Love or Loathe?

[ColdRoxas]

I am honestly less concerned that you think FFX & KH are bad (although still concerned) & more concerned that you think XII is high-class storytelling.

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[Neo Bahamut]

I am not adverse to starting an FFXII fight, I just wish I'd started it in the FFXII section.

[ColdRoxas]

I am not adverse to starting an FFXII fight, I just wish I'd started it in the FFXII section.

haha actually, i was more concerned that he thought KH and FFX had bad story telling but thats his stance so oh well.

[TWOxACROSS]

I'll drop in my stuff about the game, since it replaced VIII as my favorite. So...I love XIII.

As characters, others have already said a lot (Saint Vegas ), although with Lightning, I never felt like she was any parts Cloud. She was way more akin to Squall - cold, and militaristic in her duties (at the beginning at least). She wasn't entirely an insufferable bitch, but like one that you'll enjoy. Like watching House She grows throughout the story, but at the beginning, it's awesome to see her just be a bitch, because seriously? How often does that happen to a female character in a Final Fantasy. The only other disagreement I have is, as usual, Vanille and Fang aren't lesbians. The people who say that are jumping on the same train as calling Cloud emo. As you get to their story arc, you'll see why they are so close.

The gameplay is a lot of fun, but it's one of the polarizing things about the game. People complain about its linearity, but that's par for the course when it comes to the story (I'll explain later) - and when you look back on it, most of the Final Fantasy games (those with a story) put you on a fairly straight path for a more than 40% of the beginning as well. It's just under the guise of that Overworld map. Hell, people laud X, and that game was linear as hell, too. Anyway...combat. It's back to moving to a separate battle screen, and everything is really fast-paced. The Paradigm System becomes very fun to use once you get used to changing on the fly as the situation demands. People complain about the "Auto-command" because it oversimplifies combat, even though it only makes it a little easier at times. You don't HAVE to use the Auto option, but it does cut out some of the bullshit. You'll even find yourself still having to time your inputs with skills like Scourge available, and when to Paradigm Shift and all that. The different Paradigms are interesting, and fun to play around with. This, and Saboteur (Debuffer) is a godsend, along with the Synergist (Buffer). Debuffs are actually great in this game, and since you can change Paradigms on the fly, you never totally feel stuck having them in your party, because everyone has at least three roles. The Crystarium is like a less-dumb version of the Sphere Grid (I hated that thing so much). It's all prettied up to look like it is, but when it comes down to it, all you're really doing is using the Crystogen Points to purchase attribute upgrades and skills for a specific role. The only thing that having the Crystarium look the way it does is that it has some deviating upgrade paths that you can either tackle right away, or continue on the main path, and then come back to them later. No muss, no fuss. Weapon upgrading is a bit of a pain, because getting the components can take a while, and Gil is hard to come by. However, when you have everything you need, it's easy and a bit fun to break the system to get the max multipliers and whatnot.

Now, the story. Coming back on that linearity, let's look at a Final Fantasy - a game that is driven and controlled by its story. People complain that in XIII you don't get to chat with people, hang out in towns, and generally goof off. XIII is the story of fugitives on the run from a hi-tech society. Fugitives don't just stroll on into towns and shoot the breeze with the folk when their faces have probably been on every screen on Cocoon. The l'Cie also have a strict time constraint on their "Focus." If they don't complete it, or find a way to stop it, in time, they turn into monsters. No real time to dilly-dally and bullshit around when it comes to the story. A lot of really interesting growth happens with the characters. Hope slowly grows some balls, Snow gains some sense, Lightning brushes the sand out of her vagina, and the story arc about Vanille and Fang is a bit of a shocker. Sazh...Sazh doesn't really grow, as he's already a rational, totally manly character to begin with. He doesn't need to. He's not really a stereotype, other than the fact that he's black, and has an afro

As for graphics - they are in fact gorgeous. Of course, you'll only really be able to appreciate it if you have an HDTV, and even then, only if you play it on PS3

Now, I love this game, buuuuuuuuuuut it's not without it's flaws. I understand as per the story that your characters are split up in the beginning, however, I'd still like to be able to switch my party leader, even if I only have the choice between two characters. I'm also not a fan of the Party Leader KO = Game Over. It's not that big of a deal, though, it just makes you really watch out for your own ass. Also, the AI in this game that controls your party is really great, as it grows and learns, but I wish I could switch my party leader in battle, because sometimes there's something specific I want a character to do, like their Full ATB skill, that they just won't do unless I'm controlling them. However - these are minor gripes in a game that I still love.

*Phew*...too much writing this early in the morning >.<

[Narolf]

Fugitives don't just stroll on into towns and shoot the breeze with the folk when their faces have probably been on every screen on Cocoon.

Fugitives aren't supposed to stop their run each kilometer to have a chat either.

This argument was often brought up by the reviewers who defended the linearity and by Kitase himself but it remains inadequate considering the plot.

There is always a gap between the setting and the phases when you play in any J-RPG. The few exceptions coming to my mind are Majora Mask and the Persona serie in its whole.

Trying to justify a game's aspect over a setting's is a bad idea because there will always be incoherencies.

[Neo Bahamut]

Like watching House

That's--ahh--that's certainly a comparison.

Hell, people laud X, and that game was linear as hell, too

I generally agree with what you were saying here, but the biggest complaints I hear about FFX are (1) the laughing scene (2) Tidus & (3) linearality. Oddly enough, I typically call the License Board a "retarded version of the sphere grid."

*Phew*...too much writing this early in the morning >.<

If it's any consolation, it was the best case so far. I just wish I could hear from some people who are against it. Get both sides, you know.

[TWOxACROSS]

Fugitives aren't supposed to stop their run each kilometer to have a chat either.

This argument was often brought up by the reviewers who defended the linearity and by Kitase himself but it remains inadequate considering the plot.

There is always a gap between the setting and the phases when you play in any J-RPG .The few exceptions coming to my mind are Majora Mask and the Persona serie in its whole.

Trying to justify a game's aspect over a setting's is a bad idea because there will always be incoherencies.

Well, that's just how I look at it. I mean, of course they have to stop and take rests - which they usually do in uninhabited areas, plus, it's to help tell a little more story. That's a portion of the gameplay I'm okay with, because it makes more sense than popping into a town, playing jump rope with kids and then walking into people's houses to chat

I generally agree with what you were saying here, but the biggest complaints I hear about FFX are (1) the laughing scene (2) Tidus & (3) linearality. Oddly enough, I typically call the License Board a "retarded version of the sphere grid."

X isn't one of my favorites, but I'm looking past the hate train and forming my own opinion. For one, I can say that saying the game is horrible for that one, itty-bitty laughing scene is a bit much. There are other things that could be brought up for a liking or disliking of the game

[absolclaw]

I'm fairly certain that any long argument I'd type up is probably covered, so I'm just going to say that I enjoyed FFXIII, and that's all that matters to me, besides having people to talk about XIII with.

[Thiefcopy]

Everyone seems to complain about what an intolerable bitch Lightning is, but if she's anything like in DDFF, I don't see why. I don't know much about Sazh, but he seems cool. Everyone says he's some kind of racist stereotype, though.

Lightning seems to be hit or miss with people, I like her, and if you do in DDFF, then you will in 13. Sazh is sort of stereotypical, but he's good comic relief. At any rate, I don't see him as actually being offensive in any way.

Honestly, the graphics were a huge turn-off to me. I remember XII hyped its graphics up immensely & I got suckered into it, only to find out that was about all there was to the game. XIII seemed to be taking a similar route, so I was very cautious about it.

Well I suppose that's left to expectations then. I was expecting a lot, and I was pleased. Can't say anything for you, but I think it's gorgeous.

So what's the gameplay like? As I know it, you have a few jobs that you can switch between in battle, you only control 1 character, the other 2 are AI controlled, & the system is a bit like what Birth by Sleep employed (well, technically BBS is like XIII, but whatever).

You can set up paradigms with various roles, obviously everyone has a "best" paradigm, but you're not bound to it. It's much more fast paced, and learning when to switch between different setups is the key. Because you can customize who uses what in whatever setup, you can get by in a myriad of ways. The AI does a decent job, no complaints there.

Which of the past antagonists would you say he's most like?

As someone who's experience with FF games is fairly limited to 7 and up, I really couldn't tell you. He serves the bad guy purpose fine, but like I said, there won't be anything mind blowing.

Mindfuck sounds good. I'd like to know more about the story before I commit, but that would fall into "spoiler" territory. Thus, I cannot win.

Not really. "Fal Ce" are like gods, "Le Ce" are those who are used by them to complete a "focus". Add in Pulse at any point beforehand and it relates to the lower world Pulse. Still confusing when people talk about it, but as far as basic understanding goes, it's not too bad.

Edit: I just noticed this is several pages in, this has probably already been said.

[SquallXIII]

I already recommended it to alot of people, fans or not. Fast game, despite the slow beginning, amazing graphics/music, great character development, amazing battle-gameplay. The only thing that's missing are details; bonus stuff like small sidequests/minigames, and maybe a better look on the villains, as XII did, that would make this game the best in the series. Besides, it still remains a great game to me.