-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 |OT| Change the Future
- Thread starter Kagari
- Start date
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Well, I suppose one thing is that most of the home audience wouldn't be able to grasp most of the English vocals... it's basically "chanting" to them
But this native English speaker doesn't mind. In fact I find it exciting. It sets a great pop vibe, IMO.
RPGCrazied
Member
Where the hell are Vodianoi and Caterchipillar? Been all over Archylte Steppe, in all weather conditions, can't seem to find them.
After these I'll be pretty close to finishing the Beastiary.
After these I'll be pretty close to finishing the Beastiary.
I gave up right after that part myself. Just lost so much steam by that point, and taking the time to do some of the excess sidequests like the casino garbage, chocobo races, and the clock puzzles absolutely killed what shred of enthusiasm was left up to that point.
I'm not sure if XIII-2 my new least favorite FF game, but I do have a hard time debating which I least enjoyed between it and FFXIII.
The Praiseworthy
Member
What a sexy idea!
It need to be exposed to light to heal faster, beside it won't be the same playing with one eye only
RPGCrazied
Member
Is cloudly when it looks like a dust storm, or when you can see lightning in the sky?
I have an extreme hate of all chants, but that's because I took music history courses at conservatories. I can't really explain it or what happens in those courses, but just know I have an ever-burning hatred of them because of that.
When the sky is yellow-y.
Dust, lightning is stormy.
RPGCrazied
Member
Haha, thanks guys.
I remembered I still have brain blast to do.
I remembered I still have brain blast to do.
PhoenixSFT
Member
Alex
Member
On the flip, I abhorred XIII but I'm liking this one quite a bit. Still has a fair few faults and I really, really wish they'd stop giving the FFX art director work, but it's good stuff, for me, and a nice change from the last few years of garbage.
Huh? Yusuke Naora didn't work on FF13-2. I sure wish he did. FF13-2's art director is Isamu Kamikokuryo.
I can't believe you hated Nier!?!? It has honestly been my favorite game this generation. I completely agree that the soundtrack is simply amazing though. I listen to it all the time.
Music can be very subjective for games though so what one person likes, not everyone else will. I have found XIII-2's soundtrack to fit pretty well so far though. I am just happy I haven't had to hear the awful chocobo song.
Riposte
Member
Were the battle system designer and whatever they call the guy that designs the leveling system the same for both games?
Alex
Member
The character designs seem the same ol', same 'ol to me, so my mistake. Just weird ass costumes, hair styles, overly gaudy color design. Anything from the FFX team is just eye searingly. Something about it all just goes over very poorly with me.
Haha, thanks guys.
I remembered I still have brain blast to do.
I would highly recommend following a guide when completing those challenges. Some of questions are very strange and you don't get a hint as to what they would be throughout the game.
So for those who are trying to get Lightning or the other guy from the DLC, kill whoever you need the crystal for last. There is a rumor that the last one killed is the only way to get that crystal/rare item. I had over 50+ battles trying to get Lightning, always killing her first and never got it. First time I killed her last I got her crystal and rare item. Take that for what you will.
StunandStab
Member
The hints are right in the questions themselves, you just have to think it out. Three of the answers are always obviously wrong.
I always got the Lightning crystal killing her last. Army of One is a lot easier to deal with than Daddy Bear Claw anyway.
I think it's cause Kitase usually prefers the flashy designs over the traditional ones.
It helps that i'm doing zero of the non-mandatory quests unless i stumble upon something. I'm also glad i had an extra Wild Artifact so i could even open the door to one of the core fragment pieces, otherwise i'd have quit since i would have only had access to 4 of the 5 necessary places.
Also , without a guide i would have immediately quit this game at the collect-a-core part. Trying to find near invisible items on a map? FUN!
Some of the questions can be answered that way but not all of them are really that obvious. Some actually have a few different options that would make sense.
DarknessTear
Banned
Ughhh... (post game spoilers)
Nah, that dude left S-E. Honestly, this game isn't nearly as balanced as XIII in terms of battles, either. Especially with the side stuff. You can get killed pretty cheaply, and the dumbest idea they had was attacks that lowered your max HP. God, why? :|
Fucking solo battle with Caius is fucking my day up. He's just destroying me. I have maxed out Serah but that's just... irrelevant. lol.
Nah, that dude left S-E. Honestly, this game isn't nearly as balanced as XIII in terms of battles, either. Especially with the side stuff. You can get killed pretty cheaply, and the dumbest idea they had was attacks that lowered your max HP. God, why? :|
StunandStab
Member
Well, I did spend like 3 hours doing all those quizzes... it was fun! You get hit with a lot of different questions
badcrumble
Member
Better paradigms/monsters needed. Debuffs fuck him up, and buffs will help you.
StunandStab
Member
Cast wound for 8 minutes straight. Win
Yeah, there are a ton of different questions! When I looked at that section after the fact in the guide, there was over 50 questions for each of the quiz terminals. It was interesting learning some of the random facts about the history as well.
badcrumble
Member
Why use Wound damage? He doesn't actually 'heal' himself, IIRC, he resurrects himself after death as a mildly different fight with a lower chain gauge limit.
There are already 'fairly-traditional' HD RPGs that have been successful this gen... and besides, FF being successful doesn't really say anything about the health of the HD RPG market. Mainline Final Fantasy games do well seemingly despite the decline of the jRPG market, by name recognition alone
I respect the opinions of those who liked Nier, but I'm always perplexed as to how they act as if it is somehow beyond comprehension that there are people who disliked it greatly.
Since it's off-topic, I'll spoiler it and you can respond if you like or not:
People like to laud it as some high watermark in game storytelling, but it was just as disjointed, poorly written and jampacked with plot holes and no subtlety and nuance as the next jRPG. It just was 'sad' for some people (for me it was emotionally manipulative, not earning its notes at all) which I guess is code for 'quality' for some people. By no standard can the writing in the game be called good. I don't expect good writing in videogames, though, so I would have looked past it if the rest lived up.
But for me? The battle system was garbage by action game standards. Just a bloody mess. It was stiff, relatively unresponsive and has quite minimal depth. They implemented all sorts of weird systems that meshed together so poorly they might as well have been from different games. The bulk of the game consists largely of doing the most boring, repetitive sidequests known to man - deliver X to Y, deliver A to B, kill Y, kill C. There is little variety and little motivation. The stories aren't compelling. The gameplay wasn't compelling.
The 'dungeons', if that's what we call them, have embarrassingly lazy level design, punctuated by finnicky, unpolished sidescrolling segments with really bargain basement bin quality platforming. Which I'm sure they thought was clever... but I'm a big platforming fan and side scrolling fan, and it just felt like the inferior of most titles in those genres so it hurt the package overall.
And then worse than that, in order to get the full true story you have to replay huge chunks of the already repetitive gameplay... making the game even more harshly repetitive and chore-like.
They should have focused on nailing the action gameplay, and stuck to that... and then I could have got into it. I don't expect good stories in games anymore, so I could look past that if they nail the subsystems. I play far superior action games, far superior sidescrollers, far superior RPG... the fact that there is some novelty to mashing countless types of genres together does not make up for how flawed the various parts actually are imo.
But for me? The battle system was garbage by action game standards. Just a bloody mess. It was stiff, relatively unresponsive and has quite minimal depth. They implemented all sorts of weird systems that meshed together so poorly they might as well have been from different games. The bulk of the game consists largely of doing the most boring, repetitive sidequests known to man - deliver X to Y, deliver A to B, kill Y, kill C. There is little variety and little motivation. The stories aren't compelling. The gameplay wasn't compelling.
The 'dungeons', if that's what we call them, have embarrassingly lazy level design, punctuated by finnicky, unpolished sidescrolling segments with really bargain basement bin quality platforming. Which I'm sure they thought was clever... but I'm a big platforming fan and side scrolling fan, and it just felt like the inferior of most titles in those genres so it hurt the package overall.
And then worse than that, in order to get the full true story you have to replay huge chunks of the already repetitive gameplay... making the game even more harshly repetitive and chore-like.
They should have focused on nailing the action gameplay, and stuck to that... and then I could have got into it. I don't expect good stories in games anymore, so I could look past that if they nail the subsystems. I play far superior action games, far superior sidescrollers, far superior RPG... the fact that there is some novelty to mashing countless types of genres together does not make up for how flawed the various parts actually are imo.
FFXIII-2's soundtrack is nowhere near Nier. Of course, few games this gen have a soundtrack even close to Nier:
Song of the Ancients Devola
Ashes of Dreams
Emil (sacrifice)
Yonah
God what an amazing soundtrack.
FFXIII-2 has some great tracks though
Caius' Theme
Plains of Eternity
Noel's Theme
Sunleth Waterscape
DarknessTear
Banned
Amir0x, Emi Evans, the vocalist from Nier did a song in FFXIII-2 as well.
Oh, you're talking about character designs. That's different from art director! Nomura of course designed the characters in FF10, but FF13-2's clothing and stuff is by someone else (I forget who off the top of my head).
which song?
badcrumble
Member
Remember when Nier first got announced by Square-Enix and they said that it was going to be an action game in the vein of Devil May Cry? Loool
DarknessTear
Banned
The one that plays during
the end of the world, when the sky is all red and stuff, and you learn of Noel's past. I don't know if it's in the OST or not.
Isn't that Noel's Theme?
DarknessTear
Banned
Yeah, you're right. Can't remember where I heard that she did some vocals for the soundtrack, so I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the vocalist was Emi Evans.
The vocalist for Noel's Theme is actually Kokia.
Are you saying that doesn't stop after you do the plotline there?
DarknessTear
Banned
Then I guess I fail and am wrong. :c
I was pretty sure the English vocal version was Emi Evans... it even sounds a lot like her. Not the Noel's Theme version, but the one with actual lyrics.
Yep...that entire map stays the same.
It might be? But I have the Japanese soundtrack and it's sung in English already.
Ha ha, I don't find it perplexing. I have just found that most people that I know who have played the game to really like it.
I'll admit that the game surely wasn't perfect and the game play wasn't the most articulate but I found it to be rather good. I play a lot of RPGs, Action, and adventure games along with plenty of other genres and didn't think at all that it was lacking. The game did have lots of fetch quests but that's so common in games now I must just be used to it. You could pretty much skip all the fetch quests anyway if you just wanted to focus on the story. I really liked the story to the game as well and found it to be very engrossing. The characters were easy to relate to as well which I think helps to get more into the story of a game.
I honestly played the game enough to get the platinum trophy and found every minute worth it.
I'm with Alex though, I would have NEVER guessed the art and design were done by a different person. It all the same gaudy, unrelenting, fashion vomit that is nigh indistinguishable from any previous work this team has done.
In a blind test, I doubt most could decipher that Tidus and Noell were created over a decade apart and in entirely unique games.
(Though most would hopefully agree they are equally embarrassing looking).
DarknessTear
Banned
Yeah, Noel's pink and purple dress is off-putting, but he's still awesome.
I'm pretty sure the clothing styles had more to do with Kitase being producer than the art directors.
StunandStab
Member
Because he has a permanent heal over time buff on for the whole fight, and when he revives he doesn't get the wound damaged health back
Yusuke Naora -> Caius, Noel, Serah
Hideo Minaba -> Alyssa, Hope
Isamu Kamikokuryo -> Lightning
Electivirus
Member
I thought we were bros. ;-;