General Gaming Final Fantasy XVI – Information Thread, update: PC version in "final stages of optimization', pre-release demo planned

[BloodyHell]

10 hours ago, Bacon said:

I should beat this tomorrow

Yeah, im in the exact same spot as you are in your other post, I stopped for the night when I saw the mission dump. Ill get to them today.

 

Also, off topic, TIL that FFIII had a 3d remake. I knew about IV and IV After Years, I own and have beaten them (and it is the worst version of IV) but somehow I didn’t know there was a 3D version of III.  I usually keep up with DF news, the series is pretty important to me and holds a lot of nostalgia, but I missed this one.

[BloodyHell]

8 hours ago, Bacon said:

I thought there'd be like 3 SQs and some hunts. Not 10 SQs that you have to do so you can unlock the locations for the hunts to appear.

 

Thought the last few quest would just be loaded with the good boy points instead of having 80 million side quests. uuu guu

Agreed. And I still need to do half of the A class hunts and all of the S class. I’m going to try to clean a lot of that up today. I hope the S class hunts aren’t too awful, A has been fine so far. 
 

I also need a few more mats for Gotterdamnarangadingdong, but I think they mostly come from the rest of the hunts I have to do. 

[Bacon]

6 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

TIL that FFIII had a 3d remake

For the longest time, FF3 3D remake was my favorite FF. It's still a very good version of FF3, the best IMO, but it wasn't until I replayed it that I realized that it ain't the masterpiece I had thought it was. The story, while enhanced for the remake, is still nearly as shallow as the NES counterpart. I do like that it makes all 4 WoLs their own characters with their own Identities. Not that there is a lot of characterization.

[BloodyHell]

44 minutes ago, Bacon said:

For the longest time, FF3 3D remake was my favorite FF. It's still a very good version of FF3, the best IMO, but it wasn't until I replayed it that I realized that it ain't the masterpiece I had thought it was. The story, while enhanced for the remake, is still nearly as shallow as the NES counterpart. I do like that it makes all 4 WoLs their own characters with their own Identities. Not that there is a lot of characterization.

I’ll definitely play it, bought it on PC so I can play it on Steamdeck. Im actually going through the Collection on PS5 atm, so I’ll get to it much later, since im already playing 3 atm.

[Bacon]

2 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

since im already playing 3 atm

Well, I will warn you that the 3D remake is a slow game. The PR has better music and more convenient features. I feel the 3D aspect more than makes up for that tho. It is a lot easier to be engaged with the plot when the characters are able to express more than words.

[BloodyHell]

41 minutes ago, Bacon said:

Well, I will warn you that the 3D remake is a slow game. The PR has better music and more convenient features. I feel the 3D aspect more than makes up for that tho. It is a lot easier to be engaged with the plot when the characters are able to express more than words.

Oh, I am 100% playing it, but probably after I finish the collection. I look forward to experiencing it in a new way.

[BloodyHell]

Awwwww, Torgal, you good boy!

[Bacon]

Don't save the side quests More than Words, Where There's a Will, and Priceless for last.

I was originally going to say to save them for last due to the story beats but you get "rewarded" for them in a way that is meaning less if you save them for last.

It lets you have a

Spoiler

full party

for once. Well not really for once, but it is very rare.

[BloodyHell]

1 hour ago, Bacon said:

Don't save the side quests More than Words, Where There's a Will, and Priceless for last.

I was originally going to say to save them for last due to the story beats but you get "rewarded" for them in a way that is meaning less if you save them for last.

It lets you have a

  Hide contents

full party

for once. Well not really for once, but it is very rare.

Yeah, it was interesting when i didthe Will quest and that popped up 

[Bacon]

The ending was pretty good until it wasn't and the

Spoiler

post-credits scene

just makes it worse but also better. The final battle is pretty hype overall tho. Kind of a shame it doesn't end with a mega-dungeon like the rest of them. It's cutscenes and boss battles all the way down.

 

The game reminds me way too much of the MMO and has taken many story beats right from FF14 including Endwalker.

Spoiler

Nearly half of all of the game's content takes place in what is essentially the Final Days from Endwalker but instead of turning into blasphemies, they turn into aether zombies. The whole story is cliche including the mega-delayed romance.

It is stunning how anime this game is. At times it's a very good thing, but most often it is not. It is surprising how mediocre the story turned out because I think, as a whole, FF14 is great, obviously, Shadowbringers is the stand-out part. I mean, I guess I could call the story competent, but not much more than that. It if wasn't for the great cutscenes I don't think many would view the story as something special. Like if this plot was put into a pixel FF, I feel it would be considered forgettable. Classic Japan ending too which is not a good thing.

 

I was planning on doing a whole review about it, a lot more than just this, but I doubt I will. The game's not worth it, for me. I'll stick with my 7/10 score. Or maybe I should give it the classic 79/100. DLC could make the ending better for me, but pretty sure SE is gonna be sniffing their own farts and will keep it how it is. I know some people will like it, but I've been tired of these shitty Japanese ending for a long ass time.

Spoiler

And they did it twice in a row too FF15 and now 16. Really didn't think they would go that route twice. I mean, sure there is some "well, maybe not" that leaves things up to interpretation this time around, but still, that just makes it worse cuz it wants you to hope. I want a definitive ending, you fucks. Thank god they can't do it to FF14.

 

[Bacon]

Music is 10/10 tho and Soken has done his best work yet.

And the graphics and artstyle are pretty good. I once said it looked generic, but I take that back after playing it.

It's really the gameplay and story that let me down, but the combat did start getting fun again when I unlocked the last Eikon. By far my favorite. Titan would be my favorite if it wasn't for the last one.

[BloodyHell]

Finished all side quests and hunts, just about to go do the final mission. I’m sad it’s almost over, I’ve had an incredible time so far.

[Best]

1 minute ago, BloodyHell said:

Finished all side quests and hunts, just about to go do the final mission. I’m sad it’s almost over, I’ve had an incredible time so far.

 

I agree in that I don't want this game to end. It's so good. You fly past games quickly which is impressive. Where would you rank this in your top FF games?

[BloodyHell]

Also, 55 hours in going into the last quest. 87% done.

[BloodyHell]

Just now, best3444 said:

 

I agree in that I don't want this game to end. It's so good. You fly past games quickly which is impressive. Where would you rank this in your top FF games?

Probably 3rd overall, but the second best story so far. I haven’t seen the ending yet though.

[Bacon]

36 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

I haven’t seen the ending yet though.

I doubt most people will have my reaction tbh. Plus, people will be hyped about the final battle so people won't wanna talk negatively about it should they feel like me. Even I wanted to be like OMG POGGERS about it lol. The same happened with me in GoWR where it was hype until the post-nut clarity kicked in and I started questioning things. Not saying that GoWR's ending was bad, but that it is easy to get caught up in the moment so some of the dumb shit didn't bother you until after the fact.

[Bacon]

Also, no fucking Cactuars or Tonberries. Even SoP had them. Like wtf.

 

Someone said, if this game was 12 hours and you were just going from mission to mission it would have been great. I don't know if that's what I want but I think it would have been better.

[nublood]

On 6/28/2023 at 3:22 PM, legend said:

 

RDR2 ought to be lower! It looked nice and the story was good, but I think they forgot they were making a game! The controls and glitchiness were on another level of bad.

Yep. It’s eye candy but that’s about it. I don’t recall ever being as bored out of my mind playing a video game. It’s definitely gorgeous though. 

[eventide11]

20 minutes ago, nublood said:

Yep. It’s eye candy but that’s about it. I don’t recall ever being as bored out of my mind playing a video game. It’s definitely gorgeous though. 

Same. Easy on the eyes but controlled like an 1864 submarine. Just couldn't get past how sluggish it felt 

[BloodyHell]

Watching end credits now.

[BloodyHell]

22 minutes ago, eventide11 said:

Same. Easy on the eyes but controlled like an 1864 submarine. Just couldn't get past how sluggish it felt 

God I hate the controls in that game. GTA as well, tbh. 

[BloodyHell]

1 hour ago, Bacon said:

I doubt most people will have my reaction tbh. Plus, people will be hyped about the final battle so people won't wanna talk negatively about it should they feel like me. Even I wanted to be like OMG POGGERS about it lol. The same happened with me in GoWR where it was hype until the post-nut clarity kicked in and I started questioning things. Not saying that GoWR's ending was bad, but that it is easy to get caught up in the moment so some of the dumb shit didn't bother you until after the fact.

I definitely have some problems with it. Not done the credits, don’t know if there is more, but if there isn’t i’m mixed.

[Bacon]

7 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

I definitely have some problems with it. Not done the credits, don’t know if there is more, but if there isn’t i’m mixed.

Spoiler

I don't know what your issues will be but the reasoning is just so fucking dumb. It was literally 1 fucking line. "Vessel isn't strong enough " Just should have cast Arise with all that aether, killed magic, and flown off into the sunset to Jill.

 

[BloodyHell]

I want to be clear, I don’t think it’s a bad ending, but it absolutely leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Major Spoilers:

Spoiler

I have no problem with the deaths of Clive, Joshua, or Dion (who I really liked), but I definitely have problems with how Clives death was handled, leaving him lifeless on the shore to burn out like the other bearers, no funeral, no memorial. Nothing. Sure I would have loved to have seen Clive survive, but obviously sacrifice has been a major theme of the game, sacrifice for others, but it still felt cheap.

 

The ending was far too short considering everything that led up to it. I wanted to see the future of all these characters I came to really love. I wanted to see more than a farmhouse and kids pretending to be long dead heroes. It’s cool that the world survived, but I wanted to see more than just that.

 

It certainly wasn’t the worst ending I could imagine, but I think the cast deserved far more. Especially Clive and Jill. 

 

[BloodyHell]

Spoiler

Although I do guess that joshua might have lived to write the book.

 

either way, I hate this ambiguous bs.

 

[Bacon]

1 minute ago, BloodyHell said:

I want to be clear, I don’t think it’s a bad ending, but it absolutely leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Major Spoilers:

  Reveal hidden contents

I have no problem with the deaths of Clive, Joshua, or Dion (who I really liked), but I definitely have problems with how Clives death was handled, leaving him lifeless on the shore to burn out like the other bearers, no funeral, no memorial. Nothing. Sure I would have loved to have seen Clive survive, but obviously sacrifice has been a major theme of the game, sacrifice for others, but it still felt cheap.

 

The ending was far too short considering everything that led up to it. I wanted to see the future of all these characters I came to really love. I wanted to see more than a farmhouse and kids pretending to be long dead heroes. It’s cool that the world survived, but I wanted to see more than just that.

 

It certainly wasn’t the worst ending I could imagine, but I think the cast deserved far more. Especially Clive and Jill. 

 

Spoiler

Well, the whole thing is left up to interpretation which is what I dislike.

 

Sure, most likely, Clive is dead. But the book was written by Josh who should have been dead too. So are they alive? Jill thought Clive died when the red star went out, but then the dawn broke, and there is a whole line about dawn breaking and Clive coming back and Jill starts to smile when dawn breaks and we only see the stone go to his hand. Some people have interpreted the red star vanishing as it granting Jill's wish for Clive to come back.

 

Then there are those who think the whole game is just the book and that "none of it was real".

 

Whatever the case, I don't give a fuck, I thought it was dumb and I didn't like it obvs. Pretty much no one gets the Hero's sacrifice or just straight-up death right. ESPECIALLY fucking Japan. There is only one instance where they have pulled it off and that was in an anime.

 

 

[BloodyHell]

12 minutes ago, Bacon said:

Spoiler

  Hide contents

Well, the whole thing is left up to interpretation which is what I dislike.

 

Sure, most likely, Clive is dead. But the book was written by Josh who should have been dead too. So are they alive? Jill thought Clive died when the red star went out, but then the dawn broke, and there is a whole line about dawn breaking and Clive coming back and Jill starts to smile when dawn breaks and we only see the stone go to his hand. Some people have interpreted the red star vanishing as it granting Jill's wish for Clive to come back.

 

Then there are those who think the whole game is just the book and that "none of it was real".

 

Whatever the case, I don't give a fuck, I thought it was dumb and I didn't like it obvs. Pretty much no one gets the Hero's sacrifice or just straight-up death right. ESPECIALLY fucking Japan. There is only one instance where they have pulled it off and that was in an anime.

 

 

It’s definitely ambiguous, and that’s the part I hate. I choose to believe it happened as I said, I could be wrong

Spoiler

But I HATE not having a definitive ending.

 

[Bacon]

Play Strangers of Paradise

[Bacon]

1 minute ago, BloodyHell said:

It’s definitely ambiguous, and that’s the part I hate. I choose to believe it happened as I said, I could be wrong

  Reveal hidden contents

But I HATE not having a definitive ending.

 

I refuse to

Spoiler

actually take a stance. It's that bad for me.

 

[BloodyHell]

25 minutes ago, Bacon said:

Play Strangers of Paradise

I have, I enjoyed it.

22 minutes ago, Bacon said:

I refuse to

  Hide contents

actually take a stance. It's that bad for me.

 

I understand that opinion. I think the rest of it was so good that it’s still a great game, but seriously, I get it. 

[Bacon]

2 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

I have, I enjoyed it.

That wasn't directed at you just in case. I know it might seem like that. I knew you had already played it

[BloodyHell]

I will say, god i wish they had just used FF7R combat AND given me a party to control. Those were the two things I missed the most, even though I still enjoyed the combat a lot, especially the abilities, but that part just didn’t feel like Final Fantasy for me. 
 

Overall, Im somewhere in the 8-8.5, probably closer to 8, but I can see the case for higher and lower, depending on how much you like the combat and ending. The story overall is probably one of the best in gaming. I still don’t think it’s as rich or as good as Xenogears (even with its second disk), and It’s hard for me to personally put it higher than VI, it’s still one of the best told fantasy stories in any medium. It never Nomura’s and gets so complex you can’t possibly get it all, but it’s full of intricacies you can gorge yourself on. 
 

Between Harpocrates and Sexy Professor Ninetails, and the Active Lore System, I think the lore encyclopedias in this game is nothing short of incredible. Absolutely every RPG could learn so much from it.

 

this has lit a fire under my ass to finish the XIV storyline. Im still bitter to this day that I never completed all of the FFXI content, but it just got to be too much. I think I stopped at Wings of tge goddess, and time and life made it so I could never do all of the content because it was so insanely time intensive. That game almost broke me. It has an incredible story, but the systems in it were so bad that only a hermit could keep up.

 

then there was the raid bosses.

 

 

Also, @Biggie thanks for not stinking up our Final Fantasy thread. Im glad you’re enjoying it.

[BloodyHell]

Also, one last thing. The fight was entirely too long, but the music in the Hugo Kupka fight might be the best in the series, including One Winged Angel.

 

Edit: I also loved every time they used The Main Theme. 

[Bacon]

20 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

Also, one last thing. The fight was entirely too long, but the music in the Hugo Kupka fight might be the best in the series, including One Winged Angel.

It's classic FF14. It was as if it was an unused track for ff14.

Spoiler

Not sayin' it's bad. I liked it too.

[eventide11]

This track from FF14 always stood out to me. So many tracks in FF16 remind me of it