The Quarterly JRPG Club - Q3 2017 - Final Fantasy XV! (Starting July 1)

malking wrote:
bobbywatson wrote:

The combat system never really clicked for me.

I feel ya there. I haven't had any hard battles yet but all I feel I'm doing is switching to a weapon that's effective and then holding a button down until I get smacked by an enemy. My finesse rating is almost always D. I should go back to the tutorial but I'm having enough fun getting by at the moment. I haven't spent any AP yet either, should look into what's available.

Just wrapped up chapter 2 and I'm headed to the Chocobo Forest.

I've been pretty much doing the same for the most part, but I've been trying to use the L1 talents more, as they give variety to the combat and they look cool. Still, my finesse is usually C or D, but I'm okay with that because I've never been big on technique or strategy in any game I've ever played, really. But I'm having fun, which is all that matters.

I would recommend, like everyone else, using AP and seeing what you want to upgrade. I'm in the middle of Chapter 3, so we're almost at the same point in the story, but spending those AP points and buying some new weapons in Lestallum has made a very noticeable difference. And talking about Lestallum, how beautiful is it? I am floored with the visuals in this game!

Hey, guys!

I've been meaning to check in with everyone for a few days now. How are you liking the game? Where are you at? Anything you want to share?

I just made it to Chapter 8 this afternoon. I've played for 25 hours, and I'm level 37. I have no idea if those stats are normal for where I'm at, or if I'm under leveled or overpowered (I prefer the latter, thank you very much). Am I weird? Average?

So far, I'm loving the game. Overall, I think it is a blast, and I'm enjoying spending time with Noctis and the gang. I really like the whole road trip conceit, and it's great to see their banter in the car, how they want to stop to take pictures or check out something they drive past. I greatly enjoy camping (or spending the night in one of those RVs) and looking at the day's pictures --it makes the whole road trip theme come to life. I guess this whole thing resonates with me because I've driven thousands (and thousands) of miles across the US, and it's almost like I'm reliving some of those memories, minus the giant monsters and soldiers trying to eat me or kill me, of course. A couple of years ago, my wife and I spent a few days driving around Isle of Skye in Scotland (and spent one night in a cute RV named Clemmie), and the game also brings back memories of the sense of wonderment and discovery every time we saw a cool rock formation, or we got an unexpected glimpse of the ocean. Not that you need to have experienced that in real life to enjoy it in the game, but it's definitely making me like the game more for sure.

I also had a lot of fun playing that pinball game. Can you beat it, or is infinite? I played it for a long time thinking I must have been close to finishing it, but I ended up simply stopping.

Something I didn't think was all that fun was the fishing. I did it once when I got to Galdin Quay, and I haven't done it again. It's so sad to see Noctis's fishing skill at 1, when everyone else's are much higher.

Talking about those skills, I couldn't love Ignis's cooking any more than I do. It always makes me smile every time he says he's come up with a new recipe, or when he's pondering what to cook, and he snaps his fingers when you choose that evening's meal. I find it supremely charming.

But I've written enough (too much), so that's it. To sum it up, I'll say that so far I'm very happy I chose FFXV to be my first JRPG. Are you guys having a similar experience? Please let me know!

Mario_Alba wrote:

Talking about those skills, I couldn't love Ignis's cooking any more than I do. It always makes me smile every time he says he's come up with a new recipe, or when he's pondering what to cook, and he snaps his fingers when you choose that evening's meal. I find it supremely charming.

The food porn was definitely my favorite part of the game.

As for progress: The game disc is now back in its case, and I don't expect it will come out of it any time soon.

I was trying to get the remaining trophies (fishing to level 10, Adamantoise, get the last Royal weapon, platinum), but then realized that I had better things to do with my time, and I just stopped.

Glad to see other people are enjoying the game!

bobbywatson wrote:

The food porn was definitely my favorite part of the game.

As for progress: The game disc is now back in its case, and I don't expect it will come out of it any time soon.

I was trying to get the remaining trophies (fishing to level 10, Adamantoise, get the last Royal weapon, platinum), but then realized that I had better things to do with my time, and I just stopped.

Glad to see other people are enjoying the game!

Even though I'm enjoying it, there's zero chance I'll try to get all the trophies. I stopped caring about those a long time ago --so much so, that I couldn't even tell you how many I have for this game, let alone what they are. But at least you liked the game enough to finish it, so that's something, right?

I should have posted it in here, but if anyone got the season pass then next weekend the multiplayer beta will go live. My buddy and I will likely be jumping in to give it a whirl.

Mario_Alba wrote:

But at least you liked the game enough to finish it, so that's something, right?

I did not hate the game. It was alright overall, but nowhere near my personal highpoints for the series (XII and VI, in that order).

ccesarano wrote:

I should have posted it in here, but if anyone got the season pass then next weekend the multiplayer beta will go live. My buddy and I will likely be jumping in to give it a whirl.

I'm not even subscribed to PS+, so I can't .

bobbywatson wrote:

I did not hate the game. It was alright overall, but nowhere near my personal highpoints for the series (XII and VI, in that order).

Well, I hope my opinion doesn't change when I get to the last few chapters. And since this is the only FF game I've ever played, it is my favorite .

I played it a TON this weekend, and I finally have the hang of fishing, to where I can usually reel in a 'tough' fish in a few seconds. It's weird but the left/right prompts for you to pull aren't randomized, you can actually predict them pretty easily, and when you get it wrong is when your line starts getting more tension. So, I think I've caught a couple without losing any durability on the line yet. It gets better too because the guy who you do the fishing quests with actually gives you a new pole (and probably more stuff later) if you do those, which makes it easier and easier. I think I'm probably level 4 or 5 on that so far. I'm still doing a bunch of sidequests so I'm only on Chapter 3 but I'm probably level 30 or so. I'm going to try and go for the trophies still, so I'm shooting for the 80 sidequests. I know I'm at least halfway there since I've gotten that trophy already. But, once I hit that I probably won't do more than I need to unless there's a great reward for something.

I'm liking this game more than I did before, but there are still a lot of problems with it, in my opinion. I don't think the game is very respectful of the players' time (both with driving in real-time and with loading screens), and the world is big and empty for the most part, aside from a few monsters or treasures scattered around. That's one of the bigger things - it feels like, when driving around, you just miss a lot of the game that you'll never see because there's no reason to go there.

I did also hit a couple invisible walls in some areas which I thought was weird, and I dislike how sections that are 'caged off' can only be entered / left through one entrance at the beginning / end of a separate path rather than having exits set throughout.

I'm interested to know if there's a cookbook that's been made from the game, though - similar to how they've done it for things like Game of Thrones, LOTR (I think) because making Ignis' Croque Madame would be a fun thing!

I'm not sure if I'll finish by the end of September, but if I finish up some of those side quests and move onto the main story, I probably will.

Damnable Bear wrote:

I'm not sure if I'll finish by the end of September, but if I finish up some of those side quests and move onto the main story, I probably will.

The main story itself can be done pretty quickly. After chapter 8 (once you're out of the open world), each chapter is 2-3 hours long. The longest is probably chapter 13 (if you do the normal route) takes around 3 hours.

Damnable Bear wrote:

I'm liking this game more than I did before, but there are still a lot of problems with it, in my opinion. I don't think the game is very respectful of the players' time (both with driving in real-time and with loading screens), and the world is big and empty for the most part, aside from a few monsters or treasures scattered around.

I agree that the loading screens are ridiculous. For the most part, the real-time driving hasn't bothered me, but every now and then I do get annoyed by it. Especially when you drive for five minutes to take a picture, and then it's taken so long that the light isn't good and you have to come back the following day... and you can't fast travel there. There is no excuse for that.

I'll be starting Chapter 9 next time I play (either this evening or tomorrow), so I might finish the game this week. As I said a couple of days ago, I'm really enjoying it, but I hit the thirty hour mark yesterday, and I am ready now to push forward and see the game through. We'll see how things go...

Yeah I'm also around thirty hours and now I'm on Chapter 5. 4 and 5 went real quick last night, assuming I'm near the end of 5. Huh! Weird pacing.

Quite upset right now. I played through Chapters 9 and 10 between yesterday and today.

Chapter 9:

Spoiler:

I liked the setting of Chapter 9, Altissia, but I didn't particularly care for the boss fight, and then what happened to Ignis made me very, very angry. Will it be reversed by the end of the game? I sure hope so!

Chapter 10:

Spoiler:

I confess I get lost easily in amy game if I'm not constantly looking at the minimap, but I found the level design in this chapter infuriating. I wasted so much time backtracking and walking into dead ends that I was ready to stop playing. But I persevered. Also, I didn't think the dungeon was interesting at all. And on top of that, I felt terrible about poor Ignis walking around like he was.

And then I started Chapter 11:

Spoiler:

I managed to die for the first time in the game when I didn't understand what I was supposed to do once I warped to the first ship. I gave it a second go, and I fell off another ship... and kept falling... and falling... and falling... and falling, so I couldn't use the checkpoint and had to reload the last save, which takes me back to the fight on the train when the soldiers are shooting at it. I was too angry to continue playing, so I stopped.

I hope things get better from here, because you guys know I've been loving the game up to this point.

Spoiler:

Ignis remains blind but he learns to make do, so he's as effective as when he had sight.

Spoiler:

That still sucks, but I guess it sucks less. He is my favorite character, so I am very upset about it.

Mario_Alba wrote:

Chapter 10:

Spoiler:

I confess I get lost easily in amy game if I'm not constantly looking at the minimap, but I found the level design in this chapter infuriating. I wasted so much time backtracking and walking into dead ends that I was ready to stop playing. But I persevered. Also, I didn't think the dungeon was interesting at all. And on top of that, I felt terrible about poor Ignis walking around like he was.

I like to believe this was an intentional design decision. Should a game intentionally include sections that are unpleasant or not fun? Maybe not. Can we assume this was intentional and not just a failure by the designers? Not necessarily. But, I'd like to believe that this section is not supposed to be fun, in service to the plot.

The saddest point for me in chapter 10 is

Spoiler:

when the guys camp and, instead of the usual gorgeous food porn, all they get is canned beans or something.

That hurt.

beeporama wrote:

I like to believe this was an intentional design decision. Should a game intentionally include sections that are unpleasant or not fun? Maybe not. Can we assume this was intentional and not just a failure by the designers? Not necessarily. But, I'd like to believe that this section is not supposed to be fun, in service to the plot.

You know? I agree with you. I'm sure it was designed like that for that particular reason, and it makes perfect sense. I still hated it, but it does make sense. Plus, the crappy weather and the fact that Gladio keeps making those snide remarks also add to the overall awfulness.

bobbywatson wrote:

The saddest point for me in chapter 10 is

Spoiler:

when the guys camp and, instead of the usual gorgeous food porn, all they get is canned beans or something.

That hurt.

That was SO sad. And the fact that...

Spoiler:

Prompto says he has some pictures and Noctis says he doesn't really care to see them

is heartbreaking.

As I said: an awful chapter.

I just finished the game, friends. I loved Chapters 1-8, I didn't like Chapters 9-10, and the rest were okay. In retrospect, I wish the game had ended after Chapter 8, or that the whole game had been an open world like those eight chapters were. Overall, I liked it, and I'm glad I played it. For those keeping score at home, I played for 39 hours and finished it at level 47, which means there's still plenty left to do in terms of side quests, hunts, etc, but I don't think I'll ever go back to do any of those. And now I can say I've played (and finished!) a JRPG. Yay!

Final Fantasy XV does a lot right, possibly even more wrong, and is hard to call a JRPG in terms of tradition. So, while it's great that you finished it, I would say that I wouldn't let this one particularly shape what any of the rest will be like. I'm hitting the Ch 8-9 area right now and I can actually kind of feel the momentum slowing a bit. I'm taking the time to do some side quests where I can, but it definitely has its foot off the gas right now.

I've read the game is not really the best example of a JRPG, but I confess that was part of what made it attractive for me. While I have never played a game with turn-based combat before (except for the hundreds of hours I put into Worms 2 a couple of decades ago), I have to say that this combat system doesn't look appealing to me, which is why I have traditionally avoided both RPGs and JRPGs. (And yet I have The Witcher 3 waiting on my shelf.) When I saw FFXV had real-time combat, I became interested immediately, which is why I'm also interested in Ni No Kuni 2. And I enjoyed the combat quite a bit, except for a couple of instances towards the end of the game, when I was so out leveled that it was pure misery to defeat the enemies.

Talking about the genre itself, I have been very interested in Persona 5 ever since it was announced, but the turn-based combat is the one thing that worries me. Well, that, and the hundreds of hours people are saying they have been sinking into the game. If I had to go with another JRPG now that I'm done with FFXV, it would probably be Nier: Automata because of the real-time combat, but I'm not sure that game is a good example of the genre either. I might still try Persona 5 because it looks amazing, but it won't be until next year, that's for sure.

Long story short, I won't let Final Fantasy XV shape my expectations for other JRPGs, but as I tried to say, and even though the second part of the game was a little blah, I do think it was the right game for me to try out the genre, with Nier being another good choice, precisely because they are more like hybrids than pure JRPGs, I think. Baby steps, I guess .

I'll be curious to read your thoughts on the second part of the game now that you're getting to Chapter 9. Also, I'm eager to discuss the ending whenever you get there.

If you can at all, Nier 1 is a great way to start, but not necessary. I think Nier Automata will be up your alley in the same way this probably was, except I think that's unanimously the better game. I still need to play it myself but the first one holds up surprisingly well minus a bit of jank.

Mario_Alba wrote:

I do think it was the right game for me to try out the genre, with Nier being another good choice, precisely because they are more like hybrids than pure JRPGs, I think. Baby steps, I guess ;)

Action RPGs are a perfectly legit sub-genre, don't let anyone tell you differently. Final Fantasy XV is a bit of an oddball due to the open world nature and departure from series traditions but it does hit enough of the same notes as past games that it's unmistakably part of the same lineage (if that makes any sense).

I haven't played it myself, but Nier: Automata sounds like a good next step. If you like that you might want to also look at the Kingdom Hearts series since many of the people responsible for that franchise were involved with the development of Final Fantasy XV. There's also The World Ends With You which you can find on the Nintendo DS or mobile devices which has a very franctic combat system and is very Japanese but it has a wonderfully unique style and features more of the interlocking systems that tend to be a major hallmark of JRPGs. It might also scratch a little bit of that Persona 5 itch if P5's style and sense of place is one of the draws for you.

Going back a bit further back you might enjoy Secret of Mana or Legend of Mana which are part of what was Squaresoft's main action-RPG franchise until it was slain by the switch to 3D on the PS2. These might be harder to come by but if you've got a Wii or PS3 you can get them as digital downloads.

There's other JRPG franchises that aren't turned based outside of Square-Enix although I don't have a lot of experience with them. I want to say the Y's and Tales of... series are action-RPGs but I'm not 100% certain. I'd also take a look at Supergiant's Bastion since while their games aren't JRPGs their design sensibilities are close enough I think.

And while I personally don't consider it a JRPG, there's also the Legend of Zelda series if you haven't played it yet.

EDIT: If you're ever interested in easing yourself into turn-based combat systems, there's also a handful of franchises out there which are fundamentally turn-based but are a little more action-oriented and keep you actively engaged between turns.

Damnable Bear wrote:

If you can at all, Nier 1 is a great way to start, but not necessary. I think Nier Automata will be up your alley in the same way this probably was, except I think that's unanimously the better game. I still need to play it myself but the first one holds up surprisingly well minus a bit of jank.

Thank you for the suggestion. Nier 1 doesn't seem all that interesting, so I'll probably skip it and play Automata.

shoptroll wrote:
Mario_Alba wrote:

I do think it was the right game for me to try out the genre, with Nier being another good choice, precisely because they are more like hybrids than pure JRPGs, I think. Baby steps, I guess ;)

Action RPGs are a perfectly legit sub-genre, don't let anyone tell you differently. Final Fantasy XV is a bit of an oddball due to the open world nature and departure from series traditions but it does hit enough of the same notes as past games that it's unmistakably part of the same lineage (if that makes any sense).

I haven't played it myself, but Nier: Automata sounds like a good next step. If you like that you might want to also look at the Kingdom Hearts series since many of the people responsible for that franchise were involved with the development of Final Fantasy XV. There's also The World Ends With You which you can find on the Nintendo DS or mobile devices which has a very franctic combat system and is very Japanese but it has a wonderfully unique style and features more of the interlocking systems that tend to be a major hallmark of JRPGs. It might also scratch a little bit of that Persona 5 itch if P5's style and sense of place is one of the draws for you.

Going back a bit further back you might enjoy Secret of Mana or Legend of Mana which are part of what was Squaresoft's main action-RPG franchise until it was slain by the switch to 3D on the PS2. These might be harder to come by but if you've got a Wii or PS3 you can get them as digital downloads.

There's other JRPG franchises that aren't turned based outside of Square-Enix although I don't have a lot of experience with them. I want to say the Y's and Tales of... series are action-RPGs but I'm not 100% certain. I'd also take a look at Supergiant's Bastion since while their games aren't JRPGs their design sensibilities are close enough I think.

And while I personally don't consider it a JRPG, there's also the Legend of Zelda series if you haven't played it yet.

EDIT: If you're ever interested in easing yourself into turn-based combat systems, there's also a handful of franchises out there which are fundamentally turn-based but are a little more action-oriented and keep you actively engaged between turns.

I only have a PS4 and a 360, so if something is not available on those consoles, I'm going to have to miss it, but thanks for all the suggestions, Shoptroll. I'll probably go with Automata when I get it for Christmas (I hope), and perhaps Ni No Kuni 2 next year... maybe. And Persona 5 maybe as well. I love the style, and how it recreates Tokyo (or parts of it), and everything I've read you guys talk about sounds interesting, from the story to the characters and the jobs and things to do. I might need to put it on my Christmas list despite the turn-based combat, haha. I don't know why that type of combat seems like such an insurmountable obstacle, but I remember trying the Child of Light demo because it looked fantastic, and when it came time to fight, I almost threw the controller at the screen. Brrr...

Oh, and Bastion also sounds interesting, and it looks great, but we'll see.

Finally, believe it or not, I have never played a second of any Zelda games. And I call myself a gamer...

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

I really enjoy Child of Light, but I've also played a lot of turn-based stuff, and Child of Light has a lot going on at once.

I was so lost, man. SO lost.

Going back to Final Fantasy XV for a second, is it just me, or Ravus looks just like Tom Cruise?

Man, getting everyone's skills up to 10 is a haul. Fishing and Photography are finally there. Cooking and Survival are close. I'm in Ch. 9 but I'm trying to do a bunch of other stuff before progressing further, mostly cleaning up side quests just because I feel like it. I'm actually holding a bunch of XP back before I stay at a pricy place in Altissia to triple it, for later in the game. Gotta fight that Adamantoise.

bobbywatson wrote:

The game disc is now back in its case, and I don't expect it will come out of it any time soon.

I was trying to get the remaining trophies (fishing to level 10, Adamantoise, get the last Royal weapon, platinum), but then realized that I had better things to do with my time, and I just stopped.

Glad to see other people are enjoying the game!

Against my better judgment, I got the game out of its case this week to get the stupid Dream Egg from the Chocobo Moogle Festival and, before I realized it, I was back in Eos, driving around, completing hunts, finishing the few side-quests that I had in my quest log, raising my fishing level up to 10, getting the last Royal Arm I was missing, and I may fight the Adamantoise at some point this week and get the Platinum trophy.

Those Magitek exosuits really, really remove difficulty in the game, and that's fine with me, I just want the McGuffins That level 120 monster went down without any kind of effort with my level 88 party.

I platted it last night. Adamantoise is funny because you can actually use the ring you get from later in the game to cast banish (L1 and Triangle at the same time) and eventually it'll work for a OHKO on him.

I'd recommend putting a point into the skill that lets you regen your mana when you point-warp, because you can cast banish, use all your mana for it one time, point warp and get it all back, repeat. Took me 5 mins of doing almost nothing to get that trophy.

The Gladio DLC is pretty bad but the Prompto one is supposed to be better. Doing that then probably uninstalling for now.

I did the Adamantoise the old fashioned way today, and it took a bit more than an hour. I got the platinum as well, and I think I'm done with it too. Probably for real this time.

Edit: Tried the Banish trick this morning and, yeah, that was much, much faster than doing it the way I did Good for grinding XP I guess

bobbywatson wrote:

I did the Adamantoise the old fashioned way today, and it took a bit more than an hour. I got the platinum as well, and I think I'm done with it too. Probably for real this time.

Edit: Tried the Banish trick this morning and, yeah, that was much, much faster than doing it the way I did Good for grinding XP I guess :)

In the original release, Adamantoise was immune to the ring. The ring, in general, was really weak. They buffed it in a later update.

Although I'm glad they buffed the ring, I think they should have left Adamantoise immune to it. It seems much less fun to use it. I really enjoyed that epic battle, especially when I triggered the special combo attack cutscene. There is also a special summon animation for Titan during that fight in deference to how epic an opponent it is.