Here is my review of Type-0 HD and the FFXV demo. Both played on PS4.
*I must say that prior to buying and playing these I had just spent about 150+ hours playing FFX HD remake(didnt finish yet), so am used to the older FF games at the moment and playing the new ones was a big change.
Type-0 HD Remake
Overview: War, war, war, oh yea, more war. It's all about war in this game, from opening till (I assume) close. Really, thats it, just war.... Some sad moments in the game, but mostly the opening scene was the saddest so far. You play as 14 different characters...yes, thats right...14!!! Unlike the previous FF games where if your 3 characters die the game is over, here all 14 have to die before that happens, and you can even quit the mission and still get exp.
Very quick paced game, still only about 8 hours into it so really havent gotten to far but have a general feel for the game at least. You cant do everything you want to in one run through, that becomes painfully obvious as you go through it. You have "down time" between missions to do lots of stuff, but it isnt close to enough time. I read it takes 2-3 run throughs to be able to do it all.
Graphics: 6/10
It's ok, it is an HD remake of a psp game so they wont be amazing or anything, and I wasnt expecting them to be. Runs pretty flawless, but dont see that they would be any different if it was on the ps3 or xbox 360.
Music: 9.9/10
Awesome, just pure awesome. Only reason it isnt a 10/10 is because I think they could of had more songs. It is a game that takes a long time to finish, so more variety is my only nit-pick in this area.
Here is one of the amazing songs(and my favorite) that plays throughout the game. Listen to it completely. When in battle this song is so perfect.
Battle System: 9/10
Battle system is easy to use and can use R1 to lock onto your target and the camera works great with this(I mention this because of the XV demo, you will see). Very fast paced fighting system but easy to maneuver and use, so that was a big thumbs up.
Story: 5/10
Besides the bases of the game being about war, there really isn't anything else. There is no main character or characters. There is not much depth to any of the 14 characters really so far, just a cut scene here or there that focuses on one for a very brief moment. They are all cadets who are being used to go out and fight the war so all the soldiers and fighters can be use to protect the dominion. All other fighters get power from a special crystal that the enemy has figured out how to block, the 14 cadets though get there power from a secret crystal or some shit, so thats why they are being used. Its odd playing this and not getting emotionally attached to any of the characters. And cant blame it on the fact that it was a PSP game, as I played FFVII: Crises Core on PSP and got attached to Zack big time. One of my favorite things about FF games are the characters and storyline, and in this regard, this game lacks big time. The only thing that saves it is that this game is basically non stop war. If that is what they were going for, they succeeded.
Overall: 6.5/10
Not a bad game at all and worthy of playing. Has the feel of a FF game but also feels that it is lacking. I blame it on not being character focused what so ever, which is a big change from the FF I am used to. The 14 characters are there, you can level them up, and thats about it. Big lack of depth.
Also, the original Japanese had a multiplayer mode, which seems like it would be hella awesome, but this HD remake does not have that, which is probably a big reason why sales in Japan were horrible.
*I highly recommend buying or finding a strategy guide for this game. It'd take you 10 playthroughs to do everything without one IMO.
Final Fantasy XV Demo
Overview:
Ahhh, characters with some depth, now thats what I'm talking about. *I will just go off of this demo and not anything about what I have read about the storyline.
You are the main character(Noctis), Prince of there homeland, and are traveling with your 3 best friends on your way to do some important shit and then your super cool and awesome car breaks down, so you are stranded in a vast open world area(hopefully many areas like this in the game). You need to level up and get strong enough to take out a Behemoth and use the reward money to fix your sexy car so you can continue on with your important shit.
Your friends are your friends, they bust your balls and mess with you, but when shit hits the fans, they seem to stop being your friends, and more like bodyguards. Becomes really evident when they start calling him "highness" when shit is going bad. But they are good guys.
Not really many cutscenes in this demo, and the ones they do have aren't the major ones(you know what im talking about), just normal cutscenes. I have a feeling though the major cutscenes are going to be truly amazing. Would have been nice to see one at least, even if it was just for the demo.
Also, one thing that annoyed me that I dont think they will change is the save system. To save you have to camp for the night. No such thing as a save sphere in this game. I dont mind camping at night and eating and getting some perks, but not having save spheres kinda sucked.
Characters: 9/10
You got the main character, the big muscle bound fighter friend, the smart intellectual friend, and then of course, the funny one who cant fight worth shit and just gets in the way. Good group of guys. They all wear black and look like they are in the final fantasy boy band though lol.
Graphics: 8/10
As this is a demo and the game is not complete yet, I am hoping they tune the graphics up a bit. They are not bad by any means, but for a game of this caliber, I hope they fine tune it and get to the 10/10 zone. The little stuff does matter.
Music: Incomplete
Music was fine, wasn't blown away by any of it, but seeing how this was a demo in one area, cant fault them on this and really have no clue how it will be in the big picture. This is the only one I give an incomplete to due to it being a demo.
Battle System: 5/10
5/10? really? why a 5/10? Well, to be honest the battle system is fucking amazing and awesome.......but........the camera... Unlike Type-0, you cant use a trigger to follow and keep the enemy you are targeted on in your front view. Monsters can move fast, and if they run left or right and out of your view, the only way to see them is to use the joystick to turn your view and find them. It is painfully annoying as you lose sight of them constantly. With 4-5 monster, 3 other characters fighting and losing site of who you are locked on and how far away they are, it can get rather confusing and annoying. If they fix this issue, the battle system will become a 10/10(once I figure it out perfectly that is lol).
Also, special moves woulda hve been nice to use(besides the warp system). all you really do is hack and slash, but I believe it will be a lot more expanded in the real game.
Also, Noctis's teleport system is fucking awesome as hell. Still trying to figure out his weapon system, would of been nice if they had a tutorial on it.
Story: ????
Wasn't really much story to it. Car breaks down as they are headed somewhere important, and you have have to raise money to fix it. The end. Assuming that this part of the game is somewhere in the front half of the timeline it seems like a filler of sorts. So no grade on this. Having watched every trailor and piece of footage I could find on the game, I think the storyline will be a 10/10 or close to it.
Overall: 8/10
As an unfinished game with minor annoying flaws, I'd still buy it in a heartbeat. That could be due to me waiting since it was announced in 2006, or me loving all FF games, but regardless, of that, it was fun and enjoyable. Even with the flawed camera system during battle, no save spheres and needing a graphics tweak, it is still a game that (based off this demo) will consume about 200+ hours of my life, if not much more. This was a small taste of something I feel will be very vast, in-depth and truly amazing. I expect that 8/10 to raise to a 9/10-10/10 when it is complete and released.
If you are a fan of FF, this will be a must get.
Ill leave you with this:
I have been playing and enjoying Type-0 a lot but taking a lot of breaks and passing myself, h. When FFXV finished downloading I played it completely through and finished it without any breaks and even after finished it played it for many more hours.
I wasnt going to compare the two games, but if I had to choose one, FFXV would be the one. Thats not taking anything away from Type-0, as it is a really great game, but XV is just going to be amazing(hopefully) IMO.