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[Zoso]

Damn, I just fought that boss and thought it was pretty easy. And I don't know what you mean by random number boss.

Finished Ch. 11 and I'm REALLY enjoying this game now. Pulse was a very nice breath of fresh air. Hopefully I can finish the story tomorrow.

 

[Cels]

The second fight against

Spoiler

Barthandelus

was such a bitch. It was just a long random number battle. I shit you not when I say he cast doom on me when he still had half of his health. He cast Daze every second especially when I staggered him. Of course Hope and Lightning get hit with Daze and Fang is okay but since at that moment she's a sentinel the boss will only hit her with the lasers which keeps the rest of the characters Dazed. People might not know what I'm talking about because perhaps he was easy for them because he is a random number Boss. It took me four tries to beat him.

What do you mean by random numbers? I just cleared him in my second playthrough (17hr in), used Fang/Lightning/Hope. Used Librascope, debuffed him, buffed myself, then went to town, switching to combat clinc to heal as necessary, got through in two staggers. He has that

Spoiler

annoying apoptosis ability which removes all buffs from you and all debuffs from him but i just reapplied them without too much trouble.

I had a slightly tougher time with the first fight since

Spoiler

you have to kill all of his armor before getting to him and he can buff himself

.


On another note, I really like Fang's Theme. Too epic to belong to a character though.

 

[Pancakes]

About 33 hours in and just starting the final chapter.

That cut-scene right before was amazing. After I'm done with my buddy is gonna loan me his PS2 and FFX. Now I'm kinda upset that I haven't tried a FF game before this :lol.

 

[Cels]

About 33 hours in and just starting the final chapter.

That cut-scene right before was amazing. After I'm done with my buddy is gonna loan me his PS2 and FFX. Now I'm kinda upset that I haven't tried a FF game before this :lol.

Chapter 12 has the really awesome CG cutscene

Spoiler

that transitions into an odin gestalt mode battle

, but Chapter 13 is the last chapter.

 

[Pancakes]

Chapter 12 has the really awesome CG cutscene

Spoiler

that transitions into an odin gestalt mode battle

, but Chapter 13 is the last chapter.

Ah my bad, I thought the 12th was the final chapter :lol.

I don't want the story to end ;_;.

 

[wRATH2x]

So I got to play FFXIII for 5 hours at my cousins.

Other than the graphics and music, I hate it.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Okay I haven't played a FF game (in full swing since 8) for a long time. I'm interested in the fact that the game is fairly linear (and streamlined) and seems to use an interesting take on the traditional RPG combat and leveling. I do tend to love the Bioware house style RPG, but I can accept different iterations of the formula and no dialogue choices. So is FF13 worth giving it a try in at getting back into FF?*



*No I've never really played FFX except for an hour or two once when I rented it.

 

[brandonh83]

Other than the graphics and music, I hate it.

:lol

 

[ULTROS!]

I say give it a shot, it's streamlined and pretty easy to learn. Plus the battle system is very fun.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

I say give it a shot, it's streamlined and pretty easy to learn. Plus the battle system is very fun.

Yeah, I read the tutorials are pretty helpful and easy to learn. The game just looks so nice and I want to keep my gameplay style varied. What's the ratio of good characters to Emo Gits I want light on fire (at least in the main party)?

 

[ULTROS!]

Well, if you want to know how the character are (spoilered just in case, no real spoilers though):

Lightning:

Spoiler

Bossy type, not emo but angry-ish

Hope:

Spoiler

Hates Snow, emo

Vanille

Spoiler

Happy go lucky, annoying due to her voice

Sazh:

Spoiler

Acts like a mature person, normal/mature

Fang:

Spoiler

Sorta manly: manlier than Lightning I guess, normal

Snow:

Spoiler

"I'M YOUR HERO BABY *wink*", annoying

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Well, if you want to know how the character are (spoilered just in case, no real spoilers though):

Lightning:

Spoiler

Bossy type, not emo but angry-ish

Hope:

Spoiler

Hates Snow, emo

Vanille

Spoiler

Happy go lucky, annoying due to her voice

Sazh:

Spoiler

Acts like a mature person, normal/mature

Fang:

Spoiler

Sorta manly: manlier than Lightning I guess, normal

Snow:

Spoiler

"I'M YOUR HERO BABY *wink*", annoying

So 2 out of 5 are normal.
1 acts like they took a snort of blow in the morning.
1 is a closet case trying to mask it with psuedo manliness
1 is an Emo-Git.

So 3 (I just got use to perky coke freaks in JRPGs, doesn't mean I like it, but that Aussie accent at least explains the mental impairment j/k) out of 5 are normal and only 1 is a true Emo Git. That's a pretty good ratio for Square.

So I've also heard there are no towns and all buying is from a save menu, do you even interact with any inhabitants or are they just pretty household furniture.

I do like the idea of an online codex, which the game has (IIRC from a review). Beats needing to use wikipedia.

 

[ULTROS!]

So I've also heard there are no towns and all buying is from a save menu, do you even interact with any inhabitants or are they just pretty household furniture.

Yup. No towns and buying is all at the save point.

The NPCs you meet there are almost non-existent and are also pretty decor, they talk when you approach them but serve no purpose nor do they contribute to the story all (not including the villains of course).

BTW, my recommended party would be Lightning/Fang/Vanille or Lightning/Fang/Hope (used this).

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Yup. No towns and buying is all at the save point.

The NPCs you meet there are almost non-existent and are also pretty decor, they talk when you approach them but serve no purpose nor do they contribute to the story all (not including the villains of course).

It's so weird that they got rid of that, but honestly in most FF games there was no real interaction anyway, just some random line. You didn't pickup or solve random quests (most of the time) and honestly it was just go to the store or the hotel. Regarding linearity, I guess Gametrailers comment about previous games having "smoke and mirrors" in regard to "non- linear gameplay" vs what was available in FF13 is true.

BTW, my recommended party would be Lightning/Fang/Vanille or Lightning/Fang/Hope (used this).

Thanks!

Oh is it me or do the voice actors seem like they got pulled more from Video Game VA's as opposed to Anime VA's (I understand there is a lot of cross over between the two) I haven't watched anime for a couple of years and the VAs still seemed recognizable and more from other video games.

 

[Crash Station]

Oh is it me or do the voice actors seem like they got pulled more from Video Game VA's as opposed to Anime VA's (I understand there is a lot of cross over between the two) I haven't watched anime for a couple of years and the VAs still seemed recognizable and more from other video games.

There's actually a lot of newcomers. Out of the main party, only Snow has extensive experience in the field. Lightning's was in Mass Effect but not much else Sazh's was on the Cosby Show and Hope's is some 17 year old boy.

 

[ULTROS!]

Vanille's voice actress is an Australian comedian.

 

[CruxisMana]

Hope's voice actor has been on TV (Everyone Hate's Chris) and in films (Role Models).

 

[Cornbread78]

Lightning/Fang/Hope (used this)

Yup, that is the easiest way to go for big battles because it allows you to use a variety or paradigms at the top levels like:

Evenened Odds
>Hope-SYN, Fang-SAB, Lightning-MED

Combat Clinic:
Hope-MED, Light-MED, Fang-SEN

Delta Attack:
Hope-RAV, Fang-SEN, Light-COM


Relentless Assault:
Hope-RAV, Light-Rav, Fang-COM

Aggression:
Hope-RAV, Light-COM, Fang-COM

Mystic Tower:
Hope-Rav, Light-RAV, Fang-SEN

Protection:
Hope- SYN, Light-MED, Fang- SEN



I pretty much used these throughout the entire story.

 

[Cep]

So I got to play FFXIII for 5 hours at my cousins.

Other than the graphics and music, I hate it.

It gets much better, and depending on what type of gamer you are, much worse.

 

[Onion_Relish]

Hey there friends. I am currently playing and absolutely loving ff13, havent made it out of cocoon yet but i am really enjoying the first part. Not sure why people are complaining about the guided experience for the first little bit. There are a lot of nuiances that need time to be fleshed out.

edit: also, to all the cry babies who complain about being thrown into the middle of something, there is all the datalog information (did people not fucking see this?) Also, revealing certain things as time goes by helps to flesh out a more complete narrative. It easily trumps the IM A HERO stuff we used to get in JRPGS. In this one, snow says IM A HERO, but you slowly get all the reasons why he says that until his breakdown with hope.

ANYWAYS, my main point. What should I do about the weapon upgrade system? I know there is a gamefaq that has all the ultimate weapons on it, so should I just wait till i get to plautus workshop or gilgamesh inc or whatever and upgrade those weapons? Because the weapons ive currently got dont seem to have much upside. The one exception is Vanilles belladonna wand which will be useful for her role as saboteur with its upgraded debuffing. Otherwise it just seems like i should wait to power up those ultimate weapons because they give such outrageous stat boosts

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

There's actually a lot of newcomers. Out of the main party, only Snow has extensive experience in the field. Lightning's was in Mass Effect but not much else Sazh's was on the Cosby Show and Hope's is some 17 year old boy.

You're right. That's so weird I swore I heard the chick from Uncharted 2. Well it does seem to draw from non-Anime and more traditional acting backgrounds. I guess they want to avoid VA overuse.

 

[CruxisMana]

ANYWAYS, my main point. What should I do about the weapon upgrade system?

I wouldn't bother even looking at the weapons upgrade system until Chapter 11.

 

[Scythesurge]

Hey there friends. I am currently playing and absolutely loving ff13, havent made it out of cocoon yet but i am really enjoying the first part. Not sure why people are complaining about the guided experience for the first little bit. There are a lot of nuiances that need time to be fleshed out.

edit: also, to all the cry babies who complain about being thrown into the middle of something, there is all the datalog information (did people not fucking see this?) Also, revealing certain things as time goes by helps to flesh out a more complete narrative. It easily trumps the IM A HERO stuff we used to get in JRPGS. In this one, snow says IM A HERO, but you slowly get all the reasons why he says that until his breakdown with hope.

ANYWAYS, my main point. What should I do about the weapon upgrade system? I know there is a gamefaq that has all the ultimate weapons on it, so should I just wait till i get to plautus workshop or gilgamesh inc or whatever and upgrade those weapons? Because the weapons ive currently got dont seem to have much upside. The one exception is Vanilles belladonna wand which will be useful for her role as saboteur with its upgraded debuffing. Otherwise it just seems like i should wait to power up those ultimate weapons because they give such outrageous stat boosts

The way I did the weapon upgrading was by looking at all the weapons, seeing the abilities and max stats, and then I chose the one I thought would be best in the end. Then I just waited until I got those weapons to start upgrading. Most of the weapons I chose were available in chapters 11 or 12.

 

[Diablos]

I used Lightning/Fang/Sazh. I only replaced Sazh with Hope or Lightning with Vanille during two key fights at the end.

 

[Zoso]

Beat the game yesterday. Took me 63 hrs just for the main story. Overall a very positive experience. Some thoughts:

- Characters were good. Nothing amazing, but for Final Fantasy I was impressed. Everyone actually had some nice development and I was never asking, "Why are you in my party again?" They all had a purpose and none of them annoyed me(a final fantasy first!). However, everybody outside of the main cast could have used much more development. I wish they spent more time with Cid, Rygdea, Jihl, Yaag, & Dysley. They're involvement in the plot felt kinda weak.

-Story was very interesting. It got a little hairy at the end, but for the most part I enjoyed it. I really liked the concept of the two worlds and the mystery surrounding the Fal'Cie. It was a little odd that the story was clearly split between character development and main plot. I wish they spent a little more time exploring the main plot. The ending wasn't completely satisfying, but I still liked it.

-Incredible world and art direction. I spent a lot of time just looking at all the locations. Every set piece was so beautiful and they all felt really well thought out in relation to the world. Cocoon and Pulse actually feel like real places. And eventhough this game isn't the best looking game technically, it's by far the best looking game I've played based on the art direction alone.

-This game does have some weird pacing problems. It takes far too long for the game to open up and some of the early chapters can be quite boring. Plus this is the closest Final Fantasy has ever come to a dungeon crawler. Fortunately the battle system rocks, so it's never a huge deal. But there were a few chapters were I was just kinda tired of fighting nonstop. There really needed to be some things in ch. 1-10 to break up the monotony. I understand we were wanted fugitives and couldn't leisurely explore a town, but it just got kind of old being chased all the time. There should have been more moments like resting at Hope's house or walking around Nautilus.

-I actually died quite a few times. That's a good thing.

- Awesome music, but strangely I didn't appreciate a lot of the songs while I was playing. Most of them seemed forgettable. I've been listening to them on youtube though and there are a lot of really great tracks.

-For supposedly not being able to make them anymore, Square created the best looking HD Towns I've ever seen. Palumpolum, Nautilus, Bodhum, & Eden all impressed me greatly.

-I'm only up to mission 40, but so far I really like the optional stuff. Gil seems to be too sparse though. Let's see if I have the willpower to get all the achievements. They all seem pretty fun except for the treasure one - that sounds annoying.

-I had low expectations after the internet errupted with FFXIII hate. Can't believe there was so much controversy over this game. Feels like GTA4 all over again. Maybe when the next FF comes out more people will come around. Personally, I thought it was one of the better FF games.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Beat the game yesterday. Took me 63 hrs just for the main story. Overall a very positive experience. Some thoughts:

- Characters were good. Nothing amazing, but for Final Fantasy I was impressed. Everyone actually had some nice development and I was never asking, "Why are you in my party again?" They all had a purpose and none of them annoyed me(a final fantasy first!). However, everybody outside of the main cast could have used much more development. I wish they spent more time with Cid, Rygdea, Jihl, Yaag, & Dysley. They're involvement in the plot felt kinda weak.

-Story was very interesting. It got a little hairy at the end, but for the most part I enjoyed it. I really liked the concept of the two worlds and the mystery surrounding the Fal'Cie. It was a little odd that the story was clearly split between character development and main plot. I wish they spent a little more time exploring the main plot. The ending wasn't completely satisfying, but I still liked it.

-Incredible world and art direction. I spent a lot of time just looking at all the locations. Every set piece was so beautiful and they all felt really well thought out in relation to the world. Cocoon and Pulse actually feel like real places. And eventhough this game isn't the best looking game technically, it's by far the best looking game I've played based on the art direction alone.

-This game does have some weird pacing problems. It takes far too long for the game to open up and some of the early chapters can be quite boring. Plus this is the closest Final Fantasy has ever come to a dungeon crawler. Fortunately the battle system rocks, so it's never a huge deal. But there were a few chapters were I was just kinda tired of fighting nonstop. There really needed to be some things in ch. 1-10 to break up the monotony. I understand we were wanted fugitives and couldn't leisurely explore a town, but it just got kind of old being chased all the time. There should have been more moments like resting at Hope's house or walking around Nautilus.

-I actually died quite a few times. That's a good thing.

- Awesome music, but strangely I didn't appreciate a lot of the songs while I was playing. Most of them seemed forgettable. I've been listening to them on youtube though and there are a lot of really great tracks.

-For supposedly not being able to make them anymore, Square created the best looking HD Towns I've ever seen. Palumpolum, Nautilus, Bodhum, & Eden all impressed me greatly.

-I'm only up to mission 40, but so far I really like the optional stuff. Gil seems to be too sparse though. Let's see if I have the willpower to get all the achievements. They all seem pretty fun except for the treasure one - that sounds annoying.

-I had low expectations after the internet errupted with FFXIII hate. Can't believe there was so much controversy over this game. Feels like GTA4 all over again. Maybe when the next FF comes out more people will come around. Personally, I thought it was one of the better FF games.

If you don't mind me asking how did you feel the combat mechanics and systems were? Are they explained in a well paced way that allows you to learn them and not just a couple of small steps and then INFO DUMP~?

 

[firehawk12]

The combat is explained very slowly and the characters are split up in a way that forces you to use the paradigm shifts and all the roles.

 

[CryingWolf]

The combat is explained very slowly and the characters are split up in a way that forces you to use the paradigm shifts and all the roles.

lol, understatement.

 

[NameIess]

Beat the game yesterday. Took me 63 hrs just for the main story. Overall a very positive experience. Some thoughts:

- Characters were good. Nothing amazing, but for Final Fantasy I was impressed. Everyone actually had some nice development and I was never asking, "Why are you in my party again?" They all had a purpose and none of them annoyed me(a final fantasy first!). However, everybody outside of the main cast could have used much more development. I wish they spent more time with Cid, Rygdea, Jihl, Yaag, & Dysley. They're involvement in the plot felt kinda weak.

-Story was very interesting. It got a little hairy at the end, but for the most part I enjoyed it. I really liked the concept of the two worlds and the mystery surrounding the Fal'Cie. It was a little odd that the story was clearly split between character development and main plot. I wish they spent a little more time exploring the main plot. The ending wasn't completely satisfying, but I still liked it.

-Incredible world and art direction. I spent a lot of time just looking at all the locations. Every set piece was so beautiful and they all felt really well thought out in relation to the world. Cocoon and Pulse actually feel like real places. And eventhough this game isn't the best looking game technically, it's by far the best looking game I've played based on the art direction alone.

-This game does have some weird pacing problems. It takes far too long for the game to open up and some of the early chapters can be quite boring. Plus this is the closest Final Fantasy has ever come to a dungeon crawler. Fortunately the battle system rocks, so it's never a huge deal. But there were a few chapters were I was just kinda tired of fighting nonstop. There really needed to be some things in ch. 1-10 to break up the monotony. I understand we were wanted fugitives and couldn't leisurely explore a town, but it just got kind of old being chased all the time. There should have been more moments like resting at Hope's house or walking around Nautilus.

-I actually died quite a few times. That's a good thing.

- Awesome music, but strangely I didn't appreciate a lot of the songs while I was playing. Most of them seemed forgettable. I've been listening to them on youtube though and there are a lot of really great tracks.

-For supposedly not being able to make them anymore, Square created the best looking HD Towns I've ever seen. Palumpolum, Nautilus, Bodhum, & Eden all impressed me greatly.

-I'm only up to mission 40, but so far I really like the optional stuff. Gil seems to be too sparse though. Let's see if I have the willpower to get all the achievements. They all seem pretty fun except for the treasure one - that sounds annoying.

-I had low expectations after the internet errupted with FFXIII hate. Can't believe there was so much controversy over this game. Feels like GTA4 all over again. Maybe when the next FF comes out more people will come around. Personally, I thought it was one of the better FF games.

We share the same overall impression of the game except I thought the story was average and convoluted until later in the game when things somewhat came together...

I really enjoyed the game and will purchase FFXIII VS on day one.

 

[astroturfing]

best post in the thread

im done with the game, but man im glad i clicked to come here anyway. i agree pretty much 100% with your points. a relief for me since pretty much everyone else i know hates this game, heh. so nice to see someone with similar thoughts for a change!

i especially agree about the two worlds and the mystery of the Fal'Cie. i found the setting to be massively more interesting than in any previous JRPG i've ever touched (there arent many, but still). i dont usually get sucked into a game's world or story, but this one really did it for me. the Fal'Cie were such an intimidating and mysterious "other" in the game that it kept me hooked, and man, the places you go to on the journey... wow. definitely the most beautiful places i've seen in games.

i miss playing this game so much fantastic experience but it really isnt that replayable at least for me... just gotta wait for the next single player FF i guess.

 

[Zoso]

If you don't mind me asking how did you feel the combat mechanics and systems were? Are they explained in a well paced way that allows you to learn them and not just a couple of small steps and then INFO DUMP~?

Combat system was excellent. Like firehawk said it's all explained very slowly, every couple of chapters you get something new to play with. If you're familiar with jRPGs though it's way too slow. It's kind of nice that you get to play as each character so that you can learn all the different paradigms, but they really could have sped up the process.

If I have any complaints about the battle system it's that sometimes it feels like you're not doing much work. You're only in control of the main party member and 80% of the time Auto-Battle picks exactly what you want to do, so a lot of time it's just setting up the correct paradigms and using auto-battle. Of course you can input your own commands, and I did this quite a bit, but it's really not necessary in most cases. It's a fun battle system, but I personally prefer more traditional turn-based systems such as in Lost Odyssey or FFX.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Combat system was excellent. Like firehawk said it's all explained very slowly, every couple of chapters you get something new to play with. If you're familiar with jRPGs though it's way too slow.

Hmm, considering I never exactly figured out junctioning that well (or that I should store spells instead of using them lol), that seems like it might be a plus for me.

 

[CryingWolf]

Personally, I did not feel that the combat system was "excellent" at all. It's way too "meta" for me. All that you really control is each character's role, which you can manipulate by shifting paradigms. But other than that, they pretty much auto-battle.

It is way too "hands-off" for me, personally, and I didn't enjoy it at all.

 

[Violater]

Ok I have no idea what I am doing but the cutscenes are so awesome, I can see why this game too forever to be developed.

 

[Pancakes]

Personally, I did not feel that the combat system was "excellent" at all. It's way too "meta" for me. All that you really control is each character's role, which you can manipulate by shifting paradigms. But other than that, they pretty much auto-battle.

It is way too "hands-off" for me, personally, and I didn't enjoy it at all.

Exactly how I felt.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

The combat honestly never felt hands-off to me. I always felt like I was in control of what the other two characters were doing, even though I wasn't specifically selecting their moves. I thought the Paradigm system worked really well at doing that, and it was rare that my party members weren't doing exactly what I wanted them to.

 

[starsky]

Beat the game yesterday. Took me 63 hrs just for the main story. Overall a very positive experience. Some thoughts:

- Characters were good. Nothing amazing, but for Final Fantasy I was impressed. Everyone actually had some nice development and I was never asking, "Why are you in my party again?" They all had a purpose and none of them annoyed me(a final fantasy first!). However, everybody outside of the main cast could have used much more development. I wish they spent more time with Cid, Rygdea, Jihl, Yaag, & Dysley. They're involvement in the plot felt kinda weak.

-Story was very interesting. It got a little hairy at the end, but for the most part I enjoyed it. I really liked the concept of the two worlds and the mystery surrounding the Fal'Cie. It was a little odd that the story was clearly split between character development and main plot. I wish they spent a little more time exploring the main plot. The ending wasn't completely satisfying, but I still liked it.

-Incredible world and art direction. I spent a lot of time just looking at all the locations. Every set piece was so beautiful and they all felt really well thought out in relation to the world. Cocoon and Pulse actually feel like real places. And eventhough this game isn't the best looking game technically, it's by far the best looking game I've played based on the art direction alone.

-This game does have some weird pacing problems. It takes far too long for the game to open up and some of the early chapters can be quite boring. Plus this is the closest Final Fantasy has ever come to a dungeon crawler. Fortunately the battle system rocks, so it's never a huge deal. But there were a few chapters were I was just kinda tired of fighting nonstop. There really needed to be some things in ch. 1-10 to break up the monotony. I understand we were wanted fugitives and couldn't leisurely explore a town, but it just got kind of old being chased all the time. There should have been more moments like resting at Hope's house or walking around Nautilus.

-I actually died quite a few times. That's a good thing.

- Awesome music, but strangely I didn't appreciate a lot of the songs while I was playing. Most of them seemed forgettable. I've been listening to them on youtube though and there are a lot of really great tracks.

-For supposedly not being able to make them anymore, Square created the best looking HD Towns I've ever seen. Palumpolum, Nautilus, Bodhum, & Eden all impressed me greatly.

-I'm only up to mission 40, but so far I really like the optional stuff. Gil seems to be too sparse though. Let's see if I have the willpower to get all the achievements. They all seem pretty fun except for the treasure one - that sounds annoying.

-I had low expectations after the internet errupted with FFXIII hate. Can't believe there was so much controversy over this game. Feels like GTA4 all over again. Maybe when the next FF comes out more people will come around. Personally, I thought it was one of the better FF games.

I pretty much agree with your post. Good stuff!

Edit: The treasure hunter achievement, you can do it much easier with an Excel file for weapon & accessory and create a separate save file where you sell everything once you've got them in your inventory. Also, Kain's Lance (made from Dragoon Lance, Shamanic Spear, Punisher, Pandoran Spear or Gae Bolg) or Nirvana (made from Tigerclaw, Healer's Staff, Belladonna Wand or Mitstilteinn) can be dismantled into 3 trapezohedrons when you upgrade them to max level.

 

[CryingWolf]

Can't believe there was so much controversy over this game. Feels like GTA4 all over again.

I, too, cannot believe there is so much controversy over this game, but the other way around. I can't believe that anybody likes it. But, I guess there are all kinds of people in the world.

And I liked GTA4, I never got the complaining about that game, either.

 

[Zoso]

I, too, cannot believe there is so much controversy over this game, but the other way around. I can't believe that anybody likes it. But, I guess there are all kinds of people in the world.

And I liked GTA4, I never got the complaining about that game, either.

I can certainly understand why people do not like these games. They have some pretty major flaws and both of them deviate from past games in the series. Personally the flaws don't bother me much, I still love both titles. What does kinda bother me is just how vocal the disappointment is. It almost feels like a universal internet opinion of "these games suck ass." Perhaps it's simply the curse of being a title in a highly acclaimed videogame series.

And I somewhat agree with your opinion on the battle system. I really enjoy it for what it is, but it is too hands off. I don't think they should have included auto-battle and I wish you could control all of your party members. I never had to think, "Ok, this enemy attacks with lightning and is weak to water. I'll use my synergist to put Enwater on my weapons and put Barthunder on all my guys." I just put one of my party members into their synergist role and they do that stuff for me. Of course they'd have to majorly slow down the battle system for you to input that many commands. I appreciate the speed they have, but I want more control.

 

[CryingWolf]

And I somewhat agree with your opinion on the battle system. I really enjoy it for what it is, but it is too hands off. I don't think they should have included auto-battle and I wish you could control all of your party members. I never had to think, "Ok, this enemy attacks with lightning and is weak to water. I'll use my synergist to put Enwater on my weapons and put Barthunder on all my guys." I just put one of my party members into their synergist role and they do that stuff for me. Of course they'd have to majorly slow down the battle system for you to input that many commands. I appreciate the speed they have, but I want more control.

Yeah, and it's not just the battle system... I feel like the general theme of FFXIII's design was "let's minimize the player's control and eliminate choices."

The world? It's more or less a straight line. Helen Keller could find her way from cutscene to cutscene without much trouble.

Equipment? A weapon and an accessory, and there aren't even that many weapons to choose from. I like having options when equipping my characters.

I actually felt insulted by this game. As if the developers were saying, "Places to go? Things to do? What do you need that for?? Aren't you blown away by our amazing graphics and enthralled by our lovable, ragtag bunch of misfit characters and our fascinating plot??"

The problem is, I wasn't. I found the characters more annoying than compelling, and so I quickly lost interest in what was happening with them and eventually put the game down completely.

They're banking everything on the player buying in to the story they're trying to tell you, and if you don't, there's precious little else to keep your interest.

It's like, "Sit back, turn on the cruise control and enjoy our brilliant story! Everything else will take care of itself."

So that's why I have been so vocal in my hatred for FFXIII, because I took it as a personal insult as an RPG fan. It was an insulting experience, and I can't fathom why more people did not have that reaction at all.

A story, even a great story (and this is not a great story), should be only a backdrop to fun, compelling gameplay. I felt like they banked everything on the story and forgot to actually make a game. To be honest, I felt cheated and betrayed.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Some thoughts so far (I'm about 4 hours in and just got to the Lake):

1. I'm already pretty surprised at the maturity of some of the subjects in the story. I wasn't really expecting Holocaust allegory in the opening part of the game (specifics can be debated, but I definitely think parts of the purge are modeled on it). It's not in your face, but subtle, but it's there.
2. I like how you're eased into combat, I can understand why it may drive people nuts. However, I appreciate the ability to use things long enough that I feel like I have a true understanding of the mechanics of the game, before I am moved along to the next element.
3. I enjoy the pace of combat, I was able to complete a battle in 3 seconds numerous times! This for me is fine for small encounters, it makes sense and the fact that you can conquer some enemies with extreme speed. It helps one appreciate the more difficult encounters later on and gives a sense of scale.
4. I love the datalog, it makes understanding the story and some of the side elements so much easier to digest.
5. No random encounters, I love that I can walk and not have some fly with testicles for ears pop up no where. It feels more realistic (well real in the world that is established) to only fight enemies you see and not just oh shit the battle music started up.
6. I don't mind the linearity, FF games by large really are linear experiences, in towns you mostly just shop and rest, you really don't get and solve quests that much, or explore the buildings.
7. I like most of the characters with the exception of Hope, I want Hope to be purged by fire. Is there a way to grind my character by attacking him? :lol Snow doesn't bother me, because in his initial role, the false bravado is actually a positive trait. Vanille just reminds me of a perky Aussie who snorted a load of blow, and when looked at next to the normal comparative character in FF games like her, it's pretty minor.
8. The game is graphically gorgeous and I love the music so far and I'm very happy with the voice acting (excellent job on casting).
9. The ability to have the speaker id'ed and the overheard conversations subbed is a huge plus for a person who plays games late at night and just helping to keep track of all the characters. I know it's nothing new, but I like the ability nonetheless.
10. The menus layout is great, both in functionality and presentation, I just wish there was a mark all as read option.

So 4 hours in I'm really happy that I got the game. I'll post some more thoughts when I get to play a little more after finishing Bar Review studying today.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Oh did they scrap any minigames in FFXIII, can't say I'm upset if they did, Triple Triad can suck my ass! :lol

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Scrap implies that these minigames are consistent in the series.

Also, no minigames.

 

[dramatis]

I actually felt insulted by this game. As if the developers were saying, "Places to go? Things to do? What do you need that for?? Aren't you blown away by our amazing graphics and enthralled by our lovable, ragtag bunch of misfit characters and our fascinating plot??"

The problem is, I wasn't. I found the characters more annoying than compelling, and so I quickly lost interest in what was happening with them and eventually put the game down completely.

They're banking everything on the player buying in to the story they're trying to tell you, and if you don't, there's precious little else to keep your interest.

It's like, "Sit back, turn on the cruise control and enjoy our brilliant story! Everything else will take care of itself."

So that's why I have been so vocal in my hatred for FFXIII, because I took it as a personal insult as an RPG fan. It was an insulting experience, and I can't fathom why more people did not have that reaction at all.

A story, even a great story (and this is not a great story), should be only a backdrop to fun, compelling gameplay. I felt like they banked everything on the story and forgot to actually make a game. To be honest, I felt cheated and betrayed.

That's exactly how I felt about the game. So you're not alone. At this point, however, I don't quite get as angry about it anymore (played JP version back in January, so it's been a while). And I feel very safe because I am certain that no one will make a game like this one. Not even the dev team, never again. Smile, sir.

1. I'm already pretty surprised at the maturity of some of the subjects in the story. I wasn't really expecting Holocaust allegory in the opening part of the game (specifics can be debated, but I definitely think parts of the purge are modeled on it). It's not in your face, but subtle, but it's there.

4. I love the datalog, it makes understanding the story and some of the side elements so much easier to digest.

Unfortunately, the 'mature subjects' never really take off. Moreover, it's not really a subject unless it's explored in the story, and that never happens.

Funny thing about the datalog, is that something similar is featured in many, many other games before this one. The problem is that the datalog in FF13 is an excuse for poor dialogue and cutscenes, whereas in other games like Xenosaga or Star Ocean, the 'datalog' is a base of supplementary information that is not essential to understanding the story and letting some of the side elements digest better.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Funny thing about the datalog, is that something similar is featured in many, many other games before this one. The problem is that the datalog in FF13 is an excuse for poor dialogue and cutscenes, whereas in other games like Xenosaga or Star Ocean, the 'datalog' is a base of supplementary information that is not essential to understanding the story and letting some of the side elements digest better.

Yeah, but dialogue in the FF games are always sort of loopy and crap (well emo maybe). I'd prefer they I do have to sit through an exposition explosion. At least for once I understand what is going on. Still, I haven't felt at anytime the datalog is subbing for not explaining anything, I've been able to understand whats going on just by the dialogue.

I should add I also love the plentiful save points. Makes quitting on short notice a lot less of a hassle.

 

[theMrCravens]

Scrap implies that these minigames are consistent in the series.

Also, no minigames.

Well, the robot thing with Hope in chapter 4(?) can be considered a FF story event minigame.
It was the only one unfortunately.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Well, the robot thing with Hope in chapter 4(?) can be considered a FF story event minigame.
It was the only one unfortunately.

Then it's a set-piece.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Then it's a set-piece.

The little emo kids gets to pilot a robot? Well, I guess I should be happy that he doesn't beat off to a comatose patient and bitch about life first. :lol

 

[CryingWolf]

That's exactly how I felt about the game. So you're not alone. At this point, however, I don't quite get as angry about it anymore (played JP version back in January, so it's been a while). And I feel very safe because I am certain that no one will make a game like this one. Not even the dev team, never again. Smile, sir.

My hate for FFXIII has faded somewhat now that I'm aware of Xenoblade and Last Story. I don't know a lot about Last Story yet but I like the aesthetic. And Xenoblade looks like the complete opposite of FFXIII, so I'm pretty hyped for that.

Funny thing about the datalog, is that something similar is featured in many, many other games before this one. The problem is that the datalog in FF13 is an excuse for poor dialogue and cutscenes, whereas in other games like Xenosaga or Star Ocean, the 'datalog' is a base of supplementary information that is not essential to understanding the story and letting some of the side elements digest better.

Seriously, a datalog should be for extra flavor and expanding the backstory of the game world. It should not be essential for explaining WTF is happening in your stupid story.

 

[Rahxephon91]

Was I the only one who didn't read the datalog and knew what was going on in the game? Its really not that confusing.

I never read anything like those in games.