Final Fantasy 16 (PS5)

[Soldier13Fox]

Not enamored with this game at all. I appreciate the hell out of the devs trying something a bit different.... but give me party turn based action every day of the week over this. Framerate is an adventure at all times. I love the darker / mature fantasy story though.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I have no doubt that there's story substance to them, I just have a problem with style, delivery and presentation (which I value just as much, if not more). As for datalogs, I'm thinking of how they're done in Tactics Ogre. You don't always get to play out things that happen in the world around you, but you can watch scenes happening somewhere else, or read about them as they occur, and that to me still feels more elegant and tasteful than being given an arbitrary chore to do that allows you to encounter them along the way.

I dunno, it feels cleaner, more minimal, less needless excess.

I also have this feeling of..... everything just feels like more organic storytelling to merely watch these things unfold, separate from you (in a "meanwhile, in ___" way), rather than coincidentally inject yourself into the center of every situation artificially in order to obtain that context. Really good data-logs can have that effect on me as well, and I can appreciate that more sometimes.

Also, it's not the chore of it that bothers me (sometimes I even feel like the more tedious/obtuse, the cooler and more mysterious a secret is)-- it's the framing of it AS a chore that bothers me.

That's all fair. I've never taken to datalogs in a general sense, but I agree that they can be included in a less intrusive way. I think Tactics Ogre and FFT are both uniquely equipped to do this, actually. They both frame their narrative in this grounded scholarly "retelling" of a story, particularly FFT. So any datalog-esque information feels much more natural to peruse, as if we came across another book in the library related to the War of the Lions.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on the framing of XVI quests as chores. To me, even the most mundane quests all seem to be self aware. Characters will outright say they know how busy Clive is, and he probably has better things to do, etc. etc.. But what does he do? He assures them their problem is worth his attention, and agrees to help out. That's kind of charming and sweet to me, and something a good leader in Clive's position would likely do from time to time.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Not enamored with this game at all. I appreciate the hell out of the devs trying something a bit different.... but give me party turn based action every day of the weak over this. Framerate is an adventure at all times. I love the darker / mature fantasy story though.

Just play on Graphics mode. Performance mode is a disaster. It locks you to 4K 30fps but honestly it looks pretty damn smooth on my LG CX.

I like the action combat a lot and think it provides a lot of untapped depth. It's not a button masher in any way, at least not at higher difficulty. BUT with all that said, I agree. I think Square should lean harder into exploration and itemization and party building in XVII.

 

[Shareefruck]

That's all fair. I've never taken to datalogs in a general sense, but I agree that they can be included in a more less intrusive way. I think Tactics Ogre and FFT are both uniquely equipped to do this, actually. They both frame their narrative in this grounded scholarly "retelling" of a story, particularly FFT. So any datalog-esque information feels much more natural to peruse, as if we came across another book in the library related to the War of the Lions.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on the framing of XVI quests as chores. To me, even the most mundane quests all seem to be self aware. Characters will outright say they know how busy Clive is, and he probably has better things to do, etc. etc.. But what does he do? He assures them their problem is worth his attention, and agrees to help out. That's kind of charming and sweet to me, and something a good leader in Clive's position would likely do from time to time.

Right. I'm not saying that datalogs are good all the time, I'm just saying that I've seen them work really well when done right, whereas that modern type of quest delivery, with the logs and the markers, I personally haven't ever gotten anything out of them besides a sense of disdain (unless Disco Elysium qualifies).

 

[The Crypto Guy]

FF16 has already sold 3 million copies since it’s release less than a week ago.

In comparison, the FF7 remake sold 5M after 5 months.

 

[Jovavic]

FF16 has already sold 3 million copies since it’s release less than a week ago.

In comparison, the FF7 remake sold 5M after 5 months.

The Remake also released on a system with a much larger base at the time. Same with FFXV, which released on two systems.

 

[Jovavic]

There are two side quests on the way to Moore that are definitely out of the ordinary, touching on the classism the Bearers/Branded deal with

 

[Nemesis Prime]

I am down to the last 5 chapters of the game.

Spoiler: Eikon/Plot Spoilers

I thought Kupka's Titan fights were pretty awesome until you get to the Crystalline Dominion and reunite with Joshua to fight Bahamut. Not that the game is hard by any means but it becomes so much easier once you have the power of Bahamut at your disposal.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Final Fantasy 16 Breaks All-Time PS5 Sales Record

Final Fantasy 16, the latest RPG in the franchise, breaks an all-time PlayStation 5 sales record less than two weeks after launch.

gamerant.com

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Beat the game yesterday.

Man, what a ride. Some of the best music in any FF I’ve ever played.

The story devolved into pretty typical FF territory, but the in-scene storytelling, presentation, and spectacle of it all blew me away. Koji Fox is a master localizer capable of some truly stunning English prose. Overall, the story did attempt some deeper messaging that will stick with me for some time.

Ultimately, though, the game had some real weaknesses. It seems almost no effort was put into gear, exploration, and itemization. So it’s essentially an action game without challenge, and an RPG without any meaningful player agency or progression systems. Itemization and exploration are the weakest areas of 14 so I guess Yoshida just doesn’t value them in his approach to game design. But it really held back 16 from being an all time great.

The quest design stuff has been debated to death. I do think the subtext and worldbuilding heavy approach to quest design feels a lot more cumbersome in a single player game like this than it does 14. Again, there was some fantastic writing buried in a lot of these side quests, but even as a veteran 14 player I became pretty fatigued toward end game and stopped doing them.

Overall, a pretty damn good FF but definitely a notch below my all time favorites. I would love to see Ishikawa write the next mainline FF herself. She’s by far the best writer Square has at the moment.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Beat the game yesterday.

Man, what a ride. Some of the best music in any FF I’ve ever played.

The story devolved into pretty typical FF territory, but the in-scene storytelling, presentation, and spectacle of it all blew me away. Koji Fox is a master localizer capable of some truly stunning English prose. Overall, the story did attempt some deeper messaging that will stick with me for some time.

Ultimately, though, the game had some real weaknesses. It seems almost no effort was put into gear, exploration, and itemization. So it’s essentially an action game without challenge, and an RPG without any meaningful player agency or progression systems. Itemization and exploration are the weakest areas of 14 so I guess Yoshida just doesn’t value them in his approach to game design. But it really held back 16 from being an all time great.

The quest design stuff has been debated to death. I do think the subtext and worldbuilding heavy approach to quest design feels a lot more cumbersome in a single player game like this than it does 14. Again, there was some fantastic writing buried in a lot of these side quests, but even as a veteran 14 player I became pretty fatigued toward end game and stopped doing them.

Overall, a pretty damn good FF but definitely a notch below my all time favorites. I would love to see Ishikawa write the next mainline FF herself. She’s by far the best writer Square has at the moment.

I’m only about 20%, on vacation now so it will take the back burner for a couple weeks, how would you rate the story out of 10? So far i’m loving it but hope it doesn’t fall off.

 

[Shareefruck]

Beat the game yesterday.

Man, what a ride. Some of the best music in any FF I’ve ever played.

The story devolved into pretty typical FF territory, but the in-scene storytelling, presentation, and spectacle of it all blew me away. Koji Fox is a master localizer capable of some truly stunning English prose. Overall, the story did attempt some deeper messaging that will stick with me for some time.

Ultimately, though, the game had some real weaknesses. It seems almost no effort was put into gear, exploration, and itemization. So it’s essentially an action game without challenge, and an RPG without any meaningful player agency or progression systems. Itemization and exploration are the weakest areas of 14 so I guess Yoshida just doesn’t value them in his approach to game design. But it really held back 16 from being an all time great.

The quest design stuff has been debated to death. I do think the subtext and worldbuilding heavy approach to quest design feels a lot more cumbersome in a single player game like this than it does 14. Again, there was some fantastic writing buried in a lot of these side quests, but even as a veteran 14 player I became pretty fatigued toward end game and stopped doing them.

Overall, a pretty damn good FF but definitely a notch below my all time favorites. I would love to see Ishikawa write the next mainline FF herself. She’s by far the best writer Square has at the moment.

I'm most curious in where you would place it, personally.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I'm most curious in where you would place it, personally.

I was trying to do a tier list the other day with my friend, funny enough.

It’s tough because I value sticking power with these games. I hardly remember playing 13, for example, and recall very little about it. Conversely, I have some strong memories of 15 that I didn’t value upon initially playing it. 8 has also slid up and down over the years. So 16 has the potential to rise or fall, too.

If I’m being super critical, these would be my tiers, in no particular order:

S Tier: Tactics, 7, 14, 12, 9
A Tier: 6, 10, 4
B Tier: 8, 16, 5
C Tier: 3, 15, 1
D Tier: 2, 13

I didn’t play enough of 11 to properly rate it, and I never played any of the 10 or 13 sequels.

Oh, and when I say 12 I’m specifically referring to The Zodiac Age remaster.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I’m only about 20%, on vacation now so it will take the back burner for a couple weeks, how would you rate the story out of 10? So far i’m loving it but hope it doesn’t fall off.

A solid 8/10. But that’s honestly where I tend to rate most of the FF stories. I’d probably put 7 and 9 at 9/10.

The only 10/10 JRPG stories I’ve ever encountered are Tactics and Xenogears.

 

[Nemesis Prime]

After completing this game, I can confirm this is the strongest entry in the series since VII. Yoshi P's vision for XVI breathed new life into the franchise, really setting the bar for ARPGs going forward. While it gave the series new life, at the same time, it felt like a send off to the Final Fantasy series as a whole.

The references scattered throughout the game, the story elements and how it all comes together in the end truly felt like it was saying goodbye. I doubt it is the end but if it is, you couldn't ask for a better end.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Anybody having any over heating issues?

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Anybody having any over heating issues?

Negative. It’s happening to i think under 1% and it’s deemed the console fault. Try cleaning out the dust try.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Negative. It’s happening to i think under 1% and it’s deemed the console fault. Try cleaning out the dust try.

I don't have the game yet, I'm asking because I want to buy it But I've heard enough about this problem that I believe it's real.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I don't have the game yet, I'm asking because I want to buy it But I've heard enough about this problem that I believe it's real.

Oh then no. I havent even heard anyone talk about it truthfully since the first few days so i cant imagine it’s an actual issue.

 

[Jovavic]

I roll digital and have had no issues with any game

 

[The Crypto Guy]

About 50% through the game, found my favorite song so far:



But there are so many good tunes. Love the generic boss battle song too.

 

[Jovavic]

The game card says I'm at 85% main story completed at 55 hours. Found out if you master a move you can equip it on any Eikon, not just the color it comes from, took a pic

 

[The Crypto Guy]

The game card says I'm at 85% main story completed at 55 hours. Found out if you master a move you can equip it on any Eikon, not just the color it comes from, took a pic

Whatttt. I wish I had known this sooner!

 

[Jovavic]

Whatttt. I wish I had known this sooner!

Lol. As I said, I'm 55 hours in and just found it by accident. My line up of moves and Eikons are pretty entrenched so there's not much I'm going to do this go around. But I thought other people might not know so I thought I'd share.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Lol. As I said, I'm 55 hours in and just found it by accident. My line up of moves and Eikons are pretty entrenched so there's not much I'm going to do this go around. But I thought other people might not know so I thought I'd share.

Haha I appreciate that!