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Let's be honest guys, FFXIII is a solid 7.5/10 (RTTP)
- Thread starter vicissitudes
- Start date
Not mainline in my book but also ive never played it so i cant say
Sgt.Pepper
Banned
How can anyone hate the music in this game.
Tempesta di Fuoco
Banned
I don't hate it, but it is really unmemorable and repetitive.
Woenix Phright
Neo Member
The game's music is great and the battle system is interesting if completely underdeveloped. And, honestly, the cast is not bad. Drop Hope and Vanille and it's fine. Lightning is actually a pretty good protagonist that the internet tired of because she was shoved down our throats.
But the game is unequivocally bad. The script is awful, the pacing treacherously slow, the world is not fully realized or explored, and the design is remarkably stupid. Okay, you want to make a smoother and more linear experience akin to Call of Duty, fine. I'm pretty sure CoD had more open level design. And the main draw of Call of Duty is it's multiplayer.
It was a poorly directed effort that felt like it was cobbled together in less than a year except with more polish. Definitely one of the low points of a series that has always had its ups and downs.
But the game is unequivocally bad. The script is awful, the pacing treacherously slow, the world is not fully realized or explored, and the design is remarkably stupid. Okay, you want to make a smoother and more linear experience akin to Call of Duty, fine. I'm pretty sure CoD had more open level design. And the main draw of Call of Duty is it's multiplayer.
It was a poorly directed effort that felt like it was cobbled together in less than a year except with more polish. Definitely one of the low points of a series that has always had its ups and downs.
I'll agree with you OP. Thought the game was pretty good, not great, but I enjoyed playing the game and put in way more time with it than with some games that get more respect (GTAIV/V).
The story really differs I'd you don't read up on everything, so much back story was in there that it seemed they forgot to make sure people saw some important things.
Graphics and models do look good. The world is varied enough for me. The battle system was pet good, dog like having to think about who should be what and how to setup different 'combos'.
The story really differs I'd you don't read up on everything, so much back story was in there that it seemed they forgot to make sure people saw some important things.
Graphics and models do look good. The world is varied enough for me. The battle system was pet good, dog like having to think about who should be what and how to setup different 'combos'.
Dragon Puncher
Member
Nope. Gameplay gets pretty good after about 20 hours, but the story and characters are pretty terrible all the way through.
6/10
6/10
I love it, all of it except the chocobo song, but yo, it's fucking Blu-Ray disc, make more than one main battle theme that plays the majority of the time. Getting that one theme broken up every several hours by a boss/eidolon fight is not good enough.
just typing this post got the battle theme playing in my head...argh...though i haven't heard it in a long while, so it's kinda pleasant lol
ElMexiMerican
Member
I remember I had written my own review of the game before and gave it a 6.8. The gameplay was without a doubt it's strongest aspect, the graphics held up fairly well over the years, but the story was just a mess and the characters weren't strong enough to carry it.
GuessMyUserName
Member
... Games don't start at 10/10 and then remove points for things I don't like. Although I also don't rate things /10...
Hated the gameplay. Paradigm shifts amounting to SUPPORT->DAMAGE->HEAL->LOOP was boring, stagger system is really dragged out, traversing through the world was thoroughly unengaging, nothing really good to say at all.
Graphics were quality, but really didn't like the designs other than a couple of environments, so without more appealing design it means little to me. Character designs were god awful, other than
I really don't see these "10/10s" of yours at all... seems wayyyy beyond generous. Music as well, only a couple stand out tracks to me... 10/10 again? Does it really stand up in the absolute highest tier of soundtracks to you? I mean if so whatever floats your boat, but definitely nowhere close for me and it reallly just seems like you're giving these 10s away like nothing.
I mean I'm just pointing out where I disagree here, I could go a heck of a lot more about how disposable all the characters are, which has always been a pretty big deal to me. The villains especially are all such an unbelievably dull joke.
Honestly it's the very first game in my life I played that I could not get into at all. Always thought of myself as incredibly easy to please until I met XIII.
Personally would give it a 2/5. I mean... it works, you can go through it.... but it's not an enjoyable experience, and absolutely no good story-telling qualities to make up for that.
Hated the gameplay. Paradigm shifts amounting to SUPPORT->DAMAGE->HEAL->LOOP was boring, stagger system is really dragged out, traversing through the world was thoroughly unengaging, nothing really good to say at all.
Graphics were quality, but really didn't like the designs other than a couple of environments, so without more appealing design it means little to me. Character designs were god awful, other than
I really don't see these "10/10s" of yours at all... seems wayyyy beyond generous. Music as well, only a couple stand out tracks to me... 10/10 again? Does it really stand up in the absolute highest tier of soundtracks to you? I mean if so whatever floats your boat, but definitely nowhere close for me and it reallly just seems like you're giving these 10s away like nothing.
I mean I'm just pointing out where I disagree here, I could go a heck of a lot more about how disposable all the characters are, which has always been a pretty big deal to me. The villains especially are all such an unbelievably dull joke.
Honestly it's the very first game in my life I played that I could not get into at all. Always thought of myself as incredibly easy to please until I met XIII.
Personally would give it a 2/5. I mean... it works, you can go through it.... but it's not an enjoyable experience, and absolutely no good story-telling qualities to make up for that.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Blinded by light is one of the best battle themes in the lasts years.
Yeah, even better than the overrated Xenoblade one.
And not exactly the only good song, there's a few excellent tracks.
bobawesome
Member
Everything is either THE BEST THING EVER or THE WORST THING EVER. GAF's hyperbole is on a whole 'nother level at times.
I got to where the game opens up and promptly never played it again. Which is weird... I feel like now though I wouldn't remember how to play it and would have to start over again...
Graphics are outstanding, battle system is fucking awesome (and I really loved X and XIII especially) music is okay. Character design is fucking garbage, story is fucking garbage, VA is fucking garbage, linear a --> b for 20+ hours was really really rough and once I was at that point I just couldn't do it anymore.
Graphics are outstanding, battle system is fucking awesome (and I really loved X and XIII especially) music is okay. Character design is fucking garbage, story is fucking garbage, VA is fucking garbage, linear a --> b for 20+ hours was really really rough and once I was at that point I just couldn't do it anymore.
This sums up my feelings on it. I'm give it a 6, mayyyybe a 7 if i was feeling generous at the time, but the falws cannot be understated enough imo.
Ignoring that numbers mean nothing, 5 would mean average. By my logic that would mean I'd have to enjoy the game somewhat to score above 5. Maybe the game becomes good after 30 hours like people say but fuck if I'm grinding through 30 hours of holding up and pressing X (because auto battle/what I would choose are the normally the exact same thing). At least XII I felt like I was doing something by setting up the gambits.
Music wasn't a memorable as others but not bad. Graphics were pretty. But neither of these saved me from being bored. Oh and the story, NO, NO, NO. You are objectively wrong if you think it was good/well told.
Fuck that game to the pits of hell. Bad game with bad sequels that people kept buying, solidifying Final Fantasy into a grave of shit.
Music wasn't a memorable as others but not bad. Graphics were pretty. But neither of these saved me from being bored. Oh and the story, NO, NO, NO. You are objectively wrong if you think it was good/well told.
Fuck that game to the pits of hell. Bad game with bad sequels that people kept buying, solidifying Final Fantasy into a grave of shit.
I think 6/10 is the right score for FF13 but I don't think 6/10 is a 'terrible' score. On a full scale it means the game is adequate at least. Which is what FF13 is.
Saiyan-Rox
Member
Leona lewis made it possible. granted 1 song but still 1 song too many.
breakfuss
Member
The music was fantastic. 9/10
The graphics and CG were good. 8/10
The battle system was great. Deceptively simple. 9/10
Gameplay outside battles was boring. 5/10
The story was shit. 2/10
Hope and Vanille are two of the absolute worst characters I have ever - ever - encountered in a game. A goddamn 1/10 for characters & dialogue.
So the game, for me, is like a 6.
The graphics and CG were good. 8/10
The battle system was great. Deceptively simple. 9/10
Gameplay outside battles was boring. 5/10
The story was shit. 2/10
Hope and Vanille are two of the absolute worst characters I have ever - ever - encountered in a game. A goddamn 1/10 for characters & dialogue.
So the game, for me, is like a 6.
Riposte
Member
I would call it mediocre at best, but then that describes the entire Final Fantasy franchise.
EDIT: One of the best things in FFXIII's favor is that while it never (EDIT: well, rarely) fulfills the promise of its various mechanics, it rarely bogs you down with useless chores. You do not, for example, spend time tinkering with meaninglessly complex progression systems. The areas may be extremely linear, but that also spares you the tedium of pointless JRPG-style dungeon crawling (e.g., fighting a dozen easy extra battles so you can find a chest with a potion in it).
EDIT: One of the best things in FFXIII's favor is that while it never (EDIT: well, rarely) fulfills the promise of its various mechanics, it rarely bogs you down with useless chores. You do not, for example, spend time tinkering with meaninglessly complex progression systems. The areas may be extremely linear, but that also spares you the tedium of pointless JRPG-style dungeon crawling (e.g., fighting a dozen easy extra battles so you can find a chest with a potion in it).
brandonh83
Banned
The reason the music isn't as "memorable" is because it's more abstract than being full of themes. I don't really think this is a bad thing though. The music is very interesting and pleasant and I'm glad that Hamauzu did his own thing without trying to ape Uematsu, and it fit the style of the game just fine. The characters still had their own themes, there was a great main theme, and some of those boss tracks were off the charts.
Because of one track that plays at the very end? I didn't like the song either; it was really bad and not even written for the game, but it's not representative of the entire soundtrack.
Because of one track that plays at the very end? I didn't like the song either; it was really bad and not even written for the game, but it's not representative of the entire soundtrack.
Were the cut scenes skippable in this? I'm usually pretty good at ignoring awful story/characters in games, but for some reason I remember watching every single one in this and hating it the entire time. Maybe they were just so pretty I felt compelled to watch.... Or maybe I was hoping the story would eventually make sense. I really liked the battle system, but about 35 hours in I just couldn't take listening to any of the characters anymore.
My friend came over while I was playing FFXIII. She's gaming illiterate. While I went to get ready (we were going out), I handed her the controller and instructed her to push forward and continually hit X. I was away for maybe 5-6 minutes; when I came back, she had progressed down the straight-as-a-line path killing everything in her path.
Truly, a terrible game in every way.
Truly, a terrible game in every way.
This comparison to FFX have been brought up time and time again and it isn't that simple. The problem with XIII is not what it does but how it does it:
Yes, you trek from place to place in X with little backtrack until the game open up near the end but you spent time in those places learning about Spira, it's culture and the initial goal of the story is simplistic enough to follow - Go to each temple and collect your summons. It set a nice pace and structure where the players do not mind being lead by the nose by the writer until the big twist. In contrast, the cast of XIII run around like headless chicken only heighten the confusion to the player. They spent their time running from place to place not knowing what to do or have stupid/unrealistic goals. It doesn't matter that they were meant to not know what their Focus are, it's the writer job to keep their audience interested/engage through various means. Each places in X give us down time, collectables and do not rush us from one battle to the next. It also helps that they mask their linearity pretty cleverly with some of X's larger map. Heck they even give you Blitzball as a mini-game near the start as a break if you're into that kind of things.
Yes, the Crystarium is just a streamline version of the Sphere Grid but once again it's the implementation that's the problem. They simply locked off too much of the leveling system that you spent most of the game feeling limited. X did the same thing with it's Level Sphere but they locked them far enough on the Grid that you have to do some serious grinding to get there (Hell they even gives you some level spheres pretty earlier on in case you actually did grind that hard. Oh and the Expert Grid's a thing too.) Furthermore, they made the dumb choice of locking parts of the battle system away so people feels like they are playing a giant tutorial for twenty hours. Twenty. X gives you all but one of your party members early in the game and encourages you to switch between they on the fly in battle in order to gain AP. In X you feel that you have a full control over the battle system. In XIII you feel as though you're playing a gimped version.
That's just a few thing to show that No, X isn't just the same as XIII and I haven't even got to the characters, dialogue & story etc...... XIII is a decent game with TONS of execution issues. When you take in the other 2 however, let's just say that the XIII trilogy have convince me that Toriyama should NEVER given control over a mainline FF game again.
I actually really like XIII's cast. The only character I disliked was Snow. Vanille's actually a pretty decently written character for a Toriyama game (just dat voice). Looking at it objectively though, the only real characters I saw getting praised were Sazh, Fang, and Lightning to an extent.
I do love the slight shifts in power and stereotype of XIII though. Fang being stronger than any man, Lightning being the best all arounder, Hope, the boy, being the timid and weak mage. That probably wasn't too intentional but I found it an interesting touch.
Liquid-San
Member
Opinions are opinions, but Jesus Christ. I myself consider the game to be a 6.5/10.
Graphics: 8/10 (Still one of the better looking games on PS3)
Music: 8/10 (Solid soundtrack)
Gameplay: 5/10 (Here's where it falls apart. The linearity really detracts from the gameplay and the battle system, while it does have an interesting premise to it, becomes too simple and more about flashiness than actual strategy and gameplay a la SMT or older FF games.)
Story and Characters: 7/10 (Story was quite convoluted, but I thought the world was fleshed out quite nicely, but the way it was introduced to us was a bit of a mess. The characters didn't help out much aside from Fang and Sazh as well.)
All in all, kinda with OP, but knock it down a point. I can see a 7 with a good argument, but I personally feel as if it's a 6.5.
brandonh83
Banned
Dies Iræ;130811549 said:
I really don't think this is a good gauge about the gameplay at all. This is being ignorant toward quite a lot of things. I would ask how far she got, but since she played it only 5 minutes or so I doubt she encountered anything terribly grueling. I get what you're saying, and there is a good stretch of the game that poses no challenge, but many RPG's are super easy for a while. In fact, most games are.
Saiyan-Rox
Member
yeah I edited the post just before the quote. granted it was 1 song and there was some gems in there but nothing memorable.
KratosEnergyDrink
Member
Its a 6.5-7. That means not worth the time playing because there are many other better RPGs out there.
Its more fun to play FF12 or Xenoblade again then waste time with a flawed game like FF13.
Its more fun to play FF12 or Xenoblade again then waste time with a flawed game like FF13.
IDKAboutThat
Member
I completely agree. People saying it killed the franchise were overreacting.
That said, Toriyama's insistence that Lightning is great did, in fact, make me hate it retroactively, and Lightning Returns was dogshit. FFXV, please have good writing. Please.
That said, Toriyama's insistence that Lightning is great did, in fact, make me hate it retroactively, and Lightning Returns was dogshit. FFXV, please have good writing. Please.
ArkhamFantasy
Member
I agree that it has huge strengths and huge weaknesses.
-Best JRPG battle system last gen
-Best RPG graphics last gen
-2nd best music last gen behind Nier
-Very polished
However......Linear, confusing story, super cheesy dialogue and the whole game basically being Combat/cutscene/Combat is really holding the game back. If they couldn't do towns they should have thrown in sidequests and minigames throughout the game or something.
It's certainly not a bad game, but it's not on the same level as most of the other Final Fantasy games.
-Best JRPG battle system last gen
-Best RPG graphics last gen
-2nd best music last gen behind Nier
-Very polished
However......Linear, confusing story, super cheesy dialogue and the whole game basically being Combat/cutscene/Combat is really holding the game back. If they couldn't do towns they should have thrown in sidequests and minigames throughout the game or something.
It's certainly not a bad game, but it's not on the same level as most of the other Final Fantasy games.
brandonh83
Banned
Going by the new trailer and, well... I guess 96% of videogames, I wouldn't expect good writing.
marthurstewart
Member
I give this game a solid 1/10 for being the most boring game I've ever played and for being the most effective sleep aid I've ever tried.
Probably the most uninteresting and boring AAA game I played last gen. I really tried to get through it because I have some weird obsession to complete every FF title. But no, I just couldn't make it to the end. I struggled to even get through a couple of encounters each time I picked it up. Such a huge bore.
Yeah, this. It's a solid 7.5/10 game for me. Nothing special, but I don't get why anyone would hate it.
Demon Lizardman
Banned
Alright, time for me to let it out.
Graphics: High production values and very impressive for the time it was released. Granted, it looks a bit outdated now but the vibrant colors are nice at least.
Art Style: Meh, The architecture in certain places look quite confusing an the designs of the characters clothing look horrible. But everyone does look distinct from one another. Enemy designs are alright but the final boss looks just uninspired and terrible.
Characters: Lightning is a bitch, Snow is an idiot, Vanille is annoying, Hope is hopeless, Fang is witty and kind of funny, Sazh is the best character in the game. I can actually kind of relate to the guy and understand what he has been through. Also, the badguy is forgettable and Cid is some kind of anime crystal guy (what).
Story: Horrible and convoluted mess and too complex for it's own good. Not to mention the pacing is all over the place and the game doesn't have a good enough story to interest me in it's so called "lore". You guys say that story doesn't matter in games, but it kind of does when the game focuses on it a lot and it's a RPG. I am sorry but I have to feel motivated to help these characters but I really couldn't find a reason why.
Gameplay: It's alright, takes a while for you to get into the more complexities of it's design but it's one of the stronger aspects of the game but I still prefer the older designs of the NES, SNES, and PSX FF turn based combat.
Music: Like the gameplay, one of the higher points but it's no Nobuo Uematsu soundtrack and some songs grate on my ears or are repetitive. Also, it loses some points for having a lame final boss song.
Level Design: Despite that area near the end, it's linear and boring. Just corridors till the end.
Presentation: It's good looking, I will give it that.
My Score: 6/10
It isn't the worst thing ever but I have to say that this game really disappointed me and made me think that Square has lost it's touch with what made the older game great. You guys can like the game all you want but you have to understand that the franchise can't go on like this and that Toriyama is the worst Director/Writer for the company.
Look at the guy, he looks like a dirty old man. This disfigured ogre must be slain by the CEO, but his fetish of Lightning is too strong and apparently there must be some contractual issues to prevent his destruction.
Graphics: High production values and very impressive for the time it was released. Granted, it looks a bit outdated now but the vibrant colors are nice at least.
Art Style: Meh, The architecture in certain places look quite confusing an the designs of the characters clothing look horrible. But everyone does look distinct from one another. Enemy designs are alright but the final boss looks just uninspired and terrible.
Characters: Lightning is a bitch, Snow is an idiot, Vanille is annoying, Hope is hopeless, Fang is witty and kind of funny, Sazh is the best character in the game. I can actually kind of relate to the guy and understand what he has been through. Also, the badguy is forgettable and Cid is some kind of anime crystal guy (what).
Story: Horrible and convoluted mess and too complex for it's own good. Not to mention the pacing is all over the place and the game doesn't have a good enough story to interest me in it's so called "lore". You guys say that story doesn't matter in games, but it kind of does when the game focuses on it a lot and it's a RPG. I am sorry but I have to feel motivated to help these characters but I really couldn't find a reason why.
Gameplay: It's alright, takes a while for you to get into the more complexities of it's design but it's one of the stronger aspects of the game but I still prefer the older designs of the NES, SNES, and PSX FF turn based combat.
Music: Like the gameplay, one of the higher points but it's no Nobuo Uematsu soundtrack and some songs grate on my ears or are repetitive. Also, it loses some points for having a lame final boss song.
Level Design: Despite that area near the end, it's linear and boring. Just corridors till the end.
Presentation: It's good looking, I will give it that.
My Score: 6/10
It isn't the worst thing ever but I have to say that this game really disappointed me and made me think that Square has lost it's touch with what made the older game great. You guys can like the game all you want but you have to understand that the franchise can't go on like this and that Toriyama is the worst Director/Writer for the company.
Look at the guy, he looks like a dirty old man. This disfigured ogre must be slain by the CEO, but his fetish of Lightning is too strong and apparently there must be some contractual issues to prevent his destruction.
Amentallica
Unconfirmed Member
I never got beyond a few hours but if you're conceding that it takes more than 20 hours for a person to enjoy a game, then that's a pretty shitty game.
silver moose
Member
I'm glad you enjoyed it. However, the cast thing I just don't get.
In my opinion there are single characters in 4 and 6 alone that are more interesting than the entire cast of 13.
Just my 2 cents though, to each their own.
Very common misconception. The bottom line is that you were more fundamentally in control of what your characters did and din't do with XII, even if it seemed like you were taking a back seat once you'd set gambits up. Paradigms are the real auto-pilot, and frequently resulted in characters not doing exactly what I wanted them to.
XIII's battles were garbage covered up by a flashy, fast-paced veneer. It worked to excite me for awhile too, until I realized how out of control I often was.
Soundtrack was forgettable garbage, too. I never seem to be on the same page as GAF when it comes to soundtracks. When I hear accolades for soundtracks like this game, or Halo, or whatever, I realize we're all looking for entirely different things when it comes to our gaming audioscapes.