Final Fantasy XVI |OT|

[Dr. Pezus]

I don't play ps5 at all lol. Couldn't find the demo so I had to google it.

Edt: This is just the regular opening of the game? Think I'll wait and just play the full thing.

You can continue from where the demo ends in the full game

[Legend]

You can continue from where the demo ends in the full game

Yeah but I won't be able to play the full game for a few months. Would be more fun to play it all at the same time.

[the-pi-guy]

There is an 86 page thread on Era for just the demo impressions.

Its probably because I've never paid attention, but I don't think I've ever seen a demo attract this kind of attention. Demos also tend to be bad for sales, but I'm getting the opposite impression here.

Not that everyone is fully positive about it. It's not some people's jam, but there are plenty of people that are immensely excited about it.

Can't wait for reviews. Will something go terribly wrong? Will it match FFVII Remake's reception? Or will it fully be the best received Final Fantasy game in the last 16 years?

There are in fact other threads about the demo like that article I shared about it being a marketing master class.

How many demos get two or more threads about them?

Spoiler free comment from that thread about the demo.  

I'm not exaggerating, I enjoyed literally almost everything about the opening of the game - the incredible music, the sharp dialogue, the crazy visual effects, the action combat, etc. I gasped at some story stuff, caught myself smiling at the fun gameplay, and was just wide-eyed when it cut to "thanks for playing". Game is awesome so far.

[Legend]

Closest I can think of is ground zeros. For most people it was a separate game but I played it on PS+ right before Phantom Pain and it got me super hyped.

[the-pi-guy]

I know this is going to sound crazy, but the Final Fantasy 16 Demo was so unbelievably good, I actually think the demo alone could be a contender for game of the year so far

— Esfand (@EsfandTV) June 17, 2023

[kitler53]

lulz.  definitely a top 3 demo ever.  I can't think of any that turned public opinion so much. 

[Legend]

Oh boy I doubt Nintendo fans agree with that lol.

For everyone else, yeah I think it probably is the best game of 2023 so far. SF6 and Diablo 4 are pretty much the only other big options.

[the-pi-guy]

All the demo excitement is making me hyped.

Final fantasy X is in my top 5, but I've been largely disinterested in Final Fantasy games since 13 came out.

The last few Final Fantasy games have been a mess.  
FFXIII is largely disliked. It was delayed a number of times.

Final Fantasy XIV's original launch was even worse. (Even though the new one has been largely great).  

Final Fantasy XV was also filled with problems. It was originally announced alongside XIII as a spin off of XIII.  Before getting massively repurposed into its own thing, and launched a decade later.

It's just been a mess after a mess. FFXVI has seemed like the opposite for quite a while. They supposedly spent quite a bit of time on polishing the game up.

[Legend]

Definitely the cleanest game from them in a long time. It's crazy that it's using a new engine too. That tends to cause a lot of issues during development.

[the-pi-guy]

This is from South Korea:

Square Enix's new work 'Final Fantasy 16' has sold out not only the deluxe edition but also the regular edition in the domestic online market thanks to the best evaluation ever since the demo version was distributed.

[Legend]

That's pretty good. Games never sell out.

[Dr. Pezus]

Reviews when?

[Legend]

Reviews when?

I added a countdown. Don't think it's official but it should be close.

[the-pi-guy]

Final Fantasy XVI, out Thursday, is unlike any other Final Fantasy game... just like the last one. For Businessweek Magazine, my new feature on the series that constantly reinvents itself — whose creators say "Final Fantasy" can mean just about anything: https://t.co/dJ7GUzTYjP

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) June 20, 2023

In 2015, when Square Enix was nearing completion of Final Fantasy XV, Chief Executive Officer Yosuke Matsuda called Yoshida into his office and asked him to begin work on the next entry in the series. Developing a new installment of a major gaming franchise is always a big undertaking, but it's perhaps even more so with Final Fantasy, which sets out to reinvent itself with each release. Yoshida accepted the offer to produce the game with his team, referred to as Creative Business Unit III, and brought in a longtime deputy, Hiroshi Takai, to serve as director. "We got absolutely no feedback from them on what we should be making," Yoshida says. "It was up to me and Takai to think: 'OK, what should the next Final Fantasy be?'"

A series that's constantly shifting risks losing its identity, and every new Final Fantasy announcement has been greeted by a subset of fans declaring that the franchise has lost its way. Yoshida acknowledges the flexibility "can be a blessing as well as a curse," saying that the last few games have all had significant flaws. Final Fantasy XIV was panned for feeling glitchy and unfinished before the reboot, and Final Fantasy XV had an incoherent, disjointed story. "Freedom wasn't leading to success in those situations," Yoshida says.

The biggest thing Yoshida and Takai changed for the latest iteration was the combat system, which replaces the strategic battles of previous Final Fantasy outings with more frenetic gameplay, full of button combos and flashy visual effects. Early in development, Yoshida tapped Ryota Suzuki, best known for the combat-heavy Devil May Cry series, to design battles that would feel faster than they had in previous games. The tradeoff, which has been controversial, is that Final Fantasy XVI lets players control only one character, the grizzled soldier Clive, rather than entering battle with a group of heroes.

Yoshida has decried the G-rated versions as childish. For inspiration on this latest entry, he and Takai asked their staff to watch HBO's Game of Thrones. There are more expletives in Final Fantasy XVI's opening moments than in the entire series until now.

But does it feel like a Final Fantasy game? Early buzz has been positive. It has topped polls of Japanese gamers, and previews have been strong so far. A recent demo, which showed off the first two hours of the roughly 30-hour story, was widely acclaimed. Wrote Ed Nightingale, deputy news editor for the website Eurogamer: "Whether it's 'Final Fantasy enough' for fans remains to be seen; it certainly is for me."

Yoshida says his definition of Final Fantasy is a game with "a great story, great game design, cutting-edge graphics, great music," and the appearance of moogles and chocobos. "If you have those things, I think you have a Final Fantasy."

[the-pi-guy]

Famitsu with 39/40.

Doesn't really tell us much.

Elden Ring and Final Fantasy XIII also got that. Somewhere between a 82 and 96 confirmed!