A personal take on what Final Fantasy XV might have been, is, and could be
So, first of all: Yes, I bought it. Probably shouldn't have, seeing how I have yet to finish Elden Ring, but given it's low price, I figured there was not much to regret.
This is usually the point where I'd go: Boy, was I wrong.
But I think FFXV isn't actually half bad, even more so if I look at where it has come from.
When I got my hands on the copy, I did remember there being lots of trailers for a game called "Final Fantasy Versus XIII" back in the PS3 era, but I did not make the connection. In fact, I was under the impression, that FF Versus XIII must have been released some long time ago. Now, that's where I was wrong. Very wrong.
You might be wondering: You're playing mostly JRPGs, how could you have missed FF Versus XII becoming FFXV? The short answer to that is: Because FFXIII was not good, and I had grown weary of the series as a whole at that time, so I had not been paying attention.
Anyway, turns out that Final Fantasy Versus XIII had been in development for about seven years before Square Enix decided that it was going nowhere, director Tetsuya Nomura (known for Kingdom Hearts) was replaced by Hajime Tabata (known for FF Type 0) and the title was rebooted as Final Fantasy XV.
There were two main reasons for the production delay: The engine they intended to use was the one from FFXIII, and had been designed with hallways instead of open worlds in mind (duh!), and the PS3 had been at the end of its life, meaning that the target platform had to shift. One of these issues alone can hamper production drastically, as seen, for example, with The Last Guardian as well.
On top of everything, Nomura was needed to direct Kingdom Hearts 3. With the kind of public pressure on Square Enix and the Final Fantasy series especially, I am honestly not surprised they sort-of pulled the plug on it.
Throwing away seven years of work would have been illogical, of course, especially with everything that had already been put together for the trailers. A lot of FF Versus XIII actually carried over into the final version of FFVX, such as the main cast, the magic system, the setting, and more. So much that I was confusing my memories of the FF Versus XIII trailers for trailers regarding FFXV.
The main thing which did not carry over is the story, and fans are still wondering today how it would have played out.
The good thing about me not remembering FF Versus XIII at all, as well as all the time that has passed since, is, that I can now look at FFXV without any prejudices or expectations.
I'd even like to regard it separate from other Final Fantasy titles, because it draws its inspiration much more from reality, and has this feeling of "chillin' with the bros" going for it - which I daresay makes it unique in its own way.
Driving around and camping are integral parts of the gameplay loop aside from the usual fighting, and with all the unique animations, dialogues and skills of your party members, it takes a while to get old.
I love when developers go the extra mile to add details, and these characters have a lot. Never mind that the boys look like some J-Pop boy band, each of them has a unique way of talking, fighting and walking, and hobbies as well. I especially love that Prompto's A.I. takes photos at random, which you can review at camp. And the English voice cast is simply brilliant.
The world, unfortunately, has not the same level of detail. As much as I love the architecture of Galdin Quay, I would have expected more houses and guests in the proximity. And the market in Lestallum only offers two to three kinds of wares if you look closely. I blame it on the technical restrictions and the rushed development, because the unpatched build has noticeable issues loading in elements and maintaining the frame rate as well.
Apart from that, you'll also notice that the further you get into the game, the less interesting and smaller the levels get. So much, that the Royal Edition actually comes with an extended last level.
Darksiders 2 was similar in how the first world was huge, the second a little less so, the third rather not, and the fourth (and last) not at all. If you ask me, the initial concept clearly exceeded the possibilities.
Perhaps, in an attempt to get the game out earlier (or simply to get more money out of fans), some parts were deliberately cut to be released as DLCs later. The story leaves great gaps as to what has happened to your party members that left them shaken. Those parts of the story are then found in the DLCs.
But wait! If you fully intend to understand the story, you will need to see the movie as well, watch several (not entirely connected) anime episodes and play yet another DLC.
And if you want the "good ending", you'll have to read a novel on top of all that.
Like I've mentioned before: It's a mess.
What surprises me is that the story is actually consistent. It's as overly complicated as any other JRPG story (and unnecessarily tragic if you ask me), but it stays true to its motif of sacrifice and has surprisingly few plot holes given how thin it was spread across different media. If FFXV would have been published with all the extra content in such a way that you'd get the entire story as a whole, as well as all the (somewhat necessary) quality-of-life improvements and fixes from the start, I think FFXV could have been a much better game than what it turned out to be.
In the end, however, it is what it is. A rushed and cut production, and for that, well, it truly is not all that bad.
And you know what? Having grabbed the Royal Edition at a bargain, I find little reason to complain.
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Some games on the PSN New Year Sale. Ends February 1st.
13 Sentinels
Actraiser: Renaissance
Afterimage
AI: The Somnuim Files
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos
Anima: Gate of Memories
ANONYMOUS;CODE
Arcade Spirits
Ary and the Secret of Seasons
A Space for the Unbound
Assault Suit Lynos
Bayonetta and Vanquish
Buried Stars
Castlevania Anniversary Collection
Chaos;Child
Coffee Talk
Coffee Talk 2
Control
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Cris Tales
Cross Code
Cult of the Lamb
Cyber Citizen Shockman
Cyberdimension Neptunia
Danganronpa 1-2 Reload
Danganronpa V3
Darkwood
Death end reQuest
Death end reQuest 2
Devil May Cry HD Collection
Digimon Survive
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
DJ Max Respect
Double Dragon Gaiden
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Dragon Ball Xenoverse
Dragon Ball Xenoverse/Xenoverse 2 Bundle
Dusk Diver
Earth Defense Force 5
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain
Exoprimal
Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire
Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition
Final Fantasy XV: Comrades
Freedom Planet
Ghost n Goblins Resurection
Ghost Trick
Giga Wrecker Alt.
Ginga Force
Goat Simulator
Goat Simulator 3
God Eater Resurection
God Eater 3
Gravity Rush Remastered
Grim Fandango Remastered
Gungrave G.O.R.E.
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X
Horizon: Zero Dawn
I Am Setsuna
In Nightmare
Jak and Daxter
Jak II
Jak 3
Jak x: Combat Racing
Kaze and the Wild Masks
Kerbal Space Program
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix
Kingdom Hearts 2.8
Labyrinth of Zangetsu
Laika: Aged Through Blood
Legend of Mana
Light Fairytale Episode 1
Light Fairytale Episode 2
Like a Dragon: Ishin
Little Nightmares
Little Nightmares 2
Little Witch Academia: Chamber of TIme
Lock's Quest
Lost in Random
Lost Judgment
Made in Abyss; Binary Star Falling Into Darkness
Maglam Lord
Mary Skelter Finale
MediEvil
Metal Gear Solid 5
Metal Max Zeno Reborn
Mirror's Edge Catalyst
Monster Hunter Rise
Mr. Driller DrillLand
My Aunt is a Witch
My Hero: One's Justice
Several Naruto games
Neverending Nightmares
Ni no Kuni 2
Obliteracers
Omega Quintet
Several One Piece games
Oninaki
Our World is Ended.
Owlboy
Persona 4 Ultimax
Persona 5 Royal
Potion Permit
Praey for the Gods
Pumpkin Jack
Raging Loop
Relayer
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne
Several Resident Evil games
River City: Rival Showdown
Romancing SaGa 2
Romancing SaGa 3
Root Film
Root Letter
SaGa Fronter Remastered
SaGa Scarlet Grace
Sakura Wars(PS4)
Samurai Shodown
Scribblenauts Mega Pack
Secret of Mana
Sega Gensis Classics
Simulacra
Skul: The Hero Slayer
Slender: The Arrival
Song of Memories
Sonic Frontiers
Sonic Superstars
Steins; Gate
Steins; Gate 0
Steins; Gate: My Darling's Embrace
Super Bobmerman R
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD
Super Night Riders
Sword of the Vagrant
Taiko no Tetsujin: Drum Session
Tales of Zestiria
Tembo the Badass Elephant
The Evil Within
Several King of Fighters games
Valkyria Chronicles 4
Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story
Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2
Various Daylife
Warborn
When the Past was Around
Yakuza 3 Remastered
Yakuza 4 Remastered
Yakuza 5 Remastered
Zanki Zero
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My list of top villains antagonists (cuz one or two of these guys could be debated to not fully count as full-on villains) because @gavillain did it and I am shamelessly stealing the idea:
Bowser (Nintendo)
Jafar (Aladdin/Once Upon a Time in Wonderland)
Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Star Wars)
Jason Todd/Red Hood (DC Comics)
Takuto Maruki (Persona 5 Royal)
Frieza (Dragon Ball)
Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Daredevil/Hawkeye TV series)
Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash (The Flash/Legends of Tomorrow TV series - would probably be considerably higher, like #3 or #4, if I deleted everything after Flash season 1 in my mind oh well can’t do that)
Cora Mills/Queen of Hearts (Once Upon a Time)
Ardyn Izunia (Final Fantasy XV)
Flowey/Asriel Dreemurr (Undertale)
Slade (Teen Titans animated series)
Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)
Barbara Kean (Gotham)
Heckyl/Snide (Power Rangers Dino Charge)
Rufus Shinra (Final Fantasy VII)
Peter Pan/Malcolm (Once Upon a Time)
The Batman Who Laughs (DC Comics)
Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts)
Scourge the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comics)
I feel like I did some of these guys dirty and kind of regret their placements, and I’m sure there are villains/antagonists I am forgetting about.... but these are the names that jumped to my mind in the last few minutes while sitting down to type this out. I’m very tempted to add Queen (Deltarune), Lord Zedd (Power Rangers), and Zamasu/Goku Black (Dragon Ball), but I dunno, something held me back and I’m not quite sure where they’d all fall on here.
EDIT: Also Albedo Piazzolla (Xenosaga), Dmitri Yuriev (Xenosaga), Envy (Fullmetal Alchemist manga/Brotherhood), Praetor Amalthus (Xenoblade Chronicles 2), Cersei Lannister (Game of Thrones), Gustavo Fring (Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul), Fish Mooney (Gotham), Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow (DC Comics), Edward Nygma/The Riddler (DC Comics), Roderick Kingsley/Hobgoblin (Marvel Comics)... hooooly crap there’s a lot I forgot lmao. Might expand my list someday soon.
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Sony Interactive Entertainment has unveiled a first look at the lineup of games that will be available on the new PlayStation Plus, which will launch on May 23, 2022 in Asian markets excluding Japan, June 1, 2022 in Japan, June 13, 2022 in the Americas, and June 22, 2022 in Europe.
Titles available on the service may vary by local market, and some may not be available to stream until after launch (but will be available to download and play).
Latest details
■ Monthly Games
Available with PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium / Deluxe.
In any PlayStation Plus plan you choose, you’ll get the same benefits that are currently available today for PlayStation Plus members. We have yet to announce the monthly games for June, but stay tuned to PlayStation Blog.
■ PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 Titles
Available with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium / Deluxe.
We’re focused on adding high-quality titles into the PlayStation Plus service for players to enjoy. We’re pleased to share a selection of the content that will be available for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium / Deluxe plans.
PlayStation.com will be updated with the game list when it launches in your region.
PlayStation Studios Titles
*PlayStation 5
Death Stranding Director’s Cut (Kojima Productions)
Demon’s Souls (Bluepoint Games)
Destruction AllStars (Lucid Games)
Ghost Of Tsushima Director’s Cut (Sucker Punch)
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games)
Returnal (Housemarque)
*PlayStation 4
Alienation (Housemarque)
Bloodborne (FromSoftware)
Concrete Genie (Pixelopus)
Days Gone (Bend Studio)
Dead Nation Apocalypse Edition (Housemarque)
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions)
Everybody’s Golf (JAPAN Studio)
Ghost Of Tsushima Director’s Cut (Sucker Punch)
God of War (Santa Monica Studio)
Gravity Rush 2 (JAPAN Studio)
Gravity Rush Remastered (JAPAN Studio)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games)
inFAMOUS: First Light (Sucker Punch)
inFAMOUS: Second Son (Sucker Punch)
Knack (Japan Studio)
LittleBigPlanet 3 (Sumo Digital)
LocoRoco Remastered (Japan Studio)
LocoRoco 2 Remastered (Japan Studio)
Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games)
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games)
Matterfall (Housemarque)
MediEvil (Other Ocean)
Patapon Remastered (JAPAN Studio)
Patapon 2 Remastered (JAPAN Studio)
Resogun (Housemarque)
Shadow of the Colossus (JAPAN Studio)
Tearaway Unfolded (Media Molecule)
The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio)
The Last of Us Remastered (Naughty Dog)
The Last of Us: Left Behind (Naughty Dog)
Until Dawn (Supermassive Games)
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (Naughty Dog)
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog)
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Naughty Dog)
WipEout Omega Collection (Clever Beans and Creative Vault Studios)
Third-Party Titles
*PlayStation 5
The Artful Escape (Annapurna Interactive)
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft)
Control: Ultimate Edition (505 Games)
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Square Enix)
Mortal Kombat 11 (WB Games)
NBA 2K22 (2K Games)
*PlayStation 4
The Artful Escape (Annapurna Interactive)
Ashen (Annapurna Interactive)
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft)
Celeste (Maddy Makes Games)
Child of Light (Ubisoft)
Cities: Skylines (Paradox Interactive)
Control: Ultimate Edition (505 Games)
The Crew 2 (Ubisoft)
Dead Cells (Motion Twin)
Far Cry 3 Remastered (Ubisoft)
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (Ubisoft)
Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft)
Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition (Square Enix)
For Honor (Ubisoft)
Hollow Knight (Team Cherry)
Legendary Fishing (Ubisoft)
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Square Enix)
Mortal Kombat 11 (WB Games)
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
NBA 2K22 (2K Games)
Outer Wilds (Annapurna Interactive)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Risk: Urban Assault (Ubisoft)
Resident Evil (Capcom)
Soulcalibur VI (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
South Park: The Fractured but Whole (Ubisoft)
South Park: The Stick of Truth (Ubisoft)
Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Ubisoft)
STEEP (Ubisoft)
The Crew (Ubisoft)
The Division (Ubisoft)
Trackmania Turbo (Ubisoft)
Transference (Ubisoft)
Trials Fusion
Trials of the Blood Dragon (Ubisoft)
Trials Rising (Ubisoft)
Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Ubisoft)
Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)
ZOMBI (Ubisoft)
*PlayStation VR
Eagle Flight (Ubisoft)
Space Junkie (Ubisoft)
Star Trek: Bridge Crew (Ubisoft)
Werewolves Within (Ubisoft)
(Ubisoft titles are available as part of Ubisoft+ Classics, a curated selection of popular and classic titles for PlayStation Plus. It will launch with 27 titles and grow to 50 titles by the end of 2022.)
■ Classic Games Catalog Titles
Available with PlayStation Plus Premium / Deluxe.
PlayStation Plus Premium / Deluxe members will have a selection of popular classic games to play, with some titles that will show improved frame rates and higher-quality resolution compared to their original launch versions. For select original PlayStation and PSP classic games, members will also enjoy a new user interface with menus that allow you to save your game at any time, or even rewind the game if you want a do-over.
Also, players who have previously purchased the digital version of games from the original PlayStation and PSP generation will not have to make a separate purchase or sign up to PlayStation Plus to play these titles on PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5. When these titles are released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, players can head to PlayStation Store and download a version for the consoles at no extra cost if they already own the digital version of the title. Some of the titles will also be available for individual purchase.
Additionally, some remastered classics from previous console generations will be added to the PlayStation Plus Premium / Deluxe plan. Below is an early look at a selection of games that will be available.
PlayStation Studios Titles
*PlayStation
Ape Escape (JAPAN Studio)
Hot Shots Golf (JAPAN Studio)
I.Q. Intelligent Qube (JAPAN Studio)
Jumping Flash! (JAPAN Studio)
Syphon Filter (Bend Studio)
*PlayStation 2
Ape Escape 2 (JAPAN Studio)
Arc The Lad: Twilight of the Spirits (JAPAN Studio)
Dark Cloud (JAPAN Studio)
Dark Cloud 2 (JAPAN Studio)
FantaVision (SIE)
Hot Shots Tennis (JAPAN Studio)
Jak II (Naughty Dog)
Jak 3 (Naughty Dog)
Jak X: Combat Racing (Naughty Dog)
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Naughty Dog)
Rogue Galaxy (JAPAN Studio)
Siren (JAPAN Studio)
Wild Arms 3 (SIE)
*PSP
Super Stardust Portable (Housemarque)
Third-Party Titles
*PlayStation
Mr. Driller (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Tekken 2 (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Worms World Party (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Worms Armageddon (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
*PlayStation 4 Remasters
Baja: Edge of Control HD (THQ Nordic)
Bioshock Remastered (2K Games)
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (2K Games)
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition (Gearbox Publishing)
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning (THQ Nordic)
LEGO Harry Potter Collection (WB Games)
■ PlayStation 3 Titles (via Streaming)
Available with PlayStation Plus Premium.
The new PlayStation Plus will offer PlayStation 3 games to stream and play on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. These are original, non-remastered versions of PlayStation 3 games and are available to PlayStation Plus Premium members where cloud streaming is available.
Here is an early look at the selection of original PlayStation 3 games available.
PlayStation Studios Titles
Crash Commando (Creative Vault Studios)
Demon’s Souls (From Software)
echochrome (JAPAN Studio)
Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds (JAPAN Studio)
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational (JAPAN Studio)
Ico (JAPAN Studio)
inFAMOUS (Sucker Punch)
inFAMOUS 2 (Sucker Punch)
inFAMOUS: Festival of Blood (Sucker Punch)
LocoRoco Cocoreccho! (JAPAN Studio)
MotorStorm Apocalypse (Evolution Studios)
MotorStorm RC (Evolution Studios)
Puppeteer (JAPAN Studio)
rain (JAPAN Studio)
Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty (Insomniac Games)
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time (Insomniac Games)
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus (Insomniac Games)
Resistance 3 (Insomniac Games)
Super Stardust HD (Housemarque)
Tokyo Jungle (JAPAN Studio)
When Vikings Attack (Clever Beans)
Third-Party Titles
Asura’s Wrath (Capcom)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (Konami)
Devil May Cry HD Collection (Capcom)
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
F.E.A.R. (WB Games)
Lost Planet 2 (Capcom)
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (Koei Tecmo Entertainment)
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare (Rockstar Games)
■ Time-Limited Game Trials
Available with PlayStation Plus Premium / Deluxe.
The time-limited game trial benefit will enable you to try select games before you buy. After downloading a trial of the full game, you can play it for two hours for most games—the playtime counter only counts while you are in the game. It’s a great way to try games before you decide to buy, and any trophies and game save data from the trial period will carry-forward if you purchase the game.
Here are some of the titles that will be part of the time-limited game trials.
PlayStation Studios Titles
*PlayStation 5
Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games)
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (Naughty Dog)
*PlayStation 4
Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games)
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (Naughty Dog)
Third-Party Titles
*PlayStation 5
Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED)
Farming Simulator 22 (Giants Software)
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands (2K Games)
WWE 2K22 (2K Games)
*PlayStation 4
Farming Simulator 22 (Giants Software)
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands (2K Games)
WWE 2K22 (2K Games)
New Games Added Regularly
The games available in our PlayStation Plus games catalog will continue to refresh and evolve over time, so there is always something new to play.
PlayStation Plus Essential – A monthly refresh will occur on the first Tuesday of the month for the PlayStation Plus Essential plan (and both higher tiers), with new PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games added to the service—same as what PlayStation Plus members get today.
PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium / Deluxe – An additional monthly refresh will occur in the middle of each month with new games across the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium/Deluxe plans. The number of games refreshed will vary per month.
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