Comments on: Final Fantasy XIII: A (Not So) Cynical View

By: Morgan

Morgan — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:18:34 +0000

To Anwar: I have read just as many positive reviews of FF13 as negative ones but I tend to side with the positive reviews due to the fact that a few have solid ground to stand on unlike most of the negatives ones.

To those complaining about towns: Ok, you’ve got one big world above another world called Cacoon and in this place you are considered a terrorist, why in the hell would anyone want to sell to you? You can still talk to inhabitants of this world though, and there are plenty of them, so its not exactly life-less.

By: anwar

anwar — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:40:20 +0000

You are right. But there are people out there who have waited for this game to get themselves a ps3. I guess its just my disappointment speaking. I’m sorry for my negativity and for putting ff13′s defender down. Maybe i will actually like it because of my lowered expectations. Still, I would have prefered if most reviewers were praising it. It is final fantasy after all.

By: Moogle

Moogle — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:28:28 +0000

and why not defend FFXIII? he’s as entitled to defend it as you are to criticize it. Just because someone has a point of view that goes against the mob mentality you feel the need to put him down?

By: anwar

anwar — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 22:56:36 +0000

I’m sorry but i dont understand why this guy is defending ff13. Square-enix is not paying him(are they?) so is it just for attention? I havent played the game but i’ve heard enough to not want to. The reasons for this is because i loved the towns in the ff games. I especially liked the down time when time stood still and you could just relax and talk to npcs and shop and prepare for the next crisis. And of course i like rpgs because of the decisions you make from choosing what armor to equip to the dialogue choices that give you a sense of control and the sense that you are living in this world – and the belief that your experience is different from everyone else’s. I think square-enix have lost sight of why their fans love these games. They should have just kept all that was good and expanded on it, giving us more reasons to love this beloved series.

By: Oni-Samurai

Oni-Samurai — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 12:32:34 +0000

My first final fantasy game was no.12, I found it difficult to get to grips with as I never played this type of game before. I thought the story was awful and would keep thinking of Star Wars for every character and certain areas. In fact it was only the gameplay that kept me going, once I got the hang of it. I loved the huge open world that there was to explore and really felt like I was on an epic adventure.
I know the appeal of FF7s story and I really only play games which have a relatively interesting storyline, I hope this game’s story is more interesting – but from what I’ve read on various sites, I’m not excited by the story.. The gameplay is also said to be harder but more rewarding? I found the optional bosses in FF12 to be tough and I did use a guide to beat a lot of bosses. I just hope there isn’t too much to learn. I like intuitive, pick up & learn as you go gameplpay.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 07:45:01 +0000

Why is linearity a problem in RPG?

Simple. If it’s linear, the it is NOT an RPG.

The whole point of an RPG (at least what I think SHOULD be the point) is that it allows you to step into a “play a role” in which every decision you make (moral or otherwise) has a tangible effect on the world that you are playing in.

In a nutshell, where your choices matter.

If every single decision is already mapped out and decided for me, then what’s the point?

People often say, “well, it’s about enjoying the story! It’s then story!”

Well, hey, guess what? We already have a medium for that. They’re called books. If reading is too tedious a movie, you can sit back a watch a movie! There great for when you want to just sit back and just follow the story, and let the narrative happen and get carried along for the experience.

But this not what I expect from a “role-playing game”, just from it’s very name. The whole point of why I play (and most people, or least most people here in the west) is that I do NOT want to just be carried along for the ride with narrative, but want to be an ACTIVE participant in it’s development. Where my choices could lead me down unexpected directions, permutations and paths that are above all unique to me. I’d love to talk to someone else about playing the game and here that there experience playing it was completely different from mine due to the different choices they made through their playing experience.

Of course, that’s NEVER the case with a JRPG, but I digress….

To me, THAT’s the point, though. What do people think the point of genre is? RPG are named for the original pen and paper role-playing games that they emulate. Could you imagine if you and your friends got together for an evening of pen and paper role playing, and then you get ready to roll up your character sheet, your GM presents you each with character sheets he’s already prepared for each you (HE decides who get’s what character, of course), along with which weopons your allowed to wield, exactly which pre-set paths you can take on the adventure (with absoulutely NO deviation), and exactly which what your pre-set character is allowed to develop in? The GM has already pre-determined every possible decision you and party can make for each and every encounter, from which you can choose from. Basically, you and your friends are basically to role the dice, when needed. And that’s about it.

Kind of would defeat the purpose for night of role-playing, wouldn’t you think?

By: Animus

Animus — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:34:04 +0000

Amazon japan is about as reliable a benchmark as 2ch. It is an exaggerated and superficial version of reality.

By: Shadowcatt

Shadowcatt — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:33:45 +0000

I think the biggest problem here is that people are complaining about a lack of towns just for the sake of complaining. From what I understand about the story, there is a very valid reason for not having any “normally populated” towns in the first half of the game. If the devs were to put in a town it would likely seem out of place given the circumstances.

By: ken

ken — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:07:21 +0000

I am at 32 hours mark on pulse and I understand japanese. I am big fan ff series since FF 3 on famicom.

Well sorry to say FF13 is a big big let down for the fan. It is not a RPG but tactical combat game. It feels so empty. I am not even sure i will have the courage to finish it as it gets really boring just to fight all the time and watch cutscenes with full of dialogue from 80′s sentimental soap.

I guess a real and true benchmark of how the game is judge by japanese consumers is community sites like mixi and amazon japan. well the feeling is very mixed there. 3 stars on amazon with lots of disappointing comment, it is pretty bad compared to the importance of the franchise in Japan.

By: Leopard

Leopard — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:19:47 +0000

“Who cares if there aren’t any towns? Towns are glorified shops. That’s all they are good for.”

Sorry, but i CARE. They might be ‘glorified shops’ but i could deconstruct everything else in the game in the same way. I’m not expecting everyone to share my opinion, but to dismiss it as outright irrelevant is just dumb. I enjoy visiting towns,chilling out and checking out the architecture design,doing some random quests,searching for secrets, what’s wrong with that? They are as much a part of the fantasy as the storyline and characters in the game. The time i spent exploring Rabanastre in FF12 was really memorable, just like the events and atmosphere of Winhill in FF8, and my ‘ZOMG’ first impression of FF8 was due to the magic of Balamb Garden.

There are REASONS why people complain about the changes, not everyone is whining about how it is NOT FF7