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[SlimySnake]

I gotta share this again.




Interactions with NPCs like this is easily roughly 80% of the game. The cinematography, the dialogue, the voice acting. It is truly awful.

XVI should should have been 15-20 hours tops. 30 w/ the addition of decent sidequests and hunts. I cannot believe I'm bordering on 50 hours and still probably have 20-30 to go.

I went from 'this is my GOTY' to 'i cant believe I was tricked into playing an MMO' in a span of ten hours. I hate everything about this game post Titan boss fight.

What sucks even more is that when the actual cinematics come the game goes back to being amazing. The story, the characters, the drama and production values are probably the best this gen for a story driven game, but then it goes back to being an MMO fetch quest for the next 10-15 hours. WTF is this game??!!!

The first act had perfect pacing. Then you switch hubs and its like they flipped a switch and handed development to a completely different studio. Now you have 10 hours of fetch quests before they do one hour of an actual AAA story mission then back to 10 hours of trash. I can skip side content but actual story missions have turned into literal fetch quests.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Interactions with NPCs like this is easily roughly 80% of the game. The cinematography, the dialogue, the voice acting. It is truly awful.

Clearly all the money went into pre-rendered in-engine dialogues, cutscenes and set peaces which are easily one of the highligts of the game's presentation. What's left though is Neverwinter Nights 2 level of crap.

XVI should should have been 15-20 hours tops. 30 w/ the addition of decent sidequests and hunts. I cannot believe I'm bordering on 50 hours and still probably have 20-30 to go.[/MEDIA]

Well, If they'll slash HP of regular enemies by half, HP of bosses by x4-5 times (and they absolutely must and should), it'll probably the best thing they can easily do (without too much effort and a lot of time) to make the combat more tolerable, less boring and tedious. I can't think of anything else tbh, complete overhaul is for sure not an option for the team and Square, unless they're willing to do that during development of the PC version and then release a new version of the game on consoles as well.

The game has great foundation gameplay/combat-wise, but terrible gameplay design streep's out all the possible fun you could had with the game during combat.

What sucks even more is that when the actual cinematics come the game goes back to being amazing. The story, the characters, the drama and production values are probably the best this gen for a story driven game, but then it goes back to being an MMO fetch quest for the next 10-15 hours. WTF is this game??!!!

You can easily skip all side quests, nothing of value will be lost.

I can skip side content but actual story missions have turned into literal fetch quests.

I just arrived at the second and new Hub. We'll see about that.

 

[March Climber]

If the game sells well enough and if Square Enix ever decides to build on this title, I hope they at least make a prequel where you star as Cid.

It would be a great video game because the story would be more subdued, and it would be way more Game of Thrones-esque all the way through.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Games good.

I've accepted the warts.

 

[fart town usa]

I just arrived at the second and new Hub. We'll see about that.

Steel yourself bruh , you're about to go get tar for the oarsman and then make a garlic run for some trash NPC .

Edit- In regard to side quests, you do occasionally get a decent item and the green points you earn unlock some decent items at a stall in the hideaway but you gotta do side quests to get these upgrades.

I can't say if these items are even necessary or worth it though. Even with the optional upgrades I am rarely getting low on potions. The game is balls easy, for better or worse. Imagine if it was super difficult and everything else the same. I'd probably drop it with a quickness, the simplicity of it kind of keeps me engaged cause it's like whatever, I just plow through shit and just kind of zone out until the next boss.

 

[mortal]

I gotta share this again.




Interactions with NPCs like this is easily roughly 80% of the game. The cinematography, the dialogue, the voice acting. It is truly awful.

XVI should should have been 15-20 hours tops. 30 w/ the addition of decent sidequests and hunts. I cannot believe I'm bordering on 50 hours and still probably have 20-30 to go.

I agree with you that they could've easily cut down on the number of side quests in the game, instead having fewer with higher production quality to be more on par with the main storyline;
Featuring more elaborately animated character acting in scenes and gameplay scenarios.
Maybe these scenarios could've functioned as contextual mini-games that were tonally consistent with that scenario, serving as a reprieve from combat and repetition.

Sidequests were a mixed bag for me. Although I did enjoy some of the sidequests, that's mostly because of the writing if I'm being honest.
Outside of the ones where you thrash a mob of enemies, I didn't find the moment-to-moment gameplay in most of them all that engaging.
The ones where you had to literally walk back and forth between NPCs or interview them were some of the worst imo.
The game just piles so many on the player in the last quarter of the game, and it's kind of a pace killer.
I can't speak for others, but I'm not thrilled by the sight of 4 new side quest icons popping up at once.

Dull gameplay moments aside, the shot/reverse shot dialogue felt like a drag and stripped the dramatic moments of their emotional impact.
The characters are so expressive during the main scenes but then come off as automatons in the lower-budget cutscenes mostly utilized in sidequest scenes.
I believe the presentation and storytelling would've been better off without these.

 

[Mossybrew]

post Titan boss fight.

I'm just a bit past there. That was an intense battle, I don't mind if things cool off for a bit after, but I guess I'll just have to see what's ahead.

Clive's power progression has been mostly satisfying, though he does feel pretty OP at this point in the game. Any concerns I had at the start about the game having "spongy" enemies are long past.

 

[Madflavor]

If the game sells well enough and if Square Enix ever decides to build on this title, I hope they at least make a prequel where you star as Cid.

It would be a great video game because the story would be more subdued, and it would be way more Game of Thrones-esque all the way through.

Final Fantasy 16 player count is 27% short of 2023's biggest PS5 game

Final Fantasy XVI's PS5 player count peak trails behind Hogwarts Legacy by 27%, making it the second-biggest PS5 game of 2023 so far.

www.truetrophies.com

Seems to be doing well. 3 million sold in less than a week at a $70 price tag, plus whatever exclusivity deal they got from Sony, they've likely already turned in a profit.

 

[fart town usa]

I'm just a bit past there. That was an intense battle, I don't mind if things cool off for a bit after, but I guess I'll just have to see what's ahead.

Clive's power progression has been mostly satisfying, though he does feel pretty OP at this point in the game. Any concerns I had at the start about the game having "spongy" enemies are long past.

No spoilers but it's a slog for a a good number of hours but the next major set piece you'll get to is really effing cool. Gameplay is the same of course but man, the atmosphere and setting really nails it. It's honestly kind of depressing seeing the baller stuff every dozen hours and wondering why the whole game couldn't be as engaging and polished. The worst elements are unavoidable, especially if you do the side stuff.

 

[fart town usa]

Final Fantasy 16 player count is 27% short of 2023's biggest PS5 game

Final Fantasy XVI's PS5 player count peak trails behind Hogwarts Legacy by 27%, making it the second-biggest PS5 game of 2023 so far.

www.truetrophies.com

Seems to be doing well. 3 million sold in less than a week at a $70 price tag, plus whatever exclusivity deal they got from Sony, they've likely already turned in a profit.

I'm really curious what the budget total is. In house engine, production values all over the place, etc. It seems expensive during major set pieces but most times it comes off as a PS3 remaster.

I hope it's profitable so Square isn't financially hurt but I also hope they make some drastic changes if they continue on a similar path for XVII.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Steel yourself bruh , you're about to go get tar for the oarsman and then make a garlic run for some trash NPC .

Edit- In regard to side quests, you do occasionally get a decent item and the green points you earn unlock some decent items at a stall in the hideaway but you gotta do side quests to get these upgrades.

I can't say if these items are even necessary or worth it though. Even with the optional upgrades I am rarely getting low on potions. The game is balls easy, for better or worse. Imagine if it was super difficult and everything else the same. I'd probably drop it with a quickness, the simplicity of it kind of keeps me engaged cause it's like whatever, I just plow through shit and just kind of zone out until the next boss.

Side quest are worthelss. I mean, think about it - they're rewarding you with useless currency (I've like 50K already and nothing to spend it on - I don't care about music or amulets), crafting shit (with nothing to craft or upgrade) and 0 (!!!) EXP, offering nothing of value in terms of world-building, characters, writing etc. and just there to be there as a checklist or an afterthought. I haven't seen a single good side quest after getting ~50% throught the game.

I'm starting to think that Sony somehow forced their hand to release the game this year cuz they literally have nothing good to offer in terms of standalone games and not expansions (Burning Shores for Horizon).

 

[Mossybrew]

Side quest are worthelss.

Yeah unfortunately I have to agree. I've started dreaded seeing them pop up because I feel compelled to do them even though I know there will be negligible reward.

 

[Meicyn]

The first act had perfect pacing.

It really did. The character dynamics between Cid, Jill, and Clive were incredible. Game was a solid 10/10 experience for me during those first 10ish hours. I’m just so sad that the game ended up feeling padded afterwards.

Panzer Dragoon Saga is still one of my favorite RPGs of all time and it was a 10-15 hour romp across its four disc span. A tightly paced, solid experience is preferable to one dragged out. If you don’t have the resources allocated to make a well-paced 70-hour RPG, then don’t make a 70-hour RPG.

 

[fart town usa]

It really did. The character dynamics between Cid, Jill, and Clive were incredible. Game was a solid 10/10 experience for me during those first 10ish hours. I’m just so sad that the game ended up feeling padded afterwards.

Panzer Dragoon Saga is still one of my favorite RPGs of all time and it was a 10-15 hour romp across its four disc span. A tightly paced, solid experience is preferable to one dragged out. If you don’t have the resources allocated to make a well-paced 70-hour RPG, then don’t make a 70-hour RPG.

It is absolutely stunning how well PDS is paced. That game was so ahead of it's time, current games try to mimic it with it's cinematic quality but they still don't get it right. PDS is all killer, no filler. I actually have a save from last month, beginning of Disc 3, need to get back to it.

 

[March Climber]

Yeah unfortunately I have to agree. I've started dreaded seeing them pop up because I feel compelled to do them even though I know there will be negligible reward.

Someone's probably going to make a roadmap of the sidequests you should do that will lead to good rewards, like inventory upgrades, new accessories, new weapons, important story bits, etc. so that new players can just follow that roadmap and have a much better overall experience.

 

[xellos2099alpha]

Side quest are worthelss. I mean, think about it - they're rewarding you with useless currency (I've like 50K already and nothing to spend it on - I don't care about music or amulets), crafting shit (with nothing to craft or upgrade) and 0 (!!!) EXP, offering nothing of value in terms of world-building, characters, writing etc. and just there to be there as a checklist or an afterthought. I haven't seen a single good side quest after getting ~50% throught the game.

I'm starting to think that Sony somehow forced their hand to release the game this year cuz they literally have nothing good to offer in terms of standalone games and not expansions (Burning Shores for Horizon).

Do sidequest need to worth anything? I do it for the story, reward are secondary. And they are NOT long, just a 10-15 minutes per quest

 

[Mossybrew]

Someone's probably going to make a roadmap of the sidequests you should do that will lead to good rewards, like inventory upgrades, new accessories, new weapons, important story bits, etc. so that new players can just follow that roadmap and have a much better overall experience.

As far as I knew the ones that reward you with something significant have the "+" symbol in the green icon. Are there any significant rewards to regular sidequests?

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Someone's probably going to make a roadmap of the sidequests you should do that will lead to good rewards, like inventory upgrades, new accessories, new weapons, important story bits, etc. so that new players can just follow that roadmap and have a much better overall experience.

It'll help for sure, but ultimately will change nothing, unfortunately.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Definitely warming up to the game further in.

Spoiler: Up through Drake's Head

Feels like the first FF that had a "point" since FFVII. They kind of tone down the edge factor which is good too.

Clive is pretty cool. He gets a little too emotional sometimes though.

 

[March Climber]

As far as I knew the ones that reward you with something significant have the "+" symbol in the green icon. Are there any significant rewards to regular sidequests?

Important story bits(if those players care).

Edit: Also since I did everything, I'm not sure if it's the case if any regular sidequests can lead to '+' side quests, because I'm not sure of the game's own internal roadmap regarding them.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Side quest are worthelss. I mean, think about it - they're rewarding you with useless currency (I've like 50K already and nothing to spend it on - I don't care about music or amulets), crafting shit (with nothing to craft or upgrade) and 0 (!!!) EXP, offering nothing of value in terms of world-building, characters, writing etc. and just there to be there as a checklist or an afterthought. I haven't seen a single good side quest after getting ~50% throught the game.

I'm starting to think that Sony somehow forced their hand to release the game this year cuz they literally have nothing good to offer in terms of standalone games and not expansions (Burning Shores for Horizon).

Pretty sure they just as often as not do reward XP, some pretty substantial. But yeah, agreed in general that the rewards are often not enticing overall.

 

[xellos2099alpha]

I went from 'this is my GOTY' to 'i cant believe I was tricked into playing an MMO' in a span of ten hours. I hate everything about this game post Titan boss fight.

What sucks even more is that when the actual cinematics come the game goes back to being amazing. The story, the characters, the drama and production values are probably the best this gen for a story driven game, but then it goes back to being an MMO fetch quest for the next 10-15 hours. WTF is this game??!!!

The first act had perfect pacing. Then you switch hubs and its like they flipped a switch and handed development to a completely different studio. Now you have 10 hours of fetch quests before they do one hour of an actual AAA story mission then back to 10 hours of trash. I can skip side content but actual story missions have turned into literal fetch quests.

There sidequest are no where 10-15 hours. The few quest there after every big story moment can be complete in 1 hour or less.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Definitely warming up to the game further in.

Spoiler: Up through Drake's Head

Feels like the first FF that had a "point" since FFVII. They kind of tone down the edge factor which is good too.

Clive is pretty cool. He gets a little too emotional sometimes though.

Yeah, he does IMO too.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Do sidequest need to worth anything?

Yes, they are neet to, just not in a way this game thinks they should be.

I do it for the story, reward are secondary

It's crap and boring af for most of them.

But yeah, agreed in general that the rewards are often not enticing overall.

Same can be said about almost everything else which is not tied to the main story.

 

[fart town usa]

Someone's probably going to make a roadmap of the sidequests you should do that will lead to good rewards, like inventory upgrades, new accessories, new weapons, important story bits, etc. so that new players can just follow that roadmap and have a much better overall experience.

I was thinking about that too while playing last night.

Like what is the best way to experience this game? The standard mode is easy so it's like you could probably just focus on the main missions, but on a first time playthrough, it's hard to commit to that knowing you're missing out on stuff, even if that stuff truly isn't worth the time sink. But how would that affect NG+? Would it be a better experience to then tackle the other side missions or are they best to be avoided outright?

I know there's an optimal quest route in there somewhere. I'll let someone else figure it out

It reminds me of RE6 and the guides that help you to play the story in chronological order.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Same can be said about almost everything else which is not tied to the main story.

Eh, for me (end game spoilers)

Spoiler

The last 1/4 of the main story felt that way for me too - unenticing

 

[March Climber]

There sidequest are no where 10-15 hours. The few quest there after every big story moment can be complete in 1 hour or less.

That '1 hour or less' every time can add up to double digits

 

[xellos2099alpha]

Definitely warming up to the game further in.

Spoiler: Up through Drake's Head

Feels like the first FF that had a "point" since FFVII. They kind of tone down the edge factor which is good too.

Clive is pretty cool. He gets a little too emotional sometimes though.

I mean consider what had happen to Clive... him being emotional is quite understandable. Within days, weeks, his entire world turn completely upside down

 

[NecrosaroIII]

I mean consider what had happen to Clive... him being emotional is quite understandable. Within days, weeks, his entire world turn completely upside down

For sure. But I think it's more the performance. It feels way too over the top in delivery sometimes to the point of being overdramatic.

 

[fart town usa]

Eh, for me (end game spoilers)

Spoiler

The last 1/4 of the main story felt that way for me too - unenticing

It's just staggering to me how long the game is. It felt long but it really hit last night when I realized I have like 12 main quests left and I'm like 50% done with the green points the side quests give you. It's honestly insane, like who at CBU3 thought this was a good idea?

 

[March Climber]

It's honestly insane, like who at CBU3 thought this was a good idea?

Someone there probably played the Yakuza series and drew inspiration from it. Yakuza did a good job at interesting side content.

 

[fart town usa]

I mean consider what had happen to Clive... him being emotional is quite understandable. Within days, weeks, his entire world turn completely upside down

The major plot points are fine for what they are, it's the writing and delivery. I think the writing is the biggest weakness but Clive's delivery is just a growl and the NPCs are straight trash.

Some of the best character scenes are in the prologue with young Clive and Jill. There is no charisma or anything with any of the characters, even between Jill and Clive as adults. Everyone talks about how much they care for each other but there's no warmth, and the merchant and blacksmith in the hideaway are just complete pricks for no reason whatsoever.

There was one character that had charisma but good grief, they went George RR Martin and really shit the bed in that regard, such an absolute waste.

 

[xellos2099alpha]

The major plot points are fine for what they are, it's the writing and delivery. I think the writing is the biggest weakness but Clive's delivery is just a growl and the NPCs are straight trash.

Some of the best character scenes are in the prologue with young Clive and Jill. There is no charisma or anything with any of the characters, even between Jill and Clive as adults. Everyone talks about how much they care for each other but there's no warmth, and the merchant and blacksmith in the hideaway are just complete pricks for no reason whatsoever.

There was one character that had charisma but good grief, they went George RR Martin and really shit the bed in that regard, such an absolute waste.

I play it in japanese voice and i don;t feel there is any issue with delievery

 

[xellos2099alpha]

It's just staggering to me how long the game is. It felt long but it really hit last night when I realized I have like 12 main quests left and I'm like 50% done with the green points the side quests give you. It's honestly insane, like who at CBU3 thought this was a good idea?

Everything who want to get the most bang out of their limited gil believe it is a great idea. Games ain;t cheap nwosday, need to made sure they last as long as possible.

 

[SlimySnake]

There sidequest are no where 10-15 hours. The few quest there after every big story moment can be complete in 1 hour or less.

I guess it just felt like 10 hours. I did the Titan fight friday night. Then played some more before going to sleep then played for a few hours everyday from saturday to monday and everything since has been a fetch quest. literally handing out items to people or grabbing things for mid. i did do some bounties and side quests, but the problem is that the main quests have felt like side quests.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Games ain;t cheap nwosday, need to made sure they last as long as possible.

That's an incredibly stupid way of thinking. The game should be as long as it needs to be to offer the best experience, story and gameplay and all of this must not be tied to hours and playtime. 10-15 hrs is great, 20-25 almost crossing the line.

 

[xellos2099alpha]

That's an incredibly stupid way of thinking. The game should be as long as it needs to be to offer the best experience, story and gameplay and all of this must not be tied to hours and playtime. 10-15 hrs is great, 20-25 almost crossing the line.

If anything, this game is not long enough imo.

 

[Zheph]

I understand your points guys but I would have been disappointed if the game was shorter but again we don't see the flaws the same way. Side quests are not impacting my enjoyment much and I tho the latest ones (before last main quest) were actually very good and added a lot.

I do agree the cheap cutscenes aren't good and are not helping if you are already struggling

 

[fart town usa]

I play it in japanese voice and i don;t feel there is any issue with delievery

That's fair and makes sense. Do you speak Japanese? I play some games with Japanese VA too but I wouldn't be able to actually know if the delivery was stilted or not since I don't understand that language.

On a side note, RE6 with Italian voices is fucking AWESOME. Gives it such a schlocky euro horror vibe.

 

[fart town usa]

If anything, this game is not long enough imo.

I applaud you. Really, it's impressive to me that you want more.

 

[Madflavor]

I guess it just felt like 10 hours. I did the Titan fight friday night. Then played some more before going to sleep then played for a few hours everyday from saturday to monday and everything since has been a fetch quest. literally handing out items to people or grabbing things for mid. i did do some bounties and side quests, but the problem is that the main quests have felt like side quests.

Here's what jumped out at me regarding the padding in the main story. One is that they may have been scared players would complain about the game's length, and would cry about a short story in a Final Fantasy game. So they probably felt the need to stretch it out. From there the problem was twofold:

• The proper cutscenes and the big cinematic fights were likely pretty expensive to make. So to pad out the game's slower sections with equally dynamic cutscenes with creative camerawork, high quality body motion, and good facial animations, would've likely ballooned the budget out of control. They don't have Rockstar or Naughty Dog money.
• They padded out the game the only way they knew how. Static conversations with NPCs and fetch quests. CBU3 is primarily an MMO developer and this was their first single player game. It definitely shows, and I don't think there was anyone on their team (anyone with enough pull) to warn them against designing some of the quests this way.

Yoshi-P and CBU3 has always paid very close attention to fan feedback and have done a good job listening to them, so if they ever make another game, I'm sure they'll learn from these lessons. The really unfortunate part about all of this, is that you can see how damn close FFXVI came to being a GOTY contender, and one of the best Final Fantasy games ever made. But they made a couple design decisions that really brought the game down.

I loved it, but I would describe it as one of the best 8/10 experiences I've had.

 

[Sleepwalker]

I am going to say that the biggest loss this game had for the second half was losing Cid, you lost what was basically a permanent party member but also lost the only character who was successful in adding levity to the story[/spoiler]. We never really recovered from that.

At some point I thought a guy from a sidequest was being built up to become a part of your party but it lead nowhere.

 

[fart town usa]

I am going to say that the biggest loss this game had for the second half was losing Cid, you lost what was basically a permanent party member but also lost the only character who was successful in adding levity to the story. We never really recovered from that.

At some point I thought a guy from a sidequest was being built up to become a part of your party but it lead nowhere.

Spoiler tag bruh!

 

[fart town usa]

Here's what jumped out at me regarding the padding in the main story. One is that they may have been scared players would complain about the game's length, and would cry about a short story in a Final Fantasy game. So they probably felt the need to stretch it out.

I think that too, Square being worried about people saying it's too short. They really should have embraced the change in gameplay more than they actually did. We have people saying they prefer the linear aspect due to open world burn out, I agree, I generally avoid OW games but it's like, what's the point of having a really linear experience if it's outrageously long and a complete slog? It's the same type of burnout as playing a boring OW game.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Do sidequest need to worth anything? I do it for the story, reward are secondary. And they are NOT long, just a 10-15 minutes per quest

My issue is that the main quests themselves already feel like fetch quests. Even if you skip the side quests, you still have long lulls between action. I don’t need a reward, but it needs to involve more than “go to the farthest spot in the hideout, bring apples to the complete opposite end of the hideout, then return back to the farthest spot to complete”.

 

[SCB3]

Spoiler: Boss Spoiler

Bahamut

down and I love the music and spectacle in this game so much, so far its a solid 8/10 on everything but story which has lost me a few times

 

[DenchDeckard]

Is the titan fight like the mid point of the game?

 

[ebevan91]

Is the titan fight like the mid point of the game?

It's around 56-58%, IIRC.

 

[rofif]

Do we know what Metia is ?

Spoiler: ending

Why does it die at the end? I know red is a dying start but it's too convenient to die at that time.

 

[linko9]

Do we know what Metia is ?

Spoiler: ending

Why does it die at the end? I know red is a dying start but it's too convenient to die at that time.

Spoiler

I assumed it was going to be a bigger deal, and have something to do with meteor, but it's left pretty vague. It can't really be a star because it's always in the same position in relation to the moon. It has some connection to Clive, since it fades (but doesn't disappear) after he dies/almost dies/who knows. Other than that I got nothing.