OT: Anyone else snag FFXIII?

[blargh]

If I absolutely hated VIII, IX, and X, is there any hope for me in enjoying anything about this one? (I'm dead serious. This is not a troll post.)

 

Maybe. From what I'm reading it throws out many of the FF conventions that have been kicking around since 16 bits.

[RiffDaemon]

Maybe. From what I'm reading it throws out many of the FF conventions that have been kicking around since 16 bits.

 

 

Thanks, guys - that answers my question. Still, I might rent it sometime to see if it strikes a chord with me.

[cbc83]

Impressions after 6-7 hours of play

- Vanille is horrible, but you're eventually able to tune her out. I can tell she has a part to play, though.
- Characters are okay, pretty good voice acting so far
- Story hasnt really taken off yet, but thats okay. Its setting the mood before, I expect, blowing up in your face
- Combat is frantic, challenging and fun. Bossfights arent necessarily a walkover anymore. Nice with a "retry" system.
- Thumbs up for ratings for battle performance. Really makes you put in the effort on every fight
- The paradigm system works. You cant get 5 stars on fights without utilizing it.
- Crystal system is shallow and not really necessary. Not nearly as deep as the Sphere grid from FFX, even if they look the same
- Yes, its very linear, but it doesnt bother me at all. You dont play FF games for open-world fun'n'games. Go play Oblivion or Fallout 3 for that. Instead you get a really tight, focused story.

I'm playing it on Xbox360, and I have no quarrels with the graphics. Great emotion in the faces, awesome environments, good animation. Great music too. Gotta love the bluesy harmonica theme they play sometimes

As with every other FF game, you cant give a verdict after 6-7 hours, since the game will be 40+ hours long, probably.

[Illuminatus]

This game better be good, the last 4 FF's were boring as {censored}, im actually looking more forward to the new dragon's age than this.

[KCTigerChief]

Man, I'm a visual type guy and I just went through the opening scene and this games visuals are top-{censored}ing-notch...I just played Heavy Rain for the past 2 weeks and this is right on par with that...Two different animals, apples/oranges, because Heavy Rain is more into looking "real life" and FF is still a cartoon afterall, but man it looks great...The scenery is intense!

 

BBL, going to go geek out for awhile

[Extasyguy]

between the idea that Square completely gutted the game's graphics in the less than a year between demo release and japan street date; and the idea that console fanboys are just {censored}ing irrational kooks, ill go with the latter

When all else fails....bust out the fanboy card

[Extasyguy]

If I absolutely hated VIII, IX, and X, is there any hope for me in enjoying anything about this one? (I'm dead serious. This is not a troll post.)

 

 

 

Well this one is by the exact same team that made 7 and 10 (my favorite) so..

[mike moriarty]

I {censored}ing hate gay RPG's.

[FearTheVoices]

ps3 = better cpu
360 = better gpu

360 wins it is able to give you better and clearer textures with higher anisotropic filtering and smoother frame rates at those higher settings. The antialiasing is much better on the 360 also.

[blargh]

[Phishmonkey]

ps3 = better cpu 360 = better gpu 360 wins it is able to give you better and clearer textures with higher anisotropic filtering and smoother frame rates at those higher settings. The antialiasing is much better on the 360 also.

Except the PS3 version of this game is clearly better

If you're that insecure about your dick size go play Bayonetta while laughing at all the PS3 owners who got the inferior port

[TurboRotary13b]

 

ps3 = better cpu 360 = better gpu 360 wins it is able to give you better and clearer textures with higher anisotropic filtering and smoother frame rates at those higher settings. The antialiasing is much better on the 360 also.

 

 

In a real world application there really isnt much (if any) of a noticeable difference between the two. Regardless why should anyone care at this point? They have both shown that they are capable of producing amazingly detailed graphics while maintaining a smooth frame rate. Thats what really matters.. Not technicalities on paper.

[Extasyguy]

 

ps3 = better cpu 360 = better gpu 360 wins it is able to give you better and clearer textures with higher anisotropic filtering and smoother frame rates at those higher settings. The antialiasing is much better on the 360 also.

 

 

PS3 doesnt need the greatest gpu out there. The combo of Blu Ray( redundant data acts like RAM, less compression to tax the cpu), CELL =8 3.2 spu processors, and standard built in hard drive all across the board make the PS3 way more advanced at the end of the day.

 

Who cares which specs looks better on paper, the games alone are testament to the PS3's superiority.

[DeadNight Warrior]

FF 12 was really non linear, but it wasn't really a typical Final Fantasy game either I'm not sure if I'll pick it up. I've been trying not to buy new games now and there are others I've been meaning to get that are less likely to disappoint.

FFXII was just as linear as any of the others. You might get to wander about and do side quests, or go on those hunts or whatever, but they've got no bearing on the story, which is just plain linear. Same goes for VII or X or the old SNES ones or whatever. The story in a FF game only ever just moves forward. That you might get to wander about in towns and race chocobos or whatever doesn't really make it non-linear IMO.

The difference with XIII is that it seems the first portion of the game doesn't have that free roaming option, so everyone thinks it's more linear than the previous games.


This is coming from a huge FF fan by the way. If anything, the linear nature of the games is probably one of the big things I love about them, because it lets them really develop a strong story that just sucks you in, rather than some tedious bull{censored} that gives you a million different options that probably don't really count for much anyway.

[blargh]

This is coming from a huge FF fan by the way. If anything, the linear nature of the games is probably one of the big things I love about them, because it lets them really develop a strong story that just sucks you in, rather than some tedious bull{censored} that gives you a million different options that probably don't really count for much anyway.

exactly...
Fallout 2 is what I'd call a non-linear game. You can go anywhere, kill any character in the game, potentially breaking it, or beat it in like 20 minutes without cheating if you know what to do. But so much open endedness doesn't lend itself to much of a compelling narrative. It's a great game, but I'm not sure why non-linearity is considered some kind of inherent virtue

[zac503]

Would anyone here really call themselves a JRPG Fanatic? I have a feeling I probably fit that description somewhat the best. albeit I bet there are people who've beaten some games I haven't.

I have quite the collection of PS1 and PS2 games

[blargh]

Would anyone here really call themselves a JRPG Fanatic? I have a feeling I probably fit that description somewhat the best. albeit I bet there are people who've beaten some games I haven't. I have quite the collection of PS1 and PS2 games

i hate JRPGs for the most part this one's kind of perked my interest since they seem to have done away with grinding and other tedious JRPG bull{censored}. seriously, no game should ever have a boss that takes 3 real life hours to beat.

[Phishmonkey]

exactly... Fallout 2 is what I'd call a non-linear game. You can go anywhere, kill any character in the game, potentially breaking it, or beat it in like 20 minutes without cheating if you know what to do. But so much open endedness doesn't lend itself to much of a compelling narrative. It's a great game, but I'm not sure why non-linearity is considered some kind of inherent virtue

 

I don't think anyone has a problem with linearity, its just that images like this caught some people of guard. The game literally moves in a straight line for a long ass time. Then people started over thinking things without realizing how linear most of the games they play are

 

[DeadNight Warrior]

exactly... Fallout 2 is what I'd call a non-linear game. You can go anywhere, kill any character in the game, potentially breaking it, or beat it in like 20 minutes without cheating if you know what to do. But so much open endedness doesn't lend itself to much of a compelling narrative. It's a great game, but I'm not sure why non-linearity is considered some kind of inherent virtue

Yep. I tried getting into some of those big open world style RPGs, but they just don't work for me. I never get sucked into the story, and after a while of wandering around doing little side quests and whatnot, I start to wonder just why the {censored} I'm bothering with the game at all.

I'm thinking those complaining about the linear nature of the game are maybe coming from a different RPG background. It's not just FF that's linear; JRPGs in general are basically all about telling a great story that just goes start to finish, without any bull{censored}ting about with having options in the story 'n' whatnot.

[DeadNight Warrior]

Well by that standard Fallout 3 is just as linear. The main storyline is just go here, go here, go here and kill this guy etc. Unlike the other games FF XII had some worthwhile things to do outside the main story with the hunts and side quests. It wasn't Fallout, but the game wasn't entirely based on the main plot (and chocobo racing)

Well you're right about that, games are pretty much inherently linear. To develop a truly non-linear game would be pretty mental I'd imagine. Or just entirely pointless (like that bull{censored} where you basically live, except on the {censored}ing internet ). A game has to have a direction for it to go anywhere, just some games give you options along the way as to how it progresses. Mostly, they're pretty limited though. Mass Effect's an example of a game giving you options that don't really account for much.

These days, a non-linear game is really still linear, just that it gives you different options how to get to that same point. A JRPG generally doesn't even do that. Again, XII did have some fun stuff to do on the side (I think I did most of those hunts, from memory), but it doesn't have anything to do with how the story progresses. The story itself is entirely linear, just that the game lets you take a break from it at times.

[RiffDaemon]

seriously, no game should ever have a boss that takes 3 real life hours to beat.

{censored}, that reminds me of Breath of Fire. The boss fights at the end got comically long.



(Though that was a looooooong time ago and I was probably doing it wrong )

[RiffDaemon]

Would anyone here really call themselves a JRPG Fanatic?

I used to be

.... until I found a game called "Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn", which introduced me to the lovely world of D&D. Then Everquest came along and {censored}ed me proper.

Still love the old JRPGs, though. I think I'll tackle Dragon Warrior IV on the NES after my vacation this week

[Extasyguy]

Linear games are fun, especially if you dont have the amount of time you used to when you were younger.

The combat in FF13 is strategic, to the point and addicting. Alot of the more open world rpgs are the same way but in reality they are just dice-throwing in graphical form. In FF (13 especially) I feel more in control of my decisions and the outcome of the battle.

If you want a western, open world rpg like Mass Effect or Fallout 3 then you have those games to play. If you want a more strategic,tight (if maybe linear), super flashy game with awesome music and crazy eye candy, you got FF13.

[missingastring]

I hope this gets better. I quit after an hour of walking and pressing X.

[DeadNight Warrior]

I hope this gets better. I quit after an hour of walking and pressing X.

Things'll get more interesting once you get to using the paradigm system and upgrading your characters. Not long after you get into that, the battles get more interesting.

I actually died once coz I was just pissfarting about and not really paying enough attention (3-way battle, obviously picked off the wrong targets first )... which was a bit of a moment for me, coz it's usually pretty damn hard to die in the normal course of a FF game.