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FFXV's future updates adjust chapters, add cutscenes, add playable characters, more

Bebpo

Banned
You're not wrong, and I don't disagree with you at all. But if you take what you wrote and sub "FFXV" with "Xenoblade Chronicles" your post would still make sense (well, except for the story part). Yet how come I hate the former and consider the latter one of the best JRPG's of all time?

So something else is off here that I just can't put my finger on yet. I've been refraining from making a mega post about the topic until I figure it out.

If you're talking about the first Xenoblade, it has a really good jrpg story with tons of plot + great characters both protag & antag along a very linear area by area progression just with big maps and tons of quests (many useless sure). It's basically FFXII.

Now Xenoblade X....has almost no story with an open world and forgettable nothing characters plus the lots of useless quests and generally feels like a gameplay/engine test for part 2 which Takahashi has kinda admitted it was..

I don't think it does,

Then again, back when KH2 released people made fun of me for liking the story and ignoring all the "plot holes" in the game.

So maybe I just have bad taste. But even with my bad taste, I still despised XIII's narrative. Both in terms of how they presented the story and with the core of the story itself.

KH2 has a bad story but it's presented and told just fine. It's just a lame story and lame ending for the series at the time. BBS was way better.
 
I'm really looking forward to this. FFXV is one of my most anticipated PC games and I hope I'll have a good time when it comes out. If future patches can remedy any of the problems in the next year, all the better.


I believe in improving games post launch and I don't see the value in being cynical about it.
 
So as someone who doesn't want to read through 40 pages, can someone answer my questions real quick?

I'm only on chapter 3, should I just stop playing and wait for the story updates?

Are they only fixing chapter 13?

Is there a date for this?

Thanks.
 
So as someone who doesn't want to read through 40 pages, can someone answer my questions real quick?

I'm only on chapter 3, should I just stop playing and wait for the story updates?

Are they only fixing chapter 13?

Is there a date for this?

Thanks.

IMO:

No, the story is good if somewhat short. The road tripping events with your friends are a larger % that I would have expected, but it all comes together really well in the end to my mind. And the story events themselves are really good.

They have said they are going to work on 13, but frankly the initial proposal on what they might do wouldn't make it any better in my mind. It's a damned tedious chapter, but it's only a couple hours and the good news is you expect it. Most of the hate comes from people like me who weren't expecting that god awful chapter to be what it was. With all the hate you've heard about it, you're likely to actually be somewhat pleasantly surprised. It's just boring, straight up. Be ready for it and get through it, the payoffs before the end are good.

No, and I doubt it's any time soon.
 
IMO:

No, the story is good if somewhat short. The road tripping events with your friends are a larger % that I would have expected, but it all comes together really well in the end to my mind. And the story events themselves are really good.

They have said they are going to work on 13, but frankly the initial proposal on what they might do wouldn't make it any better in my mind. It's a damned tedious chapter, but it's only a couple hours and the good news is you expect it. Most of the hate comes from people like me who weren't expecting that god awful chapter to be what it was. With all the hate you've heard about it, you're likely to actually be somewhat pleasantly surprised. It's just boring, straight up. Be ready for it and get through it, the payoffs before the end are good.

No, and I doubt it's any time soon.

Without any spoilers why do you think ch 13 is bad?
the combat in this game is fantastic!
 

Mythos

Member
So as someone who doesn't want to read through 40 pages, can someone answer my questions real quick?

I'm only on chapter 3, should I just stop playing and wait for the story updates?

Are they only fixing chapter 13?

Is there a date for this?

Thanks.

Chapter 13 is not gonna change that much, and some even liked it (me for example^^). And for the story, there are just many things missing, and it would take them a long time (half year or longer maybe?) to make the second half understandable/interesting (from story point), so i would just play it through and if you have a game guide, you can get many informations from there, or just look afterwards on the internet.
 

Mailbox

Member
Without any spoilers why do you think ch 13 is bad?
the combat in this game is fantastic!

It's too long for what it's trying to do, and there are some mechanic and design faux pas in it.

There's also on scene that either is not explained well enough or makes you go "ok so that's got to be explain via dlc, then", which is kinda frustrating.
 

Finalow

Member
the main issue with chapter 13 is its length. they wanted to make something different, something which embodied Noctis' struggle during that time, and that's fine and all, except they made it way too long and boring. it's as if they didn't test it at all and now they realize it needs a fix.

So is this game actually finished or what.
it is but it's clear that it needed more development time, and I guess now they're trying to add things the game was missing. e.g. cutscenes explaining what the fuck happened to X character, or explaining / giving some context to many of the things the game doesn't bother to handle at all. another example is the character development, they focused everything they had on the main characters (Noctis + his party) and the main villain (to a lesser extent) while forgetting that other characters besides those 5 existed. it is understandable if they didn't have enough time, but still jarring.

it feels like they rushed everything except for the ending, which was surprisingly really good. and the dungeons, those are great too.
 
I don't think it does,

Then again, back when KH2 released people made fun of me for liking the story and ignoring all the "plot holes" in the game.

So maybe I just have bad taste. But even with my bad taste, I still despised XIII's narrative. Both in terms of how they presented the story and with the core of the story itself.

I'm right there with you buddy. I loved KH2's story and FFXV's mess called a story. What kept me invested are the characters, I loved watching Sora, Donald and Goofy and their antics, same for Noctis and his buddies. So even if the actual plot is kinda lame or nonsensical, seeing how the characters react and overcome the struggles are what I love about them. Also they both are the cliched Light vs Dark story lines.

FFXIII has cool concepts and themes like challenging fate and such, but the characters motivations just irked me. There was character development if I remember correctly, but it couldn't help the linger taste of disapointment with how it was all presented. I remember beating it and kinda liking Lightning and Hope, but it was such a fleeting feeling that FFXIII will always have a negative connotations in my mind. At least I had fun with the late game hunts!
 
Chapter 13 is not gonna change that much, and some even liked it (me for example^^). And for the story, there are just many things missing, and it would take them a long time (half year or longer maybe?) to make the second half understandable/interesting (from story point), so i would just play it through and if you have a game guide, you can get many informations from there, or just look afterwards on the internet.

Just want to say that I really like your avatar. ;)
 

Neiteio

Member
How is it possible to have a worse narrative than FFXIII
FFXV's story is fine. I'm enjoying the game's characters and world more than FF7, which I'm also playing for the first time (currently stuck on Bizarro Sephiroth).

FFXV's ending, in particular, is bloody fantastic. Haven't been this shook by a story's ending since TLOU and 999, and before that, the films Pan's Labyrinth and Titanic.

It's just that marketing led us to think that a number of characters would have significant screen time, when it turns out that they're bit players in the grand scheme of things. Also, the second half of the game is a whirlwind tour of several places. It'd be cool to learn more about these people and places, something the new additions and DLC episodes might deliver in the future.

There's also this (mis)conception out there that FFXV is a truncated trilogy, based on the idea that Versus was meant to be a trilogy. But I suspect the reality is that XV has nothing meaningful to do with Versus outside of some shared aesthetics (i.e. character designs, environments). At some point, they reset and came up with something new.
 

Foffy

Banned
How is it possible to have a worse narrative than FFXIII

If you consider the lack of story to be "worse" then it is really no surprise that XV has a far worse narrative than XIII.

XV may also have the lightest plot of any mainline 3D Final Fantasy game, at least prior to the end of the game. It feels more like the original NES game in that your goal is so loosely defined for such a long period of time.
 
It's an early access game.

Nothing edgy about stating then truth ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

image.php


I mean the Xbox 360 got the early access version of Tales of Vesperia right?
 

Neiteio

Member
I don't really get it. It's a big long SP game - is there any real reason to make such big changes now?
To provide clarity on certain characters and story beats, and to enhance replayability. The core game is great; these additions will make a second play-through even greater.
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
I'm right there with you buddy. I loved KH2's story and FFXV's mess called a story. What kept me invested are the characters, I loved watching Sora, Donald and Goofy and their antics, same for Noctis and his buddies. So even if the actual plot is kinda lame or nonsensical, seeing how the characters react and overcome the struggles are what I love about them. Also they both are the cliched Light vs Dark story lines.

The difference KH2 and FF15 is important.

KH is a goofy series about a spiky haired teen who wears big shoes, interacts with disney characters and swings a giant key around.

Nobody expects it to have anything more than a dumb schlock filled story that is fun.

But FF15 is sold on being a dramatic tale that rivals other open world games in how serious it is told and how nuanced it is developed through the characters. And so the narrative failing generally is much more severe as a critique.
 
Without any spoilers why do you think ch 13 is bad?
the combat in this game is fantastic!

Just my opinion, of course not everyone agrees:

It's somewhat similar to walking down the same corridor for 2-3hrs in row while hearing the exact same message played every 5 minutes. It isn't fun, you don't feel in any danger whatsoever, you aren't looking forward to the payoff after a while even - you just want it to be over.
 

Hastati

Member
I'm about 20 hours in at chapter 10. I love the game, definitely recognize a lot of its flaws, and it's sounding like this is a good place to stop and just mess around in the world or do side quests and come back to the game when it's been edited. Treat the first part as a season one or something. But does this mean they will also make major changes to the beginning or is mostly towards the end?
 

Edzi

Member
I don't think it does,

Then again, back when KH2 released people made fun of me for liking the story and ignoring all the "plot holes" in the game.

So maybe I just have bad taste. But even with my bad taste, I still despised XIII's narrative. Both in terms of how they presented the story and with the core of the story itself.

For all the hate this game is getting, this is really all I care about. The story seems better than XIII at it's core so far and most people who have finished the game seem to agree. I don't think I'll personally dislike this game the way I didn't like XIII (or even MGSV, which is another game this is getting compared to a lot) so I should be okay. Definitely surprised at how much some people hate this game though, just goes to show how different FF fan priorities can be.
 

Socivol

Member
It will be nice for them to add additional cutscenes I really do hope they flesh out the Nilfs more even in the first half of the game.
 

JeffZero

Purple Drazi
Despite the rollercoaster of FFXV news these past 18 or so hours, I'm still coming off of the high that Tabata actually intends to patch in more cutscenes. It's what the game needs most.

...OK, it needs a hard mode, too.
 
The story of this game is presented more or less across the 5 hours it takes get through the latter chapters. It's a series of bullet points and a fuck ton of very significant events happening off screen. It's like FF XIII on crack. Once you hit chapter
9
its barely the same game anymore and you aren't even rewarded with a great plot for losing a lot of the freedom you once had.
 

Mailbox

Member
Despite the rollercoaster of FFXV news these past 18 or so hours, I'm still coming off of the high that Tabata actually intends to patch in more cutscenes. It's what the game needs most.

...OK, it needs a hard mode, too.

I plan on replaying the whole game soon, but a hard mode would make me replay immediately.
 
But FF15 is sold on being a dramatic tale that rivals other open world games in how serious it is told and how nuanced it is developed through the characters. And so the narrative failing generally is much more severe as a critique.

I mean what other open world games are told seriously? I can't think of many. GTA is a parody of American culture. To me, the characters developed in FFXV rather well for a JRPG. Noctis is this lackadaisical prince who has to man up and face his fate as a king. Prompto is kinda shafted with his reveal though. Gladiouls, while a bit one dimensional added dramatic tension to the group while helping Noct grow and earn his respect. Prompto, who basically had to feed and take care of the group becomes a liability yet still continues to fight on.

That's the thing, I don't think the narrative failed because by the end of the journey I cared. By the end of the game I looked back, if a bit confused, and loved it.

It was the execution that failed. Lacking details, important events happening off screen or in the background that hurt it. So if anything failed, it's how it was all presented. It's the same problem I had with FFXIII. Only FFXV payed off when the credits rolled.
 

MegamanNG

Neo Member
Are you fucking serious

Stop playing right now people

Do not get up to that chapter until the patch hits

I repeat

DO NOT PLAY THE WORST CHAPTER IN FF HISTORY UNTIL IT'S FIXED

1) I'm in Chapter 5. Once I reach Chapter 6, I'll be grinding and completing quests.
2) When do you think we'll get the update?
 

Vamphuntr

Member
I guess they are feeling the heat a bit. The game wasn't certainly as polished and complete as a FF game required. I mean they were still patching scenes/CG in the day before the game officially came out. The create a character stuff is bizarre and seems like desperation to cater to a western audience. At least they are supporting it for a long time and listening to people.
 

Neiteio

Member
Wtf do they mean by "avatar system"?


Edit: do they literally mean like a character creation? Why?!?
Yeah, this is the one addition that seems like a complete waste of time and resources. I have no desire to create a character in this game. I just want to spend more time with the great characters that already exist.
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Avatar system will just be hairstyles and costumes probably
 
So I don't get why people are complaining. They are adding new game plus, god mode, some type of low level run mode, limited time boss fights, extra bosses, new player characters, likely new areas, new spells, weapons etc.

My point is they are making the game perfect for multiple playthroughs, speed runs, challenge runs etc. This is ever Final fantasy lovers wet dream. So what if you've already beaten it. If you liked it, you'll likely want to play it again with all these incredible additions. If you didn't like, it seriously doubt a few new cut scenes are going to change your opinion of the story. Long term, free game changing updates? how in the hell is this bad?
The game as it currently stands is ass. A game that was in development for as long as this was shouldn't have been released as a full-priced early access title.
 
The game as it currently stands is ass. A game that was in development for as long as this was shouldn't have been released as a full-priced early access title.

Every time I hear someone describe this game as "early access", I know that person has never played an early access title in their life.
 
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