^^ I like demolishing everyone with Ignition. Also got used to using Garuda to get to stagger from a semi-stagger, but maybe there's something better, IDK. I'll try to get more in-depth with the combos for the FF mode.
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Runa216 said:
I'm also trying to figure out where this game ranks. but I don't think 'filler' content is bad in a Final Fantasy game. I like little side quests and things to do. I like how it allows you to relax and catch your breath after those epic boss fights. I like marks. I like hunting. I like gradually exploring more of the world. The side content is genuinely mostly pretty lame in terms of gameplay (seriously, most of the side quests are either package delivery or going to a place and killing a few enemies), but I love how it builds the world. I actually care about the characters. I got more joy out of the apple-delivery sidequest after the second time skip than most games. Because I remembered the character it referenced and it felt nice to see these fake digital people catch a win for once. In terms of world design/level design it feels the most like XII, which is a great thing. and it feels like even after the second time skip I only have like 25% of the world map unlocked/explored. There's another island to the west, there's the entire other continent to the east, and it looks like the sets of areas are divided by the little chains on the world map. By that count I've been to 2 out of what appears to be 7 or 8 segments/areas not including dungeons. And I still find it so obnoxious that people say it 'doesn't feel like final fantasy'. I just got back from a stint playing the Pixel Remasters and getting all those platinum trophies and XVI FEELS like I imagined all those games to be. The story progression, the character beats, the world building, the epic encounters. It all feels exactly like what I imagined in the 90s playing old Final Fantasy games. Chocobos and moogles and crystals and summons and magic and prophecies and some shadowy figure pulling the strings from beyond the realm or some shit. IT's all the MOST final Fantasy any Final Fantasy has ever been. It feels like 9 again, but with a more mature tone and a lot more violence. I'm inclined to put this game on the same level as VII, X, and XII, but it hasn't got the nostalgia yet so that could be difficult. We'll see where things end up but my only complaints thus far are tiny little nitpicks like shoddy animation on NPCs during non cutscene interactions and the motion blur/framerate dips. Love the characters. Love the world. Love the music. Love the story. Love the epic scope and boss battles. Love the combat system. Love Torgal. Love Ambrosia. I just outright love this game. I can absolutely see myself getting the platinum then playing it again when inevitable DLC drops. I can't say that about 15. Well, I did get the platinum trophy but didn't play it againa fter the DLC dropped. Didn't much care for it. |
I don't mind the sidequests as much as some folks since most are short enough. There's nothing more annoying IMO to find out that a sidequest is going to take longer than you anticipated. I just don't like it as much when the game uses sidequest-like material as padding in the main quest. Yeah, I know older games used to do the same just without the quest pointers but I can't help having flashbacks to the massive fillers in FF7R.
I still have 35% of the game to go but so far I'm leaning toward the 5/6/9 tier, just below 7/10/12 for me. If a certain silver-haired character hadn't become a massive disappointment in the second half of the game it could have been higher.
Anyway, you're right, that is a very classic FF material. The last turn-based game was 22 years ago!, and as early as FF2 the series has been trying to escape or at least subvert the classic DND/Dragon Quest RPG mold.
If Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default had sold as well as, say, Nier Automata, SE might have reconsidered where the gameplay is going. But they didn't. All the evidence that classic turn-based is now just a niche genre except for Pokémon is there.
