Gaming Final Fantasy Saga (FF7 Rebirth Spoilers TAGGED)

Can't edit to add:

There's all these features in it - change outfit, gear, stat boost foods - which has worked well in the Yakuza series. But it feels like FF15 includes them half-heartedly, a 'well, other games are doing this so I better too' but it hasn't understood why and how it works in those other games, so it feels hollow.

 

Maybe it's because four bros on a road trip through the desert bonding over monster hunts and terrible jokes sounds like a game made specifically for me, but I'm enjoying the hell out of FFXV. I had some issues with the warping/lock-on stuff in the beginning, but I quickly got the hang of it and now I have no issues warp striking the opponent I want, and jetting to a warp point above the battlefield to recoup some magic and health and get my bearings. The trick for me was to learn to hold down Y/Triangle and not just tap it, because who knows where the hell Noctis is going if you just tap it. The combat system, specifically holding down the attack button to chain together combos, reminds me a lot of Dragon Age: Inquisition, a game I loved. I set my combat time to wait instead of active, so that when I encounter an enemy I'm able to scan it for weaknesses and equip my weapon accordingly (four weapon/magic slots, each assigned to a direction on the d-pad), then just go to town on it while mixing in some defensive maneuvers for good measure (admittedly, my average grade in the finesse department is a solid D). It isn't perfect, sometimes the camera can get a little janky, but it works fine and I haven't had any major issues so far.

I feel like this game takes ingredients from different games I love and just pours them all into one delicious, mellow pot. The big open world and side quests with level suggestions found in games like The Witcher 3, combat from Dragon Age, cashing in experience earned on rest from Dark Souls/Bloodborne, dungeons from Zelda, dangerous "oh **** the sun is setting we gotta get back to town" nighttime from Dying Light, brotherly antics from Gears of War, and the high production values that the Final Fantasy series is known for. The game had its hooks in me from the moment the camera panned in on a sleek black car speeding down the desert highway, and slid over to a broken down car on the side of the road with the main character sitting next to it, exhausted from pushing. Something about the atmosphere and overall tone of it is exactly the kind of thing I want in a game, and so rarely get. It's a Japanese psychedelic game that you can play with stoner rock music while you're cruising down the blacktop with your buddy turned around leaning over the passenger seat shootin' the **** with the big man. Pull over, pick up some rare red frogs for that scientist girl back in town, warp strike that monster you're looking for to collect the hefty bounty on its head, then buy some bait at the shack next to the lake nearby and cast out a line and catch a few fish on your way back to the rest stop. It's literally impossible for me to dislike this game, because it's so damn great.

 

For me it just doesn't select or lock-on to the warp-point, I'll move the camera, identify the point I want, hold R1 and then triangle - nothing.

Warp-strikes to a locked on target works fine - and is quite a cool mechanism - so I'm not seeing where the problem or what I'm not doing.

It's a major part of the combat system and it's complete murder to actually work out.

 

At least in FF13 you could use Vanille's Death trick on the adamantoise to wipe it out in an instant.

 

Finally! Got Warp-points sorted, still not quite sure what I was confusing for it not to work but managed to really pass the tutorial and then had a very satisfying combat run for a sidequest.

Have reached Galdin Quay and the game looks significantly better than before, with some quite nicely subtle light effects.

Of course, it might have decided to throw away all this positive progress by inflicting a fishing mini-game on me, oh well, maybe there's a way to avoid that....

 

Galdin Quay at night...

The fishing minigame is no Stardew Valley, but it's serviceable enough. I can envision myself spending entire in-game days on the peer at Galdin Quay casting out lines and camping nearby when the sun goes down, rinsing and repeating until I've got enough Trevallies to feed Noctis and co. for weeks. Because fishing is awesome.

 

Since Zelda: Twilight Princess I've avoided fishing mini-"games", making that mandatory was crap.

 

Still getting the hang of the combat system - sometimes it's awesome, sometimes not, but when it's on form it can be quite something. Still not really got a sense of strategy to it all yet but that might turn up.

The one weakness that remains is it can be hard to tell what's going on, so as to evade attacks.

Warp-striking a flying enemy to bring it down to earth was brilliant, so I told Ignis to cook the bugger that night.

The "practice run" with Gladi was pretty crappy though nowhere near as bad as the abysmal Search and Rescue quest. Didn;t get on too well with the 'get garnet stone' quest part, as you're clearly supposed to go back the way you came, right past the big, massive ****ing bird. Come on guys, it's an open world, once past that massive bugger no one in their right mind would go back that way! Still, at least they didn't change the gameplay to give you a super-fight without warning.

The weird mix of fantasy influences, both traditional and urban, do make for a very unique looking world. Plus, driving along with Final Fantasy Prelude on the soundtrack is pretty damn cool.

Also, looks like the game could change a bit:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/...-introduce-new-cutscenes-and-gameplay-changes

Is this a bad thing? Given how CDPR kept looking at Witcher 3 and kept concluding they could improve it, I don't think so. The changes in menu design for that game were excellent. Plus, like those updates the FF15 ones will be free.

 

I'd say the major problem is Witcher 3 didn't really have mid-story alterations. There the patches felt like a continued commitment towards the game. Here they kind of feel like a warning that I should hold off until they're done tweaking the plot.

 

Yeah, the talk of new cut scenes inclines me to do the same.

That said, there's easily enough for me to do without moving forward.

 

So FF15 dungens are scary as ****, in that respect they're brilliant...

But fighting in them? Bad. You can see bugger all and the camera's not your friend - it's OK with the goblins, but in that spider boss fight? Very irritating. Barely got through it, it certainly wasn't fun by any definition - cramped environment, in the dark, with a dark enemy and a ****ed camera.

The fights with the Imperials were a bit better, though I'm finding it hard to read the level indicators, not that it mattered much on those enemies except for the armour robots. The other irritant is, as far as I can tell, the minimap doesn't show enemies. Pretty basic, pretty standard and would certainly help but nope.

In narrative terms, it was pretty good, does encourage me to see Kingsglaivereally. What else? Oh yeah, tried 'serious training' and found Gladi has a one-hit kill move. Cheap ****. Still find the whole dodge prompt to be very hit-and-miss, when it works - great, when it decides not to register, not so great.

Should mention there were quite a few better combat sequences. Found daggers take down the horse enemies very quickly. Even took out a couple of Dualhorns, which I didn't expect to do. Also found a ton of treasures and neat locations, like this secluded pool in a ring of rocks, looked lovely.

Done a couple of hunts, plus a couple of food missions for Takka.

There is still an awful lot to like about the game.

 

Ok, this was a very worthwhile little run:

The weird - definitely no red dots for enemies on my minimap. I don't know, maybe they added for the Pro version? However...

Wait mode - Very clever indeed. It's not a return to the FFX-style, but it does slow down the chaos and camera auto-orients to enemies - it gives you quite a bit of help. (Also negates the minimap being weird.) Especially once I learn how to read the symbols quickly denoting strengths and weaknesses.

Ignis' Regroup technique - ****ing awesome. Due to this managed to survive tangling with a Level 38 Bandersnatch. Then, to my surprise, took on and won against a Level 12 and 23 Dualhorn, in part due to using this and magic.

Magic is very different to previous FF games, not least due to the friendly fire / environmental damage aspect, which is also, when you think about it, very cool.

Taking on groups of Imperials is both fun and yields good XP.

Finally, the theme for taking on a poweful / boss enemy is great. It probably isn't getting the credit it should have because it's been used on every promo vid going, but it is very fitting for those moments.

p.s. Found that feeding the gang their favourite foods yields bonuses, as I now have a well-stocked mobile larder.

p.p.s this gang is definitely growing on me.

 

Enemies show up as red dots on my mini-map. I'm playing on the Xbox One version, so I'm not sure if it's a PS4 thing or your game's just got a glitch or what. But it definitely helps me locate enemies on the battlefield, because the camera in this game is trash.

I play on Wait Mode as well. I like the time it affords me to scan the enemies and figure out how to kill them as quickly as possible. Ignis's Regroup technique has saved my ass a few times, and I'd also recommend spending AP on Gladio's Impulse technique, as I've heard it can be a beast if you break the limit on it (I've yet to save up the requisite 999 AP for it). This video's a nice taste of what it can do.

I'm nearing 40 hours in and still on chapter 8. I'm trying my damnedest to hold off on advancing to chapter 13 since apparently a lot of people hate it and Square is patching in improvements, but they still haven't announced a date for it. Patching in story content and cutscenes, man... that stuff needs to be finished before the game releases. Tons of people have already finished the game, so in order to see improved story content and better understand certain characters' motivations, they're gonna have to play through the entire thing again? Pretty ridiculous. But I do like that they're patching in additional modes later on, like God mode (stoked) and co-op.

I finally was able to upgrade the Regalia's headlights through Cindy's questline, and it's a game changer. Being able to drive at night without worrying about daemons halting my progress is gonna be great for lengthy EXP runs.

 

It's dead weird. A mate elsewhere posted me a coule of screnshots that showed 'em.

Current theories are:

• Playing on a 32" screen which doesn't want to show 'em.
• I was trying it out in the desert section at the start and the red shades are similar enough that it might be blending in!

Doesn't matter too much now as Wait mode negates it.

 

Just rented XV from Redbox with a free voucher. I never got my hands on the primary demo that came with Type-0, so this is the next best thing.

 

Just a follow-up. I came across the news that you can actually add a female character to your XV party. That's interesting.

 

Been exploring in FF15, did a very cautious trip to the mines, laid the smackdown on loads of Imperials - the frequency that the game sometimes throws those in combined with the fact they scale to your level can be tricky.

Ignis' Regroiup technique came in handy, as did dropping a Thundara tri-cast on them - except the first couple of times I forgot about the environmental effect, as that's wholly new to this FF.

Also, just driving around with an FF soundtrack on is always kind of cool no matter what.

 

Yeah, when I rented the game over the weekend, I was surprised at the car's soundtrack. I had it playing mostly tunes from VII, my favorite game.

 

Haven't got around to expanding the car music, really ought to.

 

Bahamut Zero is the best summon of any Final Fantasy game. I finished Chapter 5 of Type-0, where you gain control of the Eidolon against Shinryu Celestetia's dragon. Initially I missed the tip by the Moogle about having to charge up to release Tera Flare (otherwise it's a never-ending fight); but when I did, damn!

 

Not reading any post in case of spoilers. In only on ch 3 and 62 hrs of playtime in. Love this game. Loved the movie to. I watched it before hitting play like it was meant for. My only complaint is the magic in this one. I hate it... so much! I hope this system is never used again. It's to complicated and it's not even worth taking up a weapon slot imo. I personally liked the magic system in FF8. Warping is balling.

 

First, if you don't have nor plan to acquire FF15, there is no reason for you to watch this as, on its own, it's utterly inconclusive, poses many questions without answers and you're poointed towards the game. Equally, if you have the game, I'd say it's esential if you want a better sense of what's going on.

In technical terms you've never seen CGI look quite so convincing. When combined with a very smart visual aesthetic, there are times it looks uncannily real while clearly being a different world. It also takes full advantage of the CGI aspect to do some quite insane battle sequences that couldn't be done any other way.

In character terms it's less successful as it doesn't make the various members of the Kingsglaive, save Nyx, that distinctive

Spoiler

so towards the end you find yourself going so That-guy was a traitor, so was Whatsisname, as is Thingy.

All in all it's certainly better than its predecessors - both Spirits Within and Advent Children were a mess. There's definitely worse ways to spend a couple of hours.

 

All you really need to see in Kingsglaive is the first five minutes that explain what happened to Ravus as a child. The rest is pretty terrible.

 

If you've got a nice chunk of time on your hands, the Oral History of FF7 that Polygon posted yesterday is well worth a read. Thrill as they discuss the decision to move to Square! Gasp as they reminisce about ever thinking it wouldn't crack a million units outside of Japan! Scratch your head in befuddlement as Square temporarily signs a deal with EA!

Also, depending on your age, it can be an effective way to make yourself feel old.

"Well yeah everyone remembers th... oh god. Oh god. NO THEY DON'T."

 

I lived through it; the "History of FF7". Certainly don't need to read it to feel old. Of course I'm psyched about the remake.

I was the guy on the far right (skip to about 1.40).