FFXV's Upcoming Changes Are So Dramatic We Should Have Waited a Year Before Playing

GameRevolution: "Although the season pass will add a substantial amount of content, there's much more coming in the future than originally confirmed. Speaking to Famitsu, director Hajime Tabata shared exciting details that included time-limited mob hunts, as well as new party characters."

[PhoenixUp]

Well you can wait year to play it if you like. I on the other hand won't wait a second longer to play this long in development game

[solideagle]

This is the reason i wait and buy GOTY edition of games

[Night99]

@solideagle yes but you only can do this when a GOTY edition even gets released. I still wait for a game of the year edition for fallout 4 but still nothing within sight even though the game is out for 2 years now and any other bethesda fallout got a GOTY. On the other hand Final Fantasy games never got GOTY edition till now. Final Fantas 13 got a complete edition but only after Finaly Fantasy 13-3 was released and that was 4 or 5 years after the original FF13. I never ever could wait that long to play this game especially we already waited for 10 years I would have zero interest in this game if I have to wait another 4 years this seems just crazy to think about to me.

[samden]

@Night99, Bethesda games usually take 2-3 years to hit GOTY and FO4 is just barely over a year old (released November 2015).

[solideagle]

I think waiting for FF XV still applies even if they don't make GOTY because the planned updates are changing the whole game and I am pretty good waiting for games :D I like Sony games because most of the time they are complete on disc experience like GOW (played all) or Uncharted (still have to play 3,4) etc etc

[XanderZane]

True. I haven't gotten yet either. Will probably pick it up this Summer.

[andrewsquall]

Err then better get to it. You make it sound like you have already waited 6 weeks since its release to play it so far.

"I on the other hand DIDN'T wait a second longer than I had to, to play this long in development game" is what I believe you were going for.

[mechlord]

I bought the game already but i'm on the waiting side of the fence...for whatever reason, i cannot go past the small things like inability to pick 2+ hunts, the nonexistence of a metric system (i have no frame of reference for imperial units) and so on. Lucky for me, the onslaught of (i hope) better finished games is about to start with Gravity Rush 2 leading the way.

[Elda]

Responding to you from my comment about the summons in FFXV & FF-XII.....all I'm saying is certain summons in FF-XII would not attack unless you met certain conditions,the same in FFXV,imo is dumb.Once you obtain a summon you should be able to use it as many times you want like in most FF games.

[joab777]

@elda I thought the same thing but it would be crazy to be able to summon these creatures at any time. Maybe a couple summons in which you can!

[lipton101]

I am so NOT impressed with this game. The graphics are stunning but the characters... I just don't like them. I don't like how their weapons disappear. I don't like how the use of magic is still unclear to me. I don't like how brawling near a bush obstructs your view. I don't like how I get motion sickness during battles because the damn camera spins. I don't like how the characters voices don't even begin to match their models. Most of all, I can't stand the douche main character. And why can't I change his damn hair and clothes? And why do I have to watch a crap movie rated at less than 30 on RT to even begin to understand the story? God, Im so concerned for the FF7 remake now after playing this game for 15 hours now, desperately trying to like it yet not finding anything to like past the superficial presentation

[C4rnos]

The movie is actually pretty good i thought; and at 30 on RT (which is about as useful *AS* rotten tomatoes might i add) is actually pretty high in comparison to a lot of movies.. The movie helps, it explains the magic a little too.

[Erik7357]

Good thing I waited for the PC version then

[dougr]

i bought this release day and as soon as i found out about these changes i put it up, i'll wait because i'm not the type to play a game multiple times. i've made it to like level 6 and just past the first garage part so i'll just wait.

[Phunkydiabetic1]

And people like you are the reason companies release games that are half finished.

[-Foxtrot]

Pretty much

I would have rather waited.

[jeromeface]

I own it, and decided to wait... =/

[ORyanDeee]

same, stopped at chapter 3

[FullmetalRoyale]

Same here, except I played for about forty hours. I think I am on chapter six. I had fun playing it, but I don't know if I'm up to replaying everything I have done so far, when they finish the game. This game could have been great, if they hadn't released it a year too early.

[shammgod]

same here, but i have a backlog that extends to ps3! Plus, i am knee deep in FFXIV

[Goldby]

Thats what i put in my review. To wait for the co.plete edition that actually has the complete game in it

[Irishguy95]

A lesson for SE games in the future for sure. If you are hyped early adopter who trust SE to deliver a finished product. Belay that. Wait a year

[rezzah]

I'm going to play it out but I wish I had known of it's issues before starting the game because I would have waited.

[masterfox]

I just finished FF XV some hours ago and the only thing I can conclude is that is a damn entertaining mess!, if I can give a score to it I would give two scores, if the game was called with a different name rather than FF brand I would give it a 9/10 , if I take this FF and compare it to the other FF's I would give it 3/10.

Comments as a Final Fantasy fan:

Not kidding I only use at least 10 times elemancy in the whole run trough!, the summon system is a complete letdown you have CERO control over your summons, there's absolutely no strategy in the battle system, if you think you will need to special accessory to prevent illnesses to be able to progress in battles well you don't have to waste time on that, just use the accesory that gives you the better attack stats also just have a bunch of antidotes, remedys and maiden kiss those aren't even expensive, since theres no cure, cura or curaga at all in the game I think, I needed to have Ignis as regroup skill all the time until the last part of the game for specific reasons.

If you want to level up, first you accumulate experience by doing battles or just being an errand boy(quests and frogs catching) and then after that you must sleep, sleep is a must ! lol, if you want to prepare for battle just equipped your most strongest weapon, equipped your accessory with best attack stats, do a tent, eat that huge arse sandwhich that gives you 50% EXP boost in each battle, sleep again, and thats it! you are good to go for the rest of the game, oh and almost forgot good luck unlocking the characters Limit Breaks, lol.

The story is the biggest letdown of all, Square Enix did a complete ripp-off of some parts FFVII and tried to paste it in FFVX and the result of that was a big WTF ?, seriously some moments are so damn obvious that I end up even laughing while those were supposed to be sad moments. The saddest thing of this parts of the game is that these were supposed to be huge climax moments in the story but they end up laughable, the problem FFXV story is that Square Enix wanted to pull off a FFVII type of story but they forgot something very important they forgot the build up the characters background story and explaining what the hell is going on!.

Don't get me wrong I liked alot exploration type games, FFXV is a game that you can sit back in your couch and start roaming the areas with no need for worries also not the mention the game looks gorgeous, but if you expect a real Final Fantasy type game you are going to get disappointed a lot!!!

Oh almost forgot, if you want to have a huge laugh when you beat the game choose the funniest/WTF or girly picture right before the end battle, you won't regret it LOL ;)

[Richmond94]

Totally feel you man. I had a picture of the Chocobo farmer at the end, I was in hysterics.

[Elda]

The game is fun for what it is & I really enjoyed playing it,I put 90 hrs in but story wise including a lack of true FF mechanics the game lack as a true representation of a FF game & the summon system is just horrible including the lack of summons but in FF-XII they do this also that some summons won't work unless you're under a special condition but you get a huge arsenal of summons to get & use.As much hate as FF-XIII has gotten it was more of a true FF game than FFXV.I will play more when dlc is released.

[mechlord]

saying that this summon system is like fxii is a bit of an overstatement. Granted, i haven't played this game to the end but there is a major difference here:

In XII, i had total control of my party and i could very easily create the conditions to use my summons. Whats more, espers did exactly what you expected them to, which is not whats happening in XV. Take Zodiark (really the only useful one) for example: whenever you wanted his uber attack you just had to cast petrify on yourself..

[Pennywise138]

Yep you guys nailed it. It's exactly my thoughts on the game too. Really enjoyed it as a game but not as a final fantasy game even though there were a lot of little things that did remind me of old games in the series. The sound of picking up treasure and the way the map is open world but still kind of keeps you on a path. I would love to see another more traditional final fantasy game in the more fantasy setting. Squares more medieval style fantasy characters and locations have always really stood out as some of the best parts of final fantasy.

[I_am_Batman]

Careful Spoilers incoming:

I just finished it yesterday and want to share some of my thoughts. First of all it's obvious that the game could've used another couple of months of dev time. Here are my main cons of the game:

Some story elements should've been more fleshed out. You pretty much have to watch Kingsglaive to even understand what is going on in the game. I'd also recommend watching Brotherhood by the way as it gives some backstory on the main characters. It would've been nice to have some more backstory on some the other characters too. I'd like to see a lot more FMVs because the once that are there are awesome.

The Leviathan fight is really badly designed (compare it to the trailer of the rereveal). The Titan fight could use some work too. Fights against big enemies in general are less precise than the fights against smaller ones.

My main problem with the game is that it's just too easy though. I really like the idea that the summons help you when you're almost dying but that never happened to me in my 60 hours playthrough. I had to keep getting hit on not heal on purpose to summon one eventually after I finished the game already. I would usually not even go for finishig the story that early because I'm really having fun with the game but I was already slightly overleveled for the main story. I didn't get to see the game over screen once in my whole playthrough. They should've made it more challenging especially because there are 2 difficulty settings this time around. I was surprised to read that you barely used elemancy in the game because that's actually one of my big pros of the game. Magic can be really strong and I love the spell crafting system. But I guess you never needed to use it because the game wasn't challenging enough. I feel like having a higher difficulty could've solved some of the problems of the game. On the other hand it might have amplified some of the weaknesses like the imprecise fights against tall monsters. I also agree that the illness effects should've been handled differently to encourage using protecting accessory.

It would've been cool if we could explore some of the other regions like Tenebrae, Insomia and Niflheim more openly.

There are a lot of minor cons like the justics monsters V minigame not offering any challenge and the Chocobo medals being pretty much useless as far as I can tell but those aren't as important to me.

Despite all of it's flaws it was still my favorite game of 2016 though. The core gameplay is very enjoyable. I love being in this world and will continue to play for quite some time. Driving around in the regalia through the beautiful world of eos while listening to some Final Fantasy classics never got old to me. The beasts in this game really felt like they belonged in this world. The dynamic soundtrack made for an atmospheric adventure from start to finish. The little interactions between the characters thoughout the game made me care about them which in the end really gave a meaning to the powerful ending.

The fact that I absolutely loved the game despite it's obvious flaws makes it hard not to think what could've been if they took the time to adress all of it's weaknesses.

[Elda]

I agree with you far as being easy,I never got a game over when I fought enemies or bosses & that's the first time ever & I've played many FF games since the SNES & I died a lot in FF-XIII.I guess because I leveled up to level 30 before even starting chapter 3 so I might have been over powered,I never got to use the summon Titan throughout the entire game,at chapter 14 I was level 68.

[trooper_]

Oh gee, that doesn't sound good. I was actually going to try the game out, lol.

[I_am_Batman]

My post above has some spoilers so you probably shouldn't read. I've finished the game and my spoilerfree opinion is: The game has it's flaws but it still ended up being a great game. I'd encourage you to try it out for yourself but if you're not sure you can wait as Tabata said that they are going to continue to work on improving the game for quite some time.

[trooper_]

I think I'll wait. Thanks.

[CrimsonWing69]

Wait so it's a great game but a bad Final Fantasy game? How can a game be great and bad... I feel like if you'd give the game a 9/10 then why can't it be a FF game that's a 9/10?

[mav805]

It's kind of sad because it seems like it's easy things that they got wrong that affects the game in the worst way to me. For example, given the design of the game, time you spend out adventuring is when you need to be developing rapport with the characters, but 90% of the 'dialog' is just Prompto saying some dumb thing and Noct responding 'yeah'. Completely uninteresting and pointless.

Rather than feeling natural or informative, with every interaction with any npc or party member all I see is the endless loop playing in my head of some condition being satisfied and the corresponding sequence playing.

[moegooner88]

Kinda funny how everyone rages over incomplete games, but now it is fine cause it's Final Fantaaasssyyyyy

[littlefatgirl]

Seriously. There is no reason FFXV should get a pass on this.

[Onenyte]

prepare for the down-votes ,the rose tinted glasses are still on lol

[SegaGamer]

What are we really buying when a game is released these days, the full game, or a beta test ? To me it seem's more and more like a beta, then a few months later we get the complete package if we pay a bit extra. Screw this crap, every game i buy from now on is going to be used or on sale. The current state of game releases is disgusting.

Gamers are treated like mugs, but what makes it worse is that they accept it.

[arkard]

I've been debating if I should sell my copy and wait for the updates. My back log is big enough as is and there are some really great games coming out early this year.

[Artemidorus]

This is why I waited, it will be better and a heavy discount.

[saphiron]

Really liked the game. give me more please. But please fix the frame pacing issues on High mode on PS4 Pro.

[slappy508]

Agreed, would have loved these changes from the start as I have already platinumed it and don't feel a particular need to come back. Like zi would be loved to have the AP farming gear from the start

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Can we just move on from FFXV? It was enjoyable enough despite it's flaws, I just want a new entry in the series now.

[cash_longfellow]

YES!

[andrewsquall]

But that is what I was always going to do.

[gamer7804]

it was an unfinished game, i know many who have stopped playing it, in order to play with the patches and get a better experience.

[Fishy Fingers]

Still haven't picked it up, plan to make it my first FF game. Should be nicely patched up with goodies by the time I get it.

[Goldby]

Please. What ever you do, do t have this as your first final fantasy. 7 is much better, 9,10 and 12 are great as well.

[shadowfax33]

the only concern i have is the story..its not good as other final fantasies, however everything else is really good
graphics,combat exploration...and the best light effects i ever seen.

the game has so much details,unfortunately lot of players simply don't notice or just plainly don't care..its a shame how this game is being criticized when so much work has been done into it, its not perfect..but nothing is.

[joab777]

It's tough but MAYBE they will actually add a new difficulty to ng+ so I can replay it in the future when it's done again. Still doing endgame but I'll be wayyy too powerful for NG+ on normal. Did that in Dragons Dogma at Infinity level and it stupid!

[I_am_Batman]

I really hope they do. The game was a little too easy anyway. NG+ will be pretty nonsensical if they don't up the difficulty singnificantly.

[joab777]

It was very perplexing to see them add a ng+ and not raise the difficulty. There will be no excuse if they drastically improve the game. It's the least they can do for those of us that wanna replay it.

I must say though, having just beat the main story that this game is damn good! I read all the negatives and I agree that the beginning hours need better story telling for sure. As well as better character involvement, especially between Noctis and Lunafreya.

That said, they did so much right! And if they can add some cutscenes, customization and a new difficulty level (or 2 for many that wanna create builds), and a few more adamantoise type creatures (Hell, I'd pay for DLC that just added new really difficult hunts!), this game will be a classic!

[I_am_Batman]

I agree with you 100%.

If they add some details to the story, add higher difficulty, add more playable content and polish the stuff that's already there up a bit it'll be masterpiece.

By the end the story is concluding with a pace that it feels like it's skipping over a lot of important details like the disappearance of the empire for example. I know it's kinda explained but it feels like a much too important subject for the little details we were given. Those could be filled in with FMV cutscenes. Obviously I'd love for them to add some completely new fleshed out chapters in between as well but that's probably too much to ask for.

[pyroxxx]

I still have somewhat mixed feelings about this game,..but damn it is pretty.

[esmittystud101]

Square Enix is setting the bar for other developers. As in this is good news for players. When developers for years now has said, "we can't make those kind of changes now" after release ,....................Yes you can, you just don't.

[jagstar44]

square enix is a mess

[WinterChilly]

Well lucky me

[GrimDragon]

Guess I'll brush up on my fishing skills.

[Pikagreg]

Beat the game and enjoyed it. If changes make such a drastic experience change it will make replaying much more worthwhile.

[showtimefolks]

I am buying it in late 2017 or even early 2018

I waited till January 2017 to buy Fallout 4 abs my overall experience has been much better especially with all the mods

I am buying witcher 3 next and now will get a much more refined experience than someone who bought it at launch

Next generation gaming means huge day one patches abs even than sometimes the game requires more work

We as gamers all have huge backlogs so why not wait to buy a more quality product for around $15-20 instead of buying incomplete games for $60

I use to buy almost every game at launch but these last three years have thought a lot

Mafia 3 is a prime example of a incomplete game that 2k launched anyway. I am a huge mafia fan but in no way touching the game till 2018. It requires a lot of work

No man Sky is another game that by 2018 could be an amazing game if their foundation update is anything to go by on

Publishers release titled knowing well the game isn't complete. They know millions of gamers will buy the game day one

[kakashi81]

I just beat final Fantasy XV and if you seen kingsglave you then only know what's going on...smh

[Meltic]

wait for the real version ( PC )

[aquaticDonut]

Should you have waited to play the game or should SE have waited to release it?

[sdcard4gb]

What, they gonna include up to 12 Summons and actual Limit Breaks ? Sweet !!!

P.S. I know they won't, that's the whole damn point.

[Tankbusta40]

I beat the game and sold it for 40 bucks, when they put all this in and sell the complete edition I will probably pick it back up to see all the changes

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

Its good to see I made the right call in waiting. Besides like others, I have a lengthy backlog and seeing that Persona 5 is coming out this year, time isn't an issue.

[hirobrotagonist]

I'll happily replay the game 1-2 more times and if they keep adding content. Well, maybe I'll play a 2-3 more times. Between this and Witcher 3 I really feel like I've been getting my money's worth when it comes to games these days.

[franwex]

So the people who bitched about the 2 month delay, now would have rather waited...typical hypocrites.

[AnnaDea]

At least we're getting the experience we wanted from the very start.

[-Gespenst-]

I'm glad I decided to wait for the PC version.

[Segata]

I don't hates the game. Kinda enjoyed it but even with the changes I have no desire to ever play it again.

[Chaosdreams]

I have mixed feelings about this entire ordeal.

On the one hand, the game has finally released. I found it very enjoyable, and loved many aspects of it. I've been completing the end game content and only after 50h or so, am I starting to getting a little annoyed with hearing certain dialogue pieces (so that's not bad, it's good actually, just means I played too much). However, I am not blind to the fact that, the story was poorly told. Poorly being polite. It was downright horrible. Chapters 1-10 give you the impression that it's a slow burner, with many pieces waiting to pounce and make their move.

Then chapter 11 happens, and you quickly find out that, the slow burner has turned into a "we somehow need to finish this on time, cut this, cut that, skip this, skip that, sort of explain this." It falls a part, and then miraculously, still blows me away with the ending/post credit end.

So, while SquareEnix can talk all they want about how much is coming to the game. I'm sort of shrugging. There's 6 million people who got their hands on a copy already, and they will always hold a certain point of view to what they were sold on day one "versus" what others might enjoy (as a final product, year(s) from now).

Games can have extra content. But the games shouldn't be released in such a way, that the game itself becomes "drastically" different in the long run. It taints the overall credibility of a game. Gives mixed knowledge on a final product.

That said, I will continue to play the game, as I waited 10 years and hold a weird love towards it. Any additional content does get me excited. And if there's an "expansion" I hope its a good side story for the main cast.

There's a 10/10 gem here. It's just buried, deep.

[geddesmond]

Yeah the game has a few flaws but I'm 12 hours in now and I'm starting to like it more and more. I'm not a fan of the car but the chocobos are great.

[a7madRyan]

its not like they gonna give u a new story just injoy it and replay it when they patch it

[Horseygamer]

make for better replay id play it again

[Tzuno]

Rushed and tested with gamers, well they needed money to develop further i guess

[plmkoh]

If anyone thinks the game is going to change dramatically, they're going to be bitterly disappointed. You can't patch the inherent structure of the game, if you played it you will know it can make certain sections more streamlined but certainly you would still have to go through some of it because it is part of the story. And also DLC is just DLC, just more of the same content that isn't part of the main game.

[EverydayGuy]

Should of push it back another year, don't want to play the game after every update just to get a piece of the story.

[DA_SHREDDER]

Thank God for new party members, that one guy was giving me the creeps 😷🤢

[DJ]

Hard drives have become a blessing and a curse.

[DillyDilly]

I decided to get this game during the summer drought Im glad I waited

[Mexxan]

All these updates and new content, but still no fix for frame pacing or availability of 60fps on Pro.

This is just marketing bullcrap. You will get the content - by the time were on Ps6

[Deios]

I finished the game on the Xbox One. I will purchase the complete or whatever edition on the PS4.

[hahaha]

Should have waited for another 2 years until next generation to have better graphics. When should it be released then? Oh well might as well not release at all.

[dennigo]

i'm stuck i have to grind for final bosses, while i've never had any problem grinding in final fantasy games, this game is really really pissing me off, the side quests are some of the worst in the history of rpgs, that's saying a lot. This is not the final fantasy i know and love.

[rezzah]

I agree with the title. I told my brother to not play it until a year later (I'm current'y on chapter 7).

I frequent gamefaqs.com so I see the many issues people are having with the game.