Home
Maybe you did come off a little condescending, but that's ok. I'm a big girl. Let me address the first point. Making bullet points was to show where the serious game playing problems are. I'm sorry, 95 hours of game play is LOT more then simple observation.
The topic was how Square made all these "bold new choices"....... bluh, bluh, bluh. And the "dev" information NEED to be brought the table. Because this had nothing to do with "design choices", and everything to do with --- running out of time --- which is NOT a choice.
The whole point of a Role Playing Game --- Is for you, the player, to take on a "Role", like an actor. In this case, the roll of six characters. Of which you have complete control over all of them (or micro-manage as you say). Secondly, a sense of exploration. That you, the player, are discovering these things for yourself. Both of these key elements have been present in every Final Fantasy game for the past 20 years. But are missing in this one. This is not a RPG, what this is a RPS = Rail Playing Story.
@Sandy
That's fair enough. But when you (or anyone) does that. All the person actually sees is the top 2 sentences and then ignores the rest, with a nice big "eye roll". (it's cool)
@Ladies
I like the game.... Ok. I don't love it. I am disappointed, which is very true. This had the potential to be SO MUCH more then a "baby sitting service." I mean, you walk down a beautifully rendered, never ending corridor and shout out play-book commands to your teammates. It's Halo. Not Final Fantasy."
I understand what happened during Square's development of FF13, realize this was a business decision, why they cut out all the classic RPG elements. But it's not some magic wand that brought these things about. They ran out of time, because of having to build "Crystal Tool" from sratch. That took longer then expected, and had to be done before they even started making the game.
Believe me, this isn't just a "Square sucks rant". I thought about this, written about this. I KNOW the flack I'm going to receive for saying this. That is why I writing to everyone calmly and decidedly so you understand. I DO like the game, I just wish that it was called, something else, and not Final Fantasy. "
Yes, but isn't that the point? To have a discussion of the Final Fantasy 13 as a game -- on the whole. Ignoring Sandy's little "sentence pull-apart", which is always helpful, and not at all fanboyish. There MUST be a counter-point, in order for there to be a real topic for discussion.
The points I brought up, were legitimate. And yes some of them were criticisms -- as a "critic" of the game. If you just want to have a happy little forum, where everyone agrees. That's fine. That is not a discussion --- that is a fan club.
Everything that I stated above, have been mentioned by several legitimate gaming journalist. And what wrote for giantbomb was much nicer.
http://www.giantbomb.com/final-fantasy-xiii/61-20664/user_reviews/?review=13323 "
They "left things out", because they were doing TOO much to begin with. This is a clear case of shooting for the moon, but ending up in a puddle. Game play took a back seat to graphics. That is clear. Yes, it's a "new way of playing", but that doesn't mean it's better --- just different.
I have played all the final fantasy game. Over and over again, all of them different (including FF8). But with FF13 I am bored to tears. There is much more going on here then just "Eastern vs. Western RPG Styles".
- Not being able to control any of other characters actions. If she dies, game over.
- Splitting them up in teams early on, and doing it in such an asinine way.
- No decent monster drops or money
- Having to upgrade 8 sets of weapons, per character with NO MONEY or decent monster drops
- Capping the "Crystal License board" to force job directions.
- No Puzzles, No exploring, No discovery of any kind. Just un-ending hours of spoon feeding
- No down time, No breaks, No side "quest" or fun to keep me interesting in playing this.
These are all legitimate complaints concerning BASIC GAME PLAYING MECHANICS. It's not just one thing, but several little things that makes the game play of FF13 --- mediocre at best.
The best created games, including Mass Effect 1 & 2 KNOWS, that the "story follows the player". The player play the game and discovers the story, at his/her own pace, not the other way around. When everything is said and done, this is a game -- not a movie -- that's what FF13 needed to be first. Not last.
Final Fantasy 13 is a good game, yes it is. But it's boring. "Insipid" is a word that 'I' would use to describe it, because it goes on and on and on. Without end, and not fun. Sometimes, the old way of doing things works well for a reason -- because it works. And if it's not broken....."
