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Thank god someone else agrees with me regarding this game, people are calling this goty and saying all ff games should be like this going forward. No fkin way man
It'd be cool to hear why you like FF8 so much Ralph. Personally it was my first final fantasy game and the draw, junction system was so cool. Plus the GF mechanic having story implications was amazing
Odd for the creator to say that gamers these days won't tolerate turn based combat due to their attention span, but then make a game that's 75% cut scenes
They should be teaching people to maintain their attention span instead of trying to adhere to it. Brain dead generation is ruining the natural flow of games
Yosheep finally getting real criticisms. FFXI/xiv 1.0 players have been saying it for a while.... but this business unit 3/under this current producer isnt really all that great when it comes to game design. I mean he still gets praise for ARR from 10 years ago... and even that I think he just manages time/money more then he makes a good game. Most of the good stuff in XIV was build on backbones from the original team... But the current era of players always praise anything and everything he touches. This game is just proof and the actual criticisms can be herd about what this team lacks.
I'd like to say that I really appreaciate the community you've fostered, everywhere else I see constant fight between different 'fanbases' about what's good and what's not, fights about the average reviewer rating, etc. It's nice to read very respectful comments even from people who are very much enjoying the experience, it's something I hardly ever see these days.
yeah the only disrespectful thing you might see is someone calling him "shillup" but most of the time its memeing and if someone means it unironically they get clowned on.
i dropped it after the titan fight. i just couldn't force myself to boot it up anymore. every aspect of it is just god damn boring. from story to world to characters. every cool character either dies or leaves early. so you are left with generic stoic hero dude, his dog and jill the woman that happens to be also there. the mediocre and easy combat didn't help much either. even once you unlock more skills and finally have the ability to string combos together it doesn't come close to the greats of the character-action genre.
As someone who bounced off of Final Fantasy XV pretty hard, I'm kind of enjoying just having a linear, cinematic experience. The combat is fun and I'm really invested in the story, so I'm having a good time. Only eight hours in though. I guess we'll see if it holds up.
@@KurosuKirieif they ever remade FF9 they would tear it to pieces and rebuild it into kingdom hearts, just like FF7R and every other game they make these days
@@extinctbaryonyx almost like those are 2 different groups huh? It's really a mystery why that happens. Sarcastic enough or should I explain it to you like an AI being asked "explain it like I was 5 years old"?
Just finished the game last night. I started off really enjoying it, but by the end I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I think Ralph gave a completely transparent review of this game. I have all the same thoughts.
Finished it today and have the exact same feeling. At first the game was incredibly amazing for me, but by about 3/4 of the story I was dying for the game to end. Writing became more and more cheesy for me as well which made the entire thing even harder to go through.
@@kheops101Right, the writing just kept getting worse. So many cringe interactions, politics, plot holes, things that make no sense. I'm at around the 80% mark and I still wonder how destroying all the crystals will make things better.
@@johnciano3524I’m personally loving it as well. I think this is just another Lost Judgment situation where we don’t really see a game in the same way. It doesn’t break XVI for me, but it would have been nice to see a few minigames to break things up a bit, but their importance has really varied game to game.
@@doneatthetuna1342 I completely agree, but with the outrage at the couple of 6/10s this game got, it’s very apparent that a lot of people these days get upset when reviews don’t validate their opinion.
Its pretty hilarious knowing that FF16 was produced with such a cynical mindset towards turn-based gameplay but then months later, Baldur's Gate 3 came out and completely outshined it EDIT: And Baldur's Gate 3 won 6 out 10 awards at the VGA, including best of RPG and Game of the Year 2023 lol
When you try to make a game for everybody, you make a game for nobody. FF16 dumbed down every aspect of the game to appeal to as wide of an audience as possible, and ended up being a pretty shallow experience.
Stranger of Paradise already outshined XVI and most FF fans dismissed that game because one guy said "Chaos!" too much when in reality, it's a much better designed game than XVI and is more closer to the FF feel than XVI is.
I doubted u when I first saw this. I come back to this review 130+ hrs later and shillup summed up my thoughts exactly. Moments that r like no other but falls short in so many other aspects.
Why do I have 700 sharp fangs Why am I finding useless items and 2 gil everywhere Why are my new weapons being replaced 5 mins later Why are the side quests so boring and back ended Why are there cutscenes every 10mins Why cant I min max stats or build clive to fit a certain style i.e. why does gear exist and give the eikons more depth Where did game of thrones go.. Why is this game soo confused as to what it wants to be Why cant we switch party members like in FF7r? Why am I fighting the same birds and wolves everywhere Why are there no cactuas in the desert? Why are there no secret dungeons?
I think if we mixed FF 16 with Stranger of Paradise we'd get SkillUp's favorite game. For real though, Stranger of Paradise has pretty much everything that he feels is missing from this game.
Honestly kind of surprised you didn't mention the soundtrack. Regardless of how you feel about the gameplay changes, the soundtrack was just freaking phenomenal. There were a couple of moments where the soundtrack crescendoed with the story or action on screen perfectly and as corny as it sounds I actually had to pause and just kind of process it because it was SO good
Not liking it but still understanding and respecting those who like it, and honestly explaining the points you didn't like is the most amazing thing about your text.
Tbh the preface shouldn't be necessary. It should be common sense that a review is a single opinion and doesn't control your life. Everyone's so damn fragile, it's ridiculous.
27:22 In regards to *Heatwave* , the projectile counter/parry that takes up an Eikon ability slot: you don't actually need to use it as a parry ALL the time and in fact it does very decent damage, has fast cooldown and has a deceivingly wide hitbox that'll knockdown medium/small enemies around Clive. IF you use it as a parry not only is it one of the coolest-looking and best-feeling moves but it also pretty much DELETES even bosses' will meter AND it stops time so they actually won't be able to avoid it (try it on Benedikta's flying projectile attacks that avoid even the magic precision counter and it'll freeze her in place lmao). All this to say nope, it's not a waste of a slot even if you don't like parrying.
I like how he says "There are wery few enemies that throw projectiles" when it is simply bullshit. Almost every single boss if not every one throws projectiles, a lot of mini-bosses throw projectiles, a lot of normal enemies throw projectiles.
All that is kinda irrelevant if the combat is braindead easy, though. So you're making a useless nitpick. It's fine if you like the game, but it's hard to argue that the combat has any meaningful depth.
@@A.H.M.Ktoo bad depth doesn't really matter when you can melt all normal enemies by just dumping two maybe three cooldowns. Unless they are those spongey stagger meter enemies. Which are mostly just longer fights. There is zero strategy necessary.
I knew from the moment I finished the demo that this game was going to be divisive. I love this game. But I can definitely see why some people wouldn't. If you're a bigger fan of the more traditional Final Fantasies, this one's going to rub you the wrong way. But I do appreciate how accessible this game actually is, and I think that was part of the point in the game's direction.
@@gloominaati3105 and what form would that be? a stripped down action game thats a mile wide and an inch deep? im upset i bought it, i thought there would at least be some actual rpg systems, interesting gear, strategy etc. instead we got babys first action game. i want my money back.
I really enjoyed the game overall, but I definitely felt that criticism regarding the party feel being lost. I think for the most-part the combat and story is simple yet enjoyable. My favorite part of the game though was the world and feel, I always felt immersed and engrossed in the goings-on, politics and atmosphere of the game. The soundtrack was really solid too imo! That all being said, FF16 isn’t my first FF but it’s definitely one of, so I may be a bit biased in that sense
well it's literally my second ff and i hated the story and pacing so much i ended up quitting not long after you get your lightning powers, i love character action gameplay but that's not enough to save a game for me when the story is so abysmally bad, as a matter of fact i really didn't like 7 remake's gameplay at all but the story was so good i pushed through it to the end regardless
I really liked FF Tactics on PS1... everything since then has been less interesting. i did enjoy FF XV more than most people but I had a strong feeling XVI would be another step in the wrong direction.
@@KyngD469 yeah, that was a major oof.... not just by him but most TH-cam reviewers. That game is the reason why I watch gameplay before buying, regardless of what any reviewers say.
@@KyngD469I don't understand when people bring this review up, because I used his footage to make fun of the bugs lmao He really showcased all the problems the game had, on the platform he was offered (at the time, PC only)
@@KyngD469 but he was honest back then too, he only had the PC copy and he pointed out all mistakes the game makes. He didn't know how bad the console releases were.
Love that Ralph isn't afraid to go against the tide and say "hey. lots of people are going to love this, and I understand I'm opening myself to a lot of hate. But SOMEBODY has to point these shortfalls out"
Interesting take from Yoshi P on going away from turn based combat, yet Yakuza took the direct opposite mentality of going from instant action to turn based for the first time and it ended up working.
@@Bahamut998Data shows that the sales of the franchise went from 14 millions to 17 millions after releasing Like a Dragon, most Yakuza games before sold 1 or 2 millions. So Yakuza like a dragon sold more
While I am really enjoying the game myself, I can definitely agree with your criticisms in regards to lack of RPG elements. I think it would have been nice to have enemies that give you status effects; the death blossoms for example could poison you and thus you can use antidote to heal but nada. It would have been nice to know what you thought of the soundtrack overall, as that is one thing you didn't tackle whatsoever in the review.
I’m honestly a bit surprised by the unanimous praise for the game. You had an absolute gem in FFVIII Remake which didn’t get as much praise, but now you have DMC with a FF sauce over it, and people are blowing their load. It seems very odd to me that FF fans are okay with their RPG being turned into an action game. This is the first negative sound I have heard, and I feel like this game should be a lot more divisive. Great for players who want another GoW, not so great for fans of the series.
@@darthmandalore409they’re not okay, they just get 1 game every 7 years and will get over the honeymoon phase eventually, just like from soft fan did with Elden ring
@@TheTinyTimmyTimTim The fact the honeymoon phase certainly exists and that more criticisms will eventually come up doesn't mean fans, largely, are not going to be ok. You talked about Elden Ring as if every From fan hates it now, which, as a fan that's active in the community, is plainly false. Elden Ring wasn't more divisive than Dark Souls 3 or Sekiro (maybe you'll be surprised to know how many fans didn't like or weren't even interested enough to play those tittles), just on a much bigger scale because...well, the game was fucking fire so everyone was playing it, thus multiplying the number of opinions and takes. Yes, a lot of people are not going to like FF16, and more negative reviews are surely coming. But the largely optimistic take on the game will not magically vanish with time. FF13 and 15 never got to have ''honeymoon phases'' because they were divisive (and trash) from minute 1.
@@darthmandalore409 To be fair.. it went the action route a long time ago, specially in XV THAT game didnt even have good combat, it was a one button smasher all the way.
This was one of the best, most honest reviews I have ever heard. I spent last night trying to explain my issues with this game to my wife. You just explain how I feel perfectly. Im enjoying the game, but every point you made is exactly how I feel about it. Very impressive review 👍
@Cund Yes, no shit Captain Obvious. Do you have a point or are you just butthurt that other people aren't simping for your vidya game as hard as you are?
Looking back on 2023, I’m so glad BG3 came out the same year as FF16. It shows how wrong Yoshi P was about what gamers want and what can succeed in this day and age.
For real. Bothers me to no end when developers say stuff like that without any solid data or research to back it up. Turn based RPGs still rock and will always have a massive core audience that grew up with them, and a new one that discovers and loves them. I mean, look at the new Pokemon that came out this year. Turn based, very flawed, game, and yet, it's the 2nd best grossing game in the franchise, (and one of the top sellers of the year). Not to mention BG3 as well.
THANK YOU. You put into words what had been bugging me about this game. I personally really liked some of the characters, the gameplay was kinda fun (at parts) but in general this game was a drag to get through. I was so bored at multiple parts and have zero interest in doing Game + just cause I dread having to sit through it all again. Even with the option to skip the cut scenes there is so little gameplay between each one, what's the point? I dunno. It's hard cause I enjoyed it...but I also didn't? I really liked the story and as said before, the characters but as for the gameplay? Brutal. I loved FFVII remakes gameplay so much and even FFXV's (despite how easy that was too) but I miss those RPG elements. I started off fighting seemingly elemental enemies with my years of FF knowledge thinking I was using the opposing element only to realize that using fire on that fire bomb did just has much as any other. 😐
@@amolbhatia1449 real time with pause is the way to go, they could've tried that instead of dumbing it down. And the fact that there's no companions or bros traveling with you seems to me this is not really a FF game anymore, though all of that could be manageable if not for those empty uninteresting flat maps in the world.
@@creed22solar123 For me personally that’s fine because I’m not really a FF guy. It’s okay to do something different and except at it. See how RE switched between RE2 remake and RE4 remake that capture the very different essence of each game and then the brilliant RE7 which is pure and unadulterated horror. Or Zelda which has gone through a few transformations. For people like who find turn based combat grating and at times had to drag themselves through even the quite good FF7 remake this direction is exciting. And having seen the reviews to be fair it seems not all FF fans fall into the seem category as Shill Up.
@@amolbhatia1449 the problem is that its not even an rpg, its an action game. the series completely jumped genres when it could have just been an action rpg
FF16 open world is pointless because they streamlined the rpg elements. Whats the point of exploring and gathering when there is not much to craft or equip. They really poured their budget into their story and force you to drag yourself throughout. Open world gives you a break from story but its empty and pointless...i was literally skipping cutscenez at end just to feell rewarded by getting new powers from bosses. I was exhausted from story pace
I’ll be very curious to see how XVI ages. It’s enjoying a groundswell now, due to the lengthy runup and plentiful teases but will that momentum hold for another few years? When we’re waiting on XX, it will be interesting to see the various “Best FF” or “FF Games Ranked” lists and see where XVI lands.
1 year later, skillup is one of the few reviewers I trust, in part because of this review. The balls to go against the circlejerk and give honest, critical opinions is commendable. And after playing the game I ended up agreeing with all of them, and still don't understand the level of hype and love behind this game.
I really really agree with you on this review and was very surprised that you liked the game on the preview you got to play or in other occasions you mentioned it. I guess you needed to see the final product in order to judge it as a whole. Thank you Ralph for giving us your honest opinion as you always do.
I saw this when I was first starting the game and loving it, and I didn't really get what you were saying as my experience was being so different. I had such high expectations for FFXVI and the first hours were crazy good to me, but as the game dragged on I saw these high highs and abysmally low lows. By the end, I didn't care at all about the story and was burned out by the terrible pacing. Combat felt endlessly boring by the end, it felt like the game had random encounters as you would take two steps and be bombarded by unnecessary enemies and bosses over and over again. I'm still heart broken, I was so sure this game was going to be a 10/10 for me and for sure it had the potential to be so, but I ended up having a mediocre experience.
I’m at the point where the main quests have become as garbage as the side quests, it’s the ff14 msq all over again. This game encapsulates everything I hate about modern games: too many god damn cutscenes and a bland boring world filled with the most garbage mmo quests that would make ff14 blush, I think chatGPT could make better quests than the ones in this game
yes as a lifelong FF fan this game ain't for me. But I'm an old man pushing 40. Happy for the youngsters who love it, and I realize this isn't a series made for me anymore. At least I have remasters, the FF7r games to look forward to.
@@notimportant8643 what is it about old quest structure in video games that appeals to you? Or the worlds? Is there something they have that this doesn't? Don't bother replying if your answer is "good writing"
Finished the game today and yeah, I agree with most of the criticism. However, I still felt entertained by the game, solid 7.5/10 if you stick to the main quest and take it for what it is. My biggest complaints are general pacing and sidequests. I'm fine with the combat, but I also wouldn't mind going back to a party system for FF17. Once again this channel proves to be a reliable source for honest reviews. Cheers
Bro thank you, i thought i was going nuts since it seemed i was the only one that had issues with this game. Your video echoes my own sentiment of the game perfectly.
So far I’ve really enjoyed it. However, I miss having a party, I miss being able to slow down at times and think. I still think ff7 is the best hybrid they’ve ever created, but I can’t help but to miss the slow technical gameplay of 9 or 10.
@@Y0PPS Honestly my dream would be for the FF16 team to create the world, lore, characters, and tone, but for the FF7R team to create the combat. The music could go either way, both are very good. And for the level design and exploration, well, I think they just might have to get someone from outside of Square Enix, lol.
Thank you for the spoiler free review as I like to see other people's thoughts even though I am currently also playing the respective game. So many reviews that dropped after the embargo, started out telling spoilers so I stopped watching any of them. Finally I get my "how do you feel about it" fix lol
I honestly expected a very different, much more favourable review given the coverage from you up until this point 😅 but I love that you're putting out something that's true to your experience instead No doubt some people will get really upset at some of your points, given how much hype there is around this game right now, but I really hope it's not going to be too much, because honesty is what I come to this channel for in the first place Really wish I could play the game for myself, the story and combat seem like they would be up my alley
Facts I’m not into the series but the single character and hack n slash with long cut scene is my jam and I’m enjoying it a lot, but damn he is bashing it 😅 and usually I follow his input, this is the first time I disagree with him
@@bartsimpson8330yeah same, I'm surprised how much he disliked the game lol. It's my first not my first attempt at final fantasy, I tried 14 and hated it, trying 7R and it's ok. It's a departure from the super anime final fantasy, and I'm all for it.
@@typhon1861yeah I'm not sure why everyone loved 7R in comparison to this, the combat was ok in that and the story was complete nonsense. Personally I'm happy they changed it up after 15 games.
@@bartsimpson8330 I just bought the game and am gonna start it tonight. I usually agree with skillup's opinion on a lot of stuff but there have been notable times where I haven't, the big one being the last of us 2, which I absolutely loved. I'm hoping this is gonna also be one of those times.
After actually playing I agree. I always get nervous when I hear "modernize" when it comes to long running series. Sometimes it turns out that by "modernizing" a series they completely disregard what made the series great and turn it into a game that's hard to differentiate from any other game in the genre. It sad but kind of true FF16 is like every other action adventure game we have all played a thousand times. Final Fantasy was always a pallet cleanser for me, but I'll have to find another. All that said if you do love FF16 that is awesome and super glad that it seems many enjoy it.
I'm not familiar with this franchise so I can't say much about it, but hasn't the franchise taken this direction a long time ago? Because if so, then why assume that this is something that only started happening *now?* I know that the recent FF7 Remake should have made it even more obvious that this was going to be the case with this game, not to mention the heavy marketing and demo.
@@Leee275 Well in the mainline series number 15 was the first to switch from turn based. 15 still had a lot of RPG elements though. 16 feels like they completely ditched those elements making it feel like another action adventure game to me, which isn't inherently bad, just not what I prefer from a Final Fantasy game. Kind of like how a lot of people don't like the newer Assassin's Creed games because they kind of ditched everything that made the earlier games interesting. The new games aren't necessarily bad games just not what those fans expect from assassin's creed. That said it's a very delicate dance. It's difficult for long running series to evolve without alienating at least some of it's fans I get that.
Somehow I simultaneously agree with most of the things you said in the first 10 minutes, but still love the game. More than likely the DMC inspired combat and presentation has been keeping me hooked. Everything you said however about the lack of customization, weak exploration and small maps, and abysmal side quest design is 100% accurate.
Ya exactly his points are valid but I still love this game that's how I know it's good cuz if it couldn't hold up in my mind after seeing and having the flaws pointed out I'd know it'd be my own personal bias. But the fact that I can agree with Ralph on the flaws and be so excited to get home to play more tells me it's something special and Ben starr is such an amazing guy and VA
I've absolutely felt that. I have that with Valhalla. I 100% agree with every critique of its length, reptitiveness, and feel. Yet I can't get enough - I'll throw 5-6 hours into it every week, a similar way I used to play Destiny 2 or ESO. And I think that's exactly people's issue with it - it's essentially a single player MMO, and that gets exhausting. I don't blame reviewers for trying to power through it for a review, and burning out hard. It's a ton of fun as a slower, "play a bit over time" game.
40 hour game, 30 of it watching fucking cutscenes. The rest of it fighting easy fights with no danger if you understand the basic mechanics of the game. Long bullet sponge fights with no danger. Just big health bars. No status magic, no character customization or builds outside of stat sticks. Snoozefest of a game. How again is this an RPG? Where's the fun? Why is there no hard mode at the very least? I feel insulted when I play this game, because of how dull it is, from a roleplaying/immersion standpoint. I'm just watching Clive, but I never feel sucked in to the character. Really sad. The world building looks phenomenal, from the backgrounds to the music, it all looks stellar. But what does that matter if the game itself is a slog?
didn't want to watch this before getting into the game cause i was worried it was going to be brutal. but boy, 30 hours in and...what a disappointing experience. the level design of the game is so FLAT. for a game that was supposed to be "story driven", the "story" in between each boss fights were such a drag. appreciate your honest review Skill Up! must've gotten brutal feedback but you keep being you. cheers
Just my two cents having recently finished the game and being my first final fantasy, gameplay was very straightforward nothing crazy but enjoyable, what really drew me in and even made me consider playing it was the story, I am a huge sucker for medieval fantasy settings and this was great, it definitely has opened my mind to other final fantasy games even though I know they're different but just having the story hit so hard made me really want to give the rest of the franchise a try, thanks for the great video
This was my first one as well, I disagree with pretty much everything skill up said, he argues his opinion well, but I think he is just wrong, and people are loving, what he said about people not being able to finish it turned out very wrong, it has a very high completion rate
@ikedougenhouser3585 yeah I completely agree, after my 2nd playthrough I realized the first couple side quest are very monotonous but the latter half of the game definitely makes up for it
@@olagunas84 one of the best games this gen and probably up there as one of my favorite games of all time, even though it has some problems what it does well it does soo friking good that I just don’t care about the problems
@ikedougenhouser3585 yeah everything he says about characters is just wrong, Jill, Joshua, gav, cid, blackthorn, Charon, mid, Byron and more, everyone feels important and a part of the journey especially if you do the side quest, I don’t know how you walk away from the game not feeling that It also really seems like this is his main big complaint, that because previous FF games had party systems and this one doesn’t you lose something, but I just don’t see it, me being able to play and control tifa and Barrett made no difference in how I felt about them as characters, I just don’t understand how he felt like that was such a big deal, especially when these characters are integrated so well in the story
this section here is one entire copium comment chain. The game objectively sucks 2/3 of the time you play it. Ya´ll choose to see it or not depending how much copium you enhaled.
I disagreed with you at first (Before I beat the game) But now I think everything you've said was 100% Facts the game for me went from a 9/10 to a 7 to 6/10 by the end of it.
I’m 90% through the game. And the longer I played, the lower my score. There are epic scenes. But the game is absolutely drowned in side missions and pointless dialogue.
I can already hear the negativity and I’m enjoying the game quite a lot. I’m easily influenced unfortunately so I’ll have to come back to this one later Ralph. Thanks
I am 43 hours into the game, and that's about 70% complete. And I am completing 100%. The more I play, the lower my review score keeps getting. After beating Titan, my score dives even lower. It's supposed to be a spectacle but it's just a lot of fast cuts and nonsense attacks, things flying everywhere that doesn't actually make any damn sense. Trying to copy God of War just to be big in scale? I don't get it. When it plays out like crap, who gives a damn. Life to the empires are all about the crystals, but when they "vanish" no time is spent on it. The foundation of the world is irrelevant. It's baffling. Summon fights are one of the worst things in this game. They clearly had no idea what to do with them. And to make it worse, limit breaks are dead. This game isn't an RPG at all. I keep thinking that me going out and farming, leveling up, and looking at every corner of each map will pay off in any way. But it hasn't. I'm not having much fun anymore. I started to skip conversations from my side quest people just yesterday. Nothing interesting happens, nor do you get anything interesting. S rank hunt? Easy and I didn't get anything. I hope there is something more before the journey ends. There are a million games like Final Fantasy 16, but before there were almost no games like it prior to even FF13 (which was bad). They just keep changing FF into what they think will sell, not make it to what FF actually means and having people want what FF they make. Nintendo doesn't change their games at all, not Zelda, not Pokemon and they don't give a damn. You put out a game that is fun, and what do you know? People will buy it and enjoy it even if the game direction isn't what is mainstream or deemed the best route. You will find it interesting what people will gravitate towards. Final Fantasy has always been about heavy RPG elements. It's not about turn based combat like FFX, or ATB. Variations of gameplay. It's about the entire package. The RPG aspect of those identities is much larger. FF16 so far, 43 hours into it has thrown it all away. Who told these guys we want Final Fantasy to not be an RPG game anymore? Who says that we and younger kids whom are the "future" want instant gratifying games where you just hit everything? Why hasn't anyone been paying attention to actual trends. Final Fantasy doesn't need to follow a trend. It is a trend. It's chasing games that have two or three entries max and then die off. Final Fantasy used to be about creating what they dreamed of, what didn't exist. Now they are chasing what's already there. Devil May Cry? Bayonetta? These bomb games are the sales that they are chasing? It doesn't make any sense to me. My rating of FF16 right now. Graphics 9/10 Dialogue 7/10 Combat 4/10 Story 7/10 Systems 2/10 Character Design 5/10 World Design 8/10 Extra Content 2/10 Overall - 7/10
I understand your points, but I don't think giving Nintendo praise is a good thing when there's tons of indie, single, and double AA companies that "put out a game that is fun" without all the scummy stuff they've done to the fans. Giving more attention to Nintendo only exacerbates the problem and weakens any potential boycott towards them.
Agreed. The total absence of RPG elements in 16 and the shallow gameplay with almost 0 replayability made the game a total disappointment for me. It's just another shallow action adventure game with very little unique/memorable component.
@@mr_smiles4213 Well game scores, in general, are more or less inflated, a 5/10 is like objectively a bad game (like tons of bugs, the game is clearly incomplete, and the controls have a literal second or two delays i.e. Balan Wonderworld for the PS5 to a 51 on Metacritic and that game was terrible or at best mediocre by all measures), which FFXVI isn't. FFXVI, though flawed, is more or less complete, performs overall pretty well despite the performance issues, and the average player is unlikely to encounter any game-breaking bugs. A 7/10 is more appropriate for such a review as Skill Ups or the OPs review.
I highly value your reviews in that you don’t let popular opinions sway you. As someone who is no longer interested Final Fantasy games, still was hoping this one would be fantastic for the fans.
I'm a Pretty big FF fan (Started with OG 7 back when it came out, Played em all Since minus 1-3) and I absolutely Love 16, I disagree with the whole "this isn't final fantasy" Take personally it has the core Stuff of FF like the Engrossing Story,Focus on characters (even if you only play as 1 character), Godly beings Like Bahamut ect, Emphasis on magic and Crystals and end of the world scenario, Epic cinematics and music ect. All those things were what made final fantasy for me ultimately, Combat systems Keep changing per mainline Title and some I liked some I didn't, I LOVE 16s combat but I'm also biased cause DMC is my favorite gaming franchise and I meld into it's influences in this game nicely. I was mostly concerned bout the inability to use party members like in launch 15 which I didn't like much, However oddly enough 16 I'm perfectly content with Clive and I think the reasoning is just the protagonist you play as, I didn't care for noctis and preferred Ignis for example yet I couldn't play as him till stupid dlc but in 16? Clive might be one of my favorite FF protagonists now tbh I love his character and thus don't mind Being relegated to playing just him. I actually love all the main cast tbh, Especially Cid! Ultimately I think it's worth Trying, This game is really dang good But Skill up is right if This gameplay formula turns ya off it won't make you a believer
@@firefistgaming117 Thanks, good to know a current fan’s perspective. Happy that the core fans are digging it. I’ll probably give it a try once it goes on sale. Right now it’s all Diablo 4 for me and waiting on Armored Core 6
@@firefistgaming117 that's how I see it as well which is why I love this game :) different strokes for different folks I guess. I suppose most people starting with ff7 or ff10 (a lot of them) might not enjoy it as much? idk but what the ff world to me in my head is what yoship is conjuring.
I don't think things will set in with gamers till more people finish it. It's heavily cinematic comparable to something like MGS4 where there's more cutscenes than there is gameplay. Sadly there's no endgame dungeon or superbosses at the end either and the sidequest are the same as most games. Combat is very fun but yes there's some negatives Edit - It's not a bad game I'm a fan of both the FF series and Devil May Cry but this isn't the perfect mixture of both titles. It's missing alot of elements that's known within the series and before anyone says "well yeah that's because it's an action game" It's still a mainline FF title and one can't help to expect certain things from that. It's very restrictive with what you are able to do. It's an action rpg and I've seen God Of War Ragnarok handle being within that genre far better.
@@bigwig252I believe the point is it's flawed more so than what people are currently willing to realize. It's a good game but it's one step forward in terms of combat and steps back regarding everything else
Honestly an accurate review. Only just getting around to this game now and it's been a disappointment. The pacing of the game is poor. I've found myself just turning it off and going to bed instead of wanting to make it to the next big event or moment. The itemisation seems pointless. Exploration is pointless. Side quests are dull. The story goes from intriguing to dull so often that it makes me loose enthusiasm for the parts of the story I was enjoying. I've finished every main series game to date. I plan to finish this one. But playing this game after BG3 makes this a tough slog in comparison.
THANK YOU. People giving this 9's are crazy. This is a 6/10 game, with 10/10 cutscenes once in a while. Parts of this felt like playing a PS2 game at worst, and a PS4 game at best. And it sucks that things like elemental weakness doesn't exist anymore. All magic does exactly the same damage to every enemy. And I hate how exploration is basically pointless in the open areas. Any item you find is worthless garbage.
6/10 is generous, more like 4/10. PS2 game at worse and PS4 game at best? Buddy, most PS2 games were at the very least fun and worth your time, this game ain't. (Maybe you're talking about graphics?) Also glad I'm not the only one who noticed elemental weaknesses aren't a thing in this game, a game centered around the iconic elemental summons of the series no less.
I agree with most of the points you’ve made in this video. Personally I am really enjoying the game so far, and it’s my first final fantasy game. I like it’s story. The combat is fun, though it isn’t challenging in the slightest. The presentation is great and the music is honestly breathtaking at times. But other than that there’s not much here so like you said in the video, if those elements don’t click for you you probably wouldn’t enjoy the game. The proportion of cutscenes to gameplay also makes me wonder if this story could have worked better as a show.
I mean...Story, combat and music are some of the most important things in a ff game anyway. I dont think anyone cared for the side quests or the rpg elements of past ff games which were indifferent to say the least. Although tbh this game in the 2nd half actually has some of the best side quests i've seen in a ff game.
@@Kostanovi no it's not. You made it clear that this is your first FF title and then presume to say what's important in the franchise as if you've played most of the games. Your entire comment is quite bold to say the least. I have no other comment but to say 'damn' if fetch quests impressed you lol. I'm glad you feel like you're getting your money's worth, keep gaming and enjoy Bro.
A bit late to the party here, but I 100% agree with everything this reviewer says. Such a disappointing terrible boring game, and I speak as a 32 year old who has loved this franchise their whole life.
It breaks my heart to hear this review. I'm about 10 hours in and while I'm enjoying it very much there was a feeling of something being off that I couldn't put into words. Thanks for putting that offness into words. Still going to play it though.
Ralph you're such a mensch. You're my favourite game reviewer and I hold your thoughts in such high regard. I love this game, but i love that you don't and the reasons why, as well as how respectfully you express that opinion. Never change.
You make a lot of valid points here. I'm personally enjoying it. But I do think the progression and exploration are quite dull. I feel like maybe future entries if they stick with the action rpg approach could learn from the Tales series, and I feel like that would both elevate combat and better connect you to the party. Good review
What I dont understand is how Ralph pretends like FF13 and FF15 werent either the same if not worse on all the metric he based his critique on. You cant tell me with a straight face those games had an interesting world to explore or meaningful RPG progression. I mean come on have some self awareness on your past reviews.. He applauded FF15 which is a mess of a game. He admitted to that in his review yes. But still loved it. It makes this review seem inconsistent. And I think he kind of knows that deep down since he preemptively tries to answer feedback he anticipates for the review.
@@mikev8746 People liked FF13 enough that it got two sequels. FF15 wasn't that bad eithe runtill the last segment, where enemies were super op for no reason.
@@I-Will-Destroy-U people keep using FF13 as the definitive example of a bad FF, but never remember Dirge of Cerberus or straight up forgot how bad 15 "rpg" was And now this one has even less rpg elements than that last one. It's so shallow it makes Ubisoft crammed RPG-lite look deep.
@@TheRealCaptainLavender The game made its intentions clear from the start that it was a more action experience. Don't criticise it for what you want it to be but rather for what it actually is.
what i've learned is that those of us who grew up with nes/snes, rpgs are just different these days. i've played every rpg/zelda game since time began and in 2023 heres how i had to come to grips.... xenoblade chronicles is my optimization game, zelda is my exploration game, ff14 is my mmo game, octopath is my turn based game and final fantasy is my ex that you wont date but wont let go either.
I'm really enjoying this game but your take on this is kinda like my take on Breath of the Wild where the rest of the gaming landscape was losing their collective minds over it but I thought it got too experimental to the point where it lost the series identity, so I get where you're coming from.
@@MajorasThoughts I think the difference is that Zelda is a great game and FFXVI its not. I dont care if they "feel" like the other games on the franchise. Zelda it's a masterpiece on its own and FFXVI its average at best.
I finished this game last week, and as a huge FF fan, I'm still extremely disappointed by it. Forget the "is this a Final Fantasy" discourse, this is just straight up not a good video game, FF or not. I agree with most of the review, although I wasn't even impressed with the locations. Very bland game, admittedly with some spectacular scenes sprinkled in. No RPG elements, no humor, no fun. This ain't it. I hope that future FFs won't be like this. At least Rebirth is coming, which will be on a completely different level (like Remake already was).
Your belief that the upcoming installment will be of high quality, despite the elementary school level writing in the previous one, speaks volumes about your standards for what constitutes "quality."
Fun fact: The gearing system in FF14 is very similiar. Gear is just stat sticks with nothing intersting to them. The secondary stats matter so little that you feel no difference with same-itemlevel gear with different secondary stats - unless you use a parsing tool.
Gear in ff14 has a visual aspect and materia. For example you can choose to increase your critcal damage vs base damage vs skill speed. As well as being able to choose what clothes you wear visually. You can't do that in 16 you have a 'damage go up' stat, and you can change the visual look of your sword but that's it. You can't even change the colour of your sword or clothes in this game.
@Derekmeetsworld everyone in 14 just melds based off off the balance anyways. If you're not doing endgame content (extreme at minimim) there isn't even a point in melding
Final Fantasy is my favorite franchise of all time, and I actually agree with everything you have said about this game. The only thing I disagree with is that I think the side characters are actually pretty good, not the best but certainly not terrible. Cid is amazing and Gav and Otto are really cool. I think Jill was a solid character as well. For me, despite all the massive problems of this game, what mattered was the impact it left for me. Those highs of the Eikon battles, the struggles along the way that Clive faced. The ending and the story I was a part of. That all meant a lot to me despite how poor so much of the game was. I enjoyed my time with this game, I’m glad it was made. But I certainly hope that FF17 will learn from this and deliver a much better game.
The way you describe pacing of FFXVI is the exact way I feel about FFXIV. The difference though is that the other qualities of FFXIV are not worth it for me to slog through the MSQ. Nice review, feels more like your older videos with thought out intros which I enjoyed a lot 😊 I don't think I will enjoy this newest entry to the series either.
good review, NEVER downplay criticism as just your opinion, OBJECTIVELY it has those issues SUBJECTIVELY is how much one can tolerate those issues but they are issues never be afraid to point something out bluntly, that's how improvements happen - by critiquing it bluntly never throw niceties at it when the issues need discussion not preface statements "just my opinions/its not that bad/u may like it, that's fine/maybe its just not for me need more blunt analysis' on games than those endlessly shilling for it as "the good outweighs the bad" rhetoric of willfully ignoring issues out of fear of critiquing brand they like
FF16 absolutely nails the 'setpiece' moment. Developer-curated experiences that want to show the player something and make them feel something. I was also expecting something like FF7R with the abilities and flow of that. I'm not disappointed either however.
Thanks Ralph for always sharing your honest thoughts ❤ I am still eager to get home from vacation so I can start playing - the visuals and characters draw me to the game.
I think this is true, but if enemies are mostly just punching bags, it seems like a waste of time to go for stagger in this one. A more proactive approach is more efficient
I didn’t even know heatwave had a counter mechanic. It’s a great move without even blocking a projectile. Doesn’t more damage to a single target than the spin attack. What I’m curious about now is if the Garuda counter is really good. I like the other two.
These were my exact thoughts playing through FF16. It just felt significantly underbaked on gameplay despite having a ton of potential. The narrative was too drawn out and padded as well. I didn’t realize it was the same studio as FF14 (if I understand correctly), and that explains a lot imo. Great and honest review!
I'm about 10 hours in, and I'm really enjoying it. It's not a very good Final Fantasy game, but it's a pretty good political intrigue action-adventure game. It feels more like a spin-off than the next numbered entry in the franchise.
@@bringithahn I've always hated this sort of argument. Like, I understand if people prefer one formula over another, but it bothers me when people claim that THEY know what the series should be and not the creators. Especially in the case of something like FF, which has historically iterated upon itself over and over. Feels like people say this every time a new FF comes out.
After almost 18 hours into this game i think im just gonna quit playing it for now. Everything you said in your review applies to my thoughts on this game. I think if this was a 20 hour game, stripped of almost all side content stuff and this half open world design it could have been so much better. But the way the paces this game is just so unbearable. Such a shame. Accept the Truth scene still one of the most epic moments in gaming tho.
I have not played the game, but I've seen people playing it and this pretty much sums up how the game seemed to me. I thought there must be something I'm missing that could only be experienced by playing the game for yourself, but now I'm convinced that it's maybe just not for me.
I felt like I was going insane when everyone praised the demo to no end whereas it completely killed any hype I had for the game. It really felt like a completely on-rails glorified cutscene with some QTEs and combat thrown in and it seems the main game is much the same.
@amysteriousviewer3772 and the saddest part is that even though its a more action oriented FF, its bosses are extremely weak with linear attack patterns which ultimately dims its so focused action. Even If you want somewhat of a challenge, you have to finish the game in order to gain access to a higher difficulty..
I'm loving FFXVI so far, I get 100% your point tho in past FFs (excluding FF12) besides the turn based combat, they had not that much RPG in it. I'm loving the story structure but I guess I'm just used to the FF14 style. Overall I think this game is amazing including combat, it gets my neurons all fuzzy and tingly like DMC and Bayonetta!
For all the missteps mentioned in this video (which I agree with entirely), I think the worst one has to do with itemization and skill progression, and what they did not do with the crafting system. There needed to be something special to the weapons, perhaps special qualities that would force you to stick to one for a particular playstyle. Instead, every new item gives you +5 Attack and +5 Stagger, and all game through both stats are almost identical. Or instead of having accessories that give a 2.5 second cooldown reduction or 7% damage increase, those types of upgrades should have been built into the skilltree, allowing you to upgrade abilities (to a certain limit) as you used them, incentivizing experimentation. And the accessory slots could have again been used to allow different playstyles. The game is an odd middle ground where they act like they're afraid of alienating RPG players with too many action elements, and afraid of alienating action game players with too many RPG elements. And at the end of the day they have provided you with the worst for both: limited action options, and the most barebones RPG fetchquests, but with no other systems in place to make them rewarding. I really hope this is not the direction for XVII. This was only a Final Fantasy game in name, but not in spirit.
I can't tell if it's a lack of ideas or resources. They wanted to make an action game but they forgot that every good action game has to have good platforming/puzzlez and level design as well. Those seem like obvious mechanics to have in a game where you collect powers one by one in a linear fashion. The trickle down effect of traversal abilities from the eikons would have made the map basically design itself.
I wasn't expecting Stranger of Paradise to feel like more of a Final Fantasy game than 16, with its elemental weaknesses, a more useful party, more strategic itemization, and respect to legacy 😢
I really like strangers in Paradise! Haven't had a chance to play 16 yet because I'm a PC gamer but I still want to try it out. Wasn't a huge fan of 15 but we'll see.
I just recently played the first hour of that game and couldn’t continue. I even prepared myself for a corny experience but the voice acting, pacing and costume designs were just too much lol
i fn love stranger of paradise..just hit the ending yesterday..bout to jump into endgame..was thinking about getting this but now I can see they are nothing alike
@@ronniewhitedx I am still going to play 16 for sure. I was originally going to get it for my birthday butI am just gonna wait till it hits $30 or so now.
I do think the IP isn't evolving to become better, it's changing to become more profitable. You can make action games with deep RPG systems, but that's not what happened and it feels like FF16 is a game in a different series (in particular the Tales of series which used similar systems) that looks great but doesn't innovate at all. A big problem I have is how the main plot points feel like "hey I've seen this before, but it was better". When there's 30+ years of games it sets expectations, and I'd love to see what the job system could become in an action game with deep RPG systems, maybe even more dynamic systems to allow customizing skills to make the jobs your own and a big wide world, but FF16 makes me believe Square will never do that, they will just chase the sales even if that means throwing away 30+ years of their IP and the company that innovated and was on the forefront of the JRPG genre aren't all there, Square is just another triple A corpo making pretty fireworks but nothing more.
So do what they have been doing for 30+ years but also "innovate"...just not much, or that way. Or whatever the hell Goldilocks ratio you want I guess. What your talking about sounds like a bloated game of menus. Look at the jump from Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2 if you want an example of why slim and trim is often better game play. Fresh air for a new era of gaming thank god.
exploration is downright being punished.... Bloody Hides, sharp fangs, Magicked ash are THE ONLY things i keep finding and i can do nothing with it. i remember finding a mythril braclet in the volcano ... and that was a main mission!! that was the only item that i got that was better than what i had in like 30 hours... i fougth a notrious mark and got a meteorit in the chest behind which i can buy!!! and yeah dont need it anyway. there is nothing to craft besides the stuff you get after boss battles.... what were they thinking? is this realy what the new generation likes? i am dumbfounded.
I feel you man, I doubt they even bothered designing the reward system - it feels like there is nothing left except the flashy combat, which quickly becomes boring due the lack of variety and limited choices
@@NotARealPerson12345there’s plenty of variety and choices. You need to go further in the game to unlock said things and then apply yourself to use them. If you’re not gonna take advantage of the move sets or try to do combos why play this game lol.
@@Manthathasspiderlikepowers I did apply some small combos and it was fun, but that's really not enough. A game can have 100 options but if it doesn't provide the drive for players to discover then then it's useless. The combat has combos but it if doesn't require any tactical decisions - want to attack fire with fire? Yeah go ahead, the same damage... Use ice to attack fire? Well, same amount of damage... There's no penalty if you make bad choice. You can dodge infinitely without worrying about stamina, which doesn't exist. All you gotta do is wait for CDs and unleash your big moves to bosses. Yeah, certainly the game gives you a lot of options but the game wasn't designed well to drive you to discover them.
Thank you for the candid review. I've put about 6 hours in so far and I was hoping there was more depth than what I've been presented. I'm disappointed to hear there isn't but I'm enjoying it for what it is and spending time with my wife who's enjoying watching the spectacle.
@@MAJINNOBUDeciding how you'll combo a wave of enemies with terrible A.I. is depth? I wonder how you'd react to an actual job or party management system. Or a typical FF super boss.
@@HighDephinition i'd say that's more of an issue regarding Action focus game as a whole, like DMC or GoW, probably the downside of switching to ARPG. i'm not that far in the game but at the least every boss is ramping up in complexity. and the NG+ could still make it more challenging.
Ben Starr suffered the loss of his father during acting for 16, and used that to help convey Clive's emotions through the game. Many developers from Final Fantasy 14 were involved in Final Fantasy 16. This is because other teams at Square Enix are busy (Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Kingdom Hearts 4 and Dragon Quest XII) To Devil May Cry 5, featuring the same combat director and similar fast-paced, high-action gameplay. Yuna's whistle from Final Fantasy X gets used in a prologue cutscene by Clive. The end credits feature a segment dedicating the game to Stephen Critchlow, Byron's first voice actor, and Square Enix NA's Head of Marketing Kevin Kraff (who passed away in July 2022). The production staff have cited Game of Thrones (specifically the earlier seasons of the show) as a major inspiration. A minor key rendition of the overworld theme from Final Fantasy plays during various scenes exploring the history and lore of Ultima, first popping up in the chapter "Cloak and Dagger." Stephen Critchlow, who died two years before the game's release, is listed alongside Ewan Bailey in the credits as one of Byron's voice actors. * Ben Starr has been a fan of the franchise since Final Fantasy VIII. He first auditioned for a minor role under a code-named script to keep the work a secret, but was asked to read several other lines for the character that would become Clive. After a few days he was told he won the lead role, but it wasn't until another week later that he found out it was for a new mainline game in his favorite series. To him, becoming Clive was “an overwhelming honor and a terrifying privilege” and the worst part was keeping it a secret for years. * Stewart Clarke (Dion) is a fan of the series and said he felt privileged to have his character join the ranks of other complexly written dragoons like Kain Highwind and Estinien Varlineau. A PlayStation 4 version of the game was planned around the time the Awakening trailer for the game was shown, but was cancelled due to the technical limitations of the console. This is also the first mainline single-player Final Fantasy game whose English voice acting was recorded exclusively in the United Kingdom, following in the footsteps of fellow JRPG franchises like Dragon Quest and Xenoblade Chronicles. Final Fantasy XII was primarily dubbed in the UK with some additional recording done in the USA, while Final Fantasy XIV started out being dubbed in the US before the production moved to the UK beginning with the Heavensward expansion. * This is the third Final Fantasy game to receive a Mature rating by the ESRB, behind Final Fantasy Type-0 and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, the first to receive an 18+ rating by PEGI and the second to receive a D rating by CERO, behind Stranger of Paradise. * This is the first Final Fantasy game to feature a plot-important openly gay character in Dion, the Dominant of Bahamut.note Dion even shares a kiss with his lover Terence, which is shown on-screen during one cutscene. This scene ended up getting the game banned in Saudi Arabia when Square Enix refused to remove the characters or the kissing scene.
Great Review you made some valid points. I especially feel you on the customization part. In FF7R every weapon had unique strengths and weaknesses, with a unique attack that you could only use after leveling that particular weapon up. It gave great incentive to try each weapon out and you could essentially have your own unique playstyle. Theres no strategy needed for this game you could just button mash with base gear, but nonetheless the game is still fun, I like it for what is.
The customization in this is about the setup of skills and accessories you use, not your base equipment. Compared to every other FF that isn't FF7R or FFXII:TZA and it is pretty standard.
@@Ashtarte3D Yeah but it's still missing that strategic element in a RPG. Like in FF8 you could equip your weapon and armor with different elements and statuses. For example you could equip your armor with strong fire magic, which could make you immune to fire or heal you. You could also put status like sleep or beserk to make the enemy you just attack, attack another enemy. FF16 is like DMC where you don't need strategy, you can beat any boss or enemy with any type of weapon and good combos.
Hopping in here almost a year later because that's how long it took me to beat the game as I was having a hard time staying interested, you hit most everything on the head. Just gonna say, when you start the game there is a brief splash screen with Clive and the words FINAL FANTASY XVI and every time I saw in the latter half the game I would like raise an eyebrow because it just did not feel like a Final Fantasy game to me.
I’m having a ton of fun so far, but I get what he’s saying. Though I can’t help but wonder how he would feel about this game if it were divorced from the Final Fantasy name and all the baggage it brings. It’s such a storied franchise that means so much to so many people, myself included. During the review I couldn’t help but think that Ralph’s view of “what Final Fantasy should be” was probably giving him a stronger negative reaction then he might have had otherwise.
@@kathleengrouper8596 Having just finished it, i really don't agree with that sentiment, it has a gripping story with stellar characters. He says they're all shit, but Cid is the best side character i've ever seen in a FF game, he felt so human, so real. Not goofy or unrealistic of a normal person, even by fantasy standards. My biggest issue is the mundane shit the game has you doing. It's very obvious a dev team that has been making an mmo for 10 years made this game. Cut the mundane shit and the game is a 20-25 hour really intense story.
The lows between the highs (which are the story peaks where the dominants confront each other) could have been covered by a interesting and involved itemization or exploration system. Every chest you find every loot you get from a tough boss every beautiful location you discover is just whatever it has no influence on the game whatsoever. After i finished everything the game had to offer including sidequests hunts and exploring all areas to the point of the Bahamut fight i just couldnt continue the super boring useless grind inbetween (which is probably just a completionist problem) which mad me drop it there, a choice i never did with a FF before except 13 which i didnt like for different reasons. But its refreshing to see someone pointing out the extreme lows between the amazing highs. Good job.
@@vivifell Yeah selling half of FF7 Remake and FF15 is really "highest selling PS5 game in Japan ever"....rofl. Yoshi-P cultists lie to themselves and everyone else. 😄
I played the Steam demo earlier this week and then rewatched this review. I don't understand how people say this is the greatest FF game of all time. I just felt deeply disappointed as I went through the demo.
Since this review more have agreed with Skill up and it has a very mixed reaction. In fact I often see many criticisms of the game when people play it. I expect we will see more of them once it releases on PC. Fan favorite RPG mechanics were gutted out completely, and even as an action game lacks the depth of games like Bayonetta or devil may cry. And the side quests-oof. Not bad, amd I enjoyed the Eikon fights, but my most disappointing game of last year as I had such high expectations.
I completely understand all of your points. One of the many reasons I was so excited for this game was the combat and the fact is not too strategic but the rpg elements really are almost nonexistent. I like the game overall but I understand this formula doesnt work for fans of the older games.
I've played every mainline FF game since 7 and enjoyed them all, 15 wasnt great but it was still fun in parts and still felt like a FF game. Having enjoyed Skillup content for a few years now and appreciating his reviews I held off on picking up this game on release. However 10 months later, FF16 is on sale so I thought I'd give it a shot. @skillup you have never been MORE RIGHT in a review. This is not only the poorest FF game i've ever played but at best it is an extremely mediocre action game. Aside from the striking and polished visuals and the world setting I have no warm feelings towards this game. I'm slogging my way through the story for the first half in the hope it would get better and now only continuing as I feel i have to finish it so I dont feel I've totally wasted 30 hours. So so disappointed.... Moral of the story? Keep listening to @skillup, he knows his stuff.
He seems really vindicated with the review. XVI had tons of hype on release, and it no doubt has a lot of players who love the game. But overall its reception has been very middling, particularly in the FF fandom. Skill Up was the first prominent voice, at least as far as I know, that was negative on it.
@@jonathanlgillhe received a lot of ridiculous hate and personal attacks as well at the time, but as time has gone by I’ve seen more and more agree with him. He wanted to love this game. He met and interviewed Yoshi p, interviewed and liked Ben Star, but even so, was not afraid to give his honest opinion and experience, even knowing the reaction he would get.
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6 hours ago 😎
Review TREPANG2
I friggin love this game so much. Im half way through
Thank god someone else agrees with me regarding this game, people are calling this goty and saying all ff games should be like this going forward. No fkin way man
It'd be cool to hear why you like FF8 so much Ralph. Personally it was my first final fantasy game and the draw, junction system was so cool. Plus the GF mechanic having story implications was amazing
Odd for the creator to say that gamers these days won't tolerate turn based combat due to their attention span, but then make a game that's 75% cut scenes
They should be teaching people to maintain their attention span instead of trying to adhere to it. Brain dead generation is ruining the natural flow of games
PS gamers love cut scenes
Meanwhile Persona proves that statement wrong
Yosheep finally getting real criticisms. FFXI/xiv 1.0 players have been saying it for a while.... but this business unit 3/under this current producer isnt really all that great when it comes to game design. I mean he still gets praise for ARR from 10 years ago... and even that I think he just manages time/money more then he makes a good game. Most of the good stuff in XIV was build on backbones from the original team... But the current era of players always praise anything and everything he touches. This game is just proof and the actual criticisms can be herd about what this team lacks.
@@acking1502imagine calling an entire generation brain dead, you’re no different to baby boomers who said bad things about millennials
I'd like to say that I really appreaciate the community you've fostered, everywhere else I see constant fight between different 'fanbases' about what's good and what's not, fights about the average reviewer rating, etc.
It's nice to read very respectful comments even from people who are very much enjoying the experience, it's something I hardly ever see these days.
Skillup’s a brave man
Comment filters and blacklisted words must be working overtime
Where are you looking lol. I’m all over ACG, Gameranx, David Jaffe’s channel, GmanLives, etc… and the comments are always quite amicable bruv.
yeah the only disrespectful thing you might see is someone calling him "shillup" but most of the time its memeing and if someone means it unironically they get clowned on.
@@customizablemilk353 bruh we all call him shill up and NO ONE means it seriously. I don’t think a single person actually means it these days
Thanks for including the scene where you punch a chocobo in the butt to death for like, 10 seconds straight at 24:25 Excellent review.
"One... Thousand... Years... Of... DEAAAAAAATH!"
The 5 + 3 BLOODY HIDES are just * chef's kiss* divine.
lol he ripped that chocobo a new one indeed
Oh my god, I was just about to post this, absolutely hilarious!
Ah, so that's where the M rating came from.
I can’t tell whether or not I’m enjoying the game or that I’m TRYING to enjoy the game simply because I paid for it.
yeah same, i spent so much on it because the demo convinced me it'd be a certified banger but i just couldn't keep pushing through it
i dropped it after the titan fight. i just couldn't force myself to boot it up anymore. every aspect of it is just god damn boring.
from story to world to characters. every cool character either dies or leaves early. so you are left with generic stoic hero dude, his dog and jill the woman that happens to be also there. the mediocre and easy combat didn't help much either. even once you unlock more skills and finally have the ability to string combos together it doesn't come close to the greats of the character-action genre.
I forced myself into finishing this...😅
Like, it wasn't bad-bad but I always felt burned out
@@NuniPikachu I can respect that. I don’t think it’s bad bad either but forcing myself to play something I should be eager to play is just no good.
@@GojoStiglitzI get that but you have to get your $70 worth, I was burnt out at the home stretch of this game.
As someone who bounced off of Final Fantasy XV pretty hard, I'm kind of enjoying just having a linear, cinematic experience. The combat is fun and I'm really invested in the story, so I'm having a good time. Only eight hours in though. I guess we'll see if it holds up.
You just scratched the surface my friend!
My feelings exactly.
I'll bet you're also into being {redacted} by a they/them.
It seems like the ending is divisive, but I hope you enjoy the game
8 hours in is huge. Some game are only around that long. If you're enjoying it I think its time and money well spent
I do like how, similar to FF9, summons are treated as weapons of mass destruction and the consequences of using them are explored.
@@KurosuKirie As if that's ever going to happen x)
@@KurosuKirieif they ever remade FF9 they would tear it to pieces and rebuild it into kingdom hearts, just like FF7R and every other game they make these days
@@Ronbotnik which is great. turn base FF is ass anyway
FF went action : Waaaahhhhh This is not FF
FF Stayed Turnbased : RRRreeeee why wouldnt they evolve. Turnbased is so Boring and oldddd
@@extinctbaryonyx almost like those are 2 different groups huh?
It's really a mystery why that happens.
Sarcastic enough or should I explain it to you like an AI being asked "explain it like I was 5 years old"?
Reading new comments daily is now my favorite past time for this review. The divide is amusing to me.
Just finished the game last night. I started off really enjoying it, but by the end I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I think Ralph gave a completely transparent review of this game. I have all the same thoughts.
Finished it today and have the exact same feeling. At first the game was incredibly amazing for me, but by about 3/4 of the story I was dying for the game to end. Writing became more and more cheesy for me as well which made the entire thing even harder to go through.
I didn’t even finish the game, I fell off around the 45% mark
@@kheops101The dialogue between Clive and Ultima boils down to a tedious repetition of -I will do X! -No, because I will do Y instead!
@@kheops101Right, the writing just kept getting worse. So many cringe interactions, politics, plot holes, things that make no sense.
I'm at around the 80% mark and I still wonder how destroying all the crystals will make things better.
@@SasKPit will get rid of the blight.
Even when it looks like our opinions differ on a game I’m always eager to hear your thoughts.
I agree I love his reviews but really disagree here this games is awesome combat is amazing
@@johnciano3524I’m personally loving it as well. I think this is just another Lost Judgment situation where we don’t really see a game in the same way. It doesn’t break XVI for me, but it would have been nice to see a few minigames to break things up a bit, but their importance has really varied game to game.
agree. I don't agree with everything he says but I love listening to his opinions for some reason lol
I mean the point of a game review is someone's opinion on a particular game. It's not to make the reviewer's point of view the same as everyone else.
@@doneatthetuna1342 I completely agree, but with the outrage at the couple of 6/10s this game got, it’s very apparent that a lot of people these days get upset when reviews don’t validate their opinion.
Its pretty hilarious knowing that FF16 was produced with such a cynical mindset towards turn-based gameplay but then months later, Baldur's Gate 3 came out and completely outshined it
EDIT: And Baldur's Gate 3 won 6 out 10 awards at the VGA, including best of RPG and Game of the Year 2023 lol
When you try to make a game for everybody, you make a game for nobody. FF16 dumbed down every aspect of the game to appeal to as wide of an audience as possible, and ended up being a pretty shallow experience.
Stranger of Paradise already outshined XVI and most FF fans dismissed that game because one guy said "Chaos!" too much when in reality, it's a much better designed game than XVI and is more closer to the FF feel than XVI is.
Lol no one agrees with u ff16 was very well received and highly praised
Even final fantasy 7 remake was a blend of turn based and action, and people loved it.
Tf? Did you set a reminder on your phone to edit your comment after the Game Awards?
I doubted u when I first saw this. I come back to this review 130+ hrs later and shillup summed up my thoughts exactly. Moments that r like no other but falls short in so many other aspects.
Why do I have 700 sharp fangs
Why am I finding useless items and 2 gil everywhere
Why are my new weapons being replaced 5 mins later
Why are the side quests so boring and back ended
Why are there cutscenes every 10mins
Why cant I min max stats or build clive to fit a certain style i.e. why does gear exist and give the eikons more depth
Where did game of thrones go..
Why is this game soo confused as to what it wants to be
Why cant we switch party members like in FF7r?
Why am I fighting the same birds and wolves everywhere
Why are there no cactuas in the desert?
Why are there no secret dungeons?
nail on the head being that there is so many little mistakes it piles up to one massive one
I think if we mixed FF 16 with Stranger of Paradise we'd get SkillUp's favorite game. For real though, Stranger of Paradise has pretty much everything that he feels is missing from this game.
Which is hilarious as that is marketed as an action game, and this is marketed as an RPG
Honestly kind of surprised you didn't mention the soundtrack. Regardless of how you feel about the gameplay changes, the soundtrack was just freaking phenomenal. There were a couple of moments where the soundtrack crescendoed with the story or action on screen perfectly and as corny as it sounds I actually had to pause and just kind of process it because it was SO good
🤣🤣🤣
It might sound corny, but I feel you dawg. It's makes me genuinely tear up and moves me, that's how good that is.
A soundtrack, no matter how good, only supports the gameplay. It does nmt make the game.
A good soundtrack is like a cherry on the cake. If the cake is underwhelming the cherry won't matter much, no matter how great a cherry it might be.
@@AngladaFrankFrankyvaperegardless,it does play a role in the gaming experience and can make or break the experience/immersion.
I don't think I've ever agreed with a review more. Mirrors my own thoughts exactly!
You were honest in how you felt about the game and that's commendable. It's the reason why I've been watching your channel for all these years.
Not liking it but still understanding and respecting those who like it, and honestly explaining the points you didn't like is the most amazing thing about your text.
Tbh the preface shouldn't be necessary. It should be common sense that a review is a single opinion and doesn't control your life. Everyone's so damn fragile, it's ridiculous.
@@halkon4412 you'd think so but this comment section says otherwise.
27:22 In regards to *Heatwave* , the projectile counter/parry that takes up an Eikon ability slot: you don't actually need to use it as a parry ALL the time and in fact it does very decent damage, has fast cooldown and has a deceivingly wide hitbox that'll knockdown medium/small enemies around Clive. IF you use it as a parry not only is it one of the coolest-looking and best-feeling moves but it also pretty much DELETES even bosses' will meter AND it stops time so they actually won't be able to avoid it (try it on Benedikta's flying projectile attacks that avoid even the magic precision counter and it'll freeze her in place lmao).
All this to say nope, it's not a waste of a slot even if you don't like parrying.
I like how he says "There are wery few enemies that throw projectiles" when it is simply bullshit. Almost every single boss if not every one throws projectiles, a lot of mini-bosses throw projectiles, a lot of normal enemies throw projectiles.
Thank you his opinions are suspect at best, it’s like he’s looking for things to dislike for no reason. I have no trust left for this guy. I’m done
All that is kinda irrelevant if the combat is braindead easy, though. So you're making a useless nitpick. It's fine if you like the game, but it's hard to argue that the combat has any meaningful depth.
@@lesfrisbees I’m sure you haven’t played the game enough because there is alot of depth to the combat actually especially the more abilities you gain
@@A.H.M.Ktoo bad depth doesn't really matter when you can melt all normal enemies by just dumping two maybe three cooldowns.
Unless they are those spongey stagger meter enemies. Which are mostly just longer fights. There is zero strategy necessary.
I knew from the moment I finished the demo that this game was going to be divisive. I love this game. But I can definitely see why some people wouldn't. If you're a bigger fan of the more traditional Final Fantasies, this one's going to rub you the wrong way. But I do appreciate how accessible this game actually is, and I think that was part of the point in the game's direction.
This I never was interested in final fantasy until this game
Yeah... I kinda hated it. Makes me really sad.
my girlfriend loves it. babies first rpg. yoshi p thinks we cant handle a little strategy any more, i guess
Disagree, i love the old turn based style and this game is a return to form imo
@@gloominaati3105 and what form would that be? a stripped down action game thats a mile wide and an inch deep? im upset i bought it, i thought there would at least be some actual rpg systems, interesting gear, strategy etc. instead we got babys first action game. i want my money back.
I really enjoyed the game overall, but I definitely felt that criticism regarding the party feel being lost. I think for the most-part the combat and story is simple yet enjoyable. My favorite part of the game though was the world and feel, I always felt immersed and engrossed in the goings-on, politics and atmosphere of the game. The soundtrack was really solid too imo! That all being said, FF16 isn’t my first FF but it’s definitely one of, so I may be a bit biased in that sense
👍💯
well it's literally my second ff and i hated the story and pacing so much i ended up quitting not long after you get your lightning powers, i love character action gameplay but that's not enough to save a game for me when the story is so abysmally bad, as a matter of fact i really didn't like 7 remake's gameplay at all but the story was so good i pushed through it to the end regardless
I really liked FF Tactics on PS1... everything since then has been less interesting. i did enjoy FF XV more than most people but I had a strong feeling XVI would be another step in the wrong direction.
Couldn't agree more
Oh dear…
This must of been a challenging script to write SkillUp, we thank you for the huge effort and your honesty 👍
Love how honest he always is.
@@riptide772 except when he recommended Cyberpunk 2077 lol
@@KyngD469 yeah, that was a major oof.... not just by him but most TH-cam reviewers. That game is the reason why I watch gameplay before buying, regardless of what any reviewers say.
@@KyngD469I don't understand when people bring this review up, because I used his footage to make fun of the bugs lmao
He really showcased all the problems the game had, on the platform he was offered (at the time, PC only)
@@KyngD469 but he was honest back then too, he only had the PC copy and he pointed out all mistakes the game makes. He didn't know how bad the console releases were.
Love that Ralph isn't afraid to go against the tide and say "hey. lots of people are going to love this, and I understand I'm opening myself to a lot of hate. But SOMEBODY has to point these shortfalls out"
Interesting take from Yoshi P on going away from turn based combat, yet Yakuza took the direct opposite mentality of going from instant action to turn based for the first time and it ended up working.
" it ended up working."
99% of Yakuza fan base hated that change and found it inappropriate.
@@Bahamut998citation needed? It’s got an equal or higher rating than Yakuza 6 on metacritic.
@@KefkaJr I never said the game was bad. It was well received overall. But yakuza fans prefer the old system.
@@Bahamut998Data shows that the sales of the franchise went from 14 millions to 17 millions after releasing Like a Dragon, most Yakuza games before sold 1 or 2 millions.
So Yakuza like a dragon sold more
@@Jambonlololol yet the new games are not turn based combat anymore lol
While I am really enjoying the game myself, I can definitely agree with your criticisms in regards to lack of RPG elements. I think it would have been nice to have enemies that give you status effects; the death blossoms for example could poison you and thus you can use antidote to heal but nada.
It would have been nice to know what you thought of the soundtrack overall, as that is one thing you didn't tackle whatsoever in the review.
it slaps so hard
I’m honestly a bit surprised by the unanimous praise for the game. You had an absolute gem in FFVIII Remake which didn’t get as much praise, but now you have DMC with a FF sauce over it, and people are blowing their load. It seems very odd to me that FF fans are okay with their RPG being turned into an action game. This is the first negative sound I have heard, and I feel like this game should be a lot more divisive. Great for players who want another GoW, not so great for fans of the series.
@@darthmandalore409they’re not okay, they just get 1 game every 7 years and will get over the honeymoon phase eventually, just like from soft fan did with Elden ring
@@TheTinyTimmyTimTim The fact the honeymoon phase certainly exists and that more criticisms will eventually come up doesn't mean fans, largely, are not going to be ok. You talked about Elden Ring as if every From fan hates it now, which, as a fan that's active in the community, is plainly false. Elden Ring wasn't more divisive than Dark Souls 3 or Sekiro (maybe you'll be surprised to know how many fans didn't like or weren't even interested enough to play those tittles), just on a much bigger scale because...well, the game was fucking fire so everyone was playing it, thus multiplying the number of opinions and takes.
Yes, a lot of people are not going to like FF16, and more negative reviews are surely coming. But the largely optimistic take on the game will not magically vanish with time. FF13 and 15 never got to have ''honeymoon phases'' because they were divisive (and trash) from minute 1.
@@darthmandalore409 To be fair.. it went the action route a long time ago, specially in XV THAT game didnt even have good combat, it was a one button smasher all the way.
This was one of the best, most honest reviews I have ever heard. I spent last night trying to explain my issues with this game to my wife. You just explain how I feel perfectly. Im enjoying the game, but every point you made is exactly how I feel about it. Very impressive review 👍
I'm still chipping away at it, trying to beat it. If I didn't spend 70$ on it, I would have dropped it by now.
@@maineman5757your fault for not knowing what you got yourself into
@@Cund no shit Sherlock
@@maineman5757 really? "no shit" yet you said in another comment that you played the demo and even told people that it was ass
@Cund Yes, no shit Captain Obvious. Do you have a point or are you just butthurt that other people aren't simping for your vidya game as hard as you are?
Looking back on 2023, I’m so glad BG3 came out the same year as FF16. It shows how wrong Yoshi P was about what gamers want and what can succeed in this day and age.
For real. Bothers me to no end when developers say stuff like that without any solid data or research to back it up. Turn based RPGs still rock and will always have a massive core audience that grew up with them, and a new one that discovers and loves them. I mean, look at the new Pokemon that came out this year. Turn based, very flawed, game, and yet, it's the 2nd best grossing game in the franchise, (and one of the top sellers of the year). Not to mention BG3 as well.
yoshi-p is a huge fraud for sure, will never touch a game directed by him again
@@PenguinsAreColdishHe isn’t a director. He didn’t even direct this game.
@@magnificmango336 he is the director
@@miz6294 The director is Hiroshi Takai. Google is your friend.
THANK YOU. You put into words what had been bugging me about this game. I personally really liked some of the characters, the gameplay was kinda fun (at parts) but in general this game was a drag to get through. I was so bored at multiple parts and have zero interest in doing Game + just cause I dread having to sit through it all again. Even with the option to skip the cut scenes there is so little gameplay between each one, what's the point?
I dunno. It's hard cause I enjoyed it...but I also didn't? I really liked the story and as said before, the characters but as for the gameplay? Brutal. I loved FFVII remakes gameplay so much and even FFXV's (despite how easy that was too) but I miss those RPG elements. I started off fighting seemingly elemental enemies with my years of FF knowledge thinking I was using the opposing element only to realize that using fire on that fire bomb did just has much as any other. 😐
That's a shame because I know you were so excited for this! I found myself surprised that I'm loving the action combat
I reckon it’ll the the same for me since I abhor turn based combat. For who need that like Skill Up it will not gel. But I’m glad for it.
I love the whole game. Story is great so far maybe the end will be shit like game of thrones
@@amolbhatia1449 real time with pause is the way to go, they could've tried that instead of dumbing it down. And the fact that there's no companions or bros traveling with you seems to me this is not really a FF game anymore, though all of that could be manageable if not for those empty uninteresting flat maps in the world.
@@creed22solar123 For me personally that’s fine because I’m not really a FF guy. It’s okay to do something different and except at it. See how RE switched between RE2 remake and RE4 remake that capture the very different essence of each game and then the brilliant RE7 which is pure and unadulterated horror. Or Zelda which has gone through a few transformations. For people like who find turn based combat grating and at times had to drag themselves through even the quite good FF7 remake this direction is exciting. And having seen the reviews to be fair it seems not all FF fans fall into the seem category as Shill Up.
@@amolbhatia1449 the problem is that its not even an rpg, its an action game. the series completely jumped genres when it could have just been an action rpg
FF16 open world is pointless because they streamlined the rpg elements. Whats the point of exploring and gathering when there is not much to craft or equip. They really poured their budget into their story and force you to drag yourself throughout. Open world gives you a break from story but its empty and pointless...i was literally skipping cutscenez at end just to feell rewarded by getting new powers from bosses. I was exhausted from story pace
I’ll be very curious to see how XVI ages. It’s enjoying a groundswell now, due to the lengthy runup and plentiful teases but will that momentum hold for another few years? When we’re waiting on XX, it will be interesting to see the various “Best FF” or “FF Games Ranked” lists and see where XVI lands.
Why would it? This game is another one and done. There’s literally nothing else after beating the game. No replay value at all
This is the most cinematic and spectacle an FF has ever had. Yes it’s going to last smh
We're in the honeymoon phase but it's got forgotten energy all over it. It will probably be near the bottom of every list
@@ArtcadeShowCinematics aren't everything. It's a game, not a movie.
@@cheesemuffin8129 I hate that argument lol, Last of Us, lasted a long time too, and it was cinematic experience.
1 year later, skillup is one of the few reviewers I trust, in part because of this review. The balls to go against the circlejerk and give honest, critical opinions is commendable. And after playing the game I ended up agreeing with all of them, and still don't understand the level of hype and love behind this game.
I just finished the demo and this review makes so much sense now.
Been playing the game on PC and man is it boring as fuck.
One of the most uninspired games I have played in a long while.
I really really agree with you on this review and was very surprised that you liked the game on the preview you got to play or in other occasions you mentioned it. I guess you needed to see the final product in order to judge it as a whole. Thank you Ralph for giving us your honest opinion as you always do.
I saw this when I was first starting the game and loving it, and I didn't really get what you were saying as my experience was being so different.
I had such high expectations for FFXVI and the first hours were crazy good to me, but as the game dragged on I saw these high highs and abysmally low lows. By the end, I didn't care at all about the story and was burned out by the terrible pacing. Combat felt endlessly boring by the end, it felt like the game had random encounters as you would take two steps and be bombarded by unnecessary enemies and bosses over and over again.
I'm still heart broken, I was so sure this game was going to be a 10/10 for me and for sure it had the potential to be so, but I ended up having a mediocre experience.
I’m at the point where the main quests have become as garbage as the side quests, it’s the ff14 msq all over again. This game encapsulates everything I hate about modern games: too many god damn cutscenes and a bland boring world filled with the most garbage mmo quests that would make ff14 blush, I think chatGPT could make better quests than the ones in this game
yes as a lifelong FF fan this game ain't for me. But I'm an old man pushing 40. Happy for the youngsters who love it, and I realize this isn't a series made for me anymore. At least I have remasters, the FF7r games to look forward to.
@@notimportant8643 what is it about old quest structure in video games that appeals to you? Or the worlds? Is there something they have that this doesn't? Don't bother replying if your answer is "good writing"
So the combat felt like every turn based game in the world by the end? Nice, they must have tried that on purpose
Couldn't relate more. I'm near the end but just don't have it in me to finish it.
Finished the game today and yeah, I agree with most of the criticism. However, I still felt entertained by the game, solid 7.5/10 if you stick to the main quest and take it for what it is. My biggest complaints are general pacing and sidequests. I'm fine with the combat, but I also wouldn't mind going back to a party system for FF17. Once again this channel proves to be a reliable source for honest reviews. Cheers
Definitely a 9/10 if you stick to the main quests. The side stuff is what brings it down to a 7
Bro thank you, i thought i was going nuts since it seemed i was the only one that had issues with this game. Your video echoes my own sentiment of the game perfectly.
You’re not the only one
The sales tanked. I think it's a general consensus now. We just had to get past brain dead TH-camrs drooling over it.
Blame identity politics for all these biased reviews. Politics being the current consoles war
Same feeling mate, I could not understand how FF fans were totally happy with the game.
@@palladiamorsdeusi’m pretty sure some of those youtubers got paid or some sort of deal. No shot they all love it that much
So far I’ve really enjoyed it. However, I miss having a party, I miss being able to slow down at times and think. I still think ff7 is the best hybrid they’ve ever created, but I can’t help but to miss the slow technical gameplay of 9 or 10.
I hope 17 is made by the same team as 7R
@@Y0PPS Honestly my dream would be for the FF16 team to create the world, lore, characters, and tone, but for the FF7R team to create the combat. The music could go either way, both are very good. And for the level design and exploration, well, I think they just might have to get someone from outside of Square Enix, lol.
@@MarkHogan994final fantasy 8 remake with the two studios yeah that would be sick.
@@MarkHogan994 Create a world that is not alive like this one? Stop
@@MarkHogan994 And the characters of this game are so bland btw
Thank you for the spoiler free review as I like to see other people's thoughts even though I am currently also playing the respective game. So many reviews that dropped after the embargo, started out telling spoilers so I stopped watching any of them. Finally I get my "how do you feel about it" fix lol
I honestly expected a very different, much more favourable review given the coverage from you up until this point 😅 but I love that you're putting out something that's true to your experience instead
No doubt some people will get really upset at some of your points, given how much hype there is around this game right now, but I really hope it's not going to be too much, because honesty is what I come to this channel for in the first place
Really wish I could play the game for myself, the story and combat seem like they would be up my alley
Facts I’m not into the series but the single character and hack n slash with long cut scene is my jam and I’m enjoying it a lot, but damn he is bashing it 😅 and usually I follow his input, this is the first time I disagree with him
@@bartsimpson8330yeah same, I'm surprised how much he disliked the game lol. It's my first not my first attempt at final fantasy, I tried 14 and hated it, trying 7R and it's ok. It's a departure from the super anime final fantasy, and I'm all for it.
@@bartsimpson8330 Aww yeah, glad to hear you're having a good time with the game
@@typhon1861yeah I'm not sure why everyone loved 7R in comparison to this, the combat was ok in that and the story was complete nonsense. Personally I'm happy they changed it up after 15 games.
@@bartsimpson8330 I just bought the game and am gonna start it tonight. I usually agree with skillup's opinion on a lot of stuff but there have been notable times where I haven't, the big one being the last of us 2, which I absolutely loved. I'm hoping this is gonna also be one of those times.
After actually playing I agree. I always get nervous when I hear "modernize" when it comes to long running series. Sometimes it turns out that by "modernizing" a series they completely disregard what made the series great and turn it into a game that's hard to differentiate from any other game in the genre. It sad but kind of true FF16 is like every other action adventure game we have all played a thousand times. Final Fantasy was always a pallet cleanser for me, but I'll have to find another. All that said if you do love FF16 that is awesome and super glad that it seems many enjoy it.
We still have Dragon Quest 12 to look forward to, they also said they were going to take the action route, let's see if they can make it better.
@@Ungli2.0i genuinely don’t understand how you can hate this as a game without the old final fantasy player bias. It’s just incomprehensible to me
I'm not familiar with this franchise so I can't say much about it, but hasn't the franchise taken this direction a long time ago? Because if so, then why assume that this is something that only started happening *now?* I know that the recent FF7 Remake should have made it even more obvious that this was going to be the case with this game, not to mention the heavy marketing and demo.
@@Leee275 Well in the mainline series number 15 was the first to switch from turn based. 15 still had a lot of RPG elements though. 16 feels like they completely ditched those elements making it feel like another action adventure game to me, which isn't inherently bad, just not what I prefer from a Final Fantasy game. Kind of like how a lot of people don't like the newer Assassin's Creed games because they kind of ditched everything that made the earlier games interesting. The new games aren't necessarily bad games just not what those fans expect from assassin's creed. That said it's a very delicate dance. It's difficult for long running series to evolve without alienating at least some of it's fans I get that.
@@joshrogers6669 That makes more sense, I guess it's like a DMC game then.
Somehow I simultaneously agree with most of the things you said in the first 10 minutes, but still love the game. More than likely the DMC inspired combat and presentation has been keeping me hooked. Everything you said however about the lack of customization, weak exploration and small maps, and abysmal side quest design is 100% accurate.
Ya exactly his points are valid but I still love this game that's how I know it's good cuz if it couldn't hold up in my mind after seeing and having the flaws pointed out I'd know it'd be my own personal bias. But the fact that I can agree with Ralph on the flaws and be so excited to get home to play more tells me it's something special and Ben starr is such an amazing guy and VA
I've absolutely felt that. I have that with Valhalla. I 100% agree with every critique of its length, reptitiveness, and feel. Yet I can't get enough - I'll throw 5-6 hours into it every week, a similar way I used to play Destiny 2 or ESO. And I think that's exactly people's issue with it - it's essentially a single player MMO, and that gets exhausting. I don't blame reviewers for trying to power through it for a review, and burning out hard. It's a ton of fun as a slower, "play a bit over time" game.
40 hour game, 30 of it watching fucking cutscenes. The rest of it fighting easy fights with no danger if you understand the basic mechanics of the game. Long bullet sponge fights with no danger. Just big health bars. No status magic, no character customization or builds outside of stat sticks. Snoozefest of a game. How again is this an RPG? Where's the fun? Why is there no hard mode at the very least? I feel insulted when I play this game, because of how dull it is, from a roleplaying/immersion standpoint. I'm just watching Clive, but I never feel sucked in to the character.
Really sad. The world building looks phenomenal, from the backgrounds to the music, it all looks stellar. But what does that matter if the game itself is a slog?
it's no an rpg it's a chracter action game.
@@megamike15character action games have more depth than the disappointment that is FF16
@@ghhgafzan whitch is sad as therre are alot of overlap wih chracter action games and japanese apgs. kingom hearts for example.
square keeps doing this.. building epic looking games then making them way to damn easy the gameplay is just boring
didn't want to watch this before getting into the game cause i was worried it was going to be brutal. but boy, 30 hours in and...what a disappointing experience. the level design of the game is so FLAT. for a game that was supposed to be "story driven", the "story" in between each boss fights were such a drag. appreciate your honest review Skill Up! must've gotten brutal feedback but you keep being you. cheers
i don't know what is it with this game, the narrative started so strong it's so *chef kiss* good, but fell flat about midway through the game..
Just my two cents having recently finished the game and being my first final fantasy, gameplay was very straightforward nothing crazy but enjoyable, what really drew me in and even made me consider playing it was the story, I am a huge sucker for medieval fantasy settings and this was great, it definitely has opened my mind to other final fantasy games even though I know they're different but just having the story hit so hard made me really want to give the rest of the franchise a try, thanks for the great video
This was my first one as well, I disagree with pretty much everything skill up said, he argues his opinion well, but I think he is just wrong, and people are loving, what he said about people not being able to finish it turned out very wrong, it has a very high completion rate
@ikedougenhouser3585 yeah I completely agree, after my 2nd playthrough I realized the first couple side quest are very monotonous but the latter half of the game definitely makes up for it
@@olagunas84 one of the best games this gen and probably up there as one of my favorite games of all time, even though it has some problems what it does well it does soo friking good that I just don’t care about the problems
@ikedougenhouser3585 yeah everything he says about characters is just wrong, Jill, Joshua, gav, cid, blackthorn, Charon, mid, Byron and more, everyone feels important and a part of the journey especially if you do the side quest, I don’t know how you walk away from the game not feeling that
It also really seems like this is his main big complaint, that because previous FF games had party systems and this one doesn’t you lose something, but I just don’t see it, me being able to play and control tifa and Barrett made no difference in how I felt about them as characters, I just don’t understand how he felt like that was such a big deal, especially when these characters are integrated so well in the story
this section here is one entire copium comment chain. The game objectively sucks 2/3 of the time you play it. Ya´ll choose to see it or not depending how much copium you enhaled.
The next Final Fantasy will be a first person shooter at this rate.
Lol that's so true it hurts.
I would genuinely play that if it was any good
If they went the FPS route theyd have to be MGS level of visionary lol
Actually I'm morbidly curious to see how it would look like
🧂
Probably more like a rail shooter....or a giant 50 hour Cutscene with qte
I disagreed with you at first (Before I beat the game) But now I think everything you've said was 100% Facts the game for me went from a 9/10 to a 7 to 6/10 by the end of it.
The game really kills its momentum with the stupid loop of returning to the hideout... Especially in the latter stages.
I’m 90% through the game. And the longer I played, the lower my score. There are epic scenes. But the game is absolutely drowned in side missions and pointless dialogue.
I can already hear the negativity and I’m enjoying the game quite a lot. I’m easily influenced unfortunately so I’ll have to come back to this one later Ralph. Thanks
Is it hard being so weak?
@@intellectic9155 yes.
@@intellectic9155yes.
I am 43 hours into the game, and that's about 70% complete. And I am completing 100%. The more I play, the lower my review score keeps getting. After beating Titan, my score dives even lower. It's supposed to be a spectacle but it's just a lot of fast cuts and nonsense attacks, things flying everywhere that doesn't actually make any damn sense. Trying to copy God of War just to be big in scale? I don't get it. When it plays out like crap, who gives a damn. Life to the empires are all about the crystals, but when they "vanish" no time is spent on it. The foundation of the world is irrelevant. It's baffling. Summon fights are one of the worst things in this game. They clearly had no idea what to do with them. And to make it worse, limit breaks are dead. This game isn't an RPG at all. I keep thinking that me going out and farming, leveling up, and looking at every corner of each map will pay off in any way. But it hasn't. I'm not having much fun anymore. I started to skip conversations from my side quest people just yesterday. Nothing interesting happens, nor do you get anything interesting. S rank hunt? Easy and I didn't get anything. I hope there is something more before the journey ends.
There are a million games like Final Fantasy 16, but before there were almost no games like it prior to even FF13 (which was bad). They just keep changing FF into what they think will sell, not make it to what FF actually means and having people want what FF they make. Nintendo doesn't change their games at all, not Zelda, not Pokemon and they don't give a damn. You put out a game that is fun, and what do you know? People will buy it and enjoy it even if the game direction isn't what is mainstream or deemed the best route. You will find it interesting what people will gravitate towards. Final Fantasy has always been about heavy RPG elements. It's not about turn based combat like FFX, or ATB. Variations of gameplay. It's about the entire package. The RPG aspect of those identities is much larger. FF16 so far, 43 hours into it has thrown it all away.
Who told these guys we want Final Fantasy to not be an RPG game anymore? Who says that we and younger kids whom are the "future" want instant gratifying games where you just hit everything? Why hasn't anyone been paying attention to actual trends. Final Fantasy doesn't need to follow a trend. It is a trend. It's chasing games that have two or three entries max and then die off. Final Fantasy used to be about creating what they dreamed of, what didn't exist. Now they are chasing what's already there. Devil May Cry? Bayonetta? These bomb games are the sales that they are chasing? It doesn't make any sense to me.
My rating of FF16 right now.
Graphics 9/10
Dialogue 7/10
Combat 4/10
Story 7/10
Systems 2/10
Character Design 5/10
World Design 8/10
Extra Content 2/10
Overall - 7/10
I understand your points, but I don't think giving Nintendo praise is a good thing when there's tons of indie, single, and double AA companies that "put out a game that is fun" without all the scummy stuff they've done to the fans. Giving more attention to Nintendo only exacerbates the problem and weakens any potential boycott towards them.
A 7/10 is a good game lmfao you mean like a 5?
Agreed. The total absence of RPG elements in 16 and the shallow gameplay with almost 0 replayability made the game a total disappointment for me.
It's just another shallow action adventure game with very little unique/memorable component.
@@mr_smiles4213 Well game scores, in general, are more or less inflated, a 5/10 is like objectively a bad game (like tons of bugs, the game is clearly incomplete, and the controls have a literal second or two delays i.e. Balan Wonderworld for the PS5 to a 51 on Metacritic and that game was terrible or at best mediocre by all measures), which FFXVI isn't. FFXVI, though flawed, is more or less complete, performs overall pretty well despite the performance issues, and the average player is unlikely to encounter any game-breaking bugs. A 7/10 is more appropriate for such a review as Skill Ups or the OPs review.
Oh so true. You feel the lack of self-confidence in every fiber of the game. The poor story and characters - it could have been great :(
I highly value your reviews in that you don’t let popular opinions sway you. As someone who is no longer interested Final Fantasy games, still was hoping this one would be fantastic for the fans.
I'm a Pretty big FF fan (Started with OG 7 back when it came out, Played em all Since minus 1-3) and I absolutely Love 16, I disagree with the whole "this isn't final fantasy" Take personally it has the core Stuff of FF like the Engrossing Story,Focus on characters (even if you only play as 1 character), Godly beings Like Bahamut ect, Emphasis on magic and Crystals and end of the world scenario, Epic cinematics and music ect.
All those things were what made final fantasy for me ultimately, Combat systems Keep changing per mainline Title and some I liked some I didn't, I LOVE 16s combat but I'm also biased cause DMC is my favorite gaming franchise and I meld into it's influences in this game nicely.
I was mostly concerned bout the inability to use party members like in launch 15 which I didn't like much, However oddly enough 16 I'm perfectly content with Clive and I think the reasoning is just the protagonist you play as, I didn't care for noctis and preferred Ignis for example yet I couldn't play as him till stupid dlc but in 16? Clive might be one of my favorite FF protagonists now tbh I love his character and thus don't mind Being relegated to playing just him. I actually love all the main cast tbh, Especially Cid!
Ultimately I think it's worth Trying, This game is really dang good But Skill up is right if This gameplay formula turns ya off it won't make you a believer
@@firefistgaming117 Thanks, good to know a current fan’s perspective. Happy that the core fans are digging it. I’ll probably give it a try once it goes on sale. Right now it’s all Diablo 4 for me and waiting on Armored Core 6
It is fantastic for the fans!!
@@firefistgaming117 that's how I see it as well which is why I love this game :) different strokes for different folks I guess. I suppose most people starting with ff7 or ff10 (a lot of them) might not enjoy it as much? idk but what the ff world to me in my head is what yoship is conjuring.
U also shouldn’t let unpopular opinions sway u I mean there’s a reason the game is loved
I don't think things will set in with gamers till more people finish it. It's heavily cinematic comparable to something like MGS4 where there's more cutscenes than there is gameplay. Sadly there's no endgame dungeon or superbosses at the end either and the sidequest are the same as most games. Combat is very fun but yes there's some negatives
Edit - It's not a bad game I'm a fan of both the FF series and Devil May Cry but this isn't the perfect mixture of both titles. It's missing alot of elements that's known within the series and before anyone says "well yeah that's because it's an action game" It's still a mainline FF title and one can't help to expect certain things from that. It's very restrictive with what you are able to do. It's an action rpg and I've seen God Of War Ragnarok handle being within that genre far better.
I think for an experiment sure but I hope they don't ever make another FF game this restrictive again tbh
Ng+ is your friend for difficulty, same with ff7 remake
I've always played FF games more for the story than the combat.
I disagree. I think most people will decide they love it. Skillup is probably in the minority here.
@@bigwig252I believe the point is it's flawed more so than what people are currently willing to realize. It's a good game but it's one step forward in terms of combat and steps back regarding everything else
I yelled an audible “YES!” When I saw this video up as I poured my morning coffee.
I would say the same if I wasn’t 10+ hours in🤣🤣
SkillUp has the best videos to watch whilst having breakfast
Lol that’s sad
You may be yelling NOOOO by the end
Honestly an accurate review. Only just getting around to this game now and it's been a disappointment. The pacing of the game is poor. I've found myself just turning it off and going to bed instead of wanting to make it to the next big event or moment. The itemisation seems pointless. Exploration is pointless. Side quests are dull. The story goes from intriguing to dull so often that it makes me loose enthusiasm for the parts of the story I was enjoying. I've finished every main series game to date. I plan to finish this one. But playing this game after BG3 makes this a tough slog in comparison.
THANK YOU. People giving this 9's are crazy. This is a 6/10 game, with 10/10 cutscenes once in a while. Parts of this felt like playing a PS2 game at worst, and a PS4 game at best.
And it sucks that things like elemental weakness doesn't exist anymore. All magic does exactly the same damage to every enemy.
And I hate how exploration is basically pointless in the open areas. Any item you find is worthless garbage.
6/10 is generous, more like 4/10.
PS2 game at worse and PS4 game at best? Buddy, most PS2 games were at the very least fun and worth your time, this game ain't. (Maybe you're talking about graphics?)
Also glad I'm not the only one who noticed elemental weaknesses aren't a thing in this game, a game centered around the iconic elemental summons of the series no less.
I agree with most of the points you’ve made in this video. Personally I am really enjoying the game so far, and it’s my first final fantasy game. I like it’s story. The combat is fun, though it isn’t challenging in the slightest. The presentation is great and the music is honestly breathtaking at times. But other than that there’s not much here so like you said in the video, if those elements don’t click for you you probably wouldn’t enjoy the game. The proportion of cutscenes to gameplay also makes me wonder if this story could have worked better as a show.
This game is made for newcomers. You have no prior experience. If you did you'd understand his points. But I'm glad you're enjoying it.
I mean...Story, combat and music are some of the most important things in a ff game anyway. I dont think anyone cared for the side quests or the rpg elements of past ff games which were indifferent to say the least. Although tbh this game in the 2nd half actually has some of the best side quests i've seen in a ff game.
@@Kostanovi no it's not. You made it clear that this is your first FF title and then presume to say what's important in the franchise as if you've played most of the games. Your entire comment is quite bold to say the least. I have no other comment but to say 'damn' if fetch quests impressed you lol. I'm glad you feel like you're getting your money's worth, keep gaming and enjoy Bro.
@@solara2966the person you just responded to isn’t the person who made the original comment bud
@@hellogoodbye1748 I still wish them the best lol
A bit late to the party here, but I 100% agree with everything this reviewer says. Such a disappointing terrible boring game, and I speak as a 32 year old who has loved this franchise their whole life.
coming back to this review after beating it last night, I could not agree more
It breaks my heart to hear this review. I'm about 10 hours in and while I'm enjoying it very much there was a feeling of something being off that I couldn't put into words. Thanks for putting that offness into words. Still going to play it though.
Ralph you're such a mensch. You're my favourite game reviewer and I hold your thoughts in such high regard. I love this game, but i love that you don't and the reasons why, as well as how respectfully you express that opinion. Never change.
I’m about 7 hrs in and loving the game so far! always enjoy your thoughts
@@chartabona No he is 100% right. It's a basic character action game, that is being paraded around an RPG. It's absurd.
Thank you for extremely honest review.
Pretty spot on with the way I’m feeling as well
Always appreciate the honesty in your reviews
You make a lot of valid points here. I'm personally enjoying it. But I do think the progression and exploration are quite dull. I feel like maybe future entries if they stick with the action rpg approach could learn from the Tales series, and I feel like that would both elevate combat and better connect you to the party. Good review
What I dont understand is how Ralph pretends like FF13 and FF15 werent either the same if not worse on all the metric he based his critique on. You cant tell me with a straight face those games had an interesting world to explore or meaningful RPG progression. I mean come on have some self awareness on your past reviews.. He applauded FF15 which is a mess of a game. He admitted to that in his review yes. But still loved it.
It makes this review seem inconsistent. And I think he kind of knows that deep down since he preemptively tries to answer feedback he anticipates for the review.
@@mikev8746 Those games had at least RPG mechanics at play, theres none of that here.
@@mikev8746 People liked FF13 enough that it got two sequels. FF15 wasn't that bad eithe runtill the last segment, where enemies were super op for no reason.
@@I-Will-Destroy-U people keep using FF13 as the definitive example of a bad FF, but never remember Dirge of Cerberus or straight up forgot how bad 15 "rpg" was
And now this one has even less rpg elements than that last one. It's so shallow it makes Ubisoft crammed RPG-lite look deep.
@@TheRealCaptainLavender The game made its intentions clear from the start that it was a more action experience. Don't criticise it for what you want it to be but rather for what it actually is.
what i've learned is that those of us who grew up with nes/snes, rpgs are just different these days. i've played every rpg/zelda game since time began and in 2023 heres how i had to come to grips.... xenoblade chronicles is my optimization game, zelda is my exploration game, ff14 is my mmo game, octopath is my turn based game and final fantasy is my ex that you wont date but wont let go either.
XD
This game made me want to play Final Fantasy X again.
I did exactly this 😅
I'm really enjoying this game but your take on this is kinda like my take on Breath of the Wild where the rest of the gaming landscape was losing their collective minds over it but I thought it got too experimental to the point where it lost the series identity, so I get where you're coming from.
Agreed bro!! BOTW was an all-time great game, but I can name 5 better Zelda games. It didn't feel like Zelda at all to me.
Zelda is ten times better game than this.
@@MajorasThoughts I think the difference is that Zelda is a great game and FFXVI its not. I dont care if they "feel" like the other games on the franchise. Zelda it's a masterpiece on its own and FFXVI its average at best.
I finished this game last week, and as a huge FF fan, I'm still extremely disappointed by it. Forget the "is this a Final Fantasy" discourse, this is just straight up not a good video game, FF or not. I agree with most of the review, although I wasn't even impressed with the locations. Very bland game, admittedly with some spectacular scenes sprinkled in. No RPG elements, no humor, no fun. This ain't it. I hope that future FFs won't be like this. At least Rebirth is coming, which will be on a completely different level (like Remake already was).
@@vivifell if they were comic relief they failed
@@vivifell No. Byron had one funny scene in the tavern and that's it. That's the only mildly amusing scene in the whole game.
@@vivifell Perhaps you're easily amused. Good for you!
@@vivifellno way you actually think Byron was a good and funny character. 💀
Your belief that the upcoming installment will be of high quality, despite the elementary school level writing in the previous one, speaks volumes about your standards for what constitutes "quality."
Fun fact: The gearing system in FF14 is very similiar. Gear is just stat sticks with nothing intersting to them. The secondary stats matter so little that you feel no difference with same-itemlevel gear with different secondary stats - unless you use a parsing tool.
MMOs have a significantly better excuse for this though, balance is much more important
Gear in ff14 has a visual aspect and materia.
For example you can choose to increase your critcal damage vs base damage vs skill speed. As well as being able to choose what clothes you wear visually.
You can't do that in 16 you have a 'damage go up' stat, and you can change the visual look of your sword but that's it. You can't even change the colour of your sword or clothes in this game.
@Derekmeetsworld everyone in 14 just melds based off off the balance anyways. If you're not doing endgame content (extreme at minimim) there isn't even a point in melding
@@Derekmeetsworld in 14 there are literally just 1-2 common builds per job and that is it, as basic as you can get
And yet you can do that in ff14 but you can't in ff16
Final Fantasy is my favorite franchise of all time, and I actually agree with everything you have said about this game. The only thing I disagree with is that I think the side characters are actually pretty good, not the best but certainly not terrible. Cid is amazing and Gav and Otto are really cool. I think Jill was a solid character as well. For me, despite all the massive problems of this game, what mattered was the impact it left for me. Those highs of the Eikon battles, the struggles along the way that Clive faced. The ending and the story I was a part of. That all meant a lot to me despite how poor so much of the game was. I enjoyed my time with this game, I’m glad it was made. But I certainly hope that FF17 will learn from this and deliver a much better game.
The problem is that they are just glorified turrets since you can't control or customize them. They are better served being dead more useful.
The way you describe pacing of FFXVI is the exact way I feel about FFXIV. The difference though is that the other qualities of FFXIV are not worth it for me to slog through the MSQ.
Nice review, feels more like your older videos with thought out intros which I enjoyed a lot 😊
I don't think I will enjoy this newest entry to the series either.
good review, NEVER downplay criticism as just your opinion, OBJECTIVELY it has those issues SUBJECTIVELY is how much one can tolerate those issues but they are issues
never be afraid to point something out bluntly, that's how improvements happen - by critiquing it bluntly
never throw niceties at it when the issues need discussion not preface statements "just my opinions/its not that bad/u may like it, that's fine/maybe its just not for me
need more blunt analysis' on games than those endlessly shilling for it as "the good outweighs the bad" rhetoric of willfully ignoring issues out of fear of critiquing brand they like
FF16 absolutely nails the 'setpiece' moment. Developer-curated experiences that want to show the player something and make them feel something. I was also expecting something like FF7R with the abilities and flow of that. I'm not disappointed either however.
After finishing the game, I find myself agreeing with passion. Very accurate review.
Me too man
Said no sane person ever.
I appreciate your honest approach to this game, even though you will probably be flooded with a wave of fanatic hate, great respect from me as always💪
Thanks Ralph for always sharing your honest thoughts ❤
I am still eager to get home from vacation so I can start playing - the visuals and characters draw me to the game.
27:25 it is literally one of the best abilities. It takes away half of enemy's will bar. Basically staggers them.
I think this is true, but if enemies are mostly just punching bags, it seems like a waste of time to go for stagger in this one. A more proactive approach is more efficient
@@Lerkero what you mean they take more damage on staggered state.
@@Lerkerono not really
I didn’t even know heatwave had a counter mechanic. It’s a great move without even blocking a projectile. Doesn’t more damage to a single target than the spin attack.
What I’m curious about now is if the Garuda counter is really good. I like the other two.
@@IceBloo read the descriptions lol and yes Garudas counter is amazing for stagger
These were my exact thoughts playing through FF16. It just felt significantly underbaked on gameplay despite having a ton of potential. The narrative was too drawn out and padded as well.
I didn’t realize it was the same studio as FF14 (if I understand correctly), and that explains a lot imo.
Great and honest review!
I’ve never played one but seems right up my alley from what everyone else says
It totally could be! But I would say enjoying this game DOES NOT mean you'll enjoy any other game in the series.
I'm about 10 hours in, and I'm really enjoying it.
It's not a very good Final Fantasy game, but it's a pretty good political intrigue action-adventure game. It feels more like a spin-off than the next numbered entry in the franchise.
oh no, it's "BotW is a great game but it's not a Zelda game" all over again
@@bringithahn I've always hated this sort of argument. Like, I understand if people prefer one formula over another, but it bothers me when people claim that THEY know what the series should be and not the creators. Especially in the case of something like FF, which has historically iterated upon itself over and over. Feels like people say this every time a new FF comes out.
@@windbrushchange is scary
Nostalgia is a business
And people are pretentious
The game will not age as well as this review will.
Nonsense
After almost 18 hours into this game i think im just gonna quit playing it for now. Everything you said in your review applies to my thoughts on this game. I think if this was a 20 hour game, stripped of almost all side content stuff and this half open world design it could have been so much better. But the way the paces this game is just so unbearable. Such a shame.
Accept the Truth scene still one of the most epic moments in gaming tho.
I have not played the game, but I've seen people playing it and this pretty much sums up how the game seemed to me. I thought there must be something I'm missing that could only be experienced by playing the game for yourself, but now I'm convinced that it's maybe just not for me.
I felt like I was going insane when everyone praised the demo to no end whereas it completely killed any hype I had for the game. It really felt like a completely on-rails glorified cutscene with some QTEs and combat thrown in and it seems the main game is much the same.
@amysteriousviewer3772 and the saddest part is that even though its a more action oriented FF, its bosses are extremely weak with linear attack patterns which ultimately dims its so focused action. Even If you want somewhat of a challenge, you have to finish the game in order to gain access to a higher difficulty..
Me when I let people dictate my choices in life
Same here. I was like why arent they showing the RPG stuff? Thats because its not there.
didn’t see this one coming but thank you for the honest review and for being willing to go against the consensus, as always
Yeah.. but he simped hard for Zelda tho...
This is just "just making sure I don't fit in"
@@SuperMandibleclaw someone can't handle different views
@@Fender91because he liked Zelda more...
@@Fender91which means what. This a a Edgy GOT Ripoff with wannabe dmc combat. And it doesn't even run 60, ON PS5! LMAO
I'm loving FFXVI so far, I get 100% your point tho in past FFs (excluding FF12) besides the turn based combat, they had not that much RPG in it.
I'm loving the story structure but I guess I'm just used to the FF14 style.
Overall I think this game is amazing including combat, it gets my neurons all fuzzy and tingly like DMC and Bayonetta!
For all the missteps mentioned in this video (which I agree with entirely), I think the worst one has to do with itemization and skill progression, and what they did not do with the crafting system. There needed to be something special to the weapons, perhaps special qualities that would force you to stick to one for a particular playstyle. Instead, every new item gives you +5 Attack and +5 Stagger, and all game through both stats are almost identical.
Or instead of having accessories that give a 2.5 second cooldown reduction or 7% damage increase, those types of upgrades should have been built into the skilltree, allowing you to upgrade abilities (to a certain limit) as you used them, incentivizing experimentation. And the accessory slots could have again been used to allow different playstyles.
The game is an odd middle ground where they act like they're afraid of alienating RPG players with too many action elements, and afraid of alienating action game players with too many RPG elements. And at the end of the day they have provided you with the worst for both: limited action options, and the most barebones RPG fetchquests, but with no other systems in place to make them rewarding.
I really hope this is not the direction for XVII. This was only a Final Fantasy game in name, but not in spirit.
very well put, agree with everything ESPECIALLY the progression bit, It’s almost non existent
I can't tell if it's a lack of ideas or resources. They wanted to make an action game but they forgot that every good action game has to have good platforming/puzzlez and level design as well. Those seem like obvious mechanics to have in a game where you collect powers one by one in a linear fashion. The trickle down effect of traversal abilities from the eikons would have made the map basically design itself.
Great and honest review Skillup! I feel you on all that you said. Still playing it and will see how I feel about it myself.
I wasn't expecting Stranger of Paradise to feel like more of a Final Fantasy game than 16, with its elemental weaknesses, a more useful party, more strategic itemization, and respect to legacy 😢
I really like strangers in Paradise! Haven't had a chance to play 16 yet because I'm a PC gamer but I still want to try it out. Wasn't a huge fan of 15 but we'll see.
I just recently played the first hour of that game and couldn’t continue. I even prepared myself for a corny experience but the voice acting, pacing and costume designs were just too much lol
@@LupercaliaXVI I understand that but as a kingdom hearts fan I've learned the role with the brain rot.
i fn love stranger of paradise..just hit the ending yesterday..bout to jump into endgame..was thinking about getting this but now I can see they are nothing alike
@@ronniewhitedx I am still going to play 16 for sure. I was originally going to get it for my birthday butI am just gonna wait till it hits $30 or so now.
I do think the IP isn't evolving to become better, it's changing to become more profitable. You can make action games with deep RPG systems, but that's not what happened and it feels like FF16 is a game in a different series (in particular the Tales of series which used similar systems) that looks great but doesn't innovate at all.
A big problem I have is how the main plot points feel like "hey I've seen this before, but it was better".
When there's 30+ years of games it sets expectations, and I'd love to see what the job system could become in an action game with deep RPG systems, maybe even more dynamic systems to allow customizing skills to make the jobs your own and a big wide world, but FF16 makes me believe Square will never do that, they will just chase the sales even if that means throwing away 30+ years of their IP and the company that innovated and was on the forefront of the JRPG genre aren't all there, Square is just another triple A corpo making pretty fireworks but nothing more.
So do what they have been doing for 30+ years but also "innovate"...just not much, or that way. Or whatever the hell Goldilocks ratio you want I guess. What your talking about sounds like a bloated game of menus. Look at the jump from Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2 if you want an example of why slim and trim is often better game play. Fresh air for a new era of gaming thank god.
exploration is downright being punished.... Bloody Hides, sharp fangs, Magicked ash are THE ONLY things i keep finding and i can do nothing with it. i remember finding a mythril braclet in the volcano ... and that was a main mission!!
that was the only item that i got that was better than what i had in like 30 hours...
i fougth a notrious mark and got a meteorit in the chest behind which i can buy!!! and yeah dont need it anyway. there is nothing to craft besides the stuff you get after boss battles....
what were they thinking? is this realy what the new generation likes?
i am dumbfounded.
I feel you man, I doubt they even bothered designing the reward system - it feels like there is nothing left except the flashy combat, which quickly becomes boring due the lack of variety and limited choices
@@NotARealPerson12345there’s plenty of variety and choices. You need to go further in the game to unlock said things and then apply yourself to use them. If you’re not gonna take advantage of the move sets or try to do combos why play this game lol.
@@Manthathasspiderlikepowers I did apply some small combos and it was fun, but that's really not enough. A game can have 100 options but if it doesn't provide the drive for players to discover then then it's useless. The combat has combos but it if doesn't require any tactical decisions - want to attack fire with fire? Yeah go ahead, the same damage... Use ice to attack fire? Well, same amount of damage... There's no penalty if you make bad choice. You can dodge infinitely without worrying about stamina, which doesn't exist. All you gotta do is wait for CDs and unleash your big moves to bosses. Yeah, certainly the game gives you a lot of options but the game wasn't designed well to drive you to discover them.
Thank you for the candid review. I've put about 6 hours in so far and I was hoping there was more depth than what I've been presented. I'm disappointed to hear there isn't but I'm enjoying it for what it is and spending time with my wife who's enjoying watching the spectacle.
There is a lot of depth though? just not in the same way the other FF's are
@@MAJINNOBU band wagon jumping sadly
@@MAJINNOBUDeciding how you'll combo a wave of enemies with terrible A.I. is depth? I wonder how you'd react to an actual job or party management system. Or a typical FF super boss.
@@HighDephinition i'd say that's more of an issue regarding Action focus game as a whole, like DMC or GoW, probably the downside of switching to ARPG. i'm not that far in the game but at the least every boss is ramping up in complexity. and the NG+ could still make it more challenging.
Ben Starr suffered the loss of his father during acting for 16, and used that to help convey Clive's emotions through the game.
Many developers from Final Fantasy 14 were involved in Final Fantasy 16. This is because other teams at Square Enix are busy (Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Kingdom Hearts 4 and Dragon Quest XII)
To Devil May Cry 5, featuring the same combat director and similar fast-paced, high-action gameplay.
Yuna's whistle from Final Fantasy X gets used in a prologue cutscene by Clive.
The end credits feature a segment dedicating the game to Stephen Critchlow, Byron's first voice actor, and Square Enix NA's Head of Marketing Kevin Kraff (who passed away in July 2022).
The production staff have cited Game of Thrones (specifically the earlier seasons of the show) as a major inspiration.
A minor key rendition of the overworld theme from Final Fantasy plays during various scenes exploring the history and lore of Ultima, first popping up in the chapter "Cloak and Dagger."
Stephen Critchlow, who died two years before the game's release, is listed alongside Ewan Bailey in the credits as one of Byron's voice actors.
* Ben Starr has been a fan of the franchise since Final Fantasy VIII. He first auditioned for a minor role under a code-named script to keep the work a secret, but was asked to read several other lines for the character that would become Clive. After a few days he was told he won the lead role, but it wasn't until another week later that he found out it was for a new mainline game in his favorite series. To him, becoming Clive was “an overwhelming honor and a terrifying privilege” and the worst part was keeping it a secret for years.
* Stewart Clarke (Dion) is a fan of the series and said he felt privileged to have his character join the ranks of other complexly written dragoons like Kain Highwind and Estinien Varlineau.
A PlayStation 4 version of the game was planned around the time the Awakening trailer for the game was shown, but was cancelled due to the technical limitations of the console.
This is also the first mainline single-player Final Fantasy game whose English voice acting was recorded exclusively in the United Kingdom, following in the footsteps of fellow JRPG franchises like Dragon Quest and Xenoblade Chronicles. Final Fantasy XII was primarily dubbed in the UK with some additional recording done in the USA, while Final Fantasy XIV started out being dubbed in the US before the production moved to the UK beginning with the Heavensward expansion.
* This is the third Final Fantasy game to receive a Mature rating by the ESRB, behind Final Fantasy Type-0 and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, the first to receive an 18+ rating by PEGI and the second to receive a D rating by CERO, behind Stranger of Paradise.
* This is the first Final Fantasy game to feature a plot-important openly gay character in Dion, the Dominant of Bahamut.note Dion even shares a kiss with his lover Terence, which is shown on-screen during one cutscene. This scene ended up getting the game banned in Saudi Arabia when Square Enix refused to remove the characters or the kissing scene.
ok.... and ? lol those are some cool points but have NOTHING to do with the review and the huge negatives of the game.
Literally no one asked
Great Review you made some valid points. I especially feel you on the customization part. In FF7R every weapon had unique strengths and weaknesses, with a unique attack that you could only use after leveling that particular weapon up. It gave great incentive to try each weapon out and you could essentially have your own unique playstyle. Theres no strategy needed for this game you could just button mash with base gear, but nonetheless the game is still fun, I like it for what is.
The customization in this is about the setup of skills and accessories you use, not your base equipment. Compared to every other FF that isn't FF7R or FFXII:TZA and it is pretty standard.
@@Ashtarte3D Yeah but it's still missing that strategic element in a RPG. Like in FF8 you could equip your weapon and armor with different elements and statuses. For example you could equip your armor with strong fire magic, which could make you immune to fire or heal you. You could also put status like sleep or beserk to make the enemy you just attack, attack another enemy. FF16 is like DMC where you don't need strategy, you can beat any boss or enemy with any type of weapon and good combos.
Hopping in here almost a year later because that's how long it took me to beat the game as I was having a hard time staying interested, you hit most everything on the head. Just gonna say, when you start the game there is a brief splash screen with Clive and the words FINAL FANTASY XVI and every time I saw in the latter half the game I would like raise an eyebrow because it just did not feel like a Final Fantasy game to me.
I’m having a ton of fun so far, but I get what he’s saying. Though I can’t help but wonder how he would feel about this game if it were divorced from the Final Fantasy name and all the baggage it brings.
It’s such a storied franchise that means so much to so many people, myself included. During the review I couldn’t help but think that Ralph’s view of “what Final Fantasy should be” was probably giving him a stronger negative reaction then he might have had otherwise.
Agreed. And since I haven't liked a FF since 10 for me this is nice
That’s kinda the point though isn’t it? It’s a good game. But not a good final fantasy.
Well, but it's not. In a franchise with over 30y of history, u can't just toss away so many of the fundamental elements that make it unique
I mean he specifically mentions that its a pretty middle of the road game that is outdated if you take away the Final Fantasy element.
@@kathleengrouper8596 Having just finished it, i really don't agree with that sentiment, it has a gripping story with stellar characters. He says they're all shit, but Cid is the best side character i've ever seen in a FF game, he felt so human, so real. Not goofy or unrealistic of a normal person, even by fantasy standards.
My biggest issue is the mundane shit the game has you doing. It's very obvious a dev team that has been making an mmo for 10 years made this game. Cut the mundane shit and the game is a 20-25 hour really intense story.
The lows between the highs (which are the story peaks where the dominants confront each other) could have been covered by a interesting and involved itemization or exploration system. Every chest you find every loot you get from a tough boss every beautiful location you discover is just whatever it has no influence on the game whatsoever. After i finished everything the game had to offer including sidequests hunts and exploring all areas to the point of the Bahamut fight i just couldnt continue the super boring useless grind inbetween (which is probably just a completionist problem) which mad me drop it there, a choice i never did with a FF before except 13 which i didnt like for different reasons. But its refreshing to see someone pointing out the extreme lows between the amazing highs. Good job.
Yoshi-P should probably take a look at how well Baldur's Gate 3 is doing. Turn Based combat isn't out of style yet.
@@vivifell Of cause there are nobody play the game in japan. The game does not have japanese version yet -.-"
@@deepmoistIt never will because it doesn’t appeal to Tojo
@@vivifell seems like no one is playing FF16 in japan also considering the sales...rofl
@@vivifell Yeah selling half of FF7 Remake and FF15 is really "highest selling PS5 game in Japan ever"....rofl. Yoshi-P cultists lie to themselves and everyone else. 😄
@@vivifellNobody is playing FFXVI in Japan either.
I played the Steam demo earlier this week and then rewatched this review. I don't understand how people say this is the greatest FF game of all time. I just felt deeply disappointed as I went through the demo.
Game is great
Since this review more have agreed with Skill up and it has a very mixed reaction. In fact I often see many criticisms of the game when people play it. I expect we will see more of them once it releases on PC.
Fan favorite RPG mechanics were gutted out completely, and even as an action game lacks the depth of games like Bayonetta or devil may cry. And the side quests-oof.
Not bad, amd I enjoyed the Eikon fights, but my most disappointing game of last year as I had such high expectations.
I completely understand all of your points.
One of the many reasons I was so excited for this game was the combat and the fact is not too strategic but the rpg elements really are almost nonexistent. I like the game overall but I understand this formula doesnt work for fans of the older games.
Baldurs Gate 3 really proved that guy wrong about turn based combat 😅
Not really though it's an outlier and as a fan of it myself
It's the rpg elements /story that attracted us to it not so much the combat
I've played every mainline FF game since 7 and enjoyed them all, 15 wasnt great but it was still fun in parts and still felt like a FF game. Having enjoyed Skillup content for a few years now and appreciating his reviews I held off on picking up this game on release. However 10 months later, FF16 is on sale so I thought I'd give it a shot. @skillup you have never been MORE RIGHT in a review. This is not only the poorest FF game i've ever played but at best it is an extremely mediocre action game. Aside from the striking and polished visuals and the world setting I have no warm feelings towards this game. I'm slogging my way through the story for the first half in the hope it would get better and now only continuing as I feel i have to finish it so I dont feel I've totally wasted 30 hours. So so disappointed.... Moral of the story? Keep listening to @skillup, he knows his stuff.
He seems really vindicated with the review. XVI had tons of hype on release, and it no doubt has a lot of players who love the game. But overall its reception has been very middling, particularly in the FF fandom. Skill Up was the first prominent voice, at least as far as I know, that was negative on it.
@@jonathanlgillhe received a lot of ridiculous hate and personal attacks as well at the time, but as time has gone by I’ve seen more and more agree with him.
He wanted to love this game. He met and interviewed Yoshi p, interviewed and liked Ben Star, but even so, was not afraid to give his honest opinion and experience, even knowing the reaction he would get.
if its genuinely worse than ff15, then i might not buy it on steam. haven't played yet and have been pretty excited for sep 17