Final Fantasy 15 impressions

[Fox12]

Back in 2006, Final Fantasy Versus was announced. It was like a dark and brooding version of KH, and little 13 year old me thought it was the coolest thing. The years passed, however, and narry a word was spoken. Since then I've finished middle school, high school, and now college. I had my first kiss, went to prom, started preparing for a career, and generally went through all the benchmarks one expects from growing up. Since then I've lost all interest in Square Enix, and their lackluster games. However, I held out hope for 15. It was basically Square's last chance ti impress me. They spent years on it, it must be good, right?

Spoiler

right?

Well, I didn't even finish the cut scene for the demo and I already hated everyone. Here it is, if you care to see it.
https://youtu.be/CWHLkCPvUNg?t=1m20s

The game play is good, but the writing may actually be worse then I expected. The worst offender is the blonde character, evidently named, I kid you not, Prompto Argentum. Evidently, according to the wiki, he is a "playboy who has a bad influence on Noctis." He looks like the guy who would get his lunch money stolen, and not a thug, but I digress. I was really hyped for this title, but seeing it in action, all my excitement is gone. As well polished as the graphics and game play are, I don't think I could sit through the dialogue and characters. At least KH seemed somewhat self aware. There's even a scene where, after crashing their car, Noctis complains that they'll die without it. He then proceeds to punch a brontosaurus and makes several thousand dollars before finding a small town with food and shelter a few feet away. I groaned the whole time.

Other then that, it seemed pretty solid. Gorgeous visuals, exciting play style, customizeable fighting moves and weapons, the works.

What were your impressions from the Demo, and do you think the game will be worth playing?

 

[Elfgore]

I sat through that entire first part just wishing waiting for them to take their pants off and start an orgy. Would have been more interesting than watching them wake up for three fucking minutes!!!! Seriously, who the fuck starts off a demo like that?! This is meant to get me psyched for the game, not want to take a warm, afternoon nap.

The combat and graphics look amazing. The world looks really beautiful as well. But god damnit, how hard is it to create interesting characters people?! Actually... back up. That's asking too much. How hard is it to at least make characters I can like?! I only got a small dose of these guys, but I already want to strangle them as much as the the cast from 13! Looks like this will be another dropped price purchase for me.

 

[Casual Shinji]

...

You were 13 back '06!?

Fuck, do I feel old.

OT: So, Final Fantasy: Boyband Edition is shaping up to be kind of crummy, huh? Who knew? Might download it just for a laugh. One mention of l'Cie though and I'm gonna burn somebody's house down.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

Aside from Prompto and the fact that night battles can wind up being eternal due to enemy respawns, I really liked it. Then again, fantasy Japanese boyband goes on a road trip adventure is essentially the perfect idea for a game for me. Probably my favorite application of Kingdom Hearts like gameplay I've seen.

The combat was great, the not Promptos have some potential, and people actually make jokes, sometimes they even make funny jokes. I also think I'll wind up really liking Noctis if they are going with the angle I think they are (a superhuman prince with confidence issues) and not the boring and derivative one (a superhuman prince with brooding issues).

 

[Fox12]

The combat was great, the not Promptos have some potential, and people actually make jokes, sometimes they even make funny jokes. I also think I'll wind up really liking Noctis if they are going with the angle I think they are (a superhuman prince with confidence issues) and not the boring and derivative one (a superhuman prince with brooding issues).

I would love to see someone more like Cloud. Most people don't remember the original FF7, but Cloud was funny. He had his brooding moments, sure, but he developed as a character, and overcame his short comings. He laughed, he joked, he acted like a huge dork. He showed vulnerability. And, by the end, he was a pretty well adjusted person. Outside of Advent Children (which I don't think captured his character) he was a pretty decent guy.

What I don't want to see is another Squall Leonheart. I know he has his fans, but I feel like his brooding attitude set the tone for the typical Nomura protagonists to follow.

I would like to see the protagonists have a bit more believable characterization in that regard, and I agree that they should make him develop into a more well rounded person. A good dose of humor couldn't hurt either (it's better then the alternative). 13 year old me may have liked dark and gritty, but adult me hates it.

But seriously, who thought up Promptos? He's basically just water guy (Demyx) from KH2. The only difference is that I thought Demyx was supposed to be a comedy relief villain that you were supposed to dislike, whereas FF15 seems to want you to take him seriously.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

The combat was great, the not Promptos have some potential, and people actually make jokes, sometimes they even make funny jokes. I also think I'll wind up really liking Noctis if they are going with the angle I think they are (a superhuman prince with confidence issues) and not the boring and derivative one (a superhuman prince with brooding issues).

I would love to see someone more like Cloud. Most people don't remember the original FF7, but Cloud was funny. He had his brooding moments, sure, but he developed as a character, and overcame his short comings. He laughed, he joked, he acted like a huge dork. He showed vulnerability. And, by the end, he was a pretty well adjusted person. Outside of Advent Children (which I don't think captured his character) he was a pretty decent guy.

What I don't want to see is another Squall Leonheart. I know he has his fans, but I feel like his brooding attitude set the tone for the typical Nomura protagonists to follow.

I would like to see the protagonists have a bit more believable characterization in that regard, and I agree that they should make him develop into a more well rounded person. A good dose of humor couldn't hurt either (it's better then the alternative). 13 year old me may have liked dark and gritty, but adult me hates it.

Agreed on all points here, though I do think you should put a bit more faith in Nomura. While he did make Squall, he also made Tidus, Yuna, and Sora, none of whom are all that brooding. In all honesty, for Nomura, brooding as the sole defining character trait of the protagonist is definitely not the norm, despite how people tend to view him.

But seriously, who thought up Promptos? He's basically just water guy (Demyx) from KH2. The only difference is that I thought Demyx was supposed to be a comedy relief villain that you were supposed to dislike, whereas FF15 seems to want you to take him seriously.

I'm pretty certain he is supposed to be comic relief too. The being a bad influence thing may be more about how he is vaguely womanizing and definitely lazy rather than him being a cool badboy.

 

[Fappy]

I will probably be avoiding the game like the plague XD

It just looks so... ugh, what happened to you Square? Guess I will be sticking to the Bravely series.

 

[Zefar]

Man those English voices just doesn't sound good. I don't mind English voices as long as they are good but those where not that good.

Maybe that's why you dislike the game.

 

[sneakypenguin]

Huh 3 minutes of waking up...awesome start to a demo.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

...

Final Fantasy: Boyband Edition

An appropriate name, to be sure. Where are the girls? Where are Rikku, Rhiona, Selphie, Aeris, Tifa, and all the other types? Final Fantasy games have always had a nice balance between boys and girls, and yet that demo was just...blah. The one guy looks like Cloud, but with a much whinier attitude, and everyone else looks as generic tough guy as you can possibly get. Like the Turks from FFVII, but just the generic background ones, not Reno and the other ones.

 

[EternallyBored]

Sooooo, watching that video, anyone else notice that the chairs they sit in when they make camp have a Coleman label on the back, as in Coleman, the camping supply company.

I know the clothes were also designed by a real Japanese clothing designer and company, I wonder how much corporate branding is in this game? I'm half expecting the characters to crack open a cold Coca-cola at some point in the game now, or walk past an actual KFC (Kentucky Fried Chocobo). I know that car has been featured prominently in trailers, is that a licensed vehicle as well? Honestly, it would be pretty hilarious to see a bunch of corporate branding show up in a Final Fantasy game.

EDIT: upon rewatching the video, the spoon at the intro cinematic and the tent itself both have the Coleman label on them as well, the characters apparently got all their camping equipment at Wal-mart or Sears before setting off on their adventure.

 

[MetalShadowChaos]

I actually quite enjoyed the writing in that cutscene. Cheesy as hell, sure, but I kind of like that. Voice acting is, well, final fantasy, with the exception of the guy doing British. He's in that weir d 'Xenoblade Chronicles' category, if not really being BAD, because it's sort of funny and makes him immediately memorable, but it isn't exactly GOOD either, in a technical sense. Not like the bad voice acting in 13 which was just cringeworthy, even if I still found ti funny.

In general, I did enjoy final fantasy 13. It wasn't very good, that's for sure, but I'm not complaining about it's linearity. It was nice to just go down a straight path. I wish the actually pretty good combat system was actually utilised, rather than letting you do pretty much every non-boss fight with just 1 healer, one ravage and one commando and autobattle. But I still enjoyed the thing. It was pretty, the cutscenes were trashy fun and the overarching story was gloriously stupid. Remove the angsty stuff form cutscenes and leave behind just general plot development and action sequences, then replace Lightning with Dante, and you could easily have a Devil May Cry game. It was stupid. I liked it. Then on though, the gams are actually quite enjoyable legitimately, Lightning Returns especially, though they never got much better story wise.

Back on topic though, this looks to be a similar case for me. Cheesy story, cheesy voice acting, a pretty cool looking fight system, pretty looking pictures, the works. Quite looking forward to this one. Something to play on PS4 after I get it for Bloodborne.

 

[RedDeadFred]

I hated all four of the characters after that first cutscene. Their voices seemed really off and everything about the main character just screamed angst. The guy in glasses had a particularly off sounding voice. The writing felt really clunky too.

Having said that, the graphics are amazing and the world looks really interesting. The combat also looks like a lot of fun.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

If Sqeenix is series about bringing Final Fantasy back to its roots (which I don't think anybody said now that I think about it) I'm going to assume one or more of Noctis' entourage is going to die and be replaced or, turn evil and be replaced after some time with someone more interesting or, female or, (please oh please) un-human. Anyway, apart from the slow start and the fact that I will definitely be playing this with the Japanese audio on, I watched the Super Beard Bros playthrough and my hype grew three sizes...probably more. This is the kind of thing I want if turn-based combat has to be done away with. The combat looks fun and, fast and, while it's odd that everything takes MP and, you have to be in cover to recover MP, I still want this game more than I've wanted the past few main-line Final Fantasy titles. I wasn't this excited about Final Fantasy X and that one let you control Eidelons for a while! That blew my mind in high school: I summon a Guardian Force and control it like a party member?! BAD ASS!

Anyway yes: This is the game that will make me finally break down and get a PS4...well, I haven't seen much gameplay of Type-0 so maybe that one will make me break...or both...I dunno yet and am a bit too poor to run out and get one now, even if Type-0 looks like the best game since Curtain Call.

 

[Glongpre]

I thought the voices were actually good for a Final Fantasy game. Is the british sounding guy the voice actor who did Balthier? He sounds like him. They could have done worse, the only guy who sounds off is the really deep voice guy who seems to be faking his deep voice.

But yea, that cutscene was cringey.

 

[Ramzal]

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't really feel the need to compare the characters to past final fantasy's because this is it's own game with it's own group. While there are traits I don't like about some of them there are some that I do like.. much like people actually are. (There is no one on this planet that someone likes 100%, and if there is that person is being glorified.)

I never understood the need to go "Character X is like Character Y from Final fantasy *insert here*." Most of them aren't at all the same. If you play though Dissidia, there's a reason why their groups split up in most cases and it's because they have conflicting interests and personalities. Squall admires the Warrior of Light but doesn't take well to him trying to force the issue of him being with others. Cloud doesn't mind being in a group of people who are upbeat however he finds himself being down to earth and realistic with them to make sure they don't get out of hand. Zidane and Bartz were bros for life though.

The point is, these are different characters with different motivations/outlooks on life/motivations. It's difficult if not impossible to decide on the quality of a character such as Cloud who grew up with a mother as an influence in his life to--say, Squall who is an orphan and had suddenly lost his sister due to a overnight adoption which left him distant as he felt that he didn't want to get close to anyone else and feel that loss again. Or Bartz whose father encouraged him to see the world for himself by exploring to Zidane who never had a mother presence in his life and had grown with his adaptive father who beat him for exploring to find himself.

Squall had his reasons for being "broody" and they were very understandable. Cloud had his reasons for joking around and being playful in FF7 as he was subconsciously mimicking Zack's behavior. And in AC, Cloud was confused as to who he was or what he needed to be. A father? A boyfriend? Delivery boy?

My point of all of this is that the group of FF 15 differ from the past final fantasy's and looking/hoping for traits from other Final fantasy casts are kind of a waste of time as they are all different with backgrounds and experiences that are unique to themselves. Judge the cast and game for what they are as opposed to what you think they should be/want to be.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

I haven't played enough of it myself, but yeesh, the framerate drops I'm seeing watching a friend playing it. And some parts of the environment look...bad. The world itself (when static) is beautiful, and I generally love the designs and ideas that Squeenix comes up with, but there are just...certain expectations I have that don't seem to be being met so far.

Granted, it's just an early demo and there's still a while until the game releases, so I'm still cautiously optimistic.

 

[rosac]

The music and summon in the behemoth fight were on point. I can't help but feel that the dude in the video was fighting slightly dodgily, overreaching/overcomboing when he would be better off taking a bit more time, moving more and not slicing air. The warp thing looks a bit confusing, and the warp hang thing looks a bit too situational for me.

But still

That. Summon.

 

[Benpasko]

The combat looks fun and, fast and, while it's odd that everything takes MP and, you have to be in cover to recover MP

Actually, if you hit things with a basic sword you get ~10-15 mp per swing. I wasn't a huge fan, until I unequipped the crappy greatsword and switched to the blood sword for the bulk of my combo.

Man oh man I can't wait for this game. I like Noctis a lot so far, the gameplay is solid, graphics are beautiful, the way you can adjust your combos on the fly... plus DAT RAMUH. I've been unashamedly hyped for this game for years now, ever since we got the first screenshots of Noctis. Now that I've finally played it, and it's good? Ohhhhhh man.

I seem to be in a minority in the FF fanbase (on these forums, at least) though, in that I actually like FFX and X-2, so I'm not surprised to see how many people are hatin'.

The game play is good, but the writing may actually be worse then I expected. The worst offender is the blonde character, evidently named, I kid you not, Prompto Argentum.

If his name bugs you, your party's names are Noctis, Gladiolus, and Ignis. I don't see your point about this imaginary character from a different world having a 'weird' name.

Evidently, according to the wiki, he is a "playboy who has a bad influence on Noctis." He looks like the guy who would get his lunch money stolen, and not a thug, but I digress.

I think that's the point, and you're not wrong? He's more or less the weakest member of the party in this demo, and he hangs out with a prince all the time. Troublemaker by royal standards, maybe.

There's even a scene where, after crashing their car, Noctis complains that they'll die without it. He then proceeds to punch a brontosaurus and makes several thousand dollars before finding a small town with food and shelter a few feet away. I groaned the whole time.

And why do we worry about character deaths (you know exactly what I'm talking about) in any game in a series where revival spells and items are plentiful? The gameplay logic has always broken these storylines.