i find it hard to believe they're planning to add an area so far away from the station, makes more sense to finalize the area between the station and the dungeon, i suppose it would be easier to implement.
Well... there's always another possibility as to the nature of this particular area. Here's a good Youtube video showing the town:
The most notable thing about the town, to me, is that the reason it's so far from Cartanica is that it's near the water. Perhaps instead of simply allowing the player to drive from Cartanica to the dungeon (which would be a nice addition in and of itself), BD2 intends to let the player visit the first town that Noct and co. reach on the Niflheim continent.
It's more like that i can see them smoothing out the rough transitions in the game to begin with. Yes making Cartanica open is a priority for us but also smoothing out how we go from Altissia to Niflheim needed to be more believable. I can see them adding an area to explore before going on the train as well as a result, and potentially even using the new Boat to show how the Bros dock there.
Here are other examples of this:
1. Skipping Cartanica and going directly to the dungeon through a loading screen(it's part of the reason why people want cartanica open) as well as the transition back. You can actually see from an old Malboro trailer we were supposed to enter the the dungeon through the tree from above, but it just loads us in.
2. The choppy transition between chapters 10 and 13 overall. Most likely this can't be resolved due to loading times but actually adding more stops and things to do to increase chapter lengths could help that. Example would be how nothing to do in Tenebrae or the Shiva area lowers that transition/immersion factor as well.
3. in a different manner, Gralea does have some choppy areas. It's almost like there were supposed to be more cutscenes with the Empire there but they got cut (we've known this too through leaks). The chapter could use more playable area (in the actual city) as well as the reworked cutscenes to help the linear sections length (it was definitely that long due to supposedly having more cutscenes there).
4. Hearing about the WoR in game then skipping anything in Lucis only to be teleported to Insomnia is probably the worst culprit. Not just to Insomnia but extremely close to the citadel, we don't even knpw how they got there.
Actually the most important thing I can say is remember how the game transitioned from Caem to Altissia? Same as how we followed Ardyn to Titan, and how we traveled all across Lucis to our destinations? That is how I expected every other location transtion to be in game. Even to Niflheim from Altissia after a loading screen, even across that continent especially because it was linear, and even to Insomnia at the end of the game.
The whole game is a journey and is established as one. When they take out 75% of the actual journey and traveling in chapters 9-14 it definitely shows. BUT, I am hopeful that everything I just said will be improved in some way (not exactly the way I say them either) at some point. Its just a question of when and how, because reducing the linearity abruptness in this portion of the game is probably the most important thing they can do. There is a stark difference between the games transitions from chapters 1-7 to 9-14.
I feel like, apart from the Cartanica loading screen, the game didn't do a bad job of keeping the bros' travel through the Niflheim continent on-screen. You're on a train most of the time, of course, but that's not the same as being teleported from one location to another.
Here's what I would consider most useful:
1) Update the Leviathan fight to include the mini-dungeon from the Pocket Edition.
2) Show the boat ride between Altissia and the first town in Niflheim, and let Noct explore the first town in Niflheim a little bit.
3) Provide a reasonable-sized open-world chunk around Cartanica and its dungeon that the bros can traverse in the Regalia.
4) Update Chapter 12 to include the mini-dungeon from the Pocket Edition.
5) Implement Chapter 13:2 in-line with Chapter 13 proper.
6) Provide a reasonable-sized open-world chunk around World of Ruin Hammerhead (extending into Insomnia) that the bros can traverse in the Regalia/by riding Chocobos.
If they pulled all of that off, of course, it'd be a transformation the like of which defies easy comparison. In Kingdom Hearts terms, it'd be more like a Re: than a Final Mix. XD;
They could change what was written on the note and even Talcott’s dialogue about all the guys waiting there.
They’ve changed dialogue and scenes before (aka chapter 12).
So for that scenario, either the guys got called away, or they were unable to contact them but X was last seen at Y and now you have to go search.
The reunion needs to be more heartfelt. The current one was way too “oh hey you’re back. Alright let’s go.”
True, though I thought they sort of doubled down on it in the Comrades cutscene, which they probably wouldn't have done if they intended to change it. Having the guys get called away (most conveniently, perhaps, in an attempt to find parts to repair the Regalia?) seems like it'd be the easier solution.
A more heartfelt reunion would definitely be appreciated, I agree... and having Noct show up just in time to help his bros fight off overwhelming odds could be a perfect means by which to affect that.
