Baldurs gate 3 vs Final fantasy 16

[avsfan9]

Which is better?

Click to read more...

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I personally loved FF16 but would be completely overwhelmed playing BC3.

With that said, BC3 will destroy this poll, even though it's not my cup of tea, it was still by all accounts a masterpiece in it's genre.

 

[avsfan9]

I personally loved FF16 but would be completely overwhelmed playing BC3.

With that said, BC3 will destroy this poll, even though it's not my cup of tea, it was still by all accounts a masterpiece in it's genre.

I don’t think I could find the time to play Baldurs gate the way it’s meant to be played. Seems like a game you need to put hundreds of hours into. I’m more of a resident evil/ the last of us type of gamer but I occasionally like a rpg but can’t seem to find the time required to play them

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I don’t think I could find the time to play Baldurs gate the way it’s meant to be played. Seems like a game you need to put hundreds of hours into. I’m more of a resident evil/ the last of us type of gamer but I occasionally like a rpg but can’t seem to find the time required to play them

Yea same here, I could never put that many hours in. FF16 was about 30 or so hours and even that exceeded my normal limit haha.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Both of these games have demos on PS5, download them and try them out yourself.

For me though, it's Baldur's Gate.

 

[Jussi]

Alan Wake 2.

 

[Commander Clueless]

I don’t think I could find the time to play Baldurs gate the way it’s meant to be played. Seems like a game you need to put hundreds of hours into. I’m more of a resident evil/ the last of us type of gamer but I occasionally like a rpg but can’t seem to find the time required to play them

For me it's BG3 far and away no contest whatsoever. And that's no insult to FFXVI.

It probably depends on whether you prefer action RPG spectacles or real video games....uh I mean slower strategic stuff with a ton of different options and paths.

 

[avsfan9]

Both of these games have demos on PS5, download them and try them out yourself.

For me though, it's Baldur's Gate.

Cool thanks, I didn’t know that.

Alan Wake 2.

Playing it now and it’s amazing

 

[Shareefruck]

Found 16 kind of outright bad after a while, despite a strong start, personally (only got to around the half-way point), so I assume Baldur's Gate 3.

 

[syz]

FF16 might be the most disappointing game of the year. Even as someone who doesn't care about DnD, I'd still say BG3.

But also yes, Alan Wake 2.

 

[PeteWorrell]

Baldur's Gate 3 and it's not even close. That game has a clear identity unlike Final Fantasy XVI.

 

[JaegerDice]

Final Fantasy 16 isnt even a particularly good Final Fantasy, let alone RPG.

BG3 by a wide margin.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Final Fantasy 16 isnt even a particularly good Final Fantasy, let alone RPG.

BG3 by a wide margin.

Yea it is. By most opinions it was the best FF in 20 years, not counting the online game. The general consensus was that it was a good game. Did you even play it?

 

[JaegerDice]

Yea it is. By most opinions it was the best FF in 20 years, not counting the online game. The general consensus was that it was a good game. Did you even play it?

Yes, I played it. It was mid. Great presentation, good story, incredibly shallow combat mechanics, nearly non-existing character building or RPG mechanics and essentially zero world-building or side-content of value, unless you really like fetch quests and delivery quests from nameless NPCs.

There's no way this game is better than Final Fantasy 12, which came out under 20 years ago.

FF16 is about as good a game as FF15, albeit with different strengths and weaknesses, which is pretty mid by FF standards when you look at the legacy of the franchise.

It's not a bad game, just not a great one by any means and certainly not as good as BG3.

 

[Shareefruck]

Being the best non MMO FF in a long time isn't much of an accomplishment, considering that the franchise has been kind of outright bad for almost that long (again, maybe just 12).

Yes, I played it. It was mid. Great presentation, good story, incredibly shallow combat mechanics, nearly non-existing character building or RPG mechanics and essentially zero world-building or side-content of value, unless you really like fetch quests and delivery quests from nameless NPCs.

There's no way this game is better than Final Fantasy 12, which came out under 20 years ago.

FF16 is about as good a game as FF15, albeit with different strengths and weaknesses, which is pretty mid by FF standards when you look at the legacy of the franchise.

It's not a bad game, just not a great one by any means and certainly not as good as BG3.

I only watched about half of it before I gave up (I'm mostly only interested in these games for story), but after the intriguing demo part, the narrative delivery kind of turned to an awkwardly considered, meandering mess, IMO. Just zero elegance. People like to draw comparisons to Game of Thrones, but there were massive stretches where it felt even worse than Season 8 of Game of Throne's writing style, IMO.

I've mentioned before that I was going to use this one as a litmus test for whether or not to dive into XIV, and it's soured that entirely (although I've heard that at least certain installments of it have far better writing than XVI).

I agree that I respect XII more than it.

 

[JaegerDice]

Being the best non MMO FF in a long time isn't much of an accomplishment, considering that the franchise has been kind of outright bad for almost that long (again, maybe just 12).


I only watched about half of it before I gave up (I'm mostly only interested in these games for story), but after the intriguing demo part, the narrative delivery kind of turned to an awkwardly considered, meandering mess, IMO. Just zero elegance. People like to draw comparisons to Game of Thrones, but there were massive stretches where it felt even worse than S8 Game of Throne's writing style, IMO.

I've mentioned before that I was going to use this one as a litmus test for whether or not to dive into XIV, and it's soured my interest entirely (although I've heard that parts of it have far better writing than XVI).

I agree re: some of the dialogue, but I enjoyed the political intrigue mixed with the personal mission of the same character. It felt grounded in the workings of a real place, despite the big magic and monsters.

Definitely agree re: the pacing. It was downright bad at times.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

XVI wound up being a pretty average FF. And I’m a big XIV/Yoshida stan.

BG3 was a major step forward not just for CRPGs but video games as a medium. It’s virtually peerless in terms of player agency, immersion, and storytelling. It will influence games for a long, long time.

So BG3 is the correct answer here.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

XVI wound up being a pretty average FF. And I’m a big XIV/Yoshida stan.

BG3 was a major step forward not just for CRPGs but video games as a medium. It’s virtually peerless in terms of player agency, immersion, and storytelling. It will influence games for a long, long time.

So BG3 is the correct answer here.

Agreed, but that still the best FF for me in 20 years Since X it’s went downhill.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Agreed, but that still the best FF for me in 20 years Since X it’s went downhill.

I think XII and XIV both are vastly superior to XVI.

XVI had some fantastic music, some beautiful inter-scene prose, and the foundation of a great combat system. But the lack of true exploration, progression, items, gear, loot, endgame content, and really any meaningful player choice in any way significantly hurt the game IMO.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I think XII and XIV both are vastly superior to XVI.

XVI had some fantastic music, some beautiful inter-scene prose, and the foundation of a great combat system. But the lack of true exploration, progression, items, gear, loot, endgame content, and really any meaningful player choice in any way significantly hurt the game IMO.

I didn’t include the online one, for some reason i could never get in 12 but i know a lot of people liked that one.

 

[Andrei79]

Agreed, but that still the best FF for me in 20 years Since X it’s went downhill.

Yeah, X is when I just couldn't get into the series anymore. That scene where they start laughing made me close my PlayStation from the cringe. Saying 16 is the best in 20 years means I'm not going to try it likely. Best in 30 years is another story.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I didn’t include the online one, for some reason i could never get in 12 but i know a lot of people liked that one.

You should consider XIV. Yes, it’s an MMO but can be entirely experienced like a single player JRPG.

It was made by the same team who did XVI with one key difference: XIV’s lead writer, Ishikawa, didn’t do anything on XVI. And it shows. There is nothing in XVI that comes remotely close to some of the story beats in Shadowbringers and Endwalker.

XIV has, IMO, the best story in any FF I’ve ever played except maybe Tactics. Definitely worth a shot if you can look past the traditional MMO structure.

 

[Shareefruck]

I think I lean towards considering XII better than X, as well. Though they both have a ton of flaws.

 

[RandV]

I feel like this is hardly a contest, unless you're specifically a fan of JRPG's and don't care for CRPG's. Baldur's Gate 2 is one of the best games of all time, and many many years later 3 lives up to it's predecessor. On the other hand outside of a much smaller audience how many people even like Final Fantasy anymore?

I feel like FF occupies this weird place in gaming history/culture. FFVII of course was a lot of peoples first entry into the genre, and the first to big on 3D, cut scene cinematic's, and marketing. for prior JRPG fans, IV and VI (or 2 and 3 as we knew them) were also great. After that though VIII wasn't good, IX was but it wasn't as overall popular as VII, and while personally I'm a big fan of X and like XII they receive all sorts of criticism from various fans. XIII of course more or less put the series into irrelevancy. They did carve themselves out the niche as the best MMO JRPG, not that I'm into those, but otherwise does Final Fantasy even deserve the space it occupies in gaming culture and history?

Like for me I'd ask if they were even the best JRPG's on the PS1, the height of the genre. Now that the initial graphics hype of VII is long past relevant look at a game like Star Ocean: Second Story which just got a remaster. If you ask me for that gen my top 3 would be Suikoden II, Xenogears, and FF Tactics, then the next group in no particular order containing Grandia, Valkyrie Profile, and some re-releases in Lunar 1 & 2 and Tactics Ogre. I'd place Final Fantasy VII & IX in the next group for me with games like Star Ocean and a few others.

Just personal opinion there but the point I'm making is there were a lot of good JRPG's at the time, and it often feels to me like the entire Final Fantasy brand is undeservedly built off of VII's hype and nostalgia. Like a new Dragon Quest game? I'm there day one. A new Final Fantasy? on the backlog and maybe I'll get around to it.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I feel like this is hardly a contest, unless you're specifically a fan of JRPG's and don't care for CRPG's. Baldur's Gate 2 is one of the best games of all time, and many many years later 3 lives up to it's predecessor. On the other hand outside of a much smaller audience how many people even like Final Fantasy anymore?

I feel like FF occupies this weird place in gaming history/culture. FFVII of course was a lot of peoples first entry into the genre, and the first to big on 3D, cut scene cinematic's, and marketing. for prior JRPG fans, IV and VI (or 2 and 3 as we knew them) were also great. After that though VIII wasn't good, IX was but it wasn't as overall popular as VII, and while personally I'm a big fan of X and like XII they receive all sorts of criticism from various fans. XIII of course more or less put the series into irrelevancy. They did carve themselves out the niche as the best MMO JRPG, not that I'm into those, but otherwise does Final Fantasy even deserve the space it occupies in gaming culture and history?

Like for me I'd ask if they were even the best JRPG's on the PS1, the height of the genre. Now that the initial graphics hype of VII is long past relevant look at a game like Star Ocean: Second Story which just got a remaster. If you ask me for that gen my top 3 would be Suikoden II, Xenogears, and FF Tactics, then the next group in no particular order containing Grandia, Valkyrie Profile, and some re-releases in Lunar 1 & 2 and Tactics Ogre. I'd place Final Fantasy VII & IX in the next group for me with games like Star Ocean and a few others.

Just personal opinion there but the point I'm making is there were a lot of good JRPG's at the time, and it often feels to me like the entire Final Fantasy brand is undeservedly built off of VII's hype and nostalgia. Like a new Dragon Quest game? I'm there day one. A new Final Fantasy? on the backlog and maybe I'll get around to it.

This is a super unfair accounting of FF.

It has a distinct brand, and mainline entries continue to sell very, very well for the genre.

I agree that even in FF’s golden age there were better JRPGs. (Big props for the Xenogears shout out; still one of my favorite games ever). But FF remains ridiculously influential in the west and a known commodity. DQ is great but MUCH more niche. FF’s comparables are major franchises like Zelda, Pokemon, and Halo.

Moreover, while VII was the zenith (and continuing to pay huge dividends decades later), FF was still a well known brand before VII. Chrono Trigger and VI together really primed western audiences to fall in love with something like VII and provided Square with a lot of community equity in the SNES era.

Whether or not you think the games are individually good or bad is honestly irrelevant. FF is sort of like Star Wars in that it’s so imaginative and transporting, nostalgia will completely warp opinions on which of these games are good or not. I’ve seen young FF fans who started on XIII and XV say the exact same things about those games as people like you and I would say about VI and VII. I have a friend who started on VIII who swears it’s the best in the series. And even if he’s wrong, VIII has some of Uematsu’s most phenomenal work in the series. Full stop. No two FF fans have the exact same ranking list because al most all of these games have something really unique and wonderful about them, warts or not.

Ultimately, FF is the primary reason most western gamers even know about JRPGs. For that reason alone it’s deserving of its spot in gaming history and culture. To be honest, the more I read your post, the more bizarre and axe grindy it seems. FF has been a massive brand of games for decades. These games continue to sell absurdly well. That doesn’t happen just because VII was popular 25 years ago. Get a grip.