[FuttBuck]

Alright, I'm at the final chapter in the game, probably mid-way or something and I just have to get some stuff off my chest. Before i begin, I don't really whine about video games, the last game that got me pissed off was probably Ninja Gaiden 2, but even that was nothing compared to this.

The graphics are fantastic, the combat system is great (for a while), the music is alright I guess (i didn't enjoy it too much), and the story is pretty good actually. This game is just fucking retarded.

I breezed through the first 10 chapters like nothing, maybe stumbling on a boss here and there, grinding was fun, I really enjoyed that. I was maxing my characters skill trees and just having a blast, then I got to chapter 11....What a piece of shit this game turned into after this point. The open world stuff was cool i guess, but the monsters spiked up in difficulty to something that only allah could take down. Sure there are standard enemies (given you arent overwhelmed by a group of 6-7) but most of it is ridiculous fucking monsters that if you don't have the right party, or mess up a tiny bit you are dead. 60 hours of gameplay? More like 20 hours, the rest is you dying.

The game just wasn't fun anymore after Chapter 10, I found myself skipping through cutscenes, going around monsters because if i died one more fucking times I was going to tip my PS3 out of the window or crack the disc in two. I just....I have no idea what they were thinking? Barthandalas was no problem for me, but 2 of those fucking cat dog motherfuckers and I get raped, or that giant turtle thing you are forced to fight, I got really lucky or I'd still be trying to fight that.

I know you will call me a whiny bitch, but i don't really care tbh, this game went from a 9/10 to a 6/10 for me, and once I finish it I will never go back to this piece of crap that brings shame to the FF name.


/end rant

I'm sorry GAF but this game got the best of me :lol

[Beysus]

I remember the previous FF games having more effective Death spells. -_-

[dreamer3kx]

Alright, I'm at the final chapter in the game, probably mid-way or something and I just have to get some stuff off my chest. Before i begin, I don't really whine about video games, the last game that got me pissed off was probably Ninja Gaiden 2, but even that was nothing compared to this. The graphics are fantastic, the combat system is great (for a while), the music is alright I guess (i didn't enjoy it too much), and the story is pretty good actually. This game is just fucking retarded. I breezed through the first 10 chapters like nothing, maybe stumbling on a boss here and there, grinding was fun, I really enjoyed that. I was maxing my characters skill trees and just having a blast, then I got to chapter 11....What a piece of shit this game turned into after this point. The open world stuff was cool i guess, but the monsters spiked up in difficulty to something that only allah could take down. Sure there are standard enemies (given you arent overwhelmed by a group of 6-7) but most of it is ridiculous fucking monsters that if you don't have the right party, or mess up a tiny bit you are dead. 60 hours of gameplay? More like 20 hours, the rest is you dying. The game just wasn't fun anymore after Chapter 10, I found myself skipping through cutscenes, going around monsters because if i died one more fucking times I was going to tip my PS3 out of the window or crack the disc in two. I just....I have no idea what they were thinking? Barthandalas was no problem for me, but 2 of those fucking cat dog motherfuckers and I get raped, or that giant turtle thing you are forced to fight, I got really lucky or I'd still be trying to fight that. I know you will call me a whiny bitch, but i don't really care tbh, this game went from a 9/10 to a 6/10 for me, and once I finish it I will never go back to this piece of crap that brings shame to the FF name. /end rant I'm sorry GAF but this game got the best of me :lol

Wait you're complaining about the best Chap, ??, do at least 15 missions before wondering the field and trying to go head on with the harder enemies, the enemies are easier to defeat once you gain some levels doing missions, plus you get pretty good items this way also.

[entrement]

I remember the previous FF games having more effective Death spells. -_-

Well this is one is can be cast unlimited times since there's no MP. Lemme guess, you're trying to get the Growth Egg?

[FuttBuck]

Wait you're complaining about the best Chap, ??, do at least 15 missions before wondering the field and trying to go head on with the harder enemies, the enemies are easier to defeat once you gain some levels doing missions, plus you get pretty good items this way also.

I did the first 10 missions, and then I progressed. It's not the best chapter for me, reconculous difficulty spike, and it just got really boring.

[Rez]

I think I agree with FuttBuck (lol), I was enjoying the super-directed experience a lot more than I am the aimless Chapter 11.

I have a giant, well-articulated paragraph or two type up on it, but man, I can not be fucked.

[D23]

im in chapter 11, just finished mission 10. i was wondering if should do more mission or continue with the story?

[dreamer3kx]

I think I agree with FuttBuck (lol), I was enjoying the super-directed experience a lot more than I am the aimless Chapter 11. I have a giant, well-articulated paragraph or two type up on it, but man, I can not be fucked.

The linearity before chap 11 is fine, I loved it but chap 11 just gave me that distraction I needed with the missions.

[Beysus]

Well this is one is can be cast unlimited times since there's no MP. Lemme guess, you're trying to get the Growth Egg?

Lol, did that already. Took me around 45 minutes of Death spamming it total. But I finally got the item.

I'm trying to kill the adamontoise with the Death spell becasue there is no other way of beating him, for now.

[jiggle]

holy fuck
35 adamantoise/adamantortoise later
i'm still without a single trapzehedron
WTF

Lol, did that already. Took me around 45 minutes of Death spamming it total. But I finally got the item. I'm trying to kill the adamontoise with the Death spell becasue there is no other way of beating him, for now.

make sure vanille is using belladona
and fang is also on sab
and deshell it first after it fall before spamming death
increases the odds of it landing

[IronFistedChampion]

Can you guys tell me what is the best ability (role?) to develop for each character (Commando, Ravager, etc)?

[Neil]

Just completed the game. Seems like I'm never going to get the achievement for completing chapter 12. I'm absolutely furious.

[FuttBuck]

I think I agree with FuttBuck (lol), I was enjoying the super-directed experience a lot more than I am the aimless Chapter 11. I have a giant, well-articulated paragraph or two type up on it, but man, I can not be fucked.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but my frustration with this chapter weeds out all of the fun I've had with the game so far, it feels like a chore to finish the game.

[dreamer3kx]

Can you guys tell me what are the best abilities to develop for each character (Commando, Ravager, etc)?

This was my team.

Light- Rav (mostly)/Comm/Medic

Fang- Comm/Sab/Sen

Hope-Rav/Syn/Med

[IronFistedChampion]

This was my team. Light- Rav (mostly)/Comm/Medic Fang- Comm/Sab/Sen Hope-Rav/Syn/Med

For now, I was just looking to concentrate on a single role for each character rather than multiple. Also, what about the rest of the characters?

[dramatis]

Just completed the game. Seems like I'm never going to get the achievement for completing chapter 12. I'm absolutely furious.

Another bug? The JP PS3 had one where if you installed the themes you earned you wouldn't be able to get trophies. It seems unlikely that this should happen on the 360 though...

[Himuro]

Sigh. Grinded all afternoon. I've almost got every main role for my guys covered, then I'm going to take down some marks until the chocobo is unlocked and continue with the story.

[dreamer3kx]

For now, I was just looking to concentrate on a single role for each character rather than multiple. Also, what about the rest of the characters?

I never used one other character, this team was extremely reliable for me throughout, I didnt concentrate on a single role really because they were all pretty important for me, especially the synergist role, I just spread CP around to each main role w/each character.

[grumble]

Sigh. Grinded all afternoon. I've almost got every main role for my guys covered, then I'm going to take down some marks until the chocobo is unlocked and continue with the story.

You really didn't have to grind. If you just do the first few missions and kill the enemies along the way you'll be fine for the Tower. In the Tower, you'll get a top of XP anyways. If I were you I'd stop grinding completely until I was at the end of Chap. 11, then go back and start doing higher level missions then.

[leng jai]

For now, I was just looking to concentrate on a single role for each character rather than multiple. Also, what about the rest of the characters?

Rapid paradigm shifting is practically mandatory after chapter 9 so its not really a good idea just to concentrate on one role.

[Himuro]

You really didn't have to grind. If you just do the first few missions and kill the enemies along the way you'll be fine for the Tower. In the Tower, you'll get a top of XP anyways. If I were you I'd stop grinding completely until I was at the end of Chap. 11, then go back and start doing higher level missions then.

Well, I had more fun grinding + doing missions today than I have had the whole game.

[Fuu]

I like how in ch.12 the game throws these large and harder enemies I avoided at Gran Pulse like the Juggernaut and Adamanchelid but by now they go down easily. Feels good man.

[Rpgmonkey]

Can you guys tell me what is the best ability (role?) to develop for each character (Commando, Ravager, etc)?

It's kinda based on your preferences, but this is kinda what I thought they excelled at and were the most well-rounded in:

Lightning - Commando
Snow - Sentinel and Commando
Vanille - Medic and Saboteur
Sazh - Synergist
Hope - Medic and Ravager
Fang - Commando and Saboteur

I felt Lightning only got really great at being a Commando, but she makes up for it by being extremely versatile, arguably moreso than everyone else. Her HP maxes out at a "respectable" 20,000, she has high but balanced Strength and Magic stats, and she's about "mid-tier" in every role besides Commando.

I felt Sazh only got really great at being a Synergist, but he has the second highest HP of the group, and is about low or mid-tier in all his other roles.

Of course, you're probably going to want to mix things up a bit. Personally I leveled up one role at a time. First the one I thought they were best in, then the other two, switching when I reached the level cap for a role. When I learned the extra roles I waited until I mastered the original three, then moved on to those.

[Dedication Through Light]

It's kinda based on your preferences, but this is kinda what I thought they excelled at and were the most well-rounded in: Lightning - Commando [b] Or Ravager Hope - Medic and Ravager Fang - Commando and Saboteur .

I ended up having Lightning serve as a Ravager since those magic elemental skills were excellent (and also I like it when my characters use flashy moves), which seemed to work well with Lightning and Hope as Ravagers, and Fang as a Commando, for the Relentless Assault paradigm which I probably used 75% of the game and used for every boss.

[Mr. Wonderful]

It would've been better, but it'd still have been a waste. Just revert it to X-2. X-2 did it right. No AI at all, better job and ability variety, player required input, better subsystems, better challenge. XIII is even speedier and super pretty and effective at what it does do, but it's really a wash, you really don't have much of a place outside of swapping paradigms based around boring concepts that you have no control over. .

Bingo.

I would rather just manually control my party with no AI period. That's why VI-X had the best battle systems in the series. And it just sucks, as much as I like XIII, that I'm not getting my traditional Final Fantasy experience in the FNC, as XIII was supposed to be that, but clearly, it didn't turn out that way.

[Raw64life]

The in-game map mostly sucks for that. Useful maps here: http://twobrothersandasister.com/?p=6455 And yes, you'll be able to come back at a later point to do the missions in case you want to advance with the story now.

Thanks.

Exactly when is the next time you can go back after leaving the area?

[FTWer]

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but my frustration with this chapter weeds out all of the fun I've had with the game so far, it feels like a chore to finish the game.

Well, I had more fun grinding + doing missions today than I have had the whole game.

*smh*

Is it so hard to enjoy both linear & non-linear design in a game?
It has to be only one or another with some it seems.

[Kettch]

Just finished the game's story today, and I really enjoyed it. Definitely my favorite FF game since VIII. Chapter 11 was amazing, and I'll head back now to have more fun. I only have two real complaints about the game.

First is the inability to switch the character you control. It wouldn't really be necessary except for the terrible gimmick of getting a game over with only one of your characters dying. I can't believe anyone could have thought that was a good idea. I can't think of any way that switching characters would hurt the game play, and it seems like such a simple thing to implement. Maybe they wanted to force players to be more defensive or something, but there had to be better ways to do that. The battle system in general is easily one of the most fun I've played though, and far better than anything else in the FF series. I didn't think all that much of it until the Snow/Hope section that forced you to do something other than attack-attack-attack, but from then on it was just great.

And my second issue was the absolutely horrible ending theme song, that just sucked any possible magic out of the game's ending. I looked up the Japanese version just now, and while it's nothing spectacular either, it's still leagues better than that crap. The game had such beautiful vocal songs all throughout too (the one theme that's repeated throughout the game, and also the one at the waterfall cavern). I really don't understand how they managed to screw that up so badly.

Anyway, I'll get back to some missions now. Random kill quests have never been so fun.

[ZephyrFate]

Kettch, you must have never played a Shin Megami Tensei game. Having the leader die = game over is really not as bad as you make it out to be. God I love this game's gameplay. The idea is that without a leader you can't properly issue commands. This actually makes sense.

[FTWer]

Bingo. I would rather just manually control my party with no AI period. That's why VI-X had the best battle systems in the series. And it just sucks, as much as I like XIII, that I'm not getting my traditional Final Fantasy experience in the FNC, as XIII was supposed to be that, but clearly, it didn't turn out that way.

Wrong. For that to have worked, you would needed to go back to stopping time to apply each individual action, which would have completely destroyed the flow of the battles.

One of the best things about this game is that it isn't a traditional by the numbers FF game.

[Fuu]

Thanks. Exactly when is the next time you can go back after leaving the area?

There will be a portal at the start of chapter 13 and you'll also be able to go back after you beat the game.

[lupin23rd]

Just completed the game. Seems like I'm never going to get the achievement for completing chapter 12. I'm absolutely furious.

I read on another forum there is no trophy for chapter 12. I just started that one myself so not sure.

[Kettch]

Kettch, you must have never played a Shin Megami Tensei game. Having the leader die = game over is really not as bad as you make it out to be. God I love this game's gameplay.

Wanting to play one of the low-HP characters and getting randomly killed in seconds when my Sentinel screwed up for a moment was not fun at all. I just don't see any reason for it. High penalties for a KO would be fine, no revive until 30 seconds have passed or something. But a simple game over is just overkill.

Other than that I loved the battle system as well though.

[ZephyrFate]

Wanting to play one of the low-HP characters and getting randomly killed in seconds when my Sentinel screwed up for a moment was not fun at all. I just don't see any reason for it. High penalties for a KO would be fine, no revive until 30 seconds have passed or something. But a simple game over is just overkill. Other than that I loved the battle system as well though.

How else would you die if your leader didn't die? The game would be cheesy easy.

[Kettch]

How else would you die if your leader didn't die? The game would be cheesy easy.

Like I said, I'd be fine with higher penalties for KOs. Even removing revives entirely would be fine with me. I just don't like losing with 2 of my characters still standing.

[Dedication Through Light]

I read on another forum there is no trophy for chapter 12. I just started that one myself so not sure.

I think the trophy is , hm looking at the guides there wasnt one, lol. I have all the story trophies and it seems like there wasnt

[Magnus]

How else would you die if your leader didn't die? The game would be cheesy easy.

It's an arbitrary and annoying rule, especially when you don't get the necessary tools at all times to make sure you prioritize the protection of your leader.

I just cleared what I think (and hope) is the end of Chapter 11, third try. Barthandelus, Revisited, which is good, because if I had to listen to this overdone choir/gospel-chanting battle theme drone on any longer, I'd kill myself.

That was probably the best fight in the game so far, pretty stressful and fast-paced. Enemy Dispelgas are annoying. :lol

[ZephyrFate]

It's an arbitrary and annoying rule, especially when you don't get the necessary tools at all times to make sure you prioritize the protection of your leader. I just cleared what I think (and hope) is the end of Chapter 11, third try. Barthandelus, Revisited That was probably the best fight in the game so far, pretty stressful and fast-paced. Enemy Dispelgas are annoying. :lol

No, it's not. It actually adds strategy because you have to keep an eye on one character over the others -- it adds tension and stress, which is what battles should do. I honestly do not have a single problem with having leader death = game over. I've gotten used it to it in SMT, and those games have fantastic battle systems.

[Rpgmonkey]

I ended up having Lightning serve as a Ravager since those magic elemental skills were excellent (and also I like it when my characters use flashy moves), which seemed to work well with Lightning and Hope as Ravagers, and Fang as a Commando, for the Relentless Assault paradigm which I probably used 75% of the game and used for every boss.

Oh yeah, she's a decent good ravager, but besides Thunder she only gets as high as the second-tier spells, which takes her down a notch in comparison to Hope and even Vanille.

She's about on the same level as Fang there.

Is it so hard to enjoy both linear & non-linear design in a game?

It is when it's blended somewhat well and done in a more progressive fashion.

Going from hours of straight corridors with a heavily repeated format to hours of various things to do in an instant isn't good blending. XIII falls flat at something many previous FFs did somewhat well, and that's easing you into free exploration. You don't just get an airship and bam, you can go everywhere and explore. You get stuff like boats, canoes, chocobos, even a school, as you go through the game.

How else would you die if your leader didn't die? The game would be cheesy easy.

There are several encounters and enemies fully capable of KO'ing your entire party. The ones that can't do that usually can't even KO your leader in the first place.

The leader KO=Game Over adds little to the game and there's not really any logic behind it besides lazily added difficulty. I'd like to think my other party members are humans, not demons summoned by the leader or Pokemon that disappear or become lost without me to guide them. The leader character is even an individual person and not some kind of avatar of myself like in Persona or something, so it makes even less sense. If I get KO'd, they should be able to use Raise or a Phoenix Down like they can on A.I. people.

It's fine if you don't have problems with it, but for many people it doesn't add anything interesting to the game.

[Magnus]

No, it's not. It actually adds strategy because you have to keep an eye on one character over the others -- it adds tension and stress, which is what battles should do.

Dude, by this logic, having Poison inflicted on your leader in every battle would also add good quality stress and tension to every fight. It's arbitrary.

I honestly do not have a single problem with having leader death = game over. I've gotten used it to it in SMT, and those games have fantastic battle systems.

"My favorite game X has bad thing Y, so if FF has bad thing Y as well, wicked!"

[Firestorm]

No, it's not. It actually adds strategy because you have to keep an eye on one character over the others -- it adds tension and stress, which is what battles should do. I honestly do not have a single problem with having leader death = game over. I've gotten used it to it in SMT, and those games have fantastic battle systems.

It doesn't add much strategy considering you can't even control the positioning of your leader. It adds tension and stress, but not in a good way.

[Magnus]

If the story added a reason for one character's death to be a critical blow to the party's advancement, there'd at least be a reason for it.

Think 'guest' characters that have to survive for you to proceed, or a character that's vital to an upcoming cutscene that has to make it, or something.

[Kettch]

It doesn't add much strategy considering you can't even control the positioning of your leader. It adds tension and stress, but not in a good way.

Oh yeah, positioning was another thing I thought could have been improved. It wasn't a big deal at all, but having one fight where my leader hugged the sentinel and got hit by continuous splash damage attacks and then another fight where she walked around to the opposite side and never got touched was a bit silly. Being able to move around would have been nice, or at least have some consistency in how they positioned themselves.

[FTWer]

It is when it's blended somewhat well and done in a more progressive fashion. Going from hours of straight corridors with a heavily repeated format to hours of various things to do in an instant isn't good blending. XIII falls flat at something many previous FFs did somewhat well, and that's easing you into free exploration. You don't just get an airship and bam, you can go everywhere and explore. You get stuff like boats, canoes, chocobos, even a school, as you go through the game.

Maybe they didn't do a good illusion of it (it wouldn't have worked from the story standpoint), but it progress the same way most jRPGs do anyways.
The vast majority of the 1st 2/3rds of a game are heavily linear story driven segments & at the end they always open up a bunch of side quest & let you visit all of the World without restrictions.

[Yoshichan]

Wow, the music spoilers? Song for the main boss is incredible.

[rhfb]

Finally finished with the "tutorial" portion of the game :lol

Just wondering if I should stick with my current party, or swap some people out. I was thinking of going with Lightning/Vanille/Fang instead of Lightning/Hope/Fang but IDK :|

[lunlunqq]

holy fuck 35 adamantoise/adamantortoise later i'm still without a single trapzehedron WTF make sure vanille is using belladona and fang is also on sab and deshell it first after it fall before spamming death increases the odds of it landing

i think you should at least have the money to buy one, no? i did some turtle farming and it's really tedious... eventually i just spent the money to buy one.

[Yoshichan]

Finally finished with the "tutorial" portion of the game :lol Just wondering if I should stick with my current party, or swap some people out. I was thinking of going with Lightning/Vanille/Fang instead of Lightning/Hope/Fang but IDK :|

This is my favorite "casual" party.

COM/RAV/COM = damage
RAV/RAV/RAV = chain
SYN/SYN/SAB = buffing and slow on enemy
COM/SAB/COM = damage and debuff
MED/MED/MED = pure heals
SEN/MED/SEN = Invincible

[Prothero]

Is there any way to get more Deceptisols and Fortisols? I used all of the ones I had in my inventory (only had 3 of each).

[Rpgmonkey]

Maybe they didn't do a good illusion of it (it wouldn't have worked from the story standpoint), but it progress the same way most jRPGs do anyways. The vast majority of the 1st 2/3rds of a game are heavily linear story driven segments & at the end they always open up a bunch of side quest & let you visit all of the World without restrictions.

Many JRPGs will give you say, a boat and let you explore, letting you backtrack and on occasion do extra things that weren't necessary to progress; sometimes the story would even take a break for a moment, encouraging you to hang around and see what you can find. Then you get an airship with even greater exploration later on. This is a common technique for games "similar" to FF like Tales and Dragon Quest, and a few FFs before 10 came along also did it. Maybe it's an "illusion", but it's a well-known method of blending linearity and non-linearity together without it being too alienating or offensive to players.

Of course that style may be awkward in FFXIII's case, but the game goes to such extremes that I think it's perfectly understandable why people feel so strongly one way or the other, because of the way it's a lot like sticking two different halves together to make one complete thing.