I am desperate to discuss this game, it’s possibly one of my top 3 Final Fantasy games.
The combat feels pretty great, I don’t mind it being a Devil May Cry action system. It’s really satisfying to chain together evades and teleports and blow up the screen with particle effects. The game really opens up as you get more abilities but it does take a while to get into the full scope of combat.
The sense of spectacle is amazing, I am a huge fan of kaiju movies, so I am all on board for 50 foot monster battles.
And the story and characters are so good! It’s so refreshing to get a story where the protagonists want to make the world a better place by throwing down oppressive authority and are actually allowed to do so. Clive has a strong sense of honor and a very endearing dorky streak wrapped up behind all his emotional trauma and he’s a great sympathetic protagonist. Cid is possibly one of the best Cids of all time (where did they find the absolute mutant that voices him?). Jill is a perfect complement to Clive, they are possibly the only two people who can fully understand each other.
Additional marks for letting everyone say “Fuck.”
Please mark spoilers!
Clive is so great. He’s just a little guy who wants to be an edgy loner so bad, but he cant help it. He just wants everyone to be safe and happy. Not counting 14, I’ve only ever played the 7 remake, and Clive is a nice contrast to Cloud.
Don’t get me wrong, Cloud has a similar vibe. But like Clive talks, and smiles, and he gets a little awkward when people flirt with him. He compliments people who do good things, and his dialog during side quests shows he’s genuinely concerned with the well-being of people around him.
It’s just nice to have a Clive to play. Like I’ve done lots of Zelda lately, and Link’s personality was never the draw. D:OS and Baldur’s Gate 3 both have protagonists that like to veer into “hard person for a hard world”. Elden Ring is Elden Ring.
Give me the protagonist who is human enough to be affected by the world, but also actually nice and stuff.