Final Fantasy XIII

[sharkey360]

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so which one is the best?

ff7?
ff8?
ffx?
ffxiii?

The one FF game I like the best is not on that list. Among those entries, I prefer FFX.

[Seishiro]

Hmm... about the reviews. Reviewers are required to give unbiased ones, but it doesn't mean that a person should adhere to those reviews entirely. It still depends on their preference. It's called respecting one's opinions.

@AlucardChristian: Walk me through the game when I visit there will you? I gotta satisfy my mounting curiousity.

[AlucardChristian]

No prob dude. We can always have beer with it... tan awn nato d ba ka malipong sunod2x sa character ga lupad2x XD

I just wish the game had more exploration and we can go back whence we came from. I mean, cmon.. even in other games that the heroes were branded were criminals, there were ways to go back to that place where they were unwanted, right?

[jiro]

FFVII... still the best. hehehehe...

while ffxiii made new things for jrpgs, i still say 7 will always have 1st place in my heart.

^_^ i do hope that the FF7 ps3 is comming. if ever maabut naa na gyud. i would buy na gyud PS3.

[eirawn]

Screw the reviews, people have there own point of views for me I didn't regret buying this game on ps3, I just love the eidolons...like alucard said " If you don't like it, then don't play it"............

agree with this one. bias man sad jud ang western reviews. aw kung di gud ganahan kay just keep it to urself. immature guro kaayo kung kinahanglan pa jd mo post ug forums nga bati ang game.

[MrKrabbs]

mmm me too! nothing beats cloud strife in FF7

[sharkey360]

Hmm... about the reviews. Reviewers are required to give unbiased ones, but it doesn't mean that a person should adhere to those reviews entirely. It still depends on their preference. It's called respecting one's opinions.

True.

Having played FFXIII myself, I can confirm that elements of the game described in the reviews are indeed true. Among them all, the most accurate review I've read and that I can relate with is that of TeamXbox.com I honestly do not believe the allegations that TeamXbox is biased against JRPGs and in favor of WRPGs. Same with Edge Magazine, and others.

[chapapz]

dgy na ko wa ka duwa balik ani ai. kapoi mn gd cya ky dghn au kuti. labi nah tong card games. proh nah lingwa bya ko ani.

[sharkey360]

A testimonial of FFXIII

Final Fantasy “failasy” 13 – How Square Enix Dropped The Ball

I love the Final Fantasy series, I credit Final Fantasy 6 as the game that really truly got me into seriously into gaming. The story, the graphics, the characters; everything sucked me into the games intricately crafted world. I wish Final Fantasy 13 did the same thing, I really do. But it doesn’t it is a down right terrible game

Since Final Fantasy 6, I’ve played later iterations of the series, namely 7 and 8, but nothings sucked me in like 6 did. I also haven’t play a classic JRPG in years aside from Lost Odysee, a much better game than Final Fantasy 13 in my opinion. So when I heard Final Fantasy 13 was finally being released on the Xbox 360 I was rather excited. I figured maybe it was time to get back into the series.

I had this itch to return to my gaming roots, I needed some awesome turn based action all up in my Xbox 360. I went to the store, baught Final Fantasy 13 and dropped the game disk in my Xbox’s disk tray, immediately hoping to relive my old-school JRPG days.

Let me start off by saying this is not a full fledged review, this is just my impressions on the first quarter of an expansive game that I was supremely disappointed by. I in no way played enough of the game to write a solid substantial review, but honestly, I really didn’t need to. From what I played I can easily tell you this game has some serious flaws that cannot be over looked.

Ten hours later I can safely say that this game blows a ridiculous amount of ass. It takes everything that makes the Final Fantasy series an enjoyable experience and turns it on its head. The end result is quite possible one of the worst and most disappointing video game experiences of my life.

I love exploration in video games, I’ve allways found it to be Final Fantasys main draw. Square Enix decided to nix the whole exploration thing with Final Fantasy 13. Instead it reminds me of an on-rails shooter. You find your self walking through a clostraphobic yet beautiful environment, battling monsters every few steps. Exploration is non-existent, your basicly walking down a beautiful pathway.

Sure, I’ve read that the game does eventually open up 20-25 hours in, but even then not to the extent of past games in the series. That’s just simply poor game design, it should not take 20-25 hours before a game actually becomes fun.

The absence of towns is another major issue. No more wandering around towns, talking to people and actually learning more about the game’s story. Instead you can buy weapons and equipment from a virtual store at save locations. This is another major flaw in the game from my perspective. I’ve always felt the exploration of towns in Final Fantasy games added another level to story telling, the little facts you discovered, the people you’d meet, it all added to immersing you in the games world. You also don’t even have to talk to any NPC’s anymore, although sometimes when you run past them they’ll say something completely useless. I really do miss the good old days when I could wander around towns and learn about the games story and characters.

The games story makes absolutely no sense what-so-ever. The opening sequence throws you head first into the action with little explaination of what is actually going on. Five hours in I still had no clue what the back story of the game really was. A simple explanation at the beginning of the game would have been extremely helpful. I don’t mind the typical JRPG story, I actually quite enjoy me some spiky haired guys running around with impressively large weapons in a fantastically over the top story. Perhaps if I gave the game more of a chance the story would have begun to grow on me but I just could not get past its horrid battle system.

The games battle sytem is equally dissapointing. Dubbed the paragon system, you only control one character of your three character party and have little to no control of your AI companions. You are however able to choose how you want your AI to act, altering and changing their paragon roles. In the end you basicly sit there and watch the battle unfold, kind of like nuturing a virtual pet. I found myself longing for the ability to have actual control over my team, the way classic games in the series worked. One good things about the battle system I actually enjoyed was that it was real time. This actually added to the sense of urgency in battles and kept the pace of the game flowing. I also was impressed with the fact that you can actually see your enemies before they attack you, Chono Trigger style, no more random enemies seemingly appearing out of no where.

The games graphics are stunning, incredible even, regardless of whether your playing on PS3 or Xbox 360. The scenery is beautiful, the characters are carefully crafted and their hair looks just as yummy as you would expect it too in a Square Enix title.

I really wanted to like Final Fantasy 13 believe me. I gave the game more of a chance then it deserved but I just couldn’t take it anymore, it just wasn’t fun and felt more like work than a form of entertainment. I have never returned a video game before but with Final Fantasy 13 I really felt I had to. It really was a disappointing waste of money.

I read rave reviews online for the game and slowly started to think I was insane, then I came across this review on Destructoid and realized I totally wasn’t alone in my hate for this latest iteration in the series. Hopefully the other two games in this interestingly named, “Fabula Nova Crystallis trilogy,” trilogy live up to the Final Fantasy pedigree. Please include some towns, shops and add that awesome exploration I loved.

Source - Final Fantasy “failasy” 13 – How Square Enix Dropped The Ball

[sharkey360]

I always felt that linearity worked in Final Fantasy X and not in Final Fantasy XIII.

That feeling is not there in Final Fantasy XIII. It’s not as simple as the commonly cited criticism of there being no towns to really explore, although certainly that was the method of choice for adding depth to previous entries in the series. But Final Fantasy X also incorporates linear design that keeps you on a big long path in its first half, and it still finds ways to embellish Spira. In X, you bump into strangers along the way who are all too willing to regale you with anecdotes. You find things of interest through observation of your surroundings, this leading to elaboration on some facet of the world’s history mixed in with a dash of reflection by your party. Many of the most revealing moments in Final Fantasy X occur outside of towns.

Source - VBG: The World Ends with Final Fantasy XIII by The Game Reviews

Now, I know the Final Fantasy series has seen linearity before. After all, Final Fantasy X was pretty much a straight march across the vast world of Spira. But here’s the difference: While that game was far from my favorite entry in the series, its linear design worked, because it had a clear protagonist and a world that you gradually traversed as you slowly got to know its varied heroes and villains. Tidus said it all in the first line of the game: “Listen to my story.” From Zanarkand to Mt. Gagazet, you got to know the world of Spira and Tidus—and it was clear that Final Fantasy X was his tale. After 30 hours of Final Fantasy XIII, however, I still couldn’t figure out whose story it actually was. The narrative jumps quickly from scene to scene and character to character, never stopping on any one person long enough for me to actually care. As far as I can tell, there’s no palpable world in Final Fantasy XIII—just a list of character names and locations.

Source - Final Fantasy XIII Review (Xbox 360)