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[Kagari]

Any platform comparisons so far ? So far the frame rate is a bit hiccupy (PS3) during general traversal. Battles are silky smooth though.

Some people are saying the 360 version has a worse framerate.

Probably an entertaining story/quest that doesn't bore you most of the times like most of the genre. Crazy, written like shit, but fun.

This time they tried to make their own game and not a focus group's game, so it's for the better in any case and whatever it happens. Divisive games are always the best games.

No, they really didn't. They copied many ideas from other games and focus groups were most definitely factored in at some point during the process.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

I don't know why the hell I preordered this, LoL!

But I long for more JRPGs on consoles. Even if the game isn't great, I'd rather play this than Skyrim, Witcher 2, or Fable.

Tuesday!

 

[Perfo]

No, they really didn't. They copied many ideas from other games and focus groups were most definitely factored in at some point during the process.

I still think LR sounds a more refreshing and original experience than XIII-2 anyway. And there's nothing bad in copying ideas... if only S-E sometimes try to fucking remember about developing with new entries THESE ideas they stole around, that would be better.

But I long for more JRPGs on consoles. Even if the game isn't great, I'd rather play this than Skyrim, Witcher 2, or Fable.

Oh you're right about this, I can't stand those games you mentioned. wRPGs are, for the most, boring. Only Mass Effect was a fun ride, mostly because it's an action game with RPG elements.

 

[Perfo]

Once the game is out that should be done, absolutely.

PS: Play got Waifu on the cover:

http://www.play-mag.co.uk/news/play-240-out-today/

Is this the face of the future of the genre? Find it out!

Out today, how much it scored?

It seems PLAY went for a positive review. Any source to confirm or someone that bought it?

 

[Zafir]

Better told and more intereting story, no annoying characters like Hope or Vanille (Noel and Serah are cool actually), towns, a lot more exploration for sidequests and monster hunting, amazing OST, some mini-games through the game, the incredibly amazing City of Academia...

If you ended FF XIII-2 and you regret it, JRPGs are not made for you.
And if you think FF XIII was better... well I better shut up, lol.

It's really not though.

Despite its issues with the script and backstory being relegated to a book. At least XIII's story was consistent. XIII-2's was a convoluted mess and clearly tacked on the end off XIII. I don't really see how Serah is an improvement. Towns still don't have shops or whatever(though lack of towns was never an issue for me to begin with). OST I'd argue was worse, though that's just down to not being a fan of the direction they took it in. it has side quests and mini-games but I just don't find them fun enough or that I care enough about the game to even bother.

 

[Perfo]

Yeah, I always thought XIII-2 was far worse than XIII. If I have to give a score to them - to explain myself in shortly - I'd say 10/10 for XIII is a given while a 7/10 for XIII-2 would be far more appropriate. There's not a single thing that XIII-2 did better than XIII. Everything was a downgrade.

 

[Kura]

I can respect your opinions, but cannot understand them at all (apart from just the matter of liking or not liking things).
I think saying that everything is a downgrade is saying too much : S

 

[Perfo]

Ok. This friend of mine is really hyping the shit out of me. I'll say sorry for the translation but google translate took care of it because I don't have time to translate it properly, but you get most of it even this way. This particular player is not really a fan of Final Fantasy (or jRPGs, except for the likes of FFIV and few others from the past), but loves hardcore games, especially Nintendo's stuff, Zeldas, Witchers and so on. Few updates he posted on his experience with the game:

They are crazy . C R A Z Y.

Who have stuck inside of all, Skyrim, Majora , Xenoblade , Shemnue , here is basically a fusion with these four and Final Fantasy .

The result ? The more big delusion to which I have ever witnessed.

I also visited two cities , of course, enormous , of course with the day / night cycle , obviously with png with their routine , stores that open and close , a bar with people going to breakfast , it was a fluke incredible ass to her boyfriend succubus , have fled , I took the subway , I went down to venice beach , arrived addicts with guitars and bongos started singing forming a group of onlookers and I am riscappato screaming.

I have about 728 quests open and already 5 clothes , I paid dearly for my messing about getting lost at the time of the main quest , there's so many irons in the fire that I do not know where to start, the clothes are created and editano , fighting styles Similarly, in the workshop of a magician I learned to synthesize type 3 spells in a pretty and now I have discovered means clothes because I've obviously lost 2 , there are dogs and cats polygonal true that they are the souls of those who play , I traded stuff with a Persian true photorealistic animated panic that he was a member , there is really amazing ah jump tomb raider free to go on roofs and as a cricket ; always because of my messing about I did not aiiutato umo to solve a murder at the kotor and yet that was the main, then there is the time majora and then suck you into the ark metaphysics which is the ship of mario galaxy 2, because there is also God rightly called God and you 're his Exterminating Angel and solve quests before the world implodes , what in front of which he can not even do anything .

CS divine but you already knew that, technically it did a jump ahead of Gen since the last time I tried it, well han shaderato clouds , tomorrow I put some pictures from admission.

Stunned . It is curious to see how the votes that we will engage with the people.

And I also struggle hard to make you a minimum share in it, just because I know I will not ever inculerete (just because it's called Final Fantasy) when it is the only game worthy of being played out in the past two years, Diablo 3 and Halo 4 permitting.

If the new Zelda had this structure and this graphic I could almost die happy.

And his last update and best description:

What game people . Although my adventure comes to an end because now remained three days at the end of the world and I do not see anything that would make me kill Noel and give me breath ...

And articulate too . Well too .

In all, the type subquest most useless , I give you an example to go to the core, you can find (by accident ) a talking cat who tells you that it is actually a baby ended in a cat while his body was taken by the cat. First you have to find the Shenmue a child who has behavior " cats " and turning you find it, but nothing I will indicate on the map . Second thing you need to find a remedy, but nothing tells you where or how . Third, when you find it , you have to give it to him , but since it is a potion that attracts cats just run into a cat that steals you , and your child is clipped in a cat colony , so you have to find the ingredients , look for the child and try to approach him . It 's all so . And this is what makes a great RPG .

Discover the living things on the field , in this case, living in this city of light (which is "my" research now , because you can make them with an order that you choose , it will not be the same for everyone , I could start somewhere else ) , a little ' as was the case in the Witcher 2 to understand, not in Skyrim. And it is something that gives experience a considerable thickness , will also try to solve a quest , and it opened two equally divided , or at least research / survey , with no marker on the screen.

And you have to trek because you always have the hoe of Damocles on the neck. The clock is ticking , it's never enough , especially since some areas of the city gates open only at certain times and you create a bastard thing because of which you never have time , but you find yourself having to wait like two hours to get into a zone , then you devote to them , and while you devote to them open other quests .

Adding to this are of course the main, which forces you to actually fighting beyond your abilities. I do not mean capacity . You can play perfect, Perrando all attacks , understanding ( and it is not easy ) how to induce an enemy in a state of crisis , but just can not pull it down . If you die , you can rewind time , back to before the crash , but it costs you an hour means one hour less for your research and in less than an hour of life for the world .

I think it is good or bad poised to be able to close any of the main cities around if you do not close at the end . You can not even , like going to fight, do exp and try to redo a fight , he is active and you have sbrigliartela with your hands. You can , however, become stronger shutting accumulating quests and the good of the people , which will bring more strength, endurance, and so on.

A dynamic deadly descent in a very lively , active, dynamic , one thing that you expect from any game except from a Final Fantasy .

This last sentence should've been the OT's tag.

 

[Nohar]

Oh, the gameplay won't be a problem. It's probably the only thing more than decent we can expect from this game (along with the music).

But the story? I'm honestly expecting a trainwreck at this point, the kind so mesmerizing you just can't help to continue watching despite the horror happening just before your very eyes.

 

[Adaren]

To get the Siegfried garb, does one need to post their score to Facebook/Twitter or simply submit it to Outerworld?

And I'm still open to tips for Just Attack timing!

 

[Perfo]

But the story? I'm honestly expecting a trainwreck at this point, the kind so mesmerizing you just can't help to continue watching despite the horror happening just before your very eyes.

On the story he just said it seems written by a 3yrs old kid XD but knowing Toriyama I think that's what people should expect in any case. I just hope it's entertaining and full of twist plots.

 

[Yoshichan]

Gonna head out and try getting this today... I've bought games from my local video game store for 15 years. If they appreciate the money I've been giving them, they should consider my "deal".

 

[Isaccard]

Game arrives on Tuesday~ [Along with Braverly Default]

After playing the demo a few times, expectations are set to realistic, but I'm still pretty excited for the game.

Tuesday's gonna be an interesting day for this thread. huehuehue

 

[Nohar]

Oh, completly forgot about Bravely Default being now released in the USA/Canada. Good (great ?) game, though I do feel that it was "slightly" overhyped.

 

[Perfo]

Oh, completly forgot about Bravely Default being now released in the USA/Canada. Good (great ?) game, though I do feel that it was "slightly" overhyped.

It's definitely overhyped but it's still a really nice game with a fantastic job system and art direction. Pity that the game gets very repetitive soon, the story is lacking, chracters don't develop at all, recycle is all over the place and difficulty is not balanced well. Fun but not memorable.

 

[Isaccard]

It's definitely overhyped but it's still a really nice game with a fantastic job system and art direction. Pity that the game gets very repetitive soon, the story is lacking, chracters don't develop at all, recycle is all over the place and difficulty is not balanced well. Fun but not memorable.

FFXIII series in a nutshell ;P

 

[Cornbread78]

Alright GAF, generalization time; if I kinda enjoyed XIII & XIII-2, is this worth a playthrough and/or will I like it?

 

[Nohar]

It's definitely overhyped but it's still a really nice game with a fantastic job system and art direction. Pity that the game gets very repetitive soon, the story is lacking, chracters don't develop at all, recycle is all over the place and difficulty is not balanced well. Fun but not memorable.

I... actually can't disagree with you (though the characters do develop).

Either you can be sane sometimes, either you're taking your toll on me and I really need to leave this thread.

... BEGONE FOOL BEAST! I SHALT NOT BE CORRUPTED BY YOUUUUUU!

...

/flee

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

It's definitely overhyped but it's still a really nice game with a fantastic job system and art direction. Pity that the game gets very repetitive soon, the story is lacking, chracters don't develop at all, recycle is all over the place and difficulty is not balanced well. Fun but not memorable.

It'll definitely be memorable for me. And it's not overhyped. It's the Final Fantasy game we always wanted, other than FFXIV Reborn.

 

[Corleth the Fey]

It seems PLAY went for a positive review. Any source to confirm or someone that bought it?

Look at the cover photo - it says Exclusive review. You can unfortunately instantly disregard this review as they would have HAD to give it a good score to be granted such a right. Welcome to videogames media.

But what does it matter - you are still getting the game right? I know I am. There's no need to grasp around at straws, or seek the approval of games media to enjoy what this game has to offer.

 

[FleaKitten]

It seems PLAY went for a positive review. Any source to confirm or someone that bought it?

Play UK gave it an 8/10. Here's a bit of the review:

There’s a DmC comparison to be made here as well, since we imagine many criticisms that will be leveled at Lightning Returns will stem from the title – just as Ninja Theory’s action game would probably have got a lot more love if it hadn't been called Devil May Cry, the inventive mechanics and great combat on display here would go down way better if the game weren't tied to both the biggest name in RPG gaming and the vilified XIII.

As a game taken on its own merits, it’s really quite good and while it’s not going to put toys back into prams or erase any of the wall of text hate blogs out there, it’s strong enough on a gameplay level to warrant recommendation to anyone who isn't seeking out new ways to express their hatred for FFXIII.

Surprisingly, the shift to an open world hasn't had too much of a negative impact on the visuals. Each area is about the size of XIII ’s Gran Pulse, with all kinds of nooks and crannies to explore and, while a lot of the world’s smaller details might look a bit ropey (including a dog that seems to have snuck in from a PS2 game), characters and main areas are beautiful.

And as a game for XIII ’s downtrodden fans, Lightning Returns is excellent. It fleshes out the world, gives each of the cast a little more screen time without singling any out as more or less important (well, except Lightning) and brings a stupid story to a stupid conclusion in style.

And the haters? They’re gonna hate, clearly. That’s kind of their thing. But this isn't a game for them. No, it’s a reward for those bold enough to be of the apparently controversial opinion that FFXIII wasn't awful. And a fine reward it is too, so long as you don’t go into it expecting a traditional Final Fantasy experience. And hey, if you don’t like it, no worries – the angry mob is always hiring.

 

[Liferebooted]

Yay, my Amazon copy just updated to Shipping Soon. Any word on how long\hard it is to plat?

 

[dramatis]

Play UK gave it an 8/10. Here's a bit of the review:

"For XIII's downtrodden fans", "And the haters? They’re gonna hate, clearly.", "while it’s not going to...erase any of the wall of text hate blogs out there, it’s strong enough on a gameplay level to warrant recommendation to anyone who isn't seeking out new ways to express their hatred for FFXIII"—Man, the snippets are so salty I have to wonder about the actual review. The text is pretty unprofessional lol.

 

[Toth]

"For XIII's downtrodden fans", "And the haters? They’re gonna hate, clearly.", "while it’s not going to...erase any of the wall of text hate blogs out there, it’s strong enough on a gameplay level to warrant recommendation to anyone who isn't seeking out new ways to express their hatred for FFXIII"—Man, the snippets are so salty I have to wonder about the actual review. The text is pretty unprofessional lol.

He is not incorrect though. In fact, he has been most honest about the situation thus far.

 

[Nohar]

And as a game for XIII ’s downtrodden fans, Lightning Returns is excellent. It fleshes out the world, gives each of the cast a little more screen time without singling any out as more or less important (well, except Lightning) and brings a stupid story to a stupid conclusion in style.

"Stupid" and "in style" in the same sentence? What?

*sigh* Well, doesn't change much things here. I know exactly what to expect. It's just that now I don't have any hope left that the story will redeem this trilogy in my eyes... The thing is, it's getting more and more clear that it's beyond the terribad spectrum. And I know that even if the gameplay is actually good (something that will need confirmation for the Xbox 360 version, because if battles suffer from framerate drops, it will heavily damage the gaming experience), I won't be able to deal with a second "Star Ocean: The Last Hope".

 

[Chance Hale]

Oh come on now, Star Ocean is in such a different league that it shouldn't even be brought up. Like comparing murder to genocide.

 

[Nohar]

Oh come on now, Star Ocean is in such a different league that it shouldn't even be brought up. Like comparing murder to genocide.

Well...

At least, we can agree that both of these things are bad.

 

[MilkBeard]

First you have to find the Shenmue

Wut

 

[Falk]

and brings a stupid story to a stupid conclusion in style.

Ahahahahahaha this is one way to put it.

 

[Zafir]

Wut

Yeah that was my reaction lol. Maybe some cat kind of side quest like shenmue?

 

[Kagari]

GameSpot accidentally had this on their site earlier:

 

[Orniletter]

No, they really didn't. They copied many ideas from other games and focus groups were most definitely factored in at some point during the process.

Not to mention Toryama´s infamous "beating Skyrim" quote.

 

[Nohar]

GameSpot accidentally had this on their site earlier:

Ooooh, tomorrow is going to be very interesting.

 

[Asd202]

GameSpot accidentally had this on their site earlier:

Ups!

 

[Dark_castle]

GameSpot accidentally had this on their site earlier:

5/10 is too harsh. The game can't be that bad.

 

[Kagari]

5/10 is too harsh. The game can't be that bad.

Have you played it?

 

[Yoshichan]

Have you played it?

I think the quote specifically complies that he hasn't played it.

 

[CrimsonCrescendo]

Reviews drop at around Midnight?

 

[RPGCrazied]

GameSpot accidentally had this on their site earlier:

Told you guys. I knew gamespot was going to give it a 4/5.

 

[Kagari]

Reviews drop at around Midnight?

Tomorrow at 9AM EST.

 

[Chance Hale]

I think the quote specifically complies that he hasn't played it.

One imagines she knows that.

 

[Asd202]

Tomorrow at 9AM EST.

 

[Zafir]

Oh dear. I can't say I'm surprised though.

 

[afternoon delight]

My room mate ordered it based on the idea he'll sell it right back so I guess I'm in for a treat this week.

The funny thing is that I was loving every single jRPG during PSone and PS2 eras. Then I had an epiphany, realizing most of them were shits and only Final Fantasy was worth my time.

Still plenty of time to mod this into the OP!

 

[dramatis]

He is not incorrect though. In fact, he has been most honest about the situation thus far.

He writes for a publication. A degree of professionalism is required; if he were a more adept writer, he would have been able to express his saltiness in a better way. As it is right now, his review is merely leaking with "haters" "hate" "duh". (Assuming the writer is a he.)

From a different standpoint, one can argue that the defense force is ignoring legitimate criticisms under the arbitrary and automatic dismissals of criticisms as "hate". So what is the situation, really.

Spoiler

I don't know what "artificially create" means, since this is fiction, and it's all artificially created. That schism in her personality has been there since before the first game even started, when she took on the name "Lightning." It was the contrasting nature of an obedient soldier in the Guardian Corps who also had it in her to rebel against the commands of the fal'cie. It was the contrast between her then following Etro's orders for the greater good instead of being a free spirit and doing her own thing. It's the break between Claire and Lightning, and it's been there all along. It's the ending of XIII-2, where the whole point of her crystal sleep is to keep the memory of Serah alive within her, locked away like her childhood that she never got to have. I don't know why "resolve" is put in scare quotes, when that's exactly what the ending does - whether you think it's a good resolution or not.

Spoiler

I don't think she has an image problem. She's always been an extremely eye-catching character as far as her image is concerned. I've heard a lot of people on here talk about how she does conflicting things between XIII and XIII-2, and that aspect of the writing bothers them. The whole plot of LR, and her character arc in it seems to directly address that in an interesting way from what I've seen. So, I honestly don't see the problem.

Spoiler

As far as padding the story out, I kind of doubt it honestly. Every story in the XIII saga so far has been pretty much the exact opposite of padded. It's had tons of depth, and only a small part of it actually makes it on the screen - with lots of additional aspects of the story, world, and mythology expanded on in the datalog or in outside works. And even those seem like they barely scratch the surface. There's a ton they could get into, but don't have the time for in this game. Nova Chrysalia is pretty different, and all the other characters could have a lot more screen time than they get. I think it'll be a lot like the last two games in that regard, and the story will have a lot of depth not directly in the cutscenes. And most people on here won't even notice that depth is there, or won't take the time to read into anything happening in the game at all.

Let's not be deliberately obtuse here. A prime example of artificially created character problems would be Cloud in Advent Children; his character developments and resolution in FF7 are undone and Cloud himself is cast into a mopey, hesitant, reclusive role that does not logically follow from the end of FF7. Even though the Geostigma explanation and whatnot are provided, those reasons are not solid or developed enough to give the viewer who played FF7 a path to follow from the Cloud at the end of the game and the Cloud at the beginning of the movie. That is an "artificially created" character issue, one that undoes previous developments in an illogical way.

Lightning has never had a schism in her personality. What she has instead is confusion: a child pretending to be an adult that throws tantrums when things get bad (the punching Snow scene, the immature act of taking on another name to try and dump "the child" behind, lashing out against Sanctum without a real plan, "worst birthday ever"), who suffers a sudden and illogical epiphany about how she was just a pet to the fal'cie and how she shouldn't fight against Sanctum.

You write your own version of Lightning. "An obedient soldier in the Guardian Corps"? Lightning started in 13 against Sanctum, for her personal reasons (Serah). She never followed orders. "Who also had it in her to rebel against the commands of the fal'cie"? What rebellion? Lightning ran away (which I suppose you can argue was the "only choice", but I think a better writer would have written proactive protagonists) and returned to Cocoon only when the fal'cie made a threat. You count sitting in Valhalla dumping a bunch of responsibilities on Serah and Noel as Lightning "being a free spirit and doing her own thing"? The contrasting jump from "We live to make the impossible possible! That is our Focus!", a clear declaration of the difference between humans and fal'cie and the establishment of a cause for humans made by a human, immediately to the submission to Etro as "warrior of the goddess"—that jump does not demonstrate a schism, it demonstrates how a character established in one story has been upended to fit in a differently shaped hole.

Lightning Returns

Spoiler

addresses no schism; it manufactures a Lightning with deep-rooted issues of loneliness that somehow physically manifest into a goth loli. Lightning in 13, who ended with the assurance that her friends will stand with her; Lightning in 13-2, who ended chasing 'atonement' for some nebulous not-past—these are not Lightnings resolved by "lonely Lightning" or even connected to "lonely Lightning".

13 has 9 chapters of padding. The individual stories of Lightning, Snow, and Hope have very little to do with the main story of 13 (I only count Sazh because he can be considered a significant influence on Vanille) and their stories are essentially padding out the length of the game. "Tons of depth" do not exist in the individual character stories. The mythology is also far less deep than you claim, it is just the mountain of stupid decisions made by one of the chief figures in the mythology that stupefy the audience. Only a small part of the simple mythology makes it to the screen—because the actual mythology is so meager there is very little to show or explain. The claim of stories in the 13 saga being the "opposite of padded" is unfounded.

 

[Tathanen]

Man I gotta start blacking out on any LR internet talk. I'm way too easily influenced by negativity, I'm not gonna be able to handle all the 2/10 reviews and shit. I am pretty sure, knowing my tastes, that I'll have a pretty okay time with this game. As long as I don't have to hear the world chanting that it's horrible the whole time.

 

[Jolkien]

They already made it clear the game will have sequels (or prequels or whatever) and we know S-E is going this way for sometime now (XIII-2, LR and the rumored X-3), it's easy to expect them finally being able to execute their original *wada* plan, that is doing like EA does with CoD: two teams, same IP, yearly releases. I think it's finally the time to do it. They sort of succeded this gen the same way alternating XIII, XIV, XIII-2, ARR, LR: FFXIII but obviously with XIV 1.0 and FFVersus they screwed up big so in the end it came out with a flat execution. Next-gen hopefully starts better and while the quality of new entry I don't think will be any better than now (but remember, I consider these games exceptionally good), we will never see again bugged messes like XIV or forgotten games like FF Versus. It'll be smoother.

They also said the plan is to have a definite ending to XV but the other game will be in the same world. Hopefully with different people and they'll handle it like Ivalice and not XIII / XIII-2 / LR

 

[Jimmyfenix]

I look forward to tomorrow!

 

[ULTROS!]

Is the plat easy?

 

[robotzombie]

So really, for a person who only ever really cares about customization, upgrading, becoming more powerful, and an overally enjoyable battle system, will this game be good for me? All of the complaints and hatred coming this game's way seem to be directed at a general loathing of FFXIII (which I found really fun due to the battle system), hating that Lightning is being shoved down peoples throats, and the storyline.

Is it safe to say that my interests avoid what is making people dislike/be disinterested in this game?

Really I just want to customize cool outfit/battle set ups and tear into enemies while getting better costumes/weapons and such