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[Lightning]

The fight with

Spoiler

Odin

was FUCK AWESOME.

You mean fucking hard? I lost count how many times he kicked my ass. On my first try he killed me within 10 seconds of the fight.... Asshole. :lol

 

[thetrin]

Eh...

Spoiler

I would be careful about spending too much time on healing/defending (is that what turtling is?). That's an easy way to get the death timer cast on you.

Totally agree. Sometimes a HLR/ATK/HLR is enough.

 

[Zoe]

question before buying.

-can i skip all the cut scenes? i hate japanese melodrama.

Just buy an action game if you don't want the cutscenes.

 

[thetrin]

You mean fucking hard? I lost count how many times he kicked my ass. On my first try he killed me within 10 seconds of the fight.... Asshole. :lol

Hmm, are you using smokes? Smokes are pretty much the easiest way to sail through summon fights. I'm just saying this because the others are going to be harder.

 

[ZeoVGM]

question before buying.

-can i skip all the cut scenes? i hate japanese melodrama.

As opposed to American melodrama? What a silly thing to type.

If you're going to skip cut scenes, don't buy a Final Fantasy.

 

[Crash Station]

Nearing the 9 hour mark. Just got to play

Spoiler

day 7

. I thought

Spoiler

overhearing all the beach goers talk about love and what not

was a pretty nice touch.

Honestly though, the linearity isn't bothering me one bit. I would always hate having to pick between paths in RPGs because if I found out the one I picked was where I was supposed to go, I would go ALL THE WAY back just to see if there was a treasure chest at the other path. With the treasure in sight and/or not too out of the way, you waste a lot less time.

 

[BocoDragon]

I would describe this game as Final Fantasy: The Arcade Game.

Everything is streamlined, you can't really get lost, the battle action is very fast, the game's many shortcuts let the battles speed up considerably, and there's more of an emphasis on putting commands in quickly. It doesn't bother you with the finer details like healing after battle. AND you can die easily. Put in another quarter and restart immediately!

 

[Styles]

Up to chapter

Spoiler

6

. Egh. I fucking hate you

Spoiler

Armadilion

.

 

[thetrin]

I would describe this game as Final Fantasy: The Arcade Game.

Everything is streamlined, you can't really get lost, the battle action is very fast, the game's many shortcuts let the battles speed up considerably, and there's more of an emphasis on putting commands in quickly. It doesn't bother you with the finer details like healing after battle. AND you can die easily. Put in another quarter and restart immediately!

hahah, a very apt description. I actually quite like the idea.

 

[Zzoram]

Do I have to actually use Libra on anything to get the 100 enemies fully scanned trophy? Or does fighting a bunch of them do that for me? Since that seems to be working already, I don't get why Libra is there, especially not why EVERY class seems to have it.

 

[PumpkinPie]

Someone mentioned before that they hated the walking about and loved the battles, I'm completely the opposite, I love walking around and moving the camera to see the cool landscapes etc...some parts are so similar to FFX.

The fights are a bit too fast paced for me TBH, seems like they don't have a WAIT mode where you can just browse your skills. The addition of battle points and stars just seems to encourage hammering 'auto-battle' as you're penalised for taking a moment to check your techniques and whatnot.

 

[thetrin]

Do I have to actually use Libra on anything to get the 100 enemies fully scanned trophy? Or does fighting a bunch of them do that for me? Since that seems to be working already, I don't get why Libra is there, especially not why EVERY class seems to have it.

What isn't there to get? It finds out what elements an enemy is weak to. It's pretty much the most essential tool you have.

Also, I got the 100 scanned trophy pretty late in the game, so I assume they mean 100 unique enemies (considering that you aren't actually USING Libra when you open it to check the weaknesses of an enemy type you've already scanned)

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

wow is vanille bad.

I thought the japanese consensus was that hope sucked and now it seems like that situation is reversed as i hear my friends complain.

 

[Zoe]

Do I have to actually use Libra on anything to get the 100 enemies fully scanned trophy? Or does fighting a bunch of them do that for me? Since that seems to be working already, I don't get why Libra is there, especially not why EVERY class seems to have it.

No, you don't need it, but it does make learning all of that information take longer (more battles). It's really a benefit for your party though because once you do Libra, your other members will know what to do rather than blindly trying to find the most effective approach.

 

[thetrin]

wow is vanille bad.

I thought the japanese consensus was that hope sucked and now it seems like that situation is reversed as i hear my friends complain.

Hope isn't bad at all. He's a bit of a wimp at first, but he has some good growth throughout the game. Besides, he gets the best summon in the game!

 

[polyh3dron]

Just got the sphernarium and got a little bit further than that. Holy SHIT this game is amazing so far. People talking shit about the in-engine graphics have lots of crow to eat right now. And now that the combat is becoming more intricate, I could give a shit how linear it is, the characters are interesting me and I just love being along for the beautiful ride.

As for Vanille, yeah she's a standard Anime archetype Uber Kawaii high pitched voice girl.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Hope isn't bad at all. He's a bit of a wimp at first, but he has some good growth throughout the game. Besides, he gets the best summon in the game!

I agree. He isnt nearly as whiny as I heard he was.

 

[rainer516]

I agree with the previous post.

Okay, can we talk gameplay in this thread? I just got the ability to

Spoiler

upgrade weapons and I've been hoarding a ton of materials so far by not selling anything. What is the best upgrade path at this point in the game, I'm still at Vile Peaks

.

 

[thetrin]

Hey guys, I don't like Japan.

Is there a way to skip the japan in this game?

 

[mr stroke]

after playing all day my initial impressions-


+
-Graphics
-Stunning CG, probably the best in any game
-Auto healing after every battle is the greatest thing to happen in an RPG
-Battle system is AMAZING, its fast, flashy, and deep. didn't think I would like all the auto attacking but the system is so well done, its the best in the series.
-Linear structure, some may hate, but this feels like an action game moving from one set piece to another and is a refreshing change.(takes away the fetch quest feeling of old)


-
-Voice acting(Vanille and Hope)
-Crystarium sucks, would rather have tradition leveling or sphere grid
-Lightning has chicken legs

 

[lorddarkflare]

after playing all day my initial impressions-


+
-Graphics
-Stunning CG, probably the best in any game
-Auto healing after every battle is the greatest thing to happen in an RPG
-Battle system is AMAZING, its fast, flashy, and deep. didn't think I would like all the auto attacking but the system is so well done, its the best in the series.
-Linear structure, some may hate, but this feels like an action game moving from one set piece to another and is a refreshing change.(takes away the fetch quest feeling of old)


-
-Voice acting(Vanille and Hope)
-Crystarium sucks, would rather have tradition leveling or sphere grid
-Lightning has chicken legs

Fimb is gonna get you for that.

 

[LCfiner]

Someone mentioned before that they hated the walking about and loved the battles, I'm completely the opposite, I love walking around and moving the camera to see the cool landscapes etc...some parts are so similar to FFX.

The fights are a bit too fast paced for me TBH, seems like they don't have a WAIT mode where you can just browse your skills. The addition of battle points and stars just seems to encourage hammering 'auto-battle' as you're penalised for taking a moment to check your techniques and whatnot.

yeah, I use auto-battle pretty much all the time. so far, the battle system has been about managing paradigms, not managing techniques (summons are the exception).

 

[lorddarkflare]

-Crystarium sucks, would rather have tradition leveling or sphere grid

It basically IS a sphere grid.

He forgets that it too sucks.

 

[Shouta]

I think you should play it again without reading the codex. It's pretty simple to figure out as long as you are willing to be in the dark for a few minutes.

I played it the first time without it. Some elements become easier to figure out as you go but not after a lot of squawking and running around. A good chunk of my complaints are lobbed at the last half as well though.

Upgrade system doesn't seem too hot.

Poor customization, solid progression. It's plus is that you can allot points at any time rather than at set level increments so say you just need a little more HP, you can upgrade your HP right away. This means you can tailor some of the strengths to your liking and can do it at any tmie you have points, i.e. prior to bosses if they're too hard.

Problem? It's totally linear and has no branching points (just side legs) to it so you have to take certain upgrades to get to one you'd want. Then toss in the fact there aren't many unique skills to the characters and well, blah. There's also the fact they totally simplified the game's system to 3 stats which kind of sucks in many regards.

 

[thetrin]

-Crystarium sucks, would rather have tradition leveling or sphere grid

I'd love for you to explain to me how this is any different from a sphere grid but without locks.

 

[Zzoram]

No, you don't need it, but it does make learning all of that information take longer (more battles). It's really a benefit for your party though because once you do Libra, your other members will know what to do rather than blindly trying to find the most effective approach.

So let me get this straight, you learn bits of info from enemies just from fighting them. However, Libra makes you learn all the info instantly? Does this mean you MUST Libra bosses to get their info since you can only fight them once?

 

[haitu]

Just buy an action game if you don't want the cutscenes.

or i can button smash the skip cutscenes button and go straight to fighting.

play for the action not the story. if i wanted a story i'd watch the wire. final fantasy and story. hahaha.

 

[mr stroke]

It basically IS a sphere grid.

maybe I am not deep enough into the game(9 hours) but it feels limiting.
where the Sphere grid felt like branching paths.


if its going to be limited, might as well just use a standard leveling system no?

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

It basically IS a sphere grid.

But in the sphere grid, you had choice which directions to head to maximize how you wanted to customize your characters. There is none if that here except choosing which class to do it in, but it doesnt change much as they seem easy to max out so far.

 

[LCfiner]

So let me get this straight, you learn bits of info from enemies just from fighting them. However, Libra makes you learn all the info instantly? Does this mean you MUST Libra bosses to get their info since you can only fight them once?

it’s a very, very smart thing to libra the boss on the first round. considering how tough they are, you don’t want the AI throwing spells that are ineffective.

 

[Maaseru]

Use the Undermine Paradigm(ravenger+saboteur) in pulworker to slow the stagger bar then pummel away with Dualcast. That's what I do and it works every time

 

[Vyer]

So I guess I'm about four or five hours in.

Graphics are pretty great. I'm playing on PS3, and yeah there are some hiccups here and there, but overall I'm impressed and the environments have been downright gorgeous. Music has been pretty solid as well.

So far the 'linear' gameplay hasn't bothered me. At least not yet. I'm not sure if this ever 'opens up' but already I'm starting to feel a little bit of an itch to visit some towns, which I know isn't happening. :lol But things are moving quick enough that the rather straightforward gameplay has not become a negative, but I don't know how that will change as I keep going.

Honestly, up to this point, as far as actual gameplay goes I feel more like I'm playing an action game than anything else.

Obviously this is a little jarring once you get into the character management. It's like switching back into RPG mode. But the straight paths, little exploration, linear levels - it kinda felt like I was moving Kratos through a God of War level - complete with the 'oh hey this one path must have a treasure item in it' design. I'm still early on though, so I'm waiting to see how this all starts to flesh out as the battle system expands.

On the negative side, Vanille is one of the most annoying things ever. Her voice is annoying, her lines are annoying, her walk/run is annoying, and the scenes with her and Hope early on are downright painful. It's like take the 'ah, oh, um, ugh, eh, uh' moaning and gasps that plague so much Square voice acting and multiply it by 50.

in fact, the characters in general are not too appealing so far. Lightning is a cold, angry bitch, Hope is a whining pussy, vanille is vanille...the other two are actually ok so far, though the 'I'm a Hero!' lines early on were full of cheese. Just overall hard to find a character to really care about.

I think I cared more about the

Spoiler

mom who died

than anyone else so far.:lol

 

[lorddarkflare]

You didn't really get many branching paths in sphere grid until the end of the game when you could unlock different sections with key spheres.

In any case, the sphere grid is just as linear. Sphere grid has few branching paths. You're along a line the whole time and even if you get find a fork, you're going to go back to the main path anyways. Same thing applies here.

Very much agreed.

I think the presentation more than anything else is what is throwing people off.

 

[aryies]

What are you talking about?

This is the sphere grid, 90% of FF10.

Notice how that is all basically one path?

no its not, you can choose which next sphere you can go to. granted, at times, it didnt make a huge difference, but sometimes the surrounding spheres would differ drastically.


in ff13, you really can only go one way, and you end up maxing out anyway.

 

[chris-013]

Can anyone give any hints for

Spoiler

Barthandelus

? Just what Paradigm setups or who to actually use would be awesome. I'm currently using Light/Fang/Sazh but I'm struggling.

I used Lightning/Hope/Fang.

Upgrade Lightning and Hope weapon to max (sell weapon with the lowest base atk/mag stat to make money) and buy two ring 50 atk for Lightning/ 50 mag for Hope. After that they were near 500 atk and 500 mag.

For the paradigm setup, Atk/Tactician(Buffer)/Atk => Atk/Blaster/Atk or Blaster/Blaster/Atk
When you need heal => Blaster/Healer/Atk.

I killed him on my first try but I think I upgraded too much the weapon since chapter 9 and now the game is too easy (I can kill caster monster with two aoe attack from lightning and fang.)

 

[Regulus Tera]

So I've played the first two chapters.

I know I'm not the most unbiased FF player there is, but I enjoy this game almost as much as I enjoyed my Phantasy Star Online experience back in the day. I don't know if that makes sense.

Also, long tutorials are looooong. The pacing of this game is atrocious.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

What are you talking about?

This is the sphere grid, 90% of FF10.

Notice how that is all basically one path?

I wouldnt say 90%, but it was the majority.

The key is you could skip sections just like your picture shows and unlock different paths giving you different paths to grow on. You had choice. I could turn tidus into a magic wielder if i was crazy enough.

 

[aryies]

Oh please. Aside from the fact that thus far, Crystanium or whatever the fuck lacks key spheres, sphere grid and crystanium are basically the same shit.

Oh, and you mean kinda like how you can't continue to use the sphere grid if you run out of spheres?

Same shit, different look, less features.

no its not, and i told you exactly why it wasnt.

 

[thetrin]

no its not, and i told you exactly why it wasnt.

It's basically giving 3 (and eventually 6) different sphere grids to each character. I'm seriously not seeing the difference.

 

[thetrin]

Also, long tutorials are looooong. The pacing of this game is atrocious.

If you mean too fast, I might agree with you. I don't know how FFXIII could be any faster to start out.

I like how the game continues to add new features on top of each other, almost needlessly.

What features have they added that are needless? The only one I can think of are smokes, but consumable buffs are a good move, considering there's no MP in the game.

 

[D23]

5 hours in, just hit chapter 4. im in love with this game. the story is wonderful, way better than its predecessor (12) . i actually like all the characters, they all interesting! too bad i wont be to play until next week when im done with finals

 

[thetrin]

I wouldnt say 90%, but it was the majority.

The key is you could skip sections just like your picture shows and unlock different paths giving you different paths to grow on. You had choice. I could turn tidus into a magic wielder if i was crazy enough.

You can still do that at the end of FFXIII, but it's not as well thought out as FFX. You eventually unlock all classes for all characters, but the cost of investing in those new classes is much much too high.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Sure you could, but not until the end of the game. Thus, the argument is moot. Tidus isn't going to be a mage the majority of the game in FF10. It is impossible unless you gameshark it.

Im glad you admitted that because it proves my point. They arent the same which is all im trying to say. Also, you are a rude arguer for saying my point is moot because it proves you wrong and because it happens late in the game. You are defending a game that doesn't open up much at all until 30 fucking hours in.

 

[polyh3dron]

Oh, may I also nominate this for best JRPG battle system ever? It has a sense of urgency matched only by Devil May Cry 1 IMO.

 

[aryies]

It's basically giving 3 (and eventually 6) different sphere grids to each character. I'm seriously not seeing the difference.

the biggest difference, to me, was that there were actually times in ffx when you could go the route of a sphere that had different stats to what your character had originally "grown" from the first few linear paths, for example, tidus having mainly str stats iirc, from the start, could eventually branch off to a sphere that had magic stats, if you wanted to.

theoretically you COULD max out every stat and have every character with every sphere unlocked (which is what im seeing so far in FF13 that is happening, with little effort) but in FFX by the time the game finished every character had a spec, i rarely had tidus cast magic because his stats just werent good enough to warrant it, because of so many str spheres.


the point is here in ff13 so far from what i can tell, every stat is being maxed, because you really have only one path, you cant BRANCH off, ever, you just complete the section and you are done until the game says "ok, stuff you can get in this section" but it still follows a set path.

 

[D23]

Oh, may I also nominate this for best JRPG battle system ever? It has a sense of urgency matched only by Devil May Cry 1 IMO.

and the best battle music ever! oh my god i keep humming that part!! yea that part..

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

You can still do that at the end of FFXIII, but it's not as well thought out as FFX. You eventually unlock all classes for all characters, but the cost of investing in those new classes is much much too high.

I heard. : (

Can you tell me more about the endgame? After the final boss, where does it put you back? Theres no limit on how many times you can replay a crystal mission right?

 

[thetrin]

Oh, may I also nominate this for best JRPG battle system ever? It has a sense of urgency matched only by Devil May Cry 1 IMO.

I could seriously play a game that is just fight after fight after fight with just this battle system. No character development. no dungeons. No leveling. Just fight fight fight fight.

I love it that much.

 

[Feep]

I like how the game continues to add new features on top of each other, almost needlessly.

Man, did you play TWEWY? Now THERE'S some layering of features. Good god.

 

[thetrin]

No, I mean the endless string of tutorials. The game does have bad pacing in that it holds your hand.

I think they were trying to be as accessible as possible, which I appreciated. I also appreciated that the tried and true FF tutorial (where the game moves the cursor around before selecting the correct option) was gone, in favor of forcing the player to choose. :lol

Man, did you play TWEWY? Now THERE'S some layering of features. Good god.

And that game was glorious. God I fucking love that game.