Support NeoGAF

[RedSwirl]

Does anyone really want to play a game where Lightning goes on routine patrols in a peaceful city, then comes home from work and fights with Serah? Or playing Team Nora as they cause trouble and hang out at the beach? Or play Sazh as he picks up his kid from school and shops for a baby chocobo for his birthday? Or Hope doing homework, going on field trips at school and hating his dad? That's really all that happened before the game started in the Episode Zero stuff.

The flashbacks show Serah and Dajh getting turned into l'cie, Snow's wedding proposal, Lightning's birthday; this isn't super critical stuff. The game started at the first major event, the Purge. The only thing we really missed was seeing Serah wander into The Vestige and get turned into a l'cie.

It started in a very similar way to FFX, with heavy action immediately. No one knew what the giant water orb was, what blitzball was, what Zanarkand was, who Auron was, or what Sin was. You didn't find out until much later in the game. Everyone was cool with it, so I don't really get the complaints honestly.

FFX didn't spend 20 hours flashing back with cut scenes while almost nothing happened in the present tense gameplay. It spent that initial time exploring the world of Spira, and did so without requiring datalogs for a basic understanding for the story.

As for those flashbacks that essentially built up FFXIII's story, SE could've just written a storyline that didn't require hours of non-interactive exposition just to get you started. The storylien setup they have here was, from the standpoint of being told in a game, flawed from square one.

 

[The Xtortionist]

I don't know what you guys are talking about. Lightning is great and puts even James Cameron's female leads to shame.

 

[Cipherr]

Jesus, what the hell is Square's obsession with this character?

Thiiiiiiiiiiis. Why are they so high on Lightning. I don't understand.

 

[Acquiescence]

I like her bubblegum-coloured hair. And she's got a nice lean figure too. And uhhh... hmm. She's... yeah.

 

[Shinta]

Jesus, what the hell is Square's obsession with this character?

You guys realize they're making a 3rd XIII game right? That was set in stone as soon as they decided on the ending for XIII-2. It stars Lightning.

I think they're doing some surveys to see what people like before its finalized. Why is this a mystery to you all? Almost all of you criticized them for finishing XIII before doing any focus testing, and here they're doing the opposite.

You guys are being ridiculous; no surprise there. Do people post about Bioware's obsession with Shepard in Mass Effect 3 discussions? Witcher 2 is out, geez what is with their obsession with Geralt? All she's been in is the XIII game trilogy, and compilation games that featured characters from all FF games. You guys realize she's the lead in XIII, so she'll be featured in all the compilation games like Dissidia and Theatrhythm right?

The most ironic part of these complaints is that she was barely even in XIII-2. I have no idea what you guys are even talking about.

 

[Esura]

Oh yeah, Lightning get points for having a belly button piercing. Hot.

Did you play the game on mute?

Nope. I'm actually very fond of Vanille's English voice performance. It suits her, particularly that accent. Since she is from Pulse, it makes sense for her to have an exotic accent.

 

[LAMBO]

This may have been suggested, haven't read this whole thread. But why don't we have a contest to see who can get the most over the top sappy comment on there.

 

[DJIzana]

Oh yeah, Lightning get points for having a belly button piercing. Hot.



Nope. I'm actually very fond of Vanille's English voice performance. It suits her, particularly that accent. Since she is from Pulse, it makes sense for her to have an exotic accent.

Honestly... the voice, I actually don't mind. It's the acting that I don't think was done well. I think the only semi-likable character, for me, was Sazh.

 

[Iresecia]

Who is worst, Squall or Lightning?

Now my opinion is a bit skewed cause FF8 is my fave game of all time, but Squall at least had a personality. In the beginning sure he was all "whatever" but eventually he became a character who I warmed up to. I like characters like these that are at least somewhat realistic. Lightning just annoyed me, as did all of FF13. And yet I still intend to beat it some day cause I enjoy torturing myself apparently.

 

[Dark Schala]

Nope. I'm actually very fond of Vanille's English voice performance. It suits her, particularly that accent. Since she is from Pulse, it makes sense for her to have an exotic accent.

*giggle* I know what you're fond of.

I'm kidding.

I like Vanille too, and her English voice direction was the thing that I didn't like. The voice itself was fine. Using different accents for the Pulse characters in the English version was a very creative decision. *shrug* I also felt that she was the real protag in FF13. Lightning/Snow/Serah were the catalyst for the plot, but Vanille and Fang were the cause and their story seemed more intriguing, tbh.

 

[FryHole]

What do I like about Lightning? I suppose her presence on box art serves as a useful warning not to buy the game.

 

[Kagari]

Honestly... the voice, I actually don't mind. It's the acting that I don't think was done well. I think the only semi-likable character, for me, was Sazh.

It's fair to say that the voice direction in FFXIII as a whole wasn't all that great. Take Ali Hillis for example... she's fine in her other work, but her role as Lightning is so wooden and boring.

 

[DR2K]

What's funny? While I don't consider her the best personally, Vanille is a decent character though.

She was secret best character, she knew the shitty plot she was in and didn't care. The only bright spot in a cast full of debbie downers.

 

[Dark Schala]

To their credit, Sazh and Hope had excellent voice acting in the English version.

English Sazh was far more believable as a father than Japanese Sazh, and I got more drawn into Sazh's story in English than I did with the original Japanese version. And Vincent Martella did such a good job with Hope; I kinda liked him a little better than the Japanese counterpart. I wasn't expecting that as my only exposure to him was Everybody Hates Chris, lol. By comparison, FF13-2 Hope sounded kind of stilted on Martella's part, as if they told him to sound more adult, but if they merely gave him a script with formal expressions it would've been fine.

Edit: And I figured that Troy Baker as Snow was more bearable than Daisuke Ono as Snow, but I thought that was a given.

 

[MrKaepora]

You guys realize they're making a 3rd XIII game right? That was set in stone as soon as they decided on the ending for XIII-2. It stars Lightning.

I think they're doing some surveys to see what people like before its finalized. Why is this a mystery to you all? Almost all of you criticized them for finishing XIII before doing any focus testing, and here they're doing the opposite.

You guys are being ridiculous; no surprise there. Do people post about Bioware's obsession with Shepard in Mass Effect 3 discussions? Witcher 2 is out, geez what is with their obsession with Geralt? All she's been in is the XIII game trilogy, and compilation games that featured characters from all FF games. You guys realize she's the lead in XIII, so she'll be featured in all the compilation games like Dissidia and Theatrhythm right?

The most ironic part of these complaints is that she was barely even in XIII-2. I have no idea what you guys are even talking about.

Yeah, meanwhile Type -0 and versus are nowhere to be seen.

 

[Shinta]

Yeah, meanwhile Type -0 and versus are nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile the sky is blue. Doesn't really have much to do with a discussion about Lightning's oversaturation. Tons and tons of games have trilogies, but no one says shit about it unless it's FF. She was barely even in XIII-2. She's really only had 1 major game, and even in XIII it was a fairly evenly split ensemble cast. I don't know what you guys are complaining about, and none of it seems grounded in reality.

Do I want Type-0 and Versus? Of course, but it's really a totally different subject.

 

[Mxrz]

She was secret best character, she knew the shitty plot she was in and didn't care. The only bright spot in a cast full of debbie downers.

Indeed. She cared less about the plot than I did. Her and Sazh don't get enough credit.

 

[Femmeworth]

It's fair to say that the voice direction in FFXIII as a whole wasn't all that great. Take Ali Hillis for example... she's fine in her other work, but her role as Lightning is so wooden and boring.

I would blame that on the script. I thought the voice direction was good.

 

[Esura]

Honestly... the voice, I actually don't mind. It's the acting that I don't think was done well. I think the only semi-likable character, for me, was Sazh.

I liked Sazh too. I liked all the characters except for Hope.

*giggle* I know what you're fond of.

I'm kidding.

I like Vanille too, and her English voice direction was the thing that I didn't like. The voice itself was fine. Using different accents for the Pulse characters in the English version was a very creative decision. *shrug* I also felt that she was the real protag in FF13. Lightning/Snow/Serah were the catalyst for the plot, but Vanille and Fang were the cause and their story seemed more intriguing, tbh.

Well, that's just a plus in her favor.

The delivery of Vanille's lines didn't seem particularly off to me but a lot of people seem to take issue with it so maybe I just have a high tolerance for that stuff.

Vanille and Fang roles later in the almost seem to overshadow Lightning and the gang a bit but for some reason they still didn't have that protagonist vibe. It almost feel FF6-ish in a way that no one felt like they were the main main protagonist but Lightning is just the face of the game like Terra.

She was secret best character, she knew the shitty plot she was in and didn't care. The only bright spot in a cast full of debbie downers.

Wait, but she has her "downer" moments, particularly ones with Sazh and one with Fang in the last bits.

 

[Dereck]

Next main character for a Final Fantasy game should be young Auron.

 

[Meccanical]

Ha ha ha, oh man this survey.

If I don't have anything nice to say I guess I shouldn't say anything at all.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I resubmitted my EPIC comment and it submitted this time.

MWA HA HA!

THIS IS FAR FROM THE LAMEST OF POSTS!

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Remember when they used to make characters they didn't have to astroturf?

 

[sonicmj1]

Does anyone really want to play a game where Lightning goes on routine patrols in a peaceful city, then comes home from work and fights with Serah? Or playing Team Nora as they cause trouble and hang out at the beach? Or play Sazh as he picks up his kid from school and shops for a baby chocobo for his birthday? Or Hope doing homework, going on field trips at school and hating his dad? That's really all that happened before the game started in the Episode Zero stuff.

The flashbacks show Serah and Dajh getting turned into l'cie, Snow's wedding proposal, Lightning's birthday; this isn't super critical stuff. The game started at the first major event, the Purge. The only thing we really missed was seeing Serah wander into The Vestige and get turned into a l'cie.

It started in a very similar way to FFX, with heavy action immediately. No one knew what the giant water orb was, what blitzball was, what Zanarkand was, who Auron was, or what Sin was. You didn't find out until much later in the game. Everyone was cool with it, so I don't really get the complaints honestly.

The problem is more that the entire plot (especially from the moment the characters get branded onwards) is driven entirely by external circumstances. The linearity of the game only reinforces this.

Characters run because they're outmatched, until the plot slowly (and forcibly) ropes them all back together again and forces them on a mission that leads them to Pulse. Then they wander around until the villain shows up and opens a hole to Eden, and from that point onward their hand is essentially forced. And even in the final battle, they succeed because of Deus ex Machina. It's like a terrible D&D campaign.

In most RPGs, the in-game characters make important decisions about what they want to achieve and how they want to achieve it, but FFXIII rarely gives its characters that opportunity. Even if their intentions are clear, everything they do is essentially dictated to them by those more powerful.

She was secret best character, she knew the shitty plot she was in and didn't care. The only bright spot in a cast full of debbie downers.

Vanille is awful because she's the only one who really has the ability to make things progress towards the conclusion, and because she's indecisive and frightened she makes the plot run in circles for hours by withholding vital information.

 

[Femmeworth]

*giggle* I know what you're fond of.

I'm kidding.

I like Vanille too, and her English voice direction was the thing that I didn't like. The voice itself was fine. Using different accents for the Pulse characters in the English version was a very creative decision. *shrug* I also felt that she was the real protag in FF13. Lightning/Snow/Serah were the catalyst for the plot, but Vanille and Fang were the cause and their story seemed more intriguing, tbh.

 

[Dark Schala]

I'm so sorry.

If it makes you feel better, at the same time Vanille doesn't make my favourite female protagonists in videogames list.

 

[DR2K]

Wait, but she has her "downer" moments, particularly ones with Sazh and one with Fang in the last bits.

It was literally that though, moment. Easily the most dynamic character in the plot.

 

[Meccanical]

I don't think the VA's of any of the characters were bad, but the script and the direction in general were awful.

The only cut scenes I thought were worth watching were the CG ones.

 

[injurai]

Hair.

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

I remember before XIII came out in Japan there were all sorts of interviews and previews that made it seem as if Lightning was a completely different character than what she was. She was made to be something out of the ordinary for a protagonist, somewhat anti hero cold. There was hope that in some ways she might have almost stretched into taking on more antagonistic personality traits than any other lead in a FF title. Hell I can recall reading that players might not connect to Lightning initially due to her coldness.

Instead we get a moody, over the top, I'VE SEEN/WITNESSED TERRIBLE THINGS THINGS THAT HAVE MADE ME THE BATTLED HARDENED blah blah blah.

Her only redeeming quality was her weapon, which was still inferior to the gunblade.

 

[NoirVisage]

She is perfect in every way. No wonder they gave her three games. Your favorite characters wish they had many good games and as much charisma as her.

 

[Meccanical]

I've actually been reading old articles lately, and wasn't she supposed to be some leader of a rebel group?

What happened to that?

 

[Dark Schala]

Wasn't that Snow?

The only cut scenes I thought were worth watching were the CG ones.

Maybe they should make another movie since that's what it seems like they truly want to do half the time.

Perhaps it's a rare opinion, but I don't care about the CG cutscenes at all. I don't come to FF--or any other game, for that matter--to watch it. I come to FF to play it.

 

[Meccanical]

Maybe they should make another movie since that's what it seems like they truly want to do half the time.

I know.

I mean look at this.

This was the best part of the game.

The best part of the game was a movie.

Think about that shit.

 

[A.E Suggs]

Her design (like most of square characters as of late) is all I like.

 

[Akainu]

Why are there so many spelling errors in those comments? Loan wolf? Really?

 

[Dark Schala]

I mean look at this.

It almost feels like that cutscene was the centerpiece of FF13 outside of the Vertical Slice Demo. Some of the scene direction was off and weird and hard to look at, but the lighting, BGM and setting were very nice to look at. And it showed off summons or something. I dunno.

I'm not sure why they were having a race for the new leader of Cocoon's inauguration (is that what it was for? I don't remember), but it sure looked pretty?

 

[Meccanical]

I'm not sure why they were having a race for the new leader of Cocoon's inauguration (is that what it was for? I don't remember), but it sure looked pretty?

I don't know either, but like most things in XIII, it was probably just to look pretty.

If this was an old FF you would be IN the race not just lookin at it, back in my day blah blah blah *grumble grumble*

 

[Bob Coffee]

Lightning doujins were the only good thing to come out of 13 lol

 

[B.K.]

Is there an option that says I don't like her at all?

 

[Kagari]

Why are there so many spelling errors in those comments? Loan wolf? Really?

My guess: Younger people - who typically like FFXIII more so than the older fans.

 

[Meccanical]

Is there an option that says I don't like her at all?

But who could ever not like Lightning?

Truly she is the light in the darkness, the greatest heroine to ever grace the videogame medium and a role model to women everywhere. I will name my daughter after her.

Spoiler

No, there isn't an option for that

 

[timshundo]

I like that she's a not-stupid version of Squall.

 

[Meccanical]

I like that she's a not-stupid version of Squall.

But she's still Squall, and that ain't good.

 

[Kagari]

I like that she's a not-stupid version of Squall.

Squall wasn't stupid. Go play FFVIII again.

 

[Meccanical]

Squall wasn't stupid. Go play FFVIII again.

Brushed off Quistis for Rinoa?

Yes he was.

 

[Exentryk]

I'm glad they are taking the survey, coz now we can tell them how much she sucks.

 

[RedSwirl]

Meanwhile the sky is blue. Doesn't really have much to do with a discussion about Lightning's oversaturation. Tons and tons of games have trilogies, but no one says shit about it unless it's FF. She was barely even in XIII-2. She's really only had 1 major game, and even in XIII it was a fairly evenly split ensemble cast. I don't know what you guys are complaining about, and none of it seems grounded in reality.

Do I want Type-0 and Versus? Of course, but it's really a totally different subject.

People aren't really just complaining about Lightning, but the XIII series in general. I don't think very many people actually wanted a XIII-2, much less a third one. Ever since this whole thing started I've been against the whole idea of XIII being a franchise in and of itself.

 

[Esura]

It was literally that though, moment. Easily the most dynamic character in the plot.

I felt all the characters were dynamic, even FFXIII Hope and I hate the little bugger.

Lightning doujins were the only good thing to come out of 13 lol

What doujins? She doesn't have many compared to Tifa and Agrias.

 

[Heropon]

Brushed off Quistis for Rinoa?

Yes he was.

Rinoa's father is rich.