Not trophy related - Game opinion

[marius_maximus]

I’ve played most of the FF series. The first ones I played were FFVII, VIII and IX on PS1, then FFX on PS2 and then I played FFI and II on PSP. I also continued the series on NDS. I also played FFXIV and FFXV. I admit I skipped FFXII and XIII but they’re on my never ending backlog so I’ll end up playing them sooner or later.

 

Now I have mixed feelings with this one. I see the point of most reviews claiming that SE managed to fuse the old style with the new style. I’m actually enjoying the game so far to be honest, but it really reminds me of FFXIV sometimes. I’d like to know the real FF fans opinions. Nothing about trophy difficulty and all that stuff. Just your genuine opinion about whether you really feel that the series are definitely turning into a new direction and how you guys like it or not. Spoiler free if possible, please, I’m halfway through the game.

[RatchetsIllusion]

the game is fine. The thing what some peope fail to see is that therer is no "the" Final Fantasy game. Starting from the PS1 games onwards they had more and more changes. The games are more a reflection of their time. If you play 12 or 13 now, you may enjoy it more than you would have back in the day. Simply because they were kinda ahead of its time.

 

The bad thing in 16 is that the game drags out too much. Especially the Eikon battles on Final Fantasy mode take foreeeeeeever to finish. Bahamut for example took me about 50 minutes. In the first playthrough the cinematic fights are fine. But since you are forced to do a second playthrough, forcing you to do it all again without giving you the option to skip the cutscenes is inexcusable.

 

The battle system itself is fun but its clear that some abilities are just better than others.

[Oberlin1694]

I feel the game gets a lot better once you get to Clive’s 30’s. It feels like it opens up more, side quests and the like become meaningful, you unlock hints, you start unlocking the rest of the world and the story picks up the steam it lost after it killed off its best villain in 20’s far too early

[ThatMuttGuy]

Final Fantasy has always prided itself in evolving the series with every game. The gameplay is not the main factor that makes a FF game, FF. The story, music, characters, etc. are what make them Final Fantasy games imo. 

 

And you can see the gradual move towards action based games. XIII merged action and turn based combat, and then XV, VII Remake, and SoP played around with different concepts of action gameplay. 

 

All that to say that I felt XVI was a welcome addition to the FF mainline games. It has some incredible highs, but unfortunately I think as great as the boss fights are, they're not as fun on the second go once you've seen it. Side quests are also weak. All in all, I'd say it's an 8.5/10. Still a fantastic game, but it does have a few flaws. 

[Alayaes]

I've been a Final Fantasy fan since the 90s. FF7 blew me away when it first came out and became my favorite one of all time, still undefeated by an incredible long shot (nostalgia included). I can endlessly replay it and never get bored.

 

The last Final Fantasy I loved was 10. The last one I was impressed by and enjoyed very much was 12. Then came 13, which I thought was an absolute abomination and the start of what I considered the "anime-fication" of Final Fantasy, where everything had to be a mix of Dragonball, melodrama, and ADHD flashiness without any of the substance. Advent Children didn't help either, which I also thought was complete garbage akin to fan fiction music videos you found on YouTube back then featuring Linkin Park or Disturbed music.

 

Final Fantasy 7 Remake, my most anticipated game of all time, almost put the nail in the coffin for me. While others loved it, I absolutely hated it. I tried and tried to love it, but the melodramatic acting, the unnatural dialogue, the garbage storyline, the "it's convoluted-so-it-must-be-deep" approach to writing (Kingdom Hearts), etc. It just felt like a bad anime series to me, grunts and all, and it was a chore for me to complete. Mind you, I do like anime and I love Persona/Dragon Quest/etc, but it feels like a 14-year old wrote the script/scenes thinking to himself that it was cool and edgy.

 

I cautiously downloaded the FF16 demo after it was recommended to me by a friend, and started playing it with strong reservations. I was kind of done with the series and just enjoyed the old remasters instead. FF16 became the first game I bought on launch day in a long time because of that demo. I truly, truly love this game as much as I loved 10. Nothing will ever top the juvenile excitement I had from 6-9 back in the 90s/early 2000s because the circumstances of my life will never be like they were back then, but this one is definitely hitting the spot.

 

Proper voice acting, mature storyline, actual characters that aren't prepubescent teenagers, much less melodrama and quirky anime-ness (apart from some stupid shit like Mid, or side quest characters), real motivations, believable emotions, a fast-paced storyline with only the occasional hiccup in pacing, no forced or awkward humor, and an absolute banging soundtrack.

 

I can see why some people dislike it, or somehow think that it's not really Final Fantasy (though not one game in the series was the same as the last), but to me it's exactly what the series needed. Love it.

 

 

[Ampki]

Not a fan cant wait till its over 

[Tidal_Rider]

For me the biggest problem was button mashing. I would really like to have some thought on what elemental weakness to use or how to approach a battle with my weapon having poison or element or something.

I really enjoyed it though and the story is epic. I would only change a bit the battle system as it is very repetitive.

 

For me Eikon battles were amazing, kudos to them for thinking of them. You should not see them as actual battle though, more as an amazing cinematic.

[dezzed]

I have a different opinion than others here, it seems. Which I think is great!

 

Me personally, I have only recently gotten into FF around the time FF7R came out, played through the OG FF7 in anticipation and am now currently playing through the Pixel Remasters after beating XVI.

 

It's a drastically different FF than any other mainline game before it, but for me that really wasn't a turn off. I went into the game expecting it to be a character-action cinematic spectacle, and I wasn't let down in that regard. I get the criticisms of it being vastly different such as: not being able to play as other characters besides Clive, the world not being very open (although the open areas they give you are pretty sizeable). But I don't like the notion that games shouldn't be allowed to step out of their established "rules" and try something different. Not every game needs to be a massive, unending open world. I appreciated the straightforward nature of the game, but I know that puts me in the minority. And the cinematic spectacle did not disappoint for me either, pretty much every Eikon fight was pure eye candy. AND THE OST! 

 

My only real gripes with the game were the pacing, and some moves in combat getting way outshined by others. There's a pretty long lull in anything interesting plot wise until around the second time skip, and they really backload you with all the side quests right before the end of the game it feels. And it is kind of noticeable to me that the studio making this one made FF14 because a LOT of the early side quests feel straight out of an MMO, and not in a good way.

 

But Clive as a protagonist is definitely one of my favorites, not just in a FF game either! He's not as stoic as many other male characters tend to be, and there are genuine moments of weakness from him that I really enjoyed! Ben Starr is also a personal favorite of mine so I might be a bit biased as well..

 

All in all, it's a really good time! And I really did love it! I didn't enjoy it overall as much as FF7R, but I really think that the disdain it is getting overall is a bit unfair. It's ok to not like a game, in a series as long and as varied as FF, I think it's normal to not enjoy at least one.

Edited July 28, 2023 by Derezzed_Gamer

[rdhight]

It's a poor game that has a lot of good work in it.

 

I like the world, the dialogue writing, and the graphics of the boss fights, but as a game I couldn't wait for it to be over. The slow jogging and overall sluggish pace were like driving in stop-and-go traffic. Pushing buttons without pleasure.

Edited July 28, 2023 by rdhight

[SomeGuyInSyd]

I absolutely love this game; it holds a special place in my heart. However, I did feel that the base game difficulty was a bit too easy. Personally, I believe the base difficulty should have been "final fantasy" Mode, with Ultimania as the NG+. But hey, that's just my opinion!
 

It's a bit puzzling to me when I hear people bashing the game and saying it's "not my final fantasy." It seems like some folks are so attached to the past, wanting pixelated graphics and turn-based gameplay, that they overlook the incredible advancements in gaming graphics and engines.
 

Final Fantasy has been evolving with each new main title, like FF7R, 13, 15, 16, etc., and each of them offers a different experience.
 

Ultimately, what matters most is how much enjoyment you get out of the game. No matter if you like the game or not, Square-Enix has already received your money, so there's no need to waste time complaining about it. Just remember to form your own opinion and don't let others' views sway your judgment. Enjoy the gaming experience in your own way.

 

[Eblait]

It's a good game, really. The story and music really shines and the combat is decent, but it lost so many of the franchise mechanics established over the years.

 

The sidequests really drag the game down, and it's not until the end game that they become somewhat interesting, but by then I was just reading the subtitles and skipping so I could be done with it.

 

And as much as I liked the ATL system they implemented, there really aren't many secrets to the game. It would definitely be an improvement if exploration was more tied to the lore of the game, but as it stands the universe of the game isn't really expanded outside of the main scenario and very few sidequests. That's what I felt, at least.

 

Previous FF games are so full of content that is genuinely rewarding to the player. This one? Not so much. But it's still a solid experience.

 

Now, back to FFX... ?

[sepheroithisgod]

I've played every FF and think this one is fantastic, but there are some shortcomings. The characters are definitely the highlight for me. Clive might be my favorite protagonist in the series and found Cid to be another standout character (reminded me of Balthier from 12). The world is well-designed and everything feels connected, which is a big step up when I think back to older titles where most towns and locations felt isolated and created for one specific purpose. They all share that common thread of how the branded are treated, and it just works so well.

 

I think the early sidequests are definitely weak, but the end ones are great so I think they balance each other out. One thing that did strike me as odd was the lack of side content beyond them and the hunt board. There are no optional areas, no super bosses, secret dungeons, or even mini-games. Does the game work without these, yes, but it could be so much better with it.

 

I found the gameplay to be very fun. There are tons of combinations and some deeper gameplay that most people seem to not be aware of. Seriously, if you say that the game is just button-mashing, you don't actually know how to play it. Where I think the combat fails is everything not related to Clive. Your party members are useless and barely contribute, and it shares one of the worst traits of FF15, not being able to switch between members. It was such a strange decision considering that this was one of the standout features of FF7R. As such characters like Cid, Jill, and Joshua just feel like background characters when they are not in a cutscene. Even just simple combo attacks that trigger randomly would have gone a long way. I think Torgal is great, but I think he is a bit too hands-on but is definitely more useful than the rest if you understand how to time his attacks.

 

Probably one of the weakest aspects of the game would be exploration. Again, the world and zones are great, but there is zero incentive to actually explore them when 99% of the chests are sharpened fangs or something useless. The crafting system is extremely basic with weapons just acting like stat sticks. The RPG elements were just dumbed down too much.

 

I still think the game is a 9/10. I couldn't put the game down from the moment I started til the moment I popped the plat.

Edited July 28, 2023 by sepheroithisgod

[dezzed]

9 minutes ago, sepheroithisgod said:

I've played every FF and think this one is fantastic, but there are some shortcomings. The characters are definitely the highlight for me. Clive might be my favorite protagonist in the series and found Cid to be another standout character (reminded me of Balthier from 12). The world is well-designed and everything feels connected, which is a big step up when I think back to older titles where most towns and locations felt isolated and created for one specific purpose. They all share that common thread of how the branded are treated, and it just works so well.

 

I think the early sidequests are definitely weak, but the end ones are great so I think they balance each other out. One thing that did strike me as odd was the lack of side content beyond them and the hunt board. There are no optional areas, no super bosses, secret dungeons, or even mini-games. Does the game work without these, yes, but it could be so much better with it.

 

I found the gameplay to be very fun. There are tons of combinations and some deeper gameplay that most people seem to not be aware of. Seriously, if you say that the game is just button-mashing, you don't actually know how to play it. Where I think the combat fails is everything bot related to Clive. Your party members are useless and barely contribute, and it shares one of the worst traits of FF15, not being able to switch between members. It was such a strange decision considering that this was one of the standout features of FF7R. As such characters like Cid, Jill, and Joshua just feel like background characters when they are not in a cutscene. Even just simple combo attacks that trigger randomly would have gone a long way. I think Torgal is great, but I think he is a bit too hands-on but is definitely more useful than the rest if you understand how to time his attacks.

 

Probably one of the weakest aspects of the game would be exploration. Again, the world and zones are great, but there is zero incentive to actually explore them when 99% of the chests are sharpened fangs or something useless. The crafting system is extremely basic with weapons just acting like stat sticks. The RPG elements were just dumbed down too much.

 

I still think the game is a 9/10. I couldn't put the game down from the moment I started til the moment I popped the plat.

Agreed with pretty much every point you made here. I would probably rate the game the same!

 

Especially when it comes to Clive as a character and your opinion on the combat. Clive is genuinely such a good protagonist, he's not just a manly man meant to be stoic. He has legitimate fears, and ultimately just ends up feeling like a real down-to-earth guy, at least to me anyway. 

 

As far as the combat goes, I couldn't agree more. It's like saying DMC combat is boring, because I mean technically yeah you can button mash and win the game, but that's just the surface level to the combat. Same applies to this game. I do wish that you were able to change characters mid fight, but I can kind of understand it in the sense that the game was very clearly designed around the ability to switch Eikons and combo in that manner. But it is still a bummer.

[Eblait]

23 minutes ago, sepheroithisgod said:

I think the early sidequests are definitely weak, but the end ones are great so I think they balance each other out. One thing that did strike me as odd was the lack of side content beyond them and the hunt board. There are no optional areas, no super bosses, secret dungeons, or even mini-games. Does the game work without these, yes, but it could be so much better with it.

That’s my only complaint too. In a way, this game’s structure is a lot like FFXII, but that game had much more variety - more environments, unique monsters and bosses, weapons, dungeons and the like; it even had a weather system that triggered specific hunts and monsters. It was a fantastic entry, way ahead of its time.

 

After finishing XVI I was really craving for a FF with more content, and wanted to play X or XII. I ended up returning to X because I already had it in my library. Damn good game.

[Alayaes]

1 hour ago, sepheroithisgod said:

I found the gameplay to be very fun. There are tons of combinations and some deeper gameplay that most people seem to not be aware of. Seriously, if you say that the game is just button-mashing, you don't actually know how to play it. Where I think the combat fails is everything not related to Clive. Your party members are useless and barely contribute, and it shares one of the worst traits of FF15, not being able to switch between members. It was such a strange decision considering that this was one of the standout features of FF7R. As such characters like Cid, Jill, and Joshua just feel like background characters when they are not in a cutscene. Even just simple combo attacks that trigger randomly would have gone a long way. I think Torgal is great, but I think he is a bit too hands-on but is definitely more useful than the rest if you understand how to time his attacks.

I'm the opposite in that regard. I found the combat in FF7R to be extremely frustrating. I like that I only have to worry about Clive, and I consider the other "party members" to be there as cast members, not battle partners.

 

In FF7R, I mostly switched party members to put a stop to their stupid-ass behavior, or to force Barrett to quit shooting the wrong enemy. I hated micro-managing their health bars when I wasn't in control of them all the time. Reminded me of playing MMOs with people that constantly run through fire; a constant escort quest with no end in sight.

[sepheroithisgod]

35 minutes ago, Alayaes said:

I'm the opposite in that regard. I found the combat in FF7R to be extremely frustrating. I like that I only have to worry about Clive, and I consider the other "party members" to be there as cast members, not battle partners.

 

In FF7R, I mostly switched party members to put a stop to their stupid-ass behavior, or to force Barrett to quit shooting the wrong enemy. I hated micro-managing their health bars when I wasn't in control of them all the time. Reminded me of playing MMOs with people that constantly run through fire; a constant escort quest with no end in sight.

That's definitely the opposite of me. I love having control over what my other characters are doing. Making sure they are healing when needed, using special attacks, or just being able to use a different play style. Otherwise, they just feel useless, which is what happened in 16. That's why I loved FF12's gambit system. Being able to control what my characters do in any situation is amazing.

[Zephrese]

I'd say that it's probably a 7/10 game for me, as I've found myself quite disappointed or annoyed with a lot of things during my time with the game thus far (I'm currently on the last chapter).

 

It looks fantastic, I really like a lot of the characters and legitimately care for them (especially Dion and Joshua, although I still love several others such as Cid, Gav, Harpocrates, Jill, Torgal, and obviously Clive himself), the story and the lore of this game's universe is quite interesting (and has always been something I've looked forward to learning more about as I've progressed), etc., etc.

 

But then you have all of the garbage side quests (although a select few of them, while still more often than not tedious like the rest of 'em, added to the story and/or characters in ways that made up for it every now and then), running around in the hideaway or any towns/cities is the most monotonous and obnoxiously/dreadfully slow thing ever (riding a Chocobo isn't much better, sadly), the combat at times feels a bit more repetitive than I'd like it to (I probably just need to experiment a bit more with different abilities and loadouts, though lol), and there's just a handful of other things that drag the game down a tad for me.

 

The game also feels like it drags on a little at times (as do certain fights), but that might not be as bad - or even a problem at all - if it weren't for my obsessive compulsion to complete every side quest despite how much I usually hate doing them. lmao The lack of certain forms of meaningful side content outside of the hunts and side quests themselves - such as secret dungeons and super bosses - is also saddening, I'll admit.

 

Overall the game is still good regardless of any flaws it has, but the issues that I personally have with it unfortunately brought it down a good bit from what I was hoping it'd be. Kind of feels like a lot of elements in the game weren't fleshed out nearly enough, or just haphazardly slapped on last minute to pad things out to make up for lack of polish or purposeful content. Which is a shame, but alas...

 

Definitely excited for the prospect of potential DLC nonetheless, and just seeing this particular game's universe being expanded upon in general so long as it's handled well.

Edited July 28, 2023 by Zephrese

[Alayaes]

40 minutes ago, sepheroithisgod said:

That's definitely the opposite of me. I love having control over what my other characters are doing. Making sure they are healing when needed, using special attacks, or just being able to use a different play style. Otherwise, they just feel useless, which is what happened in 16. That's why I loved FF12's gambit system. Being able to control what my characters do in any situation is amazing.

The gambits were great because it gave me a passive control over their AI, for lack of better terms. I never felt like I was baby sitting in FF12. I only really had to step in to perform special/situational attacks or if I required a specific heal/counter/setup. Not only that, setting up a great system of Gambits was satisfying when it played out correctly.

 

In FF7R, my personal experience was that I was more correcting them and less that I was controlling them. It was an exercise in frustration to me, especially on Hard Mode (which I felt was a farce anyway with the sudden convenient lack of item usage; very uninspired). I much prefer the fast-paced action system of 16, where I can actually dodge and counter with great input responses. Performing a Precision Block with Titan, followed by a counter, just feels immensely satisfying to me. To me, FF7R had an identity crisis where it didn't know whether it wanted to be turn-based or action.

Edited July 28, 2023 by Alayaes

[ZenaxPure]

Lifelong FF fan (in my mid-30s), have every mainline game and have played through all of them multiple times and have played a very large chunk of the spinoffs as well (bring My Life as a King to modern consoles Square, you cowards!) and my opinion on 16 is basically exactly the same as when I first posted in the hot or not thread. It's an extremely fun game (and certainly my personal goty) with fun combat, a great cast, and a throwback (to early FF) story I enjoyed a lot but the RPG progression mechanics are weak which has an effect on the game as a whole since it makes exploration and side quests feel very pointless from just a gameplay perspective.

 

Also much like other action games of its nature a lot of the complexity comes from actually controlling your character and understanding how to use the moveset properly which is why you see a lot of wildly different opinions on overall difficulty or how long it takes to kill an enemy and stuff like that. The first response mentioning a 50 minute Bahamut fight on FF mode is a great example actually, that is totally bonkers as you can just go to youtube and see people do the entire fight in around 25 to 30 minutes.

 

Personally to be totally honest even on FF mode I feel like enemies die too fast, especially once I got good at making use of Odin's Rift Slip ability. Ultimaniac mode feels a bit better but it has a plethora of other design problems that sadly I assume will never change since it's such a niche mode most people will never touch.

[sepheroithisgod]

1 hour ago, Alayaes said:

The gambits were great because it gave me a passive control over their AI, for lack of better terms. I never felt like I was baby sitting in FF12. I only really had to step in to perform special/situational attacks or if I required a specific heal/counter/setup. Not only that, setting up a great system of Gambits was satisfying when it played out correctly.

 

In FF7R, my personal experience was that I was more correcting them and less that I was controlling them. It was an exercise in frustration to me, especially on Hard Mode (which I felt was a farce anyway with the sudden convenient lack of item usage; very uninspired). I much prefer the fast-paced action system of 16, where I can actually dodge and counter with great input responses. Performing a Precision Block with Titan, followed by a counter, just feels immensely satisfying to me. To me, FF7R had an identity crisis where it didn't know whether it wanted to be turn-based or action.

I've gone through FF7R twice and never really got that impression. On hard mode, the removal of items made it all about resource managing and making use of your skills, which is what the system is all about. If I could just spam items, it wouldn't really be challenging, like how FF15 just let you spam them, and why 16 limited your inventory. Controlling when your characters use MP for offense or healing, it was designed specifically so you would control your characters similarly to how it would have been in the original, it just had the illusion of being more active, which I think a lot of people missed.

 

If you wanted to make it more fast-paced, equipping material that enables you to do more dodge sliding, parrying, etc. was an option.

[espjh2]

Currently on my second play through. My thoughts...

 

The order of my Final Fantasy journey... XIII, XIII-2, XIII LR, Type-0 HD, X HD, VII, X-2 HD, XV, XII Zodiac, VII Remake, VIII, XV Pocket, XV King's Tale, XVI. 

 

I've had a theory regarding Final Fantasy for a while, whatever game you play first will more than likely be your favourite. Yes, for me it was XIII. The game got so much hate which I will never understand. I thought it was great. The Plat took around 90 hours and I was invested in every hour. I'm hanging out for a remake. Putting aside everyone's favourite FF title for a second (people will debate this forever), X was great, the VII remake was also great. I also enjoyed XV. I've downloaded I - VI which I will eventually get to.

 

Regarding XVI, I'm in the camp of not particularly loving it. I thought the first few hours were really good and I really thought the game was going to be top tier. After the second Eikon it was just the same sort of stuff over and over.

 

I think the turn based combat system was more interesting to me (and the buffs / de-buffs). Anyway... I still enjoy each FF game, just not so much this one. Having said that, FFXVI will be someone's favourite game, just like FFXIII is mine.

[Galserik]

My opinion of the game didn't change since I achieved the plat. Still a solid 9-9.5/10 for me.  I loved the world, I loved the characters, I loved the OST, and is very very fun to play.

 

Yeah, is true that for the first part of the game, the sidequests are very MMO like, but they improve a huge lot onwards.

Yeah, is true that has a lack of RPG elements compared to other entries of the saga.

Yeah, is true that is not an open world game, and I'm glad that is not.

 

But honestly and IMO, those things are very small compared with the good things that XVI has to offer. Can be better? Yeah, sure. Every game can be better, even the most acclaimed masterpieces.

 

[VenlafaxineHead]

It's a dead world. 

[VenlafaxineHead]

My honest thoughts: (Also, it's been about a month since I beat it so I can't recall some things...) 

 

I'm a 45-year old man. I know this sounds irrelevant; however, I believe there is some relevance as I'll later espouse on. 

 

I preordered FFXVI after reading rave reviews. I didn't want to watch any gameplay because I don't like spoilers. I haven't played a FF game since X so I'm pretty out of the loop. I play a fair amount of games and have my whole life. I don't play every single game that comes out and some of them I get to years later...but for FF I was pretty excited to see what the buzz was all about. 

 

After playing through the entire game and completing all the side quests I have to say my experience was.... fairly empty. If I had to rate the game I'd give it around a 5/10. Here is my rationale....

 

Pros:

- Beautiful, cinematic cut scenes and quick time events - some of the best I've ever seen. 

- Sometimes interesting combat/special moves/power ups that can make for interesting combos and fun. 

- Overall main story was pretty good and kept me interested. 

- Active Time Lore was a really cool feature that I hope other RPGs implement in the future. 

- Nods to older games in the series that were appreciated. 

 

Cons:

- The open world is dead. It felt very (cut and paste) with assets just being added for no reason. 90% of the time you came across a house/building/structure you couldn't go inside at all. It was just added for decoration. 

- Felt like a PS3 game most of the time with invisible boundaries, inability to climb/mantle anything. 

- Side quests were abysmal. Extreme waste of time fetch-quest, boring nonsense that added nothing to the game. 

- Combat was too easy. While it could be fun to mix things up with varied abilities; I found myself button-mashing most of the time and easily winning any fight. I died one time in my entire play through - playing on normal difficulty/combat-focused.

- Crafting system was a joke. Bare-bones, ridiculous stuff. 

- Nothing seemed balanced as far as resources/gil was concerned. I always had more than enough money than I even knew what to do with and an abundance of resources that were never needed. 

-NPCs had one line of dialogue that they would repeat over and over and over and over again. 

- Dialogue during quests would drag on and on. I understand the need for story...but there would be time (if I didn't skip over it) you could sit for 45 minutes not doing a single thing. 

- No reason to explore anywhere. There's just nothing around. No reason to ride off into the distance to check anything out... it's always the same.... nothing. 

 

These are just the things that popped into my head spur of the moment. I don't want to sit here all day and do a "deep dive."

 

Being an older gamer I've seen how games have improved by leaps and bounds. I would actually make a comparison with FF to the rebooted GOW.... however; GOW was miles ahead (in my opinion) from FF by having a great open world with which to explore and have fun with outside of the main quests. To me, it felt like Square put 80% of their effort into the quicktime cut scenes and cinematic scenes while glossing over what makes a game....a game. 

 

Overall, I had some fun with FF... but it was far from the masterpiece, or even what I would consider a "good" game to be. 

 

[ShadowReplicant]

9 hours ago, VenlafaxineHead said:

NPCs had one line of dialogue that they would repeat over and over and over and over again. 

 

Weird, in my experience all NPCs in the game, and by that I mean ALL of them, get new lines of dialogue after every major event. I was actually so blown away by this that I kept revisiting previous areas every time something big happened, just to hear what people had to say. Major NPCs like Martha, Quinten etc. also get tons of optional dialogue.