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FINAL FANTASY XIII | The Official Import Thread
- Thread starter Kagari
- Start date
May16 said:
Kinda surprised at the hate the story is getting. Do people not like family dramas?
I think this is one of the best written rpgs (wrpg or jrpg) in the last decade. There isn't much of a plot, but it's a character drama about family and a really good one at that. 90% of the cutscenes are about the characters growing as human beings in relation to how they deal with their personal flaws and with others.
I feel like XIII will either click with you or not. If it's your kind of story and you enjoy deep, challenging rpg gameplay then it's an amazing game. Absolutely worthy of a mainline FF.
Bebpo said:
Yeah, I really like the story, too. It is extremely silly at times, but parts of it are really, really good. As much hate as Hope gets, he is really cute when put together with Lightning, and, as I've repeated plenty of times already, Fang and Vanille have the most absolutely adorable relationship, whatever you make of it, in the entire Final Fantasy series.
PuppetMaster
Member
I'm doing the
quests in the secret area now. I've done all of them except e1 and e2 which are near impossible!
But I did manage to clear the mission to kill three
which was ridiculously hard!
Also has anyone figured out how to kill the
? It seems way too powerful for a B rank mission. My party all has 12,000-16,000hp but they get wiped out so fast.
I'm afraid the end game content in this game is going to take several days of grinding to beat.
Titan's falaci
But I did manage to clear the mission to kill three
tonberries
Also has anyone figured out how to kill the
giant cacdar/sabotendar
I'm afraid the end game content in this game is going to take several days of grinding to beat.
darkhunger
Member
This thread was kinda similar... A lot less venom (and posts!) though.Diablos said:
demosthenes
Member
Diablos said:
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. I remember the reaction to XII was def more positive but it was probably my least favorite FF due to story / characters.
While I'm slightly worried...I've still loved every FF game, so I'm not too worried.
Plus, I have Versus to look forward to which is supposed to be a more traditional FF game according to Nomura.
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
I'm on chapter 7 now. Not only am I enjoying the game, I'm actually liking it more and more as I play.
Snow is still a big idiot, but I'm assuming that's intentional. He's the big, dumb but ultimately lovable oaf.
The more I learn about Sazh, the more I like him (it's the fatherhood thing methinks)
also, Fang <3
my opinion is that a lot of the backlash is because XIII has been under wraps for much of it's development. People had no idea how it was going to be structured.
XII was an open book in comparison. People knew what they were getting into and tempered their expectations accordingly.
A lot of people expected XIII to be something it was never meant to be.
Snow is still a big idiot, but I'm assuming that's intentional. He's the big, dumb but ultimately lovable oaf.
The more I learn about Sazh, the more I like him (it's the fatherhood thing methinks)
also, Fang <3
my opinion is that a lot of the backlash is because XIII has been under wraps for much of it's development. People had no idea how it was going to be structured.
XII was an open book in comparison. People knew what they were getting into and tempered their expectations accordingly.
A lot of people expected XIII to be something it was never meant to be.
PuppetMaster
Member
thetrin said:
I actually didn't think I would like this game at all. But I really love it. One of the best things I have played this year.
This is the perfect Final Fantasy for someone like me who fallen into disinterest in the whole JRPG genre. But people who wanted JRPGs to stay more traditional might be disappointed.
I'm not trying to say there has never been a lot of backlash against a JRPG, especially FF, but it seems a lot more... intense this time around; I do remember the XII threads.duckroll said:
Bear in mind I still want to play this game more than anything else on a console right now, in fact as I start a game of Assassin's Creed 2 in a few hours I'm going to be wishing it was FFXIII instead.
thetrin: Well, I certainly didn't expect XIII to be the most nonlinear JRPG ever, actually I did figure it would be more in the vein of FFX because of who's behind it. It is, but it's even more linear than I figured. Much more linear. Too linear depending on who you talk to. And this is coming from someone who thinks FFX gets far too much hate.
I don't necessarily expect a JRPG to follow an exact formula, but XIII seems like a radical departure from the series in some key areas. I like different ideas -- what concerns me is how those ideas are executed. Did they push things a bit too far? Were they too concerned with just getting to a point where they said "hey look, it's different" and then didn't bother to continue thinking about improving their new approach to something? Etc.PuppetMaster said:
Segata Sanshiro
Member
I don't know how old you are in terms of your internet use, but the Internet has been a mighty beast since around FF6 or even before. Usenet/Compuserve was pretty ugly at the best of times. And yes, every FF has gotten its share of backlash, though 6's was mild, as was 7's. At the time of FF7's release most of the backlash was just sour grapes from scorned Nintendo fans and cranky SEGA fans. FF8 got backlash like a motherfucker, as did FF9, and I think *most* GAF users were around for FFX, even if they weren't registered here.Kinan said:
Segata Sanshiro said:
Sure thing net bitching was already there, but, in my opinion, its influence on general opinion was rather limited, while now basically every kid can/will read a couple of blogs with "lol, FF13 story sucks" messages before the release and that will basically preform his/her opinion before he actually played it.
Segata Sanshiro
Member
I firmly believe that the internet buzz on blogs and forums has virtually no effect on the majority of people that buy games. The uber-nerds like us, yeah, but even back in the day we'd be buzzing via 'zines and imports and stuff.Kinan said:
ColdSoup said:
Yeah, I mean I was thinking rpgs I've played in the last bunch of years and their stories and I'd personally say:
Better story/writing than FFXIII:
-Xenosaga ep1
-Mass Effect
-Persona 3, maybe 4
-FF7 CC (dialogue & ending only, the genesis plotline is retarded, but Nojima's dialogue is excellent)
-FFX
Worse story/writing than FFXIII:
-Xenosaga ep2
-SO3/4
-DQVIII, DQIX
-Every Tales game that's not Abyss
-Trusty Bell
-Lost Odyssey
-Blue Dragon
-FFXII
-Oblivion
-Fallout 3
-KH2, KH 352/8
-World Destruction
-SMT Strange Journey
And that's what just came to my head right away. So yeah, if you're just counting rpgs this gen with a better story or writing, it's basically Mass Effect and maybe Dragon Age (haven't played it yet). So if writing that is worse than ME and maybe DA but better than every rpg out of Japan this gen and a few wrpgs is some awful letdown then I dunno, maybe people set their expectations too high?
Maybe it's just that I have lowered expectations since 9/10 rpgs have godawful plots and cutscenes that make me want to tear my eyes out, so that when one comes along that is actually nicely done with good writing and an ok (but not amazing) plotline...I'm pretty satisfied and happy with it!
VegaShinra
Junior Member
The more I read these impressions, the more it sounds like it's more import friendly than the previous FF entries.
Segata Sanshiro said:
Well, its really hard to confirm or deny that without some specialized study, I think that one can not ignore this influence anymore. The internet population have grown 3-5 times since 2001, with 75+% of US population connected, dissemination of information is much easier and faster, and, in essence, much more people have access to information that previously only "uber-nerds" cared to know about.
BlazingDarkness
Member
I'd say it most definitely isVegaShinra said:
There's no wandering around towns hoping to trigger cutscenes by speaking to random NPCs, and the Crystallium system is really easy to navigate through.
Everything is voiced so if you watch a lot of Japanese anime etc you can follow pretty easy the story
VegaShinra
Junior Member
That's all I need to hear. I watch more than enough anime to pick up the bacis. The lack of any true exploration like Tales of Vesperia makes this game far easier to navigate through. I'll import this today with my holiday gift money. Any difference between the Asian and Japanese version besides the price?BlazingDarkness said:
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
It's import friendly to some extent, and if you dont know ANY Japanese I suppose you can auto battle to attack elemental weaknesses. Knowing katakana and some kanji makes the battling a much richer experience.
Well I'm at least pretty confident that I won't regret buying this (not that many people here seem to feel outright regret anyway).
It doesn't seem to be designed in a way that makes me interested in playing through it again someday after finishing it once, but I should have enough fun on the first run.
It doesn't seem to be designed in a way that makes me interested in playing through it again someday after finishing it once, but I should have enough fun on the first run.
Zefah said:
From what I can gather, its existence is at eternal conflict and because of its conflicting purposes (I assume to give life and death, because that's what Fang is experiencing as she's tortured), Orphan desires to die because there is no resolution in life. God is only the result of having sacrificed human life, and God brings everyone back because, er, that's what he does (or something). So Orphan is forever doomed to be resurrected. Besides, Orphan can only die by the hands of a Gran Pulse L'Cie. So it's a rare occasion to get the chance to die as is.
Wasn't explained that they "came back" specifically because their シ骸 status was an illusion? A trick employed by Orphan? What's funny is that these bullets and missiles come out of nowhere to destroy Orphan...why couldn't you do that in the beginning?
Also, why does Fang try to kill Vanille when she attempts to become Ragnarok? :crazy:
Also, why does Fang try to kill Vanille when she attempts to become Ragnarok? :crazy:
Because, supposedly they did it "their way," (even though the vision they had was exactly what they were supposed to do anyway). I took the ending to indicate that with Vanille and Fang's combined power, they were able to save every living thing on Cocoon, Crystallize them on Gran Pulse for safety, and then when they were done and the threat was over, they'd revert back to their original form.
That's my take on it, anyway.
Ristlager said:
From my estimate there is about 40-50 hours of optional pure gameplay. There are 80 quests, there are hidden bosses, hidden treasures, and doing all those takes you to new optional areas. It's probably as much questing as XII's hunts were. I did most of the hunts in XII and it took me 92 hours total, XIII should take me about 70-90 at this rate. I'm at 40 hours now after 15 hours of optional questing, I have 33% of the quests done and those are the easy ranks (D,C). Probably another 20-30 hours to do the rest of the quests and then another 10 hours of the main story left for me.
Basically the first half of the game is extremely linear like FFX and the 2nd half is optional and extremely open like FFXI/FFXII and then it's probably linear again when you go back to the main story.
chapter 11.
The main problem with the game structure is that the hunts and hunt areas should have been sprinkled along the main story as well as the party system should have been opened earlier so that you have a mix of cutscenes & gameplay. Instead it's like story/story/story and then gameplay/gameplay/gameplay.
The main problem with the game structure is that the hunts and hunt areas should have been sprinkled along the main story as well as the party system should have been opened earlier so that you have a mix of cutscenes & gameplay. Instead it's like story/story/story and then gameplay/gameplay/gameplay.
donkey show
Member
Wow, the
are awesome, especially Lightning's. 
5 ATB attacks
Well isn't that good to hear. I am but the few who has enjoyed every FF game since nr 7 imensly (x-2, included) and hearing that there is AS much optinal stuff as 12 is great. I have no worries what so ever that I would enjoy 13 as much as the rest. Great post Bebpo. The first informative in this topicBebpo said:
Ps. The only reason I write since 7 is that the earlier ones didn't come to europe untill way later, and thus they didn't make as much impact. I am not hating on the prev ones.
Dead Prince
Banned
Going to be awhile until I get to Chapter 11. I've been story skipping still. and i totally missed
close to the end of chapter 7?. but i saved before that so I'll be watching it over and over again later :lol.
snow's nude scene on the bed
Lumpy Onion
Member
Just got to chapter 10. Hearing at how close I am to actually having some options on what to do is making me quite happy. Can't wait!
Also, what determines a Summons strength? Does its power increase as its summoners stats grow on the crystalium? Or is it static throughout the game? Just wondering. I only just now started using them.
Also, what determines a Summons strength? Does its power increase as its summoners stats grow on the crystalium? Or is it static throughout the game? Just wondering. I only just now started using them.
grafcheyne
Member
Chapter 9 boss is driving me insane! I've died three times already, but I know what I've been doing wrong. Not being aggressive as hell is essentially a sentence of death.
Dead Prince
Banned
Just got to chapter 8. Ch7 was long but the boss was easy to defeat!
astroturfing
Member
Bebpo said:
man, this post helped me a lot too. very good to hear the game isnt so linear (sorry, the dreaded l-word) after all... im actually very down with that, game starting more linear and not having to worry about branching paths too much in the first half. then dumping tons of content on you when you've really gotten into the game and are comfortable with the battle system etc.. at least thats how i think it will play out for me.
for a while i actually believed there wouldnt even be any hidden bosses or any optional areas to explore. so glad i was a stupid idiot making too hasty judgements, phew.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Bebpo said:
You have got to be kidding me. You understand Japanese, right? How can you praise any of the dialogue in this game? It is just awful. Bad. Worse than the average comical J-drama. There are also so many plot holes, general inconsistencies and unexplained aspects to the story (not to mention the frequent use of deus ex machina) for this story to be considered good in any sense. The universe they made is interesting, but the story in FFXIII is simply not good. I would really like to see some specific examples of the "good writing" that some people are defending.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
3pheMeraLmiX said:
I definitely interpreted Orphan's life / death thing in the same manner, but the whole God aspect is simply not explained and that is a huge flaw to the story in my opinion. Why would god come back after sacrificing Cocoon? Why would God recreate the world? "Just because" isn't a very good explanation for a game that is trying to have an epic story.
The whole part where Fang was about to strike Vanille simply didn't make sense either. That whole part was just weird. Vanille gets tortured for not turning into Ragnarok so Fang volunteers to become Ragnarok. Vanille reminds Fang of their promise to save Cocoon to which Fang replies that she made a different oath long before that to protect her family. Then she proceeds attack Vanille? What?
Regarding the party's return from being シ骸, I just assumed that it was because they all had flashbacks of more happy times as the cutscenes showed us. When they returned and blew up Orphan (lol at that part), one of the party members said something about seeing a vision where everyone was laughing together. I just kind of interpreted it as despair = シ骸. Fang's turning against the party during their time of need = despair. Then they all saw happy thoughts so they were able to return to human form.
Regarding the party's loss of their l'Cie status. Yeah, who knows on that one...
The whole part where Fang was about to strike Vanille simply didn't make sense either. That whole part was just weird. Vanille gets tortured for not turning into Ragnarok so Fang volunteers to become Ragnarok. Vanille reminds Fang of their promise to save Cocoon to which Fang replies that she made a different oath long before that to protect her family. Then she proceeds attack Vanille? What?
Regarding the party's return from being シ骸, I just assumed that it was because they all had flashbacks of more happy times as the cutscenes showed us. When they returned and blew up Orphan (lol at that part), one of the party members said something about seeing a vision where everyone was laughing together. I just kind of interpreted it as despair = シ骸. Fang's turning against the party during their time of need = despair. Then they all saw happy thoughts so they were able to return to human form.
Regarding the party's loss of their l'Cie status. Yeah, who knows on that one...