Cindy is... well, she's more foil than character. She exists primarily to magnify our attachment to the Regalia and to act as a foil for Cid (who serves as a figurehead and a voice for the generational parallelism between Noctis' journey and his father's). At best she has only a tenuous connection to the plot; her existence brings some exposition on the land beyond the wall, albeit primarily as told by Cid, a jar of wax, and some headlights.
Regarding Cindy and the representation of women: She's portrayed as the most technically competent character in the entire game. There isn't much substance to her, but there isn't any substance to anyone outside of the boys. She's sexually objectified, but I don't think she's dressed any more sexually than Gladio. Inside the game the boys always treat her with respect, and she's obviously the person in control and with the power in the relationship dynamic. I think her representation outside of the game is far more problematic, what with that fucking weird ass VR thing they had.
The thing that bothered me about all of that was how many false promises were made about women's representation in this game before release.
So they announced that the main party was 4 dudes, and there was a big hullabaloo about it because with the exception of FFI which had all genderless generics, every other mainline FF game has had female party members.
But they promised us that there were going to be well represented females in the story, even if they weren't a part of the main party. Well. Turns out that was a big fat lie. There are only 4 females of any significance in the entire game. Luna, Iris, Aranaea, and Giovanni or whatever the hell her name is. And none of those 4 are represented very well at all.
Luna was nothing but a plot device. We were promised a strong female lead in her by Nomura and they failed to deliver. Her only presence in the game was in flashbacks and dream sequences, and then the one and only time she's on-screen in the present, they kill her with a really cheap out-of-nowhere story maguffin.
Iris was the closest thing we got to a real character, but she ended up being nothing of importance at all and was just a distraction and a red herring. Also, one could make the argument that she was designed to be the perfect waifu bait. She was the cute little sister and she was designed to be exactly the kind of person that the player forms an attachment to, but not Noctis, and she was irrelevant to the story.
Aranaea was confusing. First she was a silent background character in a cutscene. Then she was a boss fight which came out of nowhere and served no purpose in the narrative. Then on your next encounter she's your best friend because all of a sudden she is a mercenary (?) even though up until that point we had no idea she was a mercenary and her general portrayal up until that point was that she was some sort of Imperial Officer. They literally change who she was in the middle of the game for the sake of convenience. And then she pals with you because you guys are besties who hate the empire together.
Giovannia was not a real character and she didn't make any sense within the lore of the game. We were told that Luna was essential to Noctis because she had to make first contact with the Espers. That was her sacred duty as the Oracle. She had to talk to them first for unexplained reasons. Because of reasons, if Noctis would have just walked over to Titan on his own and said "Yo Titan let's fight, I want your powers" it wouldn't have worked. Luna totally had to go tell Titan that Noctis was coming to fight him and take his powers. No talk, no fight. So that leads me back to Giovannianininana. She was an Esper just like Titan and Leviathan and Ramuh. But yet she was able to commune with Noctis without properly being fluffed by the Oracle. It didn't make any sense. Also she was a ghost? And could take human form? Why didn't Titan, Ramuh, or Leviathan take human form? This character provides some serious problem for their entire pantheon of god-beings in this game because her powers and involvement completely contradict everything that the story tells us is true and necessary.
I'm pretty critical of this game, but I wouldn't count female under-representation as one of my critiques. There are a variety of personality types, looks, and jobs represented by the side and background characters, and women hold various roles of importance to the story. I agree with you that a lot of the characters where underutilized and confusing, but that's not limited to just ladies in FFXV.
Honest question. Are you all leaving Cindy out of this conversation intentionally or did you just forget she existed in the game?
I honestly forgot she existed. She's just a quest-giver NPC and I forgot about her.
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Zilla36021st Century. |She/Her|Trans* Woman In Aviators Firing A Bazooka. ⚛️Registered Userregular
Preview of the DLC, audio mixing is somewhat off though:
World of Final Fantasy patch-notes continue to be cute:
If you want we've given you the power to skip Champion and Mega Mirage animations with the Circle button, completely invalidating the work of dozens of artists with a single squeeze of your almighty, indifferent thumb
FC: 1907-8030-1478
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
Wait...if I finished the game I can jump to Verse 2?
Also...any Gladio impressions? I'm not sure if I want to get it. Between Zelda, Mass Effect:A and FF14's final patch tomorrow, I don't think I can devote more time to gaming.
Wait...if I finished the game I can jump to Verse 2?
Also...any Gladio impressions? I'm not sure if I want to get it. Between Zelda, Mass Effect:A and FF14's final patch tomorrow, I don't think I can devote more time to gaming.
I haven't played it yet, but there's a pretty great version of (music/character spoiler)
So... should I be able to play Episode Gladio yet? I am on the main menu and every time I click downloadable content it says everything is currently unavailable.
Edit: Nvm I had to go download it off the playstation store first. I thought it would do it automatically since I have the Season Pass.
So I'm curious... regarding this Chapter 13 Verse 2 thing, let's say a person is new to XV and has not completed the game yet, would Verse 2 be the version that they play? Is V2 replacing the on-disc original version?
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
So I'm curious... regarding this Chapter 13 Verse 2 thing, let's say a person is new to XV and has not completed the game yet, would Verse 2 be the version that they play? Is V2 replacing the on-disc original version?
Huh, good question. I've no clue. One would assume so considering the point of its creation.
edit- Okay, looks like the answer is no? From what I'm reading when you get to that point the game asks you if you want to do Noct's path (original version, though with some QoL improvements) or Gladio's (new path, new story, cutscenes, etc).
Sounds like you can switch between the two at (the very least) first save point/bunk room.
Hm, I wasn't following the development of this all that much so I may have been quite wrong to have been under the assumption that Chapter 13 V2 was supposed to have reworked the actual chapter and not add a separate side story. Granted a side story that does answer a ton of questions apparently just raises more questions.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
My guess is that it would replace the on disk version but the 'verse 2' thing is there for people who have already beaten the game to be able to go back and do it again.
So I'm curious... regarding this Chapter 13 Verse 2 thing, let's say a person is new to XV and has not completed the game yet, would Verse 2 be the version that they play? Is V2 replacing the on-disc original version?
I'm surprised nobody is talking about the whole thing, but then again I imagine nobody cares at this point.
Here's the nitty gritty though. Verse 2 is just a path with Gladio and Ignis. If you play Ch. 13 proper, then the second they all split up, you get a box saying to pick your route, Noctis or Gladio, and you can switch to Gladio at any save room.
-Noctis's route is completely unchanged structurally. Same corridors, same gameplay, same annoying Ardyn, same story and cutscenes. They made 2 gameplay changes to get you through the slog faster. You can finally fucking run. And the ring is almost comically overpowered now. Death quickly kills almost anything. If you perfect dodge, Holy will do damn near 9999 damage and obliterate everything around you.
-Gladio's path is just a 20 minute telling of what Gladio and Ignis were doing. Turns out... not much. Nothing is answered or explained. The same questions and confusion you had originally are still there. Really, it's little more than a taste of Gladio's gameplay.
Verse 2 "spoilers", and I use the term lightly"
You get a cutscene of Ravus and Emperor Youdontknowhisname. Emperor is channeling Gollum with "My precioussss". Ravus is completely on Team Noct, calling him the True King. Still no explanation as to why he suddenly is now. Emperor summons daemons and attacks him. Ravus runs away. Then Ravus is where you "find" him, barely alive. Ardyn comes up disguised as Noctis. Ravus says "Here is your sword". Ardyn kills him, and then drops the notes you find next to Ravus. Why did he do all this? Who the fuck knows.
There's another cutscene/boss fight with the monster the emperor turns into. The cutscene flat out reveals that it's the emperor by superimposing his face onto the monster. This is clearly for our, the viewer's, benefit only, because neither Gladio nor Ignis react or say anything to suggest they think it's the emperor. They just say how super weird it was to see a daemon who could talk.
Then they go down another corridor before Ignis says "I can hear Noct! That way!". And the chapter's over.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
Well, a bit disappointing. Ah well, fact that they even tried is more than I'd have ever expected from a developer.
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
Some more ring specifics. I was lv53 when I did the chapter, so I was already a touch overpowered. But originally, Death only really worked on the little grunts. It'd kill MT's, but take almost a full bar. And was near useless on everything else. Now it'll work on MT's really quickly, and even take out those spider enemies without much fuss. You really can just hold R2 and beat almost anything in the chapter with it, save the giants, which we'll get to.
Holy is the same as it was when you hold the button down. But a perfect dodge does a superpowered explosions around you. Like I said, 9999 for me. You can easily take out the giants with it.
The big ultimate move... I have not personally tried this out. But I have heard stories that it will work on even the superbosses like those mechs. Not 100% of the time, but it'll work. And they'll drop their loot too, including that rare accessory they have. Supposedly it'll also work on the adamantoise.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
The fact that they were willing to make an effort is pretty telling. Personally, I think the gameplay was fine, but the area should have been half as long. Running is a happy medium, I guess.
So... should I be able to play Episode Gladio yet? I am on the main menu and every time I click downloadable content it says everything is currently unavailable.
Edit: Nvm I had to go download it off the playstation store first. I thought it would do it automatically since I have the Season Pass.
I really hate that season passes don't download content automatically.
So far, you can tell Episode Gladio was made by a different team since:
1. Block timing feals more precise
2. You don't slow-walk inside the cave
3. It doesn't have that stupid fucking "I mean to examine but I jumped instead" glitch.
It's pretty rad so far. A good sign for the future episodes.
I just hope they have a lore twist that this is a Gilgamesh imposter: it's weird seeing a Gilgamesh this competent.
silence1186Character shields down!As a wingmanRegistered Userregular
I love that they came back and updated this, but I haven't touched this game since I beat and then was going to go back and do all the open world stuff. I just don't care anymore.
I still need to finish WoFF, now that I think of it. Maybe after I finish Berseria.
Like, zero surprises with the story... doesn't really answer much of anything, just gives another wrinkle to Gladio and Cor. The gameplay felt good though.
So... should I be able to play Episode Gladio yet? I am on the main menu and every time I click downloadable content it says everything is currently unavailable.
Edit: Nvm I had to go download it off the playstation store first. I thought it would do it automatically since I have the Season Pass.
I really hate that season passes don't download content automatically.
So far, you can tell Episode Gladio was made by a different team since:
1. Block timing feals more precise
2. You don't slow-walk inside the cave
3. It doesn't have that stupid fucking "I mean to examine but I jumped instead" glitch.
It's pretty rad so far. A good sign for the future episodes.
I just hope they have a lore twist that this is a Gilgamesh imposter: it's weird seeing a Gilgamesh this competent.
Maybe it's just me, but blocking feels a lot worse in this DLC than it did in the main game, and his attacks are so slow that it all just feels sluggish compared to the main game. And I've run into the jumping glitch every single time I went to climb one of those small cliffs.
I mean, I'm enjoying it, but the gameplay isn't especially impressing me.
The more I think about it, the more it feels like FFXV had no choice but to come out when it did.
In the time since its release, it's been outdone visually (Horizon), narratively (NieR), Action RPG-y (NieR, again), and "here's a Japanese developer inexperienced with Western open world games but is trying it anyway and holy shit they reinvented the wheel" (Zelda).
Character banter and content are all it's got left. Which is still much better than most, but still...way to get out the fuck done by NieR: Automata.
A bit off topic, but Zelda didn't reinvent anything. All it did was add a super annoying weapon breaking system and a clunky cooking interface with no recipe list and no quick craft or multi craft.
Yes, it's pretty, but it isn't a game changer. It's just a pretty game with some super annoying design decisions.
On the topic of XV - Are there supposed to be more chapter 13 improvements in the future? Weren't they supposed to patch in some story explanation for
Yeah, we're seeing the same thing with Mass Effect: Andromeda. It's really not unlike FFXV in that there are things in it to like with the combat engine, but the things people play ME for like good characters and story are baaaaaaaad.
Just like FFXV, ME will probably outsell better games like Nier and Horizon because marketing and the name.
A bit off topic, but Zelda didn't reinvent anything. All it did was add a super annoying weapon breaking system and a clunky cooking interface with no recipe list and no quick craft or multi craft.
Yes, it's pretty, but it isn't a game changer. It's just a pretty game with some super annoying design decisions.
It eliminates the hand-holding that has plagued both recent Zelda games and open world games in general, and as the latter is concerned, it's designed its open world so that every single nook and cranny leads to a new discovery, quest, adventure, etc.
Yeah, we're seeing the same thing with Mass Effect: Andromeda. It's really not unlike FFXV in that there are things in it to like with the combat engine, but the things people play ME for like good characters and story are baaaaaaaad.
Just like FFXV, ME will probably outsell better games like Nier and Horizon because marketing and the name.
As ME is concerned, that really depresses me.
It smacks of underdog-rooting, but NieR is far and away the better sci-fi game this year. It's refreshing to see the community acknowledge its merits as a counterpoint to Andromeda's (numerous) faults.
It also helps that Automata has moments that struck me down to my emotional core. Not just as a player, but as a person.
Zeldas open world was great for sightseeing but it was largely empty. There was nothing to look forward to or be surprised by but another shrine or korok.
And to wrap things around back to FF, I do not think Yoko Taro would work as a director for the next mainline game.
Nihilistic tone aside, he wouldn't have nearly the same amount of freedom he has with his own projects, and a restrained Taro is too depressing to consider.
That said, they totally should have him at least offer input. At the very least, let him write a raid scenario for FFXIV.
The more I think about it, the more it feels like FFXV had no choice but to come out when it did.
In the time since its release, it's been outdone visually (Horizon), narratively (NieR), Action RPG-y (NieR, again), and "here's a Japanese developer inexperienced with Western open world games but is trying it anyway and holy shit they reinvented the wheel" (Zelda).
Character banter and content are all it's got left. Which is still much better than most, but still...way to get out the fuck done by NieR: Automata.
Que?
Character banter is terrible ("I've found a new recipeeeeehhh!" "I'll help taste test" "It's hot" "Need water" "What's the weather forecast, Specs?"). It's just talking for the sake of talking. There's barely anything that relates to character, and it repeats far too often. I'd rather have silence than that.
And, really, what content? A dead open world that has exactly one town and a handful of cookie cutter outposts? Extra dungeons that aren't worth diving into because the combat sucks?
XV wasn't just outdone by other games after its release. It doesn't even measure up to games that came out years ago.
As a fan of both games (I think they're good not great) I hope ME:A and FF15 start a trend that you don't have to go full open world for every game. There's a reason Ubisoft held back Ass Creed guys. Right? I mean, they can't have us collecting feathers all over again!
They held back Assassin's Creed because of franchise burnout. They had 3 Devi teams working that series so that they could get a new AC every year, and it turns out that isn't sustainable over the long term. Had nothing to do with those games being open world.
XV was less fun than other games in the FF series, and massively less fun than other open world games.
I still enjoyed my time with it. It's definitely below other open world games but I appreciate it for what it is. I do hope they learn from this experience for FF16 whenever it's released.
EDIT: Just to expand a bit. I enjoyed the whole hunt loop. I know the combat isn't everyone's cup of tea but I spend a lot of time doing hunts. Flesh it out a bit more, tighten that combat and go. Hell, I could just do FF12/FF15: The Hunt: The Game. No, I'm not playing Monster Hunter.
Also, I hope a lot of open world games learn stuff from Zelda. Just the way you can traverse that world and interact with it is glorious. It really makes ME:A and FF15 look REAL bad. I mean, they're trying different things but boy.
I finished XV and even got the platinum trophy. I didn't hate it, but I also don't think it's a good game. It's among the worst in mainline FF and in a more general sense, all of the game systems are poor and not good. But at least I finished it.
I hold the Zelda franchise on as high, or maybe even a higher pedestal than FF and I cannot stomach BotW. It is not worth the over hype and extreme praise it is receiving and I still don't think it is in any way remarkable or ground breaking. It is annoying and shallow. The world is pretty to look at, but it is empty and hollow, and the dungeons and puzzles are some of the weakest in series. There's also no sense of progression since they vomit all your powers on you in the tutorial.
So as much as I think XV was bad, Zelda is worse and I will not let nostalgia-vision blind me to all the glaring faults in that game.
I hate when companies release april fools jokes that are legit better than the ideas they have brought to fruition. I would play the hell out of another tactics game. Screw FF trying to be The Elder Scrolls.
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I honestly forgot she existed. She's just a quest-giver NPC and I forgot about her.
-More cutscenes
-Sidestory with Gladio and Ignis
-You can climb higher in the world and walk across those massive ridges. (GAME CHANGER)
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
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Also...any Gladio impressions? I'm not sure if I want to get it. Between Zelda, Mass Effect:A and FF14's final patch tomorrow, I don't think I can devote more time to gaming.
I haven't played it yet, but there's a pretty great version of (music/character spoiler)
Edit: Nvm I had to go download it off the playstation store first. I thought it would do it automatically since I have the Season Pass.
Huh, good question. I've no clue. One would assume so considering the point of its creation.
edit- Okay, looks like the answer is no? From what I'm reading when you get to that point the game asks you if you want to do Noct's path (original version, though with some QoL improvements) or Gladio's (new path, new story, cutscenes, etc).
Sounds like you can switch between the two at (the very least) first save point/bunk room.
Hm, I wasn't following the development of this all that much so I may have been quite wrong to have been under the assumption that Chapter 13 V2 was supposed to have reworked the actual chapter and not add a separate side story. Granted a side story that does answer a ton of questions apparently just raises more questions.
I'm surprised nobody is talking about the whole thing, but then again I imagine nobody cares at this point.
Here's the nitty gritty though. Verse 2 is just a path with Gladio and Ignis. If you play Ch. 13 proper, then the second they all split up, you get a box saying to pick your route, Noctis or Gladio, and you can switch to Gladio at any save room.
-Noctis's route is completely unchanged structurally. Same corridors, same gameplay, same annoying Ardyn, same story and cutscenes. They made 2 gameplay changes to get you through the slog faster. You can finally fucking run. And the ring is almost comically overpowered now. Death quickly kills almost anything. If you perfect dodge, Holy will do damn near 9999 damage and obliterate everything around you.
-Gladio's path is just a 20 minute telling of what Gladio and Ignis were doing. Turns out... not much. Nothing is answered or explained. The same questions and confusion you had originally are still there. Really, it's little more than a taste of Gladio's gameplay.
Verse 2 "spoilers", and I use the term lightly"
There's another cutscene/boss fight with the monster the emperor turns into. The cutscene flat out reveals that it's the emperor by superimposing his face onto the monster. This is clearly for our, the viewer's, benefit only, because neither Gladio nor Ignis react or say anything to suggest they think it's the emperor. They just say how super weird it was to see a daemon who could talk.
Then they go down another corridor before Ignis says "I can hear Noct! That way!". And the chapter's over.
Holy is the same as it was when you hold the button down. But a perfect dodge does a superpowered explosions around you. Like I said, 9999 for me. You can easily take out the giants with it.
The big ultimate move... I have not personally tried this out. But I have heard stories that it will work on even the superbosses like those mechs. Not 100% of the time, but it'll work. And they'll drop their loot too, including that rare accessory they have. Supposedly it'll also work on the adamantoise.
I really hate that season passes don't download content automatically.
So far, you can tell Episode Gladio was made by a different team since:
1. Block timing feals more precise
2. You don't slow-walk inside the cave
3. It doesn't have that stupid fucking "I mean to examine but I jumped instead" glitch.
It's pretty rad so far. A good sign for the future episodes.
I just hope they have a lore twist that this is a Gilgamesh imposter: it's weird seeing a Gilgamesh this competent.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
I still need to finish WoFF, now that I think of it. Maybe after I finish Berseria.
Like, zero surprises with the story... doesn't really answer much of anything, just gives another wrinkle to Gladio and Cor. The gameplay felt good though.
Maybe it's just me, but blocking feels a lot worse in this DLC than it did in the main game, and his attacks are so slow that it all just feels sluggish compared to the main game. And I've run into the jumping glitch every single time I went to climb one of those small cliffs.
I mean, I'm enjoying it, but the gameplay isn't especially impressing me.
In the time since its release, it's been outdone visually (Horizon), narratively (NieR), Action RPG-y (NieR, again), and "here's a Japanese developer inexperienced with Western open world games but is trying it anyway and holy shit they reinvented the wheel" (Zelda).
Character banter and content are all it's got left. Which is still much better than most, but still...way to get out the fuck done by NieR: Automata.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
Yes, it's pretty, but it isn't a game changer. It's just a pretty game with some super annoying design decisions.
On the topic of XV - Are there supposed to be more chapter 13 improvements in the future? Weren't they supposed to patch in some story explanation for
Just like FFXV, ME will probably outsell better games like Nier and Horizon because marketing and the name.
It eliminates the hand-holding that has plagued both recent Zelda games and open world games in general, and as the latter is concerned, it's designed its open world so that every single nook and cranny leads to a new discovery, quest, adventure, etc.
It is absolutely a game changer.
As ME is concerned, that really depresses me.
It smacks of underdog-rooting, but NieR is far and away the better sci-fi game this year. It's refreshing to see the community acknowledge its merits as a counterpoint to Andromeda's (numerous) faults.
It also helps that Automata has moments that struck me down to my emotional core. Not just as a player, but as a person.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
Nihilistic tone aside, he wouldn't have nearly the same amount of freedom he has with his own projects, and a restrained Taro is too depressing to consider.
That said, they totally should have him at least offer input. At the very least, let him write a raid scenario for FFXIV.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
Que?
Character banter is terrible ("I've found a new recipeeeeehhh!" "I'll help taste test" "It's hot" "Need water" "What's the weather forecast, Specs?"). It's just talking for the sake of talking. There's barely anything that relates to character, and it repeats far too often. I'd rather have silence than that.
And, really, what content? A dead open world that has exactly one town and a handful of cookie cutter outposts? Extra dungeons that aren't worth diving into because the combat sucks?
XV wasn't just outdone by other games after its release. It doesn't even measure up to games that came out years ago.
XV was less fun than other games in the FF series, and massively less fun than other open world games.
EDIT: Just to expand a bit. I enjoyed the whole hunt loop. I know the combat isn't everyone's cup of tea but I spend a lot of time doing hunts. Flesh it out a bit more, tighten that combat and go. Hell, I could just do FF12/FF15: The Hunt: The Game. No, I'm not playing Monster Hunter.
Also, I hope a lot of open world games learn stuff from Zelda. Just the way you can traverse that world and interact with it is glorious. It really makes ME:A and FF15 look REAL bad. I mean, they're trying different things but boy.
I hold the Zelda franchise on as high, or maybe even a higher pedestal than FF and I cannot stomach BotW. It is not worth the over hype and extreme praise it is receiving and I still don't think it is in any way remarkable or ground breaking. It is annoying and shallow. The world is pretty to look at, but it is empty and hollow, and the dungeons and puzzles are some of the weakest in series. There's also no sense of progression since they vomit all your powers on you in the tutorial.
So as much as I think XV was bad, Zelda is worse and I will not let nostalgia-vision blind me to all the glaring faults in that game.
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595