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Ok then. Hope is officially the Scrappy of FFXIII. The kids mother dies at the very beginning of the game because Snow can't save her. For the next 12 hours (so far) Hope decides not to tell Snow he despises him, and instead stews in passive-aggressive emo-angst.
And it doesn't help that he seems to be the weakest character that I've had in my party for the last 12 hours.
I also don't like how one of the characters gets an eidolon, but before you can use said power in battle it cuts to what other characters are doing for an hour. Lame.
God, I hope this game gives you free roam eventually.
Only an hour in so far, just messed around using Snow for a few min.
The beginning reminds me of X with the whole City thing, cut scenes are excellent and have more action. So far its on Par with X, maybe a tad better atm. Voice acting seems better so far as well.
If the game stays as interesting as X or better, ill be happy.
Well finally. That conflict that has been brewing for so long blew up. And it was pretty impressive when it did. It happens somewhere in the middle of Chapter 7.
Also,
As far as I see, the structure of the game reminds me of another good JRPG for PS2, Rogue Galaxy: vast areas but with a railroad route (with the occasional split in the route itself). This is a common trend in recent JRPGs, so I'm not completely avert to these type of solutions (and Rogue Galaxy, if compared to FFXII, was WAY better IMHO).
Just at the beginning of Chapter 4, btw - and man,
the Shiva Sisters rock ! Too bad I would have to wait a little to see them in action...
Sadly, Hope is still Hope-less as ever...
Ok, the whole party is together and you can switch them out as you please just before the end of Chapter 9. Also, if you're like me and never sell anything because 'it could be useful later on', you finally start getting things that are in the game purely to be sold in Chapter 9 as well.
The game is absolutely linear until chapter 11. As in, corridor running. ONLY in chapter 11 are you allowed to do side quests. If you advance the storyline in anyway, you go to chapter 12. And promptly start corridor running til the end of the game. STAY IN CHAPTER 11! At least until you get most of the upgrades and do all the side quests.
Ok the shiny is wearing off on me.
Im not crazy about the fact that I cant control the other two mooks in my group and they are on a sort of auto-pilot based on paradigms. Id prefer to control them all and have them do what I want them to do at any given moment.
They spent alot of time on making the game look pretty at least
Ok the shiny is wearing off on me.
Im not crazy about the fact that I cant control the other two mooks in my group and they are on a sort of auto-pilot based on paradigms. Id prefer to control them all and have them do what I want them to do at any given moment.
They spent alot of time on making the game look pretty at least
I don't hate the style of combat, or rather the you control a member and the other two act out npc roles. I've seen it plenty in a billion other titles including the various "Tales of" rpgs over the years. Personally I'm not as much of a fan of it as opposed to standard ATB pick your attacks of earlier games, but I can deal. I dislike the fact that I am stuck with whoever and they continually split up and whatnot, but not a deal breaker. I dig the level system and the item levelling, that's neat so far, but no enemies seem to drop money and that's annoying. Oh and the Eidelons are cool, but the Gestalt mode is a little stupid IMO, Odin becomes a horse for you to ride, because all summons are transformers...
Overrall it's been fun so far so no complaints, but definately underpar in gameplay than its previous games.... But damn is it pretty.
Ok the shiny is wearing off on me.
Im not crazy about the fact that I cant control the other two mooks in my group and they are on a sort of auto-pilot based on paradigms. Id prefer to control them all and have them do what I want them to do at any given moment.
They spent alot of time on making the game look pretty at least
I don't hate the style of combat, or rather the you control a member and the other two act out npc roles. I've seen it plenty in a billion other titles including the various "Tales of" rpgs over the years. Personally I'm not as much of a fan of it as opposed to standard ATB pick your attacks of earlier games, but I can deal. I dislike the fact that I am stuck with whoever and they continually split up and whatnot, but not a deal breaker. I dig the level system and the item levelling, that's neat so far, but no enemies seem to drop money and that's annoying. Oh and the Eidelons are cool, but the Gestalt mode is a little stupid IMO, Odin becomes a horse for you to ride, because all summons are transformers...
Overrall it's been fun so far so no complaints, but definately underpar in gameplay than its previous games.... But damn is it pretty.
I think that the factor that makes some people twitch their noses is the fact that 'Damn, I'm ALREADY at Chapter 7 and I cannot yet full control the party... and the game is ONLY 13 chapters long'. Well, let me say a thing (and yes, I've just ended Chapter 7 by the way): Chapter suddivision is not important, hours of game-play is.
Finishing Ch.7, I've currently hit around 15 hours of gameplay. Which, for a Final Fantasy game, is nothing. Average gameplays for all my FF games (from VII to XII, excluding XI - I didn't played online back then - and including FFX-2 ...) was around 100 hours (or more).I recently read in a FAQ of a person who completed the whole game (all sub-quests included) with a game-time of 96 hours. So, yes, this FF has an average duration (more or less) like all others - and that is what matters to me the most. Now, if by some strange reasons the game tells me that only Chapter 11 is the one where you get free roaming.. that is fine and good for me. Again, playing for 15 hours puts me more or less on par with FFVII, where I finally left Midgar and started to roam around the world (and again, without flying machines, the area where I could move was effectively very limited) - then I could pass the Midgar Zolom, through the Mithril Mine, then to Junon, and then - after about 3-4 hours and the entire ShinRa parade event - I could embark and reach the next continent. Ah, but let's not forget an hour or so of exploration in Kalm and the entire Cloud's flashback in Nibelheim...
Even in FFX (the most similar to this one) the entire game was railroaded (excluding some limited roaming in the various towns) until Zanarkand, when you finally (after 30+ hours of rairoading, I don't remember exactly - probably more) you got the Airship and finally started to move around (and again, if you followed the story and decided not to make all the sub-quests, the end was not very far).
So, yes, this FFXIII actually resembles FFX to me, and I don't call it a bad thing (so far); could they make wider areas ? Probably, but again, having played only for 15 hours
I cannot completely express myself in this direction. Could they make more 'free roaming' in those little areas ? Probably, but
since I'm now guiding Sazh and Vanille and I reached Nautilus, the theme-park town - basically, Gold Saucer from FFVII (the first impression it gave me - 'Oh, my god, this is the SeeD Academy !' - no, really, it resembles the giant hall of Squall's Academy from FFVIII !)
I believe that some sort of 'mini-games' and whatsoever are looming at the horizon...
Ah, and finally Hope is not Hope-less anymore ! Hurrah !!!
I'm not that impressed with this one. It is a beautiful game, no doubt about that, but I feel they have spent too much time with the graphics and not enough with the combat system. I think it's rather boring, and so far (12 hours in) I haven't had any serious problems (haven't needed to spend a single phoenix down, and died only once). It seems that the challenge isn't to survive, but to get a good rating.
The voice acting is for the most part the average fare for these kind of games, at times it I find it really bad however. Especially whoever is voicing Vanille. I feel like she changes dialect each time she speaks.
Not too happy about the railroading. I always expect some railroading in a JRPG, but this seems to take it to the extreme. Or I may just have been spoiled by Dragon Age and the Mass Effect games.
Despite all this, the story seems exciting and I still want to keep playing it so it must do something right. It won't be my favorite FF game (which is FFVI by the way). Unlike the rest here I really liked FFXII too (for the most part, the dungeons near the end became a bit tedious).
I do believe that most of us have been spoiled with ME2, Dragon Age and to a lesser extent Fallout 3.
I am enjoying this game very much. I started out not liking some of the PC's (Snow, Hope), but once more backstory was revealed, I warmed up to them.
So far my only gripes are not being able to save where I want (again spoiled) and the whole "if the leader dies, it's game over." Annoying.
The voice acting is for the most part the average fare for these kind of games, at times it I find it really bad however. Especially whoever is voicing Vanille. I feel like she changes dialect each time she speaks.
Noticed that too, im starting to see shakier voice acting as I play further.
Despite all this, the story seems exciting and I still want to keep playing it so it must do something right. It won't be my favorite FF game (which is FFVI by the way). Unlike the rest here I really liked FFXII too (for the most part, the dungeons near the end became a bit tedious).
I can agree with this too.
The free roaming and grinding of previous games was an FF staple (Sacred Cow?), thats another huge negative for me with XIII so far. Waiting untill chapter 11 out of 13 to get to do this isnt good regardless of how many hours I spend in each chapter.
This an not being able to control the others directly may be a game breaker for me. Im going to play further and see where the game takes me.
As for being spoiled on Dragon Age and Mass Effect, its irrelevant (at least for me). Ive always considered FF (or any other JRPG) to be a different, less serious type of RPG.
I lump FF, Dragon Quest, some Shinigami Tensei games, etc to be in a different category than games like Baldurs Gate, NWN, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Planescape:Torment, and KotOR.
YMMV.
Overall, had XIII kept the free roaming grindage, and full control of all party members, this game would be in another boat for me.
P.S. Not a fan of most mini-games within FF, and Im tired of the Japanese fixation on Vegas and amusement parks. :)
Are they together permanently now? I had read on the message boards for this game over at gamefaqs.com that this did not happen til chapter 11. If it really does happen in chapter 9, then I will be so happy as I hate being forced to run around with partial parties.
Coming back to this.
At the beginning of Ch 11 one of the characters is taken out of the party for all of 15-20 minutes. So, Yes. When you gain control of the party at the end of Ch 9 it is effectively, permanent.
Also regarding difficulty. It ramps up pretty slowly through the chapters, and by Ch 10 there are a few fights that are a bit more challenging, but not terribly. That changes drastically in Ch 11. Most fights in the area are deadly. Quick changes between offensive, defensive and recovery Paradigms are critical but you still need to pick your battles carefully as you level up. As you complete the first few side quests, you WILL die. Repeatedly.
Great fun. :-D
Are they together permanently now? I had read on the message boards for this game over at gamefaqs.com that this did not happen til chapter 11. If it really does happen in chapter 9, then I will be so happy as I hate being forced to run around with partial parties.Coming back to this.
At the beginning of Ch 11 one of the characters is taken out of the party for all of 15-20 minutes. So, Yes. When you gain control of the party at the end of Ch 9 it is effectively, permanent.
Also regarding difficulty. It ramps up pretty slowly through the chapters, and by Ch 10 there are a few fights that are a bit more challenging, but not terribly. That changes drastically in Ch 11. Most fights in the area are deadly. Quick changes between offensive, defensive and recovery Paradigms are critical but you still need to pick your battles carefully as you level up. As you complete the first few side quests, you WILL die. Repeatedly.
Great fun. :-D
I was breezing through the game for most of the week and had estimated my time to complete it by Tuesday. That all changed Saturday in Chapter 10.
Chapter 11 is deadly if you're not careful on how you go about it. The creatures there are some of the most brutal encountered in the game thus far... and I'm loving it. Can't wait to see what the final two chapters are like.
One of the things that I noticed seems somehow lacking in this FF is the 'grinding' or 'farming' of the characters until later chapters (the fabled Chapter 11, specifically). The various areas are 'corridor-running' and the encounters are definite.
However, this is not completely true.
If we compare (again) FFXIII to FFX, the latter was not so different speaking of 'area-roaming'. Basicaly, before reaching Zanarkand, you had simply to walk forward and reach the various towns where Yuna had to pass the Fayth tests and obtain her Eidolons. The only real difference was the fact that random encounters popped up every few steps, and so the perceived duration of the stage of the journey was somehow altered (the entire area of Mount Gagazet, for example, was none other that a gigantic snowy corridor). The entire grinding process of 'one step forward, two step backward' to amass experience from the random encounters made up for the linearity of the journey (again, until reaching Zanarkand).
But here is the trick... you CAN actually make 'grinding' even in FFXIII; it is simply more tricky to do so.
Well, but he game has a fixed number of encounters in each area - or has it not? Well, let me tell you something: the game HAS a respawning method of those encouters, the trick is to know how to do it. In this way, you CAN grind/ farm again.
There are basically three ways, I noticed, to make the game respawn monsters:
1) Huge areas. Like, for example, the Battleship on Chapter 9. If you don't believe me, just try to walk forward to the end of the huge ramp just before the final battle of the Chapter, where you have to activate all the various mechanical bridges to reach the end (it is basically the very first time you can actually change your party members, Lightning excluded). Now, turn around and have a look at the various suspended platforms on the distance... you will see that a large number of soldiers have respawned again.
2) Cutscenes. Again, this is easily noticed on Chapter 9 (some cutscenes involve a change between your two different parties, so often you are in the middle of a soldier-infested corridor, you clean it, then you start guiding your other party, and after a while you guide your first party again starting in the very same position than before), but it's true for each area which stays the same after the cutscene. The game respawns ALL creatures you encountered before, only fact is, they are now BEHIND you, and to encounter them again you have to go backward - but I assure you, they are there.
3) The simplest way... SAVEPOINTS. Yup, that's right. Save at a savepoint. Then, EXIT THE GAME (through Start -> Select). The load your saved position. ALL creatures on the map are respawned again. Time to gain those CP...
The only area where I noted this doesn't occur is at the very beginning of the game. I saved at the first Savepoint, moved forward, then I decided to come back to see if that strange device with a blue lens was somehow meaningful - the device where the soldiers summoned the first catlike creatures - and noticing I couldn't came back, I reloaded the saved position; the first soldiers I encountered on front of the summoning device didn't respawn, however. I didn't tried again this trick until Chapter 2 - where I first noticed the effect of point 2) mentioned above (Hope and Vanille in the first area, some monsters, area clean -> Snow time -> Lightning time -> back to Hope and Vanille, area is crawling with monsters again).
I hope this helps.
The savepoint trick isnt very convenient. :)
Personally I cant bring myself to play FFXIII anymore. Im having more fun with the Dawn of War 2 expansion pack (PC) and its holding my attention. After this Ill hit up God of War 3 or the Dragon Age expansion before it.
The grinding issue of FFXIII aside, i'd still rather have full control of the entire party then leave it to the AI. This is as close to a deal-breaker for me as I can get. Im also not so hot on the Crysta-whatever leveling system.
It still is a pretty game to look at though.
I've played Chapter 11 for a couple of hours now... MAN, GRAN PULSE IS HUGE !!!
Finally you can roam wherever you want - the first impression is intimidating, I basically decided not to travel through the plains (as the story tells you to do so) and instead
Five Eidolons gained, one still to take - Bahamut is (as always) very impressive.
The main encounter of Chapter 10 was effectively hard.
Raines in 'Sephiroth mode' is a real beast, especially after taking some damage and growing his wings. I died 6-7 times in order to complete the event - 4-5 times before winning, then I went ahead, then (as I sometimes do) I decided to load a previous savegame because I wanted to better check the area, so I had to do the fight again; even knowing his pattern I died again TWICE before winning for the second time.
The trick is having a character who cures for ALL the encounter, and lowering his Armor with De-Protect when possible. Basically I used only two Paradigms (with my Lightning/ Snow/ Vanille team), a Commando/ Commando/ Medic when Raines was in Attack stance, and a Healer/ Commando/ Saboteur when he was in Guard stance (for Dispel and De-Protect). The hardest part is when he starts buffering himself like mad (randomly, after growing the wings - this is where Dispel can be a life saver), then throws offensive magic AND hampering magic all around (Esuna is your friend here); worse yet, if he starts his 'rush attack', you have to switch to a Paradigm where you have a Medic which is not under attack (change the Paradigm even while still under attack, especially if the target of the combo is the Leader !!!), or the victim can hardly survive to his combo of attacks (and if this is the Leader, it's Game Over...) - this saved my life more than once. And use Potions ! When he makes area attacks with his 'Seraphic Ray', the damage is high and directed to the whole party, using a Potion don't take up AT bars and can be immediately followed by a Cure combo.
I killed him (both times I won) with my Eidolon, at the end - when he became Staggered (not using a Ravager and with only two active characters to attack him, it happened after I hurt him for more or less 180.000 hp), I summoned Odin and started to fight in combo, then went Gestalt Mode, and killed with Zantetsuken.
Before I talk about 13, I wanted to go ahead and throw myself under a bus:
Final Fantasy 7 was by far my favorite FF game. I've played 1, 2, 4, 6 and so on (not 11) and it's still my favorite. The story was awesome. The characters were interesting. The antagonist was hands down the BEST antagonist to step out of a Square game to date (with the exception of MAYBE Magus)
Hell to be honest I think the reason 7 will always stay ahead is BECAUSE of the antagonist. The guy was awesome ... sorry but he was. And I know a lot of people bash about the popularity of 7 ... but maybe there's a REASON its popular.
I also really enjoyed 8 actually too and it was my second favorite title just because of Squall. I know the character got a lot of flack by some but to me, he was awesome. I loved his story and seeing him grow was a lot of fun. Its biggest downside was it was REALLY easy.
After those two, I would put FF 4 in the series.
Could NOT finish 12.
Finished 10 but Auron was the only character I liked. Hated Tidus with a burning passion.
Anyway, as far as 13 goes, so far so good. Lightning is a little bland ... but I'm hoping she picks up. Really dig Snow and I also now have Vanille as top FF hotty to exist. Sazh's costume design is a little dull to me compared to everyone else but his attitude is awesome.
Story is pretty good as well so it keeps me playing.
I miss traditional summons and turn based a bit but I'm learning to let it go.
Antagonist = boring though. Just doesn't get me that excited about facing off with them. Guess I'm looking for another Sephiroth Factor.
Finished the main story tonight. Clocked in at just over 61 hours. Going back to finish the side quests now, who knows how long that will take.
I wasn't too crazy about the last fights. They seemed a bit lacking somehow, can't really put my finger on it though.
FFVII was and still is my favourite FF of all times. As a villain, Sephiroth was powerful, almost immortal (well, being called 'Sephiroth' as from the Kabbalah's Emanations, this was almost expected from him), manipulative (through the Jenova cells injected in his replacement bodies, like that of Cloud), and I despised so much during the game (ESPECIALLY the whole kill-Aerith-and-brainwash-Cloud thing) that it is my personal favourite as a villain. And I loved all the cast of characters (especially Vincent, Tifa, and Cid). EVEN Caith Sith, although he was the 'joke' character, had a reason to be in the party (Reeve Tuesti had guts to double-cross ShinRa from the inside).
The things that I loved from the game were the plot and the interaction of the various characters with each other (and the love-triangle between Cloud-Tifa-Aerith, although in fact Aerith was still in love with Zack Fair, and Cloud was, uh, basically 'playing Zack' all along...). The struggle for saving the Planet (Gaia), the spoiling of the ecosystem, genetical engineering to product (uber)Soldiers (ending up creating monsters when the process went awry)... there were a lot of references to real-life issues (Midgar's condition resembles that of London during the Industrial Revolution, in a way). That, and the whole Lifestream concept was really poetic (...and re-used even in the recent Cameron's 'Avatar' movie...).
I agree, however, with all the people who think that Cloud was perhaps too much predominant in the game (I call it the 'Crono effect', since even in Chrono Trigger I hated the presence of the silent protagonist in the Team during almost all the game; after the whole Time-Egg event, I started dumping him from the party because I couldn't stand him anymore. Same thing happened to me with Cloud); in fact, as long as I could have another leader in the party, I often left him out of the team. Oh, well, you can always play 'Dirge of Cerberus: FFVII' and relegate him to fight as a cohort in a couple of CGI videos... :D
(Starts running to avoid being linched by an angry mob for mentioning DoC:FFVII)
And I loved all the cast of characters (especially Vincent, Tifa, and Cid). EVEN Caith Sith, although he was the 'joke' character, had a reason to be in the party (Reeve Tuesti had guts to double-cross ShinRa from the inside).
The things that I loved from the game were the plot and the interaction of the various characters with each other (and the love-triangle between Cloud-Tifa-Aerith, although in fact Aerith was still in love with Zack Fair, and Cloud was, uh, basically 'playing Zack' all along...). The struggle for saving the Planet (Gaia), the spoiling of the ecosystem, genetical engineering to product (uber)Soldiers (ending up creating monsters when the process went awry)... there were a lot of references to real-life issues (Midgar's condition resembles that of London during the Industrial Revolution, in a way). That, and the whole Lifestream concept was really poetic (...and re-used even in the recent Cameron's 'Avatar' movie...).
VII did have a good supporting cast and a decent story.
I'm reminded of another problem with VII.
The summons.
It's not just that you can't skip past the animations. It's that they are so stupidly epic. They looked really cool at first, but they grew old after repeated viewing, and their scale never really matched up with the scale of the characters (e.g., hitting people with comets pulled out of the sky). And, they set the bar for future Final Fantasies to have their own epic, over the top summons.
Im not crazy about the fact that I cant control the other two mooks in my group and they are on a sort of auto-pilot based on paradigms. Id prefer to control them all and have them do what I want them to do at any given moment.
Actually, that's the biggest plus for me in this game. I want a roleplaying game, not a rolesplaying game, which for me is a tiny step away from being a strategy war game.
That's why I don't like Dragonage and think Neverwinter Nights 1 (the Atari game) was better than NWN2 or Baldur's Gate.
Not being forced to control everyone's actions (but having a decent system to give them orders, a system which to me adds a nice element of planning to the mix) is one of FF XII's biggest advantages.
I wasn't too crazy about the last fights. They seemed a bit lacking somehow, can't really put my finger on it though.
Maybe because of this?
Only thing I don't completely understand... trophies ! Why on earth should you have TROPHIES in a FF ?
Why not? It's a PS3 game.
To show people that you really defeated the various WEAPONS ?
Huh? What do you mean?
Anyway, what else are trophies for if not for bragging? "Look here, I finished Chapter 5 already!" "I won the ultimate battle with a 5-Star Rating!" "I actually spend all the time finishing up all those side-quests and get a prime rating in each." "I actually played until every character was on maximum".
One thing that's a bit disappointing about the final upgrades, though:
Only thing I don't completely understand... trophies ! Why on earth should you have TROPHIES in a FF ?Why not? It's a PS3 game.
To show people that you really defeated the various WEAPONS ?Huh? What do you mean?
Anyway, what else are trophies for if not for bragging? "Look here, I finished Chapter 5 already!" "I won the ultimate battle with a 5-Star Rating!" "I actually spend all the time finishing up all those side-quests and get a prime rating in each." "I actually played until every character was on maximum".
This is exactly what I was trying to say - it's true that this game has no 'WEAPONS' (the big bad overpowered extra bosses, not the, uh, weapons of the characters...) like in most of the previous editions (Omega WEAPON, Ultima WEAPON, Ruby WEAPON, Emerald WEAPON...), but it has similar challenges (like the Uber-Adamanthearts which unlock after finishing one of the sub-quests, and one of the trophies shows 'Ohh, look at me, I've just beated this HUGE dino-like tortoise...).
I have mixed feelings about Trophies in new-gen games (for PS3/ XboX360/ PC, dunno about Wii) - they show your friends (and all the world watching your online Avatar) that you bested a game, but is it really really really necessary? Sometimes the hunger for gaining a trophy steals away the enjoyment of playing a game...
(this, of course, is told from a person who bested
FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX, FFX, Parasite Eve - including all Chrysler Building and True Eve - , Parasite Eve II - on ALL difficulty levels - , Vagrant Story - never gained more that one Damascus Rhompaia and Damascus Holy Win, though, too much time-intensive - , God of War I on God difficulty level, Rogue Galaxy - including EX Ghost Ship TWICE - , Resident Evil II - with S score with both Leon and Claire - , FF Tactics - all 16 characters to 99th level and learned Zodiac Summoning, still not completed all Jobs to Star level though -,
and many many more... so maybe I'm not the best person who can whine about Trophies XD , but still...)
I'm on the chapter where I'm about to go after Sazh and Vanille right after the Brynhildyr Eidoleon battle, but I have to give the following pro's and con's so far.
Good AI - You dont really need to control all three characters, the Paradigm system as well as decent AI means your characters fulfill their roles effectively, allowing you to focus on your main characters job at hand.
Amazing Graphics - Almost seamless mix of in game graphics to cut scenes
Decent Story - The story seems quite involved, and keeps me wondering what will happen next
The Eidoleons - You may only get to summon them once in a while, being it costs 3 TP to summon one, but when they are summoned its a game changing experience, especially with the Gestalt mode.
Good Characters - Lightning, Snow, Fang and Vanille are all pretty amazing, so is Sazh but his little 'gun stance dance' he does when hes fighting made me want to laugh a little (in a 'are you serious?' sort of way), as well as Vanilles 'fishing rod' type weapon. (Notice that she 'finds' it after she meets Hope, but in a flashback scene she produces it from nowhere when she didnt even find it yet (plothole))
Hope - Ugh...I cant stand his whining, I understand he lost his mother and gradually found the ability to accept and forgive Snow of in some capacity, but hes easily one of the weakest characters in the game.
Vanille & Fang - Shaky voice acting, they sound Australian or from New Zealand and periodically it just vanishes. Plus theres that whole 'overly friendly/affectionate' thing going on between them.
Linear Paths - I understand the linear paths were designed to help the game run smoothly for the storys sake...but would it be too much to ask they put in some doors/rooms/alternate routes here and there to change things up a little?, it feels like a rollercoaster ride from start to end
Weapon Changing In Cut Scenes - The characters in old fashioned FF style seem to adopt their starting weapons in all cut scenes even if you equipped or upgraded that weapon and they no longer have it
No Party Control - Frequently, after beating and gaining an Eidoleon, you would lose control of that character and go right off to another character or part of the story, meaning you'd have to wait hours to finally get to use it. And when your forced to use another charcter as party leader (such as when Fang and Lightning try to reach Hopes house), you cant use Odin since Lightning is a backup character at that point in time...you can only use summons for the main, controlled character.
This is exactly what I was trying to say - it's true that this game has no 'WEAPONS' (the big bad overpowered extra bosses, not the, uh, weapons of the characters...) like in most of the previous editions (Omega WEAPON, Ultima WEAPON, Ruby WEAPON, Emerald WEAPON...)
Uhm... Lightning is beating up big monsters with her Omega Weapon in my game.
The weapon system is different, I give you that, and there are no trophies dealing with them (except Treasure Hunter, of course), but big bad nasty weapons are still there. You just need to upgrade the heck out of the weapons you find.
I have mixed feelings about Trophies in new-gen games (for PS3/ XboX360/ PC, dunno about Wii) - they show your friends (and all the world watching your online Avatar) that you bested a game, but is it really really really necessary? Sometimes the hunger for gaining a trophy steals away the enjoyment of playing a game...
Since we're talking about this: The Wii doesn't have anything like trophies. Neither has the PC - at least nothing as system-wide and organised as the consoles, and for example Resident Evil 5 - which has its trophies and everything - doesn't have anything like that on the PC.
As for trophies: Sure, if you really hunt after those things, it can take away from the actual game itself - but is that new to the PS3/XBox360?
The answer to that is a resounding NO!
I can remember hunting down 50 special gems (I think it was gems) to get into a special secret level - in Illusion of Time (Illusion of Gaia in the US, I thinK).
I can remember running around endlessly in the wilds and/or the Mana Fortress to get all my mana spirits and weapons to max level.
I can remember being humiliated by Xaero for hours on end to try and beat him on the highest difficulty setting.
And all of this was before the PS3 came out. Heck, some of it was back when Sony didn't make consoles at all!
Trying to achieve really difficult goals in computer/video games is not new to the current consoles - they just formalised it and made it easier to brag about it.
So you just want to enjoy FFXIII and not care about whether you managed to have every single item in the game at one point, or really beat all the side missions with five-star ratings? Just go ahead.
And if you want to get the L'Cie Paragon trophy, or Superstar or anything like that - be honest: You would have tried to do it even without a formalised trophy system.
Good Characters - Lightning, Snow, Fang and Vanille are all pretty amazing, so is Sazh but his little 'gun stance dance' he does when hes fighting made me want to laugh a little (in a 'are you serious?' sort of way)
Wait till he can
And yes, I am serious!
Vanilles 'fishing rod' type weapon. (Notice that she 'finds' it after she meets Hope, but in a flashback scene she produces it from nowhere when she didnt even find it yet (plothole))
If it's a plot hole, then it's a minor one - but I think it can make sense.
And later you'll see a cutscene where she does some "fishing" (but I won't tell you what she's fishing!)
Hope - Ugh...I cant stand his whining, I understand he lost his mother and gradually found the ability to accept and forgive Snow of in some capacity, but hes easily one of the weakest characters in the game.
Hee hee hee. It seems that nobody likes Hope. But he does get a bit better eventually.
Still, he might be whiny, but weak? He's a pretty good ravager and synergist. I find Sasz needs some chest hair, his stats are quite weak.
Vanille & Fang - Shaky voice acting, they sound Australian or from New Zealand and periodically it just vanishes. Plus theres that whole 'overly friendly/affectionate' thing going on between them.
I haven't noticed any vanishing accent, and to me, their accents sound quite different - which is weird, considering everything.
And they're just good friends who care for each other. Not that there's anything wrong with them being more than just friends. In fact....
Linear Paths - I understand the linear paths were designed to help the game run smoothly for the storys sake...but would it be too much to ask they put in some doors/rooms/alternate routes here and there to change things up a little?, it feels like a rollercoaster ride from start to end
Well, if it puts you at ease: Once you hit chapter 11, the game will turn on its head - you'll be able to assemble your party any way you like, you'll be able advance the characters in every role (though those secondary roles cost a killion crystal points!), and you'll have a huge, wide open area where you can just run around, or do side quests, or fight the game's hardest enemies (if you're easily frustrated, you should protect your TV with a pane of bulletproof (and flying wireless gamepad proof) glass.)
Weapon Changing In Cut Scenes - The characters in old fashioned FF style seem to adopt their starting weapons in all cut scenes even if you equipped or upgraded that weapon and they no longer have it
I guess the cut scenes are pre-rendered - and to save considerable disc space, they didn't render all cut scenes with every combination of weapons.
No Party Control - Frequently, after beating and gaining an Eidoleon, you would lose control of that character and go right off to another character or part of the story, meaning you'd have to wait hours to finally get to use it. And when your forced to use another charcter as party leader (such as when Fang and Lightning try to reach Hopes house), you cant use Odin since Lightning is a backup character at that point in time...you can only use summons for the main, controlled character.
As I said, you'll get full party control in chapter 11 (or is it even earlier? Could be chapter 9 or 10 even)
And while that sounds "late": The last 3 chapters are where most people will spend the most time in the game.
I was shocked when I got through the game one chapter ever two to three hours - at that rate, it would be over in 30 hours or so!
I think I faced the final fight at around hour 60, and have been doing side quests and whatnots for almost 30 hours afterwards.
Uhm... Lightning is beating up big monsters with her Omega Weapon in my game.
The weapon system is different, I give you that, and there are no trophies dealing with them (except Treasure Hunter, of course), but big bad nasty weapons are still there. You just need to upgrade the heck out of the weapons you find.
I see we have a little misunderstanding on this :D - you are speaking of Lightning's Omega Weapon gunblade (which is in the game) and the whole synthesizing system (forging/upgrading the various gunblades, spears, handguns, accessories, and so on), I'm speaking of the huge optional bosses that in previous games were named WEAPONS (all capital letters, usually) with names like Ultima WEAPON, Ruby WEAPON, Omega WEAPON, and so on; they were usually the alternate bosses with millions of hp and lethal attacks, completely optional and capable of swallowing the canonic Final Boss of the game in a couple of rounds. In this game there are no such Iconic bosses, but there is a trophy for beating a similar challenge, the Long Gui Adamantoise(s). And my question was, is it really necessary to have a digital Trophy to be proud of beating such an humongous beast ?
(and yes, the fact that Square continues to name monsters, spells and blades with the same name in the same game can lead to a bit of confusion - FFVII, for example, had the spell Ultima, the greatsword Ultima Weapon for Cloud, and one of the flying bosses named Ultima WEAPON...)
And if you want to get the L'Cie Paragon trophy, or Superstar or anything like that - be honest: You would have tried to do it even without a formalised trophy system.
I completely agree with you on that. As I stated above, it's on the 'formalization' of thophies that I have mixed feelings (maybe it's my free-willed spirit which does not like such a formalization) - but, being a videogame-geek, I would have done it anyway (I even fully completed the terrible FFXII - except the whole 'uber-weapons farming', which I could not stand - , including the fight with the horrible Secret Boss Yazmat - and its 50 million hp - which took me 4 hours (4 !!!) of real time ... man how I hated FFXII...)
As I said, you'll get full party control in chapter 11 (or is it even earlier? Could be chapter 9 or 10 even)
Near the end of Chapter 9, you have full control of the party - only the Crystarium is still locked on only 3 roles per character (until the beginning of Chapter 10).
And while that sounds "late": The last 3 chapters are where most people will spend the most time in the game.I was shocked when I got through the game one chapter ever two to three hours - at that rate, it would be over in 30 hours or so!
I think I faced the final fight at around hour 60, and have been doing side quests and whatnots for almost 30 hours afterwards.
Exactly. As soon as I started Chapter 11 (about hour 20) I started a lot of sub-quests and exploration of the planet (currently, I've finished 38 Missions at 5 Stars) while advancing in the Chapter itself (and then teleporting back), and now (near the end of Chapter 11) I have reached hour 60. So, yes, the game IS long like the other FF games... as much as I predicted.
Vanille & Fang - Shaky voice acting, they sound Australian or from New Zealand and periodically it just vanishes. Plus theres that whole 'overly friendly/affectionate' thing going on between them.
I haven't noticed any vanishing accent, and to me, their accents sound quite different - which is weird, considering everything.
And they're just good friends who care for each other. Not that there's anything wrong with them being more than just friends. In fact....
Oooh, is this a spicy spoiler XD , or simply the same supposition I thought while playing the game ? After all, they must have felt LONELY all that time,
cristallized or not
...
Did anyone else have trouble trying to beat Barthandelus (the end boss of chapter 9)?
I have been trying for a week now and just can't do it. I have done everything I could think of. Maxed out the crystarium, switched parties, did defensive/offensive paradigms, summoned Odin, took my time, tried to hurry, maxed out weapons/accessories. NOTHING works.
I even commited heresy and gave my controller to one of my buddies who beat him in 20 minutes and he DIED quickly. If I can get any suggestions, that would be swell.
Did anyone else have trouble trying to beat Barthandelus (the end boss of chapter 9)?
I have been trying for a week now and just can't do it. I have done everything I could think of. Maxed out the crystarium, switched parties, did defensive/offensive paradigms, summoned Odin, took my time, tried to hurry, maxed out weapons/accessories. NOTHING works.
I even commited heresy and gave my controller to one of my buddies who beat him in 20 minutes and he DIED quickly. If I can get any suggestions, that would be swell.
Is there a particular attack or something that is killing you consistently? I didn't have much trouble with Barthandelus personally.
Is there a particular attack or something that is killing you consistently? I didn't have much trouble with Barthandelus personally.Did anyone else have trouble trying to beat Barthandelus (the end boss of chapter 9)?
I have been trying for a week now and just can't do it. I have done everything I could think of. Maxed out the crystarium, switched parties, did defensive/offensive paradigms, summoned Odin, took my time, tried to hurry, maxed out weapons/accessories. NOTHING works.
I even commited heresy and gave my controller to one of my buddies who beat him in 20 minutes and he DIED quickly. If I can get any suggestions, that would be swell.
It's either he kills me with the Destruco b/c I can't heal fast enough or my Doom timer runs out or I just can't keep up.
It might just be me, but even my buddy says he didn't have this much trouble with him.
It's been several days now, so I don't remember the particulars for that battle, but it usually comes down to timing the use of buff-debuff/defense/offense Paradigms.
It's been several days now, so I don't remember the particulars for that battle, but it usually comes down to timing the use of buff-debuff/defense/offense Paradigms.
Tried the debuffs. Died quicker than I did when I was just on the offense.
I just went to the IGN boards. People are having trouble with him too. I don't feel so alone! :P
It's either he kills me with the Destruco b/c I can't heal fast enough or my Doom timer runs out or I just can't keep up.
I don't remember there being a Doom timer for that fight...
When you see him start "charging up" for Destructo, switch your main character to Sentinel and make sure you have some Phoenix Downs on hand. As long as your main character is near full health and in Steelguard or Mediguard stance, you should have little difficulty surviving the attack. Then use the Phoenix Downs (or the Raise Technique if you want to spend TP) to bring your party back up, switch to an offensive paradigm, and keep plugging away.
I don't actually think I *used* my Eidolon summon in that battle, come to think of it. I didn't really need it.
EDIT: I don't remember... do you have the ability to choose your party at that point? I seem to recall my "party leader" being Snow at that point. Being able to use the Sentinel job as the main character is pretty crucial, unless I'm just crazy and you can't have Snow or Fang in the lead at that point...
Did anyone else have trouble trying to beat Barthandelus (the end boss of chapter 9)?
I beat him on my first try and I can't remember if he doomed me or not. I have seen mentioned on the gamefaqs.com boards that he might only use doom if you are taking too long with the fight, but anyway, I used Lightning, Fang and Sazh for the fight. I tried to keep myself constantly buffed, so Sazh got a lot of work as synergist for haste and the other stuff he knew at that point in the game and Fang got a lot of work as saboteur as her de-buffs seemed to really help me with the fight. I am trying to remember what my paradigms were at that point, I think they were:
rav/com/rav
com/com/com
med/sen/syn
com/sab/rav
com/sab/syn
rav/com/syn
Any time he warned of doing Destrudo, I switched to the med/sen/syn and he never killed me with it. You can also disrupt his attacks by attacking him when he is charging up. As for weapons, I had not done much upgrading at all at that point and for accessories, I had the best HP bangle and the best strength boosting accessory I could get for each. I also had the Crystarium maxed out for everyone before the fight.
EDIT: I don't remember... do you have the ability to choose your party at that point? I seem to recall my "party leader" being Snow at that point. Being able to use the Sentinel job as the main character is pretty crucial, unless I'm just crazy and you can't have Snow or Fang in the lead at that point...
No, you did not get to change your party leader til chapter 11, or else my copy of the game was buggy because I tried to change leaders as soon as I could pick my own party in chapter 9 and it did not let me change leaders. You may be thinking of the chapter 11 boss fight for when you had Snow as your leader.
The first time I tried to beat Barthandelus I was utterly trashed.
Then I noticed that his body is composed of multiple parts (...d'oh !) just like the huge battlehip of the end of Chapter 8 (...which I noticed it was composed of multiple parts only after 10 minutes of fight... double d'oh !)
Destroying his 'lateral head components' reduces his defences and his attacks CONSIDERABLY - as in, I destroyed it in a couple of tries with this technique.
I didn't even have to switch to Sentinel to survive to Destrudo in his weakened status - previously, his multiple Lightning attacks were more than enough to destroy me without any chance of survival.
I hope this can be of some help.
I see we have a little misunderstanding on this :D - you are speaking of Lightning's Omega Weapon gunblade (which is in the game) and the whole synthesizing system (forging/upgrading the various gunblades, spears, handguns, accessories, and so on), I'm speaking of the huge optional bosses that in previous games were named WEAPONS (all capital letters, usually) with names like Ultima WEAPON, Ruby WEAPON, Omega WEAPON, and so on; they were usually the alternate bosses with millions of hp and lethal attacks, completely optional and capable of swallowing the canonic Final Boss of the game in a couple of rounds.
Ah. Now the part about mastering weapons above makes sense to me.
So Lightning is fighting enemies with a super-enemy from an older game?
I didn't know about the WEAPONS. This is actually my first Final Fantasy (if you don't couunt the mana spin-offs). Final Fantasy came to Europe at the time when I stopped getting consoles - as far as I know, none of the NES and SNES titles were available here, and I never got a PS (might get a PS2, though, for the older FF games).
Oh, and watch out for the name "Ultima" :D
In this game there are no such Iconic bosses, but there is a trophy for beating a similar challenge, the Long Gui Adamantoise(s). And my question was, is it really necessary to have a digital Trophy to be proud of beating such an humongous beast ?
Well, of course not - but as I said: It makes bragging with it that much easier.
I know I've been teasing a friend of mine with my Goldfinger trophy in Heavy Rain ever since I got it, and didn't tell him what it was. I did tell him about how an uncle of mine was called Goldfinger, but for a very different reason than the one in the game....
(and yes, the fact that Square continues to name monsters, spells and blades with the same name in the same game can lead to a bit of confusion - FFVII, for example, had the spell Ultima, the greatsword Ultima Weapon for Cloud, and one of the flying bosses named Ultima WEAPON...)
That and the different English terms for stuff in different versions of the game. When watching Japanese videos, you see something about Optima Change - but in the English version, it's Paradigm Shift. And then everyone's talking about Lucky Break bonuses, and you're sort of confused until you find out that it's Instant Chain in the English version and Stagger seems to be Break in the Japanese one...
And then add a German manual to the mix! (I have my PS3 set to English, just like my Wii, since I'm used to playing English games) Tactical Points are now Metapunkte (Meta Points). Instead of chains causing stagger, you have Serien (series) causing Schocks (shocks)
And the German version calles the summons Espers, like former English Final Fantasy games, but the English version went with Eidolon (I think Paizo has some explaining to do... ;-))
And gestalt becomes Metamorph (which is just as well, since Gestalt is usually used differently in German)
Confusion, how I love it so! :D
As I stated above, it's on the 'formalization' of thophies that I have mixed feelings (maybe it's my free-willed spirit which does not like such a formalization)
Despite my name, I'm not against formalisation if it's done right and doesn't impose limits. In this case, I kinda like it. They're not mandatory and they don't limit your gaming experience (unless you're a compulsive collector, but in that case, you have other problems ;-)).
Exactly. As soon as I started Chapter 11 (about hour 20) I started a lot of sub-quests and exploration of the planet (currently, I've finished 38 Missions at 5 Stars) while advancing in the Chapter itself (and then teleporting back), and now (near the end of Chapter 11) I have reached hour 60. So, yes, the game IS long like the other FF games... as much as I predicted.
I'm nearing the 100-hour-mark, and I'm only missing a couple of missions. I think I only have to finish 3 missions, with another two I'll have to get to 5 stars.
I've yet to take out a adamantoise (the big big ones). I did get the adamantortoise from mission 63, and the adamanchelids are easy enemies by now. I must confess that I kinda cheated with the adamantortoise (used an Elixir)
Oooh, is this a spicy spoiler XD , or simply the same supposition I thought while playing the game ? After all, they must have felt LONELY all that time
Not a spoiler. I was just saying that should they be more than friends, there is nothing wrong with that at all. Quite the opposite. Rawwwrrr, and so on wink wink nudge nudge ;-)
I could actually see them go either way (and yes, that pun is intended). Maybe they're just good friends (in a bit of a Frodo-and-Sam way, though less disturbing), maybe they're more and Square Enix wanted to keep this sort of thing off-screen (though I honestly cannot watch Vanille on Hecaton execute their ultimate gestalt attack without thinking that she is *really* enjoying herself there.)
The first time I tried to beat Barthandelus I was utterly trashed.
Then I noticed that his body is composed of multiple parts (...d'oh !) just like the huge battlehip of the end of Chapter 8 (...which I noticed it was composed of multiple parts only after 10 minutes of fight... double d'oh !)
Yeah, I think The Wraith has your solution right there: Take out the outer parts and he's tame as a kitten.
(and yes, the fact that Square continues to name monsters, spells and blades with the same name in the same game can lead to a bit of confusion - FFVII, for example, had the spell Ultima, the greatsword Ultima Weapon for Cloud, and one of the flying bosses named Ultima WEAPON...)
That and the different English terms for stuff in different versions of the game. When watching Japanese videos, you see something about Optima Change - but in the English version, it's Paradigm Shift. And then everyone's talking about Lucky Break bonuses, and you're sort of confused until you find out that it's Instant Chain in the English version and Stagger seems to be Break in the Japanese one...
And then add a German manual to the mix! (I have my PS3 set to English, just like my Wii, since I'm used to playing English games) Tactical Points are now Metapunkte (Meta Points). Instead of chains causing stagger, you have Serien (series) causing Schocks (shocks)
And the German version calles the summons Espers, like former English Final Fantasy games, but the English version went with Eidolon (I think Paizo has some explaining to do... ;-))
And gestalt becomes Metamorph (which is just as well, since Gestalt is usually used differently in German)
Confusion, how I love it so! :D
Don't tell me XD !!! I, too, have set my PS3 to English to avoid these problems ! I played FFVIII (on PS1), X, and XII (on PS2) forced to stand the fixed language of my version (Italian), and I swear, reading some names was totally impossible for me ! Megaflare became 'Megavampalia', Eidolons were 'Espers', Overkill was 'Ultracidio' (a made-up word, which can be loosely translated as 'ultra killing'), the witch Ultimecia (final boss of FFVIII) was 'Artemisia' (now, that COULD have possibly been a more precise translation of the Japanese name, 'Arutimiishia' - but both Ultimecia and Artemisia have practically the same pronunciation in Japanese) - and there was even a horrible translation joke regarding the airship Ragnarock in FFVIII (basically, the character Laguna - in Japanese 'Raguna', which is pronunciated 'Ragh-na' - told that the spaceship was named after him; well, in the Italian version, to keep the joke, they decided to call the ship 'LagunaRock'...)
Judging from my PS3 manual of FFXIII (in Italian), Eidolons are Espers (again !!!), Paradigm Shift is 'Optimum' (singular of 'Optima' - man, if they want to keep the Japanese names, why don't they keep the Japanese names FULLY !?!), Libra is 'Scan', Protect is 'Aegis', Shell is 'Sphaera', and so on, and so on...
I simply cannot stand to play games in a language different from English anymore (even if it's not my main language); I still have the shivers from the horrible translation of a creature in the .HACK games for PS2, the Rocker Grunty (a Grunty is like a chocobo in the .HACK world, but based on guinea pigs instead of birds) - the Rocker version had a Elvis hair and Sunglasses. In Italian, it was named 'Grunty Montanaro', which is the translation of 'Mountain Grunty' - because the translators thought that 'Rocker' was referred to physical stones and not the musical genre !!!
Luckily the new-gen console games do support multilanguage... Of course, better yet (for me) could be if I would finally learn Japanese (not simply single words...) and start playing Japanese games in the language they were originally written...
Don't tell me XD !!! I, too, have set my PS3 to English to avoid these problems !
It's part nostalgia, part wanting to know what international pages are talking about and part being still scarred from some of the worse translations of games in the past (the horrible Secret of Mana jokes, and, of course, D&D in every form and edition).
Eidolons were 'Espers'
As far as I know, only IV, IX and XIII calls them Eidolons. The term Esper has been used before in the English version, too. Some games apparently called them Summons, Guardian Forces (GF), Avatars or Aeons.
Overkill was 'Ultracidio' (a made-up word, which can be loosely translated as 'ultra killing')
You know, ultracide sounds kinda cool. You just have to imagine it being sade by the UT or Quake announcer.
MEGACIDE
ULTRACIDE
OMNICIDE-CIDE-CIDE!
the witch Ultimecia (final boss of FFVIII) was 'Artemisia'
Is that a more feminine version of Artemis?
Sure, Artemis is a bit of a tomboy (or tomgod?), but still.... :D
and there was even a horrible translation joke regarding the airship Ragnarock in FFVIII (basically, the character Laguna - in Japanese 'Raguna', which is pronunciated 'Ragh-na' - told that the spaceship was named after him; well, in the Italian version, to keep the joke, they decided to call the ship 'LagunaRock'...)
Argh! Should have called him Ragnar instead.
Judging from my PS3 manual of FFXIII (in Italian), Eidolons are Espers (again !!!), Paradigm Shift is 'Optimum' (singular of 'Optima' - man, if they want to keep the Japanese names, why don't they keep the Japanese names FULLY !?!), Libra is 'Scan', Protect is 'Aegis', Shell is 'Sphaera', and so on, and so on...
For some German wackiness: Shrouds are "Subsidien" (subsidies? - Not really a German word).
Commandos are Brecher (breaker), Faith is Ener (from energy??) Protection is Protes (sounds more like protest).
Luckily the new-gen console games do support multilanguage... Of course, better yet (for me) could be if I would finally learn Japanese (not simply single words...) and start playing Japanese games in the language they were originally written...
I personally think that would be going a bit too far ;-P Even though some games will be forever beyond my grasp, I'll stick to the small curriculum of "Japanese for wise-asses" I have. :)
the witch Ultimecia (final boss of FFVIII) was 'Artemisia'Is that a more feminine version of Artemis?
More or less - it's an aromatic herb used for its medical properties, whose name is derived from Artemis as you guessed. One of the varieties (Arthemis Absinthium) is used as the main component of, well, the beverage Absinthe. Also, Wikipedia says:
"Common names used for several species include wormwood, mugwort, sagebrush and sagewort (...)
Within such religious practices as Wicca, both Wormwood and Mugwort are believed to have multiple effects on the psychic abilities of the practitioner. Because of the power believed to be inherent in certain herbs of the genus Artemisia, many believers cultivate the plants in a "moon garden".
The beliefs surrounding this genus are founded upon the strong association between the herbs of the genus Artemisia and the moon goddess Artemis, who is believed to hold these powers."
As you can see, Artemisia can definitely be a good name for a powerful Witch - such as that of FFVIII (or for Pathfinder). Now, if that was the real intended name in the Japanese version... hard to say (but possible).