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[Shouta]

Man I can't stress how stupid and annoying this Hope kid is. I wish I could just banish him from the game.

Spoiler

Why the hell does he think Snow is at fault for everything that happened? He knows that the "purge" thing wasn't about sending people down to Pulse but instead just killing them off. If Snow had never came along that whole group he was with would be dead including his mother. Now instead he has this stupid vengeance plot because Snow tried to save his mother and failed.

Ugh, so annoying.

Not sure if you're far enough yet but they do explain it a bit more as to why he feels so. What section are you at?

 

[KTallguy]

Hope gets much better as you go along. He's growing on me.
In the beginning he was just a little Shinji though.

Man getting preemptive strikes and owning everyone in 5 seconds is so fun.

And there are some moments in the ingame cutscenes where I really thought it was CG. Christ we are getting close. I wonder where Versus will be. Those scenes that no one thought could be in game are ... really in game!

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Not sure if you're far enough yet but they do explain it a bit more as to why he feels so. What section are you at?

I'm nearing the end of chapter 5 I believe.

Spoiler

I've been in this Gapura Forest place for a long time now with Lightning and Hope and I think I'm about to be out of it.

And there are some moments in the ingame cutscenes where I really thought it was CG. Christ we are getting close. I wonder where Versus will be. Those scenes that no one thought could be in game are ... really in game!

Some of the in-engine cutscenes really do look like CG at times. The early part where your whole party is

Spoiler

in the ship watching the news broadcast

in particular looked amazing. I was caught off guard when it switched to a full CG scene immediately after that part.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

I just want to explore you damn game

 

[KTallguy]

I'm in the same spot as you Zefah. I think Hope is improving

Lightning is starting to Moe for him hahaha :lol

 

[Perfect Blue]

Speaking of CGI, how many are there in the first hours of play?

 

[Shouta]

I'm nearing the end of chapter 5 I believe.

Spoiler

I've been in this Gapura Forest place for a long time now with Lightning and Hope and I think I'm about to be out of it.

Ah, they explain it a bit there and a little afterwards. It becomes pretty clear that it's for a specific reason that's a bit related to what happened.

Read this when you get out of that section.

Spoiler

Hope really hates Snow right now not because he blames the events on Snow but he blames him for being a irresponsible person that gets even innocent people involved. Hope knows that the purge is the fault of the Sanctum but his mother may have survived if Snow hadn't gotten her to fight. The other reason is that Snow's ulterior motive was also a selfish one, he wasn't there to save people, he was there to save Sera and he got innocent folks involved while doing that. Hope knows that exacting revenge on Snow won't do any good but he just can't shake the feeling at all as you can see by the interaction with him and Lightning at the end of the forest.

On a different note, who the hell thought it was a good idea to name a town after the twins from FF4 >=|

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Ah, they explain it a bit there and a little afterwards. It becomes pretty clear that it's for a specific reason that's a bit related to what happened.

Read this when you get out of that section.

Spoiler

Hope really hates Snow right now not because he blames the events on Snow but he blames him for being a irresponsible person that gets even innocent people involved. Hope knows that the purge is the fault of the Sanctum but his mother may have survived if Snow hadn't gotten her to fight. The other reason is that Snow's ulterior motive was also a selfish one, he wasn't there to save people, he was there to save Sera and he got innocent folks involved while doing that. Hope knows that exacting revenge on Snow won't do any good but he just can't shake the feeling at all as you can see by the interaction with him and Lightning at the end of the forest.

On a different note, who the hell thought it was a good idea to name a town after the twins from FF4 >=|

Yeah I just saw that last cutscene. I still think that Hope and his whole plot is completely stupid. I can't believe this is the best they could come up with for their main FF game.

I gotta take a break. 10 hours in now and the formula hasn't changed in the slightest. Corridor after corridor only intertwined by cutscenes, half of which seem to have little to no meaning, and there is still no sign of even a slightly compelling storyline here. It feels like I'm in some never-ending dungeon where the wallpaper changes from time to time.

Gonna go grab some lunch for now.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

A demo on the Japanese PSN would make me very happy. I mean this is big shit in Japan now, you know, right? So... logically I mean... it would be prudent of them to release a demo... yes... so I can play this sometime before March. Yes.

brandon... I want you to take a deep breath and say this with me:


I...AM NOT... GETTING A FREE FFXIII DEMO... ON PSN



...repeat.

 

[aryies]

hasn't changed in the slightest. Corridor after corridor only intertwined by cutscenes, half of which seem to have little to no meaning

fuck. hopes dashed. this is exactly what i HATED about ff12. it just felt like corridor to corridor cutscene more corridors cutscene then changing the zone rinse and repeat. even the "open" area's still felt like corridors.

 

[Shouta]

Yeah I just saw that last cutscene. I still think that Hope and his whole plot is completely stupid. I can't believe this is the best they could come up with for their main FF game.

It could've been handled a lot worse if you ask me. In fact, I think it's handled pretty well and it's only the character plot so it won't have that much of a bearing on the full story.

 

[LCfiner]

It’s possible I missed it, but has anyone talked about cities in this game? what are the towns like? large?

are there things to do in them?

or… are there even any cities at all? (I really haven’t heard anyone mention them in this thread)

 

[BocoDragon]

brandon... I want you to take a deep breath and say this with me:


I...AM NOT... GETTING A FREE FFXIII DEMO... ON PSN



...repeat.

you lie.... YOU LIE!! ;_;

 

[donkey show]

So much is happening on the battle screen!

This is pretty fun considering you have to be really attentive. And Snow is totally a dudebro. :lol

 

[NeoUltima]

There will be a psn demo on the 29th of December. How do I know? I don't, but I like to think I do.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Advent Children Complete + Demo.


or import the full game


or wait for March 9th




... but Square has never given a 'free' demo for a FF. You have to ante up, baby- with a movie you don't care about or a game that no one would buy without a playable demo... or a Dragon Quest game in the West, which might as well be a game based purely on Bob Sagat. Square WILL take your money... and they can't do it with a free demo on PSN.

Maybe in July.

 

[Dead Prince]

So much is happening on the battle screen!

This is pretty fun considering you have to be really attentive. And Snow is totally a dudebro. :lol

HIGH FIVE.

 

[LCfiner]

HIGH FIVE.

Dudebros fist bump

 

[donkey show]

HIGH FIVE.

When we were looking through Snow's chrystarium, one of his attacks is called Frost Blow, but my wife read it as Frost Bro. We started to laugh considering we had labeled him as a dudebro when he first came in.

 

[KTallguy]

I used to think that having that Auto-Command thing was for casual wusses, but in the heat of battle, it's so damn useful. I can barely keep up with things as they are :lol

And this game is so beautiful, the music ... the environment ... jesus.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

It’s possible I missed it, but has anyone talked about cities in this game? what are the towns like? large?

are there things to do in them?

or… are there even any cities at all? (I really haven’t heard anyone mention them in this thread)

Well cities exist in the story, but I'm not sure if you ever actually go to any of them. I'm on Chapter 6 (out of how many I do not know) and about 10 hours into the game and so far the field has consisted entirely of fairly narrow corridors with enemies and treasure chests strewn about. Shops are accessed from the numerous save points, but so far I have barely used them at all. There really isn't much reason to buy anything if you grab all of the treasure chests.

So much is happening on the battle screen!

This is pretty fun considering you have to be really attentive. And Snow is totally a dudebro. :lol

Do I have the game on easy mode or something? I'm not getting this whole "have to be attentive" thing. Other than the (chapter 4 spoiler) battle with

Spoiler

Odin

and the boss at the end of chapter 5 I have barely even needed to switch to a Healer role and even then I haven't ever really felt in danger of actually dying.

 

[cruets]

Did anyone who got theirs shipped USPS Express (overnight?) from NCSX get a tracking number? It's 6pm and hasn't shown up and ncsx's order status just says SHIPPED at 10:37am yesterday using USPS Express. Without a tracking number I can't really ummm...track it?

same, had usps express with ncsx, got email that it was shipped yesterday but no tracking number and package did not show up today

 

[donkey show]

Do I have the game on easy mode or something? I'm not getting this whole "have to be attentive" thing. Other than the (chapter 4 spoiler) battle with

Spoiler

Odin

and the boss at the end of chapter 5 I have barely even needed to switch to a Healer role and even then I haven't ever really felt in danger of actually dying.

There are times when I just kinda drift off watching the battle and next thing you know someone's dead. :lol

 

[Lumpy Onion]

Hearing about long narrow corridors and no towns (at least early on) is kind of discouraging to me. One of my favorite parts of FF has always been finding side-quests by searching obscure locations and talking to random townsfolk. Are there at least any NPCs around that can be talked to during the first 10 or so hours?

 

[jae]

Did anyone who got theirs shipped USPS Express (overnight?) from NCSX get a tracking number? It's 6pm and hasn't shown up and ncsx's order status just says SHIPPED at 10:37am yesterday using USPS Express. Without a tracking number I can't really ummm...track it?

I had to email them to get one. My copy did arrive this morning, even though I never got a shipping notification.

 

[KTallguy]

Hearing about long narrow corridors and no towns (at least early on) is kind of discouraging to me. One of my favorite parts of FF has always been finding side-quests by searching obscure locations and talking to random townsfolk. Are there at least any NPCs around that can be talked to during the first 10 or so hours?

There is very limited NPC interaction. I've only been to 1 "town" in the game, and I've been playing 11 hours.

However, it looks like

Spoiler

the party is going to reunite soon

(minor spoiler), so once that happens I'm guessing we'll get a vehicle and be able to move around more freely.

So far the individual areas you visit don't seem like they are connected like FF12. I'm not sure if you can return or not yet.

And lol at the Daishi Dance esque music. I guess Persona 3 opened the floodgates :lol

There are "shops" but (minor gameplay spoiler)

Spoiler

it's like you're shopping on the internet. The different stores all have unique, chic interfaces

. This is really "futuristic" FF, I guess no one goes to the armor shop anymore :lol

 

[LCfiner]

Well cities exist in the story, but I'm not sure if you ever actually go to any of them. I'm on Chapter 6 (out of how many I do not know) and about 10 hours into the game and so far the field has consisted entirely of fairly narrow corridors with enemies and treasure chests strewn about. Shops are accessed from the numerous save points, but so far I have barely used them at all. There really isn't much reason to buy anything if you grab all of the treasure chests.

thanks for that.

man, my feelings for this game are a little conflicted. on one hand, I like what I’m hearing and seeing for the battle system but the actual world you inhabit seems dreadfully barren.

 

[KTallguy]

thanks for that.

man, my feelings for this game are a little conflicted. on one hand, I like what I’m hearing and seeing for the battle system but the actual world you inhabit seems dreadfully barren.

The environments are kind of barren, but again, there are lots of enemies hanging out, and you do see bodies or stuff that is story related. But the game does have a very pristine, shiny feeling to it.

I do go and sweep the camera around to look at the landscapes a lot in this game though.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

The environments are kind of barren, but again, there are lots of enemies hanging out, and you do see bodies or stuff that is story related. But the game does have a very pristine, shiny feeling to it.

I do go and sweep the camera around to look at the landscapes a lot in this game though.

The landscapes sure are pretty. I find myself stopping sometimes as well just to take it all in.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Yeah I am also around Chapter 8(I think) and there have been no real cities so far. The closest thing I have gotten to is

Spoiler

Nautilus, which is kind of like a Gold Saucer area. Except instead of actually doing any cool stuff there it appears you just walk through the area and then get in fights on the way out while looking at the cool coaster's and stuff in the background.

 

[BocoDragon]

Advent Children Complete + Demo.


or import the full game


or wait for March 9th




... but Square has never given a 'free' demo for a FF. You have to ante up, baby- with a movie you don't care about or a game that no one would buy without a playable demo... or a Dragon Quest game in the West, which might as well be a game based purely on Bob Sagat. Square WILL take your money... and they can't do it with a free demo on PSN.

Maybe in July.

After the Tobal no. 1 demo, a second build of the FFVII mako bombing demo appeared as a freebee in new PS1s and given away at retailers.

The Brave Fencer Musashi FFVIII demo made a reappearance on an OPM demo disc shortly before the US release.

The FFX demo appeared on a Jampack PS2 demo disk. The FFX-2 demo appeared on another OPM disk.

So ya.. They do give away demos for free. There's even precedent to release previous pack-in demos on demo disks. It's especially possible considering it's had no actual release in this territory.

A western PSN release of the Advent Children demo is so possible. Patch in some English voices (or don't!) Old build? So what! An updated build would be nice but I'll take the old one. The non-Japanese fans deserve it (I bought the US ACC Blu-Ray... I deserve it!! XD )

 

[RaijinFY]

How many chapters are there supposed to be in the whole game?

 

[7Th]

Yeah I am also around Chapter 8(I think) and there have been no real cities so far. The closest thing I have gotten to is

Spoiler

Nautilus, which is kind of like a Gold Saucer area. Except instead of actually doing any cool stuff there it appears you just walk through the area and then get in fights on the way out while looking at the cool coaster's and stuff in the background.

I don't know much Japanese, so I'll ask you. Spoilers regarding Fang in Chapter 7:

Spoiler

do they explain the reason she is so protective of Vanille? I heard her call Vanille "her little sister" but did she mean it in the literal sense or in the figurative sense?

 

[Shouta]

I don't know much Japanese, so I'll ask you. Spoilers regarding Fang in Chapter 7:

Spoiler

do they explain the reason she is so protective of Vanille? I heard her call Vanille "her little sister" but did she mean it in the literal sense or in the figurative sense?

She didn't say that in chapter 7, just finished it. Didn't hear it at all.

Zef: 6 and 7 are harder than Chap the earlier ones. The last bsos battle I fought, wow, that was an onslaught.

 

[7Th]

She didn't say that in chapter 7, just finished it. Didn't hear it at all.

Zef: 6 and 7 are harder than Chap the earlier ones. The last bsos battle I fought, wow, that was an onslaught.

Wait, does this mean that when she said

Spoiler

"imouto" and "mamoru" she was talking about Lightning's imouto?

That makes more sense. :lol

 

[Shouta]

Wait, does this mean that when she said

Spoiler

"imouto" and "mamoru" she was talking about Lightning's imouto?

That makes more sense. :lol

Yeah, pretty sure that's what she was referring to if it was between those two characters.

 

[TheExodu5]

Got a new encode of the project up, at roughly half the file size. It can now be streamed as well as long as you have QuickTime (though QuickTime streaming doesn't give results that are quite as nice as MPC + a good decoder):

Final Fantasy XIII - Pulse Translation Project - Advent Children Demo

Now, the person who originally recorded did so at 60fps. Future videos should look significantly better since we'll be encoding at half the framerate.

 

[donkey show]

Some pics of the PinkS3.

 

[Kagari]

Nice. Can't wait to get mine.

 

[Kagari]

Need some tips on

Spoiler

the Snow versus Shiva fight. I can only manage to get her drive bar to half way... before the doom countdown ends.

 

[Shouta]

Need some tips on

Spoiler

the Snow versus Shiva fight. I can only manage to get her drive bar to half way... before the doom countdown ends.

Defend

 

[donkey show]

Need some tips on

Spoiler

the Snow versus Shiva fight. I can only manage to get her drive bar to half way... before the doom countdown ends.

Switch to

Spoiler

blaster and do Frost blow until the drive meter is full. Then hit square and you'll be good to go

 

[Deleted member 17706]

She didn't say that in chapter 7, just finished it. Didn't hear it at all.

Zef: 6 and 7 are harder than Chap the earlier ones. The last bsos battle I fought, wow, that was an onslaught.

I hope you're right about chapter 7 because I just finished 6 and it was a breeze. I don't really like the Sazh / Vanille team, though.

 

[CloudV]

Finally getting in some good time now, near the end of Chapter 3

Spoiler

Fighting the bird thing in the old city after Lake Bilge

I think, and man, I am loving this.

I know there is some bitching about linearity in mapping, but after getting to

Spoiler

Lake Bilge

it's just too pretty to notice, and I feel it starts opening up more.

I am starting to get into the story also, so it's really not a big stickler as well on the linearity. It has good pacing and drawing you in.

Battles are great, I actually wish you could save replays sometimes like D:FF because some of these fights are just that f'n cool. And the boss(?) battle theme? Looks like I'm going to maybe have to pick up the OST this time around, haven't bought one since FFIX.

Oh, on the characters, my wife was watching last night and added these tidbits:

Hope -> Whiny little boy (I agree)
Vanille -> Runs funny
Sazh -> Talks too much

Again though, I'm loving Sazh, he is the shit. Best black man in FF! (not that there is much competition)

Other things: I like how the game will give you a brief text recap while you're load your game. Also the save game picture changes depending on location and who's in charge.

Still niggling things: Getting used to the camera now, after trying all 4 types. Currently on reverse type wide. I wis there was an audio option tooo so you could maybe turn up music and down audio effects.

 

[Shouta]

I hope you're right about chapter 7 because I just finished 6 and it was a breeze. I don't really like the Sazh / Vanille team, though.

Yeah, I jsut remebered that Chap 6 was that area. 7 though, is another story though and Chapter 8 is great so far.

 

[reKon]

I have a feeling that the game will definitely open up once people get to that nice 25+ hour mark.


I've got a question though! FFX was a very memorably game, partly because of the music that perfectly fit each and environment and scene? For those who are many hours in, how is the music of the game thus far? Does it stay stuck in your head after you take a break from the game? I know it may sound strange, but that's one of the many things I really enjoyed about FFX. It really added to the overall experience and music was always perfect for whatever I was doing (whether it was roaming the calm lands, on the besaid islands, or leveling in Zanarkand).

 

[NeoUltima]

Don't go to Gametrailers, fuckers posting possible spoilerific videos with possibly spoilerific titles/descriptions(on front page). I'm sure they're not much in terms of spoilers now...but knowing GT, they'll upload the whole damn game eventually.

 

[reKon]

Don't go to Gametrailers, fuckers posting possible spoilerific videos with possibly spoilerific titles/descriptions(on front page). I'm sure they're not much in terms of spoilers now...but knowing GT, they'll upload the whole damn game eventually.

No surprise there. They should really stop doing this with games..

 

[0405]

Libra really needs to be the first option under TP Abilities.

Spoiler

I've accidentally summoned Odin twice now.

D:

Edit:

Don't go to Gametrailers, fuckers posting possible spoilerific videos with possibly spoilerific titles/descriptions(on front page). I'm sure they're not much in terms of spoilers now...but knowing GT, they'll upload the whole damn game eventually.

To be fair, most of what's being shown has been known for some time at large and it all takes place in the first two or three hours of the game. It also seems like they don't really understand what's happening in the scenes, as a few of the descriptions are out and out wrong.

 

[donkey show]

I don't really like the Sazh / Vanille team, though.

Holy crap about that team. I'm on that part now and damage dealing sucks balls.