Just The Beginning
Yesterday, Patrick Lee kicked off our ongoing Game In Progress review of Final Fantasy XV with a look at its first 10 hours. Down in the comments (and over in the comments of this week’s What Are You Playing This Weekend? Thread), readers have started weighing in with their experiences as well. Shinigami Apple Merchant laid out some pros and cons in a monster post. Here are a few choice cuts:
Things I love so far:
The open-ended narrative that takes place during action—I’m not talking about the main plot at all, just the narrative you create for yourself, the unique mini-story you of what you did that day/those days as you progress. Bravo to whoever came up with the idea that one of your friends would take pictures of your exploits and shows them to the group at the end of the day. It works for me on every level and I love it. It works for the character doing it, it works for the game and getting you even more involved in the sights.
Just driving around because you can—I’m just driving around, looking at all the sights, chatting about how I want photos taken, fishing at any new spot I see, and it’s glorious. It’s not the most engrossing in terms of character development or story, but it’s not trying to be. I get the core motivations of everyone involved, I get the main flow/tick of the plot in the foreground, and for now, I’m just enjoying this unique semi-sandbox opportunity.
Thing(s) I dislike so far
Cindy, Cindy, Cindy.
I didn’t like the way she was represented in the first demo at all, and I still don’t like that she’s depicted as she is here. “But Gladiolus is there for male eye candy!” Yeah, well, when it’s just Noctis refueling the car, he’s standing there with a nozzle straightforwardly while Cindy goes full Cool Hand Luke on your car (with Prompto standing in for the gawking George Kennedy). And even if Gladiolus were utilized in such a fashion at some point, I don’t like this pandering in any way, shape, or form at all. I want character development quests, not “let’s go stalk…err…totally NOT stalk the mechanic” endeavors.
I originally thought Cindy was going be a new approach to Cid, as in “Maybe if we need to talk to her so much to mod our weapons and car, they’ll flesh her out as a character.” Nope. There’s an actual Cid anyway, and his backstory is getting covered while Cindy’s backstory so far is simply, “Wow! Cid’s grandkid is so hot, and she loves cars, and she loves to talk about cars! I wonder if she’s single!” Bleh.
Cindy was a sore spot for some other commenters as well. In his article, Patrick mentioned the game’s opening promise of being a Final Fantasy for veterans and newcomers alike. But Cnightwing points out the game’s dude-centric premise creates some inherent borders: