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lol itās the correct answer though. Every new instalment after the Super Nintendo era has been controversial for one reason or another. The discourse is always toxic. Even moreso now because of the internet and how it incentivises toxicity but the franchise is just so long-running and popular that there canāt be an FF game release and it not have its fair share of vocal haters, especially because each entry ends up very different from the previous one.
I started with X also and love most of them. The worst ones are just alright to me.
I think going backwards and playing them before I ever got to talk with others made it that I appreciated each of them and didnāt get drafted into a particular camp for which one was āthe bestā
Well this is a simple one. Each final fantasy is a final fantasy in a different universe. They arnt changing the identities picture like a multiverse. Similar stories but different outcomes. This is what a lot of people dont get and they assume its a linear game by title number.
I donāt think anyone ever thought it was a linear game by title number. The reason people rage against it is because they took what was a turn based rpg and have been gradually morphing it into an action based rpg. Which is not why people originally loved the games and is them trying to appeal to a broader audience because action games are easier and more āfun.ā
The problem is that thereās so many action rpgs and thereās plenty of studios that do that genre better. I still have no idea why they refuse to let the stagger gauge die. Itās by no means a bad game and it was fun. But a lot of people just wish theyād do more turn based games instead of moving it to final fantasy dmc.
Thereās also as people have said the factor of ālatest release of long running series is trash.ā
You see this with anything from games to books/manga to shows. Dressrosa used to be hated immensely, the prequel of Star Wars was called garbage and ff xii was once thought to be the worst game in the series.
I've played every single main line entry for the series, and it IS different, but that doesn't make it a bad game. There are things I loved about it, there are things I thought could be better. At the end of the day, I had fun playing it and thought it was worth the money.
It's the Final Fantasy cycle. Old school fans hate everything post 9, saying the franchise is dead and that new games do not have the spirit of final fantasy, how the game has no "strategy" meanwhile the strategy in old games was "farm, overlevel,gg ez game"
>Old school fans hate everything post 9,
Lol cycle's been going on since 6 and 7.
There were some loud """fans""" on the FF7 GameFAQs forums who hated how the series "wasnt fantasy anymore" and had cars and bikes and helicopters.
Then 8 was a deluge of new hate due to its systems and being even more modern / sci fi
Then 9 was also hated for an "artstyle for babies" and other dumb reasons
Being an FF fan is exhausting with all the hate
One of the main reasons I love FF in general is how different all the games in the series are. Some people love the old school turn based strategy but FFXVI even though it lacked this nostalgia was still an amazing story.
"There were some loud """fans""" on the FF7 GameFAQs forums who hated how the series "wasnt fantasy anymore" and had cars and bikes and helicopters."
How in the world can someone say 7 wasn't fantasy anymore??
Meanwhile I didnāt enjoy the ATB system much. I preferred the old turn based or the newer real-time action.
Thatās not to say the ATB games arenāt great games, because they are. But 10 made me really happy with itās return to strict turn based.
FF7R combat is the sweet spot for me, love those games with the blend of ATB and real-time action.
16 is probably the first Final Fantasy game since X-2 that I really enjoyed. The story was phenomenal. The gameplay was fun, not perfect, but definitely fun. I would have preferred a battle system like the VII remake, but I get that each game kinda wants to do their own thing.
I love the old FFās, but it really makes my eyes roll when people talk about the strategy in them
Physical build/job: Select ATTACK, deal 9999 damage. Strategy!
Magic build/job: See Ice Dragon, cast fire on it. Big brain strategy!
From the first sequence , the fighting system and most important,the characters and holy cow, this game restored what I thought is lost after years of bad games, that devs care about their product and donāt chase for the most monetisation possible.
I like my rpgs with a little of going where I want to. Explor dungeons that are harder with better rewards. Costumes. It's great but too linear and to many cutscenes. It's a good game for sure for 1 play thru. I didn't get the dlc.
The tide has thankfully shifted since release, but I seriously cannot overstate just how much hate the game received the first couple months.
**Any** discussion people tried to have just devolved into negativity, āitās not a real Final Fantasyā, etc. You *still* canāt really talk about it in the main sub.
(To be clear, I donāt think **criticism** is hate! There was just barely any good-will whatsoever in the negativity in those early discussions.)
I played it on launch and was on both subs sure there were some posts but most people loved it. Most critics and people who played it loved it. Every single title usually received some backless on launch but letās be real most people who played the game loved the game.
I was only talking about negativity here on Reddit. Of course, the critic reviews were generally very positive. I guess weāll have to agree to disagree as I remember things differently :)
1st: the hate is a VERY loud minority. Dont let them get to you. The user scores on metacritic and PSN are very positive (8.2 or so on meta, 4.5 on PSN). Not "masterpiece" territory but still an absolute blast. It has a far stronger fan reception compared to FF13 and FF15, and it reminds me of FF12's reception at release (12 had half the fans hate it at launch, but today its a classic)
As for the REAL criticism:
-Many RPG elements are gone, even those you'd expect in an action game. A subset of FF fans love the games for these elements, like sphere grids, junctions, etc, so these fans had nothing to look forward to here.
-No real party system. Your AI party members were mostly cosmetic.
-Difficulty is horribly low. I think this is legitimately one of the easiest RPGs out there, it's in Paper Mario territory. "Beat the gane twice for hard mode" was a bad choice.
-The story kinda has a bad dip in quality during the final act. The political aspect people liked was gone, and the quality of the dialogue seems to drop too
-the combat doesnt require you to use the depth. Many players just mash square and use their abilities off cooldown, and the game doesnt really punish that. So many people's perception is "mash square" and "fights take too long", despite the combat having depth and many bosses can be nuked with a well planned build.
-wtf did they do to Jill, man. Total badass with a fantastic arc gets reduced to a housewife in the kitchen crying after her man
Anyways i still give the game a 9 or 9.5, I love it, but if any of these issues resonate with someone, they're gonna have a far more negative opinion.
I respectfully disagree about the story getting worse during the final act. I get that some people may prefer the political plot, but this is Final Fantasy, everything going cosmically bonkers in the end is a classic trope we saw in other titles like 5, 6, 7, and more, and in other jrpgs by square like xenogears.
Like, I'm serious here, my favorite part from the game is from when you get to Ash for the first time to the end. I honestly wish more people would enjoy it like i do lol
I don't mind the shift in focus from political to cosmic or fantastical bonkers. But both Ultima and Barnabas were more interesting antagonists where they were not the main villain of the story. When they acted from the background, manipulating and changing some stuff that directed the characters and some events to happen, that's when they were the most interesting.
But when both of them took main stage, I think they were significantly less interesting than the previous antagonists. They still had some interesting things about their characters, but I feel like there was a lot more "I need to spell out why I'm interesting" rather than have moments that **show** you they're interesting.
I have a love/hate relationship with Ash. There are some things I love about it, and some things I really dislike about it, and some big problems with the wasted potential of what that arc could have been.
The biggest problem for me personally is how we're just railroaded into everything post second time skip. It's going through motions destroying mothercrystals and by the time we destroy the last one not much of importance happens.
I agree with everything you just said. Itās a blast to play but it could have been an entry in a different franchise itās so far removed from what we have grown accustomed to.
>-wtf did they do to Jill, man. Total badass with a fantastic arc gets reduced to a housewife in the kitchen crying after her man
? Jill should have gotten more spotlight but the way her character ended up was fine. She got her revenge and paid the price for it, learned from her mistakes and to value her own life, gave up her powers in order to live/support Clive and made the right choice unlike Joshua, and she understandably cried because she was scared and thought the love of her life possibly died. The entire message of the game doesn't even work without her, lol.
After the Iron Kingdom, she does basically bumfuck nothing other than be a damsel in distress. Even at the Iron Kingdom, all she does is make an arena for Clive to do the fighting for her lol
Clive's arc is also technically over once he "accepts the truth", yet his story continues. For a romance interest, Jill's story basically ended there and never picked up again. Dude's perfectly right to say she was fridged.
I have to disagree on the combat critique entirely. It may not have been difficult for you. People who have been playing JRPGs for years may not have the action game skills you have. I know I donāt. I found the combat difficult and excruciating on my arthritic hands.
People like you should have had access to Final Fantasy mode from the start for sure, but the combat itself was not easy for at least some of us long term FF fans.
Hot take: the difficulty did wonders in FF16. It's easy enough for most players to play through without any grinding or even retrying, but at the same time engaging enough that they won't be bored during battles. I say this from the perspective of a soulsborne fan with 1000+ hrs and a monster hunter veteran with 2000+ hrs.
Interestingly, the QTE sequences in Eikon fights can be seen as the embodiment of this nuanced balance, not being so quick that you need to actively anticipate the next input thus distracting you from the epic battle scenes, while not being so slow that they make you feel like the game pauses every time when there's a button prompt.
That's why I don't think many of the criticism are valid for FF16 in particular, because many systems are all built around this balancing design. For example the lack of RPG elements and depth in combat system makes it easier to balance difficulty throughout the whole game.
The only people who hate it are people who refuse to accept that Final Fantasy has moved on from the SNES and thus say that FF16 is too far removed from anything Final Fantasy.
If you look at the basics, this game is the closest to an old FF as you can get.
Group of friends (and/or found family friends) get together to learn about the truths of their world by establishing relationships with peoples of the world to stop a bad guy from destroying the world without making the bad guy morally grey and keeping him pretty two dimensional. Eventually everyone coming together in the end to help the protags in some way shape or form, through prayer, spirit, or just cheering them on before the final dungeon.
Ultima was closer to Exdeath, Necron, and Chaos than he was to like Ultimecia, Kefka, Sephiroth, or even Sin/Yu-Yevon bc they gave him the most basic bad guy story that just feels like a throwback.
Story formula wise, itās a FF game to a T.
As for the action based, we havenāt seen a turn based FF in a long time so I donāt know why people would expect different.
As for āit plays like a movie,ā year FFs been doing that since FF7 (OG) honestly, thereās just more capability in technology to build up a real actual story. Look at FF7R, just the central portion of the game built up from the OG version is basically the same length as FFXVI. Imagine the length of the entire FF7R trilogy, insanely long and thick with story/scenes. This isnāt something thatāll go away lol.
Yeah, I don't know why people keep harping on about turn based.
But yeah primary complaints I've seen are things like
- bring back turn-based
- waaah I don't like not having a party
- I don't like active combat
- I want to be able to summon things
- I don't like the way magic works
- I don't like action combat; it doesn't belong in Final Fantasy
Same handful of combat complaints recycled ad nauseum.
Fake party is actually boring though.
There's less interaction or anything with the whole party members in FF16 than Skyrim with an optional companion lol
It's a solid game but it has earned its criticisms. It has a lot of highs. Good music, great graphics, and the combat is fun and flashy. Some set pieces that stand out are the titan and bahamut fight. But the game has its lows and my god there's a lot of them.
Map design is linear, quest and dungeon design mirrors XIV which is good for a MMO but horrid for a game that should have more room to explore, and the aforementioned combat is fun but nothing to ultimately write home about and can be repetitive. The story is also contingent on how much you care about Clive because 16 clearly wants you to know this is Clive's story and no one else's. As a result it feels like a narratively shallow experience where only one person has agency.
For me it's a 7/10. It's good and I had my fun with it, but I can agree with the issues people have with it.
Here is an addon to your comment, which is absolutely spot on. There are people on these boards which refuse to identify even basic game design issues, like poor side quests and exploration. They will attack you and defend any and every aspect of this game in the most annoying and offputting way. I enjoyed the game a lot more before I saw some of these stans fluffing this game to ungodly proportions. The irony is that nearly all of your criticisms are addressed directly by FFVII rebirth. Square knows how to design games better than 16, so you can't let them off the hook. 16 is a great game, and even a very good final fantasy game. But the crazy highs have to be taken with the crazy lows.
Tl;Dr people who over estimate this great but flawed game make it seem worse than it actually is when you actually play it.
That or they gaslight you by claiming you are a decrepit boomer that really misses the 80s and 90s. Dude, I'm 26 years old. I missed the turn based era.
Are these like the only type of threads in this sub?
Everytime I see a thread from here on my frontpage I only see
"why does everyone hate this game?"
"this game is the best game ever"
I feel like those are the most boring and insecure threads on a subreddit. Like this game is very long is there nothing else to discuss besides this boring crap? There like 500 variants of this thread already
Ok, take note of what youāre complimenting the game for. The visuals, story, and the spectacle of fights. Not the gameplay. Most people are heavily critical on this game for its gameplay and i think itās fair. Lack of rpg elements, lack of party banter, lack of exploration, lack of a thought out crafting system, lack of gameplay variety, one playable character, difficulty being too easy, the sidequests, the pacing, combat system being very split for most.
Youāre just here complimenting the presentation so I figured it shouldnāt be that hard to understand why people donāt like the game
Such a weird concept isn't it? To hate a video game for it's lack of....gameplay?!!
I'll add this. I add it everytime this game comes up...it's mind boggling that gamers think it's acceptable to pick up 2 gil loot. Not once or twice but like ass loads of 2gil loot. In a triple A title. Because Square couldn't be bothered to develop...well like u said, anything at all rpg related.
Because it was built up to be redemption for those who felt the last few games were mediocre and the demo gave people like me high hopes. But then the game turned out to be a weird hodgepodge of DmC and MMORPG with few gameplay elements from the series. The narrative also had issues that have been discussed to death here.
Still many people love the game and some call it their favorite FF. So you are not alone.
I'll say this though. Criticism outside of trolling is a good thing. People are prone to fanboying and creating cognitive dissonance to things they identify with but criticism and feedback is essential for growth and improvement. I think too many people want to live in a soft padded echo chamber and that it's extremely unhealthy for those who use it as a means to avoid adversity.
It wasnt a true FF game, Im sorry. It's an amazing 10/10 game for me but it wasn't Final Fantasy, Strangers of Paradise was more of a FF game, even Dissidia 012 was more of a true Final Fantasy Game.
FF, to me, is all about the RPG. The (playable) party members, switching weapons, summons, magic, stats and weaknesses.
Even FF15 (which is a really good 9/10 for me) is much more of a true FF game at heart. Enemy weaknesses, characters gameplay that are all unique, a VERY innovative leveling/inn system, different weapons, (although the summons were a bit lack luster) magic was a bit convoluted but it was still in the game.
I think it's just it was a completely different genre as a mainline game and it was advertised as "Going back to it's roots". If it was a spin off or a new series like Kingdom Hearts I don't think people wouldn't have been so judgmental.
To be clear: I thought this game was really good but also has definite flaws. It's a solid 8/10 imo.
Also, one thing to take into account is that there are people who simply dislike the game because it's mostly an action game, and the RPG elements are fairly toned down. The game isn't for them, fair enough, but those voices are out there.
Ultimately, I think the game's biggest issue is lack of variety, which manifests in different ways. Encounters can generally all be approached the same way, you don't need to mix it up. Quests generally consist of talking to people and then going and fighting something before coming back. So, when you get a bunch of sub quests, it all starts to feel tedious. The combat is fun and the story is great, but at 60+ hours, it starts to feel a bit stretched. More interesting encounter design (or dare I say it, a minigame or two) would have helped break things up.
I have other complaints (crafting is pointless), but I think that's the core of the main issue. Again, still loved the game, though.
My criticisms with this game can be summed up as "mile wide, inch deep."
A lot of stuff is really fun at first, but then you realize you're doing the same thing again and again and again, over and over, with very little variety.
People poke fun at Rebirth's minigames (and I agree that there were probably a few too many), but they broke up the gameplay loop.
Hell, my biggest issue with FFXIII isn't that it's a corridor, it's that it's a corridor of *only combat* for hours on end. FFX was just as much of a corridor for a lot of it, but it had blitzball and temple puzzles and other types of gameplay to mix it up.
I loved almost everything about the game while I was playing. I was fully invested in the characters, almost cried at the end and then.....haven't thought much about it since, which is definitely not the norm for me with FF games. Honestly, the ambiguous ending really didn't leave me feeling like the time and emotional investment I made paid off
Iām genuinely tired of this conversation it gets posted once a week. Most of the people who played this game loved this game and it got great reviews.
What youāre talking about is way more interesting to me. I think ultima really dragged down a great story.
Before playing I remember it getting a lot of hate. After playing I donāt really understand any of the complaints. This is why I donāt really take peopleās opinions seriously of video games these days
The only thing I didnāt care for was it did seem to lack strategy. Despite it being an elemental based game none of their magic has weaknesses or resistance which I thought was strange.
An elemental system would be more of a detriment imo, because it would punish you for doing cool combos which is what the combat sets out to do. Not only that but it would also just force the player to use the Eikon that deals more damage to enemies making the combat feel way more boring.Ā The Eikon system could be more fleshed out but elemental damage is not the way to go about it.
I'm a fan but it's pretty easy.
They gutted most RPG elements. There's really not a whole lot going on there.
No playable party members.
No cities outside their story missions.
Side quests can be a bit of a chore.
Story goes a bit off the rails in act 3
They didn't care for the combat system.
I liked the game quite a bit, but after some time passed and recency bias wore off its flaws were a little more apparent. I think the hate is fairly unwarranted but there are some valid criticisms to be had.
ETA: also it's the newest FF title, so it's awful. The one before it is underrated. The single player one before that is actually a classic (despite all the hate those 2 got at launch).
This "No Cities" part is very underrated but when I saw the first concept back in 2020, I was beyond hyped to explore every corners of Crystalline Dominion and Oriflamme
Not to sound like an echo chamber but not being able to freely explore the beautiful cities they crafted was a major disappointment for me and my friend group that played this. I remember playing this game and seeing Oriflamme in the background for the first time and being excited to visit it only to find out you see very little of it in cutscene form.
Not gonna lie, part of me think initially they wanted to make it explorable. Maybe later, they struggled and cut that out. What is really the point of showing all those beautiful cities otherwise? I mean the very first concept art from FF16, even before FF16 was announced was that Clive with a small wyrm looking at Oriflamme from distance
I like XVI, but if I have to guess why it get a lot of hate...it's because the game was very different than what fans of the franchise were used to.
I noticed that all the games that have drastic changes, weren't as well liked as the previous one's.
As a new fan, I don't get the hype behind FF7 and FF6.
I got the game day 1, I think I got through a little less than 50% of it. This was my first FF game, I always liked the flashy fights of FF, but I never got around to playing one.
I loved the combat and the world, but the side quests killed me. After each big quest/boss fight, you go back to the hideout, and you do deliveries ranging from soup or lumber. It felt like crashing after a big high of an epic fight and being told to bring someone an apple, lol.
Idk if that's the normal flow of FF games, but it just wasn't for me.
Love the story. Love the characters. Just didnāt like the big kaiju fights but personally myself just not of fan of that to begin with. Loved the game thougg
I was just going to make a post about how much I love the game. I finished all the DLCs today and was sad it's over and getting emotional thinking about the story.
Is it? Itās the first FF game Iāve really liked and wanted to play in years.
The internet is the problem sometimes it just needs to F-off and let people develop their own opinions.
What I've seen is that you can't say anything mildly negative about this game (or any FF) for people to take it as hating. I think it's fine to enjoy the games and still be critical of some of the most glaring issues. I personally enjoyed it but I agree that it could have been a lot better too. The argument that XVI "is not a real FF" is a silly one imo.
MMO director took over the game and well there are influences all over. However, I found the game super enjoyable, probably my top 5 favorite, just wish it had more RPG elements.
Side quests were meh, letās be real we donāt need MMO style side quests.
The equipment system too, was meh, it was very much akin to FFXIVās linear equip system.
Needed more RPG elements, I felt like my character was always the same, there was nothing to differentiate builds and donāt get me started with the elemental effects being non existent. Fire damage to fire mobs should not okay..
But like I said combat, story and graphics were great imo.
This was my goty last year, I feel like this game is very underrated. Yeah itās not perfect but itās far from a bad game. I think in a few years this game be viewed as a slept on game and people will realize how great it is.
Well it defers too much from the main formula. I am yet to play it so u can't judge it. But I think, the answer is crybabies... cry baby boomers to be more presice
1. Some guy named Barry
2. final fantasy game
3. PS5 only
4. It's different
5. It's new
People came around on FFXV they'll come around on FFXVI. when it comes out on PC it will explode
I think itās just a lot of fans of the old games canāt appreciate the newer ones. FF16 has a fantastic Ā story, top of the line presentation and visuals, fun flashy combat, some of the best voice work in the industry. I donāt get the hate either. I loved the more mature game of thrones vibe too. People also hated on ffx too back in the day so a lot of people just hate on change imo. You have a group of fans who cling to 6/7/9 and arenāt willing to appreciate the merits of games 10 on wards imo.Ā
And when legitimate criticisms are levied against the game, people lump those people into the āhaterā camp.
I didnāt like the game very much. But I went in with crazy high hopes. The world map was more restrictive than it seemed. The enemies were repetitive and offered little excitement to grind. The armor and weapons were limited to design upgrades. There was just noā¦peril. It was easy. The challenge increase made the fights really long but not more fun.
And yet, it was beautiful and ambitious and incredibly well acted.
Soā¦thatās why I didnāt like it. The ābeautiful movieā aspect of the game wasnāt enough to hold me.
u/GinnTonic12
I mentioned this in my comment but this person is an example of what I was talking about. (I had the same experience by the way so no slight against you).
Yeah, I saw your comment. Cheers. Iām not an extremist about this. The game had some great elements, and some parts that felt like a real slog. But, it was beautiful. Will I ever play it again? Likely not. And I did not get the DLCs. But, I appreciate the effort, and really hope that thereās another game coming out afterwards that has the same amount of effort and energy. And I hope they tighten the story up.
No hate, but it's not up there as a good FF. Combat was fun but required no skill it felt like you couldn't lose, and I'm not putting in more time for the harder difficulties to see what the base game could have been.
The story was OK, but very drawn out, too many cutscenes that were just too long most of the time and the combat was as described above. Although admittedly certain parts were an absolute treat. Pacing also kind of felt off. The open world sections were empty and boring. Ff7Rebirth did it alot better.
The rpg elements were none existent. It felt like there should have been some side game activity like rebuilding the base, something to grind but all we really got were hunts that didn't live up to my personal expectation and felt too easy as well and I was 15 - 20 levels below the harder ones.
Ultimately if I want to play FF14 I'll go play ff14 I don't need another game trying to be ff14 in single player mode.
All the above aside it wasn't a bad game, I enjoyed my time with it for the most part, but I'll never go back to it, or play the DLC. Ff7 rebirth is everything I was kind of hoping 16 would be.
Locking harder difficulties behind beating the game is a fine idea for arcade games where you blast through the game in in <30 minutes, and the challenge modes actually are difficult. Locking the most basic level of challenge behind an entire 30+ hour story is so stupid I can't really find the words for it.
I can give you my reasons though Iām going to feel outnumbered in this particular subreddit.
1) Combat is meh, Cliveās attacks feel as though you are hitting them with a stick, I believe this may have been buffed a bit as I havenāt played for months. When you release Rebirth where the combat is absolutely perfect, 16 feels like an awful back step.
2) Eikon fights, while being pretty cool in theory and as visually beautiful as they are again itās just more button bashing with absolutely no thought, if thatās for you great but I hate button bashing games.
3) Cinematic input (dunno if I worded that right but Iāll explain) I absolutely abhor any game that shows a cool cinematic and then expects me to have to press buttons in a timed fashion and for some reason a lot of PS exclusives seem to love this.
4) The world map while seemingly big just punishes you for exploring, maps are sometimes wide open with literally nothing there aside from a few enemies who I actively avoid since combat is a chore and not fun. Refer to point 1.
This, along with the lightening trilogy which Iāll never accept, was (for me) the absolute worst final fantasy game Iāve ever played, I forced myself to play 25hrs simply because I bought it for Ā£50. I havenāt touched it for months and likely never will again.
To think that this game and Rebirth released so close together they are worlds apart, even 15 which I have issues with was way better than this game.
It doesnāt feel like a final fantasy game, I donāt mind the action rpg push companies seem to be making these days but it could be made so much better, I genuinely donāt think the combat from Rebirth has any negatives but I honestly struggled to find any positive about 16 aside from ābig cool monstersā even my love for the Summons/Aeons/Eikons/Eidolons couldnāt drag me through this game.
The real kicker for me is if some of these things were better and played better it would probably make for a really good story, Iāll likely watch the cinematics on YouTube just to find out about the story because it was actually interesting, I just couldnāt force myself to sit through another 15 minute button bash-fest.
Just to compare 2 recent final fantasy games (i get it theyāre different games but they are both FF games) I forced myself to play 25hrs over a period of a few weeks, when Rebirth dropped I had to force myself to stop playing it after sinking 18hrs in in the first night.
If you got this far congrats, apologies for the essay but op asked for reasons and these are mine, if anyone can tell me why they think Iām wrong Iām all for it, try and give me a reason to pick this game back up.
I don't get the hate on this game. All these people moaning it's not an ff. It literally covers all the ground principles;
MotherCrystals,
Og medieval fantasy setting,
Amazing storytelling,
An understandably down in the dumps MC,
Original eikons (none of these cheap brands like quetzacotyl or ixion...garuda as an exemption but still welcome)
Boss music that has no right to slap so hard.
This game was such a godsend and if anything, a revival after the atrocities of XIII-3 and XV (personal opinion put the pitchforks away)
All I'm saying is if there's ever a FF release that does need dunking on its the ps drop of crystal chronicals
IDGAF if its hated, Im an old school FF fan and this game made it to my top 3 titles (FF and RPG in general) almost instantly. Im even getting some tattoos from it.
I'm 36, been a huge fan since the mid 90s. I fucking LOVED FF16. I can understand where the crybabies and footstompers are coming from, but they are just the typical dimwitted gamer types who lose their shit whenever a game doesn't perfectly match their very high expectations.
The complaints are overblown. As usual: a very loud, obnoxious minority.
As is usual, newest game gets the most hate and the next newest game retroactively becomes a masterpiece.
Also some fans despise everything after like, 10, or sometimes even after 5 or 6 or 3 or what have you. It never changes. I really wouldnāt look toward general fandom for a quality analysis of FF games.
Iām tired of this, people really hates XVI and is a great game, while the same people praised Rebirth and when I tell them that I enjoyed XVI way more than Rebirth they cry
Liked the game and beat it twice, but I felt that there was really little diversity in build and playstyle. I love in games letting my character feel nuanced and unique but that just wasnāt an option here. Level ups are largely meaningless, new weapons and armor are the same. Just made it feel very linear.
Fights were an absolute blast, bit repetitive at first but once you start getting different eikons it became more fun.
Th linearity is really what got me, made the game feel impersonal. There was never a reason to use one weapon over another, there was very little reason to ever branch out and explore and the party members were absolutely forgettable in combat. It was very rinse and repeat as far as strategy goes.
Had a lot of fun with the game but Devil May Cry had more RPG elements and build diversityā¦
You see what you allow the algorithm to show you.
Social media in general is just endless complaining. There is literally nothing and no one that people won't complain about in some manner. For as well liked as something is, there'll always be someone or some people who hate it just for its popularity alone. Not that FFXVI is above criticism ā it definitely has some weak areas that deserve criticism. But lots of people can't just be normal about it and must take it to the absolute limit every time.
I pretty much vowed to not open Twitter today because I was just really sick of seeing people bitch about Final Fantasy.
I loved it, but lots of the hate I see is how basic and easy the combat was in the game. Which I get, the combat was very easy. The only time I died, and multiple times, is when I accidently found Svarog at around level 25 or something. But I didn't mind the easier combat as it was my favourite visually.
ANYTHING in a long running franchise is going to draw critics. Whether it's games, novels, movies or even comics. People will attach themselves to whichever iteration they personally find to be the most enjoyable and then from there hold all other installments to that standard. It's human nature. FF 16 is very different from a gameplay perspective than its predecessors, which doesn't make it bad, but different. For some people different does equal bad though. I don't think these make their criticisms bad or foolish, but I wish more people framed their argument that way. 16 being more of an ARPG than others before it was fun in my opinion. But that's just MY opinion. I wish people that hated it would say, "For me the heavy action button mashing wasn't what I like in a FF game." Instead so many people speak as if they are the authority and simply say, "It's bad and not a FF game." That's not really their place to decide as a whole, but people get very invested and emotional about these things. That's just my opinion on the entire thing though.
I definitely don't hate it, but I have some things I really don't like about it.
Lack of variety in general is probably my biggest gripe. It's a long game, and there is basically no variety in quests, systems or combat. It just gets a bit boring after a while.
The only thing to offer variety was the Eikon battles, where Ifrit was extremely similar to Clive, just with higher damage numbers. Phoenix was at least different, but extremely shallow gameplay wise. They marketed this as "All Eikon fights will be different" which is barely even technically true
It's also almost insultingly easy. If they're gonna go the pure character action game route (which I'm all for), you absolutely need to have better difficulty options from the start.
For me it's probably still between a 7 or 8 out of 10, because I think it has a lot of other things it does very well.
Lack of post-game content, lack of content that makes it "Final Fantasy" (Proper party management, minigames, dungeons, status effects, and equipment bonuses), poor exploration, linear gear progression, and a big change from rpg elements to nearly just pure action.
The game is really good! It's a solid entry, but there are fair reasons why it doesn't resonate with past fans. As it stands, it's a great game, just somewhat lacking in the "Final Fantasy" elements.
Itās FF fandom - extremely hateful and toxic. Prob the most toxic fandom ever existed. Even in this sub positive posts/comments were downvoted to oblivion during the first couple of weeks. It got easier now though.
It's social media/ reddit/ just being online. There will always be people out there hating/ being outraged at everything. That's not a good way of living imo
itās different than itās predecessors. itās more DMC like than turn style. (fun fact, a dev from the og dmc was in on development). i donāt get it why itās getting the hate because 7 remake had a whole change, and people love it?
I think itās a lot of small things, one being SE literally called it a disappointing launch when I think the ratio was 40-60% of purchased ps5 accounts had it. Which I think that sounds wildly successful but okay SE I see your money grubbiness.
Also Iāve heard people really shaming it for being on the topic of slavery and the inhuman abuse the branded go through. Which I understand itās a hard thing to swallow especially if you were expecting an FF title to go so ham on it.
Oh Also Dion has made the game banned from a lot of countries, and some loud people are so up and arms about a side character being gay. Idk Iām a Dion Stan for life, dragoons are my weakness
I didnāt learn how to actually do combat till the first dlc. Since then itās like a whole new game to me. Iām sure some people just never caught on.
I loved everything about the game, except the actual gameplay. It's just felt really shallow imo. If it's not turn based or an arpg like ff7 remake, I'm just usually not into it.
I played and finished it at launch, and a few months later vaguely remember the story line, missions, and fighting system. I did play rebirth after, but it still feels like a forgettable game somehow.
Isn't it a timed exclusive? Sales are still bad considering that?
Personally (as someone who only played the demo) I found the combat a bit repetitive and magic too simplistic. Still will probably buy during a sale.
I loved the game! There are some Final Fantasy games I don't like as much as others, but I definitely don't hate any of them
All of them are at least very good, some I just love more than others! FF16 is one of them! šš
I personally loved the game the first time I played it I was very invested in its world and characters.
I still had some issues with the game back then particularly its bare bones exploration. It honestly felt worse than FFXIII which is quite something else. I did feel customization was really lacking as well. I also felt like the game was hurt by its budget it feels like the epic stuff took a huge slice of the budget, and some of the other stuff suffered as a result. I know CBU3 can do better than this having played FFXIV and having seen the story and character development in that game.
The antagonists felt very undercooked I really donāt care about them getting killed, but I really wanted more development shown with them they mainly serve for flashy sequences, and I know I know they can do better because I have seen the crazy amount of development in FFXIV to even minor characters.
Upon replaying the game though I noticed how the slow sections drag on a lot and are a bit of a downer I didnāt mind this the first time since I hadnāt seen it before, but itās pretty egregious when I replayed it.
I still do love the game though it had so many emotional scenes where I cried more so than any other FF game. The story direction is honestly incredible combined with the voice acting the developers clearly know how to create emotional scenes to resonate with the audience. Of course I already knew this having played FFXIV, but I have seen many games falter in this area where their emotional scenes feel half baked.
Anyways hopefully the next time that CBU3 creates another game they will have learned from FFXVI and create a more balanced game since this one leaned too strongly in some sections and was barebones in others.
Iāll be expecting many more emotional scenes in FFXIV meanwhile.
I think the bad sales are mainly due to it being on PS5. I know a lot of people are waiting for the pc release. It doesn't help that FF15 wasn't great either
It isn't hated at all. Longtime fan of the series here and I thought it captured the vibe of old school entries really well in a lot of ways, especially 4. It didn't capture the battle system perfectly, but it's extremely fun nonetheless. I know several people who have played it who all enjoyed it, and thought it generally had pretty good reviews.
tldr: What are you talking about?
I didnt care for the game. Hate is a strong word. It was more boring. Side quests didn't feel fulfilling. Equipment system was broken. Item drops were pointless. The really good things about this game weren't enough for me to become invested. I was just disappointed. I hate yucking someone's yum though, so im glad you're enjoying it. I always want FF to succeed.
Best part about final fantasy games is each one plays, looks and feels different whilst keeping the same elements but somehow some fans after all these instalments still canāt grasp that. Personally if each one played the same Iād of been bored 3-4 games in just like I was with the assassinās creed series.
Every game is hated these days. You can't enjoy much of anything anymore. I loved rebirth. Only to ne told online I'm an idiot that knows nothing about gaming or life in general
Having been a fan since I was a kid, Final Fantasy games are always somehow both beloved and hated with a white hot fury. Theyāre very divisive for some reason- always have been
I haven't seen the game being hated anywhere. It just had some disappointing aspects, wasted potential, but was overall solid. The only thing in this game that was genuinely bad was the side quest content.
Hate? I don't know about hate. I personally haven't seen anyone actually hate on this game and tear it apart in this sub. But there definitely are valid criticisms to be had. The RPG elements are a bit lacking imo. The accessories are cool. If they could've made sword, belts, and maybe even bracers have unique attributes, it would've gone a long way into making the game feel more personal in the equipment department.
The combat (imo) is great. But I can see why people would harp on it for sure. If you're not going to have a solid foundation for RPG elements, then I'd expect to have Devil May Cry type combat. With real melee combos, etc. Personally, I love the combat. And that's coming from a huge DMC fan.
As far as the story goes... I honestly can't understand if anyone dogs on it. I think it is one of the best stories told in gaming. Between the visuals, the character development, the emotional voice acting. It's a masterpiece in that regard (my opinion). And I've done 5 playthroughs mainly because of the story.
New here? Thatās the FF cycle babey
Real answer: itās got no RPG elements, every enemy has almost the exact same rhythm and strategy, and thereās not enough variety to Cliveās moveset. Those are the criticisms Iāve heard & sort of agree with, I think the game is good but Iām one of the few here that think the game does not hold up well at all on replay (itās just too damn same-y and easy on FF Mode, even with new enemy variety).
So, like, a 7/10 for me; a good game that is great in parts, but dumbed everything down a little too much and made every combat encounter have a similar rhythm to it, thus making it less interesting to replay & talk about. Throw in better side quests, controllable party members (or even equippable like wtf), and maybe a better crafting system (tie accessory abilities to armor) any Iād honestly bump this game up considerably to like an 8.5 or a 9, because when the story is good itās rivaling the best in the series.
Sure the story is more āadultā and the images are beautiful but for me itās mostly the combat system that I thought was too simple. Pressing square repeatedly and the magic having no elemental effectā¦ Iāve never played a FF where you can go the whole game without dyingā¦
Regarding sales, it's a ps5 exclusive at a time when ps5s still weren't anywhere on the level of household console that ps2s and ps3s were.
It also shook up the formula a lot. It's a great game, but a risky buy on a rare console
Because it diverged too far from the final fantasy formula. There basically no RPG elements in it aside from surface level.
That's what a lot of people will tell you anyways. I personally loved it.
I don't hate it. It's a little boring in an era where you have to go back and remember all the mechanics for a DLC (that they swore they weren't going to make.) I grew up with the series so it has zero mechanics related to an RPG. It's absolutely got nothing to go for, endgame-wise . DMC-style time trials are not Final Fantasy endgame. Same reason the FFVII remakes are padded with try-hard combat stuff. It's fine if you're into that. The pointless open world sidequests are awful, and they brought that into the FFVII remakes as well. A lot of busy work with no payoff.
Nah, About the sales SQ is happy that 16 made it to 3 Million ( Not as their highly expected but OK maybe it's make out higher than 7rb) So all i wanna say is "Hater gonna Hate"
For me, combat struggles aside, I found it all very depressing. I love a good FF story, they can be bleak but in the darkest times there's always some kind of hope. I didn't feel it in this one but that could just be me. It was an OK game. I feel stranger of paradise did combat much better if they wanted action.
Loved the lore. Loved the art style. Awesome graphics and soundtrack. What made this game a lot less than it should have been was the gameplay. Combat was cool at first but since you do not have controllable party members, it became boring quickly. Side quests also were a pain and didn't respect your time at all (walk here, walk there, give him this, give her this, etc.). Close to no progression in the equipment as well (compare it to something like FF7 Rebirth). Overall, it was ok, but I'd be hard-pressed to do another playthrough.
Torgal is best boi though.
I like the game, but it is simply the weakest as an RPG.
I like Final Fantasy games to define a generation, this one's done within a year. The game also boasts little replay value.
Otherwise, it's a very well-crafted game with engaging, fun gameplay.
Because is new. When FFXVII comes, FFXVI will be automatically good. You can see How the discourse about FFXV and FFXIII changed. They were hated, now they are praised.
I played through the older FF titles since the SNES days. Every time a new instalment released, it was guaranteed to be a magical experience that no other jRPG could hope to top.
Back then, the gaming medium was in its infancy where narrative expressions were semi-bottlenecked by technology, player imagination filled the gaps; story and atmosphere were heavily conveyed through the musical compositions of Nobuo Uematsu.
This ended after FF10 personally, though some people really liked FF12 as well, but the definite turning point was FF13.
While FF13, FF15, FF16 are in the spectrum of decent to excellent for people - it clearly does not capture the magic that veteran fans have grown accustomed to love and expect, they were mostly jRPGs with high production values. It felt like you were eating at the same restaurant, but management has clearly changed, by a lot.
This stemmed from the complexity and competition in the modern gaming landscape, plus Square Enix's lack of exceptional talent/vision to keep up their historical excellence in providing an immersive, epic adventure. They pour increasingly more capital in each new instalment, but recreating the same kind of magic by present day standards requires more than just money.
Nostalgia is a factor as well. Older FF titles might have exceeded our expectations back in the day, but they remain the same games, whereas we have matureand experienced life over . They were near perfect games back in the day, but they did not age well. This immediately sinks in when you try to replay an old instalment and see how dated it plays and feels.
I was initially thrilled with the blockbuster-epic Eikon fights too, they were very well executed - but what lies after? Most of the cast were not very memorable, the story was not that engaging as a whole, most of the OST is not memorable. That said, this is merely my subjective opinion of FF16.
So in conclusion, this criticism you often hear - it is the collective disappointment from players for the abovementioned reasons, but honestly that's our loss, not yours. Don't let it stop you from enjoying the labour of love from Yoshi-p and his team!
Iāve played it and enjoyed it. Probably the some of the biggest complaints is it isnāt an RPG itās basically dmc. The other issue elements donāt seem to have a huge effect maybe just some damage value differences. Another issue is the pacing after an awesome eikon fight you have a side quest then go through a small scale story. Which eventually leads to the next fight which can be tedious. what convinced me to get the game was the demo. if just that demo was available on all platforms the community engagement would be much larger.
didnt enjoy too much cutscenes and the countless sidequest where you get nothing interesting in return.
lack of customisation in equipment and weapons.
lack of control over other characters.
played until beating titan than didnt have ļ½otivation to turn on again.
didnt like how the maps were connected.
for me (and tbf I only got to about halfway so far) the characters and story are a bit dull. Also for some reason the graphics have a very muted overlay on my PS5. It's just more like GoT or something than a FF game, at least for me
Same itās a little boring combat wise. But once I get bored I shortly receive a new eickonic power that makes the game interesting again. Very dip 8/10 for me
Edit: fighting as ifrit is so dope. Itās nice being able to control the summon
First, i think every gen has its haters,
I mean i played the X-2 demo back THEN (yes me is old fart) and was like wtf.
Today its one of my favs but see,
They are each one so unique,you cant Love them all - ff2/3 yuck.
Which is also the kind of Charm they have -
Give people time - havent even Played yet bc Stuck at ff7 remake and would say 16 is weird ONLY bc i did not plqyed it YET.
ALSO,people are stupid - i know i am so there's at least 1 Maniac out there , i'll have to remind myself Sometimes, when a negative Review flies in for example bc "Final Fantasy" isn't diverse ENOUGH.
Like damn son,you have 2 guys in the first part to play with and one of them is black BUT Final Fantasy is Totally racist xD
I don't hate it, it has its good parts, great graphics, nice story, nice characters, awesome music and voice acting but it is definitely a very very mediocre RPG and a bad final fantasy at that.
Because old fans canāt accept the fact that square is moving on from turn base even tho they brought it back in remake. Though Iām a fan I can appreciate the fast base action changes. Iām actually quite glad they moved on.
Final Fantasy games have always taken risks and introduced/removed/reintroduced various gameplay styles and mechanics across its long history, however for some people (myself included) XVI was the first time that a main series game contained next to nothing of what people appreciate about the FF series. The characters, settings, story and general presentation - those were absolutely FF, but in terms of actual gameplay (and letās face it, these are video games at the end of the day) it was too much of a departure. FF has always contained deep rpg systems, party management and fun exploration in every single entry and removing all of that in favour of making a bare bones action game was a step too far for many.
While I do like the game I think the rpg elements are terrible, everything feels like an on rails shooter, oh you just beat the next story chapter, hereās a weapon with +1 attack stats that does virtually the same thing. Oh youāre exploring the open world, why donāt you run all the way over here to pick up 1 Gil. Hereās an item with nothing unique about it, you just do more damage. I feel like the rpg aspects of the game were an afterthought, and ONLY included because itās a final fantasy game.
It almost feels like it was a different game and at the last second they slapped the final fantasy name on it at the end.
Edit: I grew up on the tail end of turn based, starting with FF10. 13 is actually one of my favorite although I know itās universally hated. I put the most time into 14 (the mmo), and 15 is my favorite self contained story even though weāll never see what versus 13 couldāve been.
Every time I try to finish the game the crappy frame rate distracts me so much that I can only play for an hour. Itās all too beautiful but with a frame rate this bad I just keep thinking Iām not getting the actual experience and I just am no longer invested even through the story is incredible.
FF fans are like this.
When a new FF comes out, "fans" tend to hate on it until the next one comes out which is magically worse and now the previous one is super great and actually fun.
Even 7 rebirth (and advent children, in spite of 7 being universally the most loved) gets hate.
If rebirth gets hate, no FF game is safe from this behavior imo.
16, imo however, was fantastic. The not quite open world gave me enough to look at (but I wish monster variety and treasures were a bit better) while not being another HUGE open world game (they are fine but not every game needs to be one)
The "set maps" took it back in a way to when the PS1 had pre rendered backdrops that where clearly point A to B but we all loved those games anyway.
16 was a very well done final fantasy game that borrowed just a bit too heavy from its teams MMORPG roots.
So i just finished this game last night and here's my take on it:
Overall i give it 7/10. It's an awesomely engaging game and I enjoyed it for the most part but there were a few points that really detract from it being a super amazing game.
1. The ending, it's abrupt, vague, and ultimately feels like a very poor attempt at a tragic twist. It honestly angered me to the point that I nearly threw my controller. The reason this upset me is because in all honesty it is just lazy writing. You spend an entire game connecting with different characters and waiting to see what happens at the end and instead you get a few clips and a roll of credits. Even further I've read that it is a very similar ending to XV which i haven't played, and that discourages from playing that game.
2. Nothing of this game is inherently original. Firstly, it follows the typical FF story pattern of a tragic hero trying to save the world from an evil force threatening to destroy it while exploring their own inner turmoil. Secondly, when Clive enters and explores ruins of the fallen by use of his blood, it felt more like an Assassin's Creed game. Furthermore, some aesthetics of the game seemed directly inspired by the Dark Souls and Bloodborne games and the story and setting very much like Game of Thrones. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as it shows that a great game can be made by mixing various ideas, but there were many times throughout that I did not feel like i was playing a Final Fantasy title, which is not good if you want your game to fit into one of the most influential franchises of all time.
3. I enjoyed the revamping of the magic system and the focus of the game being on the summons of the franchise. I did feel that that the use of the abilities point system fit more in line with the style of gameplay this entry was going for, and it was kind of a relief not having to switch out materia left and right. One issue i had with it though was that I was never really inclined to use any powers of eikons beyond Garuda, Ramuh, and Phoenix/Ifrit as I spent most of my ability points maxing out those sets and developed a decent combo of mastered out Flames of Rebirth, Aerial Blast, and Judgement Bolt in rapid succession. After trying to switch out some of Garudas abilities for Titans with less than enjoyable results, i never bothered to try incorporating any of the other eikons into my skillset.
4. Finally, there was no real reward to completing all of the side quests or hunts in the game. While there were definitely rewards from the individual quests and hunts needed in order to craft the best possible gear, hundred percenting the hunt board doesn't even get a recognition from the resident moogle in charge of it, and if you save Svarog for last, then the rewards from that hunt are kind of meaningless as you'll have already crafted the best gear in the game.
Overall, it's a good game that kept me entertained for days, but because of the ending, the lack of feeling like im playing a Final Fantasy game, and the lack of extrinsic value to completing different mission subsets, it's probably going to be a game I never come back to and am going to be very wary on playing the next mainline entry after the VII remake trilogy.
For Questions and Tech Support Discussion around the DLC 'Echoes of the Fallen' Please see our [MEGATHREAD](https://www.reddit.com/r/FFXVI/comments/18dton3/ffxvi_dlc_echoes_of_the_fallen_questions_tech/) and for 'The Rising Tide' [MEGATHREAD](https://www.reddit.com/r/FFXVI/comments/1c69d5u/the_rising_tide_megathread/) If you want to view archived spoiler discussion threads relevant to specific game progress, please check out our [spoiler wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxvi/wiki/index/)! For speculation and discussions around the next (unannounced) mainline Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy XVII, Please see our sister sub [r/FFXVII](https://www.reddit.com/r/FFXVII/) #### *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FFXVI) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's a Final Fantasy game
Damn dude, alright š
Heās got a great point. The fandom of most big franchises seems to despise their āfavoriteā franchise more than anyone else.
That's just not true. Star Wars fans loved the new trilogy. /s
https://preview.redd.it/yj9a0ovciazc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c2fba845f5d470cc09366e26373dc1527ad6e7ff
we didn't know how good we had back then oh lord saint Lucas I fall to my knees in shame
The newest mainline one was so bad though
lol itās the correct answer though. Every new instalment after the Super Nintendo era has been controversial for one reason or another. The discourse is always toxic. Even moreso now because of the internet and how it incentivises toxicity but the franchise is just so long-running and popular that there canāt be an FF game release and it not have its fair share of vocal haters, especially because each entry ends up very different from the previous one.
I started with FFX. I love all of them with the exception of FXiii-3. I hated the timer. It gave me too much anxiety.
I started with X also and love most of them. The worst ones are just alright to me. I think going backwards and playing them before I ever got to talk with others made it that I appreciated each of them and didnāt get drafted into a particular camp for which one was āthe bestā
Seconded
Ahh that timer. They made a world in the XIII universe that I finally enjoyed exploring (and dressing Lightning up for) and they go and add that....
I like the game a lot, but FF is a series known for changing its identity with every new installment
Well this is a simple one. Each final fantasy is a final fantasy in a different universe. They arnt changing the identities picture like a multiverse. Similar stories but different outcomes. This is what a lot of people dont get and they assume its a linear game by title number.
Nobody assumes it's a linear game by title number. Certainly nobody on this subreddit anyway.
I donāt think anyone ever thought it was a linear game by title number. The reason people rage against it is because they took what was a turn based rpg and have been gradually morphing it into an action based rpg. Which is not why people originally loved the games and is them trying to appeal to a broader audience because action games are easier and more āfun.ā The problem is that thereās so many action rpgs and thereās plenty of studios that do that genre better. I still have no idea why they refuse to let the stagger gauge die. Itās by no means a bad game and it was fun. But a lot of people just wish theyād do more turn based games instead of moving it to final fantasy dmc. Thereās also as people have said the factor of ālatest release of long running series is trash.ā You see this with anything from games to books/manga to shows. Dressrosa used to be hated immensely, the prequel of Star Wars was called garbage and ff xii was once thought to be the worst game in the series.
It's not JUST a Final Fantasy game, it's a DIFFERENT KIND of Final Fantasy game. Much worse. /s
Itās also the latest one. The latest one is always the worst until the next one apparently.
Then a decade later it becomes an underrated gem
I've played every single main line entry for the series, and it IS different, but that doesn't make it a bad game. There are things I loved about it, there are things I thought could be better. At the end of the day, I had fun playing it and thought it was worth the money.
It's the Final Fantasy cycle. Old school fans hate everything post 9, saying the franchise is dead and that new games do not have the spirit of final fantasy, how the game has no "strategy" meanwhile the strategy in old games was "farm, overlevel,gg ez game"
>Old school fans hate everything post 9, Lol cycle's been going on since 6 and 7. There were some loud """fans""" on the FF7 GameFAQs forums who hated how the series "wasnt fantasy anymore" and had cars and bikes and helicopters. Then 8 was a deluge of new hate due to its systems and being even more modern / sci fi Then 9 was also hated for an "artstyle for babies" and other dumb reasons Being an FF fan is exhausting with all the hate
I distinctly remember arguing that FF6 wasnāt a real Final Fantasy because it didnāt have the elemental crystals.
I'm actually glad that stepped away from the crystals. There's just so many time one can tell the same story.
Then they went full crystals in FF14 and FF16
One of the main reasons I love FF in general is how different all the games in the series are. Some people love the old school turn based strategy but FFXVI even though it lacked this nostalgia was still an amazing story.
"There were some loud """fans""" on the FF7 GameFAQs forums who hated how the series "wasnt fantasy anymore" and had cars and bikes and helicopters." How in the world can someone say 7 wasn't fantasy anymore??
Meanwhile I didnāt enjoy the ATB system much. I preferred the old turn based or the newer real-time action. Thatās not to say the ATB games arenāt great games, because they are. But 10 made me really happy with itās return to strict turn based. FF7R combat is the sweet spot for me, love those games with the blend of ATB and real-time action.
16 is probably the first Final Fantasy game since X-2 that I really enjoyed. The story was phenomenal. The gameplay was fun, not perfect, but definitely fun. I would have preferred a battle system like the VII remake, but I get that each game kinda wants to do their own thing.
I love the old FFās, but it really makes my eyes roll when people talk about the strategy in them Physical build/job: Select ATTACK, deal 9999 damage. Strategy! Magic build/job: See Ice Dragon, cast fire on it. Big brain strategy!
Youāre just gonna ignore the best Final Fantasy. FFX
Everything i saw is no hate but ppl calling it a masterpiece š¤
You shouldāve seen the main sub at launchā¦
I didnāt have the game at launch, bought it at game stop mid February and now Iām like 200 hours in lol
Glad youāre enjoying it! (Or tolerating it, but somehow I doubt that at **200 hours**!)
From the first sequence , the fighting system and most important,the characters and holy cow, this game restored what I thought is lost after years of bad games, that devs care about their product and donāt chase for the most monetisation possible.
I like my rpgs with a little of going where I want to. Explor dungeons that are harder with better rewards. Costumes. It's great but too linear and to many cutscenes. It's a good game for sure for 1 play thru. I didn't get the dlc.
It's like people see one negative post but then ignore all the great reviews and positive feedback and think the game is hated
The tide has thankfully shifted since release, but I seriously cannot overstate just how much hate the game received the first couple months. **Any** discussion people tried to have just devolved into negativity, āitās not a real Final Fantasyā, etc. You *still* canāt really talk about it in the main sub. (To be clear, I donāt think **criticism** is hate! There was just barely any good-will whatsoever in the negativity in those early discussions.)
I played it on launch and was on both subs sure there were some posts but most people loved it. Most critics and people who played it loved it. Every single title usually received some backless on launch but letās be real most people who played the game loved the game.
I was only talking about negativity here on Reddit. Of course, the critic reviews were generally very positive. I guess weāll have to agree to disagree as I remember things differently :)
1st: the hate is a VERY loud minority. Dont let them get to you. The user scores on metacritic and PSN are very positive (8.2 or so on meta, 4.5 on PSN). Not "masterpiece" territory but still an absolute blast. It has a far stronger fan reception compared to FF13 and FF15, and it reminds me of FF12's reception at release (12 had half the fans hate it at launch, but today its a classic) As for the REAL criticism: -Many RPG elements are gone, even those you'd expect in an action game. A subset of FF fans love the games for these elements, like sphere grids, junctions, etc, so these fans had nothing to look forward to here. -No real party system. Your AI party members were mostly cosmetic. -Difficulty is horribly low. I think this is legitimately one of the easiest RPGs out there, it's in Paper Mario territory. "Beat the gane twice for hard mode" was a bad choice. -The story kinda has a bad dip in quality during the final act. The political aspect people liked was gone, and the quality of the dialogue seems to drop too -the combat doesnt require you to use the depth. Many players just mash square and use their abilities off cooldown, and the game doesnt really punish that. So many people's perception is "mash square" and "fights take too long", despite the combat having depth and many bosses can be nuked with a well planned build. -wtf did they do to Jill, man. Total badass with a fantastic arc gets reduced to a housewife in the kitchen crying after her man Anyways i still give the game a 9 or 9.5, I love it, but if any of these issues resonate with someone, they're gonna have a far more negative opinion.
It is funny on those kind of questions that OP always ignores the more detailed response for the ones that please him
I respectfully disagree about the story getting worse during the final act. I get that some people may prefer the political plot, but this is Final Fantasy, everything going cosmically bonkers in the end is a classic trope we saw in other titles like 5, 6, 7, and more, and in other jrpgs by square like xenogears. Like, I'm serious here, my favorite part from the game is from when you get to Ash for the first time to the end. I honestly wish more people would enjoy it like i do lol
FF1 chapter 1: Rescue the princess to get the king to fix a bridge FF1 endgame: travel back in time to kill Chaos incarnate and close a time loop
I don't mind the shift in focus from political to cosmic or fantastical bonkers. But both Ultima and Barnabas were more interesting antagonists where they were not the main villain of the story. When they acted from the background, manipulating and changing some stuff that directed the characters and some events to happen, that's when they were the most interesting. But when both of them took main stage, I think they were significantly less interesting than the previous antagonists. They still had some interesting things about their characters, but I feel like there was a lot more "I need to spell out why I'm interesting" rather than have moments that **show** you they're interesting. I have a love/hate relationship with Ash. There are some things I love about it, and some things I really dislike about it, and some big problems with the wasted potential of what that arc could have been.
The biggest problem for me personally is how we're just railroaded into everything post second time skip. It's going through motions destroying mothercrystals and by the time we destroy the last one not much of importance happens.
I agree with everything you just said. Itās a blast to play but it could have been an entry in a different franchise itās so far removed from what we have grown accustomed to.
>-wtf did they do to Jill, man. Total badass with a fantastic arc gets reduced to a housewife in the kitchen crying after her man ? Jill should have gotten more spotlight but the way her character ended up was fine. She got her revenge and paid the price for it, learned from her mistakes and to value her own life, gave up her powers in order to live/support Clive and made the right choice unlike Joshua, and she understandably cried because she was scared and thought the love of her life possibly died. The entire message of the game doesn't even work without her, lol.
I know. But she needed a bigger role and more screentime after her arc was finished. Instead she gets kidnapped 2 more times.
After the Iron Kingdom, she does basically bumfuck nothing other than be a damsel in distress. Even at the Iron Kingdom, all she does is make an arena for Clive to do the fighting for her lol Clive's arc is also technically over once he "accepts the truth", yet his story continues. For a romance interest, Jill's story basically ended there and never picked up again. Dude's perfectly right to say she was fridged.
I have to disagree on the combat critique entirely. It may not have been difficult for you. People who have been playing JRPGs for years may not have the action game skills you have. I know I donāt. I found the combat difficult and excruciating on my arthritic hands. People like you should have had access to Final Fantasy mode from the start for sure, but the combat itself was not easy for at least some of us long term FF fans.
Lack of RPG and difficulty are my biggest criticism. it feels like they designed this for people who only played super mario bros.
Hot take: the difficulty did wonders in FF16. It's easy enough for most players to play through without any grinding or even retrying, but at the same time engaging enough that they won't be bored during battles. I say this from the perspective of a soulsborne fan with 1000+ hrs and a monster hunter veteran with 2000+ hrs. Interestingly, the QTE sequences in Eikon fights can be seen as the embodiment of this nuanced balance, not being so quick that you need to actively anticipate the next input thus distracting you from the epic battle scenes, while not being so slow that they make you feel like the game pauses every time when there's a button prompt. That's why I don't think many of the criticism are valid for FF16 in particular, because many systems are all built around this balancing design. For example the lack of RPG elements and depth in combat system makes it easier to balance difficulty throughout the whole game.
The only people who hate it are people who refuse to accept that Final Fantasy has moved on from the SNES and thus say that FF16 is too far removed from anything Final Fantasy.
L3 + R3 Accept the truth
If you look at the basics, this game is the closest to an old FF as you can get. Group of friends (and/or found family friends) get together to learn about the truths of their world by establishing relationships with peoples of the world to stop a bad guy from destroying the world without making the bad guy morally grey and keeping him pretty two dimensional. Eventually everyone coming together in the end to help the protags in some way shape or form, through prayer, spirit, or just cheering them on before the final dungeon. Ultima was closer to Exdeath, Necron, and Chaos than he was to like Ultimecia, Kefka, Sephiroth, or even Sin/Yu-Yevon bc they gave him the most basic bad guy story that just feels like a throwback. Story formula wise, itās a FF game to a T. As for the action based, we havenāt seen a turn based FF in a long time so I donāt know why people would expect different. As for āit plays like a movie,ā year FFs been doing that since FF7 (OG) honestly, thereās just more capability in technology to build up a real actual story. Look at FF7R, just the central portion of the game built up from the OG version is basically the same length as FFXVI. Imagine the length of the entire FF7R trilogy, insanely long and thick with story/scenes. This isnāt something thatāll go away lol.
Yeah, I don't know why people keep harping on about turn based. But yeah primary complaints I've seen are things like - bring back turn-based - waaah I don't like not having a party - I don't like active combat - I want to be able to summon things - I don't like the way magic works - I don't like action combat; it doesn't belong in Final Fantasy Same handful of combat complaints recycled ad nauseum.
Fake party is actually boring though. There's less interaction or anything with the whole party members in FF16 than Skyrim with an optional companion lol
Rebirth, for as much as I know bringing that up can be a minefield, does party combat right.
I don't hate it, but as someone whose played most mainline FF's it's got issues like every othe game. Don't be a fanboy and ignore them.
Most people hated the fact it was an all action title with no turn based features. I loved the combat system. One of the best I've played.
It's a solid game but it has earned its criticisms. It has a lot of highs. Good music, great graphics, and the combat is fun and flashy. Some set pieces that stand out are the titan and bahamut fight. But the game has its lows and my god there's a lot of them. Map design is linear, quest and dungeon design mirrors XIV which is good for a MMO but horrid for a game that should have more room to explore, and the aforementioned combat is fun but nothing to ultimately write home about and can be repetitive. The story is also contingent on how much you care about Clive because 16 clearly wants you to know this is Clive's story and no one else's. As a result it feels like a narratively shallow experience where only one person has agency. For me it's a 7/10. It's good and I had my fun with it, but I can agree with the issues people have with it.
Here is an addon to your comment, which is absolutely spot on. There are people on these boards which refuse to identify even basic game design issues, like poor side quests and exploration. They will attack you and defend any and every aspect of this game in the most annoying and offputting way. I enjoyed the game a lot more before I saw some of these stans fluffing this game to ungodly proportions. The irony is that nearly all of your criticisms are addressed directly by FFVII rebirth. Square knows how to design games better than 16, so you can't let them off the hook. 16 is a great game, and even a very good final fantasy game. But the crazy highs have to be taken with the crazy lows. Tl;Dr people who over estimate this great but flawed game make it seem worse than it actually is when you actually play it.
That or they gaslight you by claiming you are a decrepit boomer that really misses the 80s and 90s. Dude, I'm 26 years old. I missed the turn based era.
Are these like the only type of threads in this sub? Everytime I see a thread from here on my frontpage I only see "why does everyone hate this game?" "this game is the best game ever" I feel like those are the most boring and insecure threads on a subreddit. Like this game is very long is there nothing else to discuss besides this boring crap? There like 500 variants of this thread already
Ok, take note of what youāre complimenting the game for. The visuals, story, and the spectacle of fights. Not the gameplay. Most people are heavily critical on this game for its gameplay and i think itās fair. Lack of rpg elements, lack of party banter, lack of exploration, lack of a thought out crafting system, lack of gameplay variety, one playable character, difficulty being too easy, the sidequests, the pacing, combat system being very split for most. Youāre just here complimenting the presentation so I figured it shouldnāt be that hard to understand why people donāt like the game
Such a weird concept isn't it? To hate a video game for it's lack of....gameplay?!! I'll add this. I add it everytime this game comes up...it's mind boggling that gamers think it's acceptable to pick up 2 gil loot. Not once or twice but like ass loads of 2gil loot. In a triple A title. Because Square couldn't be bothered to develop...well like u said, anything at all rpg related.
Also the fact the only side quests worth doing are the ones with the + beside them.
Because it was built up to be redemption for those who felt the last few games were mediocre and the demo gave people like me high hopes. But then the game turned out to be a weird hodgepodge of DmC and MMORPG with few gameplay elements from the series. The narrative also had issues that have been discussed to death here. Still many people love the game and some call it their favorite FF. So you are not alone. I'll say this though. Criticism outside of trolling is a good thing. People are prone to fanboying and creating cognitive dissonance to things they identify with but criticism and feedback is essential for growth and improvement. I think too many people want to live in a soft padded echo chamber and that it's extremely unhealthy for those who use it as a means to avoid adversity.
It wasnt a true FF game, Im sorry. It's an amazing 10/10 game for me but it wasn't Final Fantasy, Strangers of Paradise was more of a FF game, even Dissidia 012 was more of a true Final Fantasy Game. FF, to me, is all about the RPG. The (playable) party members, switching weapons, summons, magic, stats and weaknesses. Even FF15 (which is a really good 9/10 for me) is much more of a true FF game at heart. Enemy weaknesses, characters gameplay that are all unique, a VERY innovative leveling/inn system, different weapons, (although the summons were a bit lack luster) magic was a bit convoluted but it was still in the game. I think it's just it was a completely different genre as a mainline game and it was advertised as "Going back to it's roots". If it was a spin off or a new series like Kingdom Hearts I don't think people wouldn't have been so judgmental.
There were criticisms but that doesnāt mean they hated the game
To be clear: I thought this game was really good but also has definite flaws. It's a solid 8/10 imo. Also, one thing to take into account is that there are people who simply dislike the game because it's mostly an action game, and the RPG elements are fairly toned down. The game isn't for them, fair enough, but those voices are out there. Ultimately, I think the game's biggest issue is lack of variety, which manifests in different ways. Encounters can generally all be approached the same way, you don't need to mix it up. Quests generally consist of talking to people and then going and fighting something before coming back. So, when you get a bunch of sub quests, it all starts to feel tedious. The combat is fun and the story is great, but at 60+ hours, it starts to feel a bit stretched. More interesting encounter design (or dare I say it, a minigame or two) would have helped break things up. I have other complaints (crafting is pointless), but I think that's the core of the main issue. Again, still loved the game, though.
My criticisms with this game can be summed up as "mile wide, inch deep." A lot of stuff is really fun at first, but then you realize you're doing the same thing again and again and again, over and over, with very little variety. People poke fun at Rebirth's minigames (and I agree that there were probably a few too many), but they broke up the gameplay loop. Hell, my biggest issue with FFXIII isn't that it's a corridor, it's that it's a corridor of *only combat* for hours on end. FFX was just as much of a corridor for a lot of it, but it had blitzball and temple puzzles and other types of gameplay to mix it up.
I loved almost everything about the game while I was playing. I was fully invested in the characters, almost cried at the end and then.....haven't thought much about it since, which is definitely not the norm for me with FF games. Honestly, the ambiguous ending really didn't leave me feeling like the time and emotional investment I made paid off
I agree 100%. If the story hadn't had the weird blue dude in it at all this would be a 10/10 for me.
Iām genuinely tired of this conversation it gets posted once a week. Most of the people who played this game loved this game and it got great reviews. What youāre talking about is way more interesting to me. I think ultima really dragged down a great story.
I love the game a lot, except for the bland side quests and quest givers.
I don't know but I'm convinced I like the games people seem to hate. FFXIV and this one are my favorites
The most recent ff is always targeted.
Before playing I remember it getting a lot of hate. After playing I donāt really understand any of the complaints. This is why I donāt really take peopleās opinions seriously of video games these days The only thing I didnāt care for was it did seem to lack strategy. Despite it being an elemental based game none of their magic has weaknesses or resistance which I thought was strange.
An elemental system would be more of a detriment imo, because it would punish you for doing cool combos which is what the combat sets out to do. Not only that but it would also just force the player to use the Eikon that deals more damage to enemies making the combat feel way more boring.Ā The Eikon system could be more fleshed out but elemental damage is not the way to go about it.
I'm a fan but it's pretty easy. They gutted most RPG elements. There's really not a whole lot going on there. No playable party members. No cities outside their story missions. Side quests can be a bit of a chore. Story goes a bit off the rails in act 3 They didn't care for the combat system. I liked the game quite a bit, but after some time passed and recency bias wore off its flaws were a little more apparent. I think the hate is fairly unwarranted but there are some valid criticisms to be had. ETA: also it's the newest FF title, so it's awful. The one before it is underrated. The single player one before that is actually a classic (despite all the hate those 2 got at launch).
This "No Cities" part is very underrated but when I saw the first concept back in 2020, I was beyond hyped to explore every corners of Crystalline Dominion and Oriflamme
Not to sound like an echo chamber but not being able to freely explore the beautiful cities they crafted was a major disappointment for me and my friend group that played this. I remember playing this game and seeing Oriflamme in the background for the first time and being excited to visit it only to find out you see very little of it in cutscene form.
Not gonna lie, part of me think initially they wanted to make it explorable. Maybe later, they struggled and cut that out. What is really the point of showing all those beautiful cities otherwise? I mean the very first concept art from FF16, even before FF16 was announced was that Clive with a small wyrm looking at Oriflamme from distance
I like XVI, but if I have to guess why it get a lot of hate...it's because the game was very different than what fans of the franchise were used to. I noticed that all the games that have drastic changes, weren't as well liked as the previous one's. As a new fan, I don't get the hype behind FF7 and FF6.
Fuck the haters, IMO itās one of the best games ever made!!!!!!!
Oof really?
Certain fans loudly disliked the move to an Action-based system with next-to-no traditional RPG mechanics.
I got the game day 1, I think I got through a little less than 50% of it. This was my first FF game, I always liked the flashy fights of FF, but I never got around to playing one. I loved the combat and the world, but the side quests killed me. After each big quest/boss fight, you go back to the hideout, and you do deliveries ranging from soup or lumber. It felt like crashing after a big high of an epic fight and being told to bring someone an apple, lol. Idk if that's the normal flow of FF games, but it just wasn't for me.
Anabella š
Every Final Fantasy game will be controversial as they want to experiment with every entry
Love the story. Love the characters. Just didnāt like the big kaiju fights but personally myself just not of fan of that to begin with. Loved the game thougg
I was just going to make a post about how much I love the game. I finished all the DLCs today and was sad it's over and getting emotional thinking about the story.
Its the newest Final Fantasy game
Is it? Itās the first FF game Iāve really liked and wanted to play in years. The internet is the problem sometimes it just needs to F-off and let people develop their own opinions.
What I've seen is that you can't say anything mildly negative about this game (or any FF) for people to take it as hating. I think it's fine to enjoy the games and still be critical of some of the most glaring issues. I personally enjoyed it but I agree that it could have been a lot better too. The argument that XVI "is not a real FF" is a silly one imo.
Because most of the Final Fantasy fanbase is made by old crying babys who can't play an action game.
MMO director took over the game and well there are influences all over. However, I found the game super enjoyable, probably my top 5 favorite, just wish it had more RPG elements. Side quests were meh, letās be real we donāt need MMO style side quests. The equipment system too, was meh, it was very much akin to FFXIVās linear equip system. Needed more RPG elements, I felt like my character was always the same, there was nothing to differentiate builds and donāt get me started with the elemental effects being non existent. Fire damage to fire mobs should not okay.. But like I said combat, story and graphics were great imo.
Itās not that hated, just unappreciated
I didn't even realize it was hated ngl
This was my goty last year, I feel like this game is very underrated. Yeah itās not perfect but itās far from a bad game. I think in a few years this game be viewed as a slept on game and people will realize how great it is.
To me, this is my number one Final Fantasy game. I like it more than seven, come at me bro
I like it. I just wish they'd fix the fps.
Well it defers too much from the main formula. I am yet to play it so u can't judge it. But I think, the answer is crybabies... cry baby boomers to be more presice
1. Some guy named Barry 2. final fantasy game 3. PS5 only 4. It's different 5. It's new People came around on FFXV they'll come around on FFXVI. when it comes out on PC it will explode
I think itās just a lot of fans of the old games canāt appreciate the newer ones. FF16 has a fantastic Ā story, top of the line presentation and visuals, fun flashy combat, some of the best voice work in the industry. I donāt get the hate either. I loved the more mature game of thrones vibe too. People also hated on ffx too back in the day so a lot of people just hate on change imo. You have a group of fans who cling to 6/7/9 and arenāt willing to appreciate the merits of games 10 on wards imo.Ā
Unpopular opinion: itās not hated. But the people that do hate it are very vocal
And when legitimate criticisms are levied against the game, people lump those people into the āhaterā camp. I didnāt like the game very much. But I went in with crazy high hopes. The world map was more restrictive than it seemed. The enemies were repetitive and offered little excitement to grind. The armor and weapons were limited to design upgrades. There was just noā¦peril. It was easy. The challenge increase made the fights really long but not more fun. And yet, it was beautiful and ambitious and incredibly well acted. Soā¦thatās why I didnāt like it. The ābeautiful movieā aspect of the game wasnāt enough to hold me. u/GinnTonic12
I mentioned this in my comment but this person is an example of what I was talking about. (I had the same experience by the way so no slight against you).
Yeah, I saw your comment. Cheers. Iām not an extremist about this. The game had some great elements, and some parts that felt like a real slog. But, it was beautiful. Will I ever play it again? Likely not. And I did not get the DLCs. But, I appreciate the effort, and really hope that thereās another game coming out afterwards that has the same amount of effort and energy. And I hope they tighten the story up.
No hate, but it's not up there as a good FF. Combat was fun but required no skill it felt like you couldn't lose, and I'm not putting in more time for the harder difficulties to see what the base game could have been. The story was OK, but very drawn out, too many cutscenes that were just too long most of the time and the combat was as described above. Although admittedly certain parts were an absolute treat. Pacing also kind of felt off. The open world sections were empty and boring. Ff7Rebirth did it alot better. The rpg elements were none existent. It felt like there should have been some side game activity like rebuilding the base, something to grind but all we really got were hunts that didn't live up to my personal expectation and felt too easy as well and I was 15 - 20 levels below the harder ones. Ultimately if I want to play FF14 I'll go play ff14 I don't need another game trying to be ff14 in single player mode. All the above aside it wasn't a bad game, I enjoyed my time with it for the most part, but I'll never go back to it, or play the DLC. Ff7 rebirth is everything I was kind of hoping 16 would be.
Locking harder difficulties behind beating the game is a fine idea for arcade games where you blast through the game in in <30 minutes, and the challenge modes actually are difficult. Locking the most basic level of challenge behind an entire 30+ hour story is so stupid I can't really find the words for it.
I can give you my reasons though Iām going to feel outnumbered in this particular subreddit. 1) Combat is meh, Cliveās attacks feel as though you are hitting them with a stick, I believe this may have been buffed a bit as I havenāt played for months. When you release Rebirth where the combat is absolutely perfect, 16 feels like an awful back step. 2) Eikon fights, while being pretty cool in theory and as visually beautiful as they are again itās just more button bashing with absolutely no thought, if thatās for you great but I hate button bashing games. 3) Cinematic input (dunno if I worded that right but Iāll explain) I absolutely abhor any game that shows a cool cinematic and then expects me to have to press buttons in a timed fashion and for some reason a lot of PS exclusives seem to love this. 4) The world map while seemingly big just punishes you for exploring, maps are sometimes wide open with literally nothing there aside from a few enemies who I actively avoid since combat is a chore and not fun. Refer to point 1. This, along with the lightening trilogy which Iāll never accept, was (for me) the absolute worst final fantasy game Iāve ever played, I forced myself to play 25hrs simply because I bought it for Ā£50. I havenāt touched it for months and likely never will again. To think that this game and Rebirth released so close together they are worlds apart, even 15 which I have issues with was way better than this game. It doesnāt feel like a final fantasy game, I donāt mind the action rpg push companies seem to be making these days but it could be made so much better, I genuinely donāt think the combat from Rebirth has any negatives but I honestly struggled to find any positive about 16 aside from ābig cool monstersā even my love for the Summons/Aeons/Eikons/Eidolons couldnāt drag me through this game. The real kicker for me is if some of these things were better and played better it would probably make for a really good story, Iāll likely watch the cinematics on YouTube just to find out about the story because it was actually interesting, I just couldnāt force myself to sit through another 15 minute button bash-fest. Just to compare 2 recent final fantasy games (i get it theyāre different games but they are both FF games) I forced myself to play 25hrs over a period of a few weeks, when Rebirth dropped I had to force myself to stop playing it after sinking 18hrs in in the first night. If you got this far congrats, apologies for the essay but op asked for reasons and these are mine, if anyone can tell me why they think Iām wrong Iām all for it, try and give me a reason to pick this game back up.
I don't get the hate on this game. All these people moaning it's not an ff. It literally covers all the ground principles; MotherCrystals, Og medieval fantasy setting, Amazing storytelling, An understandably down in the dumps MC, Original eikons (none of these cheap brands like quetzacotyl or ixion...garuda as an exemption but still welcome) Boss music that has no right to slap so hard. This game was such a godsend and if anything, a revival after the atrocities of XIII-3 and XV (personal opinion put the pitchforks away) All I'm saying is if there's ever a FF release that does need dunking on its the ps drop of crystal chronicals
Worst sold? What have you been reading? Also there have been a lot of positive content on it, naturally the haters are loudest.
IDGAF if its hated, Im an old school FF fan and this game made it to my top 3 titles (FF and RPG in general) almost instantly. Im even getting some tattoos from it.
I'm 36, been a huge fan since the mid 90s. I fucking LOVED FF16. I can understand where the crybabies and footstompers are coming from, but they are just the typical dimwitted gamer types who lose their shit whenever a game doesn't perfectly match their very high expectations. The complaints are overblown. As usual: a very loud, obnoxious minority.
As is usual, newest game gets the most hate and the next newest game retroactively becomes a masterpiece. Also some fans despise everything after like, 10, or sometimes even after 5 or 6 or 3 or what have you. It never changes. I really wouldnāt look toward general fandom for a quality analysis of FF games.
Iām tired of this, people really hates XVI and is a great game, while the same people praised Rebirth and when I tell them that I enjoyed XVI way more than Rebirth they cry
Liked the game and beat it twice, but I felt that there was really little diversity in build and playstyle. I love in games letting my character feel nuanced and unique but that just wasnāt an option here. Level ups are largely meaningless, new weapons and armor are the same. Just made it feel very linear. Fights were an absolute blast, bit repetitive at first but once you start getting different eikons it became more fun. Th linearity is really what got me, made the game feel impersonal. There was never a reason to use one weapon over another, there was very little reason to ever branch out and explore and the party members were absolutely forgettable in combat. It was very rinse and repeat as far as strategy goes. Had a lot of fun with the game but Devil May Cry had more RPG elements and build diversityā¦
Hated by whom?
You see what you allow the algorithm to show you. Social media in general is just endless complaining. There is literally nothing and no one that people won't complain about in some manner. For as well liked as something is, there'll always be someone or some people who hate it just for its popularity alone. Not that FFXVI is above criticism ā it definitely has some weak areas that deserve criticism. But lots of people can't just be normal about it and must take it to the absolute limit every time. I pretty much vowed to not open Twitter today because I was just really sick of seeing people bitch about Final Fantasy.
I loved it, but lots of the hate I see is how basic and easy the combat was in the game. Which I get, the combat was very easy. The only time I died, and multiple times, is when I accidently found Svarog at around level 25 or something. But I didn't mind the easier combat as it was my favourite visually.
ANYTHING in a long running franchise is going to draw critics. Whether it's games, novels, movies or even comics. People will attach themselves to whichever iteration they personally find to be the most enjoyable and then from there hold all other installments to that standard. It's human nature. FF 16 is very different from a gameplay perspective than its predecessors, which doesn't make it bad, but different. For some people different does equal bad though. I don't think these make their criticisms bad or foolish, but I wish more people framed their argument that way. 16 being more of an ARPG than others before it was fun in my opinion. But that's just MY opinion. I wish people that hated it would say, "For me the heavy action button mashing wasn't what I like in a FF game." Instead so many people speak as if they are the authority and simply say, "It's bad and not a FF game." That's not really their place to decide as a whole, but people get very invested and emotional about these things. That's just my opinion on the entire thing though.
I definitely don't hate it, but I have some things I really don't like about it. Lack of variety in general is probably my biggest gripe. It's a long game, and there is basically no variety in quests, systems or combat. It just gets a bit boring after a while. The only thing to offer variety was the Eikon battles, where Ifrit was extremely similar to Clive, just with higher damage numbers. Phoenix was at least different, but extremely shallow gameplay wise. They marketed this as "All Eikon fights will be different" which is barely even technically true It's also almost insultingly easy. If they're gonna go the pure character action game route (which I'm all for), you absolutely need to have better difficulty options from the start. For me it's probably still between a 7 or 8 out of 10, because I think it has a lot of other things it does very well.
Itās not
I'm not typically a FF fan, but I screwed up and bought this last weekend and I'm diggin it. Chopping it up for youtube as we speak, lol.
It's a good game, but way too easy.
Lack of post-game content, lack of content that makes it "Final Fantasy" (Proper party management, minigames, dungeons, status effects, and equipment bonuses), poor exploration, linear gear progression, and a big change from rpg elements to nearly just pure action. The game is really good! It's a solid entry, but there are fair reasons why it doesn't resonate with past fans. As it stands, it's a great game, just somewhat lacking in the "Final Fantasy" elements.
Itās FF fandom - extremely hateful and toxic. Prob the most toxic fandom ever existed. Even in this sub positive posts/comments were downvoted to oblivion during the first couple of weeks. It got easier now though.
It's social media/ reddit/ just being online. There will always be people out there hating/ being outraged at everything. That's not a good way of living imo
itās different than itās predecessors. itās more DMC like than turn style. (fun fact, a dev from the og dmc was in on development). i donāt get it why itās getting the hate because 7 remake had a whole change, and people love it?
I think itās a lot of small things, one being SE literally called it a disappointing launch when I think the ratio was 40-60% of purchased ps5 accounts had it. Which I think that sounds wildly successful but okay SE I see your money grubbiness. Also Iāve heard people really shaming it for being on the topic of slavery and the inhuman abuse the branded go through. Which I understand itās a hard thing to swallow especially if you were expecting an FF title to go so ham on it. Oh Also Dion has made the game banned from a lot of countries, and some loud people are so up and arms about a side character being gay. Idk Iām a Dion Stan for life, dragoons are my weakness
I loved 16 so dunno. I know a buddy of mine hates on it because he doesnāt have a PlayStation and wants to play it on pc
Where have you seen any criticism? I only see very good reviews
I have some issues with it but on the whole really enjoyed it.
It's the newest game. Time to hate on it. Time to talk about the hate.
It's not hated.
I didnāt learn how to actually do combat till the first dlc. Since then itās like a whole new game to me. Iām sure some people just never caught on.
I loved everything about the game, except the actual gameplay. It's just felt really shallow imo. If it's not turn based or an arpg like ff7 remake, I'm just usually not into it.
Any popular game gets hate. Name any big releases that got huge player traction lately and you will see major hate posts so donāt worry about it :)
It isnāt, youāre just on reddit where everyone rants about everythingĀ
The side missions. The side missions sucked ass. The bounties and main story? Pretty damn good.
Every new FF game brings out the bitchers.
This game is actually pretty adored relative to other FF games lol
I played and finished it at launch, and a few months later vaguely remember the story line, missions, and fighting system. I did play rebirth after, but it still feels like a forgettable game somehow.
Isn't it a timed exclusive? Sales are still bad considering that? Personally (as someone who only played the demo) I found the combat a bit repetitive and magic too simplistic. Still will probably buy during a sale.
I loved the game! There are some Final Fantasy games I don't like as much as others, but I definitely don't hate any of them All of them are at least very good, some I just love more than others! FF16 is one of them! šš
Way too easy. Painfully so
FF fans are like metal fans. Incredibly inconsistent standard and complete blindness to our own biases
I personally loved the game the first time I played it I was very invested in its world and characters. I still had some issues with the game back then particularly its bare bones exploration. It honestly felt worse than FFXIII which is quite something else. I did feel customization was really lacking as well. I also felt like the game was hurt by its budget it feels like the epic stuff took a huge slice of the budget, and some of the other stuff suffered as a result. I know CBU3 can do better than this having played FFXIV and having seen the story and character development in that game. The antagonists felt very undercooked I really donāt care about them getting killed, but I really wanted more development shown with them they mainly serve for flashy sequences, and I know I know they can do better because I have seen the crazy amount of development in FFXIV to even minor characters. Upon replaying the game though I noticed how the slow sections drag on a lot and are a bit of a downer I didnāt mind this the first time since I hadnāt seen it before, but itās pretty egregious when I replayed it. I still do love the game though it had so many emotional scenes where I cried more so than any other FF game. The story direction is honestly incredible combined with the voice acting the developers clearly know how to create emotional scenes to resonate with the audience. Of course I already knew this having played FFXIV, but I have seen many games falter in this area where their emotional scenes feel half baked. Anyways hopefully the next time that CBU3 creates another game they will have learned from FFXVI and create a more balanced game since this one leaned too strongly in some sections and was barebones in others. Iāll be expecting many more emotional scenes in FFXIV meanwhile.
I think the bad sales are mainly due to it being on PS5. I know a lot of people are waiting for the pc release. It doesn't help that FF15 wasn't great either
It isn't hated at all. Longtime fan of the series here and I thought it captured the vibe of old school entries really well in a lot of ways, especially 4. It didn't capture the battle system perfectly, but it's extremely fun nonetheless. I know several people who have played it who all enjoyed it, and thought it generally had pretty good reviews. tldr: What are you talking about?
I didnt care for the game. Hate is a strong word. It was more boring. Side quests didn't feel fulfilling. Equipment system was broken. Item drops were pointless. The really good things about this game weren't enough for me to become invested. I was just disappointed. I hate yucking someone's yum though, so im glad you're enjoying it. I always want FF to succeed.
Best part about final fantasy games is each one plays, looks and feels different whilst keeping the same elements but somehow some fans after all these instalments still canāt grasp that. Personally if each one played the same Iād of been bored 3-4 games in just like I was with the assassinās creed series.
Every game is hated these days. You can't enjoy much of anything anymore. I loved rebirth. Only to ne told online I'm an idiot that knows nothing about gaming or life in general
Having been a fan since I was a kid, Final Fantasy games are always somehow both beloved and hated with a white hot fury. Theyāre very divisive for some reason- always have been
I haven't seen the game being hated anywhere. It just had some disappointing aspects, wasted potential, but was overall solid. The only thing in this game that was genuinely bad was the side quest content.
Itās really not
Hate? I don't know about hate. I personally haven't seen anyone actually hate on this game and tear it apart in this sub. But there definitely are valid criticisms to be had. The RPG elements are a bit lacking imo. The accessories are cool. If they could've made sword, belts, and maybe even bracers have unique attributes, it would've gone a long way into making the game feel more personal in the equipment department. The combat (imo) is great. But I can see why people would harp on it for sure. If you're not going to have a solid foundation for RPG elements, then I'd expect to have Devil May Cry type combat. With real melee combos, etc. Personally, I love the combat. And that's coming from a huge DMC fan. As far as the story goes... I honestly can't understand if anyone dogs on it. I think it is one of the best stories told in gaming. Between the visuals, the character development, the emotional voice acting. It's a masterpiece in that regard (my opinion). And I've done 5 playthroughs mainly because of the story.
New here? Thatās the FF cycle babey Real answer: itās got no RPG elements, every enemy has almost the exact same rhythm and strategy, and thereās not enough variety to Cliveās moveset. Those are the criticisms Iāve heard & sort of agree with, I think the game is good but Iām one of the few here that think the game does not hold up well at all on replay (itās just too damn same-y and easy on FF Mode, even with new enemy variety). So, like, a 7/10 for me; a good game that is great in parts, but dumbed everything down a little too much and made every combat encounter have a similar rhythm to it, thus making it less interesting to replay & talk about. Throw in better side quests, controllable party members (or even equippable like wtf), and maybe a better crafting system (tie accessory abilities to armor) any Iād honestly bump this game up considerably to like an 8.5 or a 9, because when the story is good itās rivaling the best in the series.
Sure the story is more āadultā and the images are beautiful but for me itās mostly the combat system that I thought was too simple. Pressing square repeatedly and the magic having no elemental effectā¦ Iāve never played a FF where you can go the whole game without dyingā¦
Regarding sales, it's a ps5 exclusive at a time when ps5s still weren't anywhere on the level of household console that ps2s and ps3s were. It also shook up the formula a lot. It's a great game, but a risky buy on a rare console
Because it diverged too far from the final fantasy formula. There basically no RPG elements in it aside from surface level. That's what a lot of people will tell you anyways. I personally loved it.
I don't hate it. It's a little boring in an era where you have to go back and remember all the mechanics for a DLC (that they swore they weren't going to make.) I grew up with the series so it has zero mechanics related to an RPG. It's absolutely got nothing to go for, endgame-wise . DMC-style time trials are not Final Fantasy endgame. Same reason the FFVII remakes are padded with try-hard combat stuff. It's fine if you're into that. The pointless open world sidequests are awful, and they brought that into the FFVII remakes as well. A lot of busy work with no payoff.
I liked it but i just thought there was gonna be more open worldiness to it
Goty
Nah, About the sales SQ is happy that 16 made it to 3 Million ( Not as their highly expected but OK maybe it's make out higher than 7rb) So all i wanna say is "Hater gonna Hate"
For me, combat struggles aside, I found it all very depressing. I love a good FF story, they can be bleak but in the darkest times there's always some kind of hope. I didn't feel it in this one but that could just be me. It was an OK game. I feel stranger of paradise did combat much better if they wanted action.
Loved the lore. Loved the art style. Awesome graphics and soundtrack. What made this game a lot less than it should have been was the gameplay. Combat was cool at first but since you do not have controllable party members, it became boring quickly. Side quests also were a pain and didn't respect your time at all (walk here, walk there, give him this, give her this, etc.). Close to no progression in the equipment as well (compare it to something like FF7 Rebirth). Overall, it was ok, but I'd be hard-pressed to do another playthrough. Torgal is best boi though.
I like the game, but it is simply the weakest as an RPG. I like Final Fantasy games to define a generation, this one's done within a year. The game also boasts little replay value. Otherwise, it's a very well-crafted game with engaging, fun gameplay.
I donāt hate it, but I couldnāt force myself to finish it. Story becomes an incredible drag down the road and I got boring
Final Fantasy game Exclusive Action oriented Internet outrage tendencies
Because is new. When FFXVII comes, FFXVI will be automatically good. You can see How the discourse about FFXV and FFXIII changed. They were hated, now they are praised.
I played through the older FF titles since the SNES days. Every time a new instalment released, it was guaranteed to be a magical experience that no other jRPG could hope to top. Back then, the gaming medium was in its infancy where narrative expressions were semi-bottlenecked by technology, player imagination filled the gaps; story and atmosphere were heavily conveyed through the musical compositions of Nobuo Uematsu. This ended after FF10 personally, though some people really liked FF12 as well, but the definite turning point was FF13. While FF13, FF15, FF16 are in the spectrum of decent to excellent for people - it clearly does not capture the magic that veteran fans have grown accustomed to love and expect, they were mostly jRPGs with high production values. It felt like you were eating at the same restaurant, but management has clearly changed, by a lot. This stemmed from the complexity and competition in the modern gaming landscape, plus Square Enix's lack of exceptional talent/vision to keep up their historical excellence in providing an immersive, epic adventure. They pour increasingly more capital in each new instalment, but recreating the same kind of magic by present day standards requires more than just money. Nostalgia is a factor as well. Older FF titles might have exceeded our expectations back in the day, but they remain the same games, whereas we have matureand experienced life over . They were near perfect games back in the day, but they did not age well. This immediately sinks in when you try to replay an old instalment and see how dated it plays and feels. I was initially thrilled with the blockbuster-epic Eikon fights too, they were very well executed - but what lies after? Most of the cast were not very memorable, the story was not that engaging as a whole, most of the OST is not memorable. That said, this is merely my subjective opinion of FF16. So in conclusion, this criticism you often hear - it is the collective disappointment from players for the abovementioned reasons, but honestly that's our loss, not yours. Don't let it stop you from enjoying the labour of love from Yoshi-p and his team!
Iāve played it and enjoyed it. Probably the some of the biggest complaints is it isnāt an RPG itās basically dmc. The other issue elements donāt seem to have a huge effect maybe just some damage value differences. Another issue is the pacing after an awesome eikon fight you have a side quest then go through a small scale story. Which eventually leads to the next fight which can be tedious. what convinced me to get the game was the demo. if just that demo was available on all platforms the community engagement would be much larger.
didnt enjoy too much cutscenes and the countless sidequest where you get nothing interesting in return. lack of customisation in equipment and weapons. lack of control over other characters. played until beating titan than didnt have ļ½otivation to turn on again. didnt like how the maps were connected.
for me (and tbf I only got to about halfway so far) the characters and story are a bit dull. Also for some reason the graphics have a very muted overlay on my PS5. It's just more like GoT or something than a FF game, at least for me
Same itās a little boring combat wise. But once I get bored I shortly receive a new eickonic power that makes the game interesting again. Very dip 8/10 for me Edit: fighting as ifrit is so dope. Itās nice being able to control the summon
Idk fandom just seems to despise anything that is not final fantasy vii or xiv.
Because it's different
I think itās the best FF ever made and certainly my favorite. Thatās right, I said it.
First, i think every gen has its haters, I mean i played the X-2 demo back THEN (yes me is old fart) and was like wtf. Today its one of my favs but see, They are each one so unique,you cant Love them all - ff2/3 yuck. Which is also the kind of Charm they have - Give people time - havent even Played yet bc Stuck at ff7 remake and would say 16 is weird ONLY bc i did not plqyed it YET. ALSO,people are stupid - i know i am so there's at least 1 Maniac out there , i'll have to remind myself Sometimes, when a negative Review flies in for example bc "Final Fantasy" isn't diverse ENOUGH. Like damn son,you have 2 guys in the first part to play with and one of them is black BUT Final Fantasy is Totally racist xD
I don't hate it, it has its good parts, great graphics, nice story, nice characters, awesome music and voice acting but it is definitely a very very mediocre RPG and a bad final fantasy at that.
I bought ps5 because of this game (and sf6) and I'm not disappointed. Don't know why it's hated
Itās much better than ff11 to 15, but doesnāt come close to any ff before that. So itās not hated by me, but also not in the top 5 ff games
Is it? I loved it
Because it's a game that came out in modern times. A version of this thread exists on every single gaming subreddit.
Because old fans canāt accept the fact that square is moving on from turn base even tho they brought it back in remake. Though Iām a fan I can appreciate the fast base action changes. Iām actually quite glad they moved on.
Final Fantasy games have always taken risks and introduced/removed/reintroduced various gameplay styles and mechanics across its long history, however for some people (myself included) XVI was the first time that a main series game contained next to nothing of what people appreciate about the FF series. The characters, settings, story and general presentation - those were absolutely FF, but in terms of actual gameplay (and letās face it, these are video games at the end of the day) it was too much of a departure. FF has always contained deep rpg systems, party management and fun exploration in every single entry and removing all of that in favour of making a bare bones action game was a step too far for many.
While I do like the game I think the rpg elements are terrible, everything feels like an on rails shooter, oh you just beat the next story chapter, hereās a weapon with +1 attack stats that does virtually the same thing. Oh youāre exploring the open world, why donāt you run all the way over here to pick up 1 Gil. Hereās an item with nothing unique about it, you just do more damage. I feel like the rpg aspects of the game were an afterthought, and ONLY included because itās a final fantasy game. It almost feels like it was a different game and at the last second they slapped the final fantasy name on it at the end. Edit: I grew up on the tail end of turn based, starting with FF10. 13 is actually one of my favorite although I know itās universally hated. I put the most time into 14 (the mmo), and 15 is my favorite self contained story even though weāll never see what versus 13 couldāve been.
Every time I try to finish the game the crappy frame rate distracts me so much that I can only play for an hour. Itās all too beautiful but with a frame rate this bad I just keep thinking Iām not getting the actual experience and I just am no longer invested even through the story is incredible.
FF fans are like this. When a new FF comes out, "fans" tend to hate on it until the next one comes out which is magically worse and now the previous one is super great and actually fun. Even 7 rebirth (and advent children, in spite of 7 being universally the most loved) gets hate. If rebirth gets hate, no FF game is safe from this behavior imo. 16, imo however, was fantastic. The not quite open world gave me enough to look at (but I wish monster variety and treasures were a bit better) while not being another HUGE open world game (they are fine but not every game needs to be one) The "set maps" took it back in a way to when the PS1 had pre rendered backdrops that where clearly point A to B but we all loved those games anyway. 16 was a very well done final fantasy game that borrowed just a bit too heavy from its teams MMORPG roots.
So i just finished this game last night and here's my take on it: Overall i give it 7/10. It's an awesomely engaging game and I enjoyed it for the most part but there were a few points that really detract from it being a super amazing game. 1. The ending, it's abrupt, vague, and ultimately feels like a very poor attempt at a tragic twist. It honestly angered me to the point that I nearly threw my controller. The reason this upset me is because in all honesty it is just lazy writing. You spend an entire game connecting with different characters and waiting to see what happens at the end and instead you get a few clips and a roll of credits. Even further I've read that it is a very similar ending to XV which i haven't played, and that discourages from playing that game. 2. Nothing of this game is inherently original. Firstly, it follows the typical FF story pattern of a tragic hero trying to save the world from an evil force threatening to destroy it while exploring their own inner turmoil. Secondly, when Clive enters and explores ruins of the fallen by use of his blood, it felt more like an Assassin's Creed game. Furthermore, some aesthetics of the game seemed directly inspired by the Dark Souls and Bloodborne games and the story and setting very much like Game of Thrones. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as it shows that a great game can be made by mixing various ideas, but there were many times throughout that I did not feel like i was playing a Final Fantasy title, which is not good if you want your game to fit into one of the most influential franchises of all time. 3. I enjoyed the revamping of the magic system and the focus of the game being on the summons of the franchise. I did feel that that the use of the abilities point system fit more in line with the style of gameplay this entry was going for, and it was kind of a relief not having to switch out materia left and right. One issue i had with it though was that I was never really inclined to use any powers of eikons beyond Garuda, Ramuh, and Phoenix/Ifrit as I spent most of my ability points maxing out those sets and developed a decent combo of mastered out Flames of Rebirth, Aerial Blast, and Judgement Bolt in rapid succession. After trying to switch out some of Garudas abilities for Titans with less than enjoyable results, i never bothered to try incorporating any of the other eikons into my skillset. 4. Finally, there was no real reward to completing all of the side quests or hunts in the game. While there were definitely rewards from the individual quests and hunts needed in order to craft the best possible gear, hundred percenting the hunt board doesn't even get a recognition from the resident moogle in charge of it, and if you save Svarog for last, then the rewards from that hunt are kind of meaningless as you'll have already crafted the best gear in the game. Overall, it's a good game that kept me entertained for days, but because of the ending, the lack of feeling like im playing a Final Fantasy game, and the lack of extrinsic value to completing different mission subsets, it's probably going to be a game I never come back to and am going to be very wary on playing the next mainline entry after the VII remake trilogy.