A limit that is pushed, but not broken.
There's no doubt that the game is visually breathtaking. Each ember that radiates from Phoenix's wings or Ifrit's hands are as palpable as the real deal. Particle effects through intimate clashes of steel and magic fill up the screen in dramatic and stimulating flare. Each unique environment within Valisthea gets pretty close to reality breaking, if not for the giant spiders and occasional Chocobo. Even in 2023, there aren't many games that I personally believe look so graphically intense on the PS5, but this game genuinely seems like it utilizes almost all the capabilities of the upgraded hardware. But that's pretty much it's only unique identity.
In fact, I'd say most of the game is devoid of one. That isn't ENTIRELY a bad thing; it wears its influences and ideas on its sleeve with pride. The issue is that rather than being a proper amalgamation of those influences, it comes off more like a Frankenstein of those ideas that seems a bit too excited to display those influences instead of presenting a completely exclusive and engaging experience. A key example here is the combat.
It's not without merit, the combat. Clive has the ability to do some interesting things with a meager standard combo that is only built upon as time goes on and you unlock more Eikon abilities, but the ceiling is still incredibly low. Initially I thought that the combat was bare-bones without the execution or player incentive to explore more, and while that notion wasn't entirely unproven by the end of the game, I still found myself trying to take all of the abilities to their brink, with some success. You'd be hard-pressed to discuss this game without discussing Devil May Cry; both share the same battle designer (Ryota Suzuki), after all. Elements both in practicality and style are all over the place (Helm Splitter, Enemy Step, Judgement Cut End), but it leans more towards that style and less towards that practicality.
That being said, it isn't trying to be DMC. The comparisons aren't unfounded, but it's an RPG and not an action adventure game with the purpose of being extensible in battle. When the situation arises for it, you can respec and adjust your abilities for the occasion. In that sense, it does well.
I think my biggest problem is enemy engagement. The standard grunt enemy feels to be placed as to activate a neuron and a mini-boss only to activate two. The bosses lack positional awareness and spam the limited pool of moves they have with abandon, ever so slightly increasing the frequency and potency as death draws near. I had only died twice during my entire playthrough and in both instances I wasn't engaged in combat at all because there is no proper threat of death in this game, even with the final boss. Nothing here is challenging, nothing here is rewarding. It does not help that gearing is practically useless, as crafting weapons and defenses come only with positives and no negatives, making every conflict a bore at the most. Not even the S-rank hunts could satiate this; an increased health pool and more damage is not enough variation to satisfy what I am looking for. But the same cannot be said for the Eikon fights, which are easily the best aspect about this game. Grandiose spectacle that is usually coupled with a phenomenal composition and direction which hasn't been matched in any recent JRPG release, withstanding FF7R. I don't have much to say because they are experiences to behold, and make up for any lack of enjoyment that takes place during the mostly mundane standard combat.
The cast is at best extraordinary and at worst indigent. Characters like Joshua, Dion, Gav, Cid, and Byron showcase the best of Kazutoyo Maehiro's work as we get to see not only how nuanced each of these characters are, but how formative they are to the total experience of this adventure. Each of these characters bounce of Clive extremely well while going through their own personal dilemmas and struggle or refine their ideology within their world. Characters like Hugo, Barnabus, and Ultima fall completely short for me in terms of resonance and cohesiveness, which I feel is the result of a lack of proper engagement with their perspectives and dogma.
The gameplay loop is also something that is excruciatingly boring. Glorious crusades are undercut by fetch quests, mob waves, mini-boss, which leads to the actual boss, then the Eikon fight, and then repeat. The first half of this loop is only exasperated by the extreme amounts of dialogue. In the beginning, I found all of it extremely impressive, as the voice work is done well and fits within the landscape of the game. But it is too extensive, and toward the final 5 hours of the game I found it imperative to skip over dialogue that did little to add anything to the story.
I mentioned the identity aspect at the beginning because it's a big talking point about this game. Other people seem to think it's a stark detraction and while I don't entirely disagree I think it's a bit more nuanced than people would like to admit. Re-imagined fanfares sound like crutches that hold Soken's production back but the insistence of seriousness makes it feel alien as there isn't ever a time to kick back and relax with your party. This is just an example, but the point I'm trying to make is that instead of being something that defines itself as a Final Fantasy game, it takes the philosophy of other works and attempts a fusion that isn't without hiccups. That in of itself can be discussed if that is what truly makes it a Final Fantasy game though.
I even consider the narrative to be half-baked; it presents so many interesting ideas with the hierarchical nature of its society and alludes to the parallels with our world with Dominants being weapons of mass destruction and the Mothercrystals/Blight being a look at our own society's uses of fossil fuels and the ensuing damage but doesn't take a proper stab at any of these things. All that being said... this game has some phenomenal moments that shine brighter than a lot of its flaws, and concludes with class.
It's so close to being amazing, but I can never say that I didn't enjoy myself.
3.5/5
There's no doubt that the game is visually breathtaking. Each ember that radiates from Phoenix's wings or Ifrit's hands are as palpable as the real deal. Particle effects through intimate clashes of steel and magic fill up the screen in dramatic and stimulating flare. Each unique environment within Valisthea gets pretty close to reality breaking, if not for the giant spiders and occasional Chocobo. Even in 2023, there aren't many games that I personally believe look so graphically intense on the PS5, but this game genuinely seems like it utilizes almost all the capabilities of the upgraded hardware. But that's pretty much it's only unique identity.
In fact, I'd say most of the game is devoid of one. That isn't ENTIRELY a bad thing; it wears its influences and ideas on its sleeve with pride. The issue is that rather than being a proper amalgamation of those influences, it comes off more like a Frankenstein of those ideas that seems a bit too excited to display those influences instead of presenting a completely exclusive and engaging experience. A key example here is the combat.
It's not without merit, the combat. Clive has the ability to do some interesting things with a meager standard combo that is only built upon as time goes on and you unlock more Eikon abilities, but the ceiling is still incredibly low. Initially I thought that the combat was bare-bones without the execution or player incentive to explore more, and while that notion wasn't entirely unproven by the end of the game, I still found myself trying to take all of the abilities to their brink, with some success. You'd be hard-pressed to discuss this game without discussing Devil May Cry; both share the same battle designer (Ryota Suzuki), after all. Elements both in practicality and style are all over the place (Helm Splitter, Enemy Step, Judgement Cut End), but it leans more towards that style and less towards that practicality.
That being said, it isn't trying to be DMC. The comparisons aren't unfounded, but it's an RPG and not an action adventure game with the purpose of being extensible in battle. When the situation arises for it, you can respec and adjust your abilities for the occasion. In that sense, it does well.
I think my biggest problem is enemy engagement. The standard grunt enemy feels to be placed as to activate a neuron and a mini-boss only to activate two. The bosses lack positional awareness and spam the limited pool of moves they have with abandon, ever so slightly increasing the frequency and potency as death draws near. I had only died twice during my entire playthrough and in both instances I wasn't engaged in combat at all because there is no proper threat of death in this game, even with the final boss. Nothing here is challenging, nothing here is rewarding. It does not help that gearing is practically useless, as crafting weapons and defenses come only with positives and no negatives, making every conflict a bore at the most. Not even the S-rank hunts could satiate this; an increased health pool and more damage is not enough variation to satisfy what I am looking for. But the same cannot be said for the Eikon fights, which are easily the best aspect about this game. Grandiose spectacle that is usually coupled with a phenomenal composition and direction which hasn't been matched in any recent JRPG release, withstanding FF7R. I don't have much to say because they are experiences to behold, and make up for any lack of enjoyment that takes place during the mostly mundane standard combat.
The cast is at best extraordinary and at worst indigent. Characters like Joshua, Dion, Gav, Cid, and Byron showcase the best of Kazutoyo Maehiro's work as we get to see not only how nuanced each of these characters are, but how formative they are to the total experience of this adventure. Each of these characters bounce of Clive extremely well while going through their own personal dilemmas and struggle or refine their ideology within their world. Characters like Hugo, Barnabus, and Ultima fall completely short for me in terms of resonance and cohesiveness, which I feel is the result of a lack of proper engagement with their perspectives and dogma.
The gameplay loop is also something that is excruciatingly boring. Glorious crusades are undercut by fetch quests, mob waves, mini-boss, which leads to the actual boss, then the Eikon fight, and then repeat. The first half of this loop is only exasperated by the extreme amounts of dialogue. In the beginning, I found all of it extremely impressive, as the voice work is done well and fits within the landscape of the game. But it is too extensive, and toward the final 5 hours of the game I found it imperative to skip over dialogue that did little to add anything to the story.
I mentioned the identity aspect at the beginning because it's a big talking point about this game. Other people seem to think it's a stark detraction and while I don't entirely disagree I think it's a bit more nuanced than people would like to admit. Re-imagined fanfares sound like crutches that hold Soken's production back but the insistence of seriousness makes it feel alien as there isn't ever a time to kick back and relax with your party. This is just an example, but the point I'm trying to make is that instead of being something that defines itself as a Final Fantasy game, it takes the philosophy of other works and attempts a fusion that isn't without hiccups. That in of itself can be discussed if that is what truly makes it a Final Fantasy game though.
I even consider the narrative to be half-baked; it presents so many interesting ideas with the hierarchical nature of its society and alludes to the parallels with our world with Dominants being weapons of mass destruction and the Mothercrystals/Blight being a look at our own society's uses of fossil fuels and the ensuing damage but doesn't take a proper stab at any of these things. All that being said... this game has some phenomenal moments that shine brighter than a lot of its flaws, and concludes with class.
It's so close to being amazing, but I can never say that I didn't enjoy myself.
3.5/5
2 Comments
I really like that delve into the combat, good stuff broski
Naichism
10 months ago