iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Okay on further research Bazzite might help a bit but I think the big issue is simply being on NVidia rather than AMD, unfortunately. Well, hopefully I remember to get an AMD whenever graphics cards cost normal prices again so it can play nicer with Linux.

000

Turns out my PC *can* run FF16 quite well, but only on Windows. Something about Proton or my Ubuntu graphics drivers must be sad about it, presumably the latter since it works on Steamdeck which would be putting it through Proton as well. Does make me wonder if I should give Bazzite a shot...

100

SoP also has the very weird-feeling but in retrospect I think strandard-for-Team-Ninja since Nioh or so paradigm of 'select button to interact with people/treasure/etc.'

000

Actually funny enough the core conflict is yet another transposition with the dodge button; FF15 has dodge on right bumper, and SoP has your basic attack live there, with dodge down on A/X.

100

Oh jeez, I briefly played Stranger of Paradise to make sure it would run okay on my PC and it has yet another, even more wildly conflicting controller layout. Definitely holding off on it until I'm done with 16 then.

100

Upon reflection realizing that FF16 Cid reminded me of another Cid...I initially just meant this aesthetically but also now that I think of it trying to overthrow the crystals

000

metaregress @metaregress.com · 19/09/2026

that spot knows what it did

050

I spent so long fighting muscle memory in FF15 because I felt like Square was the more natural-seeming Attack button but it was on Circle, and then FF16 flips them back around and I'm having to un-learn the muscle memory I built in FF15.

101

metaregress @metaregress.com · 18/09/2026

I initially parsed this as AI (Safety Sex) Cult rather than (AI Safety) Sex Cult and was very confused, not to mention concerned there was yet another cult popping up I hadn't heard about.

020

Oh yeah also my PC could not run this game at all, so I've had to fall back to playing on my Steam Deck which has fortunately been pretty good so far. Idk if the PC port is a bit rough on perf or what, my computer isn't super old so I thought I could at least play on potato settings but nah.

100

I also like how Ifrit looks kind of like a dog. He's often had a bit of it going on in his design, but bringing it forward in this game is kind of charming to me. Clive got that dog in him.

100

I do like how quickly you both build and spend DT (I mean Limit Break); it makes it feel like something you're not supposed to hoard, but can just dish out freely, and you want to spend your time in the form wisely.

100

The combat is fine overall; it looks and feels pretty good but there isn't a lot going on, again made more pointed by not having party members to worry about or manage (except giving Torgal orders I guess). From how things are now and what I've heard I assume the late game is just rotating abilities

100

Whereas in 15 you had to wait for each individual type of item to cycle through the rewards screen, which wasn't normally a big deal but they'd often give you like a bunch of ingredients for food-related missions and waiting on those was a pain.

100

Okay back to random grab-bag, the big pop-up "quest complete"/"quest started" things are kind of annoying to me, though this is really another holdover from FF15 (and FF14 honestly), and they're actually a small upgrade from 15 because you get your rewards all at once.

100

I think letting different characters come into the foreground at different parts of the story is one of the numerous benefits of having a big party/ensemble in previous games, and while this game can kind of do that with its other characters it still feels different.

100

This isn't a bad thing necessarily, but it does feel like another pretty big departure from what I normally associate with FF games. It definitely lets his character arc drive the story more, but that seems kind of handled by this point so I'm not sure how the rest of the game will feel.

100

Also I mentioned it earlier but it's kind of odd only having one main party member; there's enough recurring characters that you have a sort of unofficial party, but between not gearing them and not having them around all the time it really does feel like the Clive Show.

100

Like, oh yeah this isn't your DAD'S Final Fantasy. Characters in this have sex and say fuck. Also lmao there could legitimately be people who know of FF from their parents and are picking the franchise up here.

100

That said, it is funny that this is the FF game where people finally say "fuck." We've come so far from bleeping Barret's swears in 7. I generally feel like it doesn't fit the tone/setting super well, I kind of expect more weird fantasy swearing, so it does feel a bit performative.

100

I haven't minded the darker tone too much overall so far, though I've heard people talk about some of the Bearer stuff going off the rails which seems extremely possible based on what I've seen; I think it's a pretty ill-advised thing for a game like this to try to tackle.

100

This was actually pretty present in FF15 as well, but I think it fits the tone better when you're a group of young guys who I kind of expect to be bullshitting with each other in that way. It feels different in the context of a more "dark"/"mature" game like 16.

100

The other slightly-modern-feeling thing I've really noticed is people occasionally getting a bit too quippy or clever, like they gotta comment on every little thing going on. It's not on all the time thank goodness, and I think the writing overall has been pretty good, but I definitely notice it.

100

Oh yeah speaking of crafting, it feels very..."standard modern AAA-game" in a way I don't usually associate with FF games. I had also seen people joking about having a bazillion Sharp Fangs with nothing to do, and now I get to live it. The inventory cap for them is like 9999 so lots still to get.

This appears to be another FF game where money does not matter. Which is funny coming off of 15 where I often felt pretty strapped for cash. I think some of that is only having to gear one character, plus you have crafting as a money-free way to get gear and can only carry so many potions.

100

I haven't really clicked with any of the big kaiju fights so far; I think I'd be fine with all of them just being cool cutscenes I can chill and enjoy instead of either having to slowly control or pay enough attention to so I can perform the QTEs. "Are you still there?" design.

100

Speaking of abilities, I had definitely heard people talk about this part but man do they seem to trivialize most small encounters. It kind of reminds me of the alpha-strike problem in D&D 4E, where you're incentivized to use all your encounter-cooldown powers up front to make a big dent right away.

100

Similarly, it's funny that most of your combat animations feel pretty grounded with your magic abilities being where big flourishes usually are, but then sometimes finisher animations will also just do crazy-looking stuff like football-kicking an enemy 20 feet away.

100

Loose FF16 thoughts now that I'm about 10-12 hours in: why do you have a jump button if your jump is so comically small. I know it's for combat so you can enemy step after doing it, it still feels very silly especially when I use it while traversing like I can get over anything with it.

100

metaregress @metaregress.com · 16/09/2026

oh thanks for the shout, I've had my eye on it for a while and a sale like this is a perfect opportunity to nab it!

000

Legends of Runeterra did something pretty close to this; you alternate actions with your opponent until both sides pass, then a new turn starts (mana refills, the attack token swaps, etc)

metaregress @metaregress.com · 09/09/2026

the terrain seems way over-detailed in this shot too; like, why are those rocks so discrete?

metaregress @metaregress.com · 04/09/2026

It looks like Bluesky might have just updated to auto-include thread-numbering?

screencap of the first post in a thread, with "1/4" at the end in a different styling that seems to have been automatically appended

metaregress @metaregress.com · 02/09/2026

oh right lol, I haven't watched parts 1 and 2 in forever and the name similarity got my ass

metaregress @metaregress.com · 02/09/2026

and honestly the combat was novel enough to me that I mostly didn't mess with any of the alternate stuff because I was usually focused on what I could do better with the normal weapons, but it was nice to see that there were things to experiment with if you were so inclined without feeling pressured

metaregress @metaregress.com · 02/09/2026

I wrestled with this a bit while playing through Angeline Era recently; they give you alternate weapons and subweapons, but the game mostly felt built around the stock loadout and so it felt more like "these are here if you want to experiment; it might make things easier or harder"

metaregress @metaregress.com · 28/08/2026

I rarely post, and have never gotten shot onto Discover, but I'm turning the setting on on principle, fuck the Discover tab

020

metaregress @metaregress.com · 26/08/2026

(actually there's two songs for the commercial, a 15-second version and a 30-second version but I could only find the 30-second version)

000

metaregress @metaregress.com · 26/08/2026

Been listening through the FF9 soundtrack lately and was intrigued by one of the songs being labeled as being for a coke commercial, so I looked it up www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnaC... Very curious how this got made, like presumably this is an actual FMV that Square had to put together?

youtube.com

Final Fantasy IX comercial Coca Cola

YouTube video by Daniel Audiovisuales

metaregress @metaregress.com · 25/08/2026

maybe they were worried that the sun would confuse players because it looks like some kind of golden eye...

metaregress @metaregress.com · 24/08/2026

Since the chart is displaying 'returns', I assume that VNs do well on it because they need relatively fewer sales to reach returns since they're likely to be cheaper to produce overall.

111

metaregress @metaregress.com · 21/08/2026

wow can't wait to see GTA 7's scathing satire of this incident in 30-40 years

0910

Reposted by metaregress

michael lutz @ztul.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Pizza-loving psychics won't stop eating my pizza before I can even order it

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metaregress @metaregress.com · 11/08/2026

It's a lot of fun, pretty short too (only took me about 25 minutes to clear casually, but has some decent replay value imo). The first-person melee combat is neat, and using your punches to give you dashes/jumps is really cool. And it looks great!

metaregress @metaregress.com · 11/08/2026

Why does this FF9 song sound like it belongs in Monkey Island. I can vividly imagine using a Rubber Chicken on everything in sight to try to get something to happen while this plays. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIJ7...

youtube.com

[Video Soundtrack] Out of the Frying Pan [FINAL FANTASY IX]

YouTube video by SQUARE ENIX MUSIC Channel