So you're the biggest fan of FFXV? Sorry buddy, I watched the first trailer live and followed every (tiny) bit of news since. How far away did you see the rebranding coming? I saw it a continent away, when that first leaked video came out like a year ago now? (even if it is fake, allow me to refute that someone is a genius for being able to take the wind out of the sails of the re-pitch of one of the most anticipated games of recent time) Are you also aware of how shitty The Examiner is in reporting it? Get in line kid.
About turn-based combat, you are dead on in saying that it's the hardware limitations, that an action-RPG is just what the franchise needs right now. Turn based combat is becoming, if it hasn't already, a relic of days gone by. Even Ni No Kuni, which is more of a Final Fantasy game than FF13-anything could ever be, was in real time. So do RPG fans really need a splash screen, a loading time, and stagnant characters on a playing board to enjoy the combat? It's preposterous, but the one thing I do fear about XV is that it may play too similarly to Kingdom Hearts. That's not necessarily a bad thing for me, because I'm a fan of both series and I know I'll enjoy both, but I could just see Reddit now like "THIS GAME, AND THIS GAME.....-some dumb image macro-.....ARE THE SAME GAME," and it'll be super annoying.
Another thing I'm afraid of is that XV may play too similar to the Devil May Cry reboot, which I also liked, but it would be sad to play a game that I've been waiting 7+ years for twice. Let me explain. In DmC, you can pull yourself toward enemies and objects similar to the way Noctis does, only in DmC you can also pull them toward you. The similarities almost become glaring when you play the Vergil's Downfall DLC. Vergil uses his swords to teleport himself and enemies/objects, and it's instantaneous just like Noctis. There are also RPG elements as you also develop Dante's/Vergil's abilities. It could even be argued that DmC's RPG elements have more depth than Final Fantasy, as your performance in combat determines how fast you level up. In Final Fantasy, you get the same amount of EXP regardless of how well you do in battle.
I will end with this; though combat does not determine how good a game is, it does mainly comprise the "game" aspect of a "video game." Regardless of all that, I'm still really, really excited for this game, by all accounts. I'm excited to play the combat, meet the characters, get to know them and grow with them, explore the world Square has worked so long to create (provided it's a bit larger than FFXIII's world, they heavily presumed players to care about the world from the jump, and that's partly why it wasn't that great), god I hope there's really a World Map and airships and chocobos that are different colors with different abilities and omg I'm setting myself up for major disappointment aren't I?
Sources:
Versus XIII leaked video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMNywn0rCDw
DmC Vergil's Downfall Gameplay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aC5StUV9M4
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