Final Fantasy XIII

[Star Ocean 2]

The soundtrack is phenomenal.

 

[Mik]

I read somewhere the other day is the reason there aren't so many towns in the game is that Square finds them difficult to properly design in HD. Ha.

 

[AndrewTS]

It's kind of funny how Square, who for the longest time's only really strengths were high-quality graphics, are sinking into irrelevance.

Somebody should show them Crackdown or something and blow their freakin' minds.

Still, this shouldn't be too surprising. Japan is years behind the West in terms of tech and development culture. The concept of reusing an old engine and updating it as needed is new to them. Sadly, being late to the party is proving problematic. As we saw with Last Remnant, they certainly haven't gotten grips on Unreal yet.

 

[ZGangsta]

It's kind of funny how Square, who for the longest time's only really strengths were high-quality graphics, are sinking into irrelevance.

Somebody should show them Crackdown or something and blow their freakin' minds.

Still, this shouldn't be too surprising. Japan is years behind the West in terms of tech and development culture. The concept of reusing an old engine and updating it as needed is new to them. Sadly, being late to the party is proving problematic. As we saw with Last Remnant, they certainly haven't gotten grips on Unreal yet.

I don't know, I'm no fan of Japanese games these days (I vastly prefer all the western PC gaming developers that have jumped to consoles), but FFXIII looks pretty amazing from what I've seen.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

The guy who makes those Until We Win videos posted a 10 minute fuck you rant against Square Enix. He was sent a Cease and Desist letter from their "Legal Department" because he's supposedly tied to a FFXI emulation circle, but claims he is not. It's an interesting rant.

 

[AndrewTS]

I don't know, I'm no fan of Japanese games these days (I vastly prefer all the western PC gaming developers that have jumped to consoles), but FFXIII looks pretty amazing from what I've seen.

Oh don't get me wrong, they're *pretty* straight corridors that you run down for hours and hours and hours...

But even the PS3 version doesn't look so hot a lot of the time.

 

[Mik]

Just accepted a new position here at work... last day of my current job is 3/12 and I don't start my new one until 3/22.

Perfect timing, almost, in regards to burning through this game.

 

[Kageho]

So, I used my credit card recently to make a purchase for my mother, who wants to watch blu-rays upstairs. She then decides that on top of paying me back, she'll buy me a game. And told me, she would surprise me and not let me know before purchasing it.

Take a guess at which game I'm now getting even though I was hesitant on.

 

[AndrewTS]

So, I used my credit card recently to make a purchase for my mother, who wants to watch blu-rays upstairs. She then decides that on top of paying me back, she'll buy me a game. And told me, she would surprise me and not let me know before purchasing it.

Take a guess at which game I'm now getting even though I was hesitant on.

It would be funny if you were wrong and it was, like, AVP or something.

 

[Kageho]

Simple, I'm not calling it Final Fantasy to lower my expectation. By doing that, I should at least enjoy the game.

... I hope she got me the PS3 version. If its Xbox, I'll weep.

 

[Broward83]

Watching opening...will post later....

 

[Conspiracy_Victim]

Watching opening...will post later....

Bet it's not as good as the opening for X.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

Watching opening...will post later....

Bet it's not as good as the opening for X.

Seconded.

 

[Smues]

Bet it's better than the opening for X-2!

 

[KingPK]

What can I do for you, Smues?

The reviews I've read so far says it takes about 15 HOURS until the story really kicks in. Yeah, no thanks.

 

[Conspiracy_Victim]

Bet it's better than the opening for X-2!

What, you didn't like Yuna doing a J-pop song in a miniskirt while Rikku and Paine got the 70's style zoom in intro? Have you no soul?

That game still haunts me. How the fuck did it get a 9.5 from IGN? Oh wait, they're a bunch of Squeenix honks, I forgot.

 

[Broward83]

Alright, so I'm about five to six hours into the game.

--Snow likes the word hero. Alot. Like, early on, every fucking sentence has the word hero in it.

--Lightning is a bitchy cunt. Seriously. She'll point out the flaw in anything and act like she's above it all or simply doesn't care and walks off.

--Hope. Well...erm..ya'see its just...ugh. Whiny little emo fucking bitch that is pissy about something that takes place thirty to fourty-five minutes into the game and doesn't seem like he'll move on.

--Sazh. He's black. He has a baby chocobo living in his hair. So far, he's a good all-around character with his magic and regular battle usage. Game won't be complete til I hear him say: "I'm tired of these mah'fuckin l'cieth on this mah'fuckin planet.."

--Vanille. The little spunky girl who likes to run off to look at things and has the eternal hope of the group. Has been the default magic user of my group so far..

Any game specific questions, fire away.

 

[Conspiracy_Victim]

How's the whole "no towns" thing working out so far?

How is the battle system playing out?

Any characters as cool as Auron?

Any chance you can sell me a copy (w/ guide) for one low low price?

 

[Broward83]

Towns: You have to come across these "network cards" that allow you access onto a store's network at which you can then purchase items. Right now, I've got Unicorn Network and B & W Network. The former is only potions and a phoenix down while the latter is like, a few accessories and that's about it. I'm sure it'll open up more later on but fuck if it isn't a bitch to only be able to purchase things at save points which while semi-frequent, aren't as populated as you'd like.

Battle System: Once it unlocks the whole "paradigm shift" aspect, its pretty decent. Each character has a Crystalarium (think Materia / FF X sphere system) that gives them a certain battle mechanic. IE: Commando..medic..ravager (will attack in order to raise an enemies stagger meter). You can shift by hitting LB / L1 and pick from the one's its pre-made or from one you can make to better suit your style. I've got one where Vanille is medic and both Sazh and Lightning use magic which the game has dubbed my "Thaumaturgy" paradigm. Auto-battle is pretty decent but you'll want to break off of it during some battles.

Auron: Eh, not that I've come across so far. I think the last party member I can gain access to will rival him but I mean, its fucking Auron. Even Jesus would admit Auron was cooler than he was.

Price: I work 3-close (9pm) tomorrow and 2-?? on Monday. Best I can do is set aside a copy w/guide and let you use my employee discount. (I'd suggest bringing in some bullshit games you want to trade since its still 50% extra credit on all game trades)

 

[ericmm]

Tim Rogers is an annoying otaku pissant gaijin who needs to go to take a few courses on how to write.

http://kotaku.com/5484581/japan-its-not-funny-anymore

I know this is OT, but this is some of the most long winded whining I've ever encountered on the internet. Good god.

I mean, I'm sitting here at work reading this, working a graveyard shift at 2 AM, literally nothing else going on, and I couldn't even finish it. Just, like, hold Page Down and watch the article keep scrolling by...

You don't like Japanese culture anymore? WTF!

 

[Matt Young]

Alright, so I'm about five to six hours into the game.

--Snow likes the word hero. Alot. Like, early on, every fucking sentence has the word hero in it.

--Lightning is a bitchy cunt. Seriously. She'll point out the flaw in anything and act like she's above it all or simply doesn't care and walks off.

--Hope. Well...erm..ya'see its just...ugh. Whiny little emo fucking bitch that is pissy about something that takes place thirty to fourty-five minutes into the game and doesn't seem like he'll move on.

--Sazh. He's black. He has a baby chocobo living in his hair. So far, he's a good all-around character with his magic and regular battle usage. Game won't be complete til I hear him say: "I'm tired of these mah'fuckin l'cieth on this mah'fuckin planet.."

--Vanille. The little spunky girl who likes to run off to look at things and has the eternal hope of the group. Has been the default magic user of my group so far..

Any game specific questions, fire away.

God, Final Fantasy games have the worst character names. These are probably the worst out of all of them.

 

[Conspiracy_Victim]

Towns: You have to come across these "network cards" that allow you access onto a store's network at which you can then purchase items. Right now, I've got Unicorn Network and B & W Network. The former is only potions and a phoenix down while the latter is like, a few accessories and that's about it. I'm sure it'll open up more later on but fuck if it isn't a bitch to only be able to purchase things at save points which while semi-frequent, aren't as populated as you'd like.

Battle System: Once it unlocks the whole "paradigm shift" aspect, its pretty decent. Each character has a Crystalarium (think Materia / FF X sphere system) that gives them a certain battle mechanic. IE: Commando..medic..ravager (will attack in order to raise an enemies stagger meter). You can shift by hitting LB / L1 and pick from the one's its pre-made or from one you can make to better suit your style. I've got one where Vanille is medic and both Sazh and Lightning use magic which the game has dubbed my "Thaumaturgy" paradigm. Auto-battle is pretty decent but you'll want to break off of it during some battles.

Auron: Eh, not that I've come across so far. I think the last party member I can gain access to will rival him but I mean, its fucking Auron. Even Jesus would admit Auron was cooler than he was.

Price: I work 3-close (9pm) tomorrow and 2-?? on Monday. Best I can do is set aside a copy w/guide and let you use my employee discount. (I'd suggest bringing in some bullshit games you want to trade since its still 50% extra credit on all game trades)

Gracias. I won't be able to tomorrow, but maybe Monday. I don't really know if I can afford to do it until I'm gainfully employed (let's go Carmax :) but if I get good news during my interview I'll pick it up for the 360, since I still haven't reclaimed my PS3 from my friend's house yet.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

Gamestop is selling a game early? I figure that's where you work since you mentioned the 50% extra trade bonus. That's pretty cool. The GSs in my area treat release dates like religious doctrine. I'm gonna wait to pick this up, but a friend of mine is losing sleep over his excitement.

 

[Broward83]

Uhm, we're not selling shit early. A perk of working at Gamestop is that we're able to take games home for about three days to play-thru them or just boost up gamerscore's or trophy counts or just fuck around. Only real caveat is we don't take the last copy of a game or a new DS game since its hit or miss on which games allow you to erase play data. (Yes, we take home new games. Yes, we then sell you that new game for full price. Don't start in on how evil Gamestop is, I could honestly care less after working for three years at Starbucks and seeing / doing worse)

The other perk is that more oft than not if you've got a good store manager, you get to take home street dated titles early. Since they usually arrive on the Thur/Fri before release, you can get a good two to three days of play before everyone else.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

Don't get me wrong. I think street dates are bullshit, and I think its cool your manager let's you take the stuff home to try out. Maybe the game advisors at your store actually know what they're talking about unlike the ones around here who'll tell you in a second that Rogue Warrior is the shit because they don't know any better. Your boss seems like much less of a douchebag than the one I had when I quit GS in mid 2007.

 

[Broward83]

Oh, our store is pretty much staffed with people who actually play games and own systems. Personally, I've had an NES, Genesis, SNES, 64, PS1, PS2, Xbox, 360, Gameboy, DSLite, PSP..my manager has had the same if not more and same with my ASM. We all pretty much stand at work and see shit like Rogue Warrior and go "So how many of these fucking things are we going to be stuck with" and actually tell people to not buy shit like that. However if you're a complete dick..we'll tell you how awesome RW is, how you should not buy the new but the used so you can get your Game Informer sub as well and not only save on the used but get your EDGE card for roughly the same price had you bought it new and then tack on a warranty.

Street dates..eh, I hate 'em at times but some times they're decent and keep idiots in check and winds up helping out during that week since instead of a week long rush for a game, we'll get the initial day of and day after..wait..then get the weekend rush.

I've yet to play anymore FF today, but I'll more than likely be on tonight to play some more. (If anyone has questions..ask or hit me up on XBL: UTBroward and I'll just jump into a party with ya..)

 

[Vigo]

I've never gotten into this series as I don't really like the turn based combat system so is this more of the same or is it like newer RPGs i.e. Dragon Age Origins?

 

[Mik]

I have this paid in full and I can't wait to get into it on Tuesday night... I can get it midnight on Monday but I'll probably be asleep at that point anyway.

 

[Broward83]

Its turn based as in that you can only attack when able but its not in the vein of the prior FF games where its: X character action, Y character action, Z character action ... attack ... enemy action ... X etc..

IE: You've got an ATB (attack bar) gauge that begins to fill up as the battle starts. It starts off in like two or three segments that you can either let fill up completely or rush a move once its portion of the ATB gauge is filled. At which point it'll begin to fill anew. While this is going on, your party members and the enemy will attack based on their own ATB gauges...

 

[Mik]

Any more updates? I've decided I'm gonna get it at midnight after all.