The Gaming News Thread (for news that doesn't need a thread)

Eternal chibi said:
It looks so cool

I hope it is actually cool

Unlike the last time I bought FF new with 15 and then it wasn't very cool
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I also remember being hyped about FF15 as well, when I finally got to play it, something felt off about it, maybe it was the gameplay that felt somewhat floaty, a mistake that was rectified in FF7 remake which honestly had the best action based FF gameplay to date so hopefully FF16's gameplay will build on that.
 
Aeon said:
I also remember being hyped about FF15 as well, when I finally got to play it, something felt off about it, maybe it was the gameplay that felt somewhat floaty, a mistake that was rectified in FF7 remake which honestly had the best action based FF gameplay to date so hopefully FF16's gameplay will build on that.
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Don't forget that YoshiP is the one in charge of XVI and is pretty much keeping SquareEnix afloat despite everything the crypto bros are trying to do to destroy the company.
 
demonix said:
Don't forget that YoshiP is the one in charge of XVI and is pretty much keeping SquareEnix afloat despite everything the crypto bros are trying to do to destroy the company.
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When I get around to playing it, FF16 will probably be the first game he produced that I'll be playing as I haven't played FF14 (thank the monthly fee for that one) so it will be interesting to see what he brings to the table.

Edit: This prompted me to do a little research and I discovered a free trial for FF14 that almost works like a FTP game, might consider checking that out actually.
 
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Aeon said:
I also remember being hyped about FF15 as well, when I finally got to play it, something felt off about it, maybe it was the gameplay that felt somewhat floaty, a mistake that was rectified in FF7 remake which honestly had the best action based FF gameplay to date so hopefully FF16's gameplay will build on that.
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The whole thing was floaty, I think the combat was actually the best thing about it, because it dared to be different. However, even that felt very slightly unpolished. I played for quiet a few hours and honestly couldn't have told anyone the first thing about any of the characters, setting or story.

demonix said:
Don't forget that YoshiP is the one in charge of XVI and is pretty much keeping SquareEnix afloat despite everything the crypto bros are trying to do to destroy the company.
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Whilst undoubtedly a G for what he has done for XIV this is still quite new territory for him. But someone who is clearly creative and as Aeon said with FF7 being very good there is a nice prospect for a good game

Dai said:
I did not see this coming.

www.animenewsnetwork.com

Birdie Wing Anime Gets Switch Game in English on June 15

VIVERSE also plans to release mobile game, VR golf experiences, metaverse events for franchise
www.animenewsnetwork.com www.animenewsnetwork.com
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Did not hear of this so here is what the internet says
Plot Summary: A youth story centering on two young women golfers named Eve and Aoi Amawashi. The two come from completely different backgrounds, with completely opposite play styles, and together they will shake the world of golf.
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Yes I can respect that
 
XVI is gonna slap, feel free to quote me on that - the game has been in the polishing phase for a long time (it's gone gold, don't know if you guys saw that). It's clear they had a roadmap and they stuck to it.

XV is a complex thing because on the one hand, the first impulse is to say "it really wasn't very good" (which is true) but Tabata and Co were left with the thankless task of making something semi-coherent out of Nomura's unchecked and unrealistic ambitions and with limited time. We all saw the result.

When Nomura does his thing, it's incredible but XV could've used a good producer to tell him what is and isn't realistic and therefore possible (or not). What a clusterphuck. (love him and Kingdom Hearts tho)

Anyway, Yoshida clearly has production of a game on lockdown (see the miracle he and team pulled off with ARR and every expansion since) and the creative team all have a hard-on for Matsuno. Mix in one of Capcom's senior combat designers and.... Whew 🥵🥵🥵
 
João Gomes said:
XVI is gonna slap, feel free to quote me on that - the game has been in the polishing phase for a long time (it's gone gold, don't know if you guys saw that). It's clear they had a roadmap and they stuck to it.
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I am cautiously optimistic over it, as there has not been a great mainline entry (that I played at least) since FF12; 13 was OK ish IMO (though let's be honest, Lost Odyssey will always be better than FF13), 14 I didn't play due to it being an MMO with a monthly subscription (though the free trial may make me reconsider) and 15 was massively dissapointing to me as I was actually really looking forward to it but when it came out I just found it to be kind of dull while also feeling clumsy gameplay wise to boot, though to be fair I didn't get that far into it so maybe it gets better but I think I had put in about 10 or so hours and it wasn't clicking by then.

I probably would not be interested in FF16 if not for the generally excellent FF7 remake but that game has convinced me that Square Enix have finally figured out how to do action based gameplay properly; I just hope that 16 will have some interesting settings as the mostly copy and paste real life world design of FF15 was another thing I didn't like about it.
 
Aeon said:
I am cautiously optimistic over it, as there has not been a great mainline entry (that I played at least) since FF12; 13 was OK ish IMO (though let's be honest, Lost Odyssey will always be better than FF13), 14 I didn't play due to it being an MMO with a monthly subscription (though the free trial may make me reconsider) and 15 was massively dissapointing to me as I was actually really looking forward to it but when it came out I just found it to be kind of dull while also feeling clumsy gameplay wise to boot, though to be fair I didn't get that far into it so maybe it gets better but I think I had put in about 10 or so hours and it wasn't clicking by then.

I probably would not be interested in FF16 if not for the generally excellent FF7 remake but that game has convinced me that Square Enix have finally figured out how to do action based gameplay properly; I just hope that 16 will have some interesting settings as the mostly copy and paste real life world design of FF15 was another thing I didn't like about it.
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I agree with the fact that single player mainline FF has been lacking for a while now. I really liked what I've played of XIV (I finished Stormblood and played like half an hour of the patch that leads into Shadowbringers) but gameplay-wise it's still an MMO and therefore limited by default.

Still, the Heavensward story is really great and Maehiro, the main writer, wrote XVI and is the creative director (he was also like one of the main battle system designers on XII so he's got a hell of a pedigree).

I regret never having had the possibility of playing Lost Odissey, it looks interesting.

XV got better with time but only insofar as getting less clunky, no miracles were pulled or anything. Shout-out to that thing's secret dungeon, which is entirely made of platforming. Crazy stuff.

Agree again on VII RE having a battle system that is a blaaaast. Can't wait for Rebirth and what they'll cook up with a possible switch system and aerial battling and such. It's gonna be so gooood. Even if it's a different creative team than XVI.

Did you see the extended gameplay videos they released for XVI? You've got two boss battles, area exploration and an Eikon fight. It's incredible. I can only imagine the story they came up with, and if they can match the tone of something like Vagrant Story.

I only disagree with you when it comes to comes to fantasy in "modern day" settings - I love that so much. I only wish there was more of it! Final Fantasy VII, VIII and XV get massive bonus points just for that (nothing can save XV tho lol). I kinda throw Parasite Eve and Koudelka in there but maybe that's an entirely different discussion which would be "why the f aren't there more horror RPGs, seriously.".

At the end of the day, XVI could never please everyone between preferences for different tones, different settings and different battle systems. But I have no doubt it'll be quality.
 
João Gomes said:
I regret never having had the possibility of playing Lost Odissey, it looks interesting.
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It's a really good game and honestly it's still pretty affordable, last I checked, as long as you own an Xbox 360 (don't know if it works on Xbox One or Series consoles but if it does then even better) I just wish it came to PC as the game would be even more amazing if it ran at 60FPS or higher.
João Gomes said:
Did you see the extended gameplay videos they released for XVI? You've got two boss battles, area exploration and an Eikon fight. It's incredible. I can only imagine the story they came up with, and if they can match the tone of something like Vagrant Story.
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I've yet to see the videos in question but I'll probably check them out a bit nearer release as if they succeed what they're meant to do then I might get fidgety waiting for the game lol.
João Gomes said:
I only disagree with you when it comes to comes to fantasy in "modern day" settings - I love that so much. I only wish there was more of it! Final Fantasy VII, VIII and XV get massive bonus points just for that (nothing can save XV tho lol). Parasite I kinda throw Parasite Eve and Koudelka in there but maybe that's an entirely different discussion which would be "why the f aren't there more horror RPGs, seriously.".
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I think it's more down to how it's presented alongside how creative the settings are; FF7's setting is really good, ditto with games like Shadow Hearts but neither of them felt like they were copying and pasting real life, they incorporated elements of it effectively and stylised it to blend seamlessly with fantasy and reality while also having a lot of imagination while FF15 (from what I've seen) was mostly kind of bland.
 
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João Gomes said:
fantasy in "modern day" settings - I love that so much. I only wish there was more of it! Final Fantasy VII, VIII and XV get massive bonus points just for that (nothing can save XV tho lol). I kinda throw Parasite Eve and Koudelka in there but maybe that's an entirely different discussion which would be "why the f aren't there more horror RPGs, seriously.".
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I couldn't agree more on modern setting FFs and horror RPGs. FF VII, FF VIII and Parasite Eve are amongst my favourite games ever. Absolutely loved the innovative gameplay in Parasite Eve and was really disappointed when they went the resident evil route for the second one, and I never did get to play 3rd Birthday. I live in hope that they revive that franchise in the spirit of the first game someday.
 
Aeon said:
It's a really good game and honestly it's still pretty affordable, last I checked, as long as you own an Xbox 360 (don't know if it works on Xbox One or Series consoles but if it does then even better) I just wish it came to PC as the game would be even more amazing if it ran at 60FPS or higher.

I've yet to see the videos in question but I'll probably check them out a bit nearer release as if they succeed what they're meant to do then I might get fidgety waiting for the game lol.

I think it's more down to how it's presented alongside how creative the settings are; FF7's setting is really good, ditto with games like Shadow Hearts but neither of them felt like they were copying and pasting real life, they incorporated elements of it effectively and stylised it to blend seamlessly with fantasy and reality while also having a lot of imagination while FF15 (from what I've seen) was mostly kind of bland.
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Re: Lost Odyssey - I think it's not a matter of if but when until I get a series X and I'll definitely look into it then. The only thing I know is that it has a hell of a transition from opening cutscene to gameplay and that apparently the written stories are really good!

Re: XVI videos - oh yeah, in that case don't watch, because I'm having a hard time staying away from information and videos from the game - I still put the three main trailers on rotation every now and then, so hype.

Re: fantasy in modern settings - I understand what you mean. I still have a ravenous hunger for fantasy in modern day so even XV is extremely appealing in its setting to me, but blending things creatively into a seemingly real life setting makes things much more interesting, no doubt. Shadow Hearts is another of my massive gaming regrets. And Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter... Oh man, we need those re-released yesterday.

Geriatric hedgehog said:
I couldn't agree more on modern setting FFs and horror RPGs. FF VII, FF VIII and Parasite Eve are amongst my favourite games ever. Absolutely loved the innovative gameplay in Parasite Eve and was really disappointed when they went the resident evil route for the second one, and I never did get to play 3rd Birthday. I live in hope that they revive that franchise in the spirit of the first game someday.
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Yeah, we're completely in sync then. My thoughts mirror yours. Parasite Eve is such an incredible game - the setting, the pacing, the gameplay. 2 was a step down and I couldn't muster up interest in The 3rd Birthday neither.

Still, Parasite Eve really brings me back to a time when Square were firing on all cillinders (they still mostly are, but game design has changed so much and with expansion comes the added probability for a few misses here and there).

They were so relentlessly creative, when I think FF (VII, Tactics, VIII and IX), Xenogears, Parasite Eve, Vagrant Story, Racing Lagoon (we need more racing RPGs, I'm not even kidding - I think there was like a TOCA game that had a significant story mode back in the PS2 but that's it as far as I know), Chrono Cross, Saga Frontier 2, Front Mission... Just wild levels of quality and variety.
 
Dai said:
You didn't miss much. I've made two attempts to get through that game, but lost interest after a few hours both times. The body swap mechanic is an interesting idea, but like every Squenix game from that period the execution was mediocre. It doesn't feel like Parasite Eve at all either.
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Wow that bad eh, I had a feeling that might be the case, so am glad I didn't miss out but a shame that the downhill trend continued.
João Gomes said:
Still, Parasite Eve really brings me back to a time when Square were firing on all cillinders
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Tell me about it, reminds me of the good old days when I somehow had time to play these and got super excited anytime I saw this:
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Chrono cross, another underrated brilliant one that I was so glad to see the remaster of. Ah these guys have a truly enviable library that I just wish I had the time to revisit again and again.
 
FF15 doesn't seem to get an awful lot of love, but I can't lie I do kind of love it. It's still probably my least favourite FF game if I was forced to pick one, but I appreciate them all in different ways and I appreciate 15 for the wacky fun relaxing thing it is. There's no really great tension of feeling of urgency at all in the game, it's a game to basically just lark about in and drink in the vistas and go camping with your virtual buddies. I really do love that classic American road trip with a little fantasy and sci fi sprinkled on top vibe it has, it nails it and it's the best (and only?) road trip game I've ever played. I never got tired of cruising along in the dude-mobile and seeing one of them leafing through a book and the another one excitedly shout out about stopping to take a photo or something, or needing to stop for a herd of Ostriches or something to cross the highway. Or camping out in the wild and having Ignis whip up something implausible to eat. And the fishing was phenomenal. It made me feel nostalgic and wistful about the friends and adventures I didn't have.

It has it flaws, the story was very forgettable and boring, the character designs extremely uninspired, and it was just generally a bit of rough diamond. But it had its own magic, just as I also insist that other disparaged FF (13) does.

Looking at FF16 I find it difficult to figure out if I'm super excited for it or not. It looks great and all, but at the same time it does look like the polar opposite of what I loved about 15, it looks incredibly self consciously "epic" and serious and "mature", and it clearly takes a lot inspiration from Game of Thrones. To my eyes it all looks more than a little generic so far (much more so than 15 whose world was actually quite unique), and the whole hub concept seems to suggest it will be a more streamlined FF and continue the trend of cutting down on towns which is a bummer for me. I also don't have a PS5 which is another bummer. But its FF so I'll always be excited for it.
 
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The soundtrack for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is finally up for pre-order. It's a 9 (yes, nine) disc set featuring about 140 tracks. The standard edition looks to be about £40 from the usual suspects like CD Japan.

For those with deep pockets and no impulse control, there's a Procyon Store exclusive edition that includes 1/3 scale replicas of the two main flutes featured in the game (Noah's and Mio's) for about £100, though the pre-order window for that version closes on 30th April (release date is end of July).

www.procyon-store.com

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Original Soundtrack (Limited Edition)

This original soundtrack contains 9 CDs of over 140 tracks (around 9 hours) that were used in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, released by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch on July 29, 2022. On top of music included in the main game, music from the additional story in Expansion Pass Vol. 4 is also included.
www.procyon-store.com www.procyon-store.com

There's also this funky-looking box set with the soundtracks for the whole Xenoblade series. That's another with a 30th April pre-order deadline and a pricetag around £120.

www.procyon-store.com

Xenoblade Chronicles Original Soundtrack Trinity Box (Limited Edition)

This is the Limited Edition Box which contains the Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition Original Soundtrack, the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Original Soundtrack, the Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country Original Soundtrack and the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Original Soundtrack.
www.procyon-store.com www.procyon-store.com

I think I'll just go with the standard edition, personally.
 
I've been debating with myself ever since I saw the announcement and there weren't even pictures to go with it... Now with pics and Xeno 3's DLC, Xenohype is back on the menu!

I had talked myself out of the trilogy box just this morning, your post brought me back to the negotiating table.... with myself lol

I just hope all stock disappears before I can make a huge mistake.
 
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