The game's out pretty much everywhere. People have copies and have either finished the game or have made good progress. This thread serves to congregate a variety of impressions, questions, answers, hype and disappointment.
Some guidelines on spoilers:
- Better to be safe then sorry! If you're debating whether or not it should be tagged, tag it.
- Anything not shown in official media should definitely be tagged.
- For answering the questions of others, a spoiler tag is a good idea. You avoid spoiling it for those who may not want the answer while giving the person who requested it the info they require.
Thanks so much for this thread! This will be my new home leading up to game release.
Question:
Is anyone actually playing the full game on Pro? Are LQ and HQ mode back like in the demo? Did anything (IQ, graphics, framerate) improve or maybe worsen?
These are an abridged version I made of Solid Sora thoughts on the game. If Sora sees this please add on it:
XV is my favorite game of the year, and I had a lot of fun with it. The problem is that it had potential to be one of my favorite games of all time, it just needed more time and a clearer vision.
Yeah gameplay is good for the most part.
Overall I prefer the chapter from 9 onwards over the open world chapters.
What I meant by the infinite comparison is that the story feels like a mishmash of half-assed ideas. You can sense the development issues and the one thousand rewritings everytime a cutscene starts.
See, I thought the game's plot was a disjointed but the final chapter was perfect, like, really really well done.And the ending.... oh boy.. the CG was beautiful enough in itself
Wait, people didn't like the set-pieces? I throughly enjoyed each one of them, wished there were more!
I finished the game in a total of 25 hours. Admittedly, I didn't do much of the side content, and I was rushing a little bit since I have midterms next week, but I did a few (reached Rank 4 in hunts), and never skipped a dialogue or a cutscene. (Don't know what difficulty he was playing on, seeing how he was rushing I'm guessing easy)
Anyway, Can't remember how many bosses were in the game (and not sure what exactly qualify as a boss, some are very strong monesters, others have their own parry animations and little set-pieces), but there was a good amount, then there's the hunts.
Didn't encounter any ultimate weapons, didn't even get the whole royal arms set, there's a few tombs for me to find out later. I plan to dig into the post game content soon, but not in the next few days. I can see myself playing the game for a hundred hours more.
I think the game has easily the best dungeons in the series. Even the mines/caves differs from each other with unique environmental hazards and traps.
Thanks so much for this thread! This will be my new home leading up to game release.
Question:
Is anyone actually playing the full game on Pro? Are LQ and HQ mode back like in the demo? Did anything (IQ, graphics, framerate) improve or maybe worsen?
That's about it as far as truly explorable cities are concerned. There are a few small-scale towns and other little signs of civilization, but as far as I'm aware, Lestallum and Altissia are it.
Debating on keeping my pre-order or not, subbed.
So far everything I saw or hear about the story leak makes me want to cancel it but I'm secretly hoping GAFers impression will be more positive.
Those impressions from Solid Sora are really promising. Between this and Tabata confirming that Lord of the Rings was an influence (which I already perceived but am glad to know I wasn't just seeing what I wanted to), I'm extremely excited and glad to be informed of the weak spots.
The fellowship aspect and pacing from open world to more focussed linearity have me absolutely sold now, not to mention the epic set pieces.
These are an abridged version I made of Solid Sora thoughts on the game. If Sora sees this please add on it:
XV is my favorite game of the year, and I had a lot of fun with it. The problem is that it had potential to be one of my favorite games of all time, it just needed more time and a clearer vision.
Yeah gameplay is good for the most part.
Overall I prefer the chapter from 9 onwards over the open world chapters.
What I meant by the infinite comparison is that the story feels like a mishmash of half-assed ideas. You can sense the development issues and the one thousand rewritings everytime a cutscene starts.
See, I thought the game's plot was a disjointed but the final chapter was perfect, like, really really well done.And the ending.... oh boy.. the CG was beautiful enough in itself
Wait, people didn't like the set-pieces? I throughly enjoyed each one of them, wished there were more!
I finished the game in a total of 25 hours. Admittedly, I didn't do much of the side content, and I was rushing a little bit since I have midterms next week, but I did a few (reached Rank 4 in hunts), and never skipped a dialogue or a cutscene. (Don't know what difficulty he was playing on, seeing how he was rushing I'm guessing easy)
Anyway, Can't remember how many bosses were in the game (and not sure what exactly qualify as a boss, some are very strong monesters, others have their own parry animations and little set-pieces), but there was a good amount, then there's the hunts.
Didn't encounter any ultimate weapons, didn't even get the whole royal arms set, there's a few tombs for me to find out later. I plan to dig into the post game content soon, but not in the next few days. I can see myself playing the game for a hundred hours more.
I think the game has easily the best dungeons in the series. Even the mines/caves differs from each other with unique environmental hazards and traps.
These are an abridged version I made of Solid Sora thoughts on the game. If Sora sees this please add on it:
XV is my favorite game of the year, and I had a lot of fun with it. The problem is that it had potential to be one of my favorite games of all time, it just needed more time and a clearer vision.
Yeah gameplay is good for the most part.
Overall I prefer the chapter from 9 onwards over the open world chapters.
What I meant by the infinite comparison is that the story feels like a mishmash of half-assed ideas. You can sense the development issues and the one thousand rewritings everytime a cutscene starts.
See, I thought the game's plot was a disjointed but the final chapter was perfect, like, really really well done.And the ending.... oh boy.. the CG was beautiful enough in itself
Wait, people didn't like the set-pieces? I throughly enjoyed each one of them, wished there were more!
I finished the game in a total of 25 hours. Admittedly, I didn't do much of the side content, and I was rushing a little bit since I have midterms next week, but I did a few (reached Rank 4 in hunts), and never skipped a dialogue or a cutscene. (Don't know what difficulty he was playing on, seeing how he was rushing I'm guessing easy)
Anyway, Can't remember how many bosses were in the game (and not sure what exactly qualify as a boss, some are very strong monesters, others have their own parry animations and little set-pieces), but there was a good amount, then there's the hunts.
Didn't encounter any ultimate weapons, didn't even get the whole royal arms set, there's a few tombs for me to find out later. I plan to dig into the post game content soon, but not in the next few days. I can see myself playing the game for a hundred hours more.
I think the game has easily the best dungeons in the series. Even the mines/caves differs from each other with unique environmental hazards and traps.
Copy-pasta impressions from a guy from PlayStation Philippines FB group
Final Fantasy XV Early Impressions (No Spoilers)
Summary: I hate to say it but, FFXV isn't showing any signs of greatness. I suggest wait for professional reviews before buying.
I'm lucky enough to get an early copy so I'm sharing this to everyone eagerly anticipating FFXV. I've played the first five hours and I skipped the tutorial so I think that's enough to make some impressions about the game. There are two difficulty settings, Normal and Easy, I'm playing on Normal. Without spoiling it, here's what I thought about the story, gameplay etc.
Story
- I like the story about Noctis being the heir to his Father's throne and the Romeo and Juliet theme with Luna.
- The story is just not told in a good way, it's slow and the story quests just don't make sense with the plot of the game.
- The characters are also not reacting properly to what's happening in the story, it's very weird.
- Some characters are also not given enough screen time for me to care about them, especially King Regis.
- I like how the interactions between the boy band is so dynamic.
- Noctis is likeable, so are the other three. Not much Luna yet, or other characters.
- Voice acting is okay, nothing special.
Gameplay (oh boy)
- Combat is a mess. All you need to do is hold circle and occassionally press square to dodge or block to win enemy encounters. There's little to no skill required here.
- Camera is just plain bad, even after the day one patch. In tight spaces, you just won't be able to follow what's happening during combat.
- Leveling/progression system is most closely similar to FFX.
- Equipment system is deep enough for hardcore JRPG fans.
- I can see that there will be plenty of things to do in the game, side quests, collectibles, etc. Each of the character has a main skill that can also add a lot of game time (Fishing for Noct, Cooking for Ignis)
- Driving sucks!
Graphics and Music
- Music is phenomenal, especially the title screen theme.
- However, music timing is off for some scenes.
- This is the best looking open world game of this size for me so far. It looks even better than The Witcher 3.
All in all, FFXV looks and sounds good but it's just not giving me goosebumps unlike other great games. And the issues I have with it is the kind that stays throughout the game. But still, I like it enough to finish it. If you want to play the game Day 1 and pay full price, I suggest you wait for professional reviews and base your judgment from that.
Yo, JC, take it from a fellow old-time Board 8er. Ray Down's legit here. He clipped a couple things off because they were exceptionally spoiler-y, that's all.
I'm about two hours in having an absolute blast. I'm playing on the Pro and have not had any performance issues on either LQ or HQ but I'm not that sensitive to framedrops so it's hard for me to tell.
Combat is becoming my favorite in the series the more I play and I've been playing these games since the SNES days. I would suggest Kingsglaive and the anime before playing as it adds a lot of backstory and made me like the characters more.
I cannot wait to get further in the game and I'm happy that I have a four day weekend coming up.
That's about it as far as truly explorable cities are concerned. There are a few small-scale towns and other little signs of civilization, but as far as I'm aware, Lestallum and Altissia are it.
Well that's a bit disappointing, but I can't really say it is a surprise though. I hope there's at least some good small settlements (are there?) and not just the two cities and a bunch of Hammerhead-like places. After all, Witcher 3 just have two cities and one of them is pretty useless outside of Hearts of stone
I didn't know what was the spoiler that blowed up the other thread, I guess now I know it lol
This is a strong write-up, but I suggest bolding the part where the fellow says he's only played the first five hours. I am picture-positive every corner of the internet is already taking it out-of-context by skimming over that part.
Copy-pasta impressions from a guy from PlayStation Philippines FB group
Final Fantasy XV Early Impressions (No Spoilers)
Gameplay (oh boy) - Combat is a mess. All you need to do is hold circle and occassionally press square to dodge or block to win enemy encounters. There's little to no skill required here.
Well that's a bit disappointing, but I can't really say it is a surprise though. I hope there's at least some good small settlements (are there?) and not just the two cities and a bunch of Hammerhead-like places. After all, Witcher 3 just have two cities and one of them is pretty useless outside of Hearts of stone
I didn't know what was the spoiler that blowed up the other thread, I guess now I know it lol
I'm about two hours in having an absolute blast. I'm playing on the Pro and have not had any performance issues on either LQ or HQ but I'm not that sensitive to framedrops so it's hard for me to tell.
So the Pro modes are exactly like in the demo? Good to know.
I too don't really notice framedrops/framepacing. I thought HQ Pro mode in the demo ran just fine.
I heard that when the music randomly changes in battle, you can press L2 to summon, but without further details (if any) this seems like a pretty shitty mechanic.
I can't say I agree with the "hold button" down with the combat complaint. The demo proved that and I suspect when we get to play Normal mode, you'll be doing far less button holds.
I just want to point out that one person's pile of trash is another's treasure. This especially seems to be the case with Final Fantasy games as it seems like it's hard to find another person that likes the exact same FF games.
Well take Xenoblade for example. Jason from Kotaku doesn't seem to like it at all and it's one of my favorite games of all time. I mention him specifically because Xenoblade got mostly universal praise from everybody else. Had I gone just off his impressions/review, I may never have played it.
So just keep that in mind that just because one or two people say they didn't like it, doesn't mean you won't. That works both ways of course, they may like it and you may hate it.
This will be my new home leading up to game release.
