When I first played it, I finished Chapter Three… then got rid of it as it was just boring and too linear for me to continue. Now, having second thoughts about whether to give this a honest try and finish it before saying if I hate it or if I like it.
Anyone care to offer feedback about what they think of it, and if I should give it another shot, or leave it.
To help make it through the chapters until Gran Pulse, use a walkthrough. I’m doing that, although my reason for that is that I’m pedantic and fear that I’ll miss out hidden treasure chests.
I second this and recommend this to any gamer that wants to play FFXIII. I’m pretty sure that the producers were aware that they were producing a game that is a little more movie-like than game-like.
K. Although well, you can already ignore the main story and do the mission by then. But then, I’m not there yet. Right now I’m just about to start with Chapter 9.
Like Neg said, the story sort of picks up around chapter 10 (pretty sure that’s the one anyway). At the very least, that’s when it sorts itself.
It’s worth another shot, I guess.
This is the only thing that I agree with in regards to the whole "The story picks up around chapter X" complaints.
The game is very linear but the storyline is not. If the story was linear it would have started us off in Bodhum or some other place before the Purge takes place. So I wouldn’t say that the story picks up around chapter 10; instead, the player can piece it together around chapter 10 since the game starts us in the middle of the story. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there are tons of cutscenes on the way to chapter 10 that is part of the plot… If this was a play, we would be just are starting at "Act 3" instead of "Act 1".
So I really don’t get how the story picks up around chapter 10. I just see it as starting in the middle and that the player can’t clearly piece it all together until chapter 10.
It’s middling about the player’s pasts and them going WHAT’S OUR FOCUS, ZOMG DON’T WANT TO TURN TO CI’ETH/CRYSTAL.
I like it, but I can totally see why people hate it.
You’re right that it starts in medias res, though.
I’ll try again to play it, to see if I can get into it. Next Sunday I’ll post whether I’m going to get it again or if I was in the right to get rid of it.
Lol, me to. Friend had an incredibly hard time beating it despite the fact that I killed it in my first try and was only half paying attention.
On the game its self, I just beat it and thought it was great, not as good as the of the ones I’ve play but still good. Give it a chance, but if it turns out u don’t like, well, you don’t like it and that’s that. Don’t try too hard to play something that’s not fun just a waste of time at that point.
Why would it be consequential that you’d have 2 of Lightning’s weapons when fighting the last boss?
�_�
I LIIIIKE.
Haven’t upgraded any weapons yet, that’s why >.>
That, and my initial tactic was too flawed and for some reason I didn’t feel like consulting the walkthrough. Instead of hitting for massive damage when he was about to pull off Destrudo, I decided to heal and cast buffs. Cue instant death hit. Only when I consulted the walkthrough after having enough that I found out I’m supposed to hurt him as much as possible while he’s charging up.
TRY AGAIN~
penultimate final boss strategy:
Orphan’s initial attack. Com, Com, Med when he’s staggered. Sen, Med, Med when you expect a Merciless Judgment. Any other paradigms are optional.
Party of Fang, Lightning, Vanille with a full grid. Make sure Fang has Genji Glove, maximized Super Ribbon and maximized Seraph Crown.
The walkthrough will only help with obtaining the equipment, not beating the boss.
Why did I have to subject myself to that? I swear I had more fun watching paint dry or trimming my pubes (Watched Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, hence the reference) than what I did with this. I actually played up to Chapter 7 of it… and my reaction to this game is the same as my initial reaction.
I seriously have to question SE regarding what brainiac thought that this was going to be good. The XIII in the title should be a damn hint. XIII, Friday the 13th. Bad BAD BAD!!
I even found a review about this game online, and I have to admit I agree 100% with the reviewer, Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of Zero Punctuation:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1569-Final-Fantasy-XIII
I just really didn’t like it at all.
But well, you’re four chapters away from the point where it gets better. Maybe you’ll start liking it once you get there?
ive all ways had good luck on the 13th…
Had some friends who went through the same thing, got to chapter ten, then still didn’t like it. Your case might be different but… It seems unlikely.
I’m doing just that, although for a different reason (I have to get up at 8AM for work. My office hours are 9AM to 6PM. Then there’s the traffic issues getting to/from work. And I do have my own after-work activities, so by the time I can sit down in front of the PS3, I’ll only have two to three hours of playing time left). So yeah.
It might be a good tactic to try and then hold on until you get to said chapter. If said chapter still feels indifferent to you, then sorry, the game does not suit your tastes and probably never will, since apparently, once you leave Chapter 11, the game goes back to the linear interactive movie style gameplay and you can’t access Gran Pulse again until before the final showdown with the big bad.
I’m definitely buying it.
So when they criticise FF13, (though I’m not saying they didn’t enjoy it, or that 13 isn’t without its faults), they’re really just saying, ‘I don’t like JRPGs anymore/at all/more than WRPGs etc’.
Basically, it’s become a case of ‘Give us the greatest RPG ever, or don’t waste our time’.
FF will always sell well, because of the name and the memories people have, the hope that the series will come good etc. But it’ll never be respected again, unless Square can actually deliver a pretty near flawless, ‘Most Exciting Game Ever Made’ installment.
Because people simply don’t connect with the way JRPGs work and the way they tell stories anymore. FF13 was a decent installment, but it’s not going to go down as an all-time great.
And for a series this big, with so storied a pedigree, that counts as a fail.
So when they criticise FF13, (though I’m not saying they didn’t enjoy it, or that 13 isn’t without its faults), they’re really just saying, ‘I don’t like JRPGs anymore/at all/more than WRPGs etc’.
Basically, it’s become a case of ‘Give us the greatest RPG ever, or don’t waste our time’.
FF will always sell well, because of the name and the memories people have, the hope that the series will come good etc. But it’ll never be respected again, unless Square can actually deliver a pretty near flawless, ‘Most Exciting Game Ever Made’ installment.
Because people simply don’t connect with the way JRPGs work and the way they tell stories anymore. FF13 was a decent installment, but it’s not going to go down as an all-time great.
And for a series this big, with so storied a pedigree, that counts as a fail.
Pretty sad when a company keeps on releasing spinoff titles to keep audiences satisfied until the next big release, and then the spinoffs turn out to have been better than the big game. Maybe this is Square’s new calling.
If you actually have played it, fair enough (I seemed to recall you saying you hadn’t though). My point is that its pointless to just take the word of others on these things, because only you will know if you like a game or not.
‘All the fans’ apparently hate FF12, but you don’t (and neither do I). So why is it out of the question that it could be the case with FF13, as well?
In my opinion, FF12 and FF13 have been very good installments of the series, the best for years and years.
So why not at least give the game a chance to impress you, before you write it off? If you don’t like it, you can always trade it in for something else. How can you lose?
As to spin-offs. Well, I consider FFX-2 to be vastly superior to FFX, but then I hated FFX with a vengeance. And though I thought Revenant Wings was a bit iffy with character continuity from Ff12, I thought it was pretty solid.
But they are the only spin-offs, worth mentioning IMO. The crystal chronicles games are all awful, and the less said about that game with Vincent Valentine, the better.
Are you even a person????? X-2 was faff the story was worse than rolling in horse-shit, the gameplay was clunky and the characters over-sexualized. Softcore porn does not make a game.
The story in X-2 really isn’t as bad as people like to say it is. The political powers of Spira fighting for power after the defeat of Sin was enough to keep me involved. I understand why it wouldn’t be somebody’s cup of tea, though. What I don’t understand is how you can have any problem with the gameplay in X-2 at all. The game easily has the best battle system in the series for me. It’s fast-paced (no idea how you could think it’s clunky) and has a pretty good job system, which I am a sucker for.
The characters also aren’t as sexualised as people like to say they are. Yuna wore more revealing clothes, but I really don’t think she was sexualised in any way beyond that. However, even if they were highly sexualised, I don’t see why this would be a problem unless you were afraid your parents would walk in and catch you watching something like WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU
or the Leblanc massage scene
FFX-2 had excellent gameplay, and a light-hearted atmosphere that made for a superbly enjoyable experience. As for the characters being over sexualised, come on… It was all perfectly innocent, with the occasional playful nods to the slightly perverse.
And I’d argue that all JRPGs have that (hell most Jap products of all kinds – or haven’t you played Metal Gear Solid?).
And what about FF7? It’s the most famous JRPG of them all, and it has that cross dressing bit, (which isn’t even a side-quest – you HAVE to do it!)
The dating simulator element is weighted towards Aeris and Tifa, but you can get Barret (a guy) and Yuffie (an almost certainly underage girl), on the Gold Saucer ride.
I thought those bikini briefs were quite fetching, thank you..
Also . . . Cloud seemed a lot more ‘at-home’ in that dress than he did in his regular clothes. Just saying, maybe that part in the game revealed a little bit about him that he wouldn’t care to have acknowledged. FFVII is so full of innuendos it’s insane!
I had my reservations when I heard the rumours about XIII, but I was pleasantly surprised. I can’t guarantee you’ll feel the same of course (and I make no bones about it – the game has problems!)
But some of the cutscenes are worth the price of admission alone, IMO.
I remember the first time I was playing FF7, my mate told me the bit coming up at Don Corneo’s was ‘A bit like Leisure Suit Larry – but with swords’.
That’s when I knew I was onto a fine game…
Same.
They said that FFXIII was the "light" and versus was the "darkness" in terms of how they relate to each other. Personally, I’m hoping for versus to play like the opposite of XIII (making it feel more like a game than a movie) to reflect that.
1) Side-quests.
You’re confusing a lack of interesting side quests, with no side quests at all. Yes, they don’t show up until Chapter 11, but that’s actually not too rare.
Take FF7 – the vast majority of the side quests in that game, could only be accessed with the Highwind, and after you rescued Cloud (to reopen the Gold Saucer).
Most JRPGs wait until near the end (generally when you receive your airship), to put in side quests. The first half of the games, are usually always linear walks from A to B, with very little in the way of proper side quests.
The side quests in FF13 are unimaginative monster bashes, and the lack of character specific side quests for weapons, extra background info and new abilities is a shame.
But the game is quite clear that this is a game operating on a very specific timeframe. Unlike other games where you can justify the hours and hours you spend on non-plot tasks, FF13 has an ongoing, uninterrupted narrative.
Your characters are slated to turn into monsters at any moment, because of their brands – they don’t have time to mess around traipsing back and forth on fetch and carry quests, chocobo breeding or whatever else.
2) A good battle system.
You say this like it’s a given that FF13 doesn’t have a good battle system. But that’s just your opinion – lots of people have stated that they actually really like the battles, even if they don’t like anything else about it.
The criticism of ‘it’s just pressing attack all the time’ is both somewhat correct and utterly preposterous (because in the vast majority of JRPGs, it’s par for the course that you can win battles against almost any regular opponents by just pressing attack, including the heavyweights like FF7 and FF10).
It’s one of those cases where you either think its streamlined or dumbed down. I would argue that the public’s patience for drawn out battles has passed. Games need to move and play quickly these days.
3) Towns.
Towns are the bane of the JRPG! Yes, okay, sometimes you get an interesting one (usually a major plot city), but most JRPG towns, villages etc make you want to slit your own throat with the sheer tedium of them.
It all starts with that dreaded ‘Sleepy hamlet’ music that seems to play in every rural community in JRPGs. Then there is the legions of NPC villagers and townsfolk who you know will have nothing important to say, but because you don’t want to miss anything, you talk to every single one of them…
Towns are a place to buy weapons and that’s it. I wasn’t sorry at all, that FF13 cut them out. Easily available shops at every save point, and none of the usual agony spent exploring dull towns, full of even duller people.
4) Sub-Plots.
I’m not sure what you mean by this. I presume you mean character specific quests for unique gear and spells etc. If so, I covered it above.
5) Exploration – more than one way to go.
Again, the game does have a good reason why you can’t go exploring. I would point out that in games like FF7 and FF10, the game is largely just walking from A to B, usually along a straight road.
(The flip scre�en format of these older games, means they change camera angles, so it doesn’t feel so much like a straight line – but you are still only allowed to go in one direction).
From Midgar, you MUST go to Kalm, then to Chocobo Bill’s, Mythril Mine. (You can visit Fort Condor, but can’t do anything of note there), then it’s back to the straight line – Junon, Costa, Gold Saucer, Cosmo Canyon.
Exploring is only fun when there are actually good things to find, interesting scenarios, new locations etc off the beaten track.
I should point out that FF12 had huge scope for exploration in this way, and was villified by the FF community (it also had lots of side quests, towns etc!)
Look, the game has its problems, no argument there. But I don’t think any of the things you listed were all that harmful, especially in the context of the story.
I think what can be said is that it definately didn’t have that X factor, that the series really could have done with recapturing. THat special something that made you think ‘Yes, the series is back!’ when you saw it.
But regarding games needing to be faster. . . . That’s just because the average gamer anymore has the attention span of an infant.
:parrot: :zilla:
CC just said it best. Whatever gets you through the night~
in this case, he isn’t alone, by a hundred million miles.
In an attempt to (weakly) justify myself, yes, I do enjoy tipping the sacred cows of fandom every once in a while. It�s fun watching fans get militant and flustered in impotent Internet rage, posting screaming, incoherent diatribes online in retaliation. Once again, I think it all comes back to my own unique blend of hypocrisy and my self-effacing nature. For every Star Wars slam I make, I expose an irrational worship of the old sci-fi show Sliders. Every time I issue an Internet bitchslap against people arguing who the best Doctor is, I�m embroiled in another argument about whether Deckard was a Replicant, and getting in my trillionth argument about AD&D alignments in another forum thread. I�m a fan. My crusade is against blind worship. I love a lot of weird stuff, but I can still admit that it�s flawed. I don�t care that you love Doctor Who, but don�t try to claim that it�s never sucked. It has. It does. But real fans can still love something in spite of� no, because of its flaws.
That�s me. I love you guys, and you�re a load of flawed, screwed-up weirdos. But that�s okay. I am your king, and you are not alone.
I�ve raged against furries and weird transgender moogle porn, but damn it, this is America! You want to jerk off to Filthy Multitasking Quistis, hell, throw that picture on the ground, huddle up, and I�ll put five bucks on whoever can bust a nut on her face first. You are not stupid for seeking people you identify with. You are not an idiot for finding friends and feeling like you have somewhere you belong. Your particular brand of happiness might be pretty fucked-up, but you�re not fucked-up for pursuing that happiness. As long as you�re not hurting anyone, wave that freak flag high.
Believe me, there are a lot of things I don’t understand in this world. Plus, it’s hard sometimes not to think there is something wrong with someone for liking something that makes no sense to me at all, but I’m always going to try to keep that speech in mind, because it is so the ultimate truth of all situations.
jrpgs, represent~
The rest of the towns are rarely interesting in and of themselves. They only become interesting if they are major plot flashpoints, in which case they get more attention and detail (Deling City in FF8 for example).
But when locations aren’t directly tied to the action, they tend to get short changed. FF12’s Arcadia is extremely dull, considering its the capital city of the game’s ‘Evil Empire’. And what about Nalbina Fortress – an alleyway and a yard!
Esthar from FF8 is also guilty of this. Yes, there’s the initial ‘Wow – get this place!’, but it quickly gives way to screen after screen after screen of walkways with absolutely nothing of interest.
You’re soon desperate to get out of there, and go somewhere where things actually happen!
What I’m saying is that I don’t object to towns and cities, but they can quickly get really, really boring, unless they have major plot events or plenty of interesting side quests to do in them.
In a lot of games, you just have to put up with it. You need places to buy new gear, and that means either fudging it and letting you buy equipment anywhere (like with that magic abacus guy from Jade Empire or FF13’s terminals) or you have to visit a series of dreary towns.
Going back to the story for a bit, I’d just like to say also that I disagree strongly that the game ‘only gets good from Chapter 10 onwards’.
It’s true that Chapter 10+ see an upswing in the gameplay (you finally have your full team together, can select leader and party members, have all the paradigms, side quests come in, diffculty increases sharply etc)
Which is all to the good, but some people insist it’s the case with the story (and also claim the 9 Chapters leading up to that are uniformly poor). That wasn’t my experience at all.
If anything, I found Chapters 10 and 11 very dull indeed, storywise. Together with Chapters 4-6, they are the weakest chapters in terms of the storyline.
For the record, I enjoyed Chapters 1-3 very much, although as I said earlier, they do require you to read the Datalog to make much sense of them.
Chapters 4-6 are pretty awful. Endless truding about in a variety of locations with no real idea what’s going on. Sazh and Vanille work well together as characters, but they’re awkward as hell to use together in game.
Lightning and Hope are a much more formiddable team, but their level in the Whitewood in Chapter 5 is very poor.
Chapters 7-9 are the best in the game IMO. The party comes together, several major plot issues are resolved, and it all leads up to a fight across the enemy battleship that has some great locations and set pieces.
It’s galling therefore that Chapter 10 is so awful. Apart from what is probably the best boss fight in the game, it’s like playing the thrice accursed Library from Halo 1!
Chapter 11 has a great opening Cutscene, but is an utterly pointless level (again, storywise – it’s the best for actual gameplay).
12 is okay, but not as great as the opening cutscenes suggest it will be. Still quite good, but you feel that in older FF games, this would be the kind of thing that ended a disc, not ended the game.
Chapter 13 is okayish, but it feels a bit like something from Shin Megami Tensei, rather than FF. I enjoyed it, but I was annoyed that only Fang and Vanille were all that important, given that it was the final Chapter and all!
Yes. The battle systems were fine at the time but they have aged horribly. You haven’t got much of a point when you say people who played the games at the time were fine with their battle systems. For example: people liked Deus Ex a lot when it came out but it’s pretty much unplayable these days.
WINK WINK
Old games didn’t have access to the new technology of today, so they will feel dated in many cases. That is no fault of those games. It doesn’t however excuse systems that were poor even at those times.
I would argue that FF8’s Junction system for example, was far too fiddly. The way they made you have to draw spells for hours, to enhance your stats (which also discouraged you from actually casting them!), was just awful.
And there are many who argue that FF13’s battle system is simply a less interesting version of X-2’s system.
CC just said it best. Whatever gets you through the night~
in this case, he isn’t alone, by a hundred million miles.
Believe me, there are a lot of things I don’t understand in this world. Plus, it’s hard sometimes not to think there is something wrong with someone for liking something that makes no sense to me at all, but I’m always going to try to keep that speech in mind, because it is so the ultimate truth of all situations.
jrpgs, represent~
Thanks Neg. 🙂
And Chewey, I get what you’re saying, but that’s your opinion, not mine. I happen to love the old FF games, as well as the newer ones (i.e. the whole series). I don’t dislike any of them. You like Pok�mon, I don’t; that’s how we all differ. The little things like that make us individuals. So just don’t worry about my tastes in gaming; at least we both enjoy FFIX! 😀
Basically, I like the old FF games too. That doesn’t mean you have to like the battle systems though. Even at the time I played them despite the battle systems, not because of them. I don’t understand how you could think mashing x through slow battles is good gameplay at all. I certainly don’t like it in Pokemon, which I’m kind of a fan of (I only really play Crystal anymore). If I ever do play a Final Fantasy or Pokemon game, I have to play them on an emulator so I can speed through the tedious battles. They simply aren’t fun/engaging/whatever at all and that has nothing to do with a person’s attention span.
Also I agree that FF13’s battle system is a much less interesting version of the FFX-2 battle system.
Another thing to factor in; I’ve played FFIV since I was four years old. At that age, if you do anything enough, it can become ingrained into your brain for life. In that case, yes, the whole FF mechanic became something perfectly normal for me–just as normal as playing Zelda, or Mario, or anything else. I never once questioned it or thought it was strange. And I can openly admit, I probably would not have gotten into these games had it not been for that. I can clearly understand where somebody would dislike them, because when I put myself into the position of having never played them from a young age, it makes crystal clear sense to me.
Another thing: the storylines. I dunno about you, but I happen to enjoy those aspects of the games, and perhaps the reason most of us put up with the gameplay is for the sake of finding out what happens next. Of course the first three aren’t so story-oriented, but so what? I’m one who enjoys them either way. Other people are like that as well. Sure, the stories were simpler in the older titles; mainly V. That’s why I really haven’t ever gotten into V that much. I did manage to get thirteen hours in, but I just can’t be bothered to continue. It doesn’t interest me. Mainly because the graphics royally suck, the battle system feels very clunky, the music ain’t that great, and the story is boring. So I guess when it comes right down to it, maybe I don’t love every FF title 100% equally; FFV is the weakest link for me. But even still, I do plan on trying to master it one day, because the job class system, while done better in III, still does hold some interest even for V.
I guess what I’m trying to get at is . . . yes, I get why people wouldn’t like the series, or many other JRPGs. But for me, there’s other aspects that help to make it a worthwhile experience. But that does not mean there’s something wrong with me simply because you don’t feel the same way; all it means is that our opinions are different, and there’s nothing wrong with that. So just don’t worry about it 😀
Towns are awesome. What they do is give you a chance to say "I want to take it at my pace" you can keep moving forward with the narrative if you want or you can shop, talk to NPC’s, do side-quests etc. It’s breathing space. As I’ve said before- if, for the story to make sense, important aspects need to be sacrificed then the story should be different. Nobody forced to SE to tell that story.
With regards to exploration, yes you are right. At the beginning of the games it is- go to A then to B without much chance of starying. BUT, 99% of dungeons, towns, caves etc. in older FF games had at least one turning…. not just a single road. Essentially FFXIII is an RPG with the level design of a dated FPS. Even saying that every FF had secret areas available in the latter stages of the game that could be explored. FFXIII has something like two secret areas, and I say secret loosely. It’s hard to hide something in a two meter wide corridor.
I like the older battle systems, against regular enemies perhaps they are a tad too slow but I still enjoy the battles. Against tough bosses I really like it though, it requires strategy and thought. My favourite battle system is XII’s. It is perfect.
I.e with Gambits set for everyone, you don’t even need to press X to attack. All you have to do is walk around, and in 95% of the game, you won’t need to actually do anything at all!
Because most battles really only need you to attack normally. As long as your Gambits cover the following:
1) 1 party member at least must have a ‘if member falls below HP X, use Curaja etc’.
2) give each member a Gambit that tells them what to do against flying creatures
and
3) give each member a gambit that tells them to attack nearby enemies.
And that’s all you need. The only time the game requires your attention is to keep an eye out for status ailments (and of course, you can automate that too, if you like).
So let’s not quibble about FF13 have a win button, when FF12 has a ‘win button that can set to be pressed all the time’!
And much though I love the game, FF12’s system is completely unsuitable for boss battles. It sucks all the individuality out of them, and has by far the worst boss encounters of any modern FF IMO.
Not because the enemies are bad or the situations are bad etc (I particularly like the Garuda, the various fights against the Judges etc).
But because the named attacks are harder to spot and don’t have the same ‘Wow!’ effect in such open field combat. It robs the bosses of individual charisma.
The camera is also an issue. For bosses in earlier games, the camera is set by the director to give a clear view, but make the boss look impressive. In open field combat with a (semi) controllable camera, bosses just look so much more ordinary than those from other games.
And there’s the fact that every boss (every one) simply needs you to buff up, then pile in with combat attacks. And it works for every boss in the game, no thought required.
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