tiggerkiddo
Member
Eh, I'll still buy and play it just because I've already played the other two, might as well see the story through but I'll wait until it's discounted...but I got to admit that Moogle village is looking pretty spiffy.
Have FFXIII supporters really praised Toriyama/ Watanabe's writing though? I think most people agree he isn't the greatest dialogue writer and is a victim of the tell-not-show writing philosophy.
Have FFXIII supporters really praised Toriyama/ Watanabe's writing though? I think most people agree he isn't the greatest dialogue writer and is a victim of the tell-not-show writing philosophy.
Have FFXIII supporters really praised Toriyama/ Watanabe's writing though? I think most people agree he isn't the greatest dialogue writer and is a victim of the tell-not-show writing philosophy.
Have FFXIII supporters really praised Toriyama/ Watanabe's writing though? I think most people agree he isn't the greatest dialogue writer and is a victim of the tell-not-show writing philosophy.
Snow looks like Bruce Dickinson with that new hairstyle!
I think Perfo has before.
Personally, I wouldn't have much of a problem with Toriyama/Watanabe's writing failing in one area if it was well done in another. They can make very imaginative settings, but almost always fails to really connect the dots in any logical or coherent fashion in terms of the plot. It really just seems like when something doesn't fit and they write themselves into a corner, they take the cop-out method ("because paradoxes, so don't think about it" or if the LR trailers are any indication, "because chaos") instead of actually taking the time to go back and make things fit.
The dialogue is more disappointing for me; I don't know if it's just awkward translation or the fact that the source material is not any better, I really don't. But sometimes listening to these trailers/viewing scenes from other games they have worked on, it just blows my mind that a team can write such consistently inhuman, awkward, and stilted dialogue and no one can offer any effective constructive criticism high up, or that they don't show a single ounce of improvement between titles in this area.
Did Sazh say "blasted fuckball" at the end?
I once spoke with someone at SE in localization about this. They basically said there's really no helping the script based on the original material. It sounds just as bad in Japanese, if that's what you're wondering.
That's... really disappointing. I think it was either on GAF or Something Awful where some posters wondered what could have become of the XIII series' script if another translator like Alexander Smith was at the helm. But now I think there is only so much one can do with a bad original script.
I say start with Final Fantasy X.
People like the battle system for that game, and I think it represents a mix of old and new as Square was at the peak of their power at that time while focusing on the modern cinematic approach.
10 it is! I'll definitely pick that up on the vitaThanks for the suggestion.
Mhmm! Just ignore the shoddy voice acting when you do get it...voice acting is definitely better now.
That open world reminded me of the one shown in the old Versus XIII gameplay demo a couple years ago. It has the same barren look. Reused assets from the old build?
The lighting system is a mess and makes the graphics look like a mess. I thought it would start looking more consistent by now.
Well, yeah, XIII-2 was a mess as far as the story being consistent with FFXIII goes (and most other ways too, storytelling-wise), though I still think that it did some things decently well & better than FFXIII, as far as Toriyama's stories go (Noel and the villain & his motivations, the ending at least on an idea level, I like when everything goes to the shitter).Execution of gameplay mechanics is much improved. However overall storytelling and well written characters and the setting following pre-set rules(that are broken with little consequence) takes a nosedive each time.
There is no defending that. Or I'm living in a paradox. Or Etro did it.
Fuzzball. But the voice direction is so bad it could be either or at this point.
Your new avatar is much better than the old one btw.
Cannot unhear fuckball no matter how many times I try. Load the video and press 9. There's no 'zzzz' in there from what I can hear even when trying my hardest I listen but accents and such I guess.
Also, I think regarding the first game(in particular), the characters were on the run. It's made much more a point than in most other RPGs. Where are they going to get new clothes from? I mean, if they could, they would, wouldn't they? Er... okay, I think I just realized that opened up a derpy moment with the game. If they could, they WOULD because why would anybody on the run dress to "stand out"? I guess that kinda makes sense... maybe they were just victims of circumstance. It's not like Lighting or Snow know how to skin monsters and tan their hides to make new clothing. I'm sure the fal'Cie create clothes, as well as a lot of their other necessities.That's not a screenshot. That's concept art.
Also that's not one of the "screenshots" in the article.
Really bro? Really? Are you seriously comparing 500 years to 60 hours? Are you seriously comparing one game not changing attire to multiple games not changing attire?
Okay. Just wanted to make sure we are on the same page.
Umm, most RPG quests take place over weeks, months, and even years. Did you really think I meant a literal 60 hours...? Zidane and Tidus never changed their clothes either!
I agree, Sazh and Fang do have great costumes. I don't think that's the point, though. Even Vaan and Penelo got an eventual costume change, as did the cast of FFIV and FFVII(hell, I think Yuffie even got a new costume for every installment of the FFVII Compelation, FFVII, AC, BC, CC, and DoC). But yeah, it's not about them already having good costumes. If that was the case, Cloud would've stayed looking the same in AC(his original costume was WAY better than his new one). I think it's about changing things up. This team has shown they actually have no qualms giving new costumes to characters, just SOME characters. Why not all? I'd welcome that fully! New installment, new duds! Sometimes change is good.Ninja, are you going to start complaining about how characters don't use the bathroom? Because complaining about how a character doesn't change clothing is about as silly.
And Sazh has a good outfit. Be happy. Fang has a good outfit. Be happy. Poor Lightning doesn't have a single decent looking outfit besides the military-esque outfit.
They'll start the hype machine proper at TGS like they always do with games that have a late year release. After they are done, you will know everything about the game, even the final twist and most of the ending CGI animation even before having played the game.SE needs to release videos showing more of the mechanics of the game like how quests work, time management, the abilities, customization etc. and not just HUD less trailers so we can have more to discus and speculate.
3DS - Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millenium Girl (Oct)what is the next rpg in the calendar? LR is gonna take a while to get here
That's exactly what I thought. I was quite shocked. Shocked in a good way. And now I can't unhear it. XDDid Sazh say "blasted fuckball" at the end?
You guys have been saying this since last year and it hasn't changed. Development is wrapping up now. They don't have time to "fix" it. This game isn't ready for release. It's being rushed and pushed by the Kitase/Toriyama tag team.
ROFL. I don't think we played the same game.
Not every game gets 8+ years of development.
Lightning Returns: a more vulnerable heroine running out of time
Game design director Yuji Abe believes the Lightning players control in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 has become more vulnerable, being deeply affected by the great losses plaguing her past.
Abe shared with Polygon the reasoning of director Motomu Toriyama: this woman, less rough and stoic than her previous two game appearances, has already begun to crack under the weight of sorrow, anger and her own great burden of saving the world.
"If you feel that new Lightning is slightly less masculine, or shes a little bit more girly, its because of two reasons: I think in Lightning Returns, we want to depict her in different lights, not just as one single character behaving the same way all the way through [the Final Fantasy 13 games], Abe said. We get to see her and experience different sides and elements of her, maybe one of them being fairly feminine and girly.
"The other reason I cant get very much into without spoiling the story, but inLightning Returns story, Lightning has lost a lot of valuable things in her life, he added. That sense of loss might come across here as a kind of vulnerable part of her character. Maybe thats why you could think she seems a bit more feminine.
Time and no one seems to have enough of it is a key theme of the Final Fantasy 13trilogy. In the first title, there is only so much time a person has between being branded as a lCie and having to complete the task assigned to them; they can either do a demigods wishes and have their bodies turned to crystal, or turn into an unfeeling creature doomed to walk the earth for eternity. In Final Fantasy 13-2, Lightnings younger sister Serah travels through time searching for a way to help her, defying time and space to set things right. Lightning Returns follows our heroine on a 13-day quest to save the world, and completing the games various missions can add or subtract to that timeframe.
"We brought in the element of resource control early on," Abe said, noting they applied the idea to time. "Toriyama decided the game would be world-driven and we sat down to figure out how to best achieve that. And I said, If its world-driven, that sort of relates to the idea of running out of time, and how much money you have and what you can and cannot do in any given time. Thats how the idea started. We want to give the player the opportunity to think about their limited resources and try to make the best of those intimate resources. So we applied that to the [games time.]"
Abe also suggested that Toriyamas work on Final Fantasy 10-2 and its well-received dressphere mechanics an outfit-based job class system that allowed players to switch classes at will may have had an influence in Lightning Returns' wardrobe-powered ability mechanics.
"We were very fond of the paradigm system from Final Fantasy 13, and we wanted to stick with it, he said. Obviously Final Fantasy is all about [the job classes.] When you switch to another persona, that change should be reflected visually in what she wears. So thats the idea that Toriyama came up with he was director of 10-2, so I wouldnt be surprised if he was inspired by [his work on 10-2] in making Lighting Returns.
Abe added that the games combat mechanics were refined to allow players to move around screen during battle and offer more freedom to dodge, block and attack.
"We really wanted to change the mechanics and we wanted to do a new battle system," he said. "We tried a new battle system with 13, giving [players] two AI companions. But that was a complicated system for users in Japan, it was difficult to understand how it works and they didnt really find the best way to be with it. So we just wanted to simplify it and let players enjoy it more intuitively without worrying how it works.
How Each Continent In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Will Be A Unique Place
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In an earlier report, we discussed how Square Enix talked about Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIIIs world-driven concept, featuring four different continents with their distinct characteristics. Dengeki recently caught up with Square Enix staff members, to discuss the thoughts that went into the creation of the four continents in Luxerion and Yusnaan. Dengeki starts the interview by asking Kazuyuki Shindo, unit leader of all continents, about the responsibilities he took on during development.
I was in charge of the level design, placement of the citizens and more. Also, things such as where the battles will occur, answers Shindo. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy has the four continents of Luxerion, Yusnaan, Dead Dunes, and The Wildlands. At first, director Toriyama had told us that as long as we made Luxerion into a religious city with a gothic base as its main element, the rest was up to us. After advancing through a certain degree of production, we would talk to Toriyama, then with design director Yuji Abe about how to shape up the world-driven elements. Dengeki then asks about the experience of working with Toriyama and Abe, who often gave the developers very detailed instructions.
Around May of last year, the unit leaders including Masahiro Ishihara and I, gathered and spoke with Abe about the general world-driven concept, and with Toriyama about the image of all the continents, says Shindo. Then about a month ago, we gathered various types of staff members, not limited to the planning staff, and discussed various ideas and concepts. From there, each unit talked about what theyd like to do for their own cities, and then it was like a competition of content for all four continents.
The above images shows the Divine City of Light, Luxerion, on the left; and the City of Revelry, Yusnaan, to the right. As you can see, both cities are quite different in appearance, which is the result of having different units for the four continents of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. The Yusnaan unit leader shares more on the subject. Basically, we were all in individually in charge and were able to make our own continents, reiterates Masahira Ishihara, who led development of Yusnaan.
However, Shindo needed to be thorough at all times, otherwise the the material could have overlapped. Thats where the unit leaders spoke amongst themselves, so if Yusnaan focused more on the night, they would think about making another continent focus more on the daytime, and they were able to put in the energy to split things up and continue progressing. According to Shindo, it was Toriyama that gave instructions for each continent to have its own theme. The concepts he had were: a mystery-suspense feel for Luxerion, a spy theme for Yusnaan, grand nature for The Wildlands, and labyrinth exploring for the Dead Dunes. Ishihara adds, Each continents introductions and endings were already decided, but the process and development in between werent, so it was up to each unit to decide on how to beef it up. The continents competition stage is the part that decided on those details. Since Shindo and Ishihara were both unit leaders of their own continents, they take the occasion to share a few details on their respective work.
The citizens of this city somehow know that there isnt much time left. However, they dont know when the end will arrive. says Shindo, who led development of Luxerion, but also oversaw the other three continents. In order to remind themselves about the remaining time, there are various clocks placed everywhere. Of course, the time indicated on the systems top-right part of the screen is properly linked with it. Compared to other continents, Luxerion was made to be relatively basic, continues Shindo. As for Luxerions base, the standard evaluation included ideas such as lets add more trees, or lets take these elements out so we can bring out those characteristics better in the other cities. Again, it is considered a religious city, but its also a business city, so youll see people walking around in suits. Ishihara shares, Lightning will be a spy in Yusnaan, and the story will be about infiltrating in the palace. There are guardrooms around the city, with guards anticipating Lightnings infiltration, and they will attack her if shes found. The time limit will be relatively tough here, and there will be various actions that are required; so in a way, this continent could be the most severe to play of all continents.
I thought the voice acting was well done in that game. :/
Everyone makes fun of the awkward laughing scene but in the moment it made sense. I think it was meant to be an awkward/goofy moment because everything the entire party experience up until that point was so heavy and serious that they needed to "laugh" it off even though both characters were clearly faking it.
All in all I thought FFX was solid/good in the voice acting department.
Yeah I've always said that the laughing scene remains one of my favorite scenes in the game. It was 100% supposed to sound weird and tacked on - you could even hear the "real" laughter from Yuna/Tidus once they've realized how silly it was. Even Wakka tells the two something like "I thought you two went crazy or something".Everyone either ignores that context or it goes over their head entirely.
Anyone else notice Lightning having a Dragoon moment?
There's a dragoon armor in the game.
Yeah I've always said that the laughing scene remains one of my favorite scenes in the game. It was 100% supposed to sound weird and tacked on - you could even hear the "real" laughter from Yuna/Tidus once they've realized how silly it was. Even Wakka tells the two something like "I thought you two went crazy or something".
Great cutscene and I can't wait to experience it again, soon enough...
Collectors Catalog: Way of the Samurai
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If youre a fan in Japan anticipating Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, youll be able to choose from several different Samurai pre-order costumes from various retailers. By ordering through the official Japanese Square Enix e-Store, you can snag the Shogun outfit for Lightning.
Other outfits in this set of samurai gear include Furinkazan and Sohei Savior, available through different outlets. Details for how these outfits will become available for North American fans is not yet available, but we expect to see the specifics laid out later including the possibility of the outfits being divvied up between retailers like Amazon, GameStop, and Best Buy.
By pre-ordering the game, youll be able to snag a SOLDIER Outfit and Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII, which will enable Lightning to pull off some of Clouds Limit Break abilities in battle. The games victory jingle will replace the Lightning Returns one at the end of battle.
ZAN... DATSU!!!!!