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Reviews are trending fairly high: https://opencritic.com/game/14516/final-fantasy-xvi
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Jun 21, 2023 15:06
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Polygon title header says the story is awful and Push Square says the sidequests are terrible. The latter might not be surprising but I wonder what Polygon hates about it, haven't read it.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:07
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triple sulk posted:Polygon title header says the story is awful and Push Square says the sidequests are terrible. The latter might not be surprising but I wonder what Polygon hates about it, haven't read it. Gita Jackson is the reviewer for Polygon and I've disagreed with their takes on a lot of games even if I find them to be an incredibly thoughtful and compelling writer so I think this is just another one of those times.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:09
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Not really spoiler per se but I'll put the Polygon article's final bit in tagsquote:
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Jun 21, 2023 15:09
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triple sulk posted:Polygon title header says the story is awful and Push Square says the sidequests are terrible. The latter might not be surprising but I wonder what Polygon hates about it, haven't read it. I read through it, (minor plot structure spoilers) reviewer said that they didn't like that the subplot about the Branded wasn't very focused on and that there was a classic end-of-the-world plot finale.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:09
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TechRaptor says the gameplay it terrible. Every part of the game confirmed bad. Fail game. Game good.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:09
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triple sulk posted:Polygon title header says the story is awful and Push Square says the sidequests are terrible. The latter might not be surprising but I wonder what Polygon hates about it, haven't read it. Reading it, they appear to have completely misread or missed a number of plot points, including claiming the "Bearer" subplot vanishes and not that it isn't literally a center focus of most of the game. Like there are some things which I can agree with but unless you skip a whole bunch of plot that is objectively untrue.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:10
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ImpAtom posted:Reading it, they appear to have completely misread or missed a number of plot points, including claiming the "Bearer" subplot vanishes and not that it isn't literally a center focus of most of the game. Like there are some things which I can agree with but unless you skip a whole bunch of plot that is objectively untrue. They also seem to not really be a fan of the active time lore system (calling it an "in-game wiki") which to me was one of the best parts of the demo.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:13
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Shredder posted:My only complaints are the english voices (I switched it to japanese, much better) and the text was kinda small/hard to read with that font. Hopefully there's a setting to make it bigger, I didn't check. It's funny because I literally play every game in Japanese audio but pretty sure this game's main va is English because of the lip synching. I did play the demo in Japanese first it was decent but I thought the English was better than the usual English.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:14
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It's a shame because I usually like to have a look at Polygon's reviews, guess I'll see what their podcast has to say about it because those are a completely different set of guys who might have an opposite opinion.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:15
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Gita Jackson is a very silly individual, if memory serves.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:15
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Rosalind posted:They also seem to not really be a fan of the active time lore system (calling it an "in-game wiki") which to me was one of the best parts of the demo. That at least I can understand since there is stuff that is consigned largely to the ATL stuff. I thought it was neat but I'm sure it will annoy some people. Saying that the game ignores the Bearer plot seems to ignore the... central focus of the game being that and 95% of sidequests dealing with it in some shape or form all the way until the end of the game.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:16
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ImpAtom posted:That at least I can understand since there is stuff that is consigned largely to the ATL stuff. I thought it was neat but I'm sure it will annoy some people. Is there an indicator when ATL has been updated or do I have to keep pausing to see if a new popup is there
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Jun 21, 2023 15:18
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FireWorksWell posted:Is there an indicator when ATL has been updated or do I have to keep pausing to see if a new popup is there It generally updates by scene but you can review it at your base. That said there are two cases where it spoiled something in advance for me. One was revealing the name of a major villain long before they appeared and another was revealing a character death before it happened. (Though in the latter case it wasn't a huge surprise.)
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Jun 21, 2023 15:20
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Rosalind posted:Gita Jackson is the reviewer for Polygon and I've disagreed with their takes on a lot of games even if I find them to be an incredibly thoughtful and compelling writer so I think this is just another one of those times. Gita can sometimes have some incredibly hot takes, and some incredibly dumb takes, and frequently a mix of the two. I personally really liked the game. The action is, as everyone who played the demo knows, incredible. The story was good for the most part. Some parts drag a bit, but the highs are incredibly high and it features one of my favourite characters in Final Fantasy history. I would second ImpAtom's comments about the equipment, and the crafting system as a whole. It's so barebones they could've just automatically handed you better equipment as the game progresses, because that's what you end up with but with a few more button presses. I'm ride or die for Final Fantasy XIV and I won't even try to compare the two, but let's just say that this is easily the best mainline Final Fantasy in bloody ages, and a huge improvement over FFXV. The English voice acting is incredibly good across the board and Ralph Ineson is excellent as Cid.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:21
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I care the most about the music and it seems like the one thing with near universal praise.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:22
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SettingSun posted:I care the most about the music and it seems like the one thing with near universal praise. It is very good and as a long time Final Fantasy XIV enjoyer I was delighted to spot leitmotifs from it.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:23
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Shaman Tank Spec posted:Gita can sometimes have some incredibly hot takes, and some incredibly dumb takes, and frequently a mix of the two. Yeah to note about equipment: The game literally hands you the material to upgrade your weapon after boss fights so you will always be able to hit the expected power. There are a small handful of areas where you can get sidequest equipment that is better than what you have but that lasts until usually the next major dungeon. As a side note: The game is structured exactly like a FFXIV expansion. Wider field areas where you can do sidequests and plot, followed by a largely linear dungeon with multiple boss fights, followed by a trip back to the NotWakingSands, repeat. Eikon Battles kind of replace Trials except there are more of them.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:24
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Shaman Tank Spec posted:It is very good and as a long time Final Fantasy XIV enjoyer I was delighted to spot leitmotifs from it. Oh hell yeah ImpAtom posted:It generally updates by scene but you can review it at your base. Good to know; appreciated!
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Jun 21, 2023 15:27
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SettingSun posted:I care the most about the music and it seems like the one thing with near universal praise. soken is a fuckin god at this point
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Jun 21, 2023 15:28
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Shaman Tank Spec posted:It is very good and as a long time Final Fantasy XIV enjoyer I was delighted to spot leitmotifs from it. My soul will ascend playing this game, I know it will
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Jun 21, 2023 15:31
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“Why is the zillion dollar video game not a complete and thorough treatise on the evils of slavery? In this essay, I—“ In all seriousness, I am pretty amused that this game is going to irritate internet content mill cogs who think “hates GoT” is some kind of academic qualification.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:32
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bloodysabbath posted:“Why is the zillion dollar video game not a complete and thorough treatise on the evils of slavery? In this essay, I—“ It does scream "single-issue voter".
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Jun 21, 2023 15:33
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ImpAtom posted:As a side note: Yep. The direction and style of the cutscenes is also extremely Final Fantasy XIV. It seriously feels like Final Fantasy XIV with Devil May Cry combat.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:38
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Shaman Tank Spec posted:Yep. The direction and style of the cutscenes is also extremely Final Fantasy XIV. It seriously feels like Final Fantasy XIV with Devil May Cry combat. This sounds amazing.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:42
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Shaman Tank Spec posted:Yep. The direction and style of the cutscenes is also extremely Final Fantasy XIV. It seriously feels like Final Fantasy XIV with Devil May Cry combat. It's like they made a game specifically tailored to my tastes.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:44
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reviews of big name jrpg’s are always tiresome because half the articles seem to be written by people with no familiarity or interest in the genre and half the remainder are curmudgeons grousing that it’s not enough like games from 1999
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Jun 21, 2023 15:51
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ImpAtom posted:The game is extremely good. I saw in one of the gameplay videos that the player just randomly picked up a sword in a dungeon and I worried it would be like that. Do the skill trees and different eikonic powers make up for it to some degree? I thought the producer said at one point that being able to plan out and set up combos like in ff5 was a design focus, which raised my hopes for strong rpg mechanics.
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Jun 21, 2023 15:54
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Only thing I need to know with the weapons, do new weapons show up on Clive?
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Jun 21, 2023 15:58
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Skeezy posted:Only thing I need to know with the weapons, do new weapons show up on Clive? I don’t look forward to the inevitable eyesore ridiculous looking ultimate weapon.
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Jun 21, 2023 16:00
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Skeezy posted:Only thing I need to know with the weapons, do new weapons show up on Clive? We've seen several different swords in gameplay trailers so I'd say so
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Jun 21, 2023 16:01
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Yeah I deliberately skipped on playing the demo and watching much but that is one thing I needed to know ahead of time. Not of fan of games that don't change weapons/armor as you get them.
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Jun 21, 2023 16:02
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Eurogamer also gave a middling review, with the complaints being a story that drags a bit and sidequests. That said I only read the last paragraph (which I tend to do) in the review so don't quote me on this. Honestly I tend to look at reviews as a general vibe; like if it has mostly positive reviews then I am comfortable getting the game, if it is middling then there is something I should know, etc. It is okay to not like a popular game and vice versa, and I feel it is a little dangerous to hold up a review as proof of the quality of a game (or lack thereof) because ???
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Jun 21, 2023 16:03
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Heithinn Grasida posted:I saw in one of the gameplay videos that the player just randomly picked up a sword in a dungeon and I worried it would be like that. Do the skill trees and different eikonic powers make up for it to some degree? I think so. Effectively you get 6 skill slots which are tied to three different and every Eikon has 4 skills, which (LOOSELY) translate to Single Target, Multi-Target, Utility and Limit Break/Summon Attack. By default you can only use a skill if you have the Eikon equipped but once you Master it you can equip it on anything. Limit Breaks cost more to Master than anything else but usually have significantly greater effects. (Though often significantly greater cooldowns.) You can respec at any time and reassign your points so there's no limiting yourself really. I found myself changing up my skills a lot throughout the game to find what I liked most though by the end of Final Fantasy I'd effectively found a skillset that broke the game and let me kill anything that wasn't a Big Boss in a single Break window. Skeezy posted:Only thing I need to know with the weapons, do new weapons show up on Clive? Yes.
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Jun 21, 2023 16:03
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I don't really mind if equipment is fairly shallow and linear. What I've learned over time is that it feels good to find upgrades either in shops or by finding them during exploration, even if the items themselves aren't interesting and there's no real decisions to make. I prefer an interesting equipment system, but weirdly I think I prefer a boring gear system over none at all, too.
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Jun 21, 2023 16:05
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Unlucky7 posted:Eurogamer also gave a middling review, with the complaints being a story that drags a bit and sidequests. That said I only read the last paragraph (which I tend to do) in the review so don't quote me on this. that was one of the curmudgeons. it spent a lot of time wishing it was in the party-based format with a couple paragraphs set aside to call it racist
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Jun 21, 2023 16:06
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Harrow posted:I don't really mind if equipment is fairly shallow and linear. What I've learned over time is that it feels good to find upgrades either in shops or by finding them during exploration, even if the items themselves aren't interesting and there's no real decisions to make. I prefer an interesting equipment system, but weirdly I think I prefer a boring gear system over none at all, too.
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Jun 21, 2023 16:07
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ImpAtom posted:I think so. Thanks! How about the rate at which you get skill points? Does progression stay satisfying all the way through ng+?
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Jun 21, 2023 16:07
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One thing I really do want to stress though: This game is extremely loving Final Fantasy. If you played FF14 you know the sort of tone and escalation you can look forward to but Eikon battles in particular are the most Platinum Games thing since Metal Gear Rising but with twice the budget. Also one thing that isn't necessarily clear: Outside of the first battle as Ifrit, the Eikon battles all have their own shared dedicated combat system that basically plays like a souped-up version of the Fire Eikon skillset Clive has. It works pretty well for what it is but you're not getting a unique thing each time and they instead focused on making them feel largely like insanely scaled up versions of your basic combat abilities Heithinn Grasida posted:Thanks! How about the rate at which you get skill points? Does progression stay satisfying all the way through ng+? Depends on if you're doing sidequests but pretty quickly. You'll have enough to mix-and-match anything but limit breaks (and you can probably fit one or two Mastered in there) before the end of a standard playthrough and NG+ basically lets you start really meshing everything in. I will note that despite doing all sidequests both times I did not have enough skill points to fully Master every skill in every tree but it was pretty darn close and also that is completely pointless to do because you only have 6 slots anyway. ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Jun 21, 2023 |
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Jun 21, 2023 16:08
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Oxxidation posted:that was one of the curmudgeons. it spent a lot of time wishing it was in the party-based format with a couple paragraphs set aside to call it racist Ah, that is a bit of a shame. I usually like Eurogamer for their reviews.
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Jun 21, 2023 16:12
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