What did you like about the game?

[Kaie]

Some of the topics here are less than positive, but this game certainly had its good points as well.

The thing I loved most about it is that the characters actually seem to like each other and become friends.
In XII they were mostly three pairs that just decided to work together, while in VIII everyone seemed more interested in what Squall and Rinoa felt than their own problems. The people of X were a little closer, but most were there to protect Yuna.

I like how in XIII they have lots of conflicts with each other, resolve these and begin to trust and like each other.

Hope really brought out the best in Lightning, while the interaction between Sasz and Vanille was interesting as well. Fang and Lightning, both battle hardened, relied on each other and Lightning came to see Snow's dedication and appreciate it, etc etc

[Jiro]

I thought the battle system was fresh, and I appreciated that. I don't think it was perfect, but it was certainly a good step.

I actually liked the characters too.

[Dreddz]

The battle system was very well thought out and carried the game as far as I'm concerned. The music is also very good.

[Flying Arrow]

A lot of people are down on the Pulse chapters because they kind of only open up a little bit after so much hallway-running. Sure it's big and open, but there's only really more fighting to be done.

Still, it's when the battle system actually starts to become interesting. The hunts are a passable diversion, too. There's nothing inherently wrong here, but it's touted as the "high" point of the game, and it's kinda sorta not all that high. That said, it's probably the freshest part of the game. Traveling between zones is even kind of exhilarating since you never know what you're going to stumble on next. It shouldn't have taken an unholy amount of time for the game to open up in this way, but so it goes.

I also liked Oerba. It really didn't have a whole lot of storyline punch and kind of just seemed to be there, but it was fucking pretty and had this as its BGM: YouTube - Final Fantasy XIII Dust to Dust (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBKMpGBKWOU)

[Jessweeee♪]

Just, everything! The music, the story, the battle system, the environment!

There's only one thing I was dissatisfied with, and that's this part of the ending:

Nobody should have woken up from crystal stasis fine and dandy. Fang and Vanille didn't wake up until centuries after they were crystallized, and only because they still had a focus to complete. If it were a case of "oh well all the fal'Cie are dead so they're free!" then Fang and Vanille should be free as well. It just doesn't work!

[qwertysaur]

It is fun to play. :p

I agree with ♪ about the ending.

[LunarWeaver]

The battle system
The way Vanille runs
Afro
So gorgeous I had to shave and dress nice or I felt bad in comparison
Amusement park trip in the middle of a bunch of melodramatic crap happening
Piggyback ride in the sunset

[nirojan]

There's only one thing I was dissatisfied with, and that's this part of the ending:

Nobody should have woken up from crystal stasis fine and dandy. Fang and Vanille didn't wake up until centuries after they were crystallized, and only because they still had a focus to complete. If it were a case of "oh well all the fal'Cie are dead so they're free!" then Fang and Vanille should be free as well. It just doesn't work!


Well Fang and Vanille did turn into Ragnarok and stop Cucoon from crashing into Pulse. Didn't they turn into the arm thing that's holding it in place now? If they were de-cryastalized, then cucoon would come crashing down. The only reason why the others got out were because they weren't part of the heroics lol!

The two biggest thing that I liked were the battle-system and the music. I loved the Music when facing the end bosses! The battle system was fresh, intuitive and a well needed face-lift for the barren JRPG world! Some of the characters were good too, like Lightning, Sazh and (to a certain degree) Snow! The CGI cutscenes were also amazing. I liked all the battle/action-heavy ones!

[Mo-Nercy]

The battle system was great. I like how fast-paced it was relative to other entries in the series.

Oh, and Frocobo.

[Laddy]

The characters, especially Sazh and Vanille, were very likable. The battle system was quite challenging, and the music was the best I've heard in a long while.

The game is far from perfect, but there are some excellent aspects to it.

[TrollHunter]

Other than the fact that in the beginning all the characters were much more-than-annoying they seemed to become much more likable by the mid-point. Hell Vanille was basically hitting on Hope for the first portion. I enjoyed the game for the most part but I constantly found myself forgetting it even existed for long periods of time. Also after about 60 hours in my data got corrupted so I don't see myself ever completing it now. Battle system was nice even though many people bashed it constantly, music... I don't remember any, and the graphics of course were phenomenal.

[CloudNyne]

I liked how the bosses get more challenging the further you get into the game.

[nirojan]

I liked how the bosses get more challenging the further you get into the game.

I...uh....Doesn't that happen in all games? Or is supposed to happen for most games?

[TrollHunter]

I liked how the bosses get more challenging the further you get into the game.

I...uh....Doesn't that happen in all games? Or is supposed to happen for most games?

I... think so

[CloudNyne]

Well true but these bosses actually gave me a challenge. Other FF bosses arent that hard. If I recall I've beaten FF 7-10 without dying once. I can actually say I died a few times on some bosses in this game. Probably just because if the party leader dies its game over.

So what I really meant to say is that I like how these bosses actually gave me a challenge

[Jessweeee♪]

Well true but these bosses actually gave me a challenge. Other FF bosses arent that hard. If I recall I've beaten FF 7-10 without dying once. I can actually say I died a few times on some bosses in this game. Probably just because if the party leader dies its game over.

So what I really meant to say is that I like how these bosses actually gave me a challenge

Yeah, that difficulty spike when you get to Pulse is pretty crazy xD

(Also, I merged your posts. Double posting isn't allowed unless it's to say, update a thread with important news. Like new characters were just announced for an upcoming game, or you have new things to add to something like an art thread. Use the "Edit" button in the future, please! :</>D)

[TrollHunter]

Ahh I see what you mean. Yeah there is a large difficulty spike in that game. I remember Sazh's esper/scion/whatever beat the crap out of me time and time again.
Pulse was a fun challenge but I hate how its nearly impossible to obtain money from that area though, I always end up going broke. :(

[Jessweeee♪]

Did you ever fix Vanille's little robot pal? He gives you lots of things you can sell for lots of money o:

[TrollHunter]

Did you ever fix Vanille's little robot pal? He gives you lots of things you can sell for lots of money o:

I don't think I got that far before my smurfing file corrupted.

[Jiro]

I fixed the robo pal and it was awesome! I didn't expect anything to happen and suddenly I was scoring sweet loot.

[Loony BoB]

I just enjoyed the game itself as a whole. The best stuff for me include...

The group of characters - I think the depth given to the lead playable characters is beyond anything we've got out of an FF game before.

The beautiful visuals - The scenery is immense, the characters emotions visible beyond anything I've seen in a game and the FMVs awesome.

The battle system - Just really liked it, I gotta say. :) Particularly the speed and flow of things, even when you change system it flowed excellently.

The little comments made as you move around - You know, the things that show up at the bottom of your screen.

Frocobo - Frocobo!

The L'cie/Fal'cie theme going on - I really liked how the characters weren't simply trying to save the world, they were also trying to save themselves and clearly going through a rather traumatic time with it. It wasn't a simple do or die thing - it was a case of them having to figure out their purpose, to decide whether to save themselves or to save Cocoon, stuff like that... there was clearly a lot more thought put into how the characters would be involved in the story than the usual "oh, rag tag team of adventurers meet up and..."

[magemasher]

I like this game because of graphics/charecters etc, I have no problem what so ever with ff13.,

My favourite thing about ff13 is that after completing the game for the 1st time, any other playthroughs I have been able to watch tv or play football manager on the laptop whist playing ff13 as well. Who said men can't multi task:D

[mashowasho]

The story/setting, (some) of the characters, and the graphics. Everything else about it sucked.

[Caelheim]

Although I have a negative opinion of the game for the most part, there are redeeming qualities. Most notably, the graphics are absolutely stunning. This applies to both character and location design. In addition, Jihl Nabaat is a very interesting character. She's one of the few things that stood out for me in the game.

[Del Murder]

I liked the main playable characters for the most part. In the beginning I really liked Lightning and Sazh. In the end I liked Hope and Fang, mostly because they had the most 'development' (I hate using that word because it's been used so much to describe the characters in this game that it has lost all meaning, but there it is). Barthandelus was also a decent villain for the screentime he had.

I liked the battles in that they were fast paced and innovative. The sytem clearly put strategy at the forefront and that made for some challenging battles. The boss battles were definitely more challenging than most other FF games.

The graphics were beautiful. Gran Pulse was absolutely stunning. I really loved the wide open area of Gran Pulse. I wished there were more areas like that in the game.

I liked that each character had only a few select roles they could play in battle and access to the other roles only came late in the game. I like it when the characters have defined roles.

[Cubster]

I generally liked that the game very much "got to the point" and many things didn't become a chore. I prefer linear games instead of huge open worlds (like FFX's "The Calm Lands" which I thought was a waste of time because it takes an eternity to travese while you're getting into tons of random battles galore!) and I was happy that FFXIII didn't put so much useless crap to show how big it could be.

I liked that after a battle you didn't have to heal your characters which is a time saver. I loved the battle system and in tougher battles, it can be exhiliarating. Graphically it was a beautiful game and I was surprised how good the music was too. I also like that there was no penalty for getting killed too which should be manditory in most games instead of forcing the player to waste his/her time going through hours of gameplay all over again because they didn't save.

In general, I found it was good for SE to once again experiment with the series. In a competitive RPG market, SE has no other choice but to try some new things.

[mytony]

I love the game.

[rgordon82]

I love everything. Especially I the graphics on my 40 inch LED TV :jess:

[Silent Warrior]

Having gone from a 20-something tube-TV to a 37" LCD (got it used), I definitely understand rgordon's sentiments. :D

But... Well, not that I've completed it, but I pretty much like it across the board. Maybe the monster names and designs are just a tad over the top, and the emotions run maybe a little high on occasion, but that's all my complaints so far. My favourite FF hands down!

[10-Breaker]

The graphics are worth mentioning yes.

How the environment is used and enemies placed around like that and you can see them from afar.

And then I get to horrid. I didn't like it that leader dies it's game over. I appreciate the randomness that you could get killed by the enemies simply bashing up your lead. But for real. Come on. In every other game the lead could be saved if someone else was still alive.

"Snow got knocked out!!!"
Hope: "Oh no Snow is down!!! What are we gonna do Fang?! Q_Q"
Fang: "Use the Phoenix Downs!"
Hope: "I can't we didn't share those, he has them all in his pockets! T_T"
Fang: "Meh... We've lost... Let's let those wolves eat us up..."

Edit: In XII if your lead got knocked out, died, sent in to oblivion, you passed the command to someone else!

Then the battle system was lame... Was like watching a movie pass by. If it would count as a movie it was pretty good and long overall.

If you wanted the easy way you take the aggressive character and let the com buff, debuff. Harder way, you take the healing and buff, debuff role.
When you learnt to use it right you could attack multiple targets effectively, especially after you get those area spells. There were parts where you could feel yourself overpowered against a very tough enemy.
It made me miss XII style where you could turn the automated fight on and off if you wanted to control your teammates yourself. (This however would've cost some of the smoothness) And the gambits, ooh I loved them. Your characters were just as prepared and smart as you wanted them to be. This time. Well the example above just tells it all.

[TrollHunter]

The graphics are worth mentioning yes.

How the environment is used and enemies placed around like that and you can see them from afar.

And then I get to horrid. I didn't like it that leader dies it's game over. I appreciate the randomness that you could get killed by the enemies simply bashing up your lead. But for real. Come on. In every other game the lead could be saved if someone else was still alive.

"Snow got knocked out!!!"
Hope: "Oh no Snow is down!!! What are we gonna do Fang?! Q_Q"
Fang: "Use the Phoenix Downs!"
Hope: "I can't we didn't share those, he has them all in his pockets! T_T"
Fang: "Meh... We've lost... Let's let those wolves eat us up..."

Edit: In XII if your lead got knocked out, died, sent in to oblivion, you passed the command to someone else!

Then the battle system was lame... Was like watching a movie pass by. If it would count as a movie it was pretty good and long overall.

If you wanted the easy way you take the aggressive character and let the com buff, debuff. Harder way, you take the healing and buff, debuff role.
When you learnt to use it right you could attack multiple targets effectively, especially after you get those area spells. There were parts where you could feel yourself overpowered against a very tough enemy.
It made me miss XII style where you could turn the automated fight on and off if you wanted to control your teammates yourself. (This however would've cost some of the smoothness) And the gambits, ooh I loved them. Your characters were just as prepared and smart as you wanted them to be. This time. Well the example above just tells it all.

Persona shares the problem of leader dies - game over*
I actually found the combat to be one of the things to keep me entertained, I can definitely see how someone could find it boring but I never did once.
You also seem to love XII, good taste~

I remember now another little thing I found cool about 13, it's very minor but still. How characters actually walk up the steps instead of gliding up them. I find that cool for some reason.

I find the combat of XIII like a slowed down version of X-2, where X-2 is the better in this situation. XIII doesn't have as much variety in the combat and suffers from persona syndrome*. I still love XIII's combat but I just feel that it could've been greatly improved. -hopes XIII-2 makes the combat a lot sexier-

[10-Breaker]

By looking at trailers I can say I'm gonna skip XIII-2.

Yes, how the stairs work, that's one another detail worth mentioning.

[TrollHunter]

Unless I see some promising reviews I won't touch it. I'm not forking over 60 bucks till I know that it's good.

[Mirage]

Well I liked the graphics and music. And fang is hot.

[felfenix]

I liked that it actually had character development, unlike... any other FF.

[TrollHunter]

I liked that it actually had character development, unlike... any other FF.

What about 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, and other one's I forgot about?

[felfenix]

I liked that it actually had character development, unlike... any other FF.

What about 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, and other one's I forgot about?

What would you actually consider character development in those games? I'm not trying to be adversarial or sarcastic, BTW. I'd legitimately like to know.

Yeah, they may have characters... likeable, well written characters sometimes... but that doesn't mean they had character development. It's not like Cecil's personality changed after becoming a Paladin. Nobody even really had that much depth in previous games, except maybe Squall and Tidus, but I'm not entirely sure if I'd count them. Shallow isn't necessarily bad, but the characterization in FFs does tend to be shallow caricatures, and can't recall offhand any half-decent examples of characters changing believably.

The main plot of FF13 was completely nonsense, mostly pointless, and horribly written, but the character writing (whether you liked them or not is a separate issue) was more real and natural than other FFs, and they actually grew, whereas in other FFs at best characters staticly acted like awful anime tropes instead of even slightly believable people. The characters in FF13 at the end of the game are not the same people they were by the end of the game, and its done gradually through their experiences as the story progresses. If you look at FF13 as a plot-driven story, its terrible. If you ignore the plot (as silly as that sounds) and think of it more as an excuse for personal inner journeys, then it becomes at least tolerable.

[TrollHunter]

I liked that it actually had character development, unlike... any other FF.

What about 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, and other one's I forgot about?

What would you actually consider character development in those games? I'm not trying to be adversarial or sarcastic, BTW. I'd legitimately like to know.

Yeah, they may have characters... likeable, well written characters sometimes... but that doesn't mean they had character development. It's not like Cecil's personality changed after becoming a Paladin. Nobody even really had that much depth in previous games, except maybe Squall and Tidus, but I'm not entirely sure if I'd count them. Shallow isn't necessarily bad, but the characterization in FFs does tend to be shallow caricatures, and can't recall offhand any half-decent examples of characters changing believably.

The main plot of FF13 was completely nonsense, mostly pointless, and horribly written, but the character writing (whether you liked them or not is a separate issue) was more real and natural than other FFs, and they actually grew, whereas in other FFs at best characters staticly acted like awful anime tropes instead of even slightly believable people. The characters in FF13 at the end of the game are not the same people they were by the end of the game, and its done gradually through their experiences as the story progresses. If you look at FF13 as a plot-driven story, its terrible. If you ignore the plot (as silly as that sounds) and think of it more as an excuse for personal inner journeys, then it becomes at least tolerable.

I just wanted to see your side on things and I have to say, I agree entirely. Hell not even XII had any character development as far as I noticed. Vaan matured... albeit slightly but that's about it. Penelo and Fran might as well have died in an airship accident considering how much they gave to THAT story. Also I would consider character development in at least 8 9 and 10. Excluding some characters from the equation of course.
And as much as I would like half the cast of 13 to die in a hole there was quite a bit of character development from everyone. That gives 13 some points it really needed.

[Jessweeee♪]

Yeah, FFXIII definitely had the most. I mean, pretty much every aspect of the game was centered on it.

[Bolivar]

I actually liked a lot of things about the game, because after Final Fantasy XII, I learned to put my expectations of the series aside and enjoy a game for what it individually does well.

In this case, of course, is the sound. I moved into a new apartment and decided to dig out my surround sound system from my mom's to start using again. THEN I bought an optical cable to go from my PS3 to my system. Put it on dts and cranked it up and HOO BOY. The sound had a master's attention to detail and the battle theme sounded so good coming through the speakers, it made it one of those games where you cherish getting into battles instead of rolling your eyes every time (Hi, Xenogears!).

The graphics were incredible as well, and I think it's very commendable, in this generation, for a Japanese company to make a game just as beautiful if not more so than all the Western juggernaut studios that have risen this generation. That's quite an accomplishment on its own, and as I've found over the years, great graphics are usually indicative of a similar amount of effort into every other aspect.

I'd say that's mostly true for FFXIII - the combat was great. I strongly disagree that the new action, programmable AI encounters of the big RPGs today is better than ATB random encounters. It's not. But the combat here was fast paced, fluid, you get in and out quick, the music ROCKED, and there was a great deal of strategy to it. Not as much as some have made it out to be - yes, I died a few times but if I were to play it again I would breeze past those troublesome bosses. So strategy, awesome music, looks great, it was a good combat system.

And I honestly feel the story was good as well. It had a great "prisoners of fate" theme, and I felt the voice acting was fantastic. Along with the graphics helping characters' expressions and gestures, I really felt these were some of the most developed and fully realized characters the series has ever seen. The performances in XII blow it away, no doubt, but they still had the syndrome of feeling like characters in a video game instead of human characters you can relate to. I really loved their relationships and the unique ways the game paired them up so as to advance the plot.

So there you have it - from music, to graphics, to gameplay, to story, FFXIII is actually a pretty great game. Going through it, I doubted I would have a reason to replay it, but I definitely can see doing so in a year or two, if not just for the experience itself.

It's just not a great Final Fantasy.

[ReloadPsi]

The battle theme. I didn't like anything else, especially with the way the game tried to go out of its way to tell us what the story was.

Imagine you're in a cinema, watching a film, and every five minutes the film pauses and a giant caption appears saying TURN TO PAGE 6 OF THE ENCLOSED BOOKLET TO FIND OUT WHAT THESE CHARACTERS ARE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT.

That is what FFXIII did. I found it so obnoxious.

[Luciferinne]

Because,
Final Fantasy have a Great Battle System,
I Think this games Look a Like Final Fantasy XII at Battle System, but about Graphic is more Better than Final Fantassy XII,
when I Play Final Fantasy XIII.. Like umm, Stay in Fantasy World. :D

Beside that,
Final Fantasy XIII so awesome at Character Skill and,
have many Monster at that World. Cool Special Effect!

Actually I Like their Soundtrack to.. so Beautiful Sound :'D