Topic: Final fantasy discussion thread

So I just finished the Echoes of the Fallen DLC for Final Fantasy XVI. Honestly, the content here felt like a mix of something that could've been part of the main story but also not. It feels borderline like brand new content and not content that's been cut from the base game. The primary reason for me saying this is because you're basically exploring another dungeon like in the main game. But the additional lore you gain from playing this DLC, on top of the incredible boss fights, differentiates it from the base game and makes it worth experiencing.

Although €10 for roughly 3 hours of content might be asking a bit too much. In my case though, if I can play more FF16, then I'll happily pay that amount. It actually felt nice to return to this world after six months since I finished the game. I've missed the gang. Clive, Jill, Joshua and Torgal are easily my favourite FF characters. Such an awesome team!

Looking forward to playing the second DLC next year. Given that it's called "The Rising Tide", I hope they give Clive a new Eikon power in the form of the "lost Eikon" Leviathan. That's something that I felt was missing from the Echoes of the Fallen DLC.

@LtSarge you will finish ff8. The 100% completion is really fun too - bar the treasure hunting side quest, my god is it bad. I had never beaten Ultima weapon before and finally had the minerals to do it its not easy but has a particular pattern you can roll with. Good luck soldier. Galbadia garden salutes you cadet, now go meet your destiny.

Random side note about FFXVI —
I’m so impressed with the art direction of the game. Yes, the game is graphically beautiful in many aspects, but the design and costuming is so detailed and interesting. Kudos to the art team for their attention to detail. I find myself just staring at the characters outfits during cutscenes and dialogue. There is some occasional repetition of the clothing they wear with some color palette swaps, but a lot of the NPCs are uniquely attired. The amount of individual design into these details is mind boggling.

It contrasts somewhat with the lack of outfit options for the main characters. So far I only have two outfit options for Clive and Jill, which is fine I guess but I would have enjoyed having more outfits or perhaps having the equipment change the appearance of the armor. Clive’s sword appearance changing is a welcome option but it appears that’s all that changes.

The other really impressive aspect that shows the excellent attention to detail is in the summaries in the State of the Realm / War Room Map with Vivian. It’s fantastically detailed and organized. The story is a complicated mess, but running through Vivian’s lectures and interactive maps and charts makes is really quite digestible. I’m not a fan of games that make you read a boatload of text to understand the narrative backdrop, characters, and events, and the State of the Realm in this game keeps it really easy to just glance through and follow what’s going on in all these corners of the kingdom. Add to that the active time lore that you can access on the pause menu during a cutscene and you have just a wonderful way to communicate narrative without becoming laborious with reading tons of text. Square-Enix has set a new standard with this method and I hope to see other games implement this kind of style of storytelling.

@Th3solution I was really confused about the story since the game just drops you right in the middle of things without explaining any of the characters, previous events, politics, locations and so on. But like you mentioned, the active time lore is a fantastic feature and I think learning a few things at a time is much better than dropping extensive story exposition all at once on you.

@Th3solution @LtSarge Couldn’t agree more! I’d be happy to see the Active Time Lore system be standard issue in any game with a narrative going forward. Life is busy, sometimes you just need that quick reminder to spark your memory and having it tied to what’s onscreen is brilliant.

Been playing some Final Fantasy XVI over the course of last week. I wish all games were like this. The last time I enjoyed a game this much was... FF7R!

Gonna bump the f*** out of this forum post, as I can feel myself getting absolutely addicted to FF7 Remake Intergrade, and the Rebirth game isn't so far away, so people will be back here soon anyway.

There are games that I play and I really enjoy my time with, and then there are a few that for reasons unknown just get in my head and make me itch to get back on them. FF7 Remake, right now, is one of the itchers 😅

I've maybe played 4 or 5 hours of it, only 3? Chapters, and a large part has been setting up the story and then doing some side quests, and yet it has me hooked already. I can't really explain why, but I can just tell its a good'un.

At first I was just enjoying all the visuals, art direction, music and world. Then I was thinking, just jokingly, it's cool to be running around with a Mr.T inspired dude (A-Team reruns fueled part of my youth) and Badger from Breaking Bad. And today I realised it legitimately is Badger from Breaking Bad, so my mind was reblown 😂😂

So yes. I definitely got that itch where i'm casually thinking about the game in the back of my mind, and I really can't wait to get back on it tonight 😅

I'm imagining at some point for all of you here there was a moment where a Final Fantasy game gripped you in the same way?

@Ravix Good to see you’re enjoying the game, since FF16 fell flat for you, iirc.

For me, Remake was a great game, but not quite a “mind itcher” 😅. I enjoyed it and several aspects impressed me, but I think it’s a smidgen over-rated. I still thoroughly enjoyed it, but the OG FF7 was most definitely one that got under my skin and one I’d think about all day when I wasn’t playing it and at night as I drifted off to sleep.

The original FF7 is probably my favorite of the series, or a close second maybe to FF12. Either way, Remake is a solid entry and the reimagining of the characters and story is something I’ve come to accept after the initial disappointment that the story is divergent from expectations. I still am nervous about ever direction it’s taking and I won’t spoil anything for you, but I’m sure you’ve seen enough to be aware that it’s controversial.

@Th3solution FF16 didn't fall flat for me, I was loving it, but BG3 barged it's way in before I'd finished XVI. But I still enjoyed going back to it, just not quite to the same level as I enjoyed BG3 😅

I think I've got to thank Clive and XVI for setting me on this path to a game I was never likely to have tried before too! 😁

I've seen some say controversy, and be a bit down on changes, but it looks to me like those are a little exaggerated because of expectations (almost like the 'never meet your heroes' effect. As nothing will be as good as you rememeber it, especially if it is from childhood) or because it is not yet a fully told story, and that is like when people watch part of a film and say "nope, it's dumb" when in most good films it is the full story, especially the ending that defines the things you have experienced beforehand, and something that seems to be one thing can be felt in a dramaticaly different way once you have had the full experience and can think back on the whole work.

@Ravix Oh, okay - I just misremembered. I personally am liking FF16 more than FF7R, but both are great.

As far as my personal take on the reimagining of the FF7 narrative, I feel like my issues are less about it being ‘different’ and more about it being just… not good 😅, at least in some ways. It’s hard to know if having played the OG years ago and holding it dear is tainting my opinion, but there’s just aspects of the storyline that I’m not a fan of, independent of any relation to a previous version of things.

But this is where you’ll be a good source of truth because you’re going in without the prior experience.

@Th3solution perhaps part 2 of the remake could change things for you as well, perception wise, so whichever comes first, me finishing 7 Remake, or you playing through Rebirth. If it feels like it veers off at all or lacks something, I will probably mention it though 😄

Like I say, I don't even really know why I like it yet, it just feels like a game I'm getting a great deal of pleasure from, even early on. The combat clicked with me after an initial bit of confusion on how best not to get a million rockets in my face, and understanding how to switch between characters to keep stacking special moves, getting staggers etc. And it feels like a game that is going to have some enemy variety, which I always appreciate.

And the art design and level design is bloody lovely, especially compared to late game FF16 which does get a bit monotone and repetitive

If someone told me years ago that one day I'd be playing two Final Fantasy games concurrently, I'd have just laughed

But now I just have a big f***ing grin on my face as Barrett screams the FF battle victory tune on a train, for seemingly no reason. And he keeps doing it after battles as well. I hope he doesn't tire of it, as I certainly won't haha 😁

I realise that the FF victory tune or 'leitmotif', if we're being fancy, must be called something too, but I do not have that knowledge 😅