Haha, good call Kuja.
Also, I suppose I can't really call it because I didn't post it earlier, even though I've noted it down in my file I've saved to my computer (which I will upload in due time, but not until it's more or less complete) so you'll just have to take my word on this.
My FFXVI vision included Astral Shards, although not in the same form they appear in XV. Mine were simply a form of small crystal with the ability to evoke a persons animal spirit.
Secondly summons in my vision each had a counterpart opponent.
As I said before in my first post, the summons I would have are lesser known, or not so frequently used creatures, such as Catoblepas and Bismarck. But I haven't used any of what you would call 'staples'.
This is because the traditional summons are the evil counterparts.
Basically each summon, referred to as Guardian Forces once again, get their name form the fact that their main role in the game is to hold back the unstoppable destructive powers of their counterpart, the Malevolent Forces.
Locked in an eternal, ethereal battle, the two forces are in perpetual stalemate, neither able to defeat the other. But you can help turn the tide in these battles and assist each Guardian Force in defeating their Malevolent Force for good, thus freeing up the GF's powers.
Doing so requires that you call both GF and MF into the physical world at the same time, proving a huge risk because if you fail, the MF will be free to inflict destruction on the world around it.
The battles against the MF would be epic, Shadow of the Colossus type fights, where you don't actually have the ability to defeat them in the traditional way, instead you have to exploit their weaknesses, to give just enough of the upper hand to the GF, who will cause the main portion of the damage.
The GFs and their MFs are as follows:
Catoblepas has to defeat Ifrit
Kangadmi has to defeat Shiva
Quetzalcotl has to defeat Ramuh
Bismarck has to defeat Leviathan
Cait Sith has to defeat Titan
Garuda has to defeat Valefore
Phoenix has to defeat Abaddon
Fenrir has to defeat Bahamut
Defeating their counterparts gives you full access to their higher tier magic and the ability to call them in battle.
Each battle would be different, for example defeating Titan would rely on your using the terrain to get high enough to attack his weak points, while Bahamut would require you to lure his attacks to a certain point, and using his Megaflare to destroy a part of the terrain, allowing Fenrir to leap onto his back.
The Garuda-Valefore battle would be ranged attacks only, as the two forces battle it out far above you. While the Bismarck-Leviathan battle would require you to block off certain canal passages to Bismarck's advantage.
I suppose you could say that the footage of Leviathan in XV came before I settled on that idea, but I hadn't seen any of the Titan footage before.
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