Acevil said:
First shipment needs to be sold out for the first comment to be sales wise for Square Enix (Since they had the ambitious goal of 10 million)(Plus Media Create and NPD will showcase the sale of the franchise anyways, so they will be better gage than shipment). |
The prevailing theory regarding the bolded is that there seems to be a scaling back of the high scores for this gen no? Games that last gen would've been assumed as instant 90s are hovering in the mid 80s this gen. I personally don't see there being any critic-led effort to pull things back, but I think that is a factor for a lot of people. I also liked FFXIII for what it was, though I don't feel as though it was a great FF game on a whole.
To address the question of the OP, yes I do feel as though the game is a step in the right direction. The beautiful thing about Final Fantasy to me has always been its ability to keep me engaged in the story and invested in the characters. With FFXIII I wasn't at all invested with the characters. With FFXV I find myself very invested. Hell, I even opt not to fast travel in the off chance I will get to hear another little tidbit about their friendships and their lives.
From a gameplay perspective, I enjoy the shift to ARPG. My favorite game of the gen prior to this one would probably be Witcher. I tend to find myself roaming around the wilderness just hoping for a fight to try something new. Not something I had been doing at all in XIII.
All that said, I don't want this to suddenly become a magic formula for them to follow (much like turn-based combat was for the majority of the series). Rather I hope they continue to evolve into something else in FFXVI when that comes.