Final Fantasy XV Leaves A Lot To Be Desired | Press Start Australia

Good things come to those who wait. At least, that’s usually what our minds let us expect when something we look forward to something that remains in development for a small eternity. Having evolved from Final Fantasy Versus XIII into the 15th (well, technically anyway) installment of the franchise, it has always been pretty apparent …

[DigitalRaptor]

I'm going to have to play with Japanese audio to mask the absolutely atrocious voice acting.

I probably was going to do that anyway, but the VA sounds as though they were all recorded in separate rooms with no flow or real feeling of a connection, which is odd for such a theme of "brotherhood".

And regarding the visual downgrade and performance, I'm disappointed because Episode Duscae didn't look as bad as the previews show. I'm going to have to go ahead and hope that a PS4 Neo patch is in development for this.

[SoulMikeY]

Japanese VA is worse though dog. And usually... well most of us know the type of person that says that.

And without comparing this to earlier builds that are very obviously unattainable, this is a very good looking game, it stands with the Witcher 3 easily. You overly-entitled bunch are pretty obnoxious with your "mommy and daddy gave me anything I wanted" attitude...

[DeadlyOreo]

Yep, people have become so opinionated and entitled nowadays. In truth, these people will never be happy.

The game clearly looks pretty great.

[xPaYDaYx]

The people that say that? Meaning he watches anime? Who gives a shit what other type of media he consumes, it is of no business of yours. Secondly those voice actors are light years ahead of many other countries capabilities simply because they go to school for years to attain such heights.
Your comment was extremely ignorant and unnecessary. If you're going to sit there and try to belittle him simply because he does something in particular that you dislike or adds his own opinion and you get upset, then go somewhere else please.

[ONESHOTV2]

this game dont stand anywhere close to the witcher 3 maybe the console version becuase that's not even running at high settings

[Koor]

Japonese VA was very natural in episode duscae, What makes you say it's worse?

[indysurfn]

Ever since I played the demo I knew this was coming! If they can't graphically wow you with miniature sized characters to draw, and miniature sized vehicles to draw. Guess how much they will have to stretch the same horse power over full sized characters with real sized textures on vehicles, and enemies, and way more special effects, and explosions!

[DigitalRaptor]

I don't speak Japanese, I don't exactly know the nuances of what sounds good or bad or more natural in Japanese, so at this point it's better to hear it in the original language, and read the subs as a better option. Ignorance is bliss in this case. I know what sounds bad and unnatural and cringeworthy in English, and FFXV is all of those things.

I played Duscae and it looked a lot better than the preview footage. This latest footage looks much, much less consistent than something like The Witcher 3 which looked amazing throughout. Image quality here is atrocious. The hostility is not appreciated.... I am still buying the game (deluxe edition no less) with my own money!

[Nara_shikamaru]

It wasnt downgraded though, it always looked this way, only difference is the duscae region with less plantation, thats it, i know because ive been paying close attention to every single trailer, rewatching them over and over... The best looking trailer is the 10 min 2014 trailer of the duscae region, but i always remind myself that this game is waayyy bigger than any game out there, excluding of no mans sky of course, plus its physics is beyond any game made, no argument there

[ONESHOTV2]

you dont play much games do you

[Nara_shikamaru]

Also with regards to the VA's, they arent bad, but i must admit that they sound like they are coming straighy from the mic, and arent like they would sound if you were in an open field, but i have checked and the japanese voices are the same, also sound straight from the recording room, the voicing acting of either is something i dont care about since i think they are both good

[Adrian_v01]

Good thing you speak Japanese so you would know that the Japanese VA is better.

[-Gespenst-]

Yeah I've got to agree. In some cases it's bad voice acting AND bad flow (Gladiolus and Ignis), and in other cases it's just bad flow (just about everyone else we've seen so far). I never choose Japanese if it's an option, but I think I'll have to this time.

All the lines sound like one-liners, Ignis' voice is just bizarre and inconsistent, Gladiolus constantly sounds like he's doing a voiceover for an action film trailer, and the dialogue in general suffers from what you describe, i.e. all the lines noticeably sound like they were recorded separately at a different time and then edited together. I'm pretty sure the Japanese actors all recorded together.

[Harkins1721]

Both sets of VA is great. Get your ears checked.

[DigitalRaptor]

Almost every single instance of English voice acting sounded bad. In fact, most of it sounds forced.

So far from what I've heard.... Cindy has this clearly forced, cringeworthy Southern American accent. They've cast a British guy to voice Ignis and it sounds unnatural and forced. Gladiolus sounds flat, boring and forced. Ignis and Gladiolus both sound robotic with little to no energy. Noctis sounds just okay. Prompto sounds actually very good and will be the comic relief I turn to for the game.

Which is exactly why I'll be listening in Japanese with English subs, where I cannot pick up these nuances, and will play in ignorant bliss. I don't speak Japanese so I don't know a bad accent and won't recognise poor flow.
------------

@ Harkins1721

CINDY(!) sounds "awesome"?
Oh dear.
Oh dear, indeed!

[Harkins1721]

@DigitalRaptor. Keep being wrong. The new video that came out today has each of them sounding awesome. Again get your ears checked.

[SoulMikeY]

There is no "original" language. It is being made from the ground up with both, not made first in one, then the other. Just say Japanese, I hate the high and mighty "it was like this first" when it wasn't. And thank you for clarifying that it's not bad because you don't understand it. It's gets annoying with all these weeaboos acting like Japan is God.

[Chaosdreams]

Hm. Well, I've read two articles now that were based off gameplay they had the luck of experiencing, prior to the game's announced delay.

If, there are some hiccups, something tells me that they will remedy the situation. The game has a lot riding on its shoulders. Now, if voice acting/dialogue is an issue, that's a tad trickier to fix. I'm going to play with eng voice's since as much as I love reading, it makes me lose sight of the visual aesthetics being presented. If I find myself cringing, I'll switch over.

I can handle a hybrid experience, especially since it's rare to be given the opportunity to experience it. Anyways, November will tell who loves, hates, enjoys, appreciates, or accepts the newest instalment of Final Fantasy. (and let's ignore those who hype, and those who bash).

I've waited long enough to know that unless the story is utter nonsense, I'll nod my head in appreciation.

[joethetimelord]

I'm not seeing the voice acting as exceptionally bad, myself. But even if I did, I'd consider it a nonissue since there's an option to switch to Japanese. It's definitely much better than FFXII's which sounded like it was recorded in a bathroom. Just listen to Vaan's voice; it's grating.

[Chaosdreams]

Ugh, I do recall his voice. It's hard to forget lol

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

This is the only hands on preview I have seen recently that has said negative things about FFXV. Not worried at all. The game looks incredible.

[Hoffmann]

Indeed. It "looks" incredible.

But will it also play incredible?

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

Most hands on impressions said that yes despite the day one patch plus other fixes and graphical improvements not being implemented the gameplay was smooth , responsive and a lot of fun so yes I believe these people. Hollie from Playstation Access was extremely positive about her time with the game which instills me with tons of confidence. Yes the game looks to be shaping up to be something special.

[joethetimelord]

The gameplay is the most positive thing these reviews are citing. The biggest issues are the graphics and framerate.

[DiscoMan]

You have to admire Square Enix's diligence with their games. They never gave up on FFXIV and it's the same with FFXV.

[Hoffmann]

I expect FFXV to be the next Final Fantasy game that receives scores below 7 from more than a few reviewers.

[Adrian_v01]

Care to explain why?

[Hoffmann]

Bad story, linear and boring gameplay.

Just like XIII

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

Ok now you're just talking out your ass buddy.

[Hoffmann]

Nah, I am just counting one and one together after seeing many videos and playing both demos on psn.

I am sure the game will be liked by many people, but it will also get a lot mixed and negative reactions for sure.

[Elda]

Truly!

[Adrian_v01]

You know nothing about the story, the game is open world, so anything but linear and the gameplay is rather exciting compared to what FF offered till now.

I understand you want to be a hater, but at least put more effort into it.

[joethetimelord]

Actually, Adrian, it's gonna be open world in the sense that GTA3 or the early FF games were open world. You'll be able to go anywhere by endgame, but you'll unlock areas as you play the main story.

There's no such thing as a good story that's entirely nonlinear. There will always be main missions, and there's no way those won't be played in a particular order.

I consider this a good thing, too. You end up exploring more of an open world when you start off with sections of it. I hated how GTA5 just let you go anywhere. Made the map seem much smaller because of it.

[Koor]

@joethetimelord It's really positive to have areas becoming unlocked as you progress cause that gives you time to fully explore each area before moving on.
Regarding GTA 5, don't you feel that "the bridge is closed" scenario greatly limits the games realism?
Sure you can go anywhere from the start, and maybe what you''re saying would be true on a map of FFXV scale, but it felt right on GTA 5, besides I kinda felt the map was small :/.

[joethetimelord]

@Koor I feel the "closed bridge" is a clumsy step in the right direction. Sure it was unrealistic, but it ultimately made the games better in the long run, and let you anticipate what was to come.

Removing that, or not coming up with a more creative alternative, made GTAV's small map feel that much smaller, though I will say that other factors may have also played a part there. Felt like there were fewer sidequests as well for example.

[Elda]

It's clearly you have your mind made up that this game is going to be a failure why come on any FFXV articles just to say the same negative thing? There are plenty of articles here I'm quite sure you're interested in where you can make a positive comment,you don't like FFXV then don't enter the article.. bypass asap..why waste your time & energy. FF-XIII was not boring,that's your opinion.

[Hoffmann]

I did not make my mind up, and this is probably just the third or 4th FFXV article I ever commented on.

"you don't like FFXV then don't enter the article.. bypass asap"

Only positive comments about a game are allowed now..even in comment sections of article submissions that were not verly positive sounding regarding a game?

Lol. OKAY!

FF-XIII was not boring? Like you said, that's your opinion ;-)

[Koor]

Bad story? You have no basis to say this, so obviously your opinion has to be disregarded. Linear and boring gameplay... linear? You compare this to XIII , so again your opinion must be disregarded.
Care to take anything else out of your ass?

[Germany7]

I think that will get great score reviews, but it will not be the best game with the fans.

Just like MGS V: TPP.

[Hoffmann]

It will get some great scores but also some below 6, thats all I said

[FreddyFazbear]

Whoever said its linear like XIII? Are you sure you played the same game?? And whats wrong with linear? So every game needs to be skytim GTA V now??

[Hoffmann]

Nah, but as many sidequest and places as in FF IV-9 would be nice.

[Gatsu]

Linear? But isn't it more like open world.

[Hoffmann]

Yeah, but if you can't do shit in a open world..where is the benefit.

[Koor]

It's open world obviously, and it's only as linear as you want it to be, you can hang back and fully explore locations,or move on with main story progress, there's loads of places to explore. As far as I could tell Hoffmann is being an hater, where could you go in FF VII VIII IX X or XII apart from the main cities and pre determined spots?
Few, the open world was actually completely empty from Final Fantasy I to IX, so I really don't understand this hate.

[-Gespenst-]

Noctis looks like an embarrassed teenage kid on holiday with his parents in that picture - maybe at a water park or something.

[Nara_shikamaru]

Sounds to me like you were like that kid mhmm?

[-Gespenst-]

Haha touche! But no, I don't think I ever had a baseball cap phase, nor have I ever owned one of those sports-looking t-shirts. Also my hair has never and could never look like that. I don't know why, it was just the first thing that popped into my head haha.

[SarcasticDuck]

yeah, i've watched the 1h gameplay the FFXV youtube channel released and i really felt like the article says it is. Ignis has Balthier's voice actor (FFXII) and despite Balthier being a good character on his game, Ignis english voice still feels like it was recorded when XII came out! Then there's Cidney.... Cidney has a redneck accent! I think it's enough said about that!

[Koor]

As soon as I heard Cindy speak I had 2 thoughts.
1st - it's 120% guaranteed I'm playing with japonese voice.
2nd- The only way i'd play this game in english would be with an option to bash Cindy's teeth in. The character looked so cute until she opened her mouth.

[Koor]

I'm sorry but texans just sound retarded.

[Elda]

S-E needs to poish this game off quickly & release it asap! Folks are ready to play!

[Warshade]

For me it all comes down to the overall story. If they did a good job with that I always am willing put up with annoying gameplay and the like.

[joethetimelord]

The story looks like it's my kind of thing, particularly the relationship between Noctis and his father, which is much more interesting than Tidus's hatred for Jecht. The gameplay looks and feels fun for me, thanks to how timing-based it is. The graphics are and always have been a last priority to me. I'd love for it to be beautiful, but not at the cost of gameplay. They do need to speed up that texture loading, though, particularly with the food.

[Wrex369]

I am hyped for this day one, good read though but I've watched enough gameplay to know it's for me.

[FallenAngel1984]

Whoa the characters look so unrecognizable with Gladiolus not showing off his torso and the rest of the cast wearing bright non-black clothes in the thumbnail.

[joethetimelord]

Being able to put a shirt on Gladiolus ensured my preorder.

[maulberto3]

FIASCO. This is as best as I can describe this game. There is something going on inside Square that its ruining FF franchise. FFXV latest video raises a lot of questions. What have they been doing all this time? All I care is core FF games and FFXV looks like it is going straight into the garbage. Sad.

[Koor]

But do you have any arguments or is it because you're still stuck in the year 2000 waiting for another FF VII/VIII/IX?

[maulberto3]

My arguments are, according to today's AAA standards: awful graphics, voice acting and gameplay. Sound sounds ok. Clearly, this poor FFXV is a reflection of bad internal administration. Are you a kid or do you know something about how businesses are run in real life? Sometimes, other interests prevailed more than others. This clearly affected FFXV which is not living up to most fans expectations.

Do you have arguments for this being everything what fans have been waiting for?!

[Koor]

The thing is, you say awful graphics when they look good, and just need polishing, then you say gameplay...Have you played it? I played ED, I liked the gameplay, I think the new mechanics give the game life. It's impossible to cater to everybody's expectations when everybody likes something different, all hardcore turn-based fans won't like the combat, if what they are expecting is a turn based game.. however I like the combat-style, as many others will. You gave a personal opinion but didn't state any facts.

[rezzah]

I dont care, I have been waiting to play this since I was in high school.

I will play it.

[nX]

I already couldn't enjoy the platinum demo, I'm really sceptical about this game even though I was excited for FF13Versus.

[Crakface]

Good impressions dont get clicks from no name websites.

[NotEvenMyFinalForm]

It's Tabata after all. He and his team are yet to make a single good game to this date. He's the kind of guy that gets things done fast but that doesn't mean it'll be good. Between him and Toriyama I don't know who's worse... They both teamed up to ruin Parasite Eve. This is why I'm going into FFXV with the lowest expectations possible.

[KainYago]

okey so i've read 5 review of the first 3 chapter so far (including this) all of them had problems but non of them had so much bullshit like this one. 99% they said the performance is meh and the game is really solid and once you get into it its fun and really enjoyable. so 4v1 so far. i wonder that this review was made only to make the game look bad or to get attention because this whole article is fucking shit