Gaming Final Fantasy XVI (PS5)

[padr81]

Nearly finished it. I like it, but it could've been a lot better. Square doesn't know how to design open spaces. The environments look pretty, but they're barely interactive and full of invicible walls. It also should've been more difficult and have more meaningful equipment choices than, here take this, the numbers are a little higher and that's all.

Whinging aside, I loved it though. Except Jill, my God, the 1920's called they want their gender roles back.

Jill is a weird one cause

Spoiler: Jill late game

her character story arc is done after the 2nd crystal and it kinda felt they had nowhere to go with her.
They couldn't have Clive kill her so she became kinda pointless.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Jill is a weird one cause

Spoiler: Jill late game

her character story arc is done after the 2nd crystal and it kinda felt they had nowhere to go with her.
They couldn't have Clive kill her so she became kinda pointless.

Yeah she just stands there looking akward and saying almost nothing. Even when

Spoiler

when they meet Jushua as an adult and him and Clive are all OMG I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!! and Jill is just standing there, yeah uhm hi

.

 

[P-Ro]

I'm 75% in and whilst I've enjoyed most of the side quests, I think it's pretty fecking ridiculous that after you find out in the main quest that some mates are in imminent danger, some side quests then appear with one of them being fetching cooking ingredients . Like, what the feck? Kind of spoils the whole pace and feel of the game.

 

[padr81]

Yeah she just stands there looking akward and saying almost nothing. Even when

Spoiler

when they meet Jushua as an adult and him and Clive are all OMG I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!! and Jill is just standing there, yeah uhm hi

.

I laughed at that bit it was so strange, I don't know if it was supposed to be shyness or what but I kept thinking

Spoiler

is Clive not gonna tell Joshua who she is. Seemed like an eternity before she got involved.

 

[pacifictheme]

I'm 75% in and whilst I've enjoyed most of the side quests, I think it's pretty fecking ridiculous that after you find out in the main quest that some mates are in imminent danger, some side quests then appear with one of them being fetching cooking ingredients . Like, what the feck? Kind of spoils the whole pace and feel of the game.

Yeah I noticed this too and found it bizarre. The whole thing is though because they are trapped but Clive can just zip about the map doing whatever he likes.

Anyway, I got the final eikon today, after the last two eikon fights were way too over the top I enjoyed this one a lot. Looking forward to finishing this now, think it goes in only above 3, 13 and 15 in my ranking of the games. Will not be trying to platinum it. The idea of redoing some of the boss fights on hard mode does nothing for me at all, due to how boring and long winded they were.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Yeah I noticed this too and found it bizarre. The whole thing is though because they are trapped but Clive can just zip about the map doing whatever he likes.

Anyway, I got the final eikon today, after the last two eikon fights were way too over the top I enjoyed this one a lot. Looking forward to finishing this now, think it goes in only above 3, 13 and 15 in my ranking of the games. Will not be trying to platinum it. The idea of redoing some of the boss fights on hard mode does nothing for me at all, due to how boring and long winded they were.

Have you played them all? If so, surely it's better than 2

That aside I agree though. Even X-2 is comfortably better if you ask me.

 

[pacifictheme]

Have you played them all? If so, surely it's better than 2

That aside I agree though. Even X-2 is comfortably better if you ask me.

I nearly put that I haven't played 1 and 2, so I can't rank it versus those two. I have played the others.

 

[padr81]

Yeah I noticed this too and found it bizarre. The whole thing is though because they are trapped but Clive can just zip about the map doing whatever he likes.

Anyway, I got the final eikon today, after the last two eikon fights were way too over the top I enjoyed this one a lot. Looking forward to finishing this now, think it goes in only above 3, 13 and 15 in my ranking of the games. Will not be trying to platinum it. The idea of redoing some of the boss fights on hard mode does nothing for me at all, due to how boring and long winded they were.

In fairness this is classic rpg fare, its just 16 has many of them.
How many people get to the end of FF7 and go breed a golden chocobo or go get Knights of the Round. At the end of 6 instead of going to Kefka's tower most people go to the colliseum etc... In the absolute dumpster fire turd that is 8 "ah lets stop for a game of cards". Oblivion "gotta close those Oblivion gates but first I'm gonna do a thousand other things for different guilds", God of War Ragnarok "My son is with Odin the most evil being in the universe, gotta help him but first me and Freya gonna go collect flowers".

Its the amount and quality of them that knock 16 back but that level of immersion breaking is a consistent thing is all rpg's FF in particular. Not saying its not annoying because 16 has so many it feels worse than in others.

 

[Irwin99]

In fairness this is classic rpg fare, its just 16 has many of them.
How many people get to the end of FF7 and go breed a golden chocobo or go get Knights of the Round. At the end of 6 instead of going to Kefka's tower most people go to the colliseum etc... In the absolute dumpster fire turd that is 8 "ah lets stop for a game of cards". Oblivion "gotta close those Oblivion gates but first I'm gonna do a thousand other things for different guilds", God of War Ragnarok "My son is with Odin the most evil being in the universe, gotta help him but first me and Freya gonna go collect flowers".

Its the amount and quality of them that knock 16 back but that level of immersion breaking is a consistent thing is all rpg's FF in particular. Not saying its not annoying because 16 has so many it feels worse than in others.

Yeah I noticed this too and found it bizarre. The whole thing is though because they are trapped but Clive can just zip about the map doing whatever he likes.

Anyway, I got the final eikon today, after the last two eikon fights were way too over the top I enjoyed this one a lot. Looking forward to finishing this now, think it goes in only above 3, 13 and 15 in my ranking of the games. Will not be trying to platinum it. The idea of redoing some of the boss fights on hard mode does nothing for me at all, due to how boring and long winded they were.

I place it right in the middle. Every FF from 4-10 I rate higher. I still prefer it more than 12, 13 and 15 though

 

[KirkDuyt]

I place it right in the middle. Every FF from 4-10 I rate higher. I still prefer it more than 12, 13 and 15 though

 

[pacifictheme]

I much prefer 12 to 16, it's one of my favourites.

And I am considering blocking the user who slagged off 8.

 

[Massive Spanner]

12 is class. It felt like Square Enix were really into something with their want for a more modern, open world real time combat system whilst still keeping turn based elements and then they just totally abandoned it after that with the shambles of 13.

 

[KirkDuyt]

12 is class. It felt like Square Enix were really into something with their want for a more modern, open world real time combat system whilst still keeping turn based elements and then they just totally abandoned it after that with the shambles of 13.

I didn't mind the combat system in 13 actually.

I hope we get FF7r combat in a mainline game next. Love that system. It's almost an action game, but still clearly an RPG. If they go for an action game again, they need to make it more difficult or at least give us the option to start the game on a harder mode. I love action games, but mostly because of the challenge. The only real fun in this game is stack as much stagger damage as possible.

 

[siw2007]

Just completed this. Possibly one of my favourite games ever and certainly one of the best games in the genre.

They got this game absolutely spot on in many ways. The combat is amazing, it’s got a brilliant rhythm which is quick and addictive. The graphics are superb, especially the scenery. The story is great and there are sone great characters, Clive is probably one of my favourite ever protagonists. Even the soundtrack is class, I think the light hearted track from the hideaway is the best one.

My only gripe is that some of the side quests were a little meaningless. There were maybe too many of them at times and became too much of a chore between story missions. I perhaps would have liked some stronger late game equipment too, I did get the three golden rated weapon/armour that you get when you beat the late game side quests but I would have liked them to be a little stronger.

In terms of my favourite FF’s, this is only 2nd behind FF10.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Just completed this. Possibly one of my favourite games ever and certainly one of the best games in the genre.

They got this game absolutely spot on in many ways. The combat is amazing, it’s got a brilliant rhythm which is quick and addictive. The graphics are superb, especially the scenery. The story is great and there are sone great characters, Clive is probably one of my favourite ever protagonists. Even the soundtrack is class, I think the light hearted track from the hideaway is the best one.

My only gripe is that some of the side quests were a little meaningless. There were maybe too many of them at times and became too much of a chore between story missions. I perhaps would have liked some stronger late game equipment too, I did get the three golden rated weapon/armour that you get when you beat the late game side quests but I would have liked them to be a little stronger.

In terms of my favourite FF’s, this is only 2nd behind FF10.

Crazy how opinions can differ. I thought it started very strongly, but after finishing it, I'm quite let down. I'm a big fan of character action games, but it's not difficult or deep enough to be really great in that regard and because of the action focus the RPG elements feel like an after thought (gear, level and stats are almost completely irrelevant, there's no party and the exploration is ehh). Story was good enough, but it shifts tone midway through and sort of lost me in the end.

Solid 7.5/10 game, but out of 4-16 I'd only rank 13 and 15 below it. I really wanted to love it, but I just didn't.

 

[siw2007]

Crazy how opinions can differ. I thought it started very strongly, but after finishing it, I'm quite let down. I'm a big fan of character action games, but it's not difficult or deep enough to be really great in that regard and because of the action focus the RPG elements feel like an after thought (gear, level and stats are almost completely irrelevant, there's no party and the exploration is ehh). Story was good enough, but it shifts tone midway through and sort of lost me in the end.

Solid 7.5/10 game, but out of 4-16 I'd only rank 13 and 15 below it. I really wanted to love it, but I just didn't.

I thought it was difficult when it needed to be, especially some of the final bosses and hunts, it took me 47h to beat this so I don’t think I’d welcome a significant increase in difficulty, I think it would kill the flow of the game.
It is a very different experience to other FF games. It isn’t the all encompassing RPG that past FF’s have been. If things like party system, exploration, etc are essential to some people then I appreciate that this game probably isn’t for them. It isn’t really an RPG, it’s definitely more of an action game with some minor rpg elements and quite a streamlined approach to its overall experience which I get isn’t for everyone. I don’t think many of these things are that essential for this game though because it clearly doesn’t want to be that, it wants to be an action game, it wants players to use dexterous as well as wits, it wants players to upgrade and use its many Eikon abilities to make its action for exciting and it succeeds at that.

I haven’t played the ones below 10 apart from 1 and 2. It’s a tough shout between this one, FFX-2 and and FF7R, but I much prefer it too 12, 13, 13-2 and 15. But then again, it’s a very different game, it’s almost incomparable to the others because it’s almost a compete different genre.

 

[KirkDuyt]

I thought it was difficult when it needed to be, especially some of the final bosses and hunts, it took me 47h to beat this so I don’t think I’d welcome a significant increase in difficulty, I think it would kill the flow of the game.
It is a very different experience to other FF games. It isn’t the all encompassing RPG that past FF’s have been. If things like party system, exploration, etc are essential to some people then I appreciate that this game probably isn’t for them. It isn’t really an RPG, it’s definitely more of an action game with some minor rpg elements and quite a streamlined approach to its overall experience which I get isn’t for everyone. I don’t think many of these things are that essential for this game though because it clearly doesn’t want to be that, it wants to be an action game, it wants players to use dexterous as well as wits, it wants players to upgrade and use its many Eikon abilities to make its action for exciting and it succeeds at that.

I haven’t played the ones below 10 apart from 1 and 2. It’s a tough shout between this one, FFX-2 and and FF7R, but I much prefer it too 12, 13, 13-2 and 15. But then again, it’s a very different game, it’s almost incomparable to the others because it’s almost a compete different genre.

Yeah I appreciate that, but it's too easy for an action game (that's just my personal preference of course) and there's not enough mechanics to keep it interesting. It's stagger, unload, repeat. Devil May Cry is awesome, especially on Dante must Die, were every mistake will probably kill you and dying a few times means you start over or in Bloody Palace were you need to be stylish to earn enough time.

Some of the hunts in FF16 are sort of difficult

Spoiler

like Svarog if you take him on straight away

, but when you die you get back all your potions and the boss will be half dead.

Having said that, I really enjoyed the game, the world is awesome and Clive is a bad ass protagonist (aside from the silly name), but it could've been so kuch better.

 

[pacifictheme]

Just completed this. Possibly one of my favourite games ever and certainly one of the best games in the genre.

They got this game absolutely spot on in many ways. The combat is amazing, it’s got a brilliant rhythm which is quick and addictive. The graphics are superb, especially the scenery. The story is great and there are sone great characters, Clive is probably one of my favourite ever protagonists. Even the soundtrack is class, I think the light hearted track from the hideaway is the best one.

My only gripe is that some of the side quests were a little meaningless. There were maybe too many of them at times and became too much of a chore between story missions. I perhaps would have liked some stronger late game equipment too, I did get the three golden rated weapon/armour that you get when you beat the late game side quests but I would have liked them to be a little stronger.

In terms of my favourite FF’s, this is only 2nd behind FF10.

The genre is surely action games and it's nowhere near the best.

 

[siw2007]

Yeah I appreciate that, but it's too easy for an action game (that's just my personal preference of course) and there's not enough mechanics to keep it interesting. It's stagger, unload, repeat. Devil May Cry is awesome, especially on Dante must Die, were every mistake will probably kill you and dying a few times means you start over or in Bloody Palace were you need to be stylish to earn enough time.

Some of the hunts in FF16 are sort of difficult

Spoiler

like Svarog if you take him on straight away

, but when you die you get back all your potions and the boss will be half dead.

Having said that, I really enjoyed the game, the world is awesome and Clive is a bad ass protagonist (aside from the silly name), but it could've been so kuch better.

I don’t like my games being particularly difficult. Accessibility is important to me as games are a source of relaxation and entertainment especially as I have dyspraxia. So the difficulty of this game was perfect for my needs. The mechanics are quite straightforward but I love that about it, and the sense of power when you get in the latter stages of the game when you perfetc

In terms of bosses being difficult

Spoiler

I found Benedicta difficult at that stage in the game, Bahamut and Sleipnir difficult. While I found Barnabus, and Ultima on all occasions to be insanely hard. In terms of hunts, I found Atlus, Behemoth King and Svarog to be very difficult and punishing.

I love Cid’s character along with Clive. Both are great heroes in the story.

 

[KirkDuyt]

I don’t like my games being particularly difficult. Accessibility is important to me as games are a source of relaxation and entertainment especially as I have dyspraxia. So the difficulty of this game was perfect for my needs. The mechanics are quite straightforward but I love that about it, and the sense of power when you get in the latter stages of the game when you perfetc

In terms of bosses being difficult

Spoiler

I found Benedicta difficult at that stage in the game, Bahamut and Sleipnir difficult. While I found Barnabus, and Ultima on all occasions to be insanely hard. In terms of hunts, I found Atlus, Behemoth King and Svarog to be very difficult and punishing.

I love Cid’s character along with Clive. Both are great heroes in the story.

Yeah this Cid is the best Cid in FF history.

 

[siw2007]

The genre is surely action games and it's nowhere near the best.

It’s mostly an action game but it’s got the RPG elements and narrative that mean it probably has to be compared to similar games and not purely action games like DMC or NG.

 

[Massive Spanner]

As someone who has played a lot of Soulsborne and Elden Ring in the last few years it’s definitely too easy. The annoying thing is that enemies just don’t do enough damage, not that it’s too easy to evade or anything. I think they missed a beat by not at least offering a higher difficulty where enemies hit harder.

 

[pacifictheme]

It’s mostly an action game but it’s got the RPG elements and narrative that mean it probably has to be compared to similar games and not purely action games like DMC or NG.

In that case it's got gow and Witcher 3, as well as stuff like ghost of Tsushima to compete with. All way better than it.

 

[siw2007]

In that case it's got gow and Witcher 3, as well as stuff like ghost of Tsushima to compete with. All way better than it.

Witcher 3 (best game ever IMO) and GOW are two of my favs, don’t think this is far off those and FF16 is better than GOT.

 

[KirkDuyt]

In that case it's got gow and Witcher 3, as well as stuff like ghost of Tsushima to compete with. All way better than it.

I'd say this is closer to competing with a games like DMC and indeed God of War. The Witcher is much more of an RPG and open world while GoT is a generic open world checklist rubbish action game (enjoyable nonetheless).

 

[KirkDuyt]

As someone who has played a lot of Soulsborne and Elden Ring in the last few years it’s definitely too easy. The annoying thing is that enemies just don’t do enough damage, not that it’s too easy to evade or anything. I think they missed a beat by not at least offering a higher difficulty where enemies hit harder.

They do, you can play Arcade mode on Ultimaniac difficulty in NG+. It's infuriatingly hard.

 

[Massive Spanner]

They do, you can play Arcade mode on Ultimaniac difficulty in NG+. It's infuriatingly hard.

Yeah I know that but offering multiple difficulty modes from the start would have been so simple. It feels like I’m playing the game on Easy mode.

I do really enjoy it and I’m assuming they did it this way because it’s supposed to be a very accessible and chill game to appeal to the masses but surely the success of Elden Ring has shown there is a big appetite for more challenging experiences.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Yeah I know that but offering multiple difficulty modes from the start would have been so simple. It feels like I’m playing the game on Easy mode.

I do really enjoy it and I’m assuming they did it this way because it’s supposed to be a very accessible and chill game to appeal to the masses but surely the success of Elden Ring has shown there is a big appetite for more challenging experiences.

Yeah, I agree it should've been selectable from the start. As it stands you get nothing for beating Arcade levels on thos difficulty so no reason to tey really.

 

[padr81]

Yeah I appreciate that, but it's too easy for an action game (that's just my personal preference of course) and there's not enough mechanics to keep it interesting. It's stagger, unload, repeat. Devil May Cry is awesome, especially on Dante must Die, were every mistake will probably kill you and dying a few times means you start over or in Bloody Palace were you need to be stylish to earn enough time.

Some of the hunts in FF16 are sort of difficult

Spoiler

like Svarog if you take him on straight away

, but when you die you get back all your potions and the boss will be half dead.

Having said that, I really enjoyed the game, the world is awesome and Clive is a bad ass protagonist (aside from the silly name), but it could've been so kuch better.

FF mode is much better in that regard but having to beat the game to get to it is a big misstep on the teams part.

 

[padr81]

As someone who has played a lot of Soulsborne and Elden Ring in the last few years it’s definitely too easy. The annoying thing is that enemies just don’t do enough damage, not that it’s too easy to evade or anything. I think they missed a beat by not at least offering a higher difficulty where enemies hit harder.

I've been wondering about this a bit, I find the game way too easy but my wife finds it moderately difficult and she plays slot of games.

Wondering if the Elden ring in particular really upped the skill level of many of the more casual players over the last year or so to the point where people now actively need more challenging games.

If this was dropped 2 years ago only the hardcore would be complaining about the challenge.

 

[KirkDuyt]

I've been wondering about this a bit, I find the game way too easy but my wife finds it moderately difficult and she plays slot of games.

Wondering if the Elden ring in particular really upped the skill level of many of the more casual players over the last year or so to the point where people now actively need more challenging games.

If this was dropped 2 years ago only the hardcore would be complaining about the challenge.

Fromsoft difficulty is quite different than action game difficulty though. Devil May Cry and Bayonetta are twitchy whereas Elden Ring is more trial and error.

 

[esmufc07]

Spoiler: Story spoiler

just unlocked ifrit. That Clive v Clive battle was pretty epic with an amazing soundtrack. Some amazing moments in this game.

 

[Zen86]

Ten or fifteen hours in and it’s good. Infinitely better than XV. Still not sure on the combat though. Feels like it lacks depth and nuance for a FF game. It’s just button bashing. I like my buffs and status effects, I like having a strategy and a sense of what’s actually going on in battle, what kind of damage I’m doing. I’m not a huge fan of overly complicated combat systems but these are the kinds of staples that made FF games great. They’ve yet to really nail non turn-based combat IMO.

 

[P-Ro]

Fully completed it yesterday. Made sure I did all the beasts and side quests before the end. Whilst it has its flaws, the main story and many of the side stories were brilliant so it's up there with my favourite games ever. Well worth the 65 hours played time. I think I'll write a huge spoilered blog on it in the next week. One of two games that has made me cry.

 

[padr81]

Fully completed it yesterday. Made sure I did all the beasts and side quests before the end. Whilst it has its flaws, the main story and many of the side stories were brilliant so it's up there with my favourite games ever. Well worth the 65 hours played time. I think I'll write a huge spoilered blog on it in the next week. One of two games that has made me cry.

Spoiler: Completed Game Spoilers

Do you think Clive lives or dies?

Seen some decent theories for him surviving but I'm firmly in camp Clive - Dead, Joshua - Alive.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Spoiler: Completed Game Spoilers

Do you think Clive lives or dies?

Seen some decent theories for him surviving but I'm firmly in camp Clive - Dead, Joshua - Alive.

Spoiler

both dead I think, though Joshua is questionable since his wounds were gone

 

[pacifictheme]

Spoiler: End spoilers

I think Clive lives. We see his magic extinguish and it turns his hand to stone but nothing else. the post credit scene shows a book written by Joshua. Personally I think we saw Joshua die and Clive assumes his name to write the story of what happened. We've already seen him use Cid's name, so that's where I landed

 

[Irwin99]

Spoiler: ending

I think it was said a few times in the story that the phoenix can mend wounds but it cant bring someone back to life when the spirit has gone. In other words Joshua is well and truly dead. I'd be pretty disappointed if that wasn't the case despite him being a good character. Dion too should be another who didn't survive but I think Clive lived, albeit somewhat disabled

 

[P-Ro]

Spoiler: Completed Game Spoilers

Do you think Clive lives or dies?

Seen some decent theories for him surviving but I'm firmly in camp Clive - Dead, Joshua - Alive.

Spoiler: Yo

Clearly one of them survives and if you were to take it on face value then it's Joshua based on the book at the end. The diehard FF fans online are convinced it's Clive who survives based on several things he said in the final scenes which go hand in hand with the hero surviving as per other games. I think it's probably Clive who survives out of the two but given there's a bit of a mystery surrounding it all I'm just going for Jill and Goetz to die. Also Clive gets over Jill's death in a matter of minutes because he can't remember anything remarkable about the girl and decides that he's going to marry Martha or L'ubor..

 

[esmufc07]

Some of these boss fights/cinematics are stupidly epic. Typhon was superb.