Did FFX have a traditional leveling system? I'm pretty sure it didn't. It allowed you to get points to add to your Sphere Grid, but it didn't level you up. I'm curious to hear how they handle weapons/accessories in this game. FFXII was a bit more traditional (which I liked) while FFX didn't tell me what was an improvement over my current gear.
Also, God of War III's date is supposed to be revealed next week. There's this huge embargo that ends on Monday for it. I've heard 2 dates: March 9th and March 16th.
Amazon has March 31st for GoW 3 and March 9 for FFXIII.
I think it would be sort of foolish to release GoW 3 almost on the same day as FFXIII... Not that the 9th to the 31 is such a huge gap, but it's still 20 somthing days apart.
[quote name='y2kenjination']I'm near the end of chapter 7. The game just keeps getting better from chapter 4!
Tell me about it. March is going to be a brutal month for me. I plan on picking up:
3/9 Final Fantasy XIII NA version (yes, because I'm crazy like that)
3/9 Resident Evil 5: Desperate Escape
3/25 Hokuto Musou
3/30 God of War III
3/30 Mega Man 10
3/31 Dead Rising 2
3/31 Super Street Fighter IV (if it comes out before April)
3/31 Yakuza 3
I'll probably have to hold off on God of War III and Mega Man 10. Too many games. The month prior, I'll be buying Star Ocean: The Last Hope International and Heavy Rain. >_
[quote name='y2kenjination']Honestly, I might not be the best person to ask about the game. Why? Because I'm pretty much loving everything about the game that people are complaining about. I'm now 25 years old. Back when I was 12, my tolerance for RPG's was much higher. I could sit through hours upon hours, level grinding and dungeon crawling. Trying to complete every little side quest to get the perfect save file. I used to be a completest, but not so much anymore. Nowadays, my patience for RPG's, or games in general has been waning. While a lot of gamers these days complain about games being too short, I found games such as Uncharted 2 and Bayonetta to be the perfect length (13-17 hours). I no longer have the time nor the patience to sit through a game for hours on end. Especially when something such as a traditional jRPG seems so dated in my eyes. I've been trying to beat FFIV DS for like the past year. I'm near the end, and can only play it in small increments because I get bored so fast with the dated battle system. Yes, I enjoyed it when I was like 12, but not so much nowadays...it's unfortunate, I know. I've been feeling the exact same way with Lost Odyssey as well (35 hours in, but no motivation to finish it).
I also cannot stand open-ended sandbox games. I tried to play Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect, and just stopped caring because I didn't know WTH those games wanted me to do. I hate having too much freedom, and a lack of direction. I still prefer very linear games that take you from point A to point B. With all of that said, I'm really digging FFXIII. Yes, the game has been super linear so far. However, I think Square has really cut all the bull and just gotten straight to the point. They've focused on the things I care about when it comes to a Final Fantasy title: A solid cast of characters, a memorable plot, robust battle system, and beautiful cutscenes/graphics. No longer do I have to waste time going from town to town, trying to gather information. No longer do I get sidetracked with stuff that's not relevant to the plot. I just want to be told a story, and be given a cinematic experience. It's what FF has always excelled at. Someone from another forum said that FFXIII is basically Uncharted 2: the RPG. I couldn't agree more with him. While the game is essentially "on rails", I'm really enjoying the cinematic experience. I already have a feeling that the game's going to be one of the more memorable FF's, and will have a lasting impression on me.
I wouldn't say that the battles are straight forward either. The optima change (or paradigm shift) system really adds some depth and strategy to how the battles play out. I've already died a number of times due to my rashness. The boss battles are fun as hell, and take a really long time, due to some of them having a couple million HP.
I applaud Square for taking risks with every new FF entry. The battle system has come a long way, and has made me think, "this is how a modern RPG should play like nowadays". I'd love to see an FFVII remake with XIII's battle system. I've always welcomed Square's changes with open arms, and don't consider myself an FF purist. It's probably why I can enjoy each new entry in the series (other than the abomination that was X-2). It's funny that most of the X-2 team developed XIII. My, have they come a long way.[/QUOTE]
I'm 23 and I completely can relate to everything you just said. 80-100 hour epics are just so intimidating. I want to keep things like my full-time job and my social life. Although I gotta say, when you (we) were 12 RPGs were half the length they are now.
I'm glad people can relate to me. I thought I was the only one who felt this way about games nowadays. My job and social life take priority over games. It's no longer like when I was in the 7th grade, where I went straight home, and could play a game for 8 hours straight.
[quote name='mykevermin']Wow, dude.
I just finished chapter 5. the boss at the end of that chapter was super tough
koijinshan
.[/QUOTE]
Hm, I don't remember...could you describe the boss? Haha.
I remember putting 65+ hours into The Legend of Dragoon...those were the days. Granted, I put 62+ hours into Fallout 3 and I'm gearing up to play through it again from the start (this time with all the DLC) but it's very rare an RPG this generation lasts more than 10-15 hours for me. I'm referring to my interest in the game, not the total length to complete.
I'm looking forward to FFXIII though, perhaps not quite as much as my girlfriend, but the linearity is actually appealing to me for the reasons you guys stated above.
I'm kind of on the fence with this game. I tend to enjoy a broad range of games from different genres and RPGs are one of my favourite genres.
All this talk about how different FF13 is, is kind of putting me off. I really hated FF12. I played it and almost beat it, all the while detesting it. I hated the lame characters, the story was awful, the combat sucked, the world/environment/locales really sucked. If FF13 is anything like 12 then I will most likely detest it.
There are some positive things I've read about FF13. The lack of towns is great. I always hated wasting time in towns and needing to talk to useless NPCs to progress. The combat seems more fast paced which sounds cool, though I dislike the fact you only control one character. The linearity isn't a problem with me because I tend to not search after unimportant sidequests.
[quote name='Gamin_Guru']All this talk about how different FF13 is, is kind of putting me off. I really hated FF12. I played it and almost beat it, all the while detesting it. I hated the lame characters, the story was awful, the combat sucked, the world/environment/locales really sucked. If FF13 is anything like 12 then I will most likely detest it.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like XIII might be right up your alley, then.
I also didn't like any of the characters in XII (Except for Balthier, and Ashe design wise). I thought the plot was boring, and overly convoluted.
I'm 20 hours into XIII, and so far, I'm loving every character in the cast, the plot is quite good, and the environments are amazing/breathtaking.
I'm not riding the high horse as much as you now, kenji.
The battles are hit or miss, for me. There are more incremental leaps in difficulty from battle to battle based on who you have in your lineup than anything else. Or perhaps I stink.
Chapter 6, when you were just Snow and Hope? Dear ing God, Hope was positively useless and ate up no fewer than 3-4 of my Phoenix Downs.
The game is very repetitive - I'd say you can spam through about 70-80% of battles without using Optima Shift at all. So you more or less just push "X" a few times over 50 seconds and win a battle.
On the other hand, some battles require strategy, Optima Shifts, buffs, debuffs, and well-timed spells. But they are very few and far in between.
I just started chapter 8, and I'm going to put some more hours into it today. I don't hate the game by any stretch, and I don't think it deserves the 4 it got by a long shot.
But I can tell people are going to hate it, call it repetitive, and stop playing it. It's a fun game, but it'll be the most divisive title since FF2. For sure. Perhaps my mind will change once I get an opportunity to play the missions later on. I hope so.
I thought it was very interesting what you said earlier about XII dividing JRPG fans into two camps and XIII repeating the feat. I'm still mulling over what that means for me-- I thought XII represented a quantum leap in JRPG gameplay that practically renders everything that came before it obsolete. So, great, rah rah change. Only, when it comes down to actual gameplay specifics, XIII seems to be the anti-XII. I'd like to be on board with change in general, but until I get a chance to play it I remain wary of the specific changes here.
Between the Boba Fett avatar and the use of a homosexual slur, I'd say you're about the least unique thing on the face of the internet, Jodou. Go away and don't come back unless you can find less homophobic adjectives to use.
Ryuukishi, this will be more divisive than FFXII, in my view. I think there's more autonomy in the game than some folks have said so far. In terms of controlling "one character," that's not entirely true. The Optima Change/Paradigm Shift mechanism lets you control the style of things your party does. So, say you have Lightning, Hope and Snow - playing the role of Blaster (magic), Enhancer (buffs) and Attacker (duh) respectively. Hope isn't going to spam Protect on the same person 3 times before moving on - the AI is smart enough to do things properly. Then you can switch to a Blaster/Healer/Blaster role, where Hope will cast Cure and the other two will cast spells. Libra is important here, as the AI won't cast something the enemy is strong against and will cast something they're weak against if Libra reveals it.
It's going to be hella divisive. I don't think anyone's discussion can convey how different this style of game is, and people won't "get it" until they try it for themselves.
[quote name='Jodou']The more I read about this game, the worse it sounds.
Gay.[/QUOTE]
Not every game can be like Demon's Souls...
[quote name='mykevermin']Between the Boba Fett avatar and the use of a homosexual slur, I'd say you're about the least unique thing on the face of the internet, Jodou. Go away and don't come back unless you can find less homophobic adjectives to use.
Ryuukishi, this will be more divisive than FFXII, in my view. I think there's more autonomy in the game than some folks have said so far. In terms of controlling "one character," that's not entirely true. The Optima Change/Paradigm Shift mechanism lets you control the style of things your party does. So, say you have Lightning, Hope and Snow - playing the role of Blaster (magic), Enhancer (buffs) and Attacker (duh) respectively. Hope isn't going to spam Protect on the same person 3 times before moving on - the AI is smart enough to do things properly. Then you can switch to a Blaster/Healer/Blaster role, where Hope will cast Cure and the other two will cast spells. Libra is important here, as the AI won't cast something the enemy is strong against and will cast something they're weak against if Libra reveals it.
It's going to be hella divisive. I don't think anyone's discussion can convey how different this style of game is, and people won't "get it" until they try it for themselves.[/QUOTE]
I think micro-managing is what has really tested my patience the last few years. Work, University, a committed relationship, I simply just don't have as much time to play video games as I used to have. So when i have to micro-manage multiple characters in video games, I tend to quickly lose interest. So I think the linearity + less micro-managing of FFXIII is something I'm looking forward to the most.
[quote name='mykevermin']I'm not riding the high horse as much as you now, kenji.
The battles are hit or miss, for me. There are more incremental leaps in difficulty from battle to battle based on who you have in your lineup than anything else. Or perhaps I stink.
Chapter 6, when you were just Snow and Hope? Dear ing God, Hope was positively useless and ate up no fewer than 3-4 of my Phoenix Downs.
[/quote]
Hope died on me a couple times in Chapter 6 as well, but that was mostly due to my carelessness and not looking at the HP bars. There's no time to sleep through the battles. If you're careless, you're gonna pay for it. This is one reason why I think it's pretty important to use Optima Shift, and to utilize all of the different roles. Making sure your party is well protected with enhancer, bringing down the enemies' defenses with jammer, and constantly alternating between an aggressive attacking party to a healing, defensive party. I probably didn't need to tell you that, but this is the kind of strategy I'm talking about.
The game is very repetitive - I'd say you can spam through about 70-80% of battles without using Optima Shift at all. So you more or less just push "X" a few times over 50 seconds and win a battle.
Hm, not sure about 70-80%. I'd say I use Optima Shift in about 80% of the battles. The only times I don't have to use it is when I'm fighting weak enemies.
A couple of reasons why I use Optima Shift so much:
1. It's true that you can finish most battles by just pushing "O" (or "X, if you will), but can't you say that for just about every Final Fantasy title? I think the battles are more time consuming and less interesting if all you're doing is pushing "O".
2. Perhaps it's the perfectionist in me, but I try to shoot for a 5 star rating in every battle. My goal is to kill the enemies as fast as possible. If all you're doing is pushing "O", it might take a long ass time to get a chain break on an enemy. Especially on the enemies with good defense. I noticed that casting magic spells builds the chain break meter much faster, but the bar begins to decrease at a rapid pace if you don't mix it in with physical attacks. I also noticed that once I obtain a chain break, regular attacks deal more damage compared to spells.
3. This has to do with what I said above, but I think it's necessary to switch roles in order to finish a battle as fast as possible. For example, lets say I get a chain break with my roles set to attacker, healer, and defender. Do you really think I'm going to keep my roles set to those? No. I'll switch to assault, so my entire party can just go all out and kick the living hell out of the enemy. Otherwise, it's going to take ages to finish the battle. Plus, it feels great to go all out.
4. To me, it's fun as hell. For some reason I get excited whenever I get a chain break-- I can unleash an all out assault.
I don't like the fact that this game has "auto attack". I kind of wish they took it out...I don't use it most of the time, but there have been occasions where it proved to be useful. Especially during some of the hectic boss battles where I didn't really have time to think. I don't think it's as bad as XII's gambit system, where you can basically set gambits for every character in the party, and have the game play itself. That was pretty bad.
I know that there are no levels per se, but I'm curious, is it still possible to grind the progression system to where you are totally outclassing the enemies?
I know enemies respawn in certain areas, but there's a big time delay. I have backtracked precisely once thus far in 8 chapters, and that was when I saw enemies respawned. So, sorta, but I don't think it would be worth the wait. maybe kenji has a better idea, since he's further along than me in the game.
[quote name='mykevermin']Between the Boba Fett avatar and the use of a homosexual slur, I'd say you're about the least unique thing on the face of the internet, Jodou. Go away and don't come back unless you can find less homophobic adjectives to use.[/QUOTE]
I take serious offense to your statement!
Yeah, the enemies didn't seem to respawn much towards the beginning of the game. However, they seem to be respawning pretty frequently now (I'm 21 hours in). Another solution to this problem, though it might be a little tedious is to first save your game. Then reload the save file, and the enemies should respawn. After you kill them all, save again. Rinse, lather, repeat.
40% watching cutscenes.
40% mashing buttons.
10% trying to figure out their leveling system.
7% weapon upgrades.
2% using brain to figure out puzzles.
1% talking/exploring.
40% watching cutscenes.
40% mashing buttons.
10% trying to figure out their leveling system.
7% weapon upgrades.
2% using brain to figure out puzzles.
1% talking/exploring.
This got a 9/10?[/QUOTE]
You're ing retarded in the head. What do you do in ANY game? Repetition, get used to it. There are also games like MW2 with a convoluted story put together by some 14yo on roids. Games like Bayonetta where you can button mash your way (play with one hand even) for 10 hours beginning to end. Ohnoes, cutscenes! Cause MGS and the two above games sucked too, amirite?
(Jump on some enemies, jump over a pit. Jump on some enemy) x8, fight a dude, save a princess.
(Collect heart piece. Dungeon, obtain trick weapon, collect heart container) x8, fight a dude, save a princess
So a 2D side-scrolling Mario platform with ZERO exploration, and a corridor shooter with monster closets can get a 10 but an RPG can't deserve a 9? Dear lord, the horror.
Do yourself a favor and save your money for some other shitty game then.
40% watching cutscenes.
40% mashing buttons.
10% trying to figure out their leveling system.
7% weapon upgrades.
2% using brain to figure out puzzles.
1% talking/exploring.
This got a 9/10?[/QUOTE]
We get it, you don't like the game (even though you haven't played it). Feel free to go back to the Demon's Souls thread...
FFXIII obviously isn't the same FF we all grew up with. But at the same time, if you don't change/evolve, what's the point? I applaud them on making changes, taking the risk of deviating from the 'safe' path. A fast(er) paced FF sounds fun...which, really, is what games should be.
If I recall, Demon's Souls was more about grinding levels than it was the story. I'm not here to compare the two games, but DS had NO story what-so-ever, rather shameful for an RPG...(don't get me wrong, it's a good game though).
). So I went into the config menu and selected the ATB - Slow option (since my feeling was that I was losing due to the time constraints of this particular battle, coupled with the need to buff my characters).
Well, I did win the battle the next time. But boy howdy it felt slow as molasses. Everybody's tempo changes, not just the enemies. It's a good setting if you play the game and think "this is way too fast for an RPG, I would rather kick back and think about my strategy a bit more." But by the time you get accustomed to the default speed, you are capable of using proper strategy on the fly, and the slow ATB setting is very uncomfortable.
I just broke 20 hours in and I'm somewhere in the middle of Chapter 9. I know there are 13 chapters - how long, hourwise, is the main quest supposed to be? I feel like I'll be done with it well before 35 hours.
[quote name='PrinnyOtaku']Nerdrage goes here.[/QUOTE]
Lol, it was a serious question and all I did was list what they had in the review. I want to know why they'd give a game 9/10 when 80% of the time is spent watching a movie and mashing buttons.
[quote name='Jodou']Lol, it was a serious question and all I did was list what they had in the review. I want to know why they'd give a game 9/10 when 80% of the time is spent watching a movie and mashing buttons.[/QUOTE]
Maybe, oh I don't know, because they enjoyed the game (aka had fun)?
Could anyone tell for sure from that article, whether they were reviewing the Japanese version and making conclusions about the English dubbing based on the trailers that have been released so far, or whether they have a full English version in hand?
Never mind, read closer and found the answer (they reviewed the Japanese version).
[quote name='Jodou']Lol, it was a serious question and all I did was list what they had in the review. I want to know why they'd give a game 9/10 when 80% of the time is spent watching a movie and mashing buttons.[/QUOTE]
What fun is a game with 75% cutscenes and 25% crawling around on the ground? Games are entertainment. Are you entertained? You obviously sound like you aren't just judging by pure percentages. That's an intelligent choice.
To be fair, Demon's Souls was a piece of crap. All this praise about amazing online integration; the system is completely useless and there's pretty much no dialogue or plot in that game. Granted, both DS and FFXIII are trying something new. I'd be severely upset if JRPGs went the way of DS in the future.
Also, 1UP's ATB podcast did have a 30 minute segment on it. It was good, informative. Should go listen.
Yeah...I think you're already past me. At the rate you're going, you're probably going to beat the game before me. I wish I could play it more...hm, maybe deprive myself of sleep tonight?
With some exceptions, yeah. It's vastly better storywise than FFXII (let me be clear: FFXII was close to my favorite FF game by far because its gameplay was so incredible on the whole, but I don't think that it really *had* a story at all).
But it's also confusing that so much promotional material focuses on Lightning as the "main character" when the story does a great job giving everyone sufficient motivation for being in the game - you won't find a Cait Sith in here, or that weird thing with the apron and long tongue in FFIX. Snow is as tied to Lightning's storyline as she is, and Fang and Vanilla are more prominent than I expected. Hope is a whining ing baby, but it makes sense in the context of his story. Even Sazh has a fully fleshed out backstory.
The game's narrative goes back and forth a lot (mostly featuring cutscenes at the end of chapters that provide that exposition).
It's a good story, and I'm still torn on the gameplay. I like it but I don't like it. I want to try to get the platinum trophy on this game, and I'm enjoying it, but I don't see myself returning to play through it in coming years (by comparison, I played through FFVII this past November).
This game has chapters? Hmm. I shouldn't be surprised since the vast majority of games I've played from SE are broken down that way.
[quote name='y2kenjination']I'm glad people can relate to me. I thought I was the only one who felt this way about games nowadays. My job and social life take priority over games. It's no longer like when I was in the 7th grade, where I went straight home, and could play a game for 8 hours straight.
Hm, I don't remember...could you describe the boss? Haha.[/QUOTE]
Not only that, I wish I had my brain from back then. The stories in games I'm now would've blown me away. But now, not so much.
There's one problem I have with XIII-- I love every character in the cast! Even whiny ass Hope, who's no longer whiny after a certain point. I'm having a hard time deciding who I want to put into my party because I like them all so much. =/
I really don't understand the weird character names. Hope, really? Snow, come on! If they worked DLC into the game for Americans I'd fully expect Bergah.
[quote name='PrinnyOtaku']What fun is a game with 75% cutscenes and 25% crawling around on the ground? Games are entertainment. Are you entertained? You obviously sound like you aren't just judging by pure percentages. That's an intelligent choice.
To be fair, Demon's Souls was a piece of crap. All this praise about amazing online integration; the system is completely useless and there's pretty much no dialogue or plot in that game. Granted, both DS and FFXIII are trying something new. I'd be severely upset if JRPGs went the way of DS in the future.
Also, 1UP's ATB podcast did have a 30 minute segment on it. It was good, informative. Should go listen.[/QUOTE]
I'm just going to stop reading the reviews because they're just painting a bad picture.
I don't think Demon's Souls sold on the online integration at all. I didn't even use it other than to kill people in PvP or exploit TBH. What sold me on the game was the risk vs reward and that it was actually challenging/required skill to play (mashing buttons in that game will get you killed versus any enemy). No dialogue or strong story were bonuses for me, because I hate having to read through novels of bullshit. Yeah FFXIII is a complete polar opposite, but it just sounds like they're dumbing down Final Fantasy and I'd hate to see such a great franchise go out like that.
[quote name='y2kenjination']Just curious myke, how much Japanese do you know?[/QUOTE]
More than I think. I studied about 6 or 7 years, but stopped a little over 2 years ago. I can make out the majority of the story with the spoken language and subtitles. Gameplay and navigating the menus is perfectly easy for me. The only place where I find having issues is in purchasing items to upgrade my weapons. I know what items to sell to shops for the most money (credit chips and premium chips right now).
The biggest problem I have right now is that I don't know what items to buy in the shop that will give my weapons and accessories the biggest EXP boost so I can level up my weapons. That's not wholly a language thing, though it is a bit.
[quote name='mykevermin']More than I think. I studied about 6 or 7 years, but stopped a little over 2 years ago. I can make out the majority of the story with the spoken language and subtitles. Gameplay and navigating the menus is perfectly easy for me. The only place where I find having issues is in purchasing items to upgrade my weapons. I know what items to sell to shops for the most money (credit chips and premium chips right now).
The biggest problem I have right now is that I don't know what items to buy in the shop that will give my weapons and accessories the biggest EXP boost so I can level up my weapons. That's not wholly a language thing, though it is a bit.[/QUOTE]
Haha, sounds like we know about the same amount of Japanese. I've been studying off and on since 1998. Have you checked out this weapon upgrade chart? It's very useful:
ing God, Hope was positively useless and ate up no fewer than 3-4 of my Phoenix Downs.
