Meinos Kaen said:
They said it wasn't going to represent the final result graphically. The engine and fighting system is that. They can't change it without incurring in at least another year of delays.
And 1): no, you didn't just 'mash attack' in older FFs. Try that in Final Fantasy 4 or even Final Fantasy 7 or even Final Fantasy XII, see how that goes for you. 2) No, they don't get a lot more serious. They just throw more enemies at you all at the same time. That's not 'more serious', that's a cheap way of ramping up the difficulty. More serious would be if suddenly you needed a different strategy to fight this enemy instead of the other one.
I'm not sure why you'd cite XII there because while I didn't mash attack I didn't mash ANYTHING, I just moved the left stick until I won the game. You have a better argument with 4 or 7, bud.
OT: I kinda disagreed totally with the OP so I'll express my thoughts and invite a rebuttal.
I did kinda feel like the game had the easy mode of having Blood Sword as your combo and a lance for the opening to make sure you cleared a way and had max MP, but it was a demo so balance wasn't what I was expecting. I think the strength of the game is that you need to incorporate dodging to beat harder opponents. Like, trying to takedown Dead-eye requires some real strategy but Noctis isn't super agile you need to use his magic crystal mcguffin powers to maintain distance which isn't an unlimited resource, and you can opt to remove you but not your party from combat for a recharge leaving them to fend for themselves. Strategically, that's way different than any other action styled game.
I mean, against those stupid saberdog things you can just hold attack = win but keeping an eye out for parries and being able to use different weapons if you time strikes is kinda awesome (going partisan, bloodsword, zweihander in a 3 hit combo was pretty satisfying). The combat is still a WIP which is a little discouraging given how long it's been so I'm expecting magic to be a big boost to strategy, given the only element right now is do you attack/defend/skill, it's not about the combos which is more akin to old style final fantasy's (most obviously in when you deploy skills, is your health low enough to drain from the opponents? Are there enough to warrant a Dragoon jump? Do you have enough distance for Full Charge?)
I will say, in the spirit of fairness, you have a point that KH may have had a better combat system but I think FFXV's one does have a good shot if it develops a little more. Demo doesn't exactly give a good range of weapons involved and potential combos of weapon abilities.
Writing-wise, I'm actually a lot more fond of these 4 then I was the entire cast of XII and XIII (brief exceptions, Balthier and Sazh).
Noctis isn't just the emo prince we were all thinking he was, he's a lazy ass doing his best out of a bad situation and he's even got a sense of humor, sarcastic though it might be (I count 5 times he mentions being tired and wants a nap). Compare to Vaan 'I'm Bash fon Rosenburg' or Lightning's... whatever Lightning had, Noctis starts to look pretty good even with minimal information.
Gladio was always looking fun but the battlecry of "Quit bitching and start killing" has grown on me (enough that I want to retroactively insert him in earlier FF games, Squall needs to hear that shit). He's clearly protective, clearly from the lowest social background, but he's got a major big brother going on with just about everyone.
Ignis always felt like he was going to be a nothing character, all about the organisation and keeping the group moving, his saving grace for me came when he referred to the kitchen as his laboratory to a terrified Prompto. He's refined, he's immaculate, he has multiple pairs of glasses in case he breaks the pair he has (which I know because Noctis asked)
And then we get to Prompto, didn't like him in the trailers, thought I wouldn't like him in the demo, but he grew on me from inferrence. Ignis and Gladio have duties to the prince, they're probably wanted, but Prompto? He comes across as along for the ride purely because he's friends with Noctis, and he's also clearly the weak link. He goes down the most, he stumbles in combat, Gladio and Ignis are nearly always bailing him out. But they do bail him out, Gladio in particular tells him to sit one fight out because it's dangerous: Why the hell did no-one tell Hope that? Prompto is only here, in a dangerous ass situation, because he's loyal to a friend. Plus he's kind of the butt monkey, Gladio telling him to solo a quest was pretty amusing.
Motivation wise, the entire group has a chemistry independent of Noctis and they just feel like bros. Yeah I'd like more female characters involved with the group since Cindy is nearly a cardboard cut-out in the demo but these four do seem pretty tight knit to me, way more than any other group since probably even X. So yeah... massive dispute on the lack of chemistry front, the writing for these guys is light-years ahead of the last two numbered single player games.
