# Final Fantasy XIII



## BatRat (Apr 4, 2010)

What do you think?
I think it's the best game in history.... 20 hours in


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 4, 2010)

i think its by far the lowpoint of the series. it friggin blows! im on disc 3 and i just dont want to continue because it feels like busy work... im just having no fun, the game is boring as hell.
the story blows, except for sazh there are no likeble characters and no character developement whatsoever (totally changing a character within 5 minutes is no proper character developement!), the crystarium and the battle system only give you an illusion of freedom and besides the main storyline there is nothing to do...
i thought 10 was bad but this game tops it...


----------



## Tewin Follow (Apr 4, 2010)

I'm restraining myself until I've finished EDGEWARTH + GUMSHAW: PARTY INVESTIGATANS and SoulSilver.

Also it costs like, Â£40 right now or something.
No.


----------



## Mealing (Apr 4, 2010)

I terrible game. Not been so dissapointed since Metal Gear Solid 4. Terrible charecters, half bakes plot, anime to no end, terrible voices, bad setting, poor deliverence of story. . . ohh boy it is a long list. Most people I have talked to are finished it just because. . .to finish it to make the nightmare over to end the horror that is FF13. 

Good Game square you failed big time. I got 8 hours in and gave up on it for close to 2 weeks. Now I am up to disc 3 just and don't fancy playing it anymore again.


----------



## Willow (Apr 4, 2010)

Harebelle said:


> I'm restraining myself until I've finished EDGEWARTH + GUMSHAW: PARTY INVESTIGATANS and SoulSilver.
> 
> Also it costs like, Â£40 right now or something.
> No.


I'm waiting for the price to drop too

I bought AAI and planned on finishing it before Soul Silver came out, but because everyone kept pestering me about not having it, I went and bought it the week after...and then I found The World Ends With You and got stuck on that...now I'm back to playing Soul Silver


----------



## Redregon (Apr 4, 2010)

feels like they aimed for eye-candy as opposed to content to me.


----------



## Skittle (Apr 4, 2010)

Redregon said:


> feels like they aimed for eye-candy as opposed to content to me.


This is exactly what they did. :/

I never liked Final Fantasy but this is just...appalling.


----------



## Tewin Follow (Apr 4, 2010)

God, I'm glad so many of you are saying it sucks.
You've saved me a lot of money... that is now spare to throw at Google stock!





;D


----------



## Willow (Apr 4, 2010)

Harebelle said:


> God, I'm glad so many of you are saying it sucks.
> You've saved me a lot of money... that is now spare to throw at Google stock!
> 
> 
> ...


I've heard mixed reviews about the game...


----------



## Redregon (Apr 4, 2010)

skittle said:


> This is exactly what they did. :/
> 
> I never liked Final Fantasy but this is just...appalling.



i dunno... i kinda liked 7 and i really liked 9... but they kinda got me to the point where i wanted to keep playing.

not going to mention X since a lot of furries that like it like it for the fap-factor.


----------



## Nothing Too Interesting (Apr 4, 2010)

Extremely linear... 
This game entertains me, but it's just such a disappointment.
It's practically an interactive movie.
Even the side missions are basically all the same.


----------



## BatRat (Apr 4, 2010)

Yeah, I agree with alot of the stuff here.  But really, I like the fact that it was a movie - I really enjoyed the story and the eyecandy, but I think it would've gone over much better as a CGI movie like Advent Children than an actual game.
The 3rd disc is awesome, though.  It really opens up at that point, and you really have to put thought into crystarium and battles.


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 4, 2010)

BatRat said:


> Yeah, I agree with alot of the stuff here.  But really, I like the fact that it was a movie - I really enjoyed the story and the eyecandy, but I think it would've gone over much better as a CGI movie like Advent Children than an actual game.
> The 3rd disc is awesome, though.  It really opens up at that point, *and you really have to put thought into crystarium and battles*.



no, you dont.
in the crystarium you just have to fill out the characters main roles. hope is a mage, why would you want him master the commando path for example? its pointless!
and the battles play themselves. use the auto ability button, switch to a paradigm with medics if you are low on health, buff yourself a little, repeat. and choosing the abilities yourself is a total waste of time!
the whole game feels so very very gimmicky... why didnt they just use a level system? way easier and way more fun!
and the story... im sorry, but its really really bad! almost no exposition, they just throw random words at you that you dont know and you have to look them up in the datalog... thats not good story telling! you cant fully immerse into the world if they do it like that...
i think thats where spoony is right why 10 is better than 13: tidus was a complete retard. everyone has to explain him every little detail about the world and you learn with him. thats a good exposition!
the series is officially dead to me now. if square enix wont put more effort into the story next time and not just invest all the time into the ridicolous amount of eyecandy i wont buy the next game.


----------



## Nothing Too Interesting (Apr 4, 2010)

CaptainCool said:


> the series is officially dead to me now. if square enix wont put more effort into the story next time and not just invest all the time into the ridicolous amount of eyecandy i wont buy the next game.


 
As someone who was disappointed in 13 as well, I can honestly say that Final Fantasy Versus XIII looks very promising. The wiki article mentioned a traversable world map, just like how it was before Final Fantasy X.
Graphically, it looks amazing, and its realistic and dark setting give me hope for a better storyline.
Also, the gameplay is supposed to be something along the lines of a modified KH battle system.

I don't know if any of those appeal to you, but I already like how it sounds, moreso after playing FFXIII.


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 4, 2010)

Nothing Too Interesting said:


> As someone who was disappointed in 13 as well, I can honestly say that Final Fantasy Versus XIII looks very promising. The wiki article mentioned a traversable world map, just like how it was before Final Fantasy X.
> Graphically, it looks amazing, and its realistic and dark setting give me hope for a better storyline.
> Also, the gameplay is supposed to be something along the lines of a modified KH battle system.
> 
> I don't know if any of those appeal to you, but I already like how it sounds, moreso after playing FFXIII.



well that does sound pretty great but i dont have a PS3. i dont REALLY plan to buy one right now (even though some games for it are extremely great and i want to play them^^)


----------



## Bianca (Apr 4, 2010)

This joins the ungodly ranks of 4 and 8 as one of the greatest Final Fantasy games in the series <3


----------



## Redregon (Apr 4, 2010)

Bianca said:


> This joins the ungodly ranks of 4 and 8 as one of the greatest Final Fantasy games in the series <3



okay, not having played 4 i can't really comment... but, taking 8 as a measure of greatness is really making me scratch my head... are you being facetious?


----------



## zesty (Apr 4, 2010)

Bianca said:


> This joins the ungodly ranks of 4 and 8 as one of the greatest Final Fantasy games in the series <3



Really..8?  I though 8 was garbage, honestly.  Thirteen is ok so far, imo.  Way too linear, but I love some Sazh.


----------



## Bianca (Apr 5, 2010)

Redregon said:


> okay, not having played 4 i can't really  comment... but, taking 8 as a measure of greatness is really making me  scratch my head... are you being facetious?





zesty said:


> Really..8?  I though 8 was garbage, honestly.  Thirteen is ok so far, imo.  Way too linear, but I love some Sazh.


Most peoples poor memories of 8 are from playing it when it came out and/or when you were thirteen. Revisit it again with a fresh mind, a clear head and no preconceived ideas that "it isn't FF7/FF6 (circle one)". You'll likely enjoy it.


----------



## Imperial Impact (Apr 5, 2010)

Bianca said:


> Most peoples poor memories of 8 are from playing it when it came out and/or when you were thirteen.


Look who's talking.


----------



## Stargazer Bleu (Apr 5, 2010)

I got  the ps3 version over the xbox. I am also disapointed in this game.  
It like you can only go in one direction and no exploration what so ever.
Im at the end of chap 10. Only good thing is it dosent stick me with what ever chars it wants. Only wonder how long that will last.


----------



## Dasaki (Apr 5, 2010)

I like 13, it's the best since 9 which isn't hard to do. I'm about 70 hours into it and can't play anymore since my 360 died w/o warenty and I can't afford to get it fixed =(.


----------



## Bianca (Apr 5, 2010)

Perverted Impact said:


> Look who's talking.


Wow, did someone who fails at something as simple as bbcode just try and troll me? Haha.
Nice hasty little fix~


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 5, 2010)

Bianca said:


> Most peoples poor memories of 8 are from playing it when it came out and/or when you were thirteen. Revisit it again with a fresh mind, a clear head and no preconceived ideas that "it isn't FF7/FF6 (circle one)". You'll likely enjoy it.



no. 8 IS garbage. the story sucks, the characters are boring and flat and the love story feels like it was forced into the game. only the battle system was good!
same counts for 7. the series started to get bad ever since 7 came out... the only good game in the series after 7 is 9 in my opinion.
in my opinion the worst games of the series are 13, 10, 7 and 8 in this order.


----------



## Bianca (Apr 5, 2010)

CaptainCool said:


> no. 8 IS garbage. the story sucks, the characters are boring and flat and the love story feels like it was forced into the game. only the battle system was good!
> same counts for 7. the series started to get bad ever since 7 came out... the only good game in the series after 7 is 9 in my opinion.
> in my opinion the worst games of the series are 13, 10, 7 and 8 in this order.


Ah; you're a "I'm hip because I only like the *retro* FF games" bandwagon hopper. Suddenly it's like it's 2006 again. We called you guys "*Retro*lls" back in the day. Easy way to spot one of you? You think FF6 is the best FF game.


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 5, 2010)

Bianca said:


> Ah; you're a "I'm hip because I only like the *retro* FF games" bandwagon hopper. Suddenly it's like it's 2006 again. We called you guys "*Retro*lls" back in the day. Easy way to spot one of you? You think FF6 is the best FF game.



actually i never played 6.
and no, thats not the reason i dont like those games. i just know the difference between a good and a bad story >.>


----------



## Redregon (Apr 5, 2010)

Bianca said:


> Most peoples poor memories of 8 are from playing it when it came out and/or when you were thirteen. Revisit it again with a fresh mind, a clear head and no preconceived ideas that "it isn't FF7/FF6 (circle one)". You'll likely enjoy it.



well, i do understand where you're coming from (though, i think i was around 19-20ish when i played it) i just felt that the story was a little trite, the battle systems were clunky and the designs were a little too "out there" for my tastes. (not going to criticize the graphics quality, though... i understand the PS1 can't hold a candle to the graphics power of the later gen systems.)


----------



## Bianca (Apr 5, 2010)

Redregon said:


> well, i do understand where you're coming from (though, i think i was around 19-20ish when i played it) i just felt that the story was a little trite, the battle systems were clunky and the designs were a little too "out there" for my tastes. (not going to criticize the graphics quality, though... i understand the PS1 can't hold a candle to the graphics power of the later gen systems.)


With a decent emulator plugin config it actually looks pretty good. It take some mighty Petes OpenGL2 plugin power but you can actually play it nowadays without Squall looking like his face is made out of lego!


----------



## Imperial Impact (Apr 5, 2010)

Bianca said:


> Wow, did someone who fails at something as simple as bbcode just try and troll me? Haha.
> Nice hasty little fix~


Huh?



CaptainCool said:


> no. 8 IS garbage. the story sucks, the characters are boring and flat and the love story feels like it was forced into the game. only the battle system was good!
> same counts for 7. the series started to get bad ever since 7 came out... the only good game in the series after 7 is 9 in my opinion.
> in my opinion the worst games of the series are 13, 10, 7 and 8 in this order.


Yes, The only games that I had "fun" were nine, four and five



CaptainCool said:


> actually i never played 6.
> and no, thats not the reason i dont like those games. i just know the difference between a good and a bad story >.>


I play games, For you know, The fun factor?


----------



## Mealing (Apr 5, 2010)

I did not mind 8. The love story was kinda bleh and towards the end rolling out the MARTY WE GOT TO GO BACK IN TIME TO FORWARD IN TIME TO KILL MY WIFES ALTER DIMENSION TIME EGO. . . ohh noes I have gone cross eyed. But I did enjoy 8 and my friends enjoyed playing it with me. I would not really say the draw mechanic was a good thing on the whole. Although the more interesting summons mechanic through picking abilities they learn and the benefits you got was definetly summin I wish was still around. 

FF13 is just bad.


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 5, 2010)

Perverted Impact said:


> I play games, For you know, The fun factor?



same here^^ but a good story is part of the fun for me. if i can fully immerse into it it makes the overall experience SO much better!
FF13 just doesnt have that... i dont get absorbed by the story, the characters are flat, the gameplay is boring and there isnt anything to do =/ im just not having any fun!


----------



## Diego117 (Apr 5, 2010)

I'm liking it so far. I'm on Chapter 11 right now trying to level everybody up. 

But I'm one of the later generation FF players. I didn't get into Final Fantasy until 10 came out. I got 10 and went backwards to 6 in the series. I have to say my favorites are 6, 9, 10, and now 13. I'm not saying the others were bad, but I just lost interest about halfway through them. Especially 12, I don't think I got 10 hours into that game.


----------



## Redregon (Apr 5, 2010)

Bianca said:


> With a decent emulator plugin config it actually looks pretty good. It take some mighty Petes OpenGL2 plugin power but you can actually play it nowadays without Squall looking like his face is made out of lego!



oh no no, i think you're misunderstanding. i have no complaints of the graphics themselves, more the way that the design team tackled the content. i know that at the time it was trendy to have monsters and environments that really catered to the whole "out there" motif, but it was too much for me and really took me out of the experience a lot of the times.

and before anyone thinks to chuckle, no, it wasn't because they weren't chibi-fied in a lot of places, i just didn't "get into it" as well as the others. i mean, razor frisbees? a blade with a revolver on it? maybe i'm a stickler though but i like the battles to have at least a little bit of realism to them... and yeah, the size of Cloud's blades did pull me out sometimes so, i'm not only lauding 7, it had it's moments where it broke the "experience" too, just, not nearly as much and the story made up for it.


----------



## Zydala (Apr 5, 2010)

this thread makes me sad :< this is probably the first ff I've REALLY liked and enjoyed since IX. the story is cool because it's not your typical "I'm joining this party to fight an evil tree/alien/dragon" and actually sort of makes the characters ask how in the hell you actually DO 'save the world'. And the character interactions have been pretty decent so far; they actually have a lot of flaws that aren't just 'I'm a playboy' or 'I swear and drink too much', etc.

But I mean this is because I haven't enjoyed anything square-enix has made for the most part, and thought this was gonna be more of the same. I was pleasantly surprised.

I'm also shocked that no one's picked up on the fact that Square-Enix probably tied the forced linearity to the theme of the game. not to be spoilerish. I mean I don't doubt that there was probably some necessity in making most of the game linear but they did it in a way that ties with one of the main thematic conflicts of the game. Sort of an 'I see what you did there' kind of thing I noticed.


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 5, 2010)

Zydala said:


> this thread makes me sad :< this is probably the first ff I've REALLY liked and enjoyed since IX. the story is cool because it's not your typical "I'm joining this party to fight an evil tree/alien/dragon" and actually sort of makes the characters ask how in the hell you actually DO 'save the world'. And the character interactions have been pretty decent so far; they actually have a lot of flaws that aren't just 'I'm a playboy' or 'I swear and drink too much', etc.
> 
> But I mean this is because I haven't enjoyed anything square-enix has made for the most part, and thought this was gonna be more of the same. I was pleasantly surprised.
> 
> I'm also shocked that no one's picked up on the fact that Square-Enix probably tied the forced linearity to the theme of the game. not to be spoilerish. I mean I don't doubt that there was probably some necessity in making most of the game linear but they did it in a way that ties with one of the main thematic conflicts of the game. Sort of an 'I see what you did there' kind of thing I noticed.



i dont even mind the linearity all that much. i mean, its a story, you dont tell a story in random order! XD if you integrate any sort of plot the game is pretty much bound to be linear, except for some sidequests you can do.
about the story itself... well, in itself its not even bad. and you are right, its pretty different to the plots of the other FF games which is cool! its just the way they tell this story... they dont explain anything at all and you have to read it in those extremely long datalogs (which is probably the worst kinda of exposition ever), there is almost no character developement. except for sazh i just dont care about this extremely unlikable lot!
its not a bad game. but its definitely the worst final fantasy game ive ever played (not counting the bad spin-offs of course >.>). it could have been SO much better if they would have focused a little more on the plot and not on the eyecandy.
you may say that they failed to find out their focus! get it? get it? X3


----------



## Zydala (Apr 5, 2010)

CaptainCool said:


> i dont even mind the linearity all that much. i mean, its a story, you dont tell a story in random order! XD if you integrate any sort of plot the game is pretty much bound to be linear, except for some sidequests you can do.
> about the story itself... well, in itself its not even bad. and you are right, its pretty different to the plots of the other FF games which is cool! its just the way they tell this story... they dont explain anything at all and you have to read it in those extremely long datalogs (which is probably the worst kinda of exposition ever), there is almost no character developement. except for sazh i just dont care about this extremely unlikable lot!
> its not a bad game. but its definitely the worst final fantasy game ive ever played (not counting the bad spin-offs of course >.>). it could have been SO much better if they would have focused a little more on the plot and not on the eyecandy.
> you may say that they failed to find out their focus! get it? get it? X3



Hahaha :> I like that!

You know I can see why people would find it confusing to follow; they sort of took this route of throwing you in and letting you experience it and sort of get the gist of the world as the game went on, which is rather difficult! That's a hard way of introducing things sometimes, and I think if a majority of people found it convoluted, then they probably failed in executing it well. I don't have a hard time following it, but it did take a little reading of the manual lol.

I think I have to disagree on the character development part; I think they're just developing in a way that people aren't really used to seeing. Usually I found that characters in a Final Fantasy game will have a very obvious flaw (i.e. 'I'm a cold badass that's apathetic about the world', 'I'm too confident in my abilities and when it gets down to it I'm a wuss'), but they'll turn around and rectify it in a very blatant manner ('Now I understand I have to care about the world!' 'I have to be brave and use my abilities!'). In XIII they're going a different route entirely. 

Take Snow for instance. He has unbridled optimism and enthusiasm! It gets on people's nerves. It's actually because he has a complex about not feeling in control, or not wanting to accept reality. Instead of going the route of sobering up completely and becoming thoughtful, he learns to sort of use that optimism in drive in a different manner that's healthier, and more useful. Or Hope's a good example too. 'I was a normal teen who had normal teen issues with his family! Things have gone terribly wrong. I'm going to take this lady's advice and focus on an extreme way of dealing with my trauma. Wait, what do you mean I shouldn't do it like that and it's probably making things worse? Well NOW how am I gonna cope?' I dunno, I just liked how they worked with the story. Everyone's thrown into it and is learning to cope with it in their own way.

I mean take all this with a grain of salt though; all I ever DO is pick apart games for their themes and development, and that's sort of the fun I get out of games most of the time (I should probably be an english teacher! lol :x). I know that's not a general thing people usually do and I'm not saying that everyone should enjoy it, or that this sort of story is everyone's cup of tea.


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 5, 2010)

Zydala said:


> Hahaha :> I like that!
> 
> You know I can see why people would find it confusing to follow; they sort of took this route of throwing you in and letting you experience it and sort of get the gist of the world as the game went on, which is rather difficult! That's a hard way of introducing things sometimes, and I think if a majority of people found it convoluted, then they probably failed in executing it well. I don't have a hard time following it, but it did take a little reading of the manual lol.
> 
> ...



i still think the way the characters "develope" isnt good at all^^
hope is the best example: for about 50% to 70% of the game he HATES snow. then he confronts him on disc 2, they talk, he attacks him... and within 5 minutes or so they are buddies all of a sudden and they actually joke around! that is character developement but its way too fast and way too drastic in my opinion! or fang... you see her and she is a total bitch to snow. and then she changes her character OFF SCREEN! sure, it happens shortly after you learn about her and vanille... but still, you dont do that! DX
otherwise the chatacters are flat and boring... i just dont care for them =/ they are the typical JRPG characters (a tough dude, an angsty dude, the kooky girl, the emo hero, a person of an ethnic minority...), i really whish they would change that. they could have made so much more out of this focus thing for example, like make it even more dramatic... thats such a dissappointment!
the only character i cared for was sazh. he was the only one whom i could relate to because his story is believable!
oh and fang because she is HOT :B


----------



## Zydala (Apr 5, 2010)

CaptainCool said:


> i still think the way the characters "develope" isnt good at all^^
> hope is the best example: for about 50% to 70% of the game he HATES snow. then he confronts him on disc 2, they talk, he attacks him... and within 5 minutes or so they are buddies all of a sudden and they actually joke around! that is character developement but its way too fast and way too drastic in my opinion! or fang... you see her and she is a total bitch to snow. and then she changes her character OFF SCREEN! sure, it happens shortly after you learn about her and vanille... but still, you dont do that! DX
> otherwise the chatacters are flat and boring... i just dont care for them =/ they are the typical JRPG characters (a tough dude, an angsty dude, the kooky girl, the emo hero, a person of an ethnic minority...), i really whish they would change that. they could have made so much more out of this focus thing for example, like make it even more dramatic... thats such a dissappointment!
> the only character i cared for was sazh. he was the only one whom i could relate to because his story is believable!
> oh and fang because she is HOT :B



Like I said, to each their own :> I can see that people will look for different character development than others, and I definitely think that's one of these times. I didn't think the thing with Hope/Snow was too fast because really Hope just realized he needed to sort of tolerate him - and also he didn't want him to die because he wanted Snow to be able to man up to his mistakes instead of just burying them. If Hope killed him it wouldn't do any good That was cool to me. I'm not sure if Fang ever 'hated' Snow? I never picked up on that. 

I do agree that they're still depending on tropes for characters, no argument there haha! But they're a lot more subtle to me than say, IX or X's cast. There's just something more grounded and substantial to me for some reason.

But like I said, I'll pick things apart for fun instead of enjoying the game firsthand :B lol. I tend to like the games in a series no one else does anyway.

blah blah me lol

EDIT: also YESS Fang is so hot why is she so hot. <3 <3 <3


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 5, 2010)

Zydala said:


> Like I said, to each their own :> I can see that people will look for different character development than others, and I definitely think that's one of these times. I didn't think the thing with Hope/Snow was too fast because really Hope just realized he needed to sort of tolerate him - and also he didn't want him to die because he wanted Snow to be able to man up to his mistakes instead of just burying them. If Hope killed him it wouldn't do any good That was cool to me. I'm not sure if Fang ever 'hated' Snow? I never picked up on that.
> 
> I do agree that they're still depending on tropes for characters, no argument there haha! But they're a lot more subtle to me than say, IX or X's cast. There's just something more grounded and substantial to me for some reason.
> 
> ...



she didnt hate him, she just arrested him because she worked for psycom  thats what i meant^^ and then she joins you, out of the blue... at least it felt like it XD


----------



## Zydala (Apr 5, 2010)

CaptainCool said:


> she didnt hate him, she just arrested him because she worked for psycom  thats what i meant^^ and then she joins you, out of the blue... at least it felt like it XD



OH. okay I re-read what you said lol. yeah

You know it's funny I was talking with my gf and we both agreed that it was so strange to have Fang as a character in your party. She felt sort of like a character that you interact with a lot but don't necessarily have join you for an extended period. sort of like Beatrix in IX or... Larsa(??) in XII. Maybe that's why it feels like she joins you out of nowhere? In any case I think so too for sure.


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 5, 2010)

Zydala said:


> OH. okay I re-read what you said lol. yeah
> 
> You know it's funny I was talking with my gf and we both agreed that it was so strange to have Fang as a character in your party. She felt sort of like a character that you interact with a lot but don't necessarily have join you for an extended period. sort of like Beatrix in IX or... Larsa(??) in XII. Maybe that's why it feels like she joins you out of nowhere? In any case I think so too for sure.



yeah, it kinda doesnt feel right... but i dont mind in this case because she is one of the few characters in the game whom i like X3 she is witty, she looks great, she is actually useful and all in all she really is one of the most round characters the game has to offer^^
a female character who is strong, not annoying or emo, hot and good in combat... we need more of those!


----------



## Zydala (Apr 5, 2010)

CaptainCool said:


> yeah, it kinda doesnt feel right... but i dont mind in this case because she is one of the few characters in the game whom i like X3 she is witty, she looks great, she is actually useful and all in all she really is one of the most round characters the game has to offer^^
> a female character who is strong, not annoying or emo, hot and good in combat... we need more of those!



God yeah I agree haha. It's always like, pick two, and that's that. I'd like to see things like that explored a bit more.

Of course, it's hard balancing that sort of character without making them too bland or perfect, but with Fang I think they did a pretty decent job making sure she came off still _human_.


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 5, 2010)

Zydala said:


> God yeah I agree haha. It's always like, pick two, and that's that. I'd like to see things like that explored a bit more.
> 
> Of course, it's hard balancing that sort of character without making them too bland or perfect, but with Fang I think they did a pretty decent job making sure she came off still _human_.



right. she still comes off as pretty badass but she has her faults, too. and she cares for vanille (god knows why... god damnit i hate her >.>)


----------



## BatRat (Apr 5, 2010)

CaptainCool said:


> right. she still comes off as pretty badass but she has her faults, too. and she cares for vanille (god knows why... god damnit i hate her >.>)


You know who I hate more than Vanille? Hope.
Dear GOD, Hope is a prick.


----------



## Digitalpotato (Apr 5, 2010)

Does anybody here know if there's any difference between the PS3 and the 360 version? 




Perverted Impact said:


> I play games, For you know, The fun factor?



And did you know that people actually have *Gasp* different ideas of fun?


A lot of people here like Team Fortress 2...when I find it to be a summary of pretty much Every fucking FPS on the market. 


And oh look...Another Final Fantasy thread derailed into a bunch of trolls and "This game is shit and you should be ashamed to like it", with a few "My opinion is absolute *FACT*. But you guys actually did a good job getting it back on topic, good job!


----------



## DragonRift (Apr 6, 2010)

BatRat said:


> What do you think?
> I think it's the best game in history.... 20 hours in



Best game in history??!  >_>;

Did you just start playing games a month ago?  While I'm not going to knock your taste in RPGs, for I didn't hate *FFXIII* like I feared I would, it's definitely one of Square's weaker entries.  Much like *FFX*, the strict, narrow-path linearity really destroys the entire free world exploration the other games thrived on.

You run down a one-way path, get into a few fights, see a cutscene, and cycle-rinse-repeat.  No towns to wander, either.  For the game it is, it's definitely fun to play, don't get me wrong... but as an *FF* game, it's definitely a lot less than we were hoping for.

Especially for being in development for almost five years.  Â¬_Â¬


----------



## DragonRift (Apr 6, 2010)

Digitalpotato said:


> Does anybody here know if there's any difference between the PS3 and the 360 version?




The visuals are a bit softer, and the resolution's not QUITE as crisp (you'd have to REALLY look, or do a side-by-side comparison to see it), but aside from that and being segmented across 3 DVDs, there's not any difference at all.  The game still looks great and plays exactly the same no matter which version you purchase.


----------



## zesty (Apr 6, 2010)

Bianca said:


> Most peoples poor memories of 8 are from playing it when it came out and/or when you were thirteen. Revisit it again with a fresh mind, a clear head and no preconceived ideas that "it isn't FF7/FF6 (circle one)". You'll likely enjoy it.



I was 18 or 19 when that was released.  I was so surprised I hated the game, I played it twice.  It was the first FF game I ever played that I just plain hated.  The story was boring and the "plot twists" were so unbelievable dumb, not even the word fantasy, which is in the title, could save the game for me.  Not to mention Squall was the most boring main character I have played in a game.

Summons were nice though.

I have played all the FF games, and while 7 was freaking sweet, it not being 7, was not the issue for me.  I just thought it was garbage.

Again, though, 13 isn't as horrible as I thought it would be.


----------



## Trpdwarf (Apr 6, 2010)

Bianca said:


> Most peoples poor memories of 8 are from playing it when it came out and/or when you were thirteen. Revisit it again with a fresh mind, a clear head and no preconceived ideas that "it isn't FF7/FF6 (circle one)". You'll likely enjoy it.



Just my two cents here but I played FF7 and thought it was meh. I hated FF8 and only got half way through before I broke the discs because I found the game so full of fail. Not all people who hate 8 do so because they loved 7 and were infatuated and pissed that 8 was not like 7. 

I nearly turned my back on FF then when 8 came out...then till I saw a friend play FF9 later on and then the whole thing was redeemed in my eyes slightly. I really liked the idea of the perky main character and the story line was charming. The battle system was decent too. I've played 10, and got half way through that piece of shit 12 before turning it in for something else.

If you want to compare story line greatness 8 can't hold a light to 10. None of them can hold a light to 9. That's my OP though. To me once you get past FF10 it's dead in my eyes. Final Fantasy is no longer for gamers. It's for people who are satisfied with eye candy, the same kind of people who spaz over KH, and spaz over every other generic plot poor piece of trash shit out to please your most moronic animu or people predisposed to having such poor tastes.


----------



## Digitalpotato (Apr 6, 2010)

DragonRift said:


> The visuals are a bit softer, and the resolution's not QUITE as crisp (you'd have to REALLY look, or do a side-by-side comparison to see it), but aside from that and being segmented across 3 DVDs, there's not any difference at all.  The game still looks great and plays exactly the same no matter which version you purchase.



Ah thanks.

I still wouldn't know...I don't have an HD TV. It's too expensive.


----------



## Zydala (Apr 6, 2010)

Trpdwarf said:


> Final Fantasy is no longer for gamers. It's for people who are satisfied with eye candy, the same kind of people who spaz over KH, and spaz over every other generic plot poor piece of trash shit out to please your most moronic animu or people predisposed to having such poor tastes.



You know I sort of agree to an extent, maybe with less harshness haha. Really XIII was a nice surprise to me because I haven't liked a FF since IX for sort of the same reasons you described. I think for the most part Square-Enix has gotten sort of side-tracked in a lot of its projects, and I've found myself feeling that it's become a mainstream fluff piece and has found restraint on its formula because of it's success. It's sort of a lose-lose situation: you keep on the pretty fluff route and more critical people go "yeah but it's soul-less", and if you go out and branch and experiment the majority who buy it go "hey wait this isn't Final Fantasy I hate this".


----------



## Redregon (Apr 6, 2010)

to be completely fair, i would bet that FF13 would be a killer game if they kept the eye-candy but brought in some variable plot points and kept in the spirit (gameplay wise) of the "classics" before them. FF is an innovative series and not just because of the whole "woooo, 15 minute cutscene!"

it wouldn't be tough for them, they would have legions of fans that could provide feedback as to what they liked best about previous games and with the level of tech as it is, you don't have to sacrifice content for flash/eyecandy anymore. 

so, here's a thought experiment. if you could make a FF game with any elements you wanted, what would it have?


----------



## Vintage (Apr 6, 2010)

Redregon said:


> so, here's a thought experiment. if you could make a FF game with any elements you wanted, what would it have?



all right, all right

this post below applies to the way i think about RPGs, particularly this series. i say this so some chucklefuck doesn't come in here braying about how tetris didn't have a story so final fantasy shouldn't either (theres no stor;yin mancala., bub.......)

1. tone down on the customization or have it reinforce your story somehow. it undercuts character development and is the best way to show that your gameplay is at odds with the story you are trying to convey.

2. if i was yoichi wada and i wanted to show the world i was serious about my company's narrative-driven game, not only would i hire a lead writer to tie the rest of my writing team together, i would hire one who deals in general fiction (not fantasy or science-fiction). ideally, that writer would be moderately famous, so as to draw publicity based on that writer's fame. another option, since a lot of final fantasy games are writer-director affairs, is to hire that writer as a consultant to the director.

doing this would have instant and immediate appeal with the RPGs-as-narrative crowd (of which i consider myself a frothing and rabid member), and many people who had never even considered picking up a final fantasy game might take a look.

3. take more risks. even if they include things like the draw mechanic or gambits. anything that you can find dissent on (like the two examples i just mentioned) is a risk. some risks may be good. yoshinori kitase (the director of six and seven) betting that people wanted more narrative and not less was a pretty huge risk, and it paid off dramatically. this current director betting that people wanted a linear final fantasy game was a risk of about equal magnitude, but i don't know if that is as accepted. i mean, he has the right idea: thirteen is a final fantasy that cuts a lot of the frills from the series, but if you were big on exploring, however shallow it may have been, you're not going to like that change. you can't please everyone all the time!

in my opinion, the biggest risk a final fantasy game can take right now is to detach the stories they tell from the act of saving the world. final fantasies are epics, yes, but there are other ways to do epics. you could just follow a warrior for his entire fucking life. that's an epic.

4. if you want players to stop hating your stories, you have to do one of two things. you either have to stop writing them, or you have to make them good.

the first option is really not an option any sane director would undertake with a final fantasy game these days. these games intrinsically depend on stories and narrative for entertainment and you're bound to piss a lot of people off if you just leave it out, final fantasy I style.

on the second, i think they really need a shift in story paradigm with these games. my intuition says as soon as  they shift away from heavy emphasis on one type of plot and start  focusing on characterization, they'll do great. even better, there are ways to characterize that can decrease the information load of cutscenes and, even better than that, ways that don't interrupt interactivity. i don't necessarily think loads of cutscenes are a bad thing in an RPG, but they'd better be entertaining and well-written or you're going to lose your player quickly.

5. tie story heavily to gameplay. they have done this sporadically throughout the series' history (espers, GFs, etc.), and i will admit it's a hard thing to do. find some way to do it. if you do it right, you should be able to remove the story from the game and render the resulting gameplay utterly incomprehensible.

beggghhhhhh *vomits drivel all over the keyboard*


----------



## ShadowWolf401 (Apr 6, 2010)

BatRat said:


> What do you think?
> I think it's the best game in history.... 20 hours in


 
Well I beat it about a week and a half ago, and now Im up to about 72 hours in doing the side quest. yes, best game. also it was the first time sence Final Fantasy 2(***/NES) that I had any kind of trouble. In FF2 you never leveled up, just stats changed if you got hit a lot or blocked alot ect. In FF13 with maxed stats (story line) the Final boss could still kill your party in one hit if you were not set up right


----------



## Zydala (Apr 6, 2010)

Redregon said:


> to be completely fair, i would bet that FF13 would be a killer game if they kept the eye-candy but brought in some variable plot points and kept in the spirit (gameplay wise) of the "classics" before them. FF is an innovative series and not just because of the whole "woooo, 15 minute cutscene!"
> 
> it wouldn't be tough for them, they would have legions of fans that could provide feedback as to what they liked best about previous games and with the level of tech as it is, you don't have to sacrifice content for flash/eyecandy anymore.
> 
> so, here's a thought experiment. if you could make a FF game with any elements you wanted, what would it have?



Well I dunno about that. Think about how contradicting it is. Innovative but in the spirit of the old games? What did people like about the old games? Is it story? IX did that but there were a lot of people who played VII that I talked to that said it was nothing like what they wanted. Is it gameplay? But then there's others that don't want to have ATB anymore, so XII and XIII switch it up, except people don't necessarily agree it's a good change either. Where do we go from there?

XIII did stick to a lot of old things too, just particularly subtly, sort of like what we were talking about on the other page with the character tropes - but even then we didn't like that they were sticking with them, to an extent.

And that's not even mentioning the fact that Eastern and Western markets expect completely different things in their sequels/game experience. Sticking to a formula in Japan is sort of a way to keep sales, while in the Western market we tend to have a 'played one, played 'em all' view. We want variety.

When people bring up the VII remake I always point out that they're probably taking so long to do it because it's a no-win sort of thing. If they stuck EXACTLY to the old game except high-def it would be 1) really wacky (cloud riding a dolphin over an electric wire in high def?), and 2) stale. People would complain that they didn't take enough advantage of the power of a new system generation. But what if they changed it? Then there's the other camp that goes 'omggg why did they add all this stuff innnn I liked the first one better'. Sooooo.... :<

*TL;DR:* navigating consumer desires with big brand names pretty dang hard.


----------



## Rsyk (Apr 6, 2010)

Zydala said:


> -snip-


You're right there. 

From what I've heard, FF 13 is great from a technical standpoint. Most of the people I've talked to who played it say that it's the most engaging battle system so far, and that the mechanics work much better than they used to. From my own perspective, I'd appreciate something fresh, as I grew tired of the standard ATB system a long time ago. 

However, I have heard that the story is very lacking, probably the worst of the series. 

Personally, I'm waiting until the price drops to buy it. And, until I beat a few of the earlier games I have. (4, 8, and 12.)


----------



## CaptainCool (Apr 6, 2010)

Rsyk said:


> You're right there.
> 
> From what I've heard, FF 13 is great from a technical standpoint. Most of the people I've talked to who played it say that it's the most engaging battle system so far, and that the mechanics work much better than they used to. From my own perspective, I'd appreciate something fresh, as I grew tired of the standard ATB system a long time ago.
> 
> ...



the battle system isnt engaging at all, if you look closely its just an illusion^^
you have an auto ability feature. scan your enemy at the beginning of a fight and it will choose the best spells automatically. you CAN set it so that you can use your own attack combos but thats just a waste of time. selecting 5 abilities at the end of the game takes just way too much time!
basically a fight works like this:
1. switch to a paradigm that staggers an enemy quickly
2. enemy is staggered -> switch to a paradigm that deals a lot of damage
3. party low on health -> switch to praradigm with medics
4. repeat once enemy isnt staggered anymore

for boss battles you have to buff yourself a little at times but that doesnt really add a lot of depth, either XD
its the most boring battle system they ever included...


----------



## Zydala (Apr 6, 2010)

Rsyk said:


> However, I have heard that the story is very lacking, probably the worst of the series.



I can see how people feel that way, even if I don't really agree. I guess story lacking for me is like... FFV lacking (even though it's like my second favorite!). or XII... well no, XII didn't lack in story, it was just a lot of political conflict hahaha XD


----------

