the combat looks kind of cool but everything else is blah at best

I'm almost the opposite. The graphics/world/story seem interesting but I'm not keen on the action style of combat. I avoided XV and VIIR for the same reason.