Ben-DutkaWell, the PS4 is almost paid off. I've got an extra controller paid off, too; next on the pre-order list, a couple games. 🙂
What made Square Enix change their minds?
I think too many people were missing the most interesting part of this past week's Final Fantasy XV news. Game director Tetsuya Nomura was quoted as saying that FFXV is a "Final Fantasy" first" and an action game second. Many lauded the statement, as it supposedly means the new FF installment will be a true-blue role-playing game (which almost nobody really believes). However, the most intriguing part of that interview involved the following: Originally, the developers had planned to create a full-on, all-out, straight-up action title. Not an action/RPG; an action game. Then suddenly – and Nomura didn't explain when or why this happened – they decided they didn't want to completely abandon the franchise's roots.
But why? Since when? All they've been doing for the past generation is doing precisely that; i.e., completely ignoring the roots of the series. It has become less and less of an RPG and worse, the quality has indeed declined significantly. Plus, based on the company's business practices, they're all about Western-style games. After purchasing Eidos, we get stuff like Tomb Raider and Sleeping Dogs from Square Enix now. So what happened to make them take a step back and say, "Hey, if we make FFXV like this, it won't really be a ' Final Fantasy '?" Isn't anyone else dying to know the answer…? Who stepped up at Square Enix?
Sorry, Patrice, you don't know what everyone wants
I don't mind noted developers speaking their minds. I don't mind hearing their opinions because after all, they're plenty qualified to offer their points of view on the gaming industry. What I don't like is when they make sweeping generalizations about a very large group and push forward with that theory, as if it's a proven fact. So, when Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Désilets said that "deep down," nobody cares about physical media , I got a little annoyed. This is precisely the attitude Microsoft clearly had when initially implementing DRM for used games and those 24-hour online check-ins. The latter reeks of that "oh, everyone is online these days" mentality that reminds me of the "oh, everyone has a smartphone" belief; both statements are dead flat wrong.
The bottom line is that when Désilets says it that way, it's not an opinion. He's just wrong. Firstly, it implies the impossible; that he knows exactly what all gamers on earth are thinking "deep down." Secondly, it implies that anyone who doesn't embrace the digital revolution is just in denial. Basically, they're clinging to the past and "deep down," they don't really want to do that. It's just ridiculous. Know what I'm thinking, "deep down," Patrice? That the entire planet hasn't turned into electronic lemmings overnight, despite popular sheep belief.
Personal gaming update
I continue to savor The Last Of Us while working in a few games for review. Unfortunately, Time and Eternity was just plain awful and it prompted me to wonder if JRPGs will disappear forever . When I say that, of course, I mean JRPGs as we know them today. Really, I don't see how such terrible games can sell, regardless of how hardcore the fans might be. And when games don't sell, well… I will also deliver a review for Deadpool at some point this week. I won't give anything away but let's just say…meh. Thankfully, nothing is really getting in the way of me loving every last minute of Naughty Dog's latest. It's just so, so good on so many levels.
When it's done, I might cave into my latest urge to play one of my three favorite games of all time ( Final Fantasy VII , Final Fantasy Tactics , or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night ). I usually have to play them at least once every other year or so. There's something very special about such games, that's all. Can't find their like anymore, either.
Now that you mention it I would like to know who tried to put the bomp in the bomp shoo bomp (The RPG back into the action Final Fantasy). Maybe they took a look at Lightning Returns and just knew it wasn't going to sell for crap. And maybe they are aware of all the fan outrage even though they are still unwilling to capitulate, they still think they can walk a fine line and get both audiences.
As if that weren't enough they had super unrealistic expectations for the sales of Sleeping Dogs and Tomb Raider, which both sold well. That company is such a mess it needs to be remade from the bottom up, or fire everybody and replace them with fans of the old FF.
The Last of Us still hasn't hooked me, but I'll be reviewing it so I have to start putting more hours into it.
If it hasn't already hooked you then it might not at all.
Maybe Square Soft needs to try and break away from Square Enix. They'd have a rocky start but i guarantee they would whip up a few 10 star RPGs and be back to themselves in no time. Maybe they should start with a Xenogears and Final Fantasy 7 remake. Lol… Dream big.
I haven't been this hooked on a game since Skyward Sword. On my third play through now. Going to play it at least one more time before I dive into the multiplayer. Trying to get all the single player trophies right now.
I haven't had a lot of time to put into it unfortunately, but I'm planning to play for an extended period tomorrow.
World-
Although I was hooked all along, ill be honest there was a point in the game I waswwondering if the gameplay would be as dynamic as the story.
But it didnt take long for that to change and this is one of the best things ive experienced. Good stuff.
Jawknee-
Let me know when you dive into the mp. I havnt played it yet either. But im anxious too.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 6/30/2013 1:12:20 AM
Will do. 🙂
I'd be happy to handle that review for you… if only The Last of Us would play nice with my PS3. If I was tasked with the job, it would get a 1/10 for being fundamentally broken, regardless of how good the initial two hours were.
"The Last of Us still hasn't hooked me"
Nice. Be that contrary voice to get PSXe the easy hits!
=p
Hi Lawless 😉
Lawless thats unfortunate you cant experience this masterpiece. Hopefully one day youll get to playthrough it.
Broken? The game or your PS3?
Gotta be the PS3.
Really? I'm only about 3 hours in but if it keeps this up it might be my favorite game of the generation.
@Jawknee, big,
Undoubtedly the game. My system runs everything else that I've thrown at it with only the expected hitches found in the likes of Skyrim. TLoU fails to run beyond one of the checkpoints in Downtown, which is an issue that I've seen reported by other people on various forums. Apparently, it's a problem for the earlier 'phat' models. Considering that ND reportedly discovered that Uncharted 3 wouldn't run on early models in the last week before certification and had to make some overhauls to the code of that game, I'm really not surprised, but still very disappointed. On the plus side, I've been looking for a reason to retire my launch model and send her into hibernation and this gives me a perfect excuse. But yeah… game's broken for certain models, which is really odd, especially considering that PC gamers tend to use the closed nature of the consoles as a reason to bash them. It should mean that there should be no running issues, unless they're universal. Tangents…
In any case, it's managed to thoroughly confuse and annoy me.
Jawknee, the MP is such a great addition to the SP. You will find it to be quite fun.If you plan on going for Platinum then I would have played the MP after your first play through. The two trophies for the MP part of the game will be tougher now that people are better at the game. You will need to play a total of 84 games for each trophy. So 168 multiplayer games. The trophy requirements are hard to achieve. I actually got those out of the way, so I can focus on SP now. It was fun though. I suggest you take a buddy with you. This game is truly about cooperation and coordination. You'll see.
Lawless, just buy a slim slim.
Sorry to hear that Lawless. Maybe you just got a bad copy, that can happen rarely. I got a bad disc of Singularity and had to buy another one.
Honestly I'm having trouble enjoying anything right now since I hurt my back I'm a total grump. So it's probably me more than the game as I'm usually the kind to get really sucked into stuff.
The multiplayer is really great actually. IF you have a group of people all with mics it is a blast. Nothing quite like it although some of the systems in the game I feel like I have played in half life mods the total multiplayer package is something fresh and fun.
My only complaint is that people higher levels than you get matched with you and its no fun because I think they have access to better stuff than you.
Other than that though get a team together and go nuts because its really fun.
My guess would be your HDD. How big is it and how full is it? I completed my first run on my launch 60gb fat model with no problems. It has a 500gb HDD in it that is only about 20% full. Now when I play it on my slim that has a 500gb model that is about 80% full I have loading issues. I thought it was because of the 4.45 update but its still happening after they fixed the firmware with 4.46. Doing some research I've learned that much like Uncharted 3 the game dumps a ton of data on your HDD at the first load in the cache. If there's not a lot of room left on your HDD, you might be running into a problem because of it which makes sense to me since it runs perfect and loads very quickly on my fat model with less data on the same size drive as my slim where its HDD is nearly full. I popped Uncharted 3 in just to test it and low and behold, it takes much longer to load on my slim than my fat.
Last edited by Jawknee on 6/30/2013 12:50:48 PM
I just YouTube'd the three games you listed… How… Just how? How are those games any good? I don't see it, I'm sorry. If you want games like that, you will have to travel back in time. Today's technology doesn't allow for games like that anymore. Everything is more complicated now. It will never be the same.
It should be easy to use today's tech to make games like that again, it's just that nobody does.
What I'm saying is everything is more complex now when talking about games and their development. Much more attention is put into all aspects of the game, story, gameplay, sound… Etc. Back then all they had to focus on was gameplay, like you see on those games he listed as his GOAT. We're just not going to see those kinds of games anymore.
JRPG's are probably not my cup of tea, but those games look like gameboy color games.
You are obviously a young gamer, if you weren't you would have played/heard of those games a long time ago. They are true classics of their time, and their quality has been rarely seen since.
Sometimes you have to just sit back and enjoy something for what it is, and not complain about how old it is. I love playing FFVII, I just wish I had a PS3 compatible version.
yeah I know what you mean, but there is no need to make it more complex than it has to be. SE has said an FFVII remake would take a decade because of all the work needed, I think that's absurd. Yes you want to update it for current gen, but other devs haven't had any trouble with things like large environments and towns.
All you're looking at is graphics, obviously. FFT and FFVII have deeper gameplay than most anything on the market today, and FFVII is an RPG of the like you will never see again. It has iconic characters that will never be forgotten, a world that will never be forgotten. FFT is the epitome of strategy/RPG perfection (as many fans of that genre will claim). Castlevania: SotN has one of the finest soundtracks in game history and it blends RPG elements with a flawless side-scrolling format.
You have no clue what those games are about in looking at videos on YouTube. None whatsoever. All you can see is graphics…which is why I sometimes really despise the narrow-mindedness of younger gamers.
Well I'm young but not narrow-minded. Tell you what, if I can play it on my PSV, I'll buy it to see what all the fuzz is about. Choose one for me, I'll buy it and try it.
That depends on what you like, I can't deal with strategy games so FFT annoys me beyond belief, if you like RPGs pick FFVII, there's a reason it is considered arguably the greatest game ever made. If you are an action dude then pick Castlevania. It crushes even modern side scrollers which are shallow by comparison.
Because however you slice it you'll have to overcome your distaste of outdated graphics and keep an open mind for the amount of time it takes to get into the gameplay. That's not a slam on you, it's just normal for people who weren't gaming when those released.
Okay, I'll try FFVII because ever since I can remember, people at the back of the (school) bus have been talking about FF. At least I have a reason to play my PSV (I love my PSV).
On a side note, I did sign up for a FF beta but I've yet to resource my code. I've seen people on my friends list play it though.
I'm 17 and about a year ago, I read that Ben said SotN is one of his favorite games. I was a big fan of the Castlevania mythology but had never played a game except LoS, so I bought SotN off PSN and boy, I was in for a treat. Great soundtrack, great gameplay and great art direction. You have to play it to see why people like it. YouTube does it no justice.
As far as FFVII is concerned, I bought it but wasn't instantly hooked. Maybe because I despise turn-based, but after I had played for a little time (got to the SHINRA HQ, got stuck when you have to move in between the pillars and avoid the guards), I understood what was so great about it. Unfortunately, my PS3 formatted and my save game was lost. But really, you have to play these games to know what the fuss is about.
Killa: At least you're willing to try it. But there's no guarantee you'll like it, because none of those games are anything like what exists today. The closest would be the Disgaea series in comparison to FFT but even then, there are monumental differences, I think.
The bottom line is that it's entirely different gameplay, and I don't believe technology has anything to do with gameplay. That's due to the game construction and design. And truthfully, I believe one of the reasons we don't have turn-based today is because everyone's attention span has turned to absolute sh** in this world. In those days, you had to think, you had to READ, and all of that brought in extra immersion due to the amount of imagination you yourself infused into the experience.
But you really needed to experience it way back when in order to fully appreciate it. Otherwise, I have a feeling it'll all just seem "old."
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 6/30/2013 4:09:49 PM
Sithis you didn't have to do that thing between the pillars, just go ahead and get caught and fight every battle over and over until the sequence stops. I usually did that anyway for the extra experience, back in the day that was what passed for choice in RPGs lol.
We'll see
Dammit, I should have known it sooner. I fought for a max of four times, got annoyed. I'll buy it again if it ever pops up on PS Plus.
I knew FFvs13…15 was going to be action-ey from the get go. I was sold at how it looked. It grabbed my attention straight from the Einstein quote. The fact it went Mulitplatform has me worried. Xbox one, at least from my pc experience the past 5 months or so, isn't very powerful. The ps4 was built entirely as a gaming console. Not a comcast dvr. I just hope ff13 doesn't happen again.
Thanks for mentioning FFT Ben. I still haven't finished it. I got cloud awhile back and then never went back to it. I think i got game over'd by 3 red chocobos and didn't comprehend what just happened. I'll be playing that once i kill off Dark Bahamut.
Hopefully S-E got it through their head that game play still matters most to a great many.
I'm annoyed with herd minded generalizations, too. I don't care really in casual conversations but in the case of a developer going on the record then you'd better speak intelligently or you'll be branded a fool.
I keep thinking about the next-gen. The way winners and losers have a tendancy to form. The kind of constant variables there. The only console that really had me confounded was the Dreamcast. It did everything right, at least in gamer's eyes. That's where I realized that Sega's failure was in two areas many may have missed. That is in management and a damaged PR reputation. I say management because it has been well documented that internal struggles over the vision of the company caused great contention and divisions amongst themselves. The distribution and allocation of resources was entirely bonkers. I remember reading an article with Peter Moore. He recalled where they realized they were hot water when Shenmue needed to sell 2 copies to each DC owner to make a profit. How did that project ever get greenlighted and how did Yu Suzuki get that much money in the first place? First year DC sales brought in a respectable 10 million units. That should be enough to sustain a profitable eco-system going into the future years. But that can't happen if your business is ran by monkeys. I relate this to a buddy of mine who was part of THq's creative projects. He told me the biggest demise of their company wasn't in the quality and delivery of their products but in the horrible management of their company funds. He said with Homefront they spent a ridiculous amount in advertising. If the game was budgeted and marketed properly it could've been profitable. So when I think of Sega's biggest blunders there were so many half-baked products that should've never had been marketed…
Anyway, MS really had the momentum going into this gen. I really believe all the needed to do was come in lower cost, like $300 to 350 and they'd own the next-gen again, state-side. But this $500 price will cost them millions. I say this because my experience tells me that market leaders shift out of position when they falter in one or two key areas. The value of the product offering relative to the competition and the marketing risk by publishers. This was where N64 lost a TON of their third-party momentum. It happened with they stuck to expensive silicon cartridges. I remember reading that publishers were afraid of marketing on N64 because it was so dang slow and expensive to manufacture games. It was so much more lucrative to place risks with CD's. SOmething many times faster to produce and many times less expensive on the materials. Sony was in the right place at the right time and developers flocked to their platform because it seemed the most risk free… anyway. I'm out of time. The bottom line is, MS will hand over their market lead to Sony if they don't yank the Kinect and drop their console to $300-350. It's as simple as that. MS has the momentum and developer support. The PS4 at $100 less tells me that AT BEST MS can only hope to match Sony in the states. The entire gen will have Sony always undercutting MS and maintaing the lead. Honestly, with as much money as MS is banking on those thousands of servers for XboxOne I can't imagine why they wouldn't yank the Kinect at this point. There's so much money to be lost that goes far beyond consoles here.
and yah, this isn't some pro-XboxOne post. I'd be fine with Sony or Nintendo or Atari or whomever in the pole position. But just not MS. The way they do business sucks. Really any kind of integrity is obliterated when it comes to MS. Unfortunately, that's how many big-time corporations do things these days. Really, if MS didn't have Sony as a competitor they would'nt have changed a single thing about their XBoxOne policy. They claimed it to be listening to the outcry of passionate fans. It's total BS. Beneath those lines they really meant to say, we saw how many of you were flocking to PS4 so we had no choice but to change things. We really don't want to BUT because you sheep still have a choice in the matter you can have your way…. for now…….. *evil cackle*
Last edited by Temjin001 on 6/30/2013 1:26:59 AM
Sony isn't your friend either, they want your money. But I guess it's not as bad as having an enemy(Microsoft).
Sony, Nintendo, Sega, Atari, yeah they wanted your money too but they put gamers first in their strategies and wanted to build a relationship with the consumer.
Microsoft has done nothing but buy their way into a burgeoning industry by undercutting competition using vast sums of money and exploiting the consumer base. I can't believe anyone tries to say other console and software gaming giants are nearly as dirty and filthy as Microsoft has been and continues to be.
Hey guys. I've been home for better than a month and a half, but have had some financial woes. Still don't have a computer (I'm on a mate's right now), which is why I haven't been back to say g'day until now. Doesn't look like things are gonna straighten out for me for another two months or so, either, so bit of a bummer. Still, we do what we must.
I've been pretty good, for the most part. Haven't been playing games much, been much more focussed on my writing and have made a good amount of progress. Nevertheless, I played through Valkyria Chronicles and DmC again, as well as the first two hours of The Last of Us, until it stopped working. I've also bought Ni No Kuni and intend to put some time into that before too long. I probably could think of more to say, but I'm just chillin' right now and wanted to ask how y'all are doing and that I'll get back to you again sooner or later. Keep cool.
Peace.
PGU:
The Last of Us. It's an amazing ride.
its actually nice to be surprised by a game for once.
i was convinced deadpool was going to be a utter train wreck!
theres been absolutely no demos behind it, no media interest, its based off a world famous comic, and reviews were embargoed till launch day.
all signs that the game sucks donkey balls!
but it actually dosent, its actually a hell of allot of fun!
the combat system is actually surprisingly deep, and theres allot of weapons and upgrades you can buy.
the humor is top notch too, yea its a bit corny and cheesy but its deadpool what did you expect?
the only bad part is the boss battles, there typically usually CHEAP!
some of the most frustrating most unfair pathetic boss battles ever invented!
but besides that im quite shocked, just goes to show not all games based on movies/ comics have to suck.
kinda wish high moon would get another stab at it though, the game wreaks of rushed low budget!
its this good with such a short dev cycle, and pennys for budget, what would it be like if antivision gave it the COD treatment!?
You'll turn on the game soon enough
already finished it so cant.
sorry to disappoint you.
I'm disappointed you didn't turn on it
Just for the record, again, I'm still very attached to my physical media Patrice.
Finally just got The Last of Us!! Only a couple hours in but WOW! I've been avoiding everything about that game including reviews to try and keep it fresh for me. Even still I've heard so much universal praise for that game I was sure it was already over hyped for me. It was not.
Maybe someone handed the Square Enix board of directors a big graph with a large X filling it.
When asked what it represented they were told the ascending line represents the increased changes and deviation from a true FF game and the descending line represents sales/profit/customer trust…
Busy with my 2nd playthrough of TLoU. As a ps3 owner you owe yourself to get a copy! I've played an hour of multiplayer, there's a heavy emphasis on teamwork. Because you can partially heal downed teammates, there is a strategic advantage in trying to remain in a group. Lonewolf type play is not recommended.
These might be the dark days of JRPs. I like to think we'll come out of one of these years.
PGU: My PS3 YLODed again 🙁
This really kinda sucks b/c I was really kinda enjoying TLOU.
What do you guys think?
I have a warranty with PS-pros but there site is down and I really hate waiting two weeks before I get to see it again. I'm tempted to just make the trek down to the store and snag a new slim, but them I'm in the hole $300! I don't want to trade in my fatty. I could try to find a cheaper used Ps3, but what are the odds that would funtion any better?
I just want to play TLOU 🙁
I would buy a slim slim, or get a refurbished console from GameStop. Trade in your fat ps3 too… Let it R.I.P
Will I only get store credit if I trade it in at a Gamestop? There aren't any stores nearby for me. Any opinions on the refurbished qualities?