Final Fantasy XV

I'm somewhat torn. It's visually appealing of course, and I'm glad to see some open world-esque elements to it, and maybe even some dungeon diving instances, but overall the entire theme, atmosphere, catch and sense of identity feel quite bland.

There's nothing to make this particularly distinct from the rest of the fray. Not to mention the whole shared mythos Nova Crystalis whatever puts a bad taste in my mouth considering my utter disdain for XIII and it's ilk; even if they're not directly related to one another.

On the flip side, I really appreciate the semi-futuristic war based storyline that appears to set the stage. It certainly appeals to my interests more than the cliche ragtag group of teenagers save the world from evil antagonist that somehow resolves everything if killed. Conflict is much more complicated than that.

So I'll approach this title with cautious optimism.

There is a connection, however, the whole thing is confusing because they're taking a set universe/mythos and reinterpreting it or something like that, so it's hard to tell where the similarities begin and end.

If someone would like to ELI5, it would be much appreciated.

The nice way to say "Being *** Lazy"

I can forgive recycling universes. After all FF Tactics, Vagrant Story and XII shared the world of Ivalice and I enjoyed all three games immensely.

Problem here is, it's a convoluted mess as to where the line in the sand is drawn so it's difficult to tell what significance plays between them if any at all. But if I see l'cie or other made up words used in XV as they were in XIII I'll be very upset.

Yes, because recurring themes and mythologies are a completely new concept in FF.

YOu know, I think there could be a hybrid combination between the two that can appeal to both preferences. Granted hybrids aren't perfect, but they usually play out well if done right. Kind of how Fallout 3 managed to marry RPG and FPS together. On their own, it would have been godawful, but together it was enjoyable; but not without their flaws.

And numerous other series.

Not a fan of the series.

Well, nevertheless I'm sure they can combine elements of each without making too many game breaking compromises. Perhaps like a slowed time for decisive action and multi-character combo abilities without having to get lost in the fray of real time combat or be stuck at a standstill with turn based combat.

Action RPGs can be great when done well. Xenoblade is a pretty noteworthy example. I've been liking the battle systems SE's been releasing within the Nova Crystalis games, but the rest of the game's elements (story, pacing, characterization) haven't really lived up to the potential of the battle mechanics.

Cautious optimism is probably the best I can muster but that's my outlook on most games nowadays. Guess I'm getting crotchety.

Curious, how did gameplay vary from XIII to XIII-2 and Lightning Returns? I didn't care for how straightforward and non-interactive the combat system was in XIII, and I sincerely hope either of the followers have at least some element of direct decision making and it's impacts.

XIII-2 was a time travel (pick where a location opens up) system that reused the old maps with a twist.

Mechanically, it seems vastly superior to XIII, but ultimately, it's going to be difficult to swallow since it's a continuation of a game I couldn't stomach to begin with. Jared nailed the hammer on the head for me.

you guys have to remember this game was originally done by the Kingdomhearts team, hence the style of gameplay.

I've been waiting for this game for 8+ years now, they announced this game shortly after the ps3 was released, I have friends who are married now, and friends who have kids now, we still want to play this game.

Kingdomhearts gameplay in a realworld setting with a finalfantasy feel? what's not to love?

keep in mind the graphics aren't going to be mind blowing, as this was originally a ps3 game, if anything it will probably look a little like destiny, good but could definitely be better for a "next gen" game, going to have to wait for FF16 or KH3.

p.s - you guys sound so salty lol.

Might explain why Yoko Shimomura is composing for this title. Should be interesting.

salty as ***

I haven't played a top-class JRPG since PS2 era.

Admittingly salty.
The succession of XIII, it's sequels, and the initial failure of XIV left me bitter and disillusioned.

13-2's was very similar to the first but added more customization through the use of a monster as a party member you could capture and "train" to fill a specific role.

LR was kind of a mix of the paradigm shift system and dress spheres from X-2. It relied heavily on precision timing, strategic use of each of the jobs, and exploitation of monster weaknesses. Combat was also much more real-time-oriented than its predecessors.

Just cause it's part of Fabula Nova Crystallis it doesn't mean it'll be like XIII at all. Type-0 is part of FNC and it's amazing.

Also, get over it turn based makes no sense for top gen consoles. Still plenty of that for handled and mobiles.

Mobile games can go *** themselves. That ***is 90% cancer, and anything quality is usually a port.

there's plenty of good mobile games, they just aren't meant for sitting on your couch and playing for hours.

I'd play them if they were released outside of Japan.

I don't really understand the general concept of this whole Fabula Nova Crystallis thing. What is the general structure that ties together all these things?

Folklore.

ie: Fal'cie, L'cie, etc?

I dunno, what bugs the ***out of me from recent games has been just the utter lack of a story or connection to the game at all. They'll make it so you can dump countless hours into pointless side quests or collection items (which I just can't give a *** about either) and then tack on this like unfinished plot where half the characters are totally useless story wise. Seriously... just *** Vaan and to a lesser degree Hope. When an entire game can still happen and you wouldn't even notice a "main" character was written out halfway, they probably just shouldn't be there.

1 through 10 just all progressed the story telling each game. They all had their muddy plot points and "how the *** did I end up on the moon?" moments, but you connected to the characters, you wanted to know what happened next, side quests or random towns folk would give you little tid bits of story that just added more to the whole package. Tactics had so much depth and back story it was crazy, you enjoyed doing the side quests or reading the extra rumors at the pub.

This bag of random mini-games that has a "story mode" just irks me, I don't care how pretty it looks.

Yes, they're a major plot point in both 13 and T0.

2 seconds on google:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabula_Nova_Crystallis_Final_Fantasy#Common_elements

Well that's legitimately disappointing. I lost significant interest in XV now :/