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[Whizkid7]

After the Platinum demo & E3 showing I was pretty much not giving this any thought, largely due to combat feeling utterly boring and one-button-y and all the focus being on "LOOK AT DA GRAPHIX SO PRETTY". Watching these videos now though seems to clear most of that feeling up (you can switch weapons mid combo, right? That's like the only thing none of these videos seem to show), and I actually think I could maybe want to play this.

But I have too many games in my backlog already, so this won't end up being Day 1 for me if I do go for it.

 

[Kinyou]

Wtf at 16s in the video, wtf happens to Noctis' body ? o__O

 

[brandonh83]

I have to agree with this.

Same goes to FF13-2, Lightning Returns, and Dark Souls 2

Those were really good games IMO

 

[Tyaren]

Stupid sexy Noctis! D:

 

[MazeHaze]

Pre review? Can we stop with all of this? I feel like this is the hundreth "first xx hours of the game!" I've seen.

 

[brandonh83]

Man I love the menus. And the music.

Everything really. Looking good. Can't believe it's so close now.

Loving the sneaking around in dark underground passages with dungeon music, feels like a modern take on traditional RPG dungeons. Also the random character chatter is fantastic. They comment on a lot of things around the environments, making it all feel very lively.

 

[Jackpot]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1296477

Sorry, I meant Polygon's pre-reviews from other games, to see if they use the same kid gloves as previews.

 

[Osahi]

First five hours I played two months ago were indeed a lot of fun, and returned to that old FF feeling of discovery and adventure. I have high hopes since then, but fear a possible lesser second half if they indeed go more linear.

 

[LordKasual]

That's fair, my qualms have always been with whether the story and writing would be any good, not if the gameplay and tech would hold up. Kingsglaive left a very, very sour taste and after Type 0, XIII, and WoFF, I have no faith in any non FFXIV writers at Square.

Type-0 and XIII were both equal levels of atrocious writing. I haven't looked far into WoFF, but i despise crossover games and so i wouldn't be surprised. I'm Hypetrain 150% overclocked for FFXV, but even I have doubts about its writing...unfortunately, the people responsible for material like Tactics / XII / XIV seem to be preoccupied most of the time

I feel like the story wont be terrible...unimpactful or missing in some areas, but not bad. But the game itself, i have no worries about at all.

 

[brandonh83]

Prompto is the new king of comedy.

*wins battle* "Noct"... another one out, haha!

 

[Regulus Tera]

If there's one thing I trust Final Fantasy games to get right, it's the opening hours. It's the latter portions of the game that usually falter.

 

[brandonh83]

If there's one thing I trust Final Fantasy games to get right, it's the opening hours. It's the latter portions of the game that usually falter.

I would say that about XII for sure, but that's the only one that personally comes to mind.

 

[Regulus Tera]

I would say that about XII for sure, but that's the only one that personally comes to mind.

I think it describes IX and VIII perfectly.

 

[brandonh83]

I think it describes IX and VIII perfectly.

Had absolutely no problems with those endgames at all.

 

[Electret]

I really hope this turns out well. The game has a lot going for it, particularly on the technical side - assuming it's true performance and visuals have received a boost with the recent delay.

 

[synce]

Reading his profile he thought FF13-2 was also good, so I'm going to reserve any hype.

 

[MazeHaze]

What's next, a post-pre-review? A review of the second 15 hours? This shit is so whack.

Imagine if movies did this, "review of the first 45 minutes of The Conjuring 2: good so far!"

 

[Mailbox]

I think it describes IX and VIII perfectly.

Outside of the final battle, how does this describe 9?

 

[Toth]

Yeah Type-0 is the only game of those that Square Enix actually developed. The rest they only published, similarly to Hitman, Just Cause, and Tomb Raider, which are doing great as far as i can tell.



As clarification, no of course the game wasn't a financial failure, but critically? Yeah, it's an anomaly. Hell, the whole beginning of the Uncovered event was them basically apologizing for what we can assume was FFXIII and FFXIV 1.0, the only 2 real FF games to release since XII. And since by that point ARR had already had its success and Heavensward already active, i'm going to say it was aimed towards FFXIII.

"Failure" may be a strong word, and my bias against the game may be oozing out a bit, but square has been speaking against it, and for good reason. XIV 1.0, XIII, and Versus all came from the same time period of FNC and Crystal Tools. And the trend i'm starting to see is that Square just brings in someone new on a project that's tripping over itself, and they get shit done by shaking up the foundation which wasn't working. Tabata has been saying and doing alot of the same things it seems that YoshiP did when he was promoted on XIV. And as a result of those similar actions, ARR and Heavensward turned out pretty damn good. And Final Fantasy XV is now rocking a completely new shell of an impressive scale.


So what i'm getting at is, yes there is totally a reason to be cautious of FFXV, but all things considered, i don't know why people are expecting the game to be a trainwreck. With the sole exception of FFXIV 1.0, i cant recall a 1st-party Square game that released at such a low quality. And sure enough, XV is now looking so much better than it was a few months ago that people are legitimately questioning whether its still running on the same hardware.

Edit: Okay, All the Bravest was pretty fucking bad. But now we have Brave Exvius which is basically the same thing, except not total shit, so yeah.

Okay but you have to remember that FFXIII has fans too. Tabata was called out about the Uncovered event implying those things about the FFXIII games and he quickly backpedaled. There was no need to backpedal on 14 1.0 though. That was indeed a true disaster for the brand, I agree.

People still focus too much on the XIII saga and forgot the pedestrian performance and critical response to the hyped Type-0 HD remake, and the disaster of the FF: ATB helped kill some of the FF success as well. Honestly, Lightning Returns, FF: Record Keeper, FF: Evixtus, FF: Mobius, and the reborn XIV have been showing a great turn around from SE and the FF brand (although LR's many innovativing features were lost because its the third game in the FF XIII series that many had stopped playing). Given how global the franchise is, I think the series' popularity is swinging back upward.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Outside of the final battle, how does this describe 9?

The whole final disc of 9, which is basically the final dungeon leading up to the out-of-nowhere final boss, is really out there. It doesn't ruin the game for me, but I can understand why it would bother someone.

 

[Nags]

All you need to know from the preview:

and I quote, "It’s made Final Fantasy relevant again. They’ve actually done it. I cannot wait to play more."

Sounds like hyperbole.

 

[Mailbox]

The whole final disc of 9, which is basically the final dungeon leading up to the out-of-nowhere final boss, is really out there. It doesn't ruin the game for me, but I can understand why it would bother someone.

Again, outside of the final battle, though? (I made that stipulation for a reason) the final dungeon is pretty ace all the way up to the fight with Kuja, which is just before the last fight. Especially the fact that the entire dungeon is based on the idea of memories and being which works really really well as an end or bookend to everyone's arcs.

 

[ViciousDS]

Necron was badass......yes he came out of nowhere but the dude represents death itself lol.

But Trance Kuja would have already been a fantastic finale.....that shit was insane! Kuja is my favorite FF villain

 

[Deckard Chapel]

First five hours I played two months ago were indeed a lot of fun, and returned to that old FF feeling of discovery and adventure. I have high hopes since then, but fear a possible lesser second half if they indeed go more linear.

I've been replaying Final Fantasy VII lately in my pre-release hype for Final Fantasy XV and honestly, the nostalgia and feels I'm getting from it are tremendous. It brings me back to a time when things were less complicated, when there were no bills to pay and all you had to worry abouthat were your grades in school/college and maybe a part-time job. Final Fantasy VI years before that was the same for me - if not more so. if this game can somehow drum up a grand, brand new feeling combined with that tremendous feeling of old nostalgia and palpable atmosphere; it will be a 12/10 for me in my book.

Imagine if movies did this, "review of the first 45 minutes of The Conjuring 2: good so far!"

Lol!

Good point.

 

[Geg]

I've only watched the first 20 minutes or so so far, but man, the combat seems even rougher than in some of the previews from a month or two ago somehow. The boss fight against the mecha was kind of hard to watch.

Sania has a cute character design

 

[Clear]

Outside of the final battle, how does this describe 9?

9 is a continuous downward spiral into mediocrity after the end of the first disc. Such a disappointingly retrograde title after the progressiveness and creative bravery of the previous two PS1 titles

8 on the other hand has probably the strongest and most complete ending of the entire franchise, and is generally well paced and thematically consistent. It does things a bit differently to the rest of the series in terms of battle-system, but the end result is a tremendous versatile and malleable set of mechanics that once you get a handle on them are an absolute joy to mess around with.

 

[Toth]

9 is a continuous downward spiral into mediocrity after the end of the first disc. Such a disappointingly retrograde title after the progressiveness and creative bravery of the previous two PS1 titles

8 on the other hand has probably the strongest and most complete ending of the entire franchise, and is generally well paced and thematically consistent. It does things a bit differently to the rest of the series in terms of battle-system, but the end result is a tremendous versatile and malleable set of mechanics that once you get a handle on them are an absolute joy to mess around with.

I would love (in a remake) to see an actual future world map or at least an area / Seed camp to explore in the future. I really want to know Ultimecia's backstory.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

I think it describes IX and VIII perfectly.

IX is excellent throughout (as long as you can stand the slow battle system, but that's there in the early game as well.

Ultemecia's castle is probably the strongest FF final dungeon ever, and I say this as an VIII hater

 

[Ran rp]

sania's cutscene makes me feel like i'm watching power rangers or something

 

[Clear]

I would love (in a remake) to see an actual future world map or at least an area / Seed camp to explore in the future. I really want to know Ultimecia's backstory.

If they were to remake it, I'd like them to automate the draw system to some degree as I think the original loses some people by making it something the player has to continuously instruct the party to do.

Ultimecia to me is just a living metaphor for fear of the future; she's the heartless but all-powerful person that none of the party really wants to grow up into. Its why Seifer is so attracted to her service.

I just think its a wonderful heart-on-its-sleeve allegory for the trials and tribulations of growing up; or just being an adult in Laguna's case!

 

[cj_iwakura]

Claims like this always worry me when I was just fine with where FF was going. I'm one of the people who liked 13, though, so what do I know.

 

[Ferrio]

Sounds like hyperbole.

Ya I fell for that crap when 13 came out, not doing it again. Waiting a good 2 weeks until I take impressions seriously.

 

[UberTag]

Pre review? Can we stop with all of this? I feel like this is the hundreth "first xx hours of the game!" I've seen.

Great way to generate web hits from a starved fanbase though, isn't it?

 

[Ran rp]

Great way to generate web hits from a starved fanbase though, isn't it?

 

[Rhaknar]

Pre-review?

In my day they were called Previews.

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

After the glowing previews and great reviews of FF13 due to hype culture and advertising dollars, I have 0 faith in professional reviews for this game. I'll wait for post release GAF impressions/reviews, but even then how soon after release did GAF expose all the warts and disappointment that was FF13?

You're making up history, same with everyone else that's claiming that FFXIII was being praised to high heavens in pre-release previews. It wasn't. Kotaku even put up that article when the Japanese version came out that sent off warning signals everywhere when it was discovered most of the early parts of the game were linear af.

Remember?

It's as if there's this denial at the fact that FFXV could, at the very least, be a good videogame.

 

[.JayZii]

Pre-review?

In my day they were called Previews.

Previews don't get a lot of clicks. Reviews do.

 

[Holundrian]

You're making up history, same with everyone else that's claiming that FFXIII was being praised to high heavens in pre-release previews. It wasn't. Kotaku even put up that article when the Japanese version came out that sent off warning signals everywhere when it was discovered most of the early parts of the game were linear af.

Remember?

It's as if there's this denial at the fact that FFXV could, at the very least, be a good videogame.

Not sure about others but when I reference FFXIII for getting unwarranted widespread praise I definitely think about the reviews.

 

[Falcs]

Sheeeeet man! This wait is becoming unbearable!! I'm so glad I don't own a PS4 yet and I'm getting the Pro on pretty much day one. At least that'll help tie me over for the rest of November.
But until then....
hhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

Not sure about others but when I reference FFXIII for getting unwarranted widespread praise I definitely think about the reviews.

None of the major sites aside from Game Informer gave it more than an 8. EDGE gave it a 5/10, Giant Bomb gave it a 6/10 and Destructoid panned it, giving it a 4/10. Everything else ranged from 7-8/10. In no way was FFXIII universally praised. At least not among major review outlets.

 

[7DollarHagane]

Say no more. This is gonna be a great Christmas break game to binge on!

 

[Holundrian]

None of the major sites aside from Game Informer gave it more than an 8. EDGE gave it a 5/10, Giant Bomb gave it a 6/10 and Destructoid panned it, giving it a 4/10. Everything else ranged from 7-8/10. In no way was FFXIII universally praised. At least not among major review outlets.

It's and 80+ something on meta and that game just has insane issues that lots of parts of the press criticized on podcasts after the fact. Not sure man either somehow a majority of FF XIII lovers seemed to have reviewed the game for most outlets or people got caught up in the hype(cause reviewers are people too).

 

[ViciousDS]

None of the major sites aside from Game Informer gave it more than an 8. EDGE gave it a 5/10, Giant Bomb gave it a 6/10 and Destructoid panned it, giving it a 4/10. Everything else ranged from 7-8/10. In no way was FFXIII universally praised. At least not among major review outlets.

It got an 83 overall meta.....it was praised


Game informer, IGN, GameSpy, 1up, game trailers, GameSpot all ranked it 85 or higher
73 positive vs 9mixed and only 1 negative

 

[wmlk]

Bigger games back then definitely reviewed higher than they do now. The standards have changed.

 

[Ushay]

I'm still going to hold off on getting this, but it will be the first FF I have played since FF9. That's saying something.

Fingers crossed it gets the reviews it deserves.