Hype can be an interesting and frustrating thing. When your expectations are low, even a mediocre game can be amazing in the right light and when they’re high, even some amazing games end up falling short. After years of people talking about Final Fantasy Versus XIII, now know as Final Fantasy XV, it seems expectations are quite high and now that we finally have a sample of Final Fantasy XV, should we continue to be excited or are we expecting too much from this game?
Stepping away from the traditional turn based RPG, Final Fantasy XV is an action RPG that feels less like Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy Type-0 and more like an MMO version of Monster Hunter or Dragon’s Dogma. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the demo certainly doesn’t do the game any favors.
After you watch the cutscene explaining that your car broke and they need 25,000 to fix it, the gang decides to kill Deadeye for the 25,000 reward. This starts with the simple task of finding the monster, but quickly becomes a fairly tedious adventure.
At first you must check a number of sites for clues, which will lead you to Deadeye, but before you can kill him, you need to chase after him and then stealthily sneak into his lair. The attention to detail and effort that went into making this monster both unique/interesting and threatening is a welcomed change of pace, but this is probably not the best way to hook people.
In a welcomed change of pace your team devises a plan to take down the behemoth, though despite being successful in your plan, it simply isn’t enough to kill the monster and you’re forced to retreat. From here you can go level, get supplies, do one of the many optional missions, return to the fight or do another main mission.
This is where the other big issue comes into play. It’s more or less impossible to kill Deadeye unless you first do the cave mission and obtain a summon. Without this the fight feels impossible and will drag on for an indefinite amount of time, most likely resulting in your defeat. Then once you get the summon, you suddenly have enough power to defeat the previously impossible to kill creature in one impressive blast.
By doing this it seems to suggest that Final Fantasy XV’s large bosses will be an elaborate series of scripted events, instead of a challenging foe that you can conquer with power or skill. Naturally this is not the best side to show off and it’s concerning that such a fun concept might end up being little more than a gimmick.
Only time will tell, but it would be a real shame if Final Fantasy XV is just a series of scripted events and peons to kill. Hopefully this was just a bad choice by the developer and later bosses can be tackled a multitude of different ways. But for now it seems like Final Fantasy XV is little more than a cool concept and amazing presentation, with some underwhelming boss battles.
The behemoth is beatable without the summon. I was able to beat him at level 42, but it took almost the entire day :). Also, you need to have the best camping stat boosts meaning Primary, Sharp, and Immune and you need to start the battle as soon as possible, so the stats don’t wear off. Once the stats are gone, the fight becomes significantly harder, to near impossible.
Also, Square NEEDS to fix the battle targeting system; Switching targets in battle and rotating the camera both use the right analogue stick. This causes you to frequently lose your target while you are trying to rotate the camera to a better position during battle. It’s infuriating and annoying.
I could not disagree with you more. I had to play the demo for an hour or so before I decided that I really actually love this. It is definitely with its flaws and technical issues and things are evidently not finished yet altho, people, it’s a DEMO- they have already addressed the issues most people are talking about. I’m sure they will add more things to discover/locations/fix framerate issues/tweak combat/fix camera/all that good stuff for final release. The final version will also be in full HD and run at a higher framerate. They have already stated this. Personally I think they are headed in a fantastic direction. I don’t know how they did it, but they managed to create a highly original world with an original setting- kind of a 1940s America kind of feel, at least in the Duscae region- that fits right in with the fantastical elements in the environment (goblins, large crystalline structures in the distance, ancient ruins), and from the UI to the chocobos, the game maintains a classic FF feel. And I’m talking about classic. It FEELS like an old school FF game somehow. Original yet nostalgic. Genius!!! Honestly the only other FF that sports a world aesthetic similar to this would be FFVII I think- so many striking similarities here- and these similarities are very welcome. You can see Nomura’s influence in this game clearly, and given that FFXV is his brainchild, I am expecting to encounter a lot more nostalgia throughout the final version and can only imagine the story he cooked up for this game- it’s imporant to remember that even though a different director is at helm now, this has wholly been Nomura’s project, and it’s clear that SE chose the right person for it. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten a feeling like this from a FF game and it’s very exciting!!! In terms of combat, I’m generally happy with it. This is a bold new direction for FF. Quite honestly I got over random battles and turn based gameplay a while ago. I like being able to see mobs on the map and being able to simply run up and fight them- or not. And the combat here is a lot more strategic than it looks. I found that I was constantly planning out my strikes. The battle system does seem to have lots of technical hiccups but I can see where it is going and I love it. Again this is a DEMO and I’m sure these issues will be resolved. I am excited to see how casting magic spells like Fire and Lightning work- only time will tell. I am also interested to see what greater roles your crew might play in the final version- perhaps we will have more direct control over them somehow- if not tho, I’m happy with just controlling Noctis. Noctis is, by far, my favorite main character for a FF game since sir Cloud graced us with his presence back in the original playstation days. I like that his voice is scratchy and moody, so much different than the overly ecstatic mains of the recent FFs. Some may cry “emo” but I dig it. He’s edgy. Edgy is good. He also looks super cool, has super awesome combat moves and powers and can summon a barrage of swords and lances and switch back and forth with them in battle. I love it! Excited to spend hours upon hours with him and his crew in this vast world, which is incredibly beautiful. I think it already looks great in this demo for a version that is not all the way done and can only imagine the size of the rest of the world and the locations you’ll visit. That dungeon too. . . such a harrowing experience! If there are dungeons like this all over the place. . . yee!!! I suppose I would agree about the voiceovers- kinda cheesy altho not as bad as some jrpgs I’ve played- but let’s remember here that this is a heavily Japanese influenced game and is more akin to anime than to more traditional Dragon Age style fantasy. It’s not going to be for everyone- however I too hope they can work on it a bit. Also, I think it would be awesome if the outfits we see our crew wearing aren’t the only ones in the game for them to wear- being able to obtain and change outfits would be awesome. But not putting this on my greatest hopes list whatsoever. I am enjoying the visual aesthetic as it is, altho before playing I was iffy about it. Final thoughts: playing through this demo is giving me tons of nostalgia for the old school FFs even tho the combat is action oriented and the world is highly original and unconventional for a fantasy game. I am heavily reminded of FFVII and somehow feel something epic behind the curtains they have draped over the rest of this game. The world feels alive, is evidently going to be HUGE, sports a day/night cycle with night time being ever more dangerous than day which reminds me of Minecraft and that is AWESOME (you’ll want to find a camp quick when night time falls), the main character is super cool, and did I mention the music?! So good. Very sweeping score, and the chocobo theme is an awesome blues rendition that is highly listenable. Super impressed. Somehow through all the technical issues of the demo I think they are cooking up something truly special here, something that might even rival legends in the series such as FFVII and FFVI. Yep, I said it. Do what you will with that. <3
@Editor of this Article
Go cry in your basement.
Episode Duscae is the best stuff I’ve played in this so far miserable Generation.
The Demo was created to demonstrate. And the whole fight against the Behemoth was created to demonstrate the people of what the Game will be capable of. Yes like in a thousand other Games there will most likely be a few scripted Scenes.
But instead of complaining, why not enjoy the Demo?
“By doing this it seems to suggest that Final Fantasy XV’s large bosses will be an elaborate series of scripted events, instead of a challenging foe that you can conquer with power or skill. Naturally this is not the best side to show off and it’s concerning that such a fun concept might end up being little more than a gimmick.”
LOl.. i cant believe how freaking dumb the writer of this article is… ITS A FREAKING DEMO aka just DEMONSTRATIONN lol .
For beginners, the summon you get is already maxed out, you have to train him ,and make him gain experience levels! and thats not gonna happen very soon in the game.. oh god.. i dont even.. ugh..
I was able to defeat the Behemoth at level 32. You just need to get the 4 phantom swords and master the different abilities that come with them.
As for the summons, there was clear notification after you get the summon that it will only work like that in “Episode Duscae”. It is on;y supposed to give up an idea of what it to come in the final game.
The fans are so pathetic ..
Well to say that the boss cant be killed without the summon and in a manageable amount of time is quite false. People have been killing it under 15 min in the lvl 25 range. Thing is it seems reviewers dont explore enough. There are ancient sword( total of 4, 1 already equipped) that gives you the amiger skills, which is basically flying spectral sword that can be used to deal heavy damage. You need to find those 3 added sword and then the fight becomes alot more fair, as long as you have a bit of skill of course. Im sure the reviewer hasnt even come accross that even though one of the ancient sword is located in the cave… Cant ever trust reviews…
This demo was for a game that was clearly unfinished. Square-Enix themselves said that even the battle system was a pretty early build. It would be premature and unrealistic to judge the entire game based on this one snippet.
I personally disliked the combat system. i play final fantasy sitting down, relaxing and enjoying the story and the combat. If I want Action combat (I dislike it) i would play god of war.
The setting it final fantasy, but it a mmo design on the world, I hope it won´t have the same issues as Dragon Age, where you can spend 40 hours just doing pointless quest in the first zone then being over leveled for the rest of the game.
I felt like the writer of this article almost to a point described the same feeling I had after playing the demo.
Oh well, Persona 5 might still not disappoint
Sounds like more proof that game journalists are bad at games.
LOL at these comments. The purpose of a demo is to demonstrate. Really? Then let’s put this into eadily understandable terms: this demo demonstrates that Square remains a lazy developer who can only hope to insulate its continued failures thrpugh the ad hominem rhetoric of its fanboys.
And serious, to hangul, this is the best thing you’ve played this generation? Hyperbole much, or did you only play junk heretofore, just to make this comment truthfully? While there’s no accounting for taste, your comment shows there should be.
Lmfao at these comments! Calm down people not everyone is going to like this game. Honestly in my opinion this game is going to reviewed by gamers the same way the FFXIII trilogy was! I’m sorry, but just like FFXIII this game is ALL graphics and is clearly NOT about gameplay! I feel SE is trying to make a playable anime and it shows. From what I read in this article, read on forums, and watched on youtube I’d say that this title and article by itself is pretty spot on. I don’t care if the demo isn’t representing a finished product that battle system is shitty! I’m sorry but it’s very clear that Square Enix didn’t learn anything from FFXIII!
Sirguestalot, I played the demo thoroughly and I gotta tell you, I loved it. It felt a lot like playing the old final fantasies, 7, 8, 9. I even enjoyed 12 with its sheer amount of sidequests and unlockable. The demo felt a lot like that. I did everything there was to do, and after I finished I beat the behemoth twice more without the summon. As far as the demo shows, this game is nothing like 13 – and I’m not a fan of that one.
Personally this is the kind of rpg I like to play. Pure exploration with a story line steeped in the hermetic and vedic occult (which furthers my interest.) I don’t play games like Destiny, God of War, etc. And I wouldn’t like it if they turned the final fantasy games into those just to appease Western taste.
Also, what’s there to laugh at? (At the commentators “lol”ing at comments expressing approval of the game) Everyone’s tastes run different. If it’s not your cup of tea, fine, express that, but is it necessary to try and paint ridiculous and unreasonable the comments expressing their approval and enjoyment? It’s like haters want to convince fans not to be fans. As a gamer I stick to my preferences, point out the issues that should be addressed in games I like without slandering anyone else’s. I don’t see why that’s so hard for some gamers, always whining about the popularity of a game they don’t like.