As a modern FF I consider anything since the ps3 releases and maybe since FFXI online if we think FFXI and XII as kind of experimental releases. I've read rumors that a new FF is programmed to be a mixture of the FF games and Bloodbourne.
FFXV is similar to Bloodborne in two ways:
1. The enemy difficulty varies greatly and some enemies can wipe the floor with you if you are not careful. I'm sure FFXV will be significantly easier though, but I can see a little inspiration taken from the Souls series by not completely eliminating difficulty.
2. You only level up by camping, similar to bonfires in Dark Souls, so that if you die you lose the experience you have accumulated. There are no bloodstains to recover experience though and like I said before, the game will obviously be a lot less punishing or difficult compared to the Souls series.
I feel like the game also takes inspiration from Dragon's Dogma in two ways:
1. The time of day dictates how dangerous the monsters are and finding shelter before nightfall is important.
2. Preparing for the journey before setting out from camp is crucial to success.
I think this game might have a good enough blend of elements from a lot of rpgs to make something fresh, unique, and exciting. I just hope that all the features it promises are fully fleshed out and utilized, because if they aren't the game will feel too derivative and seem like a half-hearted attempt at pandering to the ideas that have been successful from other popular arpgs.
@sunz: FF Type-0 seems like it could be somewhat fun, but I have a couple of concerns that no reviews have really touched on that keeps me cautious about the game.
First, I think the cast is too large. Obviously, a cast can technically be very large and have lots of interesting characters, but in general even amazing writers have enough on their plates writing two or three interesting characters, so I remain skeptical that 13 characters will be fleshed out and dynamic. I feel like the large majority of them will probably be throw-away characters who only have personalities based on appearance, fighting style, and random one-liners sprinkled into cutscenes so you don't forget they are there. I think the side missions that eat up in game time could have been used to flesh out each character, similar to a combination of persona and mass effect. Also, instead of there being a handful of characters with multiple weapons and playstyles which are interesting in their own right, from what I have seen the battles look pretty monotonous unless you are switching between characters frequently, as their movesets seem pretty limited individually.
Second, the setting seems pretty boring to me. I get that all the nations are at war but none of it has done anything to get me interested. Wars don't interest me as much I'm afraid. I'm more into adventures or mysteries, where discovery of story, places, and things play a big part in the game. I know this is basically a personal preference, but all the trailers I've seen just to captivate me in that regard. I know the games has airships though, so I wonder if the game has more than the trailers and reviews show.
Third, I've heard that the story is pretty forgettable, and has exposition dumps frequently. This does not excite me after playing through the 13 trilogy, where the story was atrocious, the characters were bland, and the story was explained through exposition dumps buried in the datalogs in the menus.
Finally, the fact that it used to be a psp game makes me think of MGS Peace Walker, where although it looks significantly better in HD, there will be big, open & empty environments that are lifeless and angular because it was made with a psp in mind.
If you could reassure me on any of those concerns I might consider playing it when it drops in price, but one of the reasons I don't have the FFXV demo is because I want to make sure whatever money I send to Square Enix from now on is a reflection of what I want from them. I'm not super interested in type-0 or a type-franchise, and I don't think paying for a demo is acceptable, so I will keep my money for now.
@DLPB: I think you have a good mindset regarding this game. I would recommend everyone to not write this game off quite yet, as I think it has signs of promise in there, but also not jump on its bandwagon as well as there are some things that are troubling. Waiting for a game to come out and gathering as much info as possible before making a purchase is the best idea when buying any game, regardless of what it is. It's the safest way to not feel screwed out of your money.
