Octopus Overlords

I'm about 15 hours in. Just hit level 26 and the fairly major plot event of I'm still having an absolute blast with it. I fully agree that it's incredibly linear and more of an interactive story than a game where you make meaningful choices, but I'm fine with that. I love the world and story they've created here and can't wait to see what comes next. The combat is still ridiculously fun, especially now that I have multiple Eikons to toy around with. It's not particularly challenging, but I never see difficulty as a positive anyways. If I wanted combat that tests my abilities, I'll go play Elden Ring.

Certainly still in the 9-10 range for me, but I can certainly see how and why it wouldn't be for others.

I must say that my cold heart towards this game is softening a bit since I hit <pivotal story point>. The game world starts to open up a lot more, which has helped alleviate some of the linearity. At least I now feel like I have the freedom to bounce around grinding out extra XP/ability points if I want to.
I'm also a bit more invested in the story now.

I REALLY wish they had made monsters weaker or stronger vs different powers, so that you would be forced to adjust on the fly in combat. I still bounce around for efficiency (no sense waiting on a cooldown timer if another power has abilities ready), but I think that would have added that extra dash of complexity to combat it needs. Heck, at least do it for bosses if nothing else.

I really wish gear was a bigger focus. You get a ton of crafting materials you do nothing with because your opportunities to build/upgrade gear are so few and far between. Why not load the shops with cool gear that requires specific stuff that you have to make an effort to go out and find? That would give me some investment in my character build. It doesn't make any sense that the shops are filled with inferior weapons and armor that no one in their right mind would buy.

I also wish the game was a bit more party focused like previous entries. Not that I would need to control everyone, but it would have been nice to be able to assign roles and tactics to party members just to give you a bit more investment in them. As it stands, I don't know WTF they are doing while I'm fighting. I can give limited commands to the wolf but he ignores me half the time anyway so I'm not sure it really matters. I also don't know why they give you a piece of gear to auto-control the wolf when manually controlling him he still does just fine on his own.

Still, despite all those nitpicks it's the only thing I'm playing right now. I'm enjoying it a great deal even as a I repeatedly scratch my head at some of the design decisions. (Like why do I have to press R2 to open a heavy door - it's not even a mini-game, you literally can't fail to open the door). It's busy work for absolutely no reason other than to slow the game down.

But I'm keeping an open mind. I'm hoping by the end of this thing I'm going "Ok, the critics were right, that was pretty awesome."

YellowKing wrote: Sat Jul 01, 2023 3:28 pm But I'm keeping an open mind. I'm hoping by the end of this thing I'm going "Ok, the critics were right, that was pretty awesome."

Don't hold your breath.

I just finished it at level 48. I did all the side quests and all but two of the bounty board hunts, just enough to get the best sword in the game. I enjoyed it all the way through, but was ready for it to be over. Finishing the next to last story quest and finding 11 side quests opening up, plus one or two that unlocked as I completed those, seemed like a bit much. I was missing two things on the wall of memories and only got 26/50 trophies, most of them were hidden trophies. No idea what I missed. I didn't talk to most people that weren't giving quests so that might be part of it and I became less and less thorough in exploration as the game went on and I realized, as YK pointed out, that all those crafting materials were unnecessary and I had over half a million gil at the end.

Anyway, I am glad I played it but zero interest in NG+ or getting the platinum, which to be fair, is my stance on most games.

I'm level 32ish right now and the game has come back around for me as well. Once it opens up more and you get more side quests and beast hunts the game starts to feel more like a game you're playing rather than simply watching. It's weird the opening 2 hours of the game are awesome, then the next 8 to 10 are very cookie cutter and then it gets good again around the 10 hour mark.

I just hit the southern sand area and I really think the environmental graphics really shine there, everything is much brighter and surprisingly there's a lot more color in the desert town.

I'm coming up on the ending. Got the last big dump of sidequests and was able to craft the best weapon and armor set in the game last night. Have three Hunts remaining. Currently level 47, about 42 hours.

Will have lots more thoughts when I wrap it up (hopefully later this week), but I'll just quickly say that I absolutely LOVE this game.

Just finished, 46 hours, level 48. My final verdict...

Final Fantasy 16 is *this* close to being an absolute masterpiece.

We all play different games for different reasons. Some people love a challenge. Some people love competition. Some people love community. Me? I love a world that I can simply get lost in. One that grabs my attention, makes me care about the people inhabiting it, and tells a compelling story. It's the reason I've always gravitated towards the FF games to begin with. And in my opinion, FF 16 did this masterfully. It's tale of love, family, loss, grief, religion, power, servitude, and redemption was one of, if not the best the series has offered. Yes, it starts as more than a bit of a GOT copy, but really becomes it's own thing after the midway point.

In fact, I'd give it the highest compliment I can think to give an RPG. Towards the end of the game, I spent about 3-4 hours doing nothing but side quests. Not because they gave me any reward whatsoever (I already had the best gear, maxed stats, 500K Gil, and don't care about achievements) but simply because I truly cared about what happened to these characters and the world that they inhabited. I wanted to see the end of their story, so I went through every single possible bit of content available before I launched the final battle. And thankfully, they stuck the landing with a powerful ending. Without spoiling anything, they could have taken the easy way out but didn't. And as someone who has dealt with significant grief and loss over the past year, that ending hit me like an absolute truck.

Speaking of side quests, this game did a really interesting thing. The early game side quests felt like fetch quests and could be somewhat annoying. If you paid attention though and didn't just skip through the dialog, they served to build up the world and the events in small ways. As you get closer to the end of the game, all of those threads get pulled together into some really impactful events. I thought that was a cool way to approach it. I also appreciated that they gave you the opportunity to tie up all those stories before the final boss battle, as opposed to trying to wrap everything with a quick cutscene at the end.

I already mentioned it upthread, but the voice work and music are truly amazing from start to finish. Ben Starr (Clive) does some work towards the end that'll rip your damn guts out. And Gav is always awesome. Soken's score is epic beyond description and I love, love, love how they re-created snippets (or entire songs) from previous games. Probably wouldn't mean anything to those unfamiliar, but it gave a real nostalgia tug for those of us who are. The FF14 vibes kept getting stronger and stronger throughout the game as well. The art direction and overall style were so incredibly similar, with a number of locales and combat mechanics feeling remarkably similar. This isn't a downside imo, as FF 14 has some of the best art direction in gaming, but it was interesting for a long-time 14 veteran to see.

I enjoyed the combat throughout and never stopped having fun with it. I know one knock on the game is it's lack of difficulty, but it felt perfect to me. I always felt like a total bad-ass, even when I did finally have to switch over to Story mode about 2/3 of the way through. I am proud that I never had to use the "noob rings" it gives you though. I did find that I tended to stick with the same three Eikons through most of the game. I'd give each new one a try as I unlocked them, but none ever replaced my Fire/Wind/Earth favorites. I mixed up the specific skills occasionally, but that was about it.

There was really only one minor thing that keeps FF16 from true greatness for me, and that's the completely underwhelming loot and gear system. It took any interest out of exploring when I knew with near 100% certainty that I would never pick up anything good. I never had any problem crafting the best gear available and while I had to occasionally wait for a hunt to unlock so I could grab the mats, it wasn't ever a challenge. Having jukebox songs as the only thing to really spend Gil on felt pretty lame. That whole system was almost a complete miss tbh, and while it didn't impact my enjoyment overall, it did certainly put a damper on exploration and getting cool rewards from combat.

I also think they could have told the exact same story without quite so many f-bombs. It didn't bother me, but it meant that my kids couldn't watch or play it, which is disappointing for them.

Overall, I think this was a brilliant game. Easily the best of the "modern" (i.e post FFX) games, and near the top of my FF list. It won't be a game for everyone - especially those who lack patience with storytelling - but it pressed all the right buttons for me. I'd give it a 9.5/10 and fully agree with all the gushing reviews. I was honestly sad to leave that world as the credits rolled, especially since it feels very much like a "one and done" game. I don't really see any reason to replay it, as there's no meaningful choices to make or different paths to take. I'd be hard pressed to come up with a reason to play through New Game+.

Skinypupy wrote: Tue Jul 11, 2023 9:21 pm
Speaking of side quests, this game did a really interesting thing. The early game side quests felt like fetch quests and could be somewhat annoying. If you paid attention though and didn't just skip through the dialog, they served to build up the world and the events in small ways. As you get closer to the end of the game, all of those threads get pulled together into some really impactful events. I thought that was a cool way to approach it. I also appreciated that they gave you the opportunity to tie up all those stories before the final boss battle, as opposed to trying to wrap everything with a quick cutscene at the end.

I really hope you're right about the side quests having a point at the end. Because right now they are my biggest complaint with this game. Some are good and actually have decent rewards (crafting items, the white chocobo, etc..). But far too many of them are simply go here, collect 3 of X, return to quest giver. In other words they're not very riveting. But the completionist in me completes every single one of them when they pop up.

Scraper wrote: Thu Jul 13, 2023 8:25 am

Skinypupy wrote: Tue Jul 11, 2023 9:21 pm
Speaking of side quests, this game did a really interesting thing. The early game side quests felt like fetch quests and could be somewhat annoying. If you paid attention though and didn't just skip through the dialog, they served to build up the world and the events in small ways. As you get closer to the end of the game, all of those threads get pulled together into some really impactful events. I thought that was a cool way to approach it. I also appreciated that they gave you the opportunity to tie up all those stories before the final boss battle, as opposed to trying to wrap everything with a quick cutscene at the end.

I really hope you're right about the side quests having a point at the end. Because right now they are my biggest complaint with this game. Some are good and actually have decent rewards (crafting items, the white chocobo, etc..). But far too many of them are simply go here, collect 3 of X, return to quest giver. In other words they're not very riveting. But the completionist in me completes every single one of them when they pop up.

When you get to the end, I found the side quests to be more engaging than the MSQ. You never get any great rewards for them (you don't get great rewards for anything in this game, one of my only gripes) but the stories they tell are fantastic. Takes a while to get there though.

I wish I shared the same enthusiasm, but at Level 41 and <checks notes> Main Quest 42 of 49, I'm still finding the game to be a slog.

YellowKing wrote: Thu Jul 13, 2023 11:21 am I wish I shared the same enthusiasm, but at Level 41 and <checks notes> Main Quest 42 of 49, I'm still finding the game to be a slog.

I'm at level 38 and I would give it a preliminary score of 8/10, but I'll save my final score until after the credits roll.

I'm at the end and Coop was right. This game throws a shit ton of side quests at you prior to the final mission. I keep completing them and new ones keep popping up too. I really just want the game to be done, but the completionist in my won't let me start the final mission until I clear everything else.

Scraper wrote: Tue Jul 18, 2023 8:37 am I'm at the end and Coop was right. This game throws a shit ton of side quests at you prior to the final mission. I keep completing them and new ones keep popping up too. I really just want the game to be done, but the completionist in my won't let me start the final mission until I clear everything else.

That's what I meant by the game actually closing out the story arc for each of the minor characters via side quests before you take on the final mission.

I really appreciated they took the time to do that (so many games just entirely ditch the story of anyone but the main character towards the end), but it sounds like everyone else just found it annoying.

Skinypupy wrote: Tue Jul 18, 2023 8:44 am

Scraper wrote: Tue Jul 18, 2023 8:37 am I'm at the end and Coop was right. This game throws a shit ton of side quests at you prior to the final mission. I keep completing them and new ones keep popping up too. I really just want the game to be done, but the completionist in my won't let me start the final mission until I clear everything else.

That's what I meant by the game actually closing out the story arc for each of the minor characters via side quests before you take on the final mission.

I really appreciated they took the time to do that (so many games just entirely ditch the story of anyone but the main character towards the end), but it sounds like everyone else just found it annoying.

If the game were about 10 hours shorter I wouldn't mind them, but I'm not in love with the game enough to want the extra 4 hours of game time tacked on. I know I could just skip them and go to the end (I'm currently lvl 47) but I can't do that. I was actually hoping the last fight I had with was the last fight.

I finished all the side quests and all the hunts this afternoon. I'm lvl 48 with all the best gear available. The only thing left to do now is travel to the final mission. I have a feeling I will be OP and the finale battles will be fairly easy.

And done!

I enjoyed the final mission and the ending. This is the first Final Fantasy that I remember that tells you a character's story from their childhood all the way until the end of the game's story. FF16 definitely earns a 10 out of 10 on the story telling front.

As for the rest of the game overall I would give it an 8 out 10. The sub quests did flesh out all of the side characters and made them more meaningful, but my play through was 50 hours and I felt like it drug on a bit towards the end. I could have easily skipped the last 20 or so side quests and shaved about 6 hours off the play time, but then I would have felt like I missed something.

This thought may not be popular but I wish the next FF game would go back to some form of turn based battle. They could straight up rip off the Legends of Heroes battle system and combine it with FF 16's story and setting and I would be in heaven.

Scraper wrote: Wed Jul 19, 2023 8:38 am This thought may not be popular but I wish the next FF game would go back to some form of turn based battle.

I actually had the same thought. The last two games have been more action focused, and I'd love a shift back to something turn-based.

Doubt it'll happen, but a guy can dream.

I picked up the DLC for FF XVI last week. Since it had been a while since I played it, I figured I'd start a new game and play through enough of it to re-familiarize myself with the systems before jumping into the DLC. I ended up playing through the entire game again. While there's no difference in a replay, the story, world, and characters are just so damn good and the combat is so damn fun that I thoroughly enjoyed running through it all a second time.

As for the DLC, there are two:

- Echoes of the Fallen: Pretty short, can be completed in 2-3 hours. Looks at how the Fallen (an oddly unexplored facet of the original game) came to be. Adds a really fun and spectacular looking new dungeon, with several mini-bosses and a final confrontation against Omega, which was awesome. Felt very similar to the same battle in FF XIV, which was pretty fun. Short, but definitely fun.

- The Rising Tide: A longer (8-10 hour) bit of content that opens up an entirely new zone and pits you against Leviathan Eikon. This is pretty similar to the main story structure, with a main questline that take you through the area, and a bunch of additional side quests to flesh out some cool stories. While the new zone looks incredible, I found the general story thread to be pretty meh. You do get a new Eikon to play with early on, but I thought Leviathan was really underpowered compared to my usual Fire/Wind/Earth setup. The final boss is a remarkable spectacle, but is also one of the hardest boss fights I've ever done. Took me around 10 tries before barely ekeing out a win on Story difficulty. Overall, it was fun but probably only for those who really you want more FF XVI, as it doesn't add a ton to the overall experience.

I've now completed basically everything FF XVI has to offer. The MSQ, all the sidequests, all the xpac content, and all the hunts. I still think this game is just short of being a classic, held back only by the wildly underwhelming loot systems. A solid "A" game, and just a hair under "A+" for me.