Final Fantasy XV - General News Thread

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Feb 19, 2018
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I've had this conversation with friends alot since we all beat VIIR and I feel like VIIR and XV do alot of things better than eachother, but I don't think either completely trumps the other in terms of gameplay. As for what XV could steal from VIIR, having to actually go in to get ATB when you have none but need a potion was really exhilarating and exactly what I feel XV could use. I think VIIR's more grounded combat adds to the difficulty in a way that zipping around in XV can't, buuuut that probably would make that feeling of desperation when you need to build ATB for a heal more erratic and fun. Having to phase correctly would also become alot more important in those situations. I don't think you can just directly rip the ATB system from VIIR and paste it over XV, but maybe retooling MP to be a much more limited resource and tacking it onto item usage (along with maybe an item cooldown?) could encourage alot more aggressive play if you make combos build MP back. Towers would also have to stop giving you a ton of MP as well though, which might go against the game's core "zip-in, zip-out" mentality.
The tech bar could easily be retooled to require Noct to choose between healing or letting Gladio go apeshit on a crowd of enemies. The game already pretty much had an ATB-like system for the individual bros and Noct's armiger unleashed also incentivizes skilled play and decision making so that you can keep it going for longer. With just a minor tweak they cold easily recreate that same tension in FFXV. Not to mention FFVIIR's hard mode would work wonders for FFXV.

I can do without the alternate path with fanfic happy ending DLC to be honest lol

But yeah, tons of ways they could enhance the main game.
I mean you don't have to play it or acknowledge it, I think it would be fun to have as an extra thing. Most people already ignore Ignis' Verse 2 ending as just a fun what-if so I think a fun what-if that lets us play as characters we previously couldn't would be a cool addition. That's just me though.
 
Likes: Loganight

Ikkin

Warrior of Light
Oct 30, 2016
1,099
1,705
As for what XV could steal from VIIR, having to actually go in to get ATB when you have none but need a potion was really exhilarating and exactly what I feel XV could use.
Please no... I hated that mechanic so badly, because it frequently resulted in what felt like no-win situations when a battle was going poorly. Granted, it might work better in XV, which has much more effective defensive options, but it's still mechanically weird to force the player to be aggressive if they want to heal.

It'd make a lot more sense to just link item usage to the party command gauge so you can't heal as often.
 

Storm

Warrior of Light
Oct 26, 2013
3,351
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Switzerland
The tech bar could easily be retooled to require Noct to choose between healing or letting Gladio go apeshit on a crowd of enemies. The game already pretty much had an ATB-like system for the individual bros and Noct's armiger unleashed also incentivizes skilled play and decision making so that you can keep it going for longer. With just a minor tweak they cold easily recreate that same tension in FFXV. Not to mention FFVIIR's hard mode would work wonders for FFXV.


I mean you don't have to play it or acknowledge it, I think it would be fun to have as an extra thing. Most people already ignore Ignis' Verse 2 ending as just a fun what-if so I think a fun what-if that lets us play as characters we previously couldn't would be a cool addition. That's just me though.
I just think the game deserves more than what-if scenarios that imo undermines it's themes, if they are going to spend money and time creating content.

Playing as other characters is cool, but it doesn't need to be in an AU scenario, just do it on the main storyline canon. That's how I see it.
 
Likes: Cloud_CR

Loganight

Forest Owl
Feb 24, 2018
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Please no... I hated that mechanic so badly, because it frequently resulted in what felt like no-win situations when a battle was going poorly. Granted, it might work better in XV, which has much more effective defensive options, but it's still mechanically weird to force the player to be aggressive if they want to heal.

It'd make a lot more sense to just link item usage to the party command gauge so you can't heal as often.
I liked it personally, it felt like it upped the stakes often in VIIR and added to the tension in a way that I didn't really ever feel in XV. It does kind of add to making some battles feel unrecoverable, though. I liked that difficulty but I understand not everyone is going to enjoy it the same exact way.
 
Feb 19, 2018
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I liked it personally, it felt like it upped the stakes often in VIIR and added to the tension in a way that I didn't really ever feel in XV. It does kind of add to making some battles feel unrecoverable, though. I liked that difficulty but I understand not everyone is going to enjoy it the same exact way.
To be fair, the tech bar in FFXV already pretty much functions like the ATB bar. You build it up by either attacking or taking damage and it allows you to fire off powerful techniques as a result. Only thing separating it from the ATB system is the usage of items not relying upon the tech bar unlike the ATB system where everything is linked to the ATB bar. Just linking items to the tech bar is enough to create more of a balance in item usage and I don't think the game needs an entire separate gauge added to it.

I just think the game deserves more than what-if scenarios that imo undermines it's themes, if they are going to spend money and time creating content.

Playing as other characters is cool, but it doesn't need to be in an AU scenario, just do it on the main storyline canon. That's how I see it.
That's fair, I just want to be able to play as Aranea and Luna. Figured reviving the dead DLCs would be a quick way to get that since they likely had some of the groundwork laid for those. Then again Aranea's DLC could easily be repurposed to fit into the canon events by getting rid of the little girl she finds and just focusing on her escape from the Niflheim capital and her arriving in Tennebrae to stop the demon invasion. Idk what they would do for Luna though, maybe add little Luna segments throughout the game whenever Noct goes to sleep? He could dream about her forging the covenants or something after going to specially marked rest stops or something only to forget their time together in his dreams upon waking up.
 
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Ikkin

Warrior of Light
Oct 30, 2016
1,099
1,705
I liked it personally, it felt like it upped the stakes often in VIIR and added to the tension in a way that I didn't really ever feel in XV. It does kind of add to making some battles feel unrecoverable, though. I liked that difficulty but I understand not everyone is going to enjoy it the same exact way.
For me, I don't mind being difficult but short (when played well), even if the difficulty can sometimes feel cheap. FFXIII was a great example of that -- it took me forever to beat the penultimate boss, underleveled as I was... but each attempt only took a couple of minutes. VIIR, in contrast, has fights that go on for a very long time and multiple unskippable cutscenes in the middle of the battle, which makes unexpected game overs feel like a massive pain.
 

SonOfEtro

Warrior of Light
May 2, 2016
1,036
1,192
For me, I don't mind being difficult but short (when played well), even if the difficulty can sometimes feel cheap. FFXIII was a great example of that -- it took me forever to beat the penultimate boss, underleveled as I was... but each attempt only took a couple of minutes. VIIR, in contrast, has fights that go on for a very long time and multiple unskippable cutscenes in the middle of the battle, which makes unexpected game overs feel like a massive pain.
I know the feeling. My ideal game design would include:

*Entirely skippable tutorials and cutscenes from start to finish
*Limitation or removing of damage sponge enemies (FF Type-0 with its Break/Killsight mechanics does this quite well, I think)
*Side quests with variety and fun rather than monotony
*Scaling enemy levels so you really can grind in safer areas rather than super-dangerous higher-level areas if you want
*Easy non-story-breaking warp function for side quests and other activities except if dictated by narrative
*Optional locations
*The ability to run from battles
*Post-game exploration that takes the story into account

There. Pipe dream exposed. I am diminished.
 
Feb 19, 2018
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I'm surprised people have not let this game go yet.
Tbh when a game is a part of people's lives for 10 years straight in some shape or form it's understandable that it'll leave a mark on a lot of them in some form or fashion. Whether its the people that adore FFXV or the people still holding onto those original Versus concepts the game has an undeniably huge legacy and has certainly left a huge mark on the series (whether that's a good or bad mark will vary from person to person). I was a kid in 2006 when Versus XIII was first revealed and then a young adult when I finally got to play what would then go on to become FFXV in 2016. Add to that, the fact that even after release the game was constantly being updated and getting DLC which prompted more conversation and it's just become fun to speculate what plans they might have had or what they might do when the game is inevitably re-released given Square's track record of adding things to updated versions of their games. FFXV is a game of many possibilities and secrets; which is why people even to this day are diving into the files and combing through interviews and whatnot for new details. The game may not be the center of attention anymore but the fact that there's evidence of stuff that they were originally planning on releasing like the flower quest for Luna as a party member has me admittedly hopeful that the game will have a few more surprises when Square eventually shines a spotlight on it again.