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aestivalis) wrote2021-02-15 03:26 pm
aestivalis) wrote2021-02-15 03:26 pm
The Battle of Kings
Well hey, I played and completed Final Fantasy XV!
Me @ Ardyn Izunia
Some thoughts about the game under the cut! Some positive, some negative. Assume full spoilers for the main game, and possibly some ill-informed remarks based on things I think I know from some of the DLC episodes. Am I correct in what I've heard? Who knows! Also, I did not watch Kingsglaive or Brotherhood or any other supplementary material before playing this game, so make of that what you will!
So, Final Fantasy XV. Let's start with full disclosure! I purchased this game for less than £5, pre-owned, and at the time I felt as though even that much seemed like it might be showing too much support. I was EXTREMELY sceptical going into this game. I'm leery of the game's director, Hajime Tabata, and disliked a lot of what he had to say in the months (and years) leading up to the game's eventual release. A Final Fantasy game that seemed so willing to place female characters aside felt very unFinal Fantasy like to me. I didn't want to show the game financial support because I didn't like the direction the series seemed to be heading in. Talk with your wallet and all that.
So, Final Fantasy XV was already fighting an uphill battle against me. But I've always been a sucker for feeling as though I have to actually experience something before I can have a meaningful opinion, and a Final Fantasy game was still a Final Fantasy game. I wanted to see for myself. I started playing the game last year, took a break for several months, and then came back to it this weekend and blasted from Chapter 7 all the way through to rolling credits. That means my early impressions of the game are pretty shaky memories at this point, but the game doesn't have a huge amount of plot plot until Chapter 9 anyway SO. All the actually significant stuff is still fresh in my mind.
WHICH MEANS I SHOULD PROBABLY ACTUALLY TALK ABOUT THE GAME AND STUFF
Did I enjoy Final Fantasy XV? Much to my own chagrin, I really did! A lot more than I expected to! The game is eminently playable. I hit level 30 before I finished Chapter 3 because there was just so much to do, and I was legitimately enjoying doing it! Between hunts and sidequests I was just racking up the hours. I rolled credits yesterday and loaded the game back up again today with the intent of going back to the open world and just running around some more, clearing out some of the stuff I'd left unfinished. This game is fun to play.
But I'm not sure if I ever really got very good at it. I think I remembered to access my fancy armiger skill a grand total of twice throughout the entire run—once just after they first teach you how, and once when I was fighting Ravus and he was just taking forever to go down. I was quite a long way into the game before I first realised Noctis can use Phoenix Down on himself, and rolled on the floor with my head in my hands as the cold realisation of so many avoidable game over screens washed over me. Similarly, it took me quite a long time to notice that I could buy Elixir for 400g and Phoenix Down for 1000g and go "oh, wait, they really want me to use healing items, don't they". ELIXIR IS A RARE AND POWERFUL ITEM!! YOU HOARD IT ALL FOR THE FINAL BOSS, DAMN IT!!! i am good at video games
Once I wrapped my head around the idea of items as primary healing source, I think things improved? But even so, I never really mastered blocking and parrying, which meant poor Noctis took a beating more often than not. And I read something earlier about the music in-game changing whenever you can summon, and I was just like 'I could summon outside the two plot-mandated times???' SO, TREMENDOUS. TREMENDOUS WORK, SELF.
Really though, it's a lot of fun to play. It doesn't feel quite as smooth as Kingdom Hearts does (or at least, not as smooth as Kingdom Hearts at its best), but it certainly reminds me of it. I've heard that FFVIIR takes Final Fantasy XV's system and really just hones it even further, which sounds appealing. Unfortunately, I am just as sceptical of the direction FFVII's been going in as I was of Final Fantasy XV and apparently I have learned no lessons from my overall positive experience, so NOT SURE WHEN I'LL BE PLAYING THAT. some day. Which means I'll have no choice but to keep poking around in FFXV for now, I suppose! (note: Bravely Default 2 comes out in a fortnight and I am extremely excited, so FFXV better enjoy what short time it has left to command my attention.)
That all being said, I've always played Final Fantasy games for the story and the characters. So how did Final Fantasy XV fare in that department? Well... eh? There were some big swings in there, but some of them resulted in some real big misses. I think my frustration with some of those missed plot beats ultimately hampered my engagement with the characters as well, which is a real shame.
In terms of characters, though, let's start with the core four. I went into the game expected to like them in this order: Gladio, Ignis, Noctis, Prompto. Noctis and Prompto were probably interchangeable, but I was decently confident about the first two.
I actually ended up liking them as: Noctis, Gladio, Ignis, Prompto. Sorry, Prompto. And I guess starting with him, then, Prompto is a really well realised character and brings a really important dynamic to the party and I don't think I'd actually change anything about him. I was never super into the girl-chasing elements that were sometimes implied with his character, but I feel like most of that was my own residual bitterness that none of those ladies would ever join my party (excluding Aranea's guest appearance, and BOY was that welcome). And to be fair to Prompto, as much as that stuff doesn't really jive with me, he was never really gross or clingy or inappropriate about it. So this is really more a case of 'not my thing' than anything honestly too offensive or frustrating.
Prompto's a good boy. He's just not my boy! But that is okay, because Prompto is an insecure and needy creature with heart eyes over pretty much everyone he meets, and I am confident that someone out there will make him their boy soon enough. Godspeed, Prompto. I hope you have the ride of your life.
Going in reverse order, then, Ignis! For one thing, I never completely got over Ignis's dodgy accent. It probably wouldn't have been so egregious if anyone else around him had spoken that way, but as it is he really just leaps right out at you. Maybe Lunafreya has a slightly similar accent? At one point Fel and I tried to question if it was all supposed to be some subtle clue that Ignis had originally been born somewhere in the Empire or whatever. But nope! In fact, that plot-shape was given to Prompto! So no explanation, Ignis just be that way.
Voice aside, though, Ignis was just perpetually okay. I feel as though there was supposed to be some sort of tension between his sense of love and his sense of duty (and I've got a feeling this might come up more in his DLC episode?), but as I played the game I never really got that impression at all. He was just The Duty Guy, and I wanted to be a bit more engaged by what that truly meant for him but it just never quite got there for me.
That being said, we will talk about the actual plot events in a little bit, and there's some stuff to say there!
Gladio... I actually liked a lot less than I expected to (which doesn't really say anything very complimentary about Gladio or Prompto, oops). He's fine! And I liked his willingness to get up in Noctis's business, because someone had to. The tension between Noct and Gladio was probably my favourite inter-party dynamic. I liked the scenes they had during the showdown with Titan, I liked some of the messy angry scenes they had later in the story, and I liked him! But he certainly feels like the simplest of the lead four characters, and if that means I could settle into enjoying his archetype more easily then it also means I was a bit disappointed when he left me looking for something a bit more.
Finally though, Noctis himself. I wasn't really expecting to have much of an opinion on Noctis at all, but actually I found myself warming to him surprisingly quickly. Having talked to Fel about it a little afterwards, I think I was possibly imposing some of my own feelings onto him as I was playing the game, which makes sense with him being the actual player character and whatnot. But where Fel often read him as quite disaffected by things, I found him a lot more... reticent, I guess? I felt as though events weighed on him very heavily, but he was very private in a way that felt One Part Ruler, Five Parts Teenager.
I think those scales inevitably tip as the game continues alone, and he grows more and more into the King Noctis we experience the conclusion of the story with. But I never felt as though he wasn't being touched by the events that surrounded him. And, perhaps a little bit controversially compared to some things I've seen people saying about this game, I never got the vibe that he wasn't interested in Lunafreya. I actually... bought into that romance a lot more than I anticipated.
That being as it may, their dynamic hit on a lot of things I find really fun in fiction. Arranged marriage, especially for some sort of spiritual or political purpose, is something that's always super interesting to me. I love that they haven't seen each other in so long, but they've been communicating through that spiritual exchange diary. The idea that they met as children, were told as children what their roles would be and what they were supposed to mean to each other, and then were made to grow up miles apart as they had to learn those roles? I'm all about that kind of thing! So I guess my bias really interferes here. I'm probably inclined to believe in the strange undercurrent of hopeful romance because I'm interested in the strange undercurrent of hopeful romance. I like it, and I like what it does for Noctis as a character.
And I liked Lunafreya! I wish more than anything that we could have seen more of her (lots, LOTS more of her), but I really enjoyed what we did see. Her design is really nice, though it's about as subtle as a freight train (she is his pure wifey you guys!!!), and her core of steel when facing down Leviathan really made my heart sing. I didn't realise until the final fight that I apparently had the Trident from that battle in my inventory, but you better believe I equipped it right away. I loved her strength, her dedication to helping people, and the strong surety she showed in that flashback when Ravus tried to challenge her choices. I just really liked her a lot, for what we got.
I guess the game was implying that she was actually ill, or dying, or... something? It seemed like one of the flashbacks with Ravus implied that, anyway. Maybe that's something that's clarified in Kingsglaive, but I really don't feel like the game did anything like enough to make that clear. So, like... let's talk about plot and pacing!
Because man, the pacing. I really enjoyed the later part of the game, but getting there was such an uphill slog and then once you crested that hill it was absolutely relentless! I'm not really sure I have the mental energy to do a really concentrated breakdown of how they could restructure things, but suffice it to say that there could have been some work done there. Especially with how the game just continues and continues to throw sidequests at you in the early chapters, and then those sidequests become largely unavailable for such a long time. Perhaps they needed to funnel those a little more? It's a natural gameplay instinct to clear content as it becomes available to you, but in this case it just ends up making for a strange and lopsided playing experience.
It does at least mean you're probably overlevelled for the main story, though! So you can just focus on playing through the plot beats and never really have to worry about grinding or anything like that. One small grace I guess?!
One strong memory I have from early in the game is the sequence surrounding the fall of the Crown City and the death of King Regis. The cutscene itself was just bonkers to me. I barely even know Noctis at this point never mind his father, why am I watching this beautifully rendered but nigh on incomprehensible battle sequence of the city falling and the father dying in glorious magical combat? Whose POV am I even in right now? What is going on?? If you told me that those scenes were lifted straight from Kingsglaive and Square Enix just wanted to reuse those assets I would not be at all surprised, because man did it break my immersion and leave me scratching my head.
BUT then the next morning happens, and Noctis finds out about what's gone down. Ignis and the others have to break the news to him in the form of media coverage. And it's actually affecting! It's powerful! And (in my opinion) it would have been even more powerful if we hadn't just SEEN it happening ourselves in beautiful nonsensical FMV glory! If we had learned of it precisely how and when Noctis did. And whatever, maybe we meet up with Cor shortly afterwards and he describes what happens and then we get the cutscene if you really want to include it—at least that way it becomes Cor's recollection and retelling of events instead of a floating psychic vision being shoved into our eyes unprompted.
But you know, I actually really liked the scene where Noct finds out. I thought it was decently affecting, I was willing to engage. And then you head back on your way with your Super Best Buddies and they start bantering at Noctis as though it's just another cheerful day, and they even toss a few jokey ~Your Highness~ nods at him and it's FULL BONKERS, YOU ARE BEING TERRIBLE FRIENDS RIGHT NOW. DON'T JOKE AT HIM ABOUT HOW HE'S A KING NOW, HE'S A KING BECAUSE HIS DAD HAS BECOME A DADCORPSE. A DADCORPSE THAT AIN'T EVEN COLD YET.
And that's kind of what I think of when I say the game tries to tell you things are a certain way but doesn't all demonstrate it very well. Final Fantasy XV really wants me to believe that Noctis, Prompto, Gladio and Ignis are incredibly close—and particular that those three retainers are all close with Noctis. But honestly, I don't feel like cute banter is enough to convey that. Whenever the going demonstrably gets tough, it feels like the game misses that opportunity to show us what those bonds are really like.
Okay, that's a fat stinking lie. There are SOME really good moments that show the care that exists between these four. A notable example is when Prompto is revealing his mysterious MT origins, apparently convinced that the others will turn him away in disgust. The way they rally around him in that scene is wonderfully written and executed. More of this, please! But actually, it really conveniently leads me to another point as well. No one actually touches Prompto in that scene in any meaningful way—no one just hugs the damn boy. And this is even more noticeable when they find him a few scenes prior, chained up after days of being missing and presumably at the unkind mercy of the Empire and Ardyn.
Like, Prompto got abducted and probably physical tortured. Definitely psychologically tortured, let's be honest. And after all the build up to rescuing him, Prompto is allowed to more or less collapse on the ground, and no one so much as lays hands on him throughout the entire scene. We get that strange little "were you worried about me?" conversation but no actual physical comfort. Because? I really feel like this game has no idea what to do with male physical intimacy. Like, the game seems actively terrified of doing male intimacy in a way that isn't hands-off and physically distant. The reunion with Prompto is really weirdly underplayed, but bare minutes later we get the affirmation that comes from the MT reveal—an actual emotional reconciliation with Prompto that's only allowed to happen once everyone's nicely on their feet and walking around and we can safely have everyone say what they want to say while staying six feet apart at all times.
I'm not even trying to imply it's some sort of 'gay panic' thing. I just think the writers struggled with having male characters too up close and personal with one another, and it results in this weirdness of keeping one another at arms length even in moments where it doesn't feel like it's serving the narrative to do so. We do get Gladio and Prompto physically assisting Ignis after he's injured and loses his sight, but that has a very different feel and connotation. Just feels like some missed opportunities to me.
Back to the game doing a good job of demonstrating bonds, and let's actually talk about that Ignis injury. The tension between Noctis and Gladio during that part of the game really worked for me, although it didn't feel wholly justified on Gladio's part. But I can accept that, characters can be ugly sometimes and I think Ignis's injury was making Gladio feel wretched and powerless. Gladio didn't feel able to express that, so he was lashing out at Noctis instead—probably because Noctis was expressing that sense of grief and responsibility and hurt instead of Toughing Up and Leading and Being The King. But yeah, Noctis had been through a HECK of a lot and it didn't feel very just for Gladio to be taking it out on him, but it DID feel like a good and effective character beat.
What didn't work, though, was the "two weeks later" nonsense. So Lunafreya dies, we get told it's been two weeks, and immediately cut in to Gladio blowing up at Noctis for moping too much and not getting over it. TERRIBLE. TERRIBLE WRITING. You don't get to just tell us that this has been simmering off screen and expect us to be invested! No matter how well written the tension in that chapter was, you can't just jump in like that! And especially not when the issue at hand is Noctis losing someone he potentially loves above anyone else, and certainly someone he felt a great sense of responsibility toward. Noctis is living through intense grief, compounded by a belief that he's to blame for it, and you want to just skip over those weeks and jump in on one of his Super Best Buddies tearing into him for not getting over it already? That's gonna be a yikes from me.
Man, this game. When it hits it, it really hits it. That damn campfire cutscene (YOU KNOW THE ONE) was brilliant, and that's coming from someone who was a bit sceptical of how the bonds between these characters were shown. When Lunafreya touched Ardyn's arm right after he stabbed her, and promised him a sort of benediction? Amazing, so powerful. "Noctis is the rightful king and he's going to save you too," is this absolutely perfect blend of 'I forgive you' and 'fuck you', and it might have been my favourite Luna moment in the entire game. The fact that it's revisited in the very final moments of Ardyn's existence was just *chef's kiss*.
This journal entry is disgustingly long. DISGUSTING. And I feel like there's still so much I haven't said. THE GOD DAMN ARDYN PROMPTO TRAIN SWITCHEROO, that needs a proper mention because it was probably my favourite part of the entire game. As soon as I sussed that Noctis was chasing after and attacking Prompto I just could not look away from the incredibly psychological trainwreck unfolding before me. Why can't more games have that level of mindbreak, I ask you! And the voice acting was so brilliant, Ardyn's voice delivering what was so plainly Prompto dialogue was just phenomenal.
I am not going to lie to you my friends, that entire sequence and all permutations thereof? Very sexy. Very good. Very good sexy very good.
I really should talk more about Ardyn in general, really, but I need to end this post. But Ardyn. I anticipated liking him, but I liked him so much more than even my most hopeful expectations. He was such a brilliant character, just the right amount of tragic to make you really sit up and look at him, but just such an awful magnificent bastard. And hysterically funny. I could have played forty hours of him just taunting the cast as they made their way through the Empire's Keep. I adore him. I'm furious about it. I did not even want to LIKE this game, and now it's given me my other favourite Final Fantasy antagonist. Disgusting. Livid. 10/10 would try to get Noctis to ride in Ardyn's car again.
(I was VERY disappointed that Ardyn turned Noctis down when I chose that option, but I am thrilled I was even allowed to try. I was determined to get Noctis onto Bad Uncle Ardyn's lap, even if the game itself was mortified by my attempts.)
But that's more than enough for now, I think. It's been a long time since I finished a Final Fantasy game! I'm glad I'll have this little record to come back to. Thanks, Final Fantasy XV. You were everything I expected, and also, somehow, nothing like what I expected. It's been a treat.
Me @ Ardyn Izunia
Some thoughts about the game under the cut! Some positive, some negative. Assume full spoilers for the main game, and possibly some ill-informed remarks based on things I think I know from some of the DLC episodes. Am I correct in what I've heard? Who knows! Also, I did not watch Kingsglaive or Brotherhood or any other supplementary material before playing this game, so make of that what you will!
So, Final Fantasy XV. Let's start with full disclosure! I purchased this game for less than £5, pre-owned, and at the time I felt as though even that much seemed like it might be showing too much support. I was EXTREMELY sceptical going into this game. I'm leery of the game's director, Hajime Tabata, and disliked a lot of what he had to say in the months (and years) leading up to the game's eventual release. A Final Fantasy game that seemed so willing to place female characters aside felt very unFinal Fantasy like to me. I didn't want to show the game financial support because I didn't like the direction the series seemed to be heading in. Talk with your wallet and all that.
So, Final Fantasy XV was already fighting an uphill battle against me. But I've always been a sucker for feeling as though I have to actually experience something before I can have a meaningful opinion, and a Final Fantasy game was still a Final Fantasy game. I wanted to see for myself. I started playing the game last year, took a break for several months, and then came back to it this weekend and blasted from Chapter 7 all the way through to rolling credits. That means my early impressions of the game are pretty shaky memories at this point, but the game doesn't have a huge amount of plot plot until Chapter 9 anyway SO. All the actually significant stuff is still fresh in my mind.
WHICH MEANS I SHOULD PROBABLY ACTUALLY TALK ABOUT THE GAME AND STUFF
Did I enjoy Final Fantasy XV? Much to my own chagrin, I really did! A lot more than I expected to! The game is eminently playable. I hit level 30 before I finished Chapter 3 because there was just so much to do, and I was legitimately enjoying doing it! Between hunts and sidequests I was just racking up the hours. I rolled credits yesterday and loaded the game back up again today with the intent of going back to the open world and just running around some more, clearing out some of the stuff I'd left unfinished. This game is fun to play.
But I'm not sure if I ever really got very good at it. I think I remembered to access my fancy armiger skill a grand total of twice throughout the entire run—once just after they first teach you how, and once when I was fighting Ravus and he was just taking forever to go down. I was quite a long way into the game before I first realised Noctis can use Phoenix Down on himself, and rolled on the floor with my head in my hands as the cold realisation of so many avoidable game over screens washed over me. Similarly, it took me quite a long time to notice that I could buy Elixir for 400g and Phoenix Down for 1000g and go "oh, wait, they really want me to use healing items, don't they". ELIXIR IS A RARE AND POWERFUL ITEM!! YOU HOARD IT ALL FOR THE FINAL BOSS, DAMN IT!!! i am good at video games
Once I wrapped my head around the idea of items as primary healing source, I think things improved? But even so, I never really mastered blocking and parrying, which meant poor Noctis took a beating more often than not. And I read something earlier about the music in-game changing whenever you can summon, and I was just like 'I could summon outside the two plot-mandated times???' SO, TREMENDOUS. TREMENDOUS WORK, SELF.
Really though, it's a lot of fun to play. It doesn't feel quite as smooth as Kingdom Hearts does (or at least, not as smooth as Kingdom Hearts at its best), but it certainly reminds me of it. I've heard that FFVIIR takes Final Fantasy XV's system and really just hones it even further, which sounds appealing. Unfortunately, I am just as sceptical of the direction FFVII's been going in as I was of Final Fantasy XV and apparently I have learned no lessons from my overall positive experience, so NOT SURE WHEN I'LL BE PLAYING THAT. some day. Which means I'll have no choice but to keep poking around in FFXV for now, I suppose! (note: Bravely Default 2 comes out in a fortnight and I am extremely excited, so FFXV better enjoy what short time it has left to command my attention.)
That all being said, I've always played Final Fantasy games for the story and the characters. So how did Final Fantasy XV fare in that department? Well... eh? There were some big swings in there, but some of them resulted in some real big misses. I think my frustration with some of those missed plot beats ultimately hampered my engagement with the characters as well, which is a real shame.
In terms of characters, though, let's start with the core four. I went into the game expected to like them in this order: Gladio, Ignis, Noctis, Prompto. Noctis and Prompto were probably interchangeable, but I was decently confident about the first two.
I actually ended up liking them as: Noctis, Gladio, Ignis, Prompto. Sorry, Prompto. And I guess starting with him, then, Prompto is a really well realised character and brings a really important dynamic to the party and I don't think I'd actually change anything about him. I was never super into the girl-chasing elements that were sometimes implied with his character, but I feel like most of that was my own residual bitterness that none of those ladies would ever join my party (excluding Aranea's guest appearance, and BOY was that welcome). And to be fair to Prompto, as much as that stuff doesn't really jive with me, he was never really gross or clingy or inappropriate about it. So this is really more a case of 'not my thing' than anything honestly too offensive or frustrating.
Prompto's a good boy. He's just not my boy! But that is okay, because Prompto is an insecure and needy creature with heart eyes over pretty much everyone he meets, and I am confident that someone out there will make him their boy soon enough. Godspeed, Prompto. I hope you have the ride of your life.
Going in reverse order, then, Ignis! For one thing, I never completely got over Ignis's dodgy accent. It probably wouldn't have been so egregious if anyone else around him had spoken that way, but as it is he really just leaps right out at you. Maybe Lunafreya has a slightly similar accent? At one point Fel and I tried to question if it was all supposed to be some subtle clue that Ignis had originally been born somewhere in the Empire or whatever. But nope! In fact, that plot-shape was given to Prompto! So no explanation, Ignis just be that way.
Voice aside, though, Ignis was just perpetually okay. I feel as though there was supposed to be some sort of tension between his sense of love and his sense of duty (and I've got a feeling this might come up more in his DLC episode?), but as I played the game I never really got that impression at all. He was just The Duty Guy, and I wanted to be a bit more engaged by what that truly meant for him but it just never quite got there for me.
That being said, we will talk about the actual plot events in a little bit, and there's some stuff to say there!
Gladio... I actually liked a lot less than I expected to (which doesn't really say anything very complimentary about Gladio or Prompto, oops). He's fine! And I liked his willingness to get up in Noctis's business, because someone had to. The tension between Noct and Gladio was probably my favourite inter-party dynamic. I liked the scenes they had during the showdown with Titan, I liked some of the messy angry scenes they had later in the story, and I liked him! But he certainly feels like the simplest of the lead four characters, and if that means I could settle into enjoying his archetype more easily then it also means I was a bit disappointed when he left me looking for something a bit more.
Finally though, Noctis himself. I wasn't really expecting to have much of an opinion on Noctis at all, but actually I found myself warming to him surprisingly quickly. Having talked to Fel about it a little afterwards, I think I was possibly imposing some of my own feelings onto him as I was playing the game, which makes sense with him being the actual player character and whatnot. But where Fel often read him as quite disaffected by things, I found him a lot more... reticent, I guess? I felt as though events weighed on him very heavily, but he was very private in a way that felt One Part Ruler, Five Parts Teenager.
I think those scales inevitably tip as the game continues alone, and he grows more and more into the King Noctis we experience the conclusion of the story with. But I never felt as though he wasn't being touched by the events that surrounded him. And, perhaps a little bit controversially compared to some things I've seen people saying about this game, I never got the vibe that he wasn't interested in Lunafreya. I actually... bought into that romance a lot more than I anticipated.
That being as it may, their dynamic hit on a lot of things I find really fun in fiction. Arranged marriage, especially for some sort of spiritual or political purpose, is something that's always super interesting to me. I love that they haven't seen each other in so long, but they've been communicating through that spiritual exchange diary. The idea that they met as children, were told as children what their roles would be and what they were supposed to mean to each other, and then were made to grow up miles apart as they had to learn those roles? I'm all about that kind of thing! So I guess my bias really interferes here. I'm probably inclined to believe in the strange undercurrent of hopeful romance because I'm interested in the strange undercurrent of hopeful romance. I like it, and I like what it does for Noctis as a character.
And I liked Lunafreya! I wish more than anything that we could have seen more of her (lots, LOTS more of her), but I really enjoyed what we did see. Her design is really nice, though it's about as subtle as a freight train (she is his pure wifey you guys!!!), and her core of steel when facing down Leviathan really made my heart sing. I didn't realise until the final fight that I apparently had the Trident from that battle in my inventory, but you better believe I equipped it right away. I loved her strength, her dedication to helping people, and the strong surety she showed in that flashback when Ravus tried to challenge her choices. I just really liked her a lot, for what we got.
I guess the game was implying that she was actually ill, or dying, or... something? It seemed like one of the flashbacks with Ravus implied that, anyway. Maybe that's something that's clarified in Kingsglaive, but I really don't feel like the game did anything like enough to make that clear. So, like... let's talk about plot and pacing!
Because man, the pacing. I really enjoyed the later part of the game, but getting there was such an uphill slog and then once you crested that hill it was absolutely relentless! I'm not really sure I have the mental energy to do a really concentrated breakdown of how they could restructure things, but suffice it to say that there could have been some work done there. Especially with how the game just continues and continues to throw sidequests at you in the early chapters, and then those sidequests become largely unavailable for such a long time. Perhaps they needed to funnel those a little more? It's a natural gameplay instinct to clear content as it becomes available to you, but in this case it just ends up making for a strange and lopsided playing experience.
It does at least mean you're probably overlevelled for the main story, though! So you can just focus on playing through the plot beats and never really have to worry about grinding or anything like that. One small grace I guess?!
One strong memory I have from early in the game is the sequence surrounding the fall of the Crown City and the death of King Regis. The cutscene itself was just bonkers to me. I barely even know Noctis at this point never mind his father, why am I watching this beautifully rendered but nigh on incomprehensible battle sequence of the city falling and the father dying in glorious magical combat? Whose POV am I even in right now? What is going on?? If you told me that those scenes were lifted straight from Kingsglaive and Square Enix just wanted to reuse those assets I would not be at all surprised, because man did it break my immersion and leave me scratching my head.
BUT then the next morning happens, and Noctis finds out about what's gone down. Ignis and the others have to break the news to him in the form of media coverage. And it's actually affecting! It's powerful! And (in my opinion) it would have been even more powerful if we hadn't just SEEN it happening ourselves in beautiful nonsensical FMV glory! If we had learned of it precisely how and when Noctis did. And whatever, maybe we meet up with Cor shortly afterwards and he describes what happens and then we get the cutscene if you really want to include it—at least that way it becomes Cor's recollection and retelling of events instead of a floating psychic vision being shoved into our eyes unprompted.
But you know, I actually really liked the scene where Noct finds out. I thought it was decently affecting, I was willing to engage. And then you head back on your way with your Super Best Buddies and they start bantering at Noctis as though it's just another cheerful day, and they even toss a few jokey ~Your Highness~ nods at him and it's FULL BONKERS, YOU ARE BEING TERRIBLE FRIENDS RIGHT NOW. DON'T JOKE AT HIM ABOUT HOW HE'S A KING NOW, HE'S A KING BECAUSE HIS DAD HAS BECOME A DADCORPSE. A DADCORPSE THAT AIN'T EVEN COLD YET.
And that's kind of what I think of when I say the game tries to tell you things are a certain way but doesn't all demonstrate it very well. Final Fantasy XV really wants me to believe that Noctis, Prompto, Gladio and Ignis are incredibly close—and particular that those three retainers are all close with Noctis. But honestly, I don't feel like cute banter is enough to convey that. Whenever the going demonstrably gets tough, it feels like the game misses that opportunity to show us what those bonds are really like.
Okay, that's a fat stinking lie. There are SOME really good moments that show the care that exists between these four. A notable example is when Prompto is revealing his mysterious MT origins, apparently convinced that the others will turn him away in disgust. The way they rally around him in that scene is wonderfully written and executed. More of this, please! But actually, it really conveniently leads me to another point as well. No one actually touches Prompto in that scene in any meaningful way—no one just hugs the damn boy. And this is even more noticeable when they find him a few scenes prior, chained up after days of being missing and presumably at the unkind mercy of the Empire and Ardyn.
Like, Prompto got abducted and probably physical tortured. Definitely psychologically tortured, let's be honest. And after all the build up to rescuing him, Prompto is allowed to more or less collapse on the ground, and no one so much as lays hands on him throughout the entire scene. We get that strange little "were you worried about me?" conversation but no actual physical comfort. Because? I really feel like this game has no idea what to do with male physical intimacy. Like, the game seems actively terrified of doing male intimacy in a way that isn't hands-off and physically distant. The reunion with Prompto is really weirdly underplayed, but bare minutes later we get the affirmation that comes from the MT reveal—an actual emotional reconciliation with Prompto that's only allowed to happen once everyone's nicely on their feet and walking around and we can safely have everyone say what they want to say while staying six feet apart at all times.
I'm not even trying to imply it's some sort of 'gay panic' thing. I just think the writers struggled with having male characters too up close and personal with one another, and it results in this weirdness of keeping one another at arms length even in moments where it doesn't feel like it's serving the narrative to do so. We do get Gladio and Prompto physically assisting Ignis after he's injured and loses his sight, but that has a very different feel and connotation. Just feels like some missed opportunities to me.
Back to the game doing a good job of demonstrating bonds, and let's actually talk about that Ignis injury. The tension between Noctis and Gladio during that part of the game really worked for me, although it didn't feel wholly justified on Gladio's part. But I can accept that, characters can be ugly sometimes and I think Ignis's injury was making Gladio feel wretched and powerless. Gladio didn't feel able to express that, so he was lashing out at Noctis instead—probably because Noctis was expressing that sense of grief and responsibility and hurt instead of Toughing Up and Leading and Being The King. But yeah, Noctis had been through a HECK of a lot and it didn't feel very just for Gladio to be taking it out on him, but it DID feel like a good and effective character beat.
What didn't work, though, was the "two weeks later" nonsense. So Lunafreya dies, we get told it's been two weeks, and immediately cut in to Gladio blowing up at Noctis for moping too much and not getting over it. TERRIBLE. TERRIBLE WRITING. You don't get to just tell us that this has been simmering off screen and expect us to be invested! No matter how well written the tension in that chapter was, you can't just jump in like that! And especially not when the issue at hand is Noctis losing someone he potentially loves above anyone else, and certainly someone he felt a great sense of responsibility toward. Noctis is living through intense grief, compounded by a belief that he's to blame for it, and you want to just skip over those weeks and jump in on one of his Super Best Buddies tearing into him for not getting over it already? That's gonna be a yikes from me.
Man, this game. When it hits it, it really hits it. That damn campfire cutscene (YOU KNOW THE ONE) was brilliant, and that's coming from someone who was a bit sceptical of how the bonds between these characters were shown. When Lunafreya touched Ardyn's arm right after he stabbed her, and promised him a sort of benediction? Amazing, so powerful. "Noctis is the rightful king and he's going to save you too," is this absolutely perfect blend of 'I forgive you' and 'fuck you', and it might have been my favourite Luna moment in the entire game. The fact that it's revisited in the very final moments of Ardyn's existence was just *chef's kiss*.
This journal entry is disgustingly long. DISGUSTING. And I feel like there's still so much I haven't said. THE GOD DAMN ARDYN PROMPTO TRAIN SWITCHEROO, that needs a proper mention because it was probably my favourite part of the entire game. As soon as I sussed that Noctis was chasing after and attacking Prompto I just could not look away from the incredibly psychological trainwreck unfolding before me. Why can't more games have that level of mindbreak, I ask you! And the voice acting was so brilliant, Ardyn's voice delivering what was so plainly Prompto dialogue was just phenomenal.
I am not going to lie to you my friends, that entire sequence and all permutations thereof? Very sexy. Very good. Very good sexy very good.
I really should talk more about Ardyn in general, really, but I need to end this post. But Ardyn. I anticipated liking him, but I liked him so much more than even my most hopeful expectations. He was such a brilliant character, just the right amount of tragic to make you really sit up and look at him, but just such an awful magnificent bastard. And hysterically funny. I could have played forty hours of him just taunting the cast as they made their way through the Empire's Keep. I adore him. I'm furious about it. I did not even want to LIKE this game, and now it's given me my other favourite Final Fantasy antagonist. Disgusting. Livid. 10/10 would try to get Noctis to ride in Ardyn's car again.
(I was VERY disappointed that Ardyn turned Noctis down when I chose that option, but I am thrilled I was even allowed to try. I was determined to get Noctis onto Bad Uncle Ardyn's lap, even if the game itself was mortified by my attempts.)
But that's more than enough for now, I think. It's been a long time since I finished a Final Fantasy game! I'm glad I'll have this little record to come back to. Thanks, Final Fantasy XV. You were everything I expected, and also, somehow, nothing like what I expected. It's been a treat.
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Unfortunately, I am just as sceptical of the direction FFVII's been going in as I was of Final Fantasy XV and apparently I have learned no lessons from my overall positive experience, so NOT SURE WHEN I'LL BE PLAYING THAT.
I don't know your specific Final Fantasy VII Remake concerns, but I can tell you that my personal biggest concerns were whether the portrayals of Cloud and Aerith would feel right, and I can tell you that they are both absolutely perfect.
For one thing, I never completely got over Ignis's dodgy accent.
It took me a good while to warm up to Ignis because he sounds like someone putting on an exaggerated version of my accent to make fun of me.
If you liked Luna, you might be interested in checking out Kingsglaive; I really liked her in that and I was disappointed that she didn't have a bigger role in the game.
If you told me that those scenes were lifted straight from Kingsglaive and Square Enix just wanted to reuse those assets
ahahaha
And it's actually affecting! It's powerful! And (in my opinion) it would have been even more powerful if we hadn't just SEEN it happening ourselves in beautiful nonsensical FMV glory! If we had learned of it precisely how and when Noctis did.
AHAHAHAHA
(those scenes did come straight from Kingsglaive and they technically weren't in the original release of the game; they were patched in on day one!)
they even toss a few jokey ~Your Highness~ nods at him and it's FULL BONKERS, YOU ARE BEING TERRIBLE FRIENDS RIGHT NOW. DON'T JOKE AT HIM ABOUT HOW HE'S A KING NOW
Hey, Highness is for princes! It'd be insensitive if they called him Your Majesty.
There is a definite and inexcusable shortage of physical affection in this game. Prompto is so clearly a huggy person; please give him some hugs! (It's also outrageous that nobody hugs Noct when they're reunited after ten years.)
Ardyn is my favourite Final Fantasy villain by a long way. He's just so much fun! What a bastard! (He's also a top-quality generator of potential for absolutely hideous fanfiction, not that I'd know anything about that.)
I also tried to get Noct to ride in Ardyn's car. I was disappointed that Ardyn turned him down but delighted by how creepy he was about it.
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re: FFVII, I've actually heard some really good things about FFVIIR, especially regarding the characterisation! So honestly I probably should just pocket my concerns and give it a go already. I feel like a lot of the themes of industrialisation and consumption in the original VII are as relevant now as they've ever been, so I hope the remake leans into that some!
I really do think I need to watch Kingsglaive, especially now that you say it features more Luna! But I think it will explain a lot about whatever the heck was going on with Ravus in this game as well, and I'd certainly like to know. I'd like to like you, Ravus! But you mostly left me going ??? for a solid 80% of your screentime. ALTHOUGH OOP, I am sadly not surprised to hear your confirmation about these scenes being from the film originally. Wish I could have opted out of that particular "fix", hahaha!
That reminds me, though, that I'm curious to look up what was different between the original release and the Royal edition!
I DIDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THE LACK OF NOCT REUNION HUGS, why must you boys all be so stupid and awkward and distant when you are clearly dedicated and loyal and care for each other so much!
And ahhh, I'm glad you also enjoyed everything Ardyn has to give. I don't think I can ever say that any FF villain can usurp the place that Kuja has in my heart, but it's certainly strange that Ardyn is now warming the bench beside him. They couldn't provide a larger visual contrast, but I suppose they DO both have a flare for both the dramatic and the ironic, and do both have something of a vendetta against the specifically personal "superiority" of the protagonist. And they both get a sort of benediction at the ends of their stories, something that most lead FF antagonists do not experience! So perhaps there's something to be said for My Type after all.
I am thrilled you tried to get Noct in the Ardynmobile. Some day, we will achieve that impossible dream.
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Can you believe it, I haven't watched Kingsglaive yet?! I rented it once digitally, but I got sick and it expired before I could watch it. :/ It has the worst reviews but I would still watch it because of Ardyn and Ravus and Luna, and I like watching terrible video game movies.
From a fandom perspective I felt nothing when I played through the game the first time. I really enjoyed the game, don't get me wrong, but conditions need to be just right for me to start drawing fanart for something. Maybe it's the lack of physical touching you described? I never really noticed until you pointed it out!
What got me in the end was the Episode Ignis DLC - I haaaate this, but the DLC episodes fit in where the "2 weeks later" happens, or explain why Gladio just walks off and comes back later with an extra scar imbued with manliness, etc. I know they were trying to be all progressive while making more money, but it didn't work because they cancelled Episode Aranea! AND YET. I liked Episode Ignis so much that I've played it repeatedly and it's the reason I've drawn so much Ravus content 8D
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Except probably not because I can't imagine our timezones would be very forgiving of such a plan. Still though! If it could somehow ever have a hope in heck of working out, I'd totally be down for it! I'm sorry you didn't get your chance to watch it before though;; I'm not surprised to hear it has bad reviews, but whatever, game movies kind of have their own rules anyway. (Anyone who says Tekken: Blood Vengeance is a bad film will have their opinion discarded, no mercy.)
I'm interested to learn how much you enjoyed the Ignis DLC! I've always kind of had the impression that people consider that one and the Ardyn one to be worthwhile, and the Gladio and Prompto ones to just be kinda okay? I AM IN MOURNING FOR THE LOSS OF EPISODE ARANEA, and wasn't there supposed to be a Lunafreya one as well? ladies come to me ;_;
Also I did not even notice Gladio came back with a new scar. the big oops.
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The Ardyn fans I know don't seem to like Ep Ardyn very much; from what I understand it kind of plays down his complexity by giving him a Luna-lookalike love interest? I did buy it on sale though so I guess I'll play it eventually. I enjoyed Ep Gladio but that's mostly because I really like Cor, and I am extremely incompatible with the gameplay of Ep Prompto so I tapped out of that almost instantly.
The mini anime episodes are worth watching, since they're free! (Gosh what a backhanded compliment.) There's the 4-part Final Fantasy XV: Brotherhood which is about the chocobros, and the Ep Ardyn prologue.
Also I did not even notice Gladio came back with a new scar. the big oops.
SEEEE? Great story, patchily told. :/
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*let's be honest, this only ever happens with male characters
I DO LIKE FREE ACCESS TO THE ANIMES, THOUGH....