Why is this game so BAAAAAD!!!!!

[ScottyRedXIII]

im up to the part with all the side quests (were you have to kill a certian monster) and the game has been SOOOOOO boring i dont think i can bring myself to complete it :redface:, anyone else feel the same???

[|-THE redmage-|]

I have to say that I thought the hunts/quests were a little overwhelming, some of them are pretty tough, and i really got fed up with the enemies on the final level, they were really irritating.

[Jessweeee♪]

It's my favorite in the series. If you're into sidequests though, then yeah this is not the game for you. The only sidequests in the game are the 63 Ci'eth Stone hunts and gathering a few parts for Vanille's pet robot. I just finished the last of the hunts a couple of days ago, and they were pretty tough. Especially Gigantuar. There were some quests where I just did the Death trick (the most boring way to do anything ever), but since some of them are immune, I had to get crafty.

I do like how there is actually a point in super leveling your party post-game. Even if you max out the entire Crystarium for everyone you'll never be so strong that not a single enemy in the game will give you trouble.

[AntagonistGB]

It sucks because Square Enix's gigantic ego has swelled to the point where their heads have become firmly lodged in their own asses, causing them to reach pretension levels previously unheard of, believing themselves to *snicker* be competent game-makers without regarding fan input based on previous games in the series. It's sad, really.

[Flying Arrow]

I don't think the game is bad, per se. It's just... really, really thin as if it vomited out its content in a public restroom stall before showing up to the party.

[|-THE redmage-|]

I'll admit, I really enjoyed the game, don't get me wrong, but it was very straightforward as far as exploration and maps go.

[Mirage]

It's bad because it doesn't flesh out the world you are in properly, and because the characters are... unrealistic and stupid :(.

[Rodney]

Wanting realistic characters is a tall order in a game with the word "Fantasy" in the title.

[AntagonistGB]

Wanting realistic characters is a tall order in a game with the word "Fantasy" in the title.

Wrong. There's nothing saying a fantastical setting can't house identifiable and realistic characters, or at the very least, interesting and three-dimensional.

[Jessweeee♪]

Sometimes I feel like I bought one of ten copies of a good solid game called FFXIII, and everyone else got a different sucky version :confused:

[Mirage]

Wanting realistic characters is a tall order in a game with the word "Fantasy" in the title.

Wrong. There's nothing saying a fantastical setting can't house identifiable and realistic characters, or at the very least, interesting and three-dimensional.

Yeah, there are plenty of characters who are way more realistic and/or likable in other FF games (not to mention other works in the "fantasy" genre of fiction) even though those games also sport a fantasy world.

[BG-57]

I actually like the sidequests. When I finally got to Gran Pulse, it felt like a different game in some ways, FFXIII.2 if you will. The linearity gets a lot of hate, which I don't mind but it will take away a lot of the replay value (unless they've added a New Game+ option). What bothers me is the way the game restricts options until it thinks you're ready for them. Not being able to change party members or Roles was a major pain.

It's very pretty looking but I wish more effort had been made in the script and less on glossy exteriors. That being said, the game is addictive and generally fun to play, once it lets you play the way you want to.

[AntagonistGB]

It's very pretty looking but I wish more effort had been made in the script and less on glossy exteriors. That being said, the game is addictive and generally fun to play, once it lets you play the way you want to.

This is actually a good summation of my feelings towards the game. I just hate the unforgivably long time between the start and actually being able to play it completely. That and the linearity, which just about killed the game for me.

This is the first FF that I felt was too long for its own good. For the first 30 or so hours, I was enjoying it, but there was so little to do besides walking from point A to B, that by the time I got to Pulse, even if the "sidequests" (and I use the term loosely) had been worth my time (they weren't) I'd become so bored and jaded to the extreme repetitiveness of the game outside of battle that I would still have wished the game would be over.

Had the story been more engaging, I may have been able to forgiven this game, but as it stands, the story is a confusing jumbled mess that falls apart if you really try to think about it. The only plus to come out of the story is that Vanille, Hope, Snow, and Sazh are some of the best characters to come out of the series since Final Fantasy IX. And I know I'm going to get flack for liking Hope and Vanille, but whatever. I thought their character arcs worked REALLY well. Lighting and Fang on the other hand...

[Rostum]

im up to the part with all the side quests (were you have to kill a certian monster) and the game has been SOOOOOO boring i dont think i can bring myself to complete it :redface:, anyone else feel the same???

I certainly felt that way at that point in the game, but I kept going through it and it does not get much better. If you're really determined to finish it then by all means battle through it, but if not then I may suggest to just let it go.


...and because the characters are... unrealistic and stupid :(.

While I'll agree some characters I did not particularly like, their reactions to their situations were more realistic than anything previously in the series. Especially Sazh, who quite frankly is pretty awesome. At least until you get to the last set of bosses, then it becomes cheesy and childish dialogue that's typical of previous Final Fantasy's.

[Mirage]

I'll agree that Sazh was the most believable character in the game. I actually don't dislike him.

[AntagonistGB]

I like his too-old-for-this-:bou::bou::bou::bou: personality. I can definitely relate.

[BG-57]

Sazh is the man! Far and away my favorite character in the game. He reminds me of Roger Ebert's review of Robin Hood:PoT where he comments that Morgan Freeman's character is the only one played on the right note: a perfect mix of heroism, seriousness, and dry humor. Sums Sazh up neatly for me.

[Roogle]

My favorite character was Sazh.

I think that the issue that many people have with the game is that it is too different from its predecessors that people have learned to enjoy.

If you enjoyed Final Fantasy XII, you probably would not like Final Fantasy XIII; if you enjoyed Final Fantasy XI, you probably would not like Final Fantasy XIII.

There are similarities between Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIII, at least, but how do fans of Final Fantasy X feel about Final Fantasy XIII, I wonder?

[Jessweeee♪]

FFX was my favorite until FFXIII became my favorite.


Being able to choose your characters before the point where they all meet up would sort of...undo the story wouldn't it? I mean they're all separated until halfway through the game. I can certainly see why it would annoy people on a second playthrough, but I didn't mind it. There was never much variety to the way I selected my party and paradigms after I was given total control. Lightning (replaced by Fang post-game), Hope, and Vanille could cover most situations that didn't require a Sentinel.

[BG-57]

I don't mind the game forcing party membership for storyline battles or keeping the characters separated (a big plotline for FFVI, which is a favorite of mine). But giving the player total control on regular party composition took far longer than necessary.

[AntagonistGB]

I don't mind the game forcing party membership for storyline battles or keeping the characters separated (a big plotline for FFVI, which is a favorite of mine). But giving the player total control on regular party composition took far longer than necessary.

Basically. There's no reason they needed to stretch out the tutorials for half the game.

[Dreddz]

The games doesn't effectively weave the narrative into the game so your left confused most of the time. Having to have an encyclopedia to explain the story speaks volumes about the quality of Squares writing team.

The game can be broken down to three things. Battles, cutscenes and walking to either of the two. Any diversion from the games path would be to collect a treasure chest. The game had such a predictable structure that playing the game just became a chore after a while because you going through the motions over and over again.

Ultimately FFXIII is a movie first then a game. Maybe if the story was good then you could forgive a lot but it simply isn't so your left with well......a pretty bad game.

[CommanderShepard]

I agree with Dreddz. This is probably one of the worst pieces of story telling in the world. An incoherent meth addict is more engaging than this game and I'm pretty sure you can understand him/her better than this game.

I should've seen this coming as previous Square Enix RPGs like Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant had very annoying narrative, but great gameplay.

I really liked the gameplay of FFXIII, but the bad story and stupid characters (not Sazh) made me sell this game ASAP!

[Elpizo]

When I played through XIII, I liked it enough at least to keep playing. Hope, Vanille and Sahz were my favourite characters (even if I used Fang, Lightning and Hope endgame), and I liked some of the bosses and the music. The Final Boss was entertaining. Tacked on, sure, but entertaining. Nice music. Not as good as for example Necron, who was awesome, or as good as the Undying, who was great, but good. Unlike some other final bosses in FF. Like Kefka or Emperor.

However, now I'm at the point post-game where I can do all the sidequests, and I just can't do it. It's too boring, there's no appeal in it. I wanted to get all trophies, but gave up, it's not worth it. I've started continuing my third playthrough through IX, spend two days straight doing nothing but grind for abilities on the beach on the lost continent on disk 3, and help, I enjoyed it more than the sidequests in XIII. I dunno, does that make me sad?

I blame IX being the superior game.

All in all, XIII is good when you play through the story with your brain turned off, but after that, it gets forgetable quickly. There's zero replay value, too.

[Elskidor]

I was sure people were being way too harsh about this game, so when I started it I expected it to be great in it's own way. Hell, people gave FFXII a bad time, but it wiped the floor with half the entire series. Not the case for XIII though. I read it gets better near the last few chapters and that just can't make up for how terribly dull and boring the first 25 hours of game play has been. I am determined to finish this game, but it feels like a job having to turn on that ps3 and push my characters further and further into a game that doesn't even feel like a Final Fantasy. I don't mind the characters and I don't mind the battle system, and the story is not terrible but altogether the game play is wretched. Where the heck is the world map? Why is so much time wasted in ugly dungeons and who thought it was a great idea to force the player down a never ending story that has no time for a breather or exploration of the worlds or side quest or anything remotely fun? Still unsure why FFX got such a hardcore fan base, but I blame it for FFXIII for they are a lot a like in many fashions. But one thing this game has done for me is bring back an urge to play FFX, because I have a feeling I will finally like it more. So how did this happen? For one of the prettiest games, it wreaks of fail no matter how good the final chapters are.

[Vyk]

I probably wouldn't have minded it being so stream-lined. Considering that is one of the few reasons I -don't- hate FF10. I haven't personally played this game. But for some reason my nephew was desperate to check it out last time he visited, so we rented it, and I got to actually witness it personally for once. And the only real thing that bothered me was the writing. The plot moved along at a really quirky rate. And the quips from the characters are oddly neither dramatic, melodramatic, charming, or badly acted. They're just weird. Which I figure is a problem with the writing. Though I can't say I would have enjoyed a gauntlet of dungeons and battles as a game, but its been done before. Some breathing time probably would have been nice. But I never played Final Fantasy games just so I could explore dungeons and towns. But pacing could have probably used some tweeking regardless. And I can probably blame the writing for that too. So pretty much like a few declared in the thread about whether or not it'd be a good idea if Square handed off FF to a western developer, the main argument is that Square just needs better writing and fresh ideas. They're not a bad company for designing games. They're just running out of ideas and burning themselves out, and you get boring and wonky results. In my opinion anyway

[Bolivar]

I think the biggest problem that someone brought up is that for a long time, there was a new main Final Fantasy every year, to a year and a half at most. There was always a team working on the next game, even for the next generation. FFX, for example, came out around the end of the first year of the PS2's lifecycle. What happened this time is that we kept getting a new FF every year, but they were spinoffs. Instead of working on the next FF, Kitase and co. were making FFX-2, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core, Kingdom Hearts (then Kingdom Hearts Spinoffs), Dissidia, Revenant Wings, the list goes on and on.

If I'm not mistaken, by the time they started thinking about FFXIII, the PS3 was a year away from launching. I think they just need dedicated teams to making original, good games. That's what's going to bring in revenue for them, moreso than the spinoffs I would assume, which they could just outsource or give to newer developers to cut their teeth on, like Kitase, Nomura, and Nojima all did themselves.


Basically. There's no reason they needed to stretch out the tutorials for half the game.

I see you guys talking about the character split ups, and I feel it was mostly for telling a cool story with different characters omre than a nything. Honestly, I wish they broke up the duos over the rest of the game, spliced in with 3 party teams instead of just slacking off for the second half. I think I'm one of the few who likes the first half of the game more.

[Vyk]

I've always been a fan of split parties in RPGs. It brings an interesting dynamic to the system. I can only think of old examples, but I really enjoyed when groups split up for whatever reason in a couple of the Shining Force games. And the first few hours of Wild ARMs was especially nice when you switched between playing each main character individually for a while, before they all met up. And I liked it in FF8 during the missile crisis issue. I think more games need to do that kinda stuff. It'd help flesh out minor characters better, and you wouldn't have to feel rushed to get to a certain place as the story would have two groups to choose from to aim at that place. But it probably would grow old if over-done

[Flying Arrow]

I think the biggest problem that someone brought up is that for a long time, there was a new main Final Fantasy every year, to a year and a half at most. There was always a team working on the next game, even for the next generation. FFX, for example, came out around the end of the first year of the PS2's lifecycle. What happened this time is that we kept getting a new FF every year, but they were spinoffs. Instead of working on the next FF, Kitase and co. were making FFX-2, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core, Kingdom Hearts (then Kingdom Hearts Spinoffs), Dissidia, Revenant Wings, the list goes on and on.

If I'm not mistaken, by the time they started thinking about FFXIII, the PS3 was a year away from launching. I think they just need dedicated teams to making original, good games. That's what's going to bring in revenue for them, moreso than the spinoffs I would assume, which they could just outsource or give to newer developers to cut their teeth on, like Kitase, Nomura, and Nojima all did themselves.


I certainly won't take credit for this idea, but I've written about it in a number of places on this board and do believe the wonky quality of XIII is partially due to the huge gaps that have developed between FF main games.

My main issue is that XIII is a call-back of sorts to X. It more or less picks up where X left off (minus the combat) but it doesn't incorporate much of anything else. Not only that, but it seems no one at SE questioned the idea of designing a game world in 2010 like one would design it in 2000. Most of FF 1-10 were good because they built on what came before. XIII just kind of takes X as its model and leaves it at that. Imagine if FFIX had been just copied FFIII's design and called it a day. FFIX was great because it built on half a dozen acclaimed titles. XIII just went back to the last FF game that seemed to get unanimous praise.

[ScottyRedXIII]

Sazh deffinatly is the man.

FF X was what got me into the series, and is probably my favourite of all, not sticking to the norms off Original FF games i'm sure it did dissapoint many older fans, and even that game had characters that were very unlikeable like Wakka, Seymor and even Tidus (personall opinion). I felt titdus was to much of a little baby to be likable, crying about he's dad all the time and that voice (plus the random laughing seen made me cringe) but somehow neer the end i felt sorry for him and Yuna. For me FF XIII has no likeable characters (apart from Sazh). Lighning was to depressing and quite, Snow had no personality, Hope....... God i want to punch him in the face, another Tidus, Vanille was just too weird and fang....... meh she was allright.

I think what the game was missing was an Auron.......

[Rocket Edge]

I will never understand how a person can like this game. It fails on so many levels and is the most boring piece of crap I have ever wasted my money on. It's an insult to your intelligence how linear and spoon-fed this game ends up being. I stopped at Chapter 7, couldn't bring myself to go any further. Bottom line, huge disappointment. I genuinely worry about the future of possibly the only gaming series I truly love.

Oh and I loved X.

[nirojan]

I will never understand how a person can like this game. It fails on so many levels and is the most boring piece of crap I have ever wasted my money on. It's an insult to your intelligence how linear and spoon-fed this game ends up being. I stopped at Chapter 7, couldn't bring myself to go any further. Bottom line, huge disappointment. I genuinely worry about the future of possibly the only gaming series I truly love.

Oh and I loved X.

Well your opinion is noted. You didn't beat the game, really didn't all that far, yet you're quick to judge it (this is why game reviews have to FINISH THE GAME before they give a score/opinion. That's weird I thought it was okay (not upto FF standards), but it was trying something new (which i guess old school guys just couldn't live with/adapt to) & imho FFX wasn't that great!

[Rocket Edge]

Well your opinion is noted. You didn't beat the game, really didn't all that far, yet you're quick to judge it (this is why game reviews have to FINISH THE GAME before they give a score/opinion. That's weird I thought it was okay (not upto FF standards), but it was trying something new (which i guess old school guys just couldn't live with/adapt to) & imho FFX wasn't that great!
Likewise, point taken. But the way I see it is why should I have to wait until near the end of the game for it to get good? Why can't it be good from the beginning? I don't get it. I was all for the changes throughout FF because the magic was always there. I've liked every one from III to XII. XIII didn't have any of it, and no matter how much I wanted to be sucked into it's world, it wouldn't let me.

[LunarWeaver]

I don't blame ol' Irish Rocket for not finishing it if he made it to 7 and wanted to stop. If I don't like a game, I just won't beat it. I'm sure a lot of folks like to push forward with hope or just to see it through, but I don't force myself to the credits for the sake of it. If I'm forcing myself in what is supposed to be a fun hobby, then I'm going to move on. I don't like turning on my system and feeling like I'm doing a chore. Maybe it means I don't have a fully-formed opinion, but who gives a :bou::bou::bou::bou:. It's my time and my gaming. I'll do whatever I feel like.

As for the sidequest missions, they are a little overwhelming when so many open up at once. For some, it may be a case of too little too late, hello-goodbye. Then to give you this post-game expanded leveling with no new game + leaves you wondering what exactly you are working for. Why am I trying for ultimate weapons? Why bother to fill out the Crystarium? Eventually it hits you that you are time sinking and nothing more. I'm doing them because I'm bored and have nothing else to do until Dragon Age II arrives and accept the time sink because I have no life. Frankly, Dragon Age II will most likely show me what actual good characters and plot pacing is like and I will see Final Fantasy XIII as worse than I previously considered it.

I at least appreciate that Square is willing to try new things with their flagship series. :mamu:

[ScottyRedXIII]

since posting this thread, i have finnaly finished it and regret my original feelings, it's not a bad game, beautuifully created (as all square games)

[Roogle]

Why am I trying for ultimate weapons? Why bother to fill out the Crystarium? Eventually it hits you that you are time sinking and nothing more. I'm doing them because I'm bored and have nothing else to do until Dragon Age II arrives and accept the time sink because I have no life.

Yes, I agree. I no longer have as much time as I used to, and my spare time has become extremely valuable to me. I see very little purpose in finishing a game and continuing to play it after its storyline has long concluded. The gameplay was not phenomenal enough that I would enjoy playing the game without any sort of purpose.


since posting this thread, i have finnaly finished it and regret my original feelings, it's not a bad game, beautuifully created (as all square games)

Why did your opinion change so drastically?

[ScottyRedXIII]

i still stand by some of my hatred's about this game how ever, Hope is my enemy, hate the little kid..... and vanielle to, her voice and child like mind really :bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou: me off. It had a good battle system and beautifully designed cut scenes, especially the final one.

Altho it wasnt the best in the FF series....... it wasnt that bad.

Let's hope XIII-2 is better :|

[AstonMartin]

hey I don't think its so bad. other than the fact that i keep dieing and you basicly just walk in a straight line the whole game.

[Crop]

I will never understand how a person can like this game. It fails on so many levels and is the most boring piece of crap I have ever wasted my money on. It's an insult to your intelligence how linear and spoon-fed this game ends up being. I stopped at Chapter 7, couldn't bring myself to go any further. Bottom line, huge disappointment. I genuinely worry about the future of possibly the only gaming series I truly love.

Oh and I loved X.

Pretty much exactly this, except I got to the boss. I struggled a little and was ready to try some tactics to beat it until I realized I didn't care at all and I've never gone back to it.
The game is linear, the world is uninteresting, the gameplay is just a random battle over and over again and the characters just have a lame easily overcome problem that takes about 20 cut-scenes to finally overcome. "Spoon-fed" is the best term for it.

[Slothy]

Likewise, point taken. But the way I see it is why should I have to wait until near the end of the game for it to get good? Why can't it be good from the beginning?

You know, I just have to call bull:bou::bou::bou::bou: on the idea of having to beat a game to really judge it. Yes, some games may have a bit of a slow start but turn out to be awesome (Heavy Rain) while others don't have their worst flaws really shine through until late game (Gran Turismo 5), but if you play for well over several hours and can't dig the underlying game mechanics, characters or world, then no amount of awesome at the end will make up for it.

And in the case of FFXIII, if you weren't into it by Chapter 7, you weren't going to be. Gran Pulse did not in any way make up for the linearity of the game, because even though it gave a pretty vast expanse to explore, there was no reason to aside from level grinding and hunts. There was absolutely no compelling reason to explore unless you actually liked the battle system. And by Chapter 7, you've got a good enough idea of whether you'll like the battle system.


but it was trying something new (which i guess old school guys just couldn't live with/adapt to)

I don't think anyone who has been a fan of the series for a long time and loved multiple entries across the series span has any problem with change. Change is good. Change was the driving force behind the series for the better part of its run. It is one of the few series that really experimented a lot with the underlying game mechanics for a long time and I have a lot of respect for that. But trying something new isn't a defense for making a crappy game. An explanation certainly, and I'll applaud any developer who has the balls to try something new and fail miserably so long as they learn from it and move on. Doesn't mean I'm going to turn a blind eye to the fact that their game was a steaming pile of turd though.

[Ouch!]

but it was trying something new (which i guess old school guys just couldn't live with/adapt to)
I'd argue that the "old school" guys have witnessed far more changes in the fundamental game play behind Final Fantasy titles than more recent fans. Recent changes have been pretty drastic, but no more so than that significant shifts throughout the franchise's history. Change is a huge part of the franchise, probably the element which really sets Final Fantasy apart from other big-name RPG franchises such as Dragon Quest. If you consider yourself a fan of the franchise, you have to be accepting of change.

That aside, as Vivi22 mentioned, the willingness to change fundamental game play aspects for a game is a laudable thing, but change is not always good. Final Fantasy XIII deviated from the standard in many fundamental ways. The effort should be applauded, but that does not mean that the result must also. They tried some new things, and I'd argue that many of those things did not work. Change does not make a game inherently bad; nor does it make it inherently good. In this case, the changes in FFXIII make it suck big donkey balls.

[Tuhkasieni]

I got really pissed off many times during the game because it was so linear and the only thing that made me continue was me hoping it would open up at some point... and it did, sort of. Though I was hoping more city exploring...

I enjoyed the hunts, I maxed all my characters and it was fun, not the best game but not the worst either.

And I really liked Fangs english voice, LOL. :D

[ScottyRedXIII]

Tuhkasieni

And I really liked Fangs english voice, LOL.

Was it English? Im English and have never heard an accent like her's :confused:

[BG-57]

It was meant to be Australian.

[ScottyRedXIII]

So was Vannielle, but it seems the actress kept changing her ming through the game weather it was English or Australian

[Jessweeee♪]

Her actress is Australian though, isn't she? She didn't sound as Australia-y as Fang, but I think Fang's actress wasn't actually Australian. Of course, the only Australian people I know are fictional characters on television, so this could be a case of "that southern US accent is so fake; he sounds nothing like Larry the Cable Guy!"

[Tuhkasieni]

Tuhkasieni

And I really liked Fangs english voice, LOL.

Was it English? Im English and have never heard an accent like her's :confused:

UMM... I was like comparing her english and japanese voice, not accents...... And dont get me wrong, I do like her japanese voice as well. :D

Edit: And yeah, I know her accent is supposed to be australian. XD

[ScottyRedXIII]

ah misenterpreted your statement, my bad xD

[Tuhkasieni]

ah misenterpreted your statement, my bad xD

no prob XD