What are things you liked about TFS?
So, for the sake of a timely sequence break, let's take a cue from @Veeeee and have one of these while the contrasting finale gets sorted.
This thread is meant to provide a free for all spotlight on the positives of The Final Season. Things you thought the game and/or it's story did well. Characters you found a good amount of entertainment in and things about the other characters you thought were neat. Sequences that you really got invested in due to how immersive or interesting they were to you. Exchanges and developments that struck some sort of chord with you for one reason or another. And even in the event you didn't really enjoy much of anything within TFS, what are some ideas you thought was neat on paper and can see being done well in a different setup?
Oh and just as a precaution in the name of amelioration, let's try to keep certain negative aspects or unfavorable comparisons to a healthy minimum. At least at the first volunteering and if it's really pertinent for one to express those feelings later, perhaps they and those around them can find a way to exchange their viewpoints in a way that is understanding or constructive. I won't tell you not to do any of those things at all because that's ultimately your opinion to feel and I for one don't want to dictate what you express, but I think many would agree that it'd be really nice to have a thread where fun times and good vibes can have the dominance.
Comments
From simply a cinematic point of view, I really enjoyed a lot of the visual designs and intentional/unintentional call backs to season one. Opening with driving, adjusting the review mirror, and chatting with the passenger in the backseat just like Lee in the police car was great.
Episode 1 of TFS had a lot to unpack, and remains my favorite episode of the season. A lot of the characters felt like they had established relationships, and Clementine did feel like an outsider. I think it was managed in a way that she didn't come across as rejected as she did from the Cabin crew, in spite of a more hostile introduction to the Ericson's kids.
Whether it actually did or not, Episode 1 felt as if you spent the most time being able to free roam certain areas. There was a lot of attention to details in the school. The set designers did a good job of portraying a sense of the building's size even if your movements are extremely limited.
Rosie and that is all.
This is a big one for me. Being able to aimlessly wander around and most importantly make small-talk with other characters is a massive plus for me and welcome return. It really humanizes the characters and just gives me something fun to do.
Yea this was definitely a huge improvement for these games when it comes to gameplay. It sucks knowing what they wanted to do but had to cut due to the budget. Apparently they wanted the boarding school to be this open world zone where you spend time taking back areas that were previously locked off after Marlon died. Kent even mentioned inventory management and weapon crafting and variation.
One related thing that doesn’t seem to get a lot of talk (I guess because the focus is often on narrative) is the control improvement that came with the Final Season. I went straight from that back into a replay of the first season and the difference is vast. A shame it came so late after so much reliance on an ageing engine (although I’m not being entirely fair as there are improvements across the seasons) but how Clementine feels in those walker sections or free roam sections is a huge jump from those other seasons and feels more like regular game territory rather than the point and click origins of the first season. The camera feels right, the control is more intuitive and doesn’t need a big pointer on screen and it just all works so much smoother. Often where the game takes over control feels smoother too - not always, but there are times it is more seamless.
For me, that difference is very striking. It’s not like the other games hugely suffered without it but, for me, it definitely eases the experience and provides less of a barrier to the narrative. Although I sucked hard at the arrow sections.
Louis and AJ were practically the greats of the cast.
Design. Characters. Romance. Violence. Pretty much everything except the James fight
I liked the visuals for the game, almost the closest resemblance to the comic, which was a massive improvement over A New Frontier’s visuals. Being able to explore the environment and find collectibles, which I thought was really good. Nearly all the characters I like, plus Rosie, which had me hoping that they wouldn’t kill the dog. Deciding who Clementine could be with, which I feel came off quite natural. The story I think is the best since the first game, since they went through what was intended rather than what may have happened with the last couple of games which were changed right in the middle. It felt like a lot of heart was put into this one. Sorry for the long post.
Another thing I really enjoyed is when they concentrated on more atmospheric moments for the game. Probably the best example of this is in the Ericson Basement looking for Brody. The flashlight effects for lighting were done well here, especially as it turned red.
The escape from the boat as it sank also was a very well done action sequence. I also believe it conveyed a far more intense sense of urgency and tension than the walker-shield approach had been. The cave was spectacular. It's a shame so little time is spent there.
The environmental storytelling was perhaps the best we have seen out of all of the seasons. Everything that we could see and interact with felt purposeful, like it told a story. Good examples would be the train station and the clues about the couple that lived there with their baby, the Ericson's graffiti of kids who are now dead plus tons of beer cans and general destruction, and the fishing shack with it's ominous writings and cursed vibes.
The addition of collectibles was great and I'm sad it wasn't implemented into the series sooner. We could have gotten collectibles from some very iconic locations. Anyways I found every collectible except the horseshoe and Clem's room looks awesome. I just wish that the school in general had been more of a hub where we could go back to the room whenever we wanted.
The season is general felt like a fanservice, sometimes in a bad way but 99% of the time in a good way. Not only was the story wrapped up in a surprisingly happy way, but in general this was the season where the staff interacted with the community more than ever. Telltale went into the season addressing player concerns by giving us more hub areas, improved visuals, an actual combat system, and a focus on character relationships. Then when Telltale went under many of the staff did everything they could to communicate with us about the state of the game. And finally Skybound Games stepped up to the plate and became the company that we always wanted Telltale to be, giving us merchandise options on top of finishing the story for us.
There were some issues with the season but ultimately it was a good swan song for TWDG and the Telltale era. It could have been so much more with a proper budget and less internal chaos, but Telltale and Skybound salvaged what they could for the sake of Clementine and the fans and I think that will always be my favorite part of the season.
Dorian kinda had a cool design.
Lilly. Could've used more screen time though.
Macro wars up North sounded cool. Could've used more development.
AJ was a really good character, unfortunately, the whole "shape his personality" thing was extremely shit. Another case of Telltale's "in the end, only that one choice really mattered". That aside, great plus for this Season.
Everything, but it could’ve been a master piece if they had firstly had a better budget second screen time for both James an Lily and character development from the list of characters down bellow.
And most importantly the Ranch flashback was rushed could’ve had a better explanation even though it was enjoyable ( regardless).
I mostly liked TFS, but in particular, the exploding boat set piece (marvelously done) and some of the quieter moments (especially James or AJ interactions).
Everything about the first episode it felt like Telltale was going back to their roots and gave me hope not for long but still.
AJ,awesome little dude. Violet was also pretty cool i guess.
The callbacks to the previous seasons i wish we got way more but hey Lee mentioned Chuck so all is forgiven right ? I loved the visuals for the game as well.
I also loved the car sequence in episode 1 inspired from Children of Men and that other sequence with the herd in EP3 i could tell a lot of work has been put into these scenes that was great.
And some other things probably but that's all i can think of right now.