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[neoism]

20 hours????

What have you been doing? I just finished it at 13 hours. Have you been just leaving the console on in the inventory screen or something? I don't see how there can be such a difference when the only thing you can do in this game is run straight down a set path.

WTF 13 hours???
edit:nm:lol

 

[Robobandit]

WTF 13 hours???

Relax. Not the whole game, he finished a certain chapter within 13 hours rather than 20.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

Planned for DLC probably.

Don't even joke around like that =P

Seriously though, someone playing, now cities/towns/villages?!?@?!!?!?!?!3?/3!@//!/!?!

 

[Corran Horn]

My copy is in Alaska now....come on mush you dogs mush I must get my game!

 

[RevenantKioku]

Just like Snow's,

Spoiler

switch to blaster and magic attack his ass. You'll be golden. I'm guessing all the Eidolon fights are similar to this.

That's... not at all how I did Snow's.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

That's... not at all how I did Snow's.

Yeah Snow's had an easy trick to it, however not really with

Spoiler

Odin

. You just gotta fight for all you are worth.

 

[donkey show]

That's... not at all how I did Snow's.

Haha, really? It was pretty easy for me on both accounts doing what I did.

 

[Oichi]

Did you beat it yet? I can try and offer some advice if you haven't.

I did not! I posted then went to sleep, and just got back from the gym, to help me out please!

for FYI, this is what I'm doing

Spoiler

Start off with Enhancer/Healer to cast Guts on both Sazh and Vanille
Switch to Blaster/Blaster so both are casting magic constantly
Switch to Blaster/Healer whenever someone gets into red health, then switching back to Blaster/Blaster to continue the attack.

I think the problem may be that I don't know which spell does the most damage because it's always so miniscule. I usually go for Aero or Thunder but I don't know if that's the right choice. I notice Vanille always does Blizzard against him but I don't have that spell yet..

 

[neoism]

Okay, I've clocked over 10 hours of the game now and have a good handle on most of the systems in the game. Time to write up some impressions.

THIS IS NOT A REVIEW, I'M ONLY 10 HOURS INTO THE GAME.

FFXIII is a really interesting game. No doubt it is the HD successor to the FFX/FFX-2 school of design in terms of many things, but what is surprising is that it doesn't really throw away the concepts pushed forward by FFXII. At the same time, the game itself is a whole new beast. There has never been a FF like this before, and it is a very bold new step for the series. Some fans will almost certainly like it more than others, depending on what your stake in the series is, and what is important to you in a RPG. Either way, I think it is very refreshing to have a game which breaks down barriers while erecting other new boundaries in defining what constitutes a "Final Fantasy" mainline game.

The first thing I noticed about the game was how uncompromising it was in letting the narrative dictate the entire direction of the game. Right from the start, the game starts with a bang. There has never been a FF game or a RPG as cinematic driven as FFXIII. I don't mean it uses a ton of cutscenes (lots of games do) during the game, but rather the entire experience feels like you are playing a part in a film instead of a game which uses a lot of cinematic sequences to tell the story. The best comparison would be with action games, where not only are the levels linear, but everything is designed around the narrative itself which you play through. The game doesn't consider the player's needs or wants in relation to what they want out of a RPG, but instead strives to deliver a very specific experience.

Now that could be pretty bad if the story and characters are terrible and no one cares. Thankfully, I think this is one of the strongest FF games in terms of narrative and characters. It's definitely up there with FFVI. The style of the scenario is such that the player is thrown into the world at a crucial period, and experiences several events unfold which don't quite make complete sense immediately. The game also throws the characters all out at once, without wasting time with detailed introductions or the standard form of character building.

Instead, you learn what each character is like and what they're each about as you play, and as you see them react to situations and discuss their own desires, fears, dreams and experiences. Much of what they have done in the days leading up to the game are vital to developing their characteristics and for the player to understand them, and these events are slowly unraveled through flashbacks as you play the game. This method of narrative means the game pretty much never slows down. The characters are always on the move, and with their lives all in peril there is no time to waste. Yet it also allows the game to slow down for some short moments along the way to build up on the characters and to let their various layers unfold.

All in all the narrative is very strong, the characters are extremely likable, and the plot keeps pushing players forward with the motivation to learn more about everything - the world, the characters, and the crux of what is happening in the world that allowed the events at the start of the game to occur. The sense of mystery is a high point of the storyline, and definitely a driving force for players to keep playing.

Gameplay-wise, the game is also very different from anything before. The battles are faster than ever before, but also more different than ever before. The Optima system is often mistaken for a sort of Job system, and a passive option in battles which allow you to change your Roles. It couldn't be further from the truth. The Optima system is in fact simply another way to input commands.
Because of the speed of the battles, even if the game gave the player the option of inputting commands for each character separately, and toggling using L1/R1, it would be unplayable. No human player would be able to keep up with the battles and to select AND input commands for different characters at the same time.

What the Optima and Role system does is to define 6 very specific type of roles, and limit what each role can do down to their core usage. Hence by changing the Optima of the party in battle, you are essentially specifically changing the commands each party member can make, and hence giving them near-specific orders until you change the Optima again. It is not a passive command, it is something you will have to use in almost every battle.

The game is NOT being played by "AI" so much as command input being aided by AI, and instructed by the player. Due to how battles are designed, and what the player is required to do to win battles, the emphasis is still on strategy and tactics determined by the player. Anyone who claims that the AI party members in the game are "auto play", is probably a person who has previously complained that the Gambit system is "auto play" and so we can know to safely ignore them.

Outside of the battle system, the game actually features some pretty interesting forms of character customization. Gone are character levels, just like in FFX. Instead, in it's place are various systems which break the core meaning of "leveling up" down into different bite pieces to make the player more proactive in considering how to strengthen any given character. Each character starts off with access to a limited selection of Roles. Each character's Crystarium (think simplified Sphere Grid or License Board) for each Role is different. So even between say Lightning as a Blaster and Snow as a Blaster, the abilities they can learn and the stat boosts they can gain from putting in CP is different.

Aside from stats and abilities gained from Crystarium, the game also features a pretty interesting Weapon and Accessory system. Fans of weapons will be happy to learn that unlike FFX, the weapons in FFXIII have stats again. Each weapon has a Physical Attack and Magical Attack stat, and some weapons have an ability attached. Weapons also have levels, which starts at level 1. Using materials gained from defeating enemies, you can pump them into weapons to give the weapon experience, and level it up. Each weapon has a different sort of balance for the stats, so leveling up the initial weapon is just as viable as changing to a new weapon each time you can buy or find a better one, and leveling that up for a little bit before the next one.

In some cases, specializing on a certain weapon and leveling it up over and over might be a much better option, depending on how you plan on using the character it's equipped on. Different weapons gain different amounts of exp from different materials, and using a bunch of materials which give a small bit of exp might sometimes trigger an exp bonus chain for the next set of materials you put in. There's a bit a experimentation involved, although with how limited some materials are earlier in the game, it might be wise not to waste too many on trial on error too soon.

Accessories also have levels, and each accessory has an ability tied to it. By leveling it up, you increase the effectiveness of the accessory. For example, a Silver Bangle Lvl1 would give HP+100, and putting in enough materials to get it to Lvl2 will change it to HP+116 instead. What I've also noticed is that there are synergy abilities as well. Hope had a weapon which had no abilities on its own, but when equipped with that weapon AND a certain accessory, it gave him an ability which boosted Physical damage. The ability is not listed on either accessory, and is essentially hidden. As such, it reasons that there are many more of this sort of secret combinations of weapon+accessory which when equipped grant bonuses.

Okay, I'm getting tired from writing too much now. If there are any questions I'll hang around for a while to answer them.

Holy shit this description is orgasmic!!

 

[BudokaiMR2]

I did not! I posted then went to sleep, and just got back from the gym, to help me out please!

for FYI, this is what I'm doing

Spoiler

Start off with Enhancer/Healer to cast Guts on both Sazh and Vanille
Switch to Blaster/Blaster so both are casting magic constantly
Switch to Blaster/Healer whenever someone gets into red health, then switching back to Blaster/Blaster to continue the attack.

I think the problem may be that I don't know which spell does the most damage because it's always so miniscule. I usually go for Aero or Thunder but I don't know if that's the right choice. I notice Vanille always does Blizzard against him but I don't have that spell yet..

Sounds like you are doing it right anyway.

Spoiler

He is weak to blizzard if I remember. I can't remember if it is unlockable yet but enblizz or whatever the ice weapon enhancement skill is called would help if you have the points to get it. I do remember that the only difference I had was Attacker/Healer instead of Blaster/Healer, but I don't know if it made a difference.

 

[Kagari]

I like how all the Trophies have the North American localization already. At least for me, playing on a US system. The control scheme also defaulted to X for confirm, O for cancel.

 

[Volcynika]

I like how all the Trophies have the North American localization already. At least for me, playing on a US system. The control scheme also defaulted to X for confirm, O for cancel.

I thought trophies were in whatever language your system was in.

 

[Shouta]

I did not! I posted then went to sleep, and just got back from the gym, to help me out please!

for FYI, this is what I'm doing

Spoiler

Start off with Enhancer/Healer to cast Guts on both Sazh and Vanille
Switch to Blaster/Blaster so both are casting magic constantly
Switch to Blaster/Healer whenever someone gets into red health, then switching back to Blaster/Blaster to continue the attack.

I think the problem may be that I don't know which spell does the most damage because it's always so miniscule. I usually go for Aero or Thunder but I don't know if that's the right choice. I notice Vanille always does Blizzard against him but I don't have that spell yet..

Here's what I recommend for the fight.

Spoiler

The two conditions to bring the drive gauge up for Brunhilde is either Chain Combo or Buffing your allies as I recall. So I recall approaching it with Healer/Enhancer first and buffing Vanille as much as possible. When you have a chance to attack, alternate between Attacker/Blaster and Blaster/Blaster rapidly, this will actually cut down optima switching time. When you need to heal, do Healer/Enhancer and buff Vanille to build gauge as she's healing. This should get you to drive but I think it took me a bit to get it down right.

On a different note, the snow finally stopped falling (100cm in 2ish days!) so I went to the convenience store and picked up some food and V-jump. Got myself the special cover!

 

[Kagari]

I thought trophies were in whatever language your system was in.

Depends on the game, really.

 

[Volcynika]

Depends on the game, really.

Oh. Well............cool!

 

[FleckSplat]

I thought trophies were in whatever language your system was in.

I think that's what she means, her system was set to English, so the menus were English. I think X to confirm/ O to cancel is based on system region, since I've seen an English player with Japanese system use the O confirm / X cancel method.

EDIT: by menus, I mean trophy list and save interface, not game interface.

 

[jett]

No towns or cities? WAT?

 

[PuppetMaster]

OMG!

Spoiler

I can select party members now!

This game just jumped from OMGAWESOME to OWGWTFBBQAWESOME!

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

No towns or cities? WAT?

lol I'm still waiting for someone to clarify this. Is there seriously no towns or cities? I'm pissed the fuck off if that's true.

 

[Lafiel]

OMG!

Spoiler

I can select party members now!

This game just jumped from OMGAWESOME to OWGWTFBBQAWESOME!

How long have you played the game for?

 

[dallow_bg]

Game sounds terrible for a classic FF fan like me. I imported the demo but gave it the benefit of the doubt.
These impressions are disappointing so far.

 

[Perfect Blue]

Game sounds terrible for a classic FF fan like me. I imported the demo but gave it the benefit of the doubt.
These impressions are disappointing so far.

Games change as times change, take it for what it is and you'll enjoy it.

 

[0405]

Kind of OT but: Reading a lot of the impressions... The Japanese audience doesn't like these characters like Snow and Serah? I thought these characters were made FOR that audience?

Is this usual? How does the hardcore audience in Japan act to characters like Vaan and other androgynous designs?

Kind of surprised to find out about the Serah hate, not surprised at all about the Snow hate.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

No towns or cities? WAT?

There are towns, they just aren't significant since Cocoon has an online shopping system, I think the save points have the shops in them.

 

[dallow_bg]

Games change as times change, take it for what it is and you'll enjoy it.

Pretty much.
I should have seen it coming with the last few mainline games.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Haha, really? It was pretty easy for me on both accounts doing what I did.

Nah, I really can't.

Spoiler

Hope dies within five seconds of the battle start and then I'm either left trying to keep Lightning alive until the timer dies out or try attacking which means the battle is over in ten seconds.
Snow's fight you just defended with his Defender class and Shiva built up her bar stupid fast. I'm stumped on this one.

Game sounds terrible for a classic FF fan like me. I imported the demo but gave it the benefit of the doubt.
These impressions are disappointing so far.

And as a classic FF fan like me the game is amazing, so, I dunno. Everyone who isn't playing needs to stop worrying about the game. Impressions and getting information overload is part of what ruined FF12 for me. I didn't let it happen with 13. Go in as blank as you can and figure it out for yourself.

 

[Diablos]

This game has been corridor-fight-switch characters-corridor-cutscene for the first 20 or so hours. I think Duckroll said it earlier but this game has the pacing and environment design that is in some ways more reminiscent of an action game.

What the hell... seriously, 20 hours of this? What were they doing since E3 2006? :lol When you especially consider that they were sitting on this game since the PS2 days, it makes you wonder! I'm not saying it's a bad game, but how long could it possibly take to crank out what seems to be such a totally linear game? FFX was as linear as I figured the series would ever get -- yet I still liked it a lot. But after reading some things here and talking elsewhere, I do have some concerns about XIII.

Surely, the game has to open up at least a little at some point. Cities/towns, sidequests, etc.

 

[LCfiner]

There are towns, they just aren't significant since Cocoon has an online shopping system, I think the save points have the shops in them.

Is there anything to do in them? Any plot progression within them? Any sidequests that get started within them?

Cuz right now this game sounds just like a dungeon crawler with no world outside of dungeons where you battle. I'm not looking for elder scrolls styles of exploration but I would hope they could match previous FF games.

I mean, how can we care if we're "saving the world" if we never get a chance to be a part of it and walk around in it?

 

[daegan]

The impressions so far actually have me more excited. When I sit down to play an RPG, I usually focus on the story only and then go back and do sidequests forever later (months, sometimes years) unless they're well-integrated into the main plot...it looks like this one won't fight me on that.

 

[I'm an expert]

I'm not looking for elder scrolls styles of exploration but I would hope they could match previous FF games.

I realize every FF up to 9 was basically the same formula, but since 10 (which was a decade ago btw), they obviously decided each FF will be a brand new imagining rather than a rehash of the same. 10 was corridor, 11 was online, 12 was mmo-ish, and now here's 13. Sorry, it's not gonna be the same as 6 or 7. That was 15 years ago. If you want to play those games again, no one's stopping you.

Like Revenant said, people in here who aren't playing the game need to chill.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

Considering Versus has an overworld, at least that will have towns

 

[PuppetMaster]

How long have you played the game for?

22hrs in. I think this is the halfway point.

If this was any other developer, they would have probably shipped this first half as one game. And shipped the second half next year at full retail price.

 

[mr stroke]

No towns or cities? WAT?

Duckroll's impressions make very happy. Does everyone really want the same ->Town->Dungeon->Map->Town->repeat?

I hope I am understanding this right, I would love nothing more than to see this structured like Uncharted(linear, big, and cinematic) but as an RPG

 

[sh4mike]

Reading the completed playthough reviews over @ Amazon.co.jp, the hangover backlash on this title is going to be huge.

 

[LCfiner]

I realize every FF up to 9 was basically the same formula, but since 10 (which was a decade ago btw), they obviously decided each FF will be a brand new imagining rather than a rehash of the same. 10 was corridor, 11 was online, 12 was mmo-ish, and now here's 13. Sorry, it's not gonna be the same as 6 or 7. That was 15 years ago. If you want to play those games again, no one's stopping you.

Like Revenant said, people in here who aren't playing the game need to chill.

I didn't say replicate. Just "match".

There's a certain level of effort we expect in the world building of FF games. This game seemingly places you in corridor dungeons one after another with only cutscenes in between.

I don't need an Overworld or the ability to pick what towns to go to in what order. But don't you think it's a little odd for a FF game to spend so little time with cities and anything that's not a dungeon?

So, again I ask anyone who's played more than 15 to 20 hours: anywhere to go outside of a dungeon?

 

[Oichi]

Here's what I recommend for the fight.

Spoiler

The two conditions to bring the drive gauge up for Brunhilde is either Chain Combo or Buffing your allies as I recall. So I recall approaching it with Healer/Enhancer first and buffing Vanille as much as possible. When you have a chance to attack, alternate between Attacker/Blaster and Blaster/Blaster rapidly, this will actually cut down optima switching time. When you need to heal, do Healer/Enhancer and buff Vanille to build gauge as she's healing. This should get you to drive but I think it took me a bit to get it down right.

On a different note, the snow finally stopped falling (100cm in 2ish days!) so I went to the convenience store and picked up some food and V-jump. Got myself the special cover!

Oooeer, doing this but falling just short every time:lol

Spoiler

If I had a good 200 more ticks on the countdown I would've been able to get past this... ugh!

Edit: aaaand, 3 minutes later I beat it lol.

Spoiler

I TOTALLY forgot about the smoke screens that they told you about earlier in the game. I never used them so I used two that gave me all of the enhancements right off the bat. The battle lasted 40 seconds LOL

 

[BudokaiMR2]

I didn't say replicate. Just "match".

There's a certain level of effort we expect in the world building of FF games. This game seemingly places you in corridor dungeons one after another with only cutscenes in between.

I don't need an Overworld or the ability to pick what towns to go to in what order. But don't you think it's a little odd for a FF game to spend so little time with cities and anything that's not a dungeon?

So, again I ask anyone who's played more than 15 to 20 hours: anywhere to go outside of a dungeon?

Again, most of us are still only part of the way through the game. The way the game has been paced has sent us all over the goddamn place. It just happens that you have to fight your way through most of the locales.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

Duckroll's impressions make very happy. Does everyone really want the same ->Town->Dungeon->Map->Town->repeat?

I hope I am understanding this right, I would love nothing more than to see this structured like Uncharted(linear, big, and cinematic) but as an RPG

So much fun for me in JRPGs comes from exploring the world, visiting cities and towns and exploring them, going inside houses, rooms looting. Talking to characters, unlocking whatever there is to unlock or discover.

That so much of the fun to me. I'm still gonna get FF13 and love it most likely but damn it it's a huge disappointment if this is true, and I'm not hearing otherwise so =(

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Oooeer, doing this but falling just short every time:lol

Spoiler

If I had a good 200 more ticks on the countdown I would've been able to get past this... ugh![/spoiler\

Spoiler

I might have some advice, but I dunno if it will help.

Spoiler

I had this problem when towards the end of last night, and ended up barely making it when I instead started the fight blaster/blaster and just started off as fast as possible, using a Healer/enhance combo afterwards to heal and get the points for buffing at the same time.

Again, might have just been luck on my end.

 

[Oichi]

I might have some advice, but I dunno if it will help.

Spoiler

I had this problem when towards the end of last night, and ended up barely making it when I instead started the fight blaster/blaster and just started off as fast as possible, using a Healer/enhance combo afterwards to heal and get the points for buffing at the same time.

Again, might have just been luck on my end.

Edited my last post, but I used smoke screens before battle and that helped end everything in 40 seconds lol.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

I don't care how great the new car smell of the game is, lack of proper towns and stuff off the beaten path is lame.

Game might be super-good, but the lack of those features? Lame.

 

[Diablos]

OMG!

Spoiler

I can select party members now!

This game just jumped from OMGAWESOME to OWGWTFBBQAWESOME!

How many hours did it take?

 

[RevenantKioku]

I didn't say replicate. Just "match".

There's a certain level of effort we expect in the world building of FF games. This game seemingly places you in corridor dungeons one after another with only cutscenes in between.

I don't need an Overworld or the ability to pick what towns to go to in what order. But don't you think it's a little odd for a FF game to spend so little time with cities and anything that's not a dungeon?

So, again I ask anyone who's played more than 15 to 20 hours: anywhere to go outside of a dungeon?

Do you want to play the game for yourself or do you need some sort of justification before playing it and experiencing it?
For fuck's sake, you seem to want to know if it is exactly what you want before even playing it. Why not fucking wait, buy it play it and experience it for yourself?

 

[Raxus]

I don't care how great the new car smell of the game is, lack of proper towns and stuff off the beaten path is lame.

Game might be super-good, but the lack of those features? Lame.

It depends. Demon's Souls was nothing but a glorified dungeon crawler. Sure it had the nexus but that was a glorified place to just micromanage all the crap you had on you and learn new stuff and level and get out.

And in 12 the only reason to go to towns for me was for the shitty bazaar system and to go on hunts and pick up new equipment. Otherwise I was in dungeons killing shit.

 

[Diablos]

Do you want to play the game for yourself or do you need some sort of justification before playing it and experiencing it?
For fuck's sake, you seem to want to know if it is exactly what you want before even playing it. Why not fucking wait, buy it play it and experience it for yourself?

Because it's 12/19 and not 3/9

 

[Ether_Snake]

FFXIII is a turn-based brawler confirmed.

It depends. Demon's Souls was nothing but a glorified dungeon crawler. Sure it had the nexus but that was a glorified place to just micromanage all the crap you had on you and learn new stuff and level and get out.

And in 12 the only reason to go to towns for me was for the shitty bazaar system and to go on hunts and pick up new equipment. Otherwise I was in dungeons killing shit.

That's kind of what towns are for... No different than in SNES or PS1/PS2 FFs really.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Because it's 12/19 and not 3/9

So go do something else! Bake a kite, fly a cake, have sex with a stranger.
FF13 is definitely shaping up to be a game I'm glad I knew little about going into. I really feel bad for those of you asking all these questions and getting way too much knowledge pre-playing it.

 

[LCfiner]

Do you want to play the game for yourself or do you need some sort of justification before playing it and experiencing it?
For fuck's sake, you seem to want to know if it is exactly what you want before even playing it. Why not fucking wait, buy it play it and experience it for yourself?

way to exagerate. I'm not looking to know exactly what happens. I just want to know about something that's been a big part of previous games in the series.

with all impressions being about the combat systems (and I enjoyed those impressions) I realized that no one was talking about anything outside dungeons. So I asked if there are any towns. One person said yes but didn't say if there was anything to do in them. Everyone else has said it's too early to say or that they haven't seen any.

I was just asking a question in the impressions thread. What's the big deal?

And, yeah, I can be disappointed if there's nothing outside dungeons in the game. I'm obviously not the only one who likes that part of jrpgs.

 

[Raxus]

That's kind of what towns are for... No different than in SNES or PS1/PS2 FFs really.

So instead of wasting time shopping at point A to B to C to D why not simplify it to one simple menu and get back to progress.

 

[RevenantKioku]

way to exagerate. I'm not looking to know exactly what happens. I just want to know about something that's been a big part of previous games in the series.

with all impressions being about the combat systems (and I enjoyed those impressions) I realized that no one was talking about anything outside dungeons. So I asked if there are any towns. One person said yes but didn't say if there was anything to do in them. Everyone else has said it's too early to say or that they haven't seen any.

I was just asking a question in the impressions thread. What's the big deal?

And, yeah, I can be disappointed if there's nothing outside dungeons in the game. I'm obviously not the only one who likes that part of jrpgs.

Let's look above.

Is there anything to do in them? Any plot progression within them? Any sidequests that get started within them?

I mean seriously, you don't realize how ridiculous you're sounding and that's natural. You need to calm down. I'm serious. I realize you're like a mother bear who just saw her cub eaten by an owl but just really, the lot of you are being stupid.