Afro Republican
Banned
Which involves, pretending the other two games didn't happen.
Looking back at FFXIII, it was a pretty decent game. While having no control over your characters as they jump into laser canons for no reason was kind of odd with it's very simple battle system, the game had several good points.
1. The characters: Sazh had great character motivation, his backstory resonated with you as he interacted with the rest of the cast, and he was well voice acted and written. The twist about his "fake" suicide" the Falcie using his son, and his actual battle mechanics were quite enjoyable.
2. The game looks pretty good, they really had added a lot of polish. Several areas like the White Wood and Proto-Ecology belt looked breath-taking, and with memorable locations such as those and more, it really puts you into the world.
3. The data-log removed the need for overly long detailed cutscenes, instead making the cutscenes a bit more vague and seemingly filled with holes without reading them, BUT giving us high-octane action scenes and establishing shots of the world of Cocoon and Grand Pulse. From Nautilus on Cocoon, or Byston Well down in Grand Pulses' Australian themed design, the cutscenes are good at establishing SETTING. The Data-log provides a way for the deeper details to be read and absorbed at the players own pace instead of thrown at you like a Tiger.
4. Crystarium is made for the average gamer today, complex but with an intuitive, simplified design that tells you what you're getting, but you still need to pay attention to the integers to get there. With several classes to choose from you can easily customize your character to be good at any class you want, all characters later in the game unlock all classes and can all be equal in each class you choose. This, combined with the Weapon Level-up system, allows you to craft your character as detailed as one from an MMO.
5. The villains are well designed, taking influence from designs like the Helgast from Killzone and other Sci-fi anime TV series, most of the Villains aren't even Villains but manipulated or ignorant people who think they are doing the right thing. The real bad guy is also not one dimensional, begging for death in order to "save" cocoon.
6. Towns are shrunken and streamlined allowing more convenient and intuitive gameplay design so players don't have to deal with too much needless exploration and or dealing with being lost. Instead, they focused on the design and graphics of the cities, which are all sublime.
7. Finally, balance. The game is very balanced, the Weapon upgrade system allows you to customize your weapons at every whim. Every weapon you pick up in the game is often stronger than the one you had before. Character classes are balanced, you can make Fang and Sazh Commando's and they will both be equal, because the game doesn't make you say, for example, use Fang, Hope, and Lightning during Grand Pules because the other 3 no matter how much you upgraded them are garbage because the game isn't balanced. That doesn't happen in FFXIII unlike other rpgs. The balance is very important. It's why it's a common feature that's talked about, because it works so well, that it impresses.
So what do you guys think of Final Fantasy XIII in retrospect?
Looking back at FFXIII, it was a pretty decent game. While having no control over your characters as they jump into laser canons for no reason was kind of odd with it's very simple battle system, the game had several good points.
1. The characters: Sazh had great character motivation, his backstory resonated with you as he interacted with the rest of the cast, and he was well voice acted and written. The twist about his "fake" suicide" the Falcie using his son, and his actual battle mechanics were quite enjoyable.
2. The game looks pretty good, they really had added a lot of polish. Several areas like the White Wood and Proto-Ecology belt looked breath-taking, and with memorable locations such as those and more, it really puts you into the world.
3. The data-log removed the need for overly long detailed cutscenes, instead making the cutscenes a bit more vague and seemingly filled with holes without reading them, BUT giving us high-octane action scenes and establishing shots of the world of Cocoon and Grand Pulse. From Nautilus on Cocoon, or Byston Well down in Grand Pulses' Australian themed design, the cutscenes are good at establishing SETTING. The Data-log provides a way for the deeper details to be read and absorbed at the players own pace instead of thrown at you like a Tiger.
4. Crystarium is made for the average gamer today, complex but with an intuitive, simplified design that tells you what you're getting, but you still need to pay attention to the integers to get there. With several classes to choose from you can easily customize your character to be good at any class you want, all characters later in the game unlock all classes and can all be equal in each class you choose. This, combined with the Weapon Level-up system, allows you to craft your character as detailed as one from an MMO.
5. The villains are well designed, taking influence from designs like the Helgast from Killzone and other Sci-fi anime TV series, most of the Villains aren't even Villains but manipulated or ignorant people who think they are doing the right thing. The real bad guy is also not one dimensional, begging for death in order to "save" cocoon.
6. Towns are shrunken and streamlined allowing more convenient and intuitive gameplay design so players don't have to deal with too much needless exploration and or dealing with being lost. Instead, they focused on the design and graphics of the cities, which are all sublime.
7. Finally, balance. The game is very balanced, the Weapon upgrade system allows you to customize your weapons at every whim. Every weapon you pick up in the game is often stronger than the one you had before. Character classes are balanced, you can make Fang and Sazh Commando's and they will both be equal, because the game doesn't make you say, for example, use Fang, Hope, and Lightning during Grand Pules because the other 3 no matter how much you upgraded them are garbage because the game isn't balanced. That doesn't happen in FFXIII unlike other rpgs. The balance is very important. It's why it's a common feature that's talked about, because it works so well, that it impresses.
So what do you guys think of Final Fantasy XIII in retrospect?
