Final Fantasy XIII

[Mik]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII

I've got 3/9/10 penciled in as the day when I want to have all of my other video games completed so I can devote all the time to this.

Read on Kotaku that there will be 70+ hours of gameplay and the trailers on XBox Live pretty much blew me away. Story looks like something I can get in to, as well.

Making the thread now because it comes out in Japan in a week and I'm sure there will be plenty of stuff up on the web; so anything you want to know about the game should be known before it's available here in the States. Anyone get Japanese ports and going to pick this up early?

 

[Edwin]

I think I'm done with these. I got XII in the waning days of the PS2 and could never get into it for more than a couple of hours. Open-world and more customizable action-RPGs have improved so vastly in the past couple generations of games that linear JRPGs feel a bit obsolete.

 

[Sabre]

I think FF needs to start adding new elements than the tired "Go from A to B - random battle - B to C - Random Battle - C to Boss"

 

[Mik]

Well, I haven't played a FF game since FFVIII on PS1 many, many years ago. I think it will feel fresh to me. I don't know.

Plus childhood memories and all that.

 

[vivisectvi]

I've never really been into any of the "next gen" games for the FF series. The NES & SNES ones will always be my favourites.. I bought VIII way back when, saved myself into a corner at the final boss and couldn't finish it as a result. Tried some of the others but couldn't get into them as there doesn't seem to be anything that makes me want to care about the characters or their stories.

On the other hand, I've been playing IV the After Years on WiiWare lately and am pleased to say that it kicks some major ass. Harkens back to the old games with graphics updated to be similar to VI (3). I'm about 1/3 of the way through the downloadble side stories and some of the fights are killer hard to get through.

As for XIII, I think I'm in the same boat as Mik. This one does seem fresh and I really like what I've seen so far in both the story and gameplay trailers. I'm no doubt going to pick it up as well.

 

[AndrewTS]

People still care about this series?

 

[vivisectvi]

yup

 

[FLAM]

Haven't seen much of it. I think I saw one trailer many months ago, but I remember being impressed. I am most definitely picking this up. I've really enjoyed every FF game I've played.

 

[AndrewTS]

J/King. However, I say this honestly and truthfully--I'm more interested in Crystal Bearers than this game. Everything about FFXIII looks completely uninspired and derivative. "Hey, look! Cloud with boobs! Soldier Duck King! Guy with black spikey hair! Oh, you didn't like FFXII's battle system? Let's take about 3 steps back with that."

Crystal Bearers, on the other hand, actually looks...fun?

 

[FLAM]

cool

 

[Smues]

I'll be all over this when it comes out in the states. Outside of X-2 they've rarely let me down.

 

[Baby Shoes]

I've actually never played a Final Fantasy game so for some strange reason I felt a need to pre-order this one.

 

[Obi Chris Kenobi]

Same as Mik, currently hammering all my other games so I've got plenty of 'space' for when FF comes out. Be interesting to see how it 'feels' on the Xbox.

 

[ZGangsta]

I haven't really played the series since its SNES days. But I have a PS3 this time so I'm picking XIII up.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I'm skeptical about this game. I thought that Final Fantasy XII was the most innovative and fun Final Fantasy that came along in years, but a lot of people disliked it and it seems that this series takes a step back after the better installments. I can't imagine not getting it, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if it is a disappointment.

 

[Kageho]

I'm along the lines of AndrewTS, I'm looking forward to Crystal Bearers than this game. Although I wouldn't say this is Cloud with boobs. I would say this is Cloud and Leon's love child if one of them somehow was magically changed into a female and Lightning became their offspring of that twisted relationship.

This might be the first Final Fantasy I won't bother to purchase.

 

[vivisectvi]

I'm into Crystal Bearers as well. The trailers for that look like it'll be a fun game, too. I'll give SE a chance with FF13, though, since this'll be the first one I've bought since FF8. If they drop the ball then I'll just know not to purchase any of the subsequent games.

 

[Obi Chris Kenobi]

I find it pretty interesting the polar opposites this game is attracting so far - people either can't wait for it, or are approaching it with caution or not at all. Personally I can't wait, mainly because it'll be the 4th game I actually own on my PS3 after 18 months, or for it to be the 1st 'real' Final Fantasy game on the 360.

However, I think with each generation the story has taken a back seat to set pieces and CGI, which is a shame.

 

[vivisectvi]

However, I think with each generation the story has taken a back seat to set pieces and CGI, which is a shame.

So true. There seems to be too much time spent on "OMG THE GRAFFIX!!" instead of characters, plot and storyline. With the After Years on WiiWare, it's clear that they had more time to spend on the good stuff since the 2D pixel art is probably a fast process.. and especially since a lot of it is already done for them.

 

[Star Ocean 2]

Um...FFX has the best story out of all of the FFs. It's not even close. It's so easy to dismiss pretty games as having no substance, but it's clear that the plots in games like FF4 are mostly inferior. If FF4 were being made today (NOT remade), it would look amazing, and the story could realize its full potential. As it is, it's just "meh."

 

[vivisectvi]

So the story would be better because it would look amazing?

 

[Smues]

The plot could be amazing because maybe they wouldn't go to the fucking moon with a whale ship.

 

[Sabre]

I still say as convoluted the plot was, that VII still holds the mantle of best story for me.

Don't get me wrong, i loved X, infact keep meaning to replay it. But something about it mind fucking us into thinking that the apocalypse would happen if we rely on machines too much took some of it away from me.

Tidus:

Spoiler

It fucking rocked basicly playing as a force ghost the whole way through the game tho.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I didn't care for X myself. I hated the cast in particular. Auron was the only good character in the entire game. Tidus is the worst main character in the series, and there were stretches of nothing but painful cut scenes (the whistling scene, the infamous 'laughing' scene, etc.). I even liked the story in VIII better and it completely falls apart after the second disk. VI, VII, IX & XII are all easily better than X.

 

[vivisectvi]

Yes, because the whale ship/moon travel is so far out of the realm of sci-fi fantasy that it makes the plot, story, characters, etc all worthless. Asinine complaint, IMO.

 

[AndrewTS]

the infamous 'laughing' scene

People who bitch about that scene take it out of context. It was supposed to sound painfully forced, because the characters *were* forcing it.

fun

The key element I feel that the series has been missing for a long time.

I'll give SE a chance with FF13, though, since this'll be the first one I've bought since FF8. If they drop the ball then I'll just know not to purchase any of the subsequent games.

I feel your pain. Although honestly, IX is pretty damn good.

I will honestly give this one a fair shake too, but it's going to be less "OMG FFXIII is coming out, buying day one!111" as it is "eh, I'll rent it about 3 weeks after it's out."

 

[Smues]

Yes, because the whale ship/moon travel is so far out of the realm of sci-fi fantasy that it makes the plot, story, characters, etc all worthless. Asinine complaint, IMO.

I didn't say it negated the rest of the game. But it also comes pretty much out of no where. Oh hi time to go to the moon! It's silly. I didn't say it wasn't a good game, or that the entire plot is crap because of that.

 

[tekcop]

Final Fantasy IV is my favorite, but this makes me laugh:

It's true. I love Final Fantasy IV, but I can almost guarantee you the developers were making the story up as they went along. Another excerpt from a SquareSoft developers' meeting:

DEVELOPER #1: Okay, so the bad guys just snatched all the crystals and we're about out of world map. I think it's about time for a world-shaking cataclysm followed by a climactic showdown and final boss fight, right?

DEVELOPER #2: Naw, dude. Sakaguchi says the final project's gotta be at least eight hours longer. Any ideas on how we go about doing that?

DEVELOPER #3: I got it! Why don't we just say there's four more crystals out there and they're all underground?

DEVELOPER #2: Works for me. I'll start palette swapping enemy sprites and programming them in as stronger "dark" versions of overworld monsters.

[A MONTH LATER]

DEVELOPER: So, uh...we can't think of anything else to have the player do in the underworld, we're still a few hours short, and we can't think of a way to wrap everything up. Sakaguchi-sama?

SAKAGUCHI: [looks up from sniffing glue and doodling a bedroom-eyed Rydia in his notebook] Well duh! Isn't it obvious? NOW WE GO TO THE MOON! And check it: let's also make it so the good guy and the bad guy have been long lost brothers ALL ALONG and now have to set aside their differences to battle a common foe! How's that for some riveting storytelling?

DEVELOPER: Brilliant, sir. But, uh...who's gonna be the last boss, then?

SAKAGUCHI: I don't know. Some guy living on the moon, I guess. What the hell am I paying you for? You think of something.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/finalfantasy/ff4/ff4-2.htm

 

[Kageho]

Yeah, unfortunately FFIV's biggest downfall is the fact that Zeromus just gets chucked in almost as an after thought. Though at least you got told about him at the 7/8th mark of the game. Not like in FFIX were you beat Kuja, who for all fucking rights should be the end boss; you end up with this new end boss who has absolutely no background info. Its just "here we go"!

Seriously though back to topic, I like the trailers but I'll need to hear what people say about it first before I'll decide on buying it.

 

[Smues]

What's also great about that last boss in FFIX is that he's pretty much completely forgotten after you beat him. It's all back to Kuja Kuja Kuja and I don't think they actually mention the last boss during the ending. Very Bizarre.

While were on the topic of 'What the fuck?' end bosses, how about Final Fantasy VIII when fighting Ultimecia and she summons a monster that is named after what you named the ring on disc 2. And then of course it's never explained after the battle. It probably didn't help me that the first time I played it I named the ring 'Gay Ring' because I thought it was really stupid to be naming a ring, so then one of the final battles in the game is against 'Gay Ring.'