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Wish I was here for this podcast - had an emergency I had to take care of.

1:23:39 There are visible changes to the game world like the kids fighting w paper swords in FFVII remake within Final Fantasy XVI as well after some of the side quests. One saw the visible re-population of Eastpool, and another even saw a whole Village wiped out after being flooded with aether.

My favourite part of your reviews, Jake included. Is that they aren't numbered. I value opinions more than numbers.

I just wanted to say that I fucking love this podcast. Thank you for making it

One thing that my ears caught was tam's line about how most side quests dont make an impact on Clive as a character but truthfully there are a lot of side quests that get lost in the myriads of green icons like Jill's sidequest priceless which could potentially change even your interpretation of the ending or the hypocrates one with the quill . Most people that dont like the ending skipped those side quests because of side quest fatigue . I feel like the more personal ones could have been integrated much better

The Incompletionist is an agent of chaos and I love it!

I’m about 25, 30 hours in FFXVI and have done most of the side content in conjunction with the main quests and so far I can’t shake the feeling that xvi plays like a single player ffxiv. You go from MSQ to MSQ in XIV and occasionally it lands you to fight a boss that is generally an epic fight with awesome music. The stuff in between feels empty in both XIV and XVI. There’s also things like handing over items to NPCs and the general stiffness of the camera angles in cutscenes that bear an uncanny resemblance to XIV. I mean it makes sense since the devs are the same but I guess a part of me wishes that they could step out of that comfort zone.

I sort of agree with Jirard in the sense that if Square sees XVI as their big tentpole release, then that inherently means they're going to lean towards maximizing its appeal. The Asura's Wrath spectacles definitely feels like it's meant to pull people in and buy the game whenever they see it on twitch or ads.

I am at work all night and this could not have dropped at a better time

i just hope they find more narrative room for large troupes. As a ff 4-10 lover, it's really the cast that really take the narrative to the next level.

I'm so torn on ff16. I adored the first 10 to 15 hours but after that the game started to feel a bit empty. I miss the ff10 leveling system and customization, I miss the huge party and strategy, I miss the enemy variety (though the bosses are dope). Overall, I think it has some excellent elements but its a bit like a 3d painting, look behind it or from different angles and the illusion is broken 😢

i have been looking for a closure to '16', i found it here. all four of them balanced out the highs and lows of 16, summarized what i have felt about 16 and gave me more. i am now closing my 16 journey with friends per second. thankyou.

The side quests went from delivering meals then you have Side quests about slavery, trade routes, rekindling friendship accepting one's place in society. The community you are in the alliance you have with the other hubs places So i went from the side quests are mid to holy shit they are great Tam there is a literally dialogue of people in the side quests people acknowledging you helping them

I would be happy with a single player, no account needed, version of Final Fantasy XIV honestly and I’d love to more single player Final Fantasy from Creative Business Unit III in general

The “we are divided” thumbnail is what I was assuming about the upcoming podcast. Annnnd I was excited to see/hear it! But I’m excited to hear the discussion (IN A POSITIVE WAY)

I was thinking about this upon seeing Synapse for PSVR2: I think an Inception VR game that either worked around Nolans original story or was set in the world he created would be fascinating! For me personally a game like that could be a VR system seller?

I’m happy that Animorphs continue to be referenced. My favorite book series as a kid

This game definitely has things that should be the standard but also other things that maybe need a bit more oomph behind it. I just played 15 after finishing 16 to compare and 16 is sorely missing more companion stuff, I did 100% of the side quests in 16 and while I love the crew you build, it really falls flat when compared to past games and the crew that's built around your MC. Clive is by far one of Mt favourite MCs though, but that's just me being an adult and wanting an older protag

I thought FF7R’s style was the future. It worked fluidly and felt really good, and blended old school FF with new school FF. I saw FFXVI and thought it would be similar. I enjoyed the latest title but that didn’t change my opinion one bit that FF7R was the superior game to me with a brighter future in its style

Just noticed the play/pause button is perfectly in the middle of the FPS logo. Love this show and the insight/nuance each of them brings.

I feel exactly like SkillUp when it comes to Fortnite. It's cool to hop on and see what they've done with the place, but no-build has kept me interested longer than I used to stick around.

Great podcast as always guys!

That wolf side quest is one of many great ones actually.

Tam is so awesome, can we make him a permanent cast member.

Love the podcast and it is definitely right to bring your expectations into reviews. Especially for series entries. Series create a DNA for what their games are. It's fine to change that DNA but it will be polarising. I think the same is true for developers, look at the conversation about Starfield, it's as much about comparing it to what Bethesda has done before as the game itself and that will be unavoidable in reviews. Especially for huge releases

the detail in the animation was the first thing that hooked me in Ghost Trick. So amazing

I just want to say, because of this podcast I started watching Succession a few months ago, and goddamn... thank you guys for the reference!

Honestly, FF16 for me personally, I didn't like the combat on minor enemies but was great on bosses. Actively trying to not get into engagements with the wolves,bugs etc felt like a chore. No enemy variety. But the story, boss battles and cinematic are amazing. The customisation on weapons were crap aswell. That's my 2 cents anyway. I can see it getting GOTY though. Edit: just to add, it felt like it was long cutscene-small combat section-long cutscene-boss battle rinse and repeat.

Why was this just uploaded? I’m so happy!!😊

Another banger ep! How much of a possibility would there be of making this a 5-person podcast by making Tam a permanent member?

You guys walk the line of serious takes of gaming and the industry and a bantering/jokey show. A perfect for this inherently silly pastime that we nevertheless all love dearly.

Man they need to bring Tam on more often, I love his energy and discourse

At around 1:h 26m Skillup's question about "Why good here and why bad there". That's like saying "Why do you like onions on your burger, but not on pizza?" When you make a recipie, the ingredients matter, and technique matters. You can use all the same ingredients, put them together differently and the results will be worlds apart.

Absolutely loved this episode. As someone who’s disagreed fervently with Ralph on many a title, I always come back to him because he’s a quality reviewer who explains why he arrives at the conclusion he comes to, even if it’s not one that i share

fun fact: at disney world they have a machine that 3D scans performers and can tell you exactly which characters they have the proportions to play. There's also a little wiggle room; for example, the taller performers playing princesses wear shorter heels and the shorter ones wear taller heels. You also might have someone playing Aurora one day and Belle the next. I also never met a performer who wasn't extremely nice backstage

I think the division mainly boils down to whether or not you cared about the "lackluster" elements of it, if you don't care about the itemization being bare-bones, how the open world operates, and the sidequests then you'll see the game as a 9 or 10/10, however if those elements mean a lot to you or if you were expecting them to take a more active part in the game then you'll see the game as a 6 or a 7/10.

This is my first Final Fantasy that I’ve really got into. Probably one of the longest games I ever going to beat too . I’m at the 50 hour mark and absolutely just loving it . Sure some of the side quest do drag but the combat is awesome and I love the main story.

Love seeing Ralph talk about the ROG Ally. I’ve been wanting a Steam Deck for months, started seeing more and more hype and promise about the Ally, pre-ordered it and got it release day, and I’ve been super happy with it since.

Love you guys! You weren’t exactly “divided” on FF16 but great conversation nonetheless

I do hope the next Final Fantasy games continue to allow the Summons to be playable. The ifrit battles and the spectacle of them was some of the coolest and most fun parts of the game. I much prefer this treatment of summons over the previous games. And on final fantasy mode the fights such as titan can actually be semi difficult due to how hard they hit with your very limited heals making them even more fun to do.

Oh man I've never clicked a notification so fast, mainly to watch the FF16 discussion. Loved hearing everyone's thoughts but man it kills me that you guys don't have anyone on the show who is currently playing a lot of FF14 because I think knowing that game in its current Endwalker state gives so much insight into the way CBU3 handled FF16. I thought your comments about it feeling like an MMO team developed it is spot on, but I think there are even more connections to be talked about, especially when contrasted with how CBU3 has changed FF14 over time. I thought that sort of perspective would've been SO useful to have during your big conversation about expectations and context, because from the perspective of the Final Franchise as a whole, FF16 changes so much, but when compared to current FF14, it's absolutely a similar formula and philosophy. And ultimately that's been the big split between the people I know who have played or are playing 16: all the FF14 players and relatively new fans are loving it, while the more traditional and longtime fans of Final Fantasy are far more critical of it. More than any other game released in the last few years I've loved the discussion about this game because I think Final Fantasy is such a unique series in how it means so many different things to so many different people. You titled the show asking if FF16 should be the future, but I think the real question you have to begin with is "What is Final Fantasy?" It's such an interesting topic because I don't think even Square Enix have a definitive answer to that. Anyway, great podcast. Looking forward to listening to the next 1000 episodes in between now and FF17's release, lol.

I would be 100% here for a Remedy Supernatural game, thank you Tam for mentioning that idea. A legitimate game based on the show Supernatural would be so heck’n cool!

i am so ready for this episode

Even the few positive things you guys say about FF16 are absolutely backhanded. It just feels like you wanted a whole other game...

That zoom in was gold haha

Never thought I'd be reminded of biker grove in this podcast🤣. Those were the days, 5pm on a Thursday after school, god I feel old

Jake's Redlettermedia refrence is god-tier!

Just wanted to say SkillUp and Jake’s reviews are among the only I trust and genuinely look forward to

1:39:44 I also said Battlestar, but I would love it in the style of Starlancer, the narrative prequel to Freelancer (both by Chris Roberts) that was more linear

How is ff16 the future of the franchise when every single ff main line game has always been different from the last ? I respect you guys but I don’t get the whole ff16 isn’t final fantasy argument.

I greatly enjoyed this version. And I’m old enough to have played every FF. (I was there when the mouse was announced). I do see how you see that it’s not the same. As it clearly isn’t. But I found this game as a great cinematic experience in the form of a game. But the difficulty ramp up in Final Fantasy mode also kicks things up a notch.

I love this podcast. I’m always excited when a new episode drops. I never think it could be better until Tam is part of the team. Tam needs to be a permanent member.

Haven't watch the podcast yet but boy do I excited for the FF part

There was a time when Final Fantasy was my favorite series(6-12) They were unique and really its own genre. Whether it was the music, story, characters, jobs, magic, eidolons/summons, politics, hidden bosses/items, etc. You knew it was a Final Fantasy game. 15 and 16 to me, are great games in their own rights, I see why people love them. They remind me of Devil May Cry, Kingdom Hearts, Bayonetta etc. Great action games. But they don't remind me of Final Fantasy. The side quests also remind me of FF14, which I truly loved as an online game. If I wanted to play these types of games however, I would play their respected titles. When I want to play a Final Fantasy game, I'm looking for that iconic Final Fantasy experience. I grew up in an age when Final Fantasy wasn't an action RPG, it was a turn based RPG. It wasn't a thriller, it was a fantastical romance in a way. Stories of characters starting as flawed thieves or rogues, mercenaries etc, eventually meeting a fated companion and spiraling into what seemed like a series of events that had them facing divinity, in order to overcome some very real emotions and hardships that by the end of the game, had players at the edge of their seat to see if all that struggle was worth it in the end. Couple that with some excellent plot twists, villains etc. and it was a helluva ride when the credits roll. These last two titles, to me, seem like a direction away from a heartfelt story rich RPG that made Final Fantasy iconic, and truly able to stand on its own from other titles. Which is unfortunate to someone who counts Final Fantasy 6-12 as some of their favorited games ever played. I understand that I' m a 90's gamer and the series is trying to reinvent themselves for younger audiences. In my opinion, it's unfortunate that it has to try and make a story rich RPG experience like a flashy action game in order to capture that relevance, when it had something truly unique and something that I believe would've offered modern gamers something just as engaging as it did to those of us who fondly remember playing 7 for the first time, or 8 etc. I'm glad to see that players are still enjoying Final Fantasy after all these years, it just makes me sad to see what had to be sacrificed. As for me, this will probably be my last Final Fantasy game as I'm personally not a fan of their ongoing direction. All the best to those having a blast with it though. At the end of the day, it's just a game, and meant to be enjoyed. Cheers!

I like the system in FF7 remake, it was a good balance between the action oriented and turn based systems.

I think a lot of Ralph’s criticisms fall into a matter of subjectivity while he exposits them aa objectivity. He said it quite clearly at around 57:00 , ‘if these games were more like a Horizon or god of war’, and that’s where I think his critiques fall apart. The game isn’t trying to be a horizon or god of war, just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it has to be every Sony block buster ever. It isn’t interested in doing that.

Very inspiring to listen to you guys talking about the reviewing process. Started my own endeavour not too long ago and love you guys's perspective on it. 🎉

Lucy, have you read the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson?

Dion does fucking rule and I had the same takeaway. They really had the bones of an incredible Final Fantasy party and they just left that on the table

Shout out to Jake for doing the same thing I do when somebody says, "It's been..."!

Yall are expecting Borderlands level side quest when the side quest serve as a vehicle to show you how fcked up the world is....

I think if they are going to make a game with the name Final Fantasy, it is completely fair that people come with expectations of prior installments and compare to those versions of the game. But I think we also need to be mindful that we aren't just reviewing against the golden age of Final Fantasy, but some of the less favourable titles too. If they want to make a game that breaks from the core tenets of the game genre and make a smaller focused action adventure game, that's fine but maybe don't make it a core numbered entry into the franchise. Perhaps they could put a spin on the title like ' Final Fantasy Beyond' like what they did with Tactics.

Me: Ok I should go to sleep. (sees a 2.5h video from Skill up on FF16)... f*ck...

Loving the "lincon lawyer" name that's amazing please continue to call him that

“Peter Parker shooting ropes” 😂

Never was into ff until this one. I love it.

Absolutely love that Jake started off by singing One Week by Barenaked Ladies

I'm so glad I wasn't the only one to make the comparison between Final Fantasy 16 and Asura's Wrath. Jake's just over here saying what we're all thinking.

😂jakes face when the aussie and brits where talking about neighbors and today 😂😂😂

Ff16 wasnt for me, but i can fully understand its appeal to those that really enjoy it. Different strokes for different folks

I'm waiting for Final Fantasy Cid, the spin off title that takes the first 10 games and explores them as a multiverse from the perspective of Cid, travelling through time meeting various other Cids, in his quest to track down and understand the true goal of Gilgamesh, who is also charing through the multiverse looking for ultimate weapons. If I thibk hard enough I might manifest it.

I want two friends per seconds a week Ralph make it happen brother!

I love when Lucy's cat makes an appearance :) also nice to see Tam this time around. FPS is quickly becoming one of my favorite podcasts.

People saying Final Fantasy "reinvents" itself like if with each interaction they change the freaking game genre. By that logic, SE should just finish what they started (appealing COD fans) making a FPS game and just put "Final Fantasy" in the cover ...ffs

Final Fantasy 16 was my Final Fantasy gateway, Im just happy that I get to finally a explore a new game series that I kept bouncing off. Im glad people enjoy this game and am happy for other people who may enjoy this game the same way I do, but yes the criticism are def valid. But hey, if you like a game, then dont let anyone take that from you, games are meant to be enjoyed, and your enjoyment of those games doesnt have to be validated by anyone but you!! Love the content Ralph!!!

just as an fyi you don't have tam's info linked in the video description. i was trying to find his info.

“Tie your big weird shoes and go to bed” - nailed it Jake. LMAO

I love Final Fantasy and I love Devil May Cry, so 16 has been so much fun. Experimenting new powers and upping the combo is a blast. I always admire each FF's different gameplay direction that I can't wait to see what's next.

To keep this short I’m really liking ff16 so far, the biggest hilight being the fast paced combat and linear story, it’s mature as it can be for ff, tho rpg elements are underwhelming especially the charms and weapons, however I feel like it’s a strong base for improvement and ff’s new direction Plus the side missions could be better

On Jake's point about a John Wick game, Midnight Fight Express has the perfect bones for a John Wick game.

Ralph my boy just wanted to say your review was great and don’t take the backlash to heart! I fundamentally disagree with you on FF16 and still really enjoyed and appreciated your review. As a criticism/rhetoric nerd I love conversations about this kind of thing. I actually enjoy and thrive off of hearing different opinions on art. Whether I agree or not it gives me a window into the perspective of someone else and I dig that. Cheers man!

Do you think being labeled as a 'Final Fantasy' game gives a certain advantage or disadvantage in how people perceive the game?

It doesn't have to be the immutable future of Final Fantasy, but I'm very happy it's the present!

There has never been a single final fantasy game that became "the future of the franchise" they change and innovate every single time.

Overall, I am happy with the focus on spectacle. I don’t like RPG’s much and delight in in how little time I can spend in menus and in how palpable the upgrades feel. The combat system is great, if maybe a little oversold in some ways. My complaints are mostly that side quests kind of suck a lot of the time and that while I like small open worlds, FFXVI just doesn’t wield its space especially well.

No one mentioned the real reason why FF16 is the way forward: No excessive anime noises injected into speech patterns! No grunts, sighs, “uhs”, “huhs”, “mmms” or growls filling every possible moment of silence Just really good dialog and voice acting that is far more representative of actual human speech. It’s brilliant!

I’m a huge fanboy for final fantasy that I will admit and I try to give all final fantasy games a chance and honestly I enjoyed FF16 my all time favorite will Be FF4 and I do like the turn base strategy that comes with some FF games but I did like what they did with 16

I don't care about the title I just like that jake knows what animorphs is

I never excepted Shill-Up (I love you skill up) to inspire my passion to pursue law school.

Being in jakes situation blows. It’s so hard to chime in and have a good time when the connection be hitting.

I agree the batman trilogy deserves all the praise it gets. Also origins was so good. That deathstroke fight wow😮

seven minutes in and I'm already liking this video because I get to hear Tam talk law

1:17:19 YES! That quote (or the spirit of it) seems to stick with me and just seems like such good advice. As the crew was talking my mind was going to that quote. For a dev, it is more important for a critic to say "I thought the combat was missing something" than "The combat should have done this". The latter is important to the potential player because it gives a hint of your own taste and it can make gor interesting discussion. That said, I did think while I was playing FF16 that it would be cool if the Eikons power could fuse. Though I think that may have taken away from story elements.

Tam should join the fps permanently. Such a great addition to the podcast.

Love you guys. FF16 is amazing and would love to see them trying to flesh out the rpg aspects more. And we need more Animorphs coverage lol

I really feel like this is a Kingdom Hearts game mechanically when I play it with a mature overlay - digging it so far though!

I enjoyed the game very much. Loved the ending. I do kinda miss the whole party aspect. Like it would be cool to get to control Gavin, Mid, Jill, Torgal, Byron ect. as party members.

I just hope they bring back playable party member and deep rpg mechanics. thats all

I’m about halfway thru XVI, and I get the criticism, but wow I adore my time with it so far. Is it very cutscene heavy? Does the pace suffer for it? Do the side quests kinda suck? Yeah. But the characters, the story, the combat, it all makes me so excited to play it. I haven’t been this excited to play a game in so long. I can’t wait to get to the next boss fight cuz the combat is so addictive.