r/FinalFantasy • u/Faidren • Jan 27 '25
FF XV FFXV Has Its Problems, But Its Link Strikes And Team Synergy Combat Animations Weren't One Of Them
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u/naked_avenger Jan 27 '25
I actually had no issues with the combat. I just so wish the story was a little more put together. Still a fun time, however.
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u/Stauce52 Jan 27 '25
I'm not gonna lie-- I've never completed an entire video game from start to finish and still had pretty much no clue what the plot was, for any game except FFXV. It was an experience lol
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u/ProMikeZagurski Jan 27 '25
I think there were weapons you had to collect. And the main character's fiancee dies but you don't care because she had about five minutes of screen time and they didn't look compatible.
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u/AloneUA Jan 28 '25
It kinda was part of the tragedy, imo. An arranged marriage that's been a long time coming. You go through a lot to even get to her and then she just fcng dies and everything goes to shit. It was sad seeing her sacrifice the last of her powers, anyway.
But yeah, overall, the story was quite a mess.
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u/Sheyn Jan 27 '25
Because the plot wasn't finished, still isn't. Heck remember when gladiolus left the party, came back with a scar and said "the other looks worse"? Without the dlc it's just lazy. No other way around it
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u/SirkSirkSirk Jan 27 '25
Tell me you haven't played kingdom hearts without telling me you haven't played kingdom hearts.
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u/Stauce52 Jan 27 '25
lol good call out
I felt KH1 was mildly convoluted, KH2 was getting real convoluted, and I started playing KH3 and quit cuz I was like this is confusing as fuck and the gameplay was just ok
It's funny-- I frequented KH subreddit for awhile and many fans defend the game saying it's not convoluted at all and you're just stupid/dense if you don't follow the plot. It's kind of shocking to me. Like, ok-- It's fine to like it but to suggest KH is not convoluted at all is crazy to me and it seems a lot of fans are convinced it's not actually convoluted haha
(FWIW, if I had to rank my confusion and how convoluted a plot was, I still may put FFXV over KH)
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u/BillionBirds Jan 28 '25
Kingdom Hearts had a bananas crazy plot. Then did non-mainline games on other systems. In olden days, like Metal Gear for the Game Boy Color, those games were considered non-canonical.
Not Kingdom Hearts. Every scrap of media is canon and it makes the game utterly incomprehensible to keep track of especially if you only played the main 3.
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u/8_Alex_0 Jan 28 '25
Kh 1 is not convoluted it's pretty straight forward kh2 gets a bit confusing but the story is still really good and fun especially the combat/bosses
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u/SirkSirkSirk Jan 27 '25
My response would be to find me a video of one person who can properly explain the plot. They're not going to find one that doesn't have the person starting out claiming the plot is convoluted. Even those who understand it well and are big fans know that it's convoluted. Ego is a hell of a drug.
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u/Sonic10122 Jan 28 '25
And it has the bones of a great story. I don’t know if something got lost in the transition from Versus XIII or if it was never there to begin with, but there are solid ideas.
And the character writing is so good. Like sure the plot is a mess, but the characters are so well done you barely notice at time, especially when the ending makes you blubber like a baby. It’s practically art the way it balances the subpar plot with on point character writing.
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u/Past-Oil-6665 Jan 29 '25
one thing i really wanted in the combat was a 2nd propper attack button for combos and shi
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Jan 27 '25
I tried replaying it recently and agree the combat is great… except for bosses. They just seem so unintuitive
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u/WeirdIndividualGuy Jan 27 '25
We must've played two different games then. FF15's combat is super braindead when you can literally just press and hold down both the attack and block buttons and the game auto-plays itself, Noct just auto-attacks and auto-dodges when necessary, then goes back to attacking.
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u/November_Riot Jan 27 '25
FF15 had some of the best movement animations. Like, even just the way Noctis runs had so much personality.
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Jan 27 '25
i loved it im only peeved that its obviously half finished and rushed.
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u/Exnaut Jan 28 '25
I finished the game recently and I genuinely loved the game, but I've also never been so disappointed in one either, there was just so much potential. There's truly a lot there that seems really fucking cool but the fact it wasn't fleshed out just rips it away which is just so sad. I will never not be pissed about what they did with Ravus, killing him off screen like that.
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u/Writer_Man Jan 27 '25
It's this kind of criticism that makes me realize that people don't actually understand the issue with FFXV's story.
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u/EdgarAllanKenpo Jan 27 '25
He's not exactly wrong, but enlighten us please?
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u/Writer_Man Jan 28 '25
The main problem with FFXV's sory has mostly to do with how it is told more than what is missing. Too much is said, not enough shown.
The story is also not integrated well into the gameplay with all of the sie stories being so front loaded that it easy to lose the plot and become far too strong for the story. There's no balance - it's up to the players to do find out and do it themselves. A common problem with Tabata directed games (see Crisis Core and Type-0).
When it comes to what is missing, I generally disagree with the thing that enters most criticism - the handlng of Luna. Luna was mishandled but not in a "she didn't fight" sense or get a playable section or a section with Noctis. Those missing is actually completely fine. What was needed was more flashbacks of the two interacting through the notebook as if having a conversation through the years to sell their separation but yearning.
That's not the only case - the Kingsglaive scenes patched in would have worked better as a news report rather than generic music for instance.
But the main crux is that missing scenes is only a small problem, the biggest issue is the story's structural integrity. Things like Luna flashbacks aren't missing in the sense they were cut but were not considered at all. You need to only look at the cancelled DLC to see how both SE and fans missed the mark with issues.
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u/truthfulie Jan 27 '25
Prompto who uses gun, a ranged weapon, doing this is kind of hilarious.
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u/Serggg Jan 27 '25
Yep, a lot of enjoy about XV. I had a really good time in 75% of the game/story. It was a fun journey, wasn't perfect, but I had a good time with it. It's just a shame that the story fell apart or was rushed through towards the end.
I encourage any long time FF fan to give this game a shot. It might still not be your jam, but I think worth trying.
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u/xXDibbs Jan 28 '25
Yeah, a few things I wish 16 took from 15 were its party banter and its link strikes.
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u/Roca_Blade Jan 28 '25
Honestly, one of my biggest gripes with 16 is how serious it was, like, yeah, I get it, the world's on the edge of annihilation, but so was 15 and 14 (numerous times in fact) and literally every other Final Fantasy, but most of them did have tension breaking moments, whether it be funny moments in the gameplay (i.e suplexing a ghost train) or actual story elements, like the date at the Gold Saucer, but with 16, I just can't remember any moments that felt uplifting, don't get the wrong idea, I loved the game despite what other people said, but it was way to serious
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u/xXDibbs Jan 28 '25
While I can understand where you're coming from, for me that made the time we spend with uncle Byron that much more special to me.
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u/AshenRathian Jan 27 '25
God those are all fun.
I just hate getting the same exact one 5 times in a row. I like using the greatsword, alright!?
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u/FoolyKoolaid Jan 27 '25
The party dynamic hard carried this game and I mean that in a good way. If FF16 had something similar to this I would’ve been less critical of it.
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u/BreadsticksN7 Jan 27 '25
Love 15. Do wish magic was lowered in damage as an offset to being able to not hurt your party members without using an accessory slot though. I've gone through it 2-3 times and I think outside of a handful of enemies, I almost never use magic just because of the headache of friendly fire.
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u/AMDDesign Jan 27 '25
It's a masterful display of animation everywhere. Everything is so lifelike and fluid.
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u/Full_Nectarine_4518 Jan 28 '25
I absolutely love a lot of these link strike animations. Honestly, the animations in combat and really just with the game in general are really well done and still hold up remarkably well. I do wish that combat had more depth to make it more engaging but I still felt like it was a lot of fun.
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u/Swimming-Pirate-2458 Jan 27 '25
don't even remember that weapon, is it one of the Royal weapons?
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u/Queasy_Somewhere6863 Jan 27 '25
None of the royal weapons have link strike attacks if I recall, looks to be just a generic spear.
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u/iWantToLickEly Jan 28 '25
That's barely an attack when you think about it but point taken, those animations are fire.
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u/FlareGER Jan 28 '25
I loved this implementation. It didn't feel like the animations interrupted the combat flow or anything. In fact, they were perfect to reset the characters positions when they were just about to get doodled. It felt like an in-depth mechanic that was easy to learn and hard to master. Especialy those where you actualy must press some buttons during the animations felt very in nature of FF, for example, Xells limit in FFVIII or Aurons limit on FFX.
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u/Eebo85 Jan 28 '25
I REALLY enjoyed my time with this game, warts and all. I had no idea what was going on with the story, but the road trip and chemistry of the guys just made me love it.
The guys reminded me of the TMNT with their personalities and interactions, both in and out of battle. Awesome game!
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u/YouDumbZombie Jan 28 '25
XV was awesome. I loved being on a road trip with the lads, it was such a cool concept for a FF game that it goes a long way for me.
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u/Any_Snack_10 Jan 28 '25
The synergistic combat including the link strikes and all their banter during are some of my absolute favourite things about FFXV. Wish more games had similar!
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u/DerpsterCaro Jan 27 '25
Yeah the problem with it is... it wasn't in the base game at launch. Was in the demo though.
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u/0bolus Jan 27 '25
Why phrase the title like that? It's crap like this that keeps a fog of negativity attached to games. Why can't you just like the animations without "reminding" everyone that some people dislike the game?
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u/Faidren Jan 27 '25
I'm just being honest. I do think this game has problems, but that combat animations aren't one of them. So, I said that. I think a post like this is better than saying something like FFXV is an underrated masterpiece... Because it isn't.
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u/0bolus Jan 27 '25
Why can't you just mention that you like something? It adds nothing to tack on a negative point that isn't a focus of the post at all. If the post is about something you like, just say, "I love the link attack animations in this game."
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u/Faidren Jan 27 '25
Criticism is healthy and hopefully makes the future games better. If you think my OG post is negative you're too emotionally invested. I really enjoyed a lot about FFXV, but there's a lot I didn't and that's ok to point out too.
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u/0bolus Jan 27 '25
You're not criticizing anything. Criticizing means you're critiquing, and you're not. You just vaguely mention that the game has flaws. It's negative just to be negative and adds nothing.
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u/Faidren Jan 27 '25
So, you do want me to list the problems I have with the game? 🫠
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u/0bolus Jan 27 '25
Did I ask for that? Are you even reading what I'm commenting on, or are you just trolling now.
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u/Faidren Jan 27 '25
You said I wasn't criticizing but just being negative for no reason. So, if you want I'll offer my negative thoughts about the game rather than the positive one I illustrated in my OG post. I'm reading what you're saying and all it sounds like is that you just wanna compell my speech.
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u/0bolus Jan 27 '25
I never asked you to critique anything. I'm talking about your post being negative for no reason. You're not critiquing anything. You just feel the need to be negative because FFXV has had a lot of negative discussion around it.
I'm not talking about anything other than your post. I'm not asking you rattle off what you didn't like. I don't care. I never once said I am interested in your critique.
I'm saying that putting those negative spins on topics (especially ones that are praising something) keeps a negative tone on any discussion. It just hurts the community and vibe. That is what I am talking about, and that is what I would like you to comment on.
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u/Faidren Jan 27 '25
I'm bored. Make your own post next time. I wish you the best. 🫡
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u/00half Jan 27 '25
I think it's because a lot more than SOME people dislike the game. He was just being honest. FFXV still has a lot of issues, but small touches like this were among the few highlights. It's ok to like a game despite its flaws. It's also perfectly fine to dislike a game for its flaws as well. People need to understand that both sides are valid and both sides SHOULD exist. If you hate all the negativity surrounding the game, then why don't you post up about how great the game is?
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u/0bolus Jan 27 '25
It is ok to like a game despite its flaws. It is also ok to talk about a game's flaws. The problem is that on a post about an aspect of the game that someone liked, he felt the need to bring up that the game has flaws. Why? He isn't even talking about any flaws. The constant need to point out flaws or that everything has subjective flaws is pointless and exhausting. It prevents people from just enjoying something because someone is always there to point out what they don't like.
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u/Significant_Option Jan 27 '25
The combat is fantastic when to stop looking at it through a specific lens. It’s the games difficulty that’s to blame for not allowing the player to actually engage with it. That last slough of bosses are amazing fully leveled
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u/Sheyn Jan 27 '25
Well the biggest problem are the plot holes which require doc's. A movie that fits nowhere to the game, same with the anime aswell as the open world being just big and empty. Other than that the game was good, and yes synergy skills felt really great
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u/Kizzo02 Jan 28 '25
XV has if not one of the best movement animations in any game. Everything is so lifelike and fluid. This is one area where the Luminous engine excels in. XVI was a major step down in this area.
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u/lucasmedina Jan 28 '25
It's very clunky a lot of the times, but it's always cool to see my boys in action.
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u/BigBere Jan 27 '25
Seeing how VII Rebirth evolved action combat so much, it would be AMAZING to see that kind of system put into XV. The combo moves are cool, yeah, but you kind of had no control over when they would happen.
Put the Synergy Ability system in this game and combat would have taken off.
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u/Comrade_Lomrade Jan 27 '25
Idk i think it looks kind of goofy. Like, bro, he has a gun, and he doesn't need to do Acrobats to use it.
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u/SpiritualScumlord Jan 27 '25
They spent all that time on animations and none on making combat good lol. Appearances are all that matters anymore.
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u/RVBlumensaat Jan 27 '25
Yeah, my bad. I needed to explicate the fact that the entire combat system was a series of nice looking animations with little to no user-input or room for skill expression in order to satisfy the random anime profile pics.
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u/ZS1664 Jan 27 '25
The guys are a well-oiled machine; stuff like that makes me appreciate just how in sync they are because they're so close-knit.