Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition HD

[Hero-of-Time]

It took longer than I thought it would but the game is finally arriving on the Switch, along with PS4 and Xbox. Gotta imagine this would have been announced in the postponed Direct.

[Sméagol]

Egh.

I'll probably buy it, for support and because I actually have an interest in the game.. But that artstyle.. it's not pretty. They should have done a Crystal Chronicles style.

And being chibi is no excuse for not having an animated mouth. They may as well remove all the voice acting altogether and replace them with good old fashioned text dialogues.

Edit:

Oh and I hope the photo feature stays.

Edited September 7, 2018 by Sméagol

[Grazza]

Excellent.  Haven't played an FF since XII, but this'll be going on my list.

[Grazza]

Has anyone got this yet?  I went to download it last night but was 75p short!

[Hero-of-Time]

3 hours ago, Grazza said:

Has anyone got this yet?  I went to download it last night but was 75p short!

I put a little bit of time into it tonight (PS4 version) and it's VERY simplistic. It seems to pick the major story beats from XV and jumps to each of those. It's very linear and the game is divided up into chapters. I'm enjoying it but I think it's because I've played XV. The story gaps have been filled in for me (not that XV's story was a masterpiece) due to me playing the full game and there is a novelty of seeing places and enemies from said game.

Honestly, I think the game may be a bit rough and simple for anyone who hasnt experienced XV before. Without the novelty of revisiting this world I imagine many being disappointed if they are expecting a huge Square-Enix JRPG. 

[Grazza]

14 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I put a little bit of time into it tonight (PS4 version) and it's VERY simplistic. It seems to pick the major story beats from XV and jumps to each of those. It's very linear and the game is divided up into chapters. I'm enjoying it but I think it's because I've played XV. The story gaps have been filled in for me (not that XV's story was a masterpiece) due to me playing the full game and there is a novelty of seeing places and enemies from said game.

Honestly, I think the game may be a bit rough and simple for anyone who hasnt experienced XV before. Without the novelty of revisiting this world I imagine many being disappointed if they are expecting a huge Square-Enix JRPG. 

 

So, skipping to the gameplay at approx. 9:00 onwards, is it really just hitting the enemies, with the A.I. taking care of the other roles?  I'm still quite intrigued, but less so if it's too simple.  Does it have spells, special moves and skill trees?

 

 

[Hero-of-Time]

30 minutes ago, Grazza said:

 

So, skipping to the gameplay at approx. 9:00 onwards, is it really just hitting the enemies, with the A.I. taking care of the other roles?  I'm still quite intrigued, but less so if it's too simple.  Does it have spells, special moves and skill trees?

 

 

I'm on the 3rd chapter and it's still pretty basic. Magic is limited (just like in XV) in that you need to drain points on the map to get a spell. These are gone after one use.

There is a skill tree but it's just mainly boosting damage for your various weapons and a few extra moves for your friends.

You have to remember that this was a mobile game and this is why it's so basic both in story and mechanics.

[Sméagol]

I took an 18 euro gample with this one, and didn't want to seriously start playing this, but I gave it a go. And I actually really liked it. Maybe it's the timing and my current situation (barely played anything last 2 months now I guess), but maybe a very simple action RPG is what I needed. I didn't play the main game, so didn't know what to expect really, but I wasn't in the mood for a complete RPG just yet (but bought it because I was interested, and wanted to show my support while making use of the current offer). This very simplified form may actually be perfect for my current needs.

If I do continue, I'll give some more elaborate impressions later.

[Nintendo Fan]

Does this include the episodes dlc? tempted to pick it up if it does.

[Hero-of-Time]

12 minutes ago, Nintendo Fan said:

Does this include the episodes dlc? tempted to pick it up if it does.

I didn't even know the pocket edition had DLC. I think the episodes are exclusive to the main XV game.

Edited September 16, 2018 by Hero-of-Time

[Nintendo Fan]

8 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Episodes DLC? I didn't even know the pocket edition had DLC.

I meant if this game included the Prompto, Ignis and Gladiolus episodes or it's just the base ff15 game.

Edited September 16, 2018 by Nintendo Fan

[Hero-of-Time]

1 minute ago, Nintendo Fan said:

I meant if this game included the Prompto, Ignis and Gladiolus episodes or it's just the base ff15 game.

Yeah, I edited my post as I figured out what you meant but you were too quick.  

I'm halfway through the game and I've yet to come across any of the episode DLC so I think it's just the base game.

[Hero-of-Time]

I reached chapter 8 this evening. It took a while to get there due to being stuck on an earlier chapter.

I was after a trophy that required a lot of luck and good timing. I had to defeat a boss using a certain move. The problem was the move takes a while to charge, isn't always available and your team mates have a habit of taking the kill before the move is pulled off. I must have done that battle around 20 times before I got it to unlock.  

I loved fighting one of the summons. It was just like it was in the main game, with epic music playing as Notics is fully charged. I love that tune. Great stuff. The scene that followed lacked the impact the full game had due to the character models being lifeless dolls.

I've been really enjoying playing the game. It's a nice trip down memory lane without having to replay XV again.

 

[Blade]

I'll not be picking this up. FFXV was painfully average (at best). I don't think I could stomach playing the game again.

[ArtMediocre]

@Hero of Time Would you recommend this game on the go as a good option to playing the original on my gaming PC, or is it better to enjoy the full experience? I really enjoy the graphics in final fantasy XV, and I'm not entirely sold on the chibi dolls in the pocket edition... What's the average playtime for XV vs Pocket Edition would you say?

Edit: I do not own any of the games, hence why I'm asking.

Edited September 18, 2018 by ArtMediocre

[Hero-of-Time]

12 minutes ago, ArtMediocre said:

@Hero of Time Would you recommend this game on the go as a good option to playing the original on my gaming PC, or is it better to enjoy the full experience? I really enjoy the graphics in final fantasy XV, and I'm not entirely sold on the chibi dolls in the pocket edition... What's the average playtime for XV vs Pocket Edition would you say?

Edit: I do not own any of the games, hence why I'm asking.

The full game is a much ricer experience, offers plenty of sidequests and has a load of extra story DLC. I see the Pocket Edition as a companion game or an extra for those who have already played XV. It's very basic at what it does but it's still enjoyable. You only get the main story beats but seeing as the story was a bit of a mess to begin with then i'm not sure your are really missing out. A big plus for the Pocket Edition is that it keeps the OST from the original game. This was one of the strengths of the full version and i'm happy that it has carried over to this smaller game. In terms of gameplay length, the Pocket Edition can probably be clocked in around 10-15 hours whereas XV is a 50+ hour game.

Overall it's a fun little title but it pales in comparison to the full XV game. 

[Grazza]

7 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

In terms of gameplay length, the Pocket Edition can probably be clocked in around 10-15 hours whereas XV is a 50+ hour game.

 

Ah, that's interesting.  Before I'd investigated this at all, I genuinely assumed it was the same game but with chibi visuals.

[Hero-of-Time]

I finished the game last night. I've got a few more trophies to mop up for the platinum and will do so at some point. Seeing as Final Fantasy XV was my 150th platinum I wouldn't mind making this one my 250th. It would be quite fitting.  

I really enjoyed the game. Yeah, it's pretty basic but it was a fun trip down memory lane just seeing all the characters and locations again that were in the full game. As I mentioned before, the OST to the game is taken from XV and it's soooooooo good. I found myself cranking up the volume every time this bad boy kicked in.

It's one of my favourite FF tunes from any game of the series.

My biggest gripe with the game is the art style they settled on for the character models. I really wish they had gone with something different and more expressive. The ones used in World of Final Fantasy would have been perfect.

 

[Grazza]

I earnt the extra 75p at work and splashed out on this after all.  Don't know when I'll get a chance to play it, as I want to go through all the Capcom brawlers, but am looking forward to it when I do so.

 

I didn't think this year looked all that great for Switch, but actually, I've not been able to keep up at all!

[Hero-of-Time]

6 minutes ago, Grazza said:

I earnt the extra 75p at work and splashed out on this after all. 

Hope you enjoy it!