Topic: About Final Fantasy XV...

[zangetsu468]

Sounds like you've made up your mind too...

I don't think so Laina.

I said I would not be negative about FF nor my approach to it, I never said I would have to like it. How can I know right now? Of course if it sucks to me I would not be investing my time into it past a few initial hours. I just refuse to go into something thinking negatively thereby already dooming it. It's a lousy way to channel thoughts and feelings imo.

Some people in this forum are saying it's going to be bad, they detest the game, it's not FF, the list goes on.
This happens to nearly every series - no matter how good or famous - at some point, was LOS or SOTN really Castlevania, was Sonic Lost World really Sonic, was SFIV really SF and KOFXII really KOF? Was FFXII really FF at the time? It's the exact same thing now for XV.
If people view this as an identity crisis I can understand that in part as maybe it's not their idea of FF.

Your relationship analogy is interesting, therefore, I will say this. It doesn't matter if a relationship is an old flame that is trying to be rekindled or a new love.. Being apprehensive is one thing, everyone should be to some extent. However, if one outright believes that a scenario will fail/disappoint/let them down in some way which will be behind repair, then one is dooming themselves to that outcome because that is their only focus. It's a classic case of the self fulfilling prophecy.

Though if people thought the series was utterly and completely doomed would they be voicing their opinions (even if they're negative or laced with doom-and-gloom) here? I'm not so sure about that. People care which is why they're posting, if they didn't care they wouldn't post.

I actually thought XII was such a departure from the series, I didn't like it at first but it's probably the FF game I've spent the most hours on in a single playthrough thus far. Despite what people are saying I'm hoping this is a fantastic game and although I haven't tried the demo I'm liking how the overall game is looking atm. I think playing in real time is going to be interesting, and is like to see how it turns out.

[Laina]

I get what you're saying zangetsu, but regarding my analogy, it would seem foolhardy to go into this new round of promises without SOME degree of skepticism based on past firsthand experiences with FF & Squaresoft. This isn't self-fullfilling, this is, "Oh yeah, Square? Show me, because I remember (insert series of hated titles here) & that was supposed to be spectacular".

I think the amount of displeasure the majority of us expressed with this is something we're entitled to because as you said, we care & care a great deal. I'm sure some of do think the series dead & gone & just come to vent their frustrations about that & curse those accused of this heinous crime - because they cared so much & feel they have lost something precious. However, I have a sliver of hope for it, fueled by a whimsy & nostalgia for what I viewed the game to be. That's why I keep coming back, keep hoping that whatever new descendent they throw at me will have managed to inherit its glorious ancestors' specific genes, or be endowed with some new mystical charm that will hook me like its forefathers.

I get not wanting people just coming in & shitting all over everything & your enthusiasm is nice, it reminds me of the anticipation I used to have for new FF titles. But you said yourself that you've "been a big supporter of FF on most if not all platforms", so this seems like it would be something up your alley, like LoS was for some folks. But the ones being negative here haven't been fans of FF games for sometime, so it isn't so peculiar that we're not going to have the same sort of rose colored glasses regarding this title. However, I would to add that while I can't speak for everyone, I have gone into games thinking they would be total garbage, BUT ended up loving them - one of those games was FF7.

[zangetsu468]

Understood and noted.

Thank you for the comment re:enthusiasm. I think it's nice to feel like a kid inside sometimes when it comes to gaming. Unboxing new games when I was a kid, that was up there with a lot of good things in life. 

I too never thought I'd end up playing FFVII, I saw it in EGM twice and the second time saw it was announced for PSX instead of N64. One day I walked into my video store and there was a brand new copy of 7 for half price, someone had played it for 10 mins and returned it the same afternoon. I expected nothing but to my surprise couldn't put it down after that. I even liked it more than the Legend of Zelda  at the time which was one of my favourite game series of all time.

[Laina]

Haha, yeah, I rememebr those days...unboxing a fresh game, seeing all of the おまけ (gifts/goodies) that may or not have been packaged with it. Man, I miss physical manuals with all of that sweet artwork and character bios/backstories. I know we have the internet for all of that now, but I guess as an old woman I just still like the tangible copies. Anyone have a new copy of Breath of Fire as a kid? I loved just looking at the character art for that, and the fact that they gave you a an insert with the full list of items, spells & enemies? Just phenomenal. Don't even get me started on Startropics when it comes to this stuff btw (USING ACTUAL WATER ON THE LETTER FROM YOUR UNCLE? SAY WHAAAAAAAT?). I'm hoping Sqaure will capture my effections like that again soon. 

[Inccubus]

Because 1 Japanese guy was interviewed?
Sorry but the subject matter in this link was so superficial and vague with 95% being focused on the characters' physical and aesthetic design, the interviewer sounded like he's never played any JRPG that weren't turn based and the video has over 15% dislikes because it reeks of disinformation.

Furthermore the interviewer stated he actually liked the real time style of gameplay being applied, so this is somewhat discrediting the argument you're attempting.

I appreciate you admitting you didn't like KH and perhaps this is not helping your pre-conceived notions of how this game will be. But I also find it ironic you have so much disdain for a game that you've never played. Not sure why that is, pretty sure I don't want to get to the root of the issue.

Seriously though.. Please play the game or at least wait for the metacritic score before passing such judgement, right now it seems like you're waiting for doomsday on 30/09/2016 and pre-emptively saying "Told ya so..". Why? As if you also want other people to dislike the game with you. Again I don't see why or how anyone benefits from this type of vilification.

Dare we suggest play the game, you may actually like it, if not then let it rest. But no, you've probably already made your mind up right. So is there any point to having an open forum about it.

I for one will not be negative about this game. I'm openly a big supporter of FF on most if not all forms including XIII. #hatersgonehate #versusxiiilives

I wasn't bringing that video up as support for my argument about game play.
I brought it up because I wanted to show that there is also a negative opinion about the game in Japan itself which is usually the biggest market for FF titles. Gaijin Goomba spent considerable time living in Japan and has better insight into the general atmosphere over there than most given he still has friends that live there and are Japanese.
I don't agree with his opinion on the game play, but I did find it interesting and telling that some gamers over there are kinda meh about the game because the visual style is considered outdated.

I think you might be missing some of the point of my arguments. I do have preconceived notions about this game. Why wouldn't I have them? It's the 15th numbered title in a series of games that I have basically disliked the direction of for the last 4 games. How could I not? Plus the game play is more like KH than classic FF, so I rightly have a preconceived notion about that and rightly so.

I started playing Final Fantasy as a kid because I liked the game as a whole. Each subsequent game had things I liked and things I disliked. But there came a point at which the core game play changed too much and that was when it ceased to be the series I liked. Major changes in game play and tone are the realm side-stories and spin-offs.

Could FFXV be a good game? It might if I could get passed the blatant full milking of the series name that it now is. (And I can't.) If SE doesn't want to create Final Fantasy as a JRPG series they should have stopped making numbered entries. It's a simple way not to piss off the old fans and it won't matter to new fans anyway.

Setting aside my disdain for the direction of the series, my opinion of everything I've seen thus far is that it's nothing new or special in any way. The character design is unbelievably bland, game play looks as boring, and the inclusion of real world elements is a deal breaker for me in a fantasy game.

People like to throw around the term 'preconceived notion' around in gaming like it's a bad word. But human beings have preconceived notions about everything based on our passed experiences. That is a good thing. It helps us avoid things we don't like. When taken to an extreme and applied to people that is wrong. However, a video game isn't a people. Just take any genre of game you don't like, Zangetsu, and tell me if you heard the next Final Fantasy game had those mechanics that you wouldn't dislike it based on your preconceived notions of the other games in that genre you played in the past.

Final Fantasy XVI will have a new combat system based on miniature golf! Rejoice! it is the new and "innovative" direction of the series!

PS- Sorry if I'm coming off harsh. Just woke up. I'm grumpy in the morning.

[zangetsu468]

I think that I probably should refrain from telling people how they ought to feel about something. I'll leave it at that.

[Inccubus]

Good rule of thumb.