FFXV is probably one of my favorite, if not my favorite game of all time. I only just started the video, so I might edit this comment to share more feelings or thoughts as I watch but given how eloquently you speak on the topics you cover, I'm certain this'll be an amazing video. For now he's my initial gut feelings on a game that is so near and dear to my heart. I initially steered well clear of 15 because I didn't like the idea of only having 4 characters, I thought the car was kind of dumb and didn't feel very 'final fantasy'. But once I started the game, and really got to meet the chocobros, and delve deeper into the weight placed upon Noctis', and by extension the other guys' shoulders, I found myself so intensely invested in their well beings and characters. I wanted them to succeed. The ending still shreds me to this day. Noctis crying for his final goodbye is heartbreaking. 15 is such an amazingly flawed product. the actual gameplay is surface level, but the story and well written characters outshine so many other titles. Everyone says the game's worse as it enters its second half, but I think that's where 15 shines the best. Both halves bring something valuable to the table, but the tonal shift really juxtaposes just how dire things really are without even knowing. Anyways time to watch! I'll share more thoughts below. Edit 1:, at 12:08 now. 15's fight to be everything 13 wasn't is definitely one of its biggest hurting points. I don't think the game's open world helps it much, though if you can learn to let go of expectations, there's a way to find peace in that space and enjoy the moment. At least for me that worked. 15's a game I've learned to love despite its many many many flaws. 15's handling of female characters is surface level, and a little offensive at times, but I wonder how much of that is because of the game's troubled development. I fully admit I found Cindy's hypersexualized femininity kind of lame. Her outfit is not befitting of someone in her position, and she's too 'clean'. mechanics work is dirty, nasty stuff. and her phoned in southern accent is grating. Luna's importance really makes a ton more sense once you consume all the disparate parts, namely the film. I do think that it would've been best if all those pieces had been properly woven together. But I guess I'm just happy anything got done at all, given that 15 was resurrected so many times and I think the final product is still worthy of love. At the end of the day, 15 is about *noctis*. its about his struggles. his destined fate. I'm not sure if its because its what you played, but the footage you used of Insomnia predates a big update made to make the story make more sense. Ardyn effectively nukes the city with a Meteor spell upon Noctis' arrival in the current version, further mocking him. His motivations to do so are because Ardyn's story is equally as tragic and he's spent centuries plotting his revenge against the lucis bloodline. Edit 2: You mentioned 'Cultural appropiation' in subtext when addressing Bahamut. im genuinely curious to learn more about this, as this is my first time hearing about this. But upon googling it, I can't find anything that really addresses it. If you've got some suggested reading material, or insight, I'm all ears. Final edit: I just finished the video, and your final words definitely resonate with me. So often people dunk on things because its culturally expected to dunk on them. I'm not saying 15's a perfect game. In fact, i can't think of a single fan who does. We all see 15 for this cracked disaster. For me, its like a fine piece of pottery shattered and rebuilt over and over again with gold until its more gold than pottery and it forgets that it used to be something simpler. Its why the vastly night-and-day difference of the first half and the second half.. oddly works for me. You get to see what life is like for Noctis, who just wants to spend time with his friends, make his father proud and such, but he's terrified of his destiny, his legacy. He hates that so much happens *because* of him, because the gods chose him to be the king of kings, to defeat Ardyn. The bro's exclusion from the final fight does work, with regard to that fight being *specifically* about the clash between Ardyn and Noctis--Ardyn, a man once like any other, but betrayed by Somnus, the first king, stripped of his birthright (to be king of Lucis), cast out and made an example of. Whose lover was taken from him by the same monarchy that cursed him. Ardyn, a man whose hatred smoldered for centuries as he plotted for the day that the Gods might choose their puppet. A man who spent his undying days worming his way into the fabric of nations, so that he might use them and their resources to achieve his goal--to destroy Lucis, Insomnia, and the Lucian bloodline. And noctis, a boy born with a terrible fate, doomed to die for his people and save the world. Never given the chance to be a boy, except in times where it furthered his training. Regis was tough on him, because Regis knew. Everyone knew, except Noctis. Everyone knew that their lives were inconsequential so that Noctis could fulfill his destiny. Its a tough spot, maybe cliche, but I don't really care. We like cliches because they're comfortable, familiar and satisfying. and 15's flawed execution makes it one of my most beloved and comfortable games of all time and I will defend it to my last dying breath. Another fantastic video, Vivian. Keep it up and uh.. Sorry for the wall of text. I have perfectly Normal(tm) feelings about 15 :')
Thank you for your thoughts on this, I'm always happy to hear people's thoughts on this game. I feel like the video got pretty harsh on it in places, and I do want to reaffirm that I really do like this game (it's not even my least favorite of the series). the cultural appropriation comment was a joke I'm so sorry. I'm a furry and Bahamut is a big dragon and he's a humanoid in 15 ergo... I sometimes make weird jokes to that effect lol
@@VivianAladren Oh! No worries, I'm a furry as well. I was just genuinely concerned that there was something heinous about Bahamut's design that I wasn't aware of so thank you! Keep up the great work :)
"Final edit: I just finished the video, and your final words definitely resonate with me. So often people dunk on things because its culturally expected to dunk on them. I'm not saying 15's a perfect game. In fact, i can't think of a single fan who does. We all see 15 for this cracked disaster. For me, its like a fine piece of pottery shattered and rebuilt over and over again with gold until its more gold than pottery and it forgets that it used to be something simpler." Unironically I think I have used this exact analogy to describe this game more than once. Also here to echo, it's not perfect, but it is damned good.
So I just wanted to disagree on FF15 being "masculine". Nah. 16 is masculine. FF15 is...fujoshi. It's FFX-2 for women...which is a weird thing to say because FFX-2 is hilariously misunderstood in the West as Western guys see it as a game for girls and girls see it as a game for pervy guys. Regardless it really feels like FF15 was designed to appeal to girls who wanted to look at cute boys without too many ladies getting in the way, so I find it funny how much people complain about the game being sexist towards women. I literally view Cindy as the devs trying to throw straight guys a bone (and I appreciate it but it would have been nice if she was a playable character...would have been nice if ANYONE was a playable character...). Either way, 15 thus would have been a lot better if it was still a spin-off instead of a mainline entry. On a personal note, while I prefer female leads I just can't stand Lightning and what they did with her in Lightning Returns was really awkward. Like...I find trying to sexualize her deeply uncomfortable because it clashes so much with who she is...which is grumpy and overly serious. I feel like you keep trying to say FF13 failed because it had a female lead and people are sexist but I guarentee that was NOT that game's problem. Honestly, if you wanted me to draw a divide between when FF was "good" and when it was "bad" it can all be chalked up to a lack of playable party members for me. I love FF12. 12 is where the series ended for me. 13 sucks for a variety of reasons but the inability to control your whole party was one of them. 15 only letting you play as Noctis was also a huge blow against that game along with it being a sausage fest. Now 16 also kinda sucks because it's ALSO a sausage fest that only lets you play as one single dude that I don't want to play as. Just my two cents on this. You're right though, we do struggle to talk about 15. It's a frustrating game because some elements are phenomenal and can move you to tears, and a LOT of it is "Do you even know how game design WORKS?!". I'd say the same of 13 and 16 as well and that shouldn't be a surprise: these are massive games made by huge crews of people who cared, surely SOMEONE had to do SOMETHING right...and they did. It just...keeps not coming together.
Gotta say your take was more nuanced and understanding than Vivian. They're not really looking at the details outside of what they really want to see here.
Great video, and a great take on such a deeply frustrating game. XV gave me so many things to love but failed so severely in a few areas that it just felt unsatisfying in the end. Even now I still don't fully know if I liked it or not.
It's a weird game to think about for sure. I personally feel pretty let down by the ending too, but there's a lot of really interesting things going on beforehand... I dunno! It's strange
I'm so glad this video exists!!! I feel like this reawakened my 15 year old self from the depths of hell to FINALLY give a genuine, honest, good faith look at this game rather than just brushing off due to production time and nostalgia bias. People don't know how to talk about it-- and at this point I've been worried that no one wants or is interested in learning how. Thank you so much! Definitely sending this one to a few friends I haven't talked to in years lmao
I have seen so many people shit on XV and I think you have such a good outlook on this hidden gem. I enjoyed the ride ( literally because of car). That this game brings you on. I enjoy when stories subvert your expectations and sometime not give you something you were expecting. I was one of those who got way to into the lore of this game. I'm not afraid to say how many copies of this game I own. Every time I replay it and look at it from a different angle my appreciation for what it tries to tell gets stronger. Wonderful video Viv like always!
I have not played a Final Fantasy, beyond a little bit of one of the DS turn based strategy games and a few rounds of the mobile battle royale, but being online the Final Fantasy series feels inescapable. Not that I’m trying to escape it, I just didn’t grow up with the series and struggle to find the time for long rpgs. However, after listening to this video, I do wonder how much the discourse around Final Fantasy, the discourse that holds up 7, 8, and 9 as timeless classics and overlooks some of the more recent titles as not worthy of much specific discussion is reflective of a wider gaming culture that prioritizes nostalgia above many other things. Not that nostalgia is all bad or anything, but online I see so many analyses and discussions rooted in this desire to celebrate the past and to make the present like the old things, and I worry it is potentially blinding people to new experiences. I play a lot of obscure stuff and I try to inspire other people to also play it, but it just feels like there’s a bit of resistance to looking at things that are unknown and different, in a way that there just isn’t when people discuss old PS1 or Nintendo games. And to be clear, I like old games. I’m currently working on a project where I’m playing a ton of arcade games from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and it’s a great time. However I try to avoid rooting my critiques in nostalgia, or things being good because they are old and from my youth, and instead focusing on explaining how things succeed or fail as an experience in the present. Super Mario 64 isn’t good because it’s nostalgic, Super Mario 64 is good because it’s designers created a great sense of game feel and presented a series of challenges well tuned to make movement feel rewarding and satisfying, which isn’t a quality that ages. As a Final Fantasy outsider I am not sure how much nostalgia informs the discussion of these games, but I couldn’t help but think about it as you went through your conclusion.
Absolutely adore your video, ff15 is one of my fav games of all time for many of the points discussed in your video. So it breaks my heart to say that 16 did not break the curse the community seems hellbent on preserving
The only DLC I'd really say is worth it is Ardyn's because it has a fun gameplay loop unlike the other character story DLCs. Funnily enough despite how much I've replayed the final chapter I completely forgot about Gentiana/Shiva. This is one of the hardest games to talk about ever for sure.
I bought the Prompto DLC and ended up regretting it because the main mode of transportation in that DLC completely broke for me and seemed to require restarting the DLC itself. SO Hopefully that doesn't happen to you if you do end up getting them.
I fucking love the story and the game as a whole. Btw, you didn’t play the DLCs (which are canon) you will have some big gaps and miss out on some epic moments. They did a terrible snafu in not incorporating this content in the base game. Note: Summons in this game are more like Ancient Greek gods than modern gods. Anthropomorphic and full of vices. Not omnipotent. Ifrit, Shiva and Bahamut are perfect examples of this.
As someone who has had the ability to play this game in every version and every patch, I find that the cycle of it's development and improvement definitely mirrors the story quite a bit. This game is definitely an oddball in the FF series, but it's place is absurdly important due to the efforts that went into it and what it means for the continued development of the franchise. They took a LOT of risks with XV and some of them paid off massively. The combat design and Luminous engine being more important to SE than most people are willing to admit. Also the absolutely gargantuan performance of Yoko Shimomura on the composition, coupled with the VAs absolutely doing a tremendous job. Some of them were just awful. My personal bias is a love for the game and the characters within it. The solemn slow loss of hope and ever darkening world as the story progresses, but bright light at the journey's end. While I would love to see how this whole game was meant to be put out, DLC included, I honestly believe it was destined to underwhelm a lot of people given the wait time and the fact that it was SCRAPPED twice before being forced out of the door. Couple this with the constant trend of negative and hot takes garner more interest and clicks, and everyone was told this game was a disappointment which it really kind of isn't. It's a VERY beautiful and solid game. The other thing that constantly buggers my belief is the complaints it was "too easy", when the game itself gives you an item to prevent you from leveling to start with. So many fun ways to challenge yourself in the game, but I digress. Having been able to speak with a few devs involved in the creation of this game, I know it was a tremendous labor of love and I will personally be greatful to experience it.
Thank you. I'm glad so many people ended up being interested in hearing my thoughts on this game. I remain critical of its final chapter, but I think it only bothers me because of how much I like the buildup to it, you know? I don't think I can replicate the feelings I had during my initial playthrough, quietly freaking out on the train to Gralea that the game is just refusing to alleviate the nightmare stress of everything crumbling apart around Noct like it does. I hope more people think about this game (and modern FF in general) more thoughtfully going forward.
Interesting. Well the issue with ff15 ,and many modern games, is that theyre made by committee. Really hard to have much meaningful themes when you have so many cooks in the kitchen. Thats why youre better off making live service first person shooter nowadays.
FFXV is probably one of my favorite, if not my favorite game of all time. I only just started the video, so I might edit this comment to share more feelings or thoughts as I watch but given how eloquently you speak on the topics you cover, I'm certain this'll be an amazing video. For now he's my initial gut feelings on a game that is so near and dear to my heart.
I initially steered well clear of 15 because I didn't like the idea of only having 4 characters, I thought the car was kind of dumb and didn't feel very 'final fantasy'. But once I started the game, and really got to meet the chocobros, and delve deeper into the weight placed upon Noctis', and by extension the other guys' shoulders, I found myself so intensely invested in their well beings and characters. I wanted them to succeed. The ending still shreds me to this day. Noctis crying for his final goodbye is heartbreaking.
15 is such an amazingly flawed product. the actual gameplay is surface level, but the story and well written characters outshine so many other titles. Everyone says the game's worse as it enters its second half, but I think that's where 15 shines the best. Both halves bring something valuable to the table, but the tonal shift really juxtaposes just how dire things really are without even knowing. Anyways time to watch! I'll share more thoughts below.
Edit 1:, at 12:08 now. 15's fight to be everything 13 wasn't is definitely one of its biggest hurting points. I don't think the game's open world helps it much, though if you can learn to let go of expectations, there's a way to find peace in that space and enjoy the moment. At least for me that worked. 15's a game I've learned to love despite its many many many flaws.
15's handling of female characters is surface level, and a little offensive at times, but I wonder how much of that is because of the game's troubled development. I fully admit I found Cindy's hypersexualized femininity kind of lame. Her outfit is not befitting of someone in her position, and she's too 'clean'. mechanics work is dirty, nasty stuff. and her phoned in southern accent is grating.
Luna's importance really makes a ton more sense once you consume all the disparate parts, namely the film. I do think that it would've been best if all those pieces had been properly woven together. But I guess I'm just happy anything got done at all, given that 15 was resurrected so many times and I think the final product is still worthy of love.
At the end of the day, 15 is about *noctis*. its about his struggles. his destined fate. I'm not sure if its because its what you played, but the footage you used of Insomnia predates a big update made to make the story make more sense. Ardyn effectively nukes the city with a Meteor spell upon Noctis' arrival in the current version, further mocking him. His motivations to do so are because Ardyn's story is equally as tragic and he's spent centuries plotting his revenge against the lucis bloodline.
Edit 2: You mentioned 'Cultural appropiation' in subtext when addressing Bahamut. im genuinely curious to learn more about this, as this is my first time hearing about this. But upon googling it, I can't find anything that really addresses it. If you've got some suggested reading material, or insight, I'm all ears.
Final edit: I just finished the video, and your final words definitely resonate with me. So often people dunk on things because its culturally expected to dunk on them. I'm not saying 15's a perfect game. In fact, i can't think of a single fan who does. We all see 15 for this cracked disaster. For me, its like a fine piece of pottery shattered and rebuilt over and over again with gold until its more gold than pottery and it forgets that it used to be something simpler.
Its why the vastly night-and-day difference of the first half and the second half.. oddly works for me. You get to see what life is like for Noctis, who just wants to spend time with his friends, make his father proud and such, but he's terrified of his destiny, his legacy. He hates that so much happens *because* of him, because the gods chose him to be the king of kings, to defeat Ardyn. The bro's exclusion from the final fight does work, with regard to that fight being *specifically* about the clash between Ardyn and Noctis--Ardyn, a man once like any other, but betrayed by Somnus, the first king, stripped of his birthright (to be king of Lucis), cast out and made an example of. Whose lover was taken from him by the same monarchy that cursed him. Ardyn, a man whose hatred smoldered for centuries as he plotted for the day that the Gods might choose their puppet. A man who spent his undying days worming his way into the fabric of nations, so that he might use them and their resources to achieve his goal--to destroy Lucis, Insomnia, and the Lucian bloodline.
And noctis, a boy born with a terrible fate, doomed to die for his people and save the world. Never given the chance to be a boy, except in times where it furthered his training. Regis was tough on him, because Regis knew. Everyone knew, except Noctis. Everyone knew that their lives were inconsequential so that Noctis could fulfill his destiny. Its a tough spot, maybe cliche, but I don't really care. We like cliches because they're comfortable, familiar and satisfying. and 15's flawed execution makes it one of my most beloved and comfortable games of all time and I will defend it to my last dying breath.
Another fantastic video, Vivian. Keep it up and uh.. Sorry for the wall of text. I have perfectly Normal(tm) feelings about 15 :')
Thank you for your thoughts on this, I'm always happy to hear people's thoughts on this game. I feel like the video got pretty harsh on it in places, and I do want to reaffirm that I really do like this game (it's not even my least favorite of the series).
the cultural appropriation comment was a joke I'm so sorry. I'm a furry and Bahamut is a big dragon and he's a humanoid in 15 ergo... I sometimes make weird jokes to that effect lol
@@VivianAladren Oh! No worries, I'm a furry as well. I was just genuinely concerned that there was something heinous about Bahamut's design that I wasn't aware of so thank you! Keep up the great work :)
"Final edit: I just finished the video, and your final words definitely resonate with me. So often people dunk on things because its culturally expected to dunk on them. I'm not saying 15's a perfect game. In fact, i can't think of a single fan who does. We all see 15 for this cracked disaster. For me, its like a fine piece of pottery shattered and rebuilt over and over again with gold until its more gold than pottery and it forgets that it used to be something simpler."
Unironically I think I have used this exact analogy to describe this game more than once. Also here to echo, it's not perfect, but it is damned good.
Vivian out here starting to set a tone about media literacy and how to do it.
So I just wanted to disagree on FF15 being "masculine". Nah. 16 is masculine. FF15 is...fujoshi. It's FFX-2 for women...which is a weird thing to say because FFX-2 is hilariously misunderstood in the West as Western guys see it as a game for girls and girls see it as a game for pervy guys. Regardless it really feels like FF15 was designed to appeal to girls who wanted to look at cute boys without too many ladies getting in the way, so I find it funny how much people complain about the game being sexist towards women. I literally view Cindy as the devs trying to throw straight guys a bone (and I appreciate it but it would have been nice if she was a playable character...would have been nice if ANYONE was a playable character...). Either way, 15 thus would have been a lot better if it was still a spin-off instead of a mainline entry.
On a personal note, while I prefer female leads I just can't stand Lightning and what they did with her in Lightning Returns was really awkward. Like...I find trying to sexualize her deeply uncomfortable because it clashes so much with who she is...which is grumpy and overly serious. I feel like you keep trying to say FF13 failed because it had a female lead and people are sexist but I guarentee that was NOT that game's problem.
Honestly, if you wanted me to draw a divide between when FF was "good" and when it was "bad" it can all be chalked up to a lack of playable party members for me. I love FF12. 12 is where the series ended for me. 13 sucks for a variety of reasons but the inability to control your whole party was one of them. 15 only letting you play as Noctis was also a huge blow against that game along with it being a sausage fest. Now 16 also kinda sucks because it's ALSO a sausage fest that only lets you play as one single dude that I don't want to play as.
Just my two cents on this. You're right though, we do struggle to talk about 15. It's a frustrating game because some elements are phenomenal and can move you to tears, and a LOT of it is "Do you even know how game design WORKS?!". I'd say the same of 13 and 16 as well and that shouldn't be a surprise: these are massive games made by huge crews of people who cared, surely SOMEONE had to do SOMETHING right...and they did. It just...keeps not coming together.
Gotta say your take was more nuanced and understanding than Vivian. They're not really looking at the details outside of what they really want to see here.
Great video, and a great take on such a deeply frustrating game. XV gave me so many things to love but failed so severely in a few areas that it just felt unsatisfying in the end. Even now I still don't fully know if I liked it or not.
It's a weird game to think about for sure. I personally feel pretty let down by the ending too, but there's a lot of really interesting things going on beforehand... I dunno! It's strange
None of this would have happened if they just let Nomura make it a musical.
I'll be back to see you, video, when I get around to playing FFXV myself.
I'm so glad this video exists!!! I feel like this reawakened my 15 year old self from the depths of hell to FINALLY give a genuine, honest, good faith look at this game rather than just brushing off due to production time and nostalgia bias. People don't know how to talk about it-- and at this point I've been worried that no one wants or is interested in learning how. Thank you so much! Definitely sending this one to a few friends I haven't talked to in years lmao
Thank you so much! I'm... happy to hear there are people who like this game and also feel like no one has a meaningful conversation about it lol
Babe wake up new vivian W just dropped
I have seen so many people shit on XV and I think you have such a good outlook on this hidden gem.
I enjoyed the ride ( literally because of car). That this game brings you on. I enjoy when stories subvert your expectations and sometime not give you something you were expecting. I was one of those who got way to into the lore of this game.
I'm not afraid to say how many copies of this game I own. Every time I replay it and look at it from a different angle my appreciation for what it tries to tell gets stronger.
Wonderful video Viv like always!
thank you! I'm glad to contribute to FFXV discourse!
I have not played a Final Fantasy, beyond a little bit of one of the DS turn based strategy games and a few rounds of the mobile battle royale, but being online the Final Fantasy series feels inescapable. Not that I’m trying to escape it, I just didn’t grow up with the series and struggle to find the time for long rpgs. However, after listening to this video, I do wonder how much the discourse around Final Fantasy, the discourse that holds up 7, 8, and 9 as timeless classics and overlooks some of the more recent titles as not worthy of much specific discussion is reflective of a wider gaming culture that prioritizes nostalgia above many other things. Not that nostalgia is all bad or anything, but online I see so many analyses and discussions rooted in this desire to celebrate the past and to make the present like the old things, and I worry it is potentially blinding people to new experiences. I play a lot of obscure stuff and I try to inspire other people to also play it, but it just feels like there’s a bit of resistance to looking at things that are unknown and different, in a way that there just isn’t when people discuss old PS1 or Nintendo games.
And to be clear, I like old games. I’m currently working on a project where I’m playing a ton of arcade games from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and it’s a great time. However I try to avoid rooting my critiques in nostalgia, or things being good because they are old and from my youth, and instead focusing on explaining how things succeed or fail as an experience in the present. Super Mario 64 isn’t good because it’s nostalgic, Super Mario 64 is good because it’s designers created a great sense of game feel and presented a series of challenges well tuned to make movement feel rewarding and satisfying, which isn’t a quality that ages. As a Final Fantasy outsider I am not sure how much nostalgia informs the discussion of these games, but I couldn’t help but think about it as you went through your conclusion.
You really deserve more subs and views;-;
Great video as always!
I love the human interaction of Bahamut. It’s interesting too because they tease that Bahamut from Stranger of Paradise is the same Bahamut from XV.
Absolutely adore your video, ff15 is one of my fav games of all time for many of the points discussed in your video. So it breaks my heart to say that 16 did not break the curse the community seems hellbent on preserving
That's a shame, I've been enjoying ff16
great vid
XV has the guts of good FF game but it’s messy development and mandatory external media tie ins let it down completely.
The only DLC I'd really say is worth it is Ardyn's because it has a fun gameplay loop unlike the other character story DLCs.
Funnily enough despite how much I've replayed the final chapter I completely forgot about Gentiana/Shiva.
This is one of the hardest games to talk about ever for sure.
One day, when I have money again, I'll play them all, and hell, if they're interesting enough I'll do a follow up video? We'll see!
I bought the Prompto DLC and ended up regretting it because the main mode of transportation in that DLC completely broke for me and seemed to require restarting the DLC itself.
SO
Hopefully that doesn't happen to you if you do end up getting them.
@@eratinuwu1952 I hope not oh god
I fucking love the story and the game as a whole. Btw, you didn’t play the DLCs (which are canon) you will have some big gaps and miss out on some epic moments. They did a terrible snafu in not incorporating this content in the base game.
Note: Summons in this game are more like Ancient Greek gods than modern gods. Anthropomorphic and full of vices. Not omnipotent. Ifrit, Shiva and Bahamut are perfect examples of this.
As someone who has had the ability to play this game in every version and every patch, I find that the cycle of it's development and improvement definitely mirrors the story quite a bit. This game is definitely an oddball in the FF series, but it's place is absurdly important due to the efforts that went into it and what it means for the continued development of the franchise.
They took a LOT of risks with XV and some of them paid off massively. The combat design and Luminous engine being more important to SE than most people are willing to admit. Also the absolutely gargantuan performance of Yoko Shimomura on the composition, coupled with the VAs absolutely doing a tremendous job.
Some of them were just awful.
My personal bias is a love for the game and the characters within it. The solemn slow loss of hope and ever darkening world as the story progresses, but bright light at the journey's end.
While I would love to see how this whole game was meant to be put out, DLC included, I honestly believe it was destined to underwhelm a lot of people given the wait time and the fact that it was SCRAPPED twice before being forced out of the door. Couple this with the constant trend of negative and hot takes garner more interest and clicks, and everyone was told this game was a disappointment which it really kind of isn't. It's a VERY beautiful and solid game.
The other thing that constantly buggers my belief is the complaints it was "too easy", when the game itself gives you an item to prevent you from leveling to start with. So many fun ways to challenge yourself in the game, but I digress.
Having been able to speak with a few devs involved in the creation of this game, I know it was a tremendous labor of love and I will personally be greatful to experience it.
Thank you. I'm glad so many people ended up being interested in hearing my thoughts on this game. I remain critical of its final chapter, but I think it only bothers me because of how much I like the buildup to it, you know? I don't think I can replicate the feelings I had during my initial playthrough, quietly freaking out on the train to Gralea that the game is just refusing to alleviate the nightmare stress of everything crumbling apart around Noct like it does. I hope more people think about this game (and modern FF in general) more thoughtfully going forward.
Interesting. Well the issue with ff15 ,and many modern games, is that theyre made by committee. Really hard to have much meaningful themes when you have so many cooks in the kitchen. Thats why youre better off making live service first person shooter nowadays.
ive always said the game has a really interesting story but it tells it so poorly
here's my big brain take: xv sucks because its the only one where theres no women in your party
but also xv is good because of the yaoi potential.
~*~ Final Fantasy XII for Him