Final Fantasy XIII

[Elixir]

I'm going to go ahead and say that Blue Dragon is better than Final Fantasy XIII.

That's so wrong it isn't even funny.

[ZOM]

Tell me, despite all its flaws, is the game worth buying? Now that you know how the game is like, if you could go back in time, would you buy it again?

At first I was looking forward to this, but after watching videos on youtube, reading reviews and all the feedback people are giving, I think I'm going to pass up.

I'd buy it again for the sole reason that once you've gone away from the crappy part(read:80% of the game), I really really enjoyed it. In other words: the story-part is crap, but the sidemissions are great fun.
Though unlike most hating on the game, I very much like following:
I like that it's game over if the leader dies.
I like that they've done level-caps to get rid of those pesky kids calling JRPGs piss-easy just because they grind like mad, it's just too bad that in this case 80% of the game is still a bit too easy.
I like the streamlined approach for some things which cut down the needed hours per day of game"work" compared to other RPGs - e.g. I was happy that I could just get home after work and play another linear "let's run from the Sanctum"-strech for few hours and doing this daily.

I guess best advice is: Fuck the internet - it's a popular game, it'll get alot of hate, in this case much of it is justified but still... it's the internet, we are known for overexaggeration. Best thing to do is to check it out yourself.

[Zaarock]

In other words: the story-part is crap, but the sidemissions are great fun.

I thought the same of FF XII, found the story horrible there. This sounds good enough that I'll buy it eventually.

[Elixir]

I beat the game yesterday morning. I did a progress report after each session, you can read them here:

http://d.hatena.ne.jp/elixir68k/20100316/p1
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/elixir68k/20100319
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/elixir68k/20100323

And a bit of a review here, from someone who has actually beaten the game:

http://d.hatena.ne.jp/elixir68k/20100324

In short, I went in with no expectations and it was enjoyable. I'm still playing the post-game and it's actually quite fun, a lot of interesting stuff ends up happening (even if it really just is "go kill x") which isn't related to the story. I've come this far, I might as well continue until my next game shows up.

[Pirate1019]

And a bit of a review here, from someone who has actually beaten the game

This sentence would hold more weight if what you said differed at all from what anybody else has said about it.

[BryanM]

So I should just play through FF4 again? Perhaps one of the half dozen remakes? Or all of them?! Okay.

Oh Kain, when will you ever learn...

[Rob]

Crystarium system.

It is very tedious once the CP values get into the thousands (thwwwoooooooooooop +20 strength). It would be better if the stat upgrades happened automatically. Like someone is really not going to select every stat upgrade on the way to new abilities. It also looks cluttery as shit, and if I did skip something on accident going back to find it is a pain. The whole thing is nonsense and contrary to the positive streamlining in other areas of the game.

Interesting characters.
Interesting, realistic enemies.

What the.

No direct source of money for battles is a little annoying, even if a lot of items that are picked up can/should be sold. The resale value on items is ridiculous.

Only other complaint (complaints are all that matters ) - Hamauzu's soundtrack is disappointing. What happened to the guy from Saga Frontier II? At least it finally gave me a reason to listen to all 3 discs of Have One On Me.

[ZOM]

I liked Hamauzu's work on this one, well, at least I really like the more atmospherical tracks like the one playing in the cradle... The more "upbeat" stuff like the battle theme is garbage IMO.

[Elixir]

And a bit of a review here, from someone who has actually beaten the game

This sentence would hold more weight if what you said differed at all from what anybody else has said about it.

A lot of the stuff said on sites about FFXIII comes from people who couldn't review their way out of a paper bag. If you haven't completed a game, you don't deserve to review it. Reviewing should be work, a chore, not something you do for having messed with a game for a few hours. Funny, because I didn't find this as work, I didn't get paid for it or even needed to do it to begin with, I just wanted to.

There is a town, but of course, with no people in it. So people say that there's "no towns" in the game, which isn't exactly true. There's no towns with shops inside of them, that's true. People also say that the game is insanely easy to the point of auto-pilot, which isn't true, and only works on enemies you know you're well above their level.

Crystarium system.

It is very tedious once the CP values get into the thousands (thwwwoooooooooooop +20 strength). It would be better if the stat upgrades happened automatically. Like someone is really not going to select every stat upgrade on the way to new abilities. It also looks cluttery as shit, and if I did skip something on accident going back to find it is a pain. The whole thing is nonsense and contrary to the positive streamlining in other areas of the game.

I think the Crystarium system exists because everyone loved how FFX's worked. The system becomes much slower after you've dived into post-game since, obviously, they want you to continue playing it and continue improving your characters. Yesterday I actually managed to cast Death using Vanille on a Neochu (exactly like this) under Mission 55. This gives a very important item: the Growth Egg, which doubles all CP gained.

There's also a good grinding spot north west of the map, where there's a couple of enemies fighting each other. You'll always get a preemptive strike and with COM/COM/COM, I can finish them off in 6 seconds. With the Growth Egg, that's something like 13600 CP.

Interesting characters.
Interesting, realistic enemies.

What the.

No direct source of money for battles is a little annoying, even if a lot of items that are picked up can/should be sold. The resale value on items is ridiculous.

Only other complaint (complaints are all that matters ) - Hamauzu's soundtrack is disappointing. What happened to the guy from Saga Frontier II? At least it finally gave me a reason to listen to all 3 discs of Have One On Me.

The money issue apparently solves itself after you get into the later missions, but I haven't done so yet. The only problem I see with this is that, you're forced to use a guide in order to find out what weapons are upgraded with what stone/gem. It's either that or grind a bunch of enemies, sell a bunch of stuff, buy all stones and hope the weapon you're wanting to upgrade uses one of the ones you've bought.

[ZOM]

...The only problem I see with this is that, you're forced to use a guide in order to find out what weapons are upgraded with what stone/gem. It's either that or grind a bunch of enemies, sell a bunch of stuff, buy all stones and hope the weapon you're wanting to upgrade uses one of the ones you've bought.

That's partly true. I say partly because you just need different catalyst-components to upgrade a tier1 weapon to tier2. After that you'll just need a "Trapezohedron", no matter which character or what weapon, it's the same ctalyst for any of the tier2 weapons.

Example:

tier1 weapon (the one you find in a TreasureBall or in shops)
|
v
use a unique catalyst for the corresponding weapon
|
v
tier2 weapon (transformed weapon)
|
v
use a Trapezohedron
|
v
tier3 weapon (Character's ultimate weapon)


keep in mind that the ultimate weapon for each character has always the same name, no matter what tier1 weapon you use to build it, but also note that despite
having the same name, the ultimate weapon's stat change based on the starting weapon. For example Lightning's ultimate gunblade will always be called "Omega Weapon" but if it is stronger in ATK or MAG, or if it has special abilities, is up to the player.

[Skykid]

And a bit of a review here, from someone who has actually beaten the game

This sentence would hold more weight if what you said differed at all from what anybody else has said about it.

A lot of the stuff said on sites about FFXIII comes from people who couldn't review their way out of a paper bag. If you haven't completed a game, you don't deserve to review it. Reviewing should be work, a chore, not something you do for having messed with a game for a few hours. Funny, because I didn't find this as work, I didn't get paid for it or even needed to do it to begin with, I just wanted to.

That doesn't write off the general consensus of professional reviews though does it. We would hope that the reviewers are experienced with Final Fantasy enough to compare it objectively to the outings of the past.
I agree that with a game of this size that you need to clock a lot of hours up to properly be able to judge its merits because it can open up (that doesn't stop the initial 8-10 hours being stale though.)
But complete the entire thing? You'd be a useless reviewer if you couldn't make a judgment call on a seventy hour game prior to the end credits.

Your review isn't exactly comprehensive and yet it's still very critical. But you hate Tempest and obviously adore games of this type, so while some people (even FF vets) might find it an uninspiring chore, you'll get something more out of it simply because it appeals to you. That doesn't mean reviews like the Edge one are wrong, just that the flaws aren't such an issue for you as they may be for other people.

Personally it bored the shit out me.

[Pirate1019]

And a bit of a review here, from someone who has actually beaten the game

This sentence would hold more weight if what you said differed at all from what anybody else has said about it.

A lot of the stuff said on sites about FFXIII comes from people who couldn't review their way out of a paper bag.

And yet they came to 90% of the conclusions you did. I don't read reviews to hear people's opinions. Once you strip out "omg no towns fuck this", all of the reviews state the same facts.

I think the Crystarium system exists because everyone loved how FFX's worked.

And they've been trying to recreate the magic ever since, instead of trying to innovate character progression. In XIII you spend an unnecessarily long time fussing about with what it essentially 6 straight lines of progression. Even as early as chapter 7 you spend way too long in the Crystarium because of superfluous bullshit that could have been avoided.

thwwwoooooooooooop +20 strength, just like Rob said.

[Ruldra]

once you've gone away from the crappy part(read:80% of the game)

lol. If that much of the game is crap I can't really bother with it, can I? I can play other games with 0% crap in it.

This reminds me of what people told me when I said FFX-2 sucks: "You need to play the game 100% to like it". Too bad I can't play even 1%.

[Taylor]

That's just how long it takes for Stockholm Syndrome kick in.

[TodayIsForgotten]

Crystarium system.

It is very tedious once the CP values get into the thousands (thwwwoooooooooooop +20 strength). It would be better if the stat upgrades happened automatically. Like someone is really not going to select every stat upgrade on the way to new abilities. It also looks cluttery as shit, and if I did skip something on accident going back to find it is a pain. The whole thing is nonsense and contrary to the positive streamlining in other areas of the game.

I agree on this. I can't even remember the system in 10 but wasn't it you couldn't choose every path? I also agree and chuckled with your thwooooooop as i was expecting HUGE gains and so far from the systems i've upgraded that 400hp isn't that great. It seems to be less STR/MAG than tier 4. I could be wrong as i really didn't take notice. Going against the guide i was really expecting HUGE gains.

Overall, I was happy with the game. The storyline was a bit confusing and while was pretty solid in my opinion just seemed to stray off some. The game is good. Nothing great and nothing bad. I still don't like that it's dumbed down. Almost like a lara craft tomb raider game now.

[Skykid]

lol. If that much of the game is crap I can't really bother with it, can I? I can play other games with 0% crap in it.

This reminds me of what people told me when I said FFX-2 sucks: "You need to play the game 100% to like it". Too bad I can't play even 1%.

A lot of truth in those two lines.

If a games hasn't got any less shit after half-way through, you've guaranteed that it's a half shit game no matter what. Why don't you just play something that's all good?

[Dragoforce]

If a games hasn't got any less shit after half-way through, you've guaranteed that it's a half shit game no matter what. Why don't you just play something that's all good?

Because we need to play shit in order to fully appreciate the good stuff.

[ZOM]

If a games hasn't got any less shit after half-way through, you've guaranteed that it's a half shit game no matter what. Why don't you just play something that's all good?

Because we need to play shit in order to fully appreciate the good stuff.

That might've just been the wisest shit I've read on the internwebz.

[sjewkestheloon]

Playing the occasional piece of shit does cleanse the palette in some way.

As for FF13 I've been playing it for the last few weeks and I've really enjoyed it. I'm just about to break into chapter 10 and I'm looking forward to what happens there.

I'm a bit surprised to read all the hate about the story and characters as I honestly have enjoyed it so far. Sure it's camp melodrama but what JRPG isn't? It's definately one of the more stimulating stories to come out of a JRPG this generation.

Overall I like the ratio of gameplay to exposition. It gives you a little of each in turn over long stretches rather than, say, SO4's 3 hours of wandering followed by 1.5 hours of cutscene.

I was a little worried at the beginning where combat was serious autopilot but now it's a lot more tactical and variable than most JRPGs.

[StarCreator]

Count me in with people who enjoyed the game well enough the first playthrough - I went in expecting gorgeous eye-candy, and got exactly that. I doubt I'll be playing it again anytime soon though, even though I ended up importing that Chinese release that has the Japanese audio with English text (and can even load saves from the US version).

[linko9]

I actually quite liked the game too, and didn't really mind the linearity. The battle system was very good, and there was a decent character-customization system. I'm always happy when I finish a game, and then look online and find that I used a completely different character setup and battle strategy than most people. However, the game really stumbles when it attempts to open up, and deviate from game's linear structure. I'm speaking of course of pulse, which is cool at first, but you soon realize that all there is to do is complete missions (which have no variety), and grind. And for what? There aren't any cool secret bosses or anything.

Regarding the story, I was actually enjoying it for a while, but then they took is somewhere it shouldn't have gone. The last chapter makes almost no sense in the context of the story as a whole. What's sad is that they could have made it really cool, but chose not too.

[Specineff]

I myself get the feeling that if the game didn't have the FF moniker attached to it, it would have been bashed and dismissed as a mediocre RPG.

I still want to like it, but even Xenosaga II feels more interesting.

I'm a bit surprised to read all the hate about the story and characters as I honestly have enjoyed it so far. Sure it's camp melodrama but what JRPG isn't?

Panzer Dragoon Saga.

[Alan_01987]

I myself get the feeling that if the game didn't have the FF moniker attached to it, it would have been bashed and dismissed as a mediocre RPG.

I feel the opposite because the title was bashed intensely before release (SE hate, Console wars, fanwank, JRPGs suck and so on). Bashing FF13 is fine but there are plenty of flaws with plenty of games, What I hate is that many people like to polarize the games so much that it is either Masterpeice, or the worst piece of shit ever made. There is no "good", "enjoyable", "flawed".

[sjewkestheloon]

I myself get the feeling that if the game didn't have the FF moniker attached to it, it would have been bashed and dismissed as a mediocre RPG.

I still want to like it, but even Xenosaga II feels more interesting.

I'm a bit surprised to read all the hate about the story and characters as I honestly have enjoyed it so far. Sure it's camp melodrama but what JRPG isn't?

Panzer Dragoon Saga.

Honestly the Final Fantasy name doesn't make me all warm and gooey. Sure I've played through most of them once but I don't hold the series in higher regard than a number of other JRPGs that have taken chunks of my life.

As for Panzer Dragoon Saga, unfortunately I have never played it and I don't own a Saturn. I'm hoping that it will come out in some sort of retrospective pack in the future as I've heard nothing but good things.

As for FF13 I must say I enjoyed the Chapter 9 boss. Took me a little while to get the hang of it but it's now made my strategies a lot tighter.

[sjewkestheloon]

Finished the story today and was surprised at how much I liked the whole package.

SPOILERS!







However I thought that giving the 2nd 'last boss' an instant death move was bullshit. I don't have an accessory to reduce that, and I'm not even sure if one was available. I took him to about a millimetre of health twice only to have him pull that crap on me. In retaliation I poisoned him on an auto-sabotage prompt and watched his health plummet in seconds.

Also cleared about 15-20 missions so far and probably going to grind my characters to max so I get to see the crazy end bosses.

[drunkninja24]

Finished the story today and was surprised at how much I liked the whole package.

SPOILERS!







However I thought that giving the 2nd 'last boss' an instant death move was bullshit. I don't have an accessory to reduce that, and I'm not even sure if one was available. I took him to about a millimetre of health twice only to have him pull that crap on me. In retaliation I poisoned him on an auto-sabotage prompt and watched his health plummet in seconds.

Also cleared about 15-20 missions so far and probably going to grind my characters to max so I get to see the crazy end bosses.

There is an item to resist Death at the last save point before the bosses. I bought three and leveled them up, then it wasn't a problem.

[sjewkestheloon]

Must have missed the damn thing...

Missions are fun, but not very challenging for the first 30 or so. I thought I'd be getting punished by now.

[StarCreator]

Missions are fun, but not very challenging for the first 30 or so. I thought I'd be getting punished by now.

When I stopped, I was at a mission where I had to fight three Tonberrys simultaneously. After a couple tries at it unassisted (and I was probably underleveled and underequipped for the fight) I just lost interest. I'll probably go back and Odin-cheese it someday.

I'm honestly more likely to just start a new playthrough in a couple years though, since I went through the trouble of importing the Chinese version that has the Japanese voices and the English script after having played through the game with the NA version.