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Spoilers, Sweetie!
Dec. 17th, 2017 07:09 amI've recently watched Episodes Gladiolus and Prompto and wanted to get my thoughts down. If you haven't finished FFXV and these DLCs, then beware of spoilers ahead!
The first thing to say is 'Thank God for YouTube!'. I am sooo glad I watched these DLCs rather than buying and playing them. Even if I had managed to get through them, I doubt very much that I would have enjoyed them. Or, at least, the gameplay elements. The story elements are pretty good.
So, Episode Gladiolus, first. It's a dungeon crawler. There are three boss battles at the end of which, Gladio gets an extra ability to help in the final battle. He travels with Cor, who did the trial himself 30 years ago. Now, either Cor has aged REALLY well, or he did the trial when he was about 5. They do mention that he was very young, but I don't think they mean THAT young! I guess he must moisturise... Anyway, in between battles, you get the option to camp and then Gladio and Cor swap stories. This gives some backstory to both of them and is a nice touch.
The final boss is Gilgamesh, the Blade Master. Gladio gets to show off his mettle and his muscle and gets an extra weapon at the end. Oh, and the extra scar.
Now, Episode Prompto, which was the one I was looking forward to. Just as I thought Vivi's story was WAY more interesting than Zidane's in FFIX, I have been fascinated by Prompto's ever since 'the reveal' of his origins in the main game. And, story wise, the DLC didn't disappoint. There was plenty of angst and more reveals for Prompto to suffer through - and he even had Arinea (sp?) to help him.
My problem was that, as the player I was watching said, the DLC wanted to be Metal Gear. Sneaking around (in VERY loud boots...), stealth kills and lots of guns. And the story wanted to be FFVII. Cells taken from a mad scientist and cloned in large vats.
In both cases, it felt as though the makers of FFXV were trying to make the game all things to all people. In fact, the main game felt like that, too. Modern players don't like turn-based games? Our new game isn't turn-based! People expect more sidequests than story? Here are lots and LOTS of sidequests! People like dungeon crawlers? Here's one! And stealth games? Why, here's one of those, too!
They've lost sight of why people play FF games - for story and for character. The gameplay is only ever the framework within which the story happens, but they've tried to make FFXV all about gameplay. And the story suffered so badly as a result. I really, really hope they take the lessons from this and use them to make FFXVI (whenever it happens) into something amazing.
Overall, I'm glad I watched the Episodes and I will watch Episode Ignis in due course. I'm also VERY glad I didn't shell out any money for them.
The first thing to say is 'Thank God for YouTube!'. I am sooo glad I watched these DLCs rather than buying and playing them. Even if I had managed to get through them, I doubt very much that I would have enjoyed them. Or, at least, the gameplay elements. The story elements are pretty good.
So, Episode Gladiolus, first. It's a dungeon crawler. There are three boss battles at the end of which, Gladio gets an extra ability to help in the final battle. He travels with Cor, who did the trial himself 30 years ago. Now, either Cor has aged REALLY well, or he did the trial when he was about 5. They do mention that he was very young, but I don't think they mean THAT young! I guess he must moisturise... Anyway, in between battles, you get the option to camp and then Gladio and Cor swap stories. This gives some backstory to both of them and is a nice touch.
The final boss is Gilgamesh, the Blade Master. Gladio gets to show off his mettle and his muscle and gets an extra weapon at the end. Oh, and the extra scar.
Now, Episode Prompto, which was the one I was looking forward to. Just as I thought Vivi's story was WAY more interesting than Zidane's in FFIX, I have been fascinated by Prompto's ever since 'the reveal' of his origins in the main game. And, story wise, the DLC didn't disappoint. There was plenty of angst and more reveals for Prompto to suffer through - and he even had Arinea (sp?) to help him.
My problem was that, as the player I was watching said, the DLC wanted to be Metal Gear. Sneaking around (in VERY loud boots...), stealth kills and lots of guns. And the story wanted to be FFVII. Cells taken from a mad scientist and cloned in large vats.
In both cases, it felt as though the makers of FFXV were trying to make the game all things to all people. In fact, the main game felt like that, too. Modern players don't like turn-based games? Our new game isn't turn-based! People expect more sidequests than story? Here are lots and LOTS of sidequests! People like dungeon crawlers? Here's one! And stealth games? Why, here's one of those, too!
They've lost sight of why people play FF games - for story and for character. The gameplay is only ever the framework within which the story happens, but they've tried to make FFXV all about gameplay. And the story suffered so badly as a result. I really, really hope they take the lessons from this and use them to make FFXVI (whenever it happens) into something amazing.
Overall, I'm glad I watched the Episodes and I will watch Episode Ignis in due course. I'm also VERY glad I didn't shell out any money for them.
