The Final Fantasy XIII Thread
polycounter lvl 18
Anybody pick it up today (UK Release).
Playing it now, about 2 hours into it, and I have to say its impressive. Don't get me wrong, its not perfect, but its damn impressive, much more than I was actually expecting. What are your guys thoughts on it thus far?
Pros -
* STUNNING artwork - I'm playing the 360 one for chevos but even then its still stunning. Aside from the hair, you actually can't tell its not in HD. The level of detail in the cinematics is just mind boggling...
* Battles - Wasn't sure if it was gonna work, and I'm still not 100% on it, but the battles are fun to do. I'm still at the "only press A, dont you dare do anything else" stage bu the battles are a lot more fun than previous entries, almost back to FFVII in a way, which is good for me.
* Voice acting - For the majority of the characters, its spot on, really impressive. A few corny lines, but thats Japanese translations for you. Sugar and rainbows indeed.
* Moms are tough - No... Moms are HAWT.
Cons -
* The camera - Thankfully the game maintains a camera angle most of the time and it doesn't need to be moved, but often when you need to move the camera, to check a corner for an item box or something, its just horrid to control. Really bad.
* Movement - It just feels cheap, like your not part of the world, more so skating on it, almost tank like in control, nothing a precise as I would expect.
* Simplicity - This game FEELS like Mass Effect 2... I.e. they stripped everything out and down to its basic form. No more fun items you can find in a clock, or anything like that, everything is in clearly marked huge floating spheres. Shops are at save points, villages are goe, it all feels a bit too dumbed down to me.
* Vanille - She... Is... Just... Too... Damn... HAPPY... Seriously, shes making me feel like an emo. She bounces everywhere, shes got this cute voice that never sounds down, its mad, she MUST be on something...
Playing it now, about 2 hours into it, and I have to say its impressive. Don't get me wrong, its not perfect, but its damn impressive, much more than I was actually expecting. What are your guys thoughts on it thus far?
Pros -
* STUNNING artwork - I'm playing the 360 one for chevos but even then its still stunning. Aside from the hair, you actually can't tell its not in HD. The level of detail in the cinematics is just mind boggling...
* Battles - Wasn't sure if it was gonna work, and I'm still not 100% on it, but the battles are fun to do. I'm still at the "only press A, dont you dare do anything else" stage bu the battles are a lot more fun than previous entries, almost back to FFVII in a way, which is good for me.
* Voice acting - For the majority of the characters, its spot on, really impressive. A few corny lines, but thats Japanese translations for you. Sugar and rainbows indeed.
* Moms are tough - No... Moms are HAWT.
Cons -
* The camera - Thankfully the game maintains a camera angle most of the time and it doesn't need to be moved, but often when you need to move the camera, to check a corner for an item box or something, its just horrid to control. Really bad.
* Movement - It just feels cheap, like your not part of the world, more so skating on it, almost tank like in control, nothing a precise as I would expect.
* Simplicity - This game FEELS like Mass Effect 2... I.e. they stripped everything out and down to its basic form. No more fun items you can find in a clock, or anything like that, everything is in clearly marked huge floating spheres. Shops are at save points, villages are goe, it all feels a bit too dumbed down to me.
* Vanille - She... Is... Just... Too... Damn... HAPPY... Seriously, shes making me feel like an emo. She bounces everywhere, shes got this cute voice that never sounds down, its mad, she MUST be on something...
Replies
me too
Prozac. Every Final Fantasy game has at least one character who seems to be taking this shit. Still, I honestly doubt she's worse than Selphie - she was fucking NUTS.
I hate the control one person, rest are cronies in battle...
The cinematics are great! Selphie was worse...
Damn shame you had a choice, and picker the inferior one...Why? You must not like playing video games at their full potential? Hmmm, I can play this game in 720P/576p or 1080P...I pick the 1080p!
Anyway, I'm up to Chapter 3 and I can't believe how important "CP" is... Did they REAAAAAALLY not think that one through?
CP... Get it Wednesday.
Going to pick this one up next week with God of War 3
XD
Almost all multi platform games have a higher framerate on the 360. Generally the PS3 release is inferior. This is one of the rare examples that the PS3 version is better in some ways, runs at a higher resolution, but seemingly, with a worse framerate.
Anyway odium - I haven't played it. I might give it a try, it's been years since I've played a FF. They are a bit too on rails for me, and it sounds like this one is no different, but I might give it a try anyway.
Now, that is to say, -I- REALLY enjoyed FFX, so so far I'm enjoying this game quite a bit too. If some of you hated FFX, well, then I'd be a bit more weary treading into FF13 territory
Anyway, if you enjoyed any of the more recent FF's, or really love the amazing art, I say GET THIS GAME!
Oh, and Lightning is freakin' cool. I like Sazh a lot too, he breaks up some of the seriousness of the other characters well :P IMO, his voice actor is one of the best in a video game I've ever heard. You know when they have lines like, "blah, blah, but--" and they stop after the dash, before the next character has time to cut them off? Well, HE KEEPS TALKING until he's actually cut off! It felt like a dream come true for me... :P
They have a lot to live up to from FF12 - which i still play. I'm ok with the FFX correlations, and am a little uneasy about the FFX-2 similarities... but i did play through that one twice and kind of liked it
Some things are a bit sad...no real cities (well there are cities, but they are dungeons really...), no real NPC interaction (you can talk to exactly no single NPC...sometimes the mutter something when you walk past them...that's it), no minigames (there is an amusement park, but nothing to do there)... extremely linear, even for jRPG standards (there is one big area, and I think about 5 branching points total in the game...:poly121:)...the whole game seems to focus on speed...everything that could slow it down was removed...
The Battles are fun and fast, sometimes extremely frustrating...I would wish for an optional pause function (like in VII, when you chose your action, the ATBs are frozen)...it is really confusing...especially later when you have to manage up to 6 different class setups...mostly I used the Auto-Chain and only changed Paradigms...(the 'Slow' option for the Battle Speed doesn't quite do it...the only noticeable change is, that characters don't act simultaneously...which is sometimes extremely bad...don't use it)
Also I would like to have more control over the abilities my team mates use...one example...every character has a kind of ultimate attack using 5 ATB Segments, but the A.I. never uses them...it rather shoots out 5 lvl1 spells...also, why can't I summon the Eidolons of my team mates...why is it game over when the controlled character goes KO...the Battle System is lacking...a lot...amazingly it has managed to be too simplistic and confusing at the same time
Yes, they are :poly121:
Oh yes...the camera...it always tries to adjust in the direction your running...while it is ok most of the time, if you want to circle an enemy to find the right moment to strike an preemptive attack, it is really hard, if not impossible, to keep the enemy in view...
Jupp...
Oh my god.is that girl annoying...her walk animation alone drives me crazy...
Hell yeah he does!!
Im still waiting for my copy to arrive...... oooOOOooOooOooo!!!
Now I know what it's like when people talk to me hahaha!! ^_^ but I think her sunny disposition even outshines mine =P
I'm kinda getting the feeling like I'm walking through a gallery playing FFXIII, it's like a really long corridor with amazing views. I keep finding myself stopping for ages just looking around the environment - shame the crappy camera makes this activity pretty difficult and leaves me feeling a little motion sick.
Tho very linear I'm still enjoying it, at least it feels like you are constantly progressing forward in the story instead of mindless wandering where you're not sure where you're meant to be heading
Pretty. Vacant.
The hair is stunning, but the 8 sided arms and Quake3 fingers makes baby jesus cry.
Any suggestions or comparisons that would help me decide whether I would like it?
Waiting for my rental aswell...
Also these animations must be a joke!!! So terrible ...
And I'm going to jump off the bandwagon, and say that I ABSOLUTELY ADORE VANILLE. I don't know why, but every time she talks I become happy and find her the cutest thing in the damn world. And god bless the placement of her l'Cie tattoo, amirite?
--
EDIT: this is japanese, that didn't seem to bother me last night.. lol --> Only a matter of time before the English versions are up I suppose
(I thought it was 1080p, but apparently only 720p)
Anyway, these final fantasy games have gotten a little silly for me I think to try to play through. I might change my mind, but the stories and character interactions seem pretty flat to me. Maybe someone can explain why this one is an improvement over 10.
This game does look AMAZING though, but that's why I have these youtube vids...
Japanese voices with English subtitle ^_^
And website for downloading YouTube movies :
http://keepvid.com/
lol!! I thought the reaction Snow had was funny :P Something like... O.O! >.>... ok...
Don't worry, you're not completely off your rocker, I sometimes find Vanille cute too. Her random accent was unexpected, but kinda cute :P (I think the random accent is much cooler on Fang, though)
I thought I wouldn't like Hope much (too much of an annoying sissy), but he's actually growing on me a fair bit. Not sure how I feel about Snow though, he kinda needs to shut up about Serah once in a while, IMO...
I would play her as my main the whole game if I could just for that run cycle....^________^
Random encounters not so much, but I missed the worldmap since it was removed for FFX...I think Versus will have a worldmap again...at least it is planed to have one...hope SquareEnix puts out some new infos on that one, now that XIII is released...
So I started watching it ... the full CG scenes are gorgeous but anything ingame (battle and realtime cutscenes) are boring as hell! Hence I have another question ... Is there any website with the CG cutscenes only, in good quality, and preferably with jap voice/english subs?
I want to enjoy the art but not the boredom :P
Thanks!!!
That said, the games getting better now I have a few summons. Its still all closed off one way travel which sucks, but its getting better. Now that Hopes stopped crying like a bitch, that is.
I think it is far more technical and advanced than 10, which was more about micromanaging your individual players as classes, moving them in/out as necessary both to beat an encounter, and to get everyone experience for the battle. In ways, its more like 12 with strategy and learning fights - and less of the grind 10 had. I do miss some of the grind, but i havent gotten to the "full party" bits yet.
I dont know about combat seeming slow in 13 either... every battle ive fought has been extremely fast paced and chaotic, constantly switching paradigms to buff/debuff/chain/kill/heal. They toss a wrench into that with Odin, where if you go fast you die
Upgrading weapons is a fun little touch - i got used to selling all the junk you find in 12 that i almost started selling all the weapon components i had collected. Thankfully i didnt and was able to upgrade them a bit.
I both hate and love the gameover/retry system. I hate that if my char dies, its over - and you can't have the "epic recoveries" unless other party members die. It is super nice though, in that you can experiment without fearing a long reload time or long fight back. You can experiment and learn instead of feeling frustrated about it. I just wish they handled the party leader stuff similar to FF12, where party member "titles" were liquid and could change at any point in battle.
With that, i think it will encourage the use of fewer characters later in the game though... but since everyone earns CP regardless of being in the party - no one should be "underleveled."
I think its fun, its different, but its growing on me.
I dont get Vanille's accent... sometimes its Australian, sometimes its NZ, other times is lisp-y. There have been a few times so far where i want to punch her in the face, then she starts running around and I can't help but laugh. Lightning is a fucking awesome character, I dont think there have been super-ultra-strong female characters like her in FF's. Ashe from 12 was more stoic, Lightning is just a badass.
If I were picking all three commands, she could attack, attack, oh someone got hit, heal...attack, attack.
I do not like it all...
I have no idea why I'm here or what I'm doing... All I know is I've been walking on the same bloody platforms now for a few hours and its REALLY starting to bore me now... The games good when things are happening, but times like this I just want to smash my face against the pad...
Its so wrong that I would KILL for a cross dressing mini game where I have to impress the pimp, or even a small minigame where I have to do squats... I miss opening cupboards for items
Chests aren't hidden, they're floating magic technosperes that cover your screen with a FUCKING PRESS X TO OPEN THIS THING THATS FLOATING IN YOUR FACE, and "exploration" is more like "walk down this fancy corridor." Even as far as the crystal grid... they present it like "you have choices in directions to go" but you actually don't get any choices that will really affect your playstyle/character.
It feels like a oversimplified version of the core aspects of Final Fantasy, but becomes more technical merging and melding those all together. I wonder if most angst that we show for it is nostalgia, or actual good design. I feel 13 had great combat design, it is highly optimized. If thats still obnoxious and we like "busy work" in these RPGS... then i guess thats ok, different strokes i guess.
definitely not a "purist" final fantasy game, but i think it still sits pretty with the rest of them. Then again, I also liked FFX-2's combat, so yah
Also regarding Vanille's accent... it is
Yeah..that one was a tough meany...I think I had Rav/Rav (for quick Stagger) Com/Rav (Damage) and Com/Med (maybe even an additional Med/Med for fast healing...don't remember, but it might be a good idea
Walking against walls, spamming the x button...
Praying you'd find the best weapon in the game and all you ever found was a potion or maybe if you were lucky a phoenix down.
OMG Good times!
Haha, ME TOO. Ok, I understand people's beef with the game, but man, it had a GREAT battle system.
Piflik - Damn, I couldn't help looking at the spoiler. However, I WAS RIGHT.
Okay. Does anyone remember this one environment that basically took my breath away? (I really do mean this) It's when you're with Vanille and Sazh, just before you find out about this "Day 11". You reach this cliffside--and then your jaw drops, because you're gazing out at this expanse with beautiful rolling clouds, lush forrest grounds below, a shining lake, a gorgeous horizon... Oh my god. I have never stopped to look around at the scenery in a game this long. I found myself thinking, "I wish I had a camera". No joke. Funny, cause I kept hearing Sazh mutter in the background, "This is no time for sightseeing..." I DISAGREE, Sazh.
Freakin' blew me away.
I started out with a com/sab, buff up with protect & shell, and com to slow the Sagger bar down, then rav/rav until someone was 50%, the com/med to heal & slow down stagger bar again, repeat until buffs are wearing off. When you stagger him go com/rav, and time the attack so your attack x4 comes after Hope's spells, so you juggle him and not allow him to attack. Once Stagger is over, reapply buffs, and repeat rav/rav, com/med until he's staggered again.
Lost the first time because i didnt heal enough, and he did the super uppercut move to me and killed me
Really finding it crucial to start as com/rav, then swap to rav/rav to build stagger, and finish them off with com/rav. Generally gets you the highest rating & kills the fastest. I'm still having troubles with large groups of dudes, but its still fun
There have been some awesome vistas in the game so far, i love the transparent plants!
In this, I just go up..... It doesn't feel like I am doing any thing, just there for a ride.
lol kudos :P
Definitely recommend picking this title up guys, fantastic visuals included
I really didnt like 12 at all. If its on par with 10 thats a good thing then. Not as good as others in series, but good enough