Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

Ok, so I bought Final Fantasy Type-0, and with it, gained access to Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae. Here are my thoughts having invested a few hours into this ‘demo’. Be warned, while there can’t be any story spoilers below, there may be some surprises you’d rather experience blind:

I’ll start with the visuals – the game is truly beautiful, and boasts an incredible draw distance. Lots of this is achieved by still backgrounds, but you can see NPCs/enemies roaming around from some distance given clear sight. I’ve noticed a couple of occasions of pop-up texturing, but I’m going to go ahead and put this down to beta content. Hell, given the time this game has taken, it’s fair to assume we’re dealing with perfectionists!

Physics within the game is captivating – grass sways as you run through it, and Noctis parts larger bushes as he wades through them. There’s a jump command for exploratory purposes, and in context this will result in hurdling fences and the like. The character animations are gloriously detailed, and whilst time may tell that they are repetitive in their motions, your party members are not gormless zombies tied to you by string. I’ve encountered one instance of Prompto blocking my path and not moving out the way until I ran back a ways, but again, hopefully this will be tweaked. I should also add that the camera can be a little stubborn at times, and a little hyperactive at others.

The UI is deliberately minimal, and it really works as an immersive experience. We have evolved from FFXII’s giant arcing lines to a narrow warning bar which spreads across the screen as battle initiates. This sometimes mean you have to work to figure out where the threat is coming from, but I actually like this element of unknown danger (and of course, you can just cheat and lock on). Treasure is also minimally signposted by a faint glow on the floor which extends a vertical beam of light if you get close enough – it seems there are no more glaring chests to be seen, which makes finding things a little more rewarding. A map exists, but only on pause menu. You can use it to find dead ends (and therefore treasure) as well as your way around, but it’s not in your face like it was in FFXIII (one of my major gripes with that game). I’d also say that they’ve worked on making maps less linear, but then Duscae perhaps isn’t a fair representation of this since you are effectively dropped in a countryside sandbox.

So, how does the game play? Well, like a true Final Fantasy game. Your party have clear, distinct characters and personalities and there seems to be a good dynamic and rapport in existence. There is banter whilst running around (which hopefully proves not to be repetitive over the course of the game), and your party members will prompt you to focus on certain key features in the environment if you’re feeling oblivious. It’s promising, although it must be noted that Duscae deliberately offers little exposure to any real story.

The day/night cycle works pretty fluidly, and genuinely gives a dimension to the game rather than gimmick. At night time everything gets dark, and your party pull out neat chest-mounted flashlights, but visibility remains significantly impacted. It’s definitely harder to see what’s around, and so your ability to anticipate an attack is all but gone. Your experience boost (if you have one) will wear off, and the enemies get nastier. I mean really nasty. During daytime, I’ve rarely been given much to worry about by the random roaming monsters. At night, I’ve gotten my ass handed to me and ploughed through potions. It presents a great challenge if you want it, and I imagine a novel way to grind in a ‘low level’ area.

It’s difficult to gauge party management and equipment, as in Duscae the controls are restricted, and you can’t really tell to what extent - all you can do is select Noctis’ weapons. There are lots of ‘collectibles’ which drop from enemies or can be found lying around. This would hopefully imply some sort of crafting/refining system in the full game, rather than simply a cash generator (of course, you can simply sell it all, and values vary). Also, I have to point out that on at least one occasion I’ve found Magicite, which I cannot sell but cannot yet use...

Elsewhere, there are lots of little touches to love. There’s a mini-game where you have to stalk a behemoth without getting caught or losing him, and there is loot to try and grab as you go without failing either condition. I’ve got my fingers crossed that several mini-games will be littered throughout the game. You can also find beautiful feathered chocobos around – both tame yellow ones and wild black ones. There’s a Chocobo Farm where you can at some point rent a chocobo (but not yet in Duscae), and the music at the farm is very reminiscent…albeit with a country twang.

Saving/resting is controlled by visiting a campsite at select locations around the map. I would assume a similar mechanism will operate in more metropolitan areas as well, even if this does seem to fit more naturally with the countryside setting. Each camp is effectively a save point, but with campsite animation, banter and cooking. Cooking works on drops/treasure too, though ingredients can be bought at shop if you like. Different ingredients prompt a different recipe to be concocted by Ignis at camp, and each recipe provides the party with various positive status effects. In Duscae, he cooks what he likes, but apparently you will have control over the choice in the full game. Campsites also let Noctis spar with Gladiolus – at the moment, this really is just a way to get my ass kicked - but possibly this will provide a mini-game style avenue to various rewards in the full game? Camping allows you to level up – you earn experience from battles, but don’t actually get to level until you rest. The mechanism works like cashing in your chips – and apparently, if a character gets KO’d they will lose any un-cashed XP! New levels appear to unlock new abilities, but this is locked in Duscae so I can’t know what form they take. Finally, every time you camp and rest, a certain familiar fanfare plays as the screen fades to black…

Of course, a major concern for many is how the battle system works. I should preface this by stating that I abhorred the battle system of FFXIII. That's not a criticism I can level here. Once battle commences, you only control Noctis, and your party members run on AI. This includes attacking and defending, using potions, and healing each other (although, I don’t yet know if this depletes your stocks). Because of the pace of battles, this works; but it’s not the same as the good old days of four party members. It is pleasing to see that your pals seem pretty self-sufficient in battle, though.

Each party member has their own HP bar, which obviously gets depleted when you take damage. Like in FFXIII, if Noctis is KO’d, it’s game over. However, where XV differs is in the way health is depleted, and this makes this rule less severe. Once your HP hits zero, a character basically staggers around, wounded – and largely useless. They can however take further damage! At this point, any further damage reduces a character’s maximum HP (and this reduction lasts until you next camp). It’s only once the maximum HP reaches zero that a character is KO’d (and therefore where game over can occur), so you have chance to heal a wounded party member before it’s too late.

Only Noctis has MP. It regenerates during battles, but the speed varies depending on circumstance and status. MP is used for pulling off various special attacks (which you can cycle through on the fly with the directional buttons before unleashing them), evading attacks, and warping around. You are able to lock on to a particular enemy if you wish, and you are able to enter a defensive, evasive stance. The face buttons are assigned to attack, special attack dodge, and warp. In essence, Noctis has several different weapons, each of which can be assigned to a slot which governs the context in which it will be used – initial attack, repeat hammering, counter, jumpstrike, etc. Weapons have status boosts and effects, and I understand that these only active for strikes with that weapon – so there is some real tactical depth available.

When an enemy moves to strike you, a small icon on screen will notify you and allow you to parry the blow if you time it right. This unbalances the foe and lets you deliver a punishing counter-strike. In similar ways, enemies can be knocked off guard in order to temporarily deal greater damage. Noctis is able to unlock special attacks akin to limit breaks, which can be unleashed when at full MP; and there are, of course, also the summons. To date, we’ve probably all seen the video of Ramuh, who can be called upon when Noctis’ health hits zero. Whether this is the only to way to call on any summon, I don’t know.

The battle system generally works well. It’s very action oriented, but it’s intuitive and fun. Items are still accessed via a text menu; but if you’re struck whilst using the item you’ve selected, the action will be cancelled – so you can’t be careless about when you heal! There is enough depth to give you cause to want and need to use different attacks in different scenarios, but you can of course simply batter a weak enemy by holding down the attack button. However, so far I’ve found that the battle system falls down a little bit against a large, fast opponent, i.e a boss – and I’ve simply flailed wildly without any feeling of control; but this may simply be a case of getting used to the system. In my opinion, the transfer to an action-oriented button-mapping considerably improves the battle system from that used in XIII (where the cumbersome text menu system coupled with the speed of battle ensured I did nothing more than hammer X until everything died). I’d perhaps prefer a slightly more sedate pace to feel more tactically in control, but there’s no denying that battles are exciting. Against a slower, singular opponent, you can build up a real sense of duelling, and the parry/counter system can be devastatingly enjoyable.

In all, I’m extremely impressed with Episode Duscae. FFXV looks to be well worth the wait, and I’ve seen enough to know I’m going to pre-order. Considering Duscae is effectively pre-production and beta (and plotless), the finished game could be truly vast in both size and scope. The creators are putting in lots of loving nods to classic games, which really is endearing. You have to go play this. Final Fantasy lives on, and by god it looks good.


--------------------

We apologise for the inconvenience

I read this months ago and appreciated it, but had nothing to respond with. I figured people would start a conversation but apparently not.

So I'd better show my appreciation, cheers Stiltzkin!

--------------------

www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens