Final Fantasy XVI - Release 22nd June 2023

Godzilla wrote:For me it feels like a 15 hours action game like DMC 5 is, but packed with additional filler. The filler, on reflection very flat. An example is....

Side quest...
Go talk to man
Fast travel or talk a few minutes to target
Talk to man
Go talk to another man
Fast travel or walk to target
Go and tell original man
Fast travel or walk to man
Get some xp and renown points

Also there are no story/side quest options.... In an RPG, no sneak in or attack from the front, no spare the traitor or kill them, no tell or the truth or maintain the lie. Just go with what the game wants.

Yoshi-P's MMO credentials shining through, then.

Knoyleo wrote:
Godzilla wrote:For me it feels like a 15 hours action game like DMC 5 is, but packed with additional filler. The filler, on reflection very flat. An example is....

Side quest...
Go talk to man
Fast travel or talk a few minutes to target
Talk to man
Go talk to another man
Fast travel or walk to target
Go and tell original man
Fast travel or walk to man
Get some xp and renown points

Also there are no story/side quest options.... In an RPG, no sneak in or attack from the front, no spare the traitor or kill them, no tell or the truth or maintain the lie. Just go with what the game wants.

Yoshi-P's MMO credentials shining through, then.

I'm still very early on in the game (Clive has just discovered it was HIM who killed Joshua [Who I don't believe is actually dead]) and the feeling of this being a very streamlined FFXIV with much nicer graphics and an action combat engine is actually pretty hard to shake at times. :lol:

This game seems to get great reviews, but some very strong criticism of fairly major gameplay mechanics.

Is it good or not? I liked GoT (the TV series) enough, didn't care for DMC (but did like Bayonetta), like a well told story (big Yakuza fan so long cut scenes do not scare me), but do not like a game where the skill required to progress is so low that you don't feel your input is consequential (many Sony titles on default difficulty).

Loved VI, VII, IX, X and XII. Never played any after that. Would not miss the turn based nature.

Does it sound like a game for me?

Cheeky Devlin wrote:
Knoyleo wrote:
Godzilla wrote:For me it feels like a 15 hours action game like DMC 5 is, but packed with additional filler. The filler, on reflection very flat. An example is....

Side quest...
Go talk to man
Fast travel or talk a few minutes to target
Talk to man
Go talk to another man
Fast travel or walk to target
Go and tell original man
Fast travel or walk to man
Get some xp and renown points

Also there are no story/side quest options.... In an RPG, no sneak in or attack from the front, no spare the traitor or kill them, no tell or the truth or maintain the lie. Just go with what the game wants.

Yoshi-P's MMO credentials shining through, then.

I'm still very early on in the game (Clive has just discovered it was HIM who killed Joshua [Who I don't believe is actually dead]) and the feeling of this being a very streamlined FFXIV with much nicer graphics and an action combat engine is actually pretty hard to shake at times.

That’s basically exactly what the game is.

New area -> spend time doing little errands to get to know the locals and history -> events escalate to dungeon -> mid-boss halfway through -> epic final encounter with some AoE avoidance gimmicks -> plot development -> back to home base to find out what’s next-> repeat

I’ve just wrapped up the first act (judging by the “pivotal story moment” warning and the PS5 OS telling me I’m just over a third of the way through). I know there have been complaints about the big bad (assuming Ultima is who they mean) being a bit of an ass-pull, but from my perspective it all aligns well, both with the series norms and the fact that there was clearly no core threat at that stage. The warring kingdoms were obviously not going to be the real scope of the tale in this story about elemental gods beating the gooseberry fool out of each other.

I did find the music choice during the climactic fight a bit bizarre. Sucked the life out of it a bit, which stands out because to that point it had been so good.

Last edited by jiggles on Tue Jun 27, 2023 10:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:This game seems to get great reviews, but some very strong criticism of fairly major gameplay mechanics.

Is it good or not? I liked GoT (the TV series) enough, didn't care for DMC (but did like Bayonetta), like a well told story (big Yakuza fan so long cut scenes do not scare me), but do not like a game where the skill required to progress is so low that you don't feel your input is consequential (many Sony titles on default difficulty).

Loved VI, VII, IX, X and XII. Never played any after that. Would not miss the turn based nature.

Does it sound like a game for me?

Play the demo and find out.

If you liked XII you’ll like a lot of what this one is doing with setting and cast.

The combat is excellent in this but it’s not exactly challenging on the first playthrough. You will die a few times due to potion shortage but never to regular enemies, only bosses.

Cheeky Devlin wrote:I'm still very early on in the game (Clive has just discovered it was HIM who killed Joshua [Who I don't believe is actually dead]) and the feeling of this being a very streamlined FFXIV with much nicer graphics and an action combat engine is actually pretty hard to shake at times.

This appeals to me :shifty:

Drej wrote:it's just Final Fantasy with some nudity.

how is that different from normal?

jiggles wrote:
kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:This game seems to get great reviews, but some very strong criticism of fairly major gameplay mechanics.

Is it good or not? I liked GoT (the TV series) enough, didn't care for DMC (but did like Bayonetta), like a well told story (big Yakuza fan so long cut scenes do not scare me), but do not like a game where the skill required to progress is so low that you don't feel your input is consequential (many Sony titles on default difficulty).

Loved VI, VII, IX, X and XII. Never played any after that. Would not miss the turn based nature.

Does it sound like a game for me?

Play the demo and find out.

If you liked XII you’ll like a lot of what this one is doing with setting and cast.

The combat is excellent in this but it’s not exactly challenging on the first playthrough. You will die a few times due to potion shortage but never to regular enemies, only bosses.

Thanks. Several outlets have suggested that the demo is not very representative of the combat later on (too simple in the early game) which is part of the reason why I asked.

By the time I have finished Zelda this will probably have dropped in price a bit. I might swoop in then when I am prepared to take a risk.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:
jiggles wrote:
kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:This game seems to get great reviews, but some very strong criticism of fairly major gameplay mechanics.

Is it good or not? I liked GoT (the TV series) enough, didn't care for DMC (but did like Bayonetta), like a well told story (big Yakuza fan so long cut scenes do not scare me), but do not like a game where the skill required to progress is so low that you don't feel your input is consequential (many Sony titles on default difficulty).

Loved VI, VII, IX, X and XII. Never played any after that. Would not miss the turn based nature.

Does it sound like a game for me?

Play the demo and find out.

If you liked XII you’ll like a lot of what this one is doing with setting and cast.

The combat is excellent in this but it’s not exactly challenging on the first playthrough. You will die a few times due to potion shortage but never to regular enemies, only bosses.

Thanks. Several outlets have suggested that the demo is not very representative of the combat later on (too simple in the early game) which is part of the reason why I asked.

By the time I have finished Zelda this will probably have dropped in price a bit. I might swoop in then when I am prepared to take a risk.

When you beat the story part of the demo there’s a second mode that gives you a taste of the later game combat.

jiggles wrote:If you liked XII you’ll like a lot of what this one is doing with setting and cast.

That is the opposite of an endorsement

Have I woken up in some alternate universe where the 12 cast was bad?

Really enjoying this. Although the sidequests are a bit rubbish I would advise not ignoring them, there's at least one key one which unlocks a new mode of travel :lol:

jiggles wrote:Have I woken up in some alternate universe where the 12 cast was bad?

no it's the same universe you've just found out that they've always been bad

Godzilla wrote:Also there are no story/side quest options.... In an RPG, no sneak in or attack from the front, no spare the traitor or kill them, no tell or the truth or maintain the lie. Just go with what the game wants.

That's what I'd expect from a JRPG, player choice is more from the western RPG school of thought.

Godzilla wrote:The side quests and side stuff does feel pointless in a post Elden Ring, TOTK world. I'd like to fight a random unique enemy and get a random reward that changes how I play. But instead it's just the same old bits of crafting stuff.

The latest Steph Sterling video is all about FF16 and it's miserables world. As always worth a watch.

For me it feels like a 15 hours action game like DMC 5 is, but packed with additional filler. The filler, on reflection very flat. An example is....

Side quest...
Go talk to man
Fast travel or talk a few minutes to target
Talk to man
Go talk to another man
Fast travel or walk to target
Go and tell original man
Fast travel or walk to man
Get some xp and renown points

Also there are no story/side quest options.... In an RPG, no sneak in or attack from the front, no spare the traitor or kill them, no tell or the truth or maintain the lie. Just go with what the game wants.

If they had made FF16 x DMC and had a breezy 15 hour campaign, no filler and only side stuff is combat challenges, the game would have been perfect.

Yes that is my sentiment exactly… I can get over the linearity of it all and the fact that essentially it is not an open world game. But its the depth of the side quests and lack of decision making or stumbling upon an end game weapon while taking a detour that is a real turn off

Finally got some time with the full game. My views haven’t changed, the game is amazing. I love the combat and the story seems to be going places. Definitely the best mainline single player game since XII.

That boss battle with Titan is mental.

Finally caved and bought a PS5. Got through the tutorial so I can get properly started on it after work tomorrow and just go nuts for the weekend.

sawyerpip wrote:That boss battle with Titan is mental.

Yep, it's absolutely fantastic. The next one is also awesome and equally over the top.

I was sure I was getting quite far through the game and then the game just throws a curve ball (after you get your third Eikon power).

The combat is also getting better and better as the game goes. Although it's still slightly too easy.

The RPG elements have also seemed pointless this far (gear etc) but here's hoping that changes as the game seems to have opened up a little in that regard.

Final Fantasy XVI - Release 22nd June 2023

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