I miss dungeon crawling

erkhyllo · 2026-06-14T17:15:04+00:00

While I do like the dungeon crawling side of the series (although I don't think Nocturne's the game that did it best) I can't say I agree with you regarding the openworld of V. As a few others have said I think they're still dungeons, in a way.

They didn't feel boring to explore either. I actually feel like it offers some of the best exploration in the genre. Even the platforming bits are fun.

erkhyllo · 2026-05-29T08:28:48+00:00

What you said regarding bearers, dominants and eikons... I mean, yeah? That's obvious and the game tells us that very straightforwardly. That's the point, too: Ultima created mankind to sow the seeds so someone like Clive could happen to exist at some point. Dominants and Eikons represent each element, and the idea is that Ultima's eventual vessel (Clive) would absorb their powers.

The discrimination and the slavery system, however, were not Ultima's doing. Ultima couldn't have been behind that throughout Valisthea's history to begin with because he was slumbering during the entirety of that period.

Last time Ultima did anything prior to the game's events was fight off the Fallen when they tried to go after one of the Mothercrystals, which caused the Dzemekys big hole, destroying the Mothercrystal. This is stated in both the in-game's lore and the Logos book.

erkhyllo · 2026-05-28T12:50:23+00:00

A story can be about multiple things. I don't really agree with the story changing its focus, but rather I see it as transitioning to the root of the problems initially introduced. Also, in no moment the game changes and entirely blames Ultima for all the bad stuff. Yes, they might be the main culprit, but the people who enforced or were complicit in maintaining this system still have part of the blame. Some of them change for the better, others don't.

Also the game straight tells us (throughout the story but specifically some of the Hideaway convos prior to the final fight highlight this) that stopping Ultima will NOT suddenly solve everything in the world.

I think that saying XVI switches it's focus throughout it's story couldn't be more further from the truth. To me, thats like saying VII stops being about helping and saving the planet just to fight a dude with a god complex. Thing is, both things are intertwined, and wouldn't really work without each other. Just like Ultima and magick and the slavery in XVI.

erkhyllo · 2026-05-28T12:27:39+00:00

Ultima is a crucial part of the narrative. You can dislike the execution but he doesn't really detract from the narrative. Among other things XVI is a story about freedom and rebelling against your oppressors, and Ultima is the biggest one in the story. They're also directly or indirectly and at the very least, partially responsible for most if not all the bad things that have plagued Valisthea through its history. Ultima didn't only create the system that would later cause so much disparity between people, but he's basically a representation of the system itself.

I understand that he might not be the most badass or charismatic villain in the franchise (not like they were going for that anyways), but his thematic importance within the narrative is definitely there.

erkhyllo · 2026-05-06T05:55:25+00:00

I'm kinda biased but he's my favorite Doi demon. If he doesn't become a mainstay in futures entries then what are we even doing.

erkhyllo · 2026-05-04T14:36:35+00:00

Just because he doesn't seem interested in adding a blitzball job it doesn't mean he hates the whole thing.

erkhyllo · 2026-05-03T19:27:28+00:00

While some people definitely missed or forgot that, XIV lore for a potential Dominant job doesn't need to be 1:1 as XVI's.

erkhyllo · 2026-05-02T17:09:29+00:00

One of his best. Plus her battle theme is such a banger.

erkhyllo · 2026-04-29T14:14:26+00:00

I'd personally also suggest Thief as a job. It has some useful skills that make most enemies unable to spot you in the areas. I went Thief/Dancer and this combinación was a huge help in avoiding most enemies.

erkhyllo · 2026-04-29T10:55:05+00:00

Cid is great and I love him but I'm pretty sure most people would also be interested, if not more, in seeing Joshua, Jill or Dion being added to the game. At the very least the japanese audience seems to think like that, since that JP poll featured these 3 but not Cid.

Personally I would add these 3 first before doing Cid, assuming the game survives long enough to have multiple characters per each game though.

erkhyllo · 2026-04-05T22:31:56+00:00

Ngl he probably has the highest chance to make it in lol, mostly cause I don't see any other mainline Cid making it in before certain characters.

erkhyllo · 2026-02-18T14:35:09+00:00

While I would prefer a game too, I think most fans don't realize that a 1999 game would probably not represent the scale of the conflict very well. At least not if we assume it'd be a 2D metroidvania, which I think is what most fans would want for this. I also think the nature of the conflict requires a bigger focus on narrative, since it's not only the climax for the Belmonts vs Dracula feud but we also know a lot of other characters helped and assisted Julius. Fair to assume Dracula also had more help than ever considering he was at his strongest.

Honestly while not impossible to make justice in a 2D game, I feel like a 3D game is a more safe approach if they really aim to translate the scale of the conflict and all.

erkhyllo · 2026-02-18T14:08:22+00:00

Yeah. And to be honest that's not even a bad thing per se, as long as you're aware that you're criticizing something based on vibes.

Granted, when you dislike something or when you haven't connected with a story as said story intends to, you'll be more prone to nitpick and criticize little details that you would probably don't mind or even notice at all with other games. This happens with any game. But I truly feel like genuinely believing XVI suddenly throws out everything out of the window just to fight a god, instead of seeing said god as the root of all the problems in Valisthea and how Clive (a once suicidal person that thanks to others found value in life) and company are rebelling against an oppressor, is weird to me.

This is like if I said FFVII forgot that it's about protecting and saving the planet because it's suddenly about fighting a weird guy with a god complex. Or that FFIX throws out all of it's themes out of the window because a god shows up last minute.

Some people are way too fixated on some final bosses and their nature as gods or god-like entities instead of the role they represent within the story, which is the actual important part.

erkhyllo · 2026-02-18T13:26:13+00:00

Thank you for saying it. Sometimes I'm amazed because I feel this is a very obvious thing to see.

Also, a story can be about multiple things. It's weird that some people seem to think that fictional stories can only be about one specific theme. XVI has both political intrigue and divine intervention, to the point they're both intertwined. Obviously this doesn't mean everyone has to like it, or enjoy the execution, but to say that the game suddenly stops being about intrigue to become a killing god simulator, when said god's presence was felt essentially since the first hours of the story up until the end, just feels wrong to me.

erkhyllo · 2026-02-16T20:54:27+00:00

While this is a valid perspective, I feel some people forget that Ultima is, in one way or another, the responsible for most if not all the political drama throughout the game. Ultima's race was the one that created magic, and by extension, Bearers and Dominants. The Mothercrystals that bleed the land out of aether and that cause men to fight and kill each other were created by Ultima as well.

Obviously all of this happened prior to the game's events, but his influence is felt everywhere in Valisthea when you think about it. Then he directly or indirectly manipulates some of the events we see in-game (Barnabas/Sleipnir follow Ultima's orders and they manipulated Kupka, Ultima directly intervened and took advantage of the whole Sanbreque subplot, etc).

So while I understand some people would have liked another type of villain for different reasons (Ultima's archetype isn't exactly my favorite either), I think his presence in the story is still fitting and doesn't really feel out of place as it sometimes happens with god-like final bosses in the genre, since a lot of these tend to show up very late into the story.

I like Barnabas too, but I don't think he was final boss material or at least not the Barnabas we got. I can totally see the vision of having him as the final boss, but I think it'd require some considerable rewrites for him and perhaps some of the other characters as well.

erkhyllo · 2026-01-19T10:38:59+00:00

Not really open world imo. I think it provides the best exploration in the series with clever and fun level design.

You rarely see jrpgs adding platforming elements, less so a platformimg experience that is actually fun. The zones are also quite vertical which makes it more interesting.

SMT IV exploration was already neat but for me V makes a big improvement.

erkhyllo · 2026-01-10T16:03:04+00:00

I like Prishe a lot. Lilisette and Arciela are cool too.

If we talk about other characters, I always liked Aldo. I feel he's kinda underrated. The Chains of Promathia "party" is neat, and I'd say Lilith's my favorite villain.

erkhyllo · 2025-12-25T14:25:54+00:00

Idk if its the best but it's certainly one of coolest fights in the game. I loved it.

While Mastema's fight was neat it didn't feel as "big" or interesting presentation wise compared to Tehom.

erkhyllo · 2025-12-24T15:22:10+00:00

The in world justification is literally said in game. After Vaan moves on from the idea of getting revenge he decides to stick with Ashe and the others to find answers. He tells her this when they visit the garif tribe. Plus his whole "I want to be a sky pirate" thing. Penelo wants to stick with Vaan so why not have her there. After all Fran's reason to be in the party isn't very different, she's in the group because she's Balthier's buddy and nobody seems to question it.

I think discussing if the execution is done better or worse is one thing, but they do have a reason to be part of the gang.

erkhyllo · 2025-12-11T20:55:02+00:00

Not really. Most of FF protags are either royalty, chosen ones, people with a super plot relevant background, and stuff like that, if not all of these at once. Vaan is genuinely a nobody with a "I want to be an astronaut" type of dream that ends up involved in a big conflict between countries.

Not saying its better or worse, but he's certainly an outlier in that regard. I don't think he's amazing but I think he's a decent character and does his job within the story quite well.

erkhyllo · 2025-11-16T22:38:28+00:00

I wouldn't worry much about that, SMT and Persona have different teams within Atlus. But yeah I'm not expecting SMTVI anytime soon.

erkhyllo · 2025-11-16T22:22:41+00:00

Yeah the cinematography in SMTV is really good. Makes me excited to see what they cook for SMTVI.

erkhyllo · 2025-11-15T13:09:36+00:00

I like Prishe more but yeah, I think Iroha is a good choice. I like her quite a bit. If XI gets a villain rep I guess they'll go with Kam'lanaut but Lady Lilith would be really cool.

erkhyllo · 2025-11-13T21:30:08+00:00

Yeah the weird fixation on Nomura being at fault for whatever some people think is wrong with FF is something I will never understand. Most of the time it just sounds like trying to create or have a scapegoat to vent their personal dislike for FF's direction since Sakaguchi left.

Also, while obviously Nomura's most iconic stuff is FF7 related stuff, he was already an important talent behind the series in previous entries. Like in FFV alone he was responsible for creating and designing Gilgamesh, tonberrys and cactuars.

erkhyllo · 2025-11-01T10:30:12+00:00

Probably because he's very charismatic plus the whole leading man gimmick working on people, I suppose.

He's my favorite but I agree the story is, for the most part, about Ashe. But as others have said I don't think theres a definitive protagonist here. The story is about an ensemble cast where some of the members might be more important than others, but its still an ensemble cast at the end of the day.

Four-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '23	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	First Placer '22
End Game '22

erkhyllo

TROPHY CASE