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So ff13 has linear maps, less ability to explore, shops consolidated into save points, difficult battles that require strategy, auto-healing after battles, coordinating various job abilities among characters, all held together with a compelling storyline? sounds like ff tactics to me. and that would be fantastic.
Those are interesting parallels. Obviously the gameplay is completely different, but hopefully those things work for FFXIII like they worked for Tactics.
Sounds like a prettified Xenosaga. :p (Take your pick for which episode, though.)
I'm just getting more excited about this near-release by the hour, me!
I agree such a thing would be fantastic. I just don't have such lofty expectations for FFXIII's story (FFT's was mature and political) or gameplay (FFT's was engrossing and strategy-oriented).
I think there is a greater emphasis on tactical gameplay in FFXIII than in previous FF's of the main series, and that can only be a good thing.
It's going to be fun and that's all a game really needs to be :p
I'd really like to show you some screenshots of my Final Fantasy XIII so you can see how it looks like (I know you've already seen screenshots but I think someone who can screenshot everything in Final Fantasy XIII could help you). Is there a special thread I can use for it?
FFXI is pretty darn tactical.Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
You could make your own if you like. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by cetra1
Is FFT worth a playthrough? I liked the tactics advance games but not that much.
FFT is a very good game :pQuote:
Originally Posted by demondude55
I don't want FFXIII to be like FFT aka Tactics Ogre: FF (half the story that is blatantly ripped off the Bible, gameplay blatantly ripped off another game) or any other FF game for that matter, either in style or substance. FFXIII can do so much better than Tactics Ogre: FF.
It needs to stand out on its own to a degree, and from what we've seen and heard, it does for the most part.
FFT is the best game I have ever played.Quote:
Originally Posted by demondude55
As for the comparison of elements to FFT, it would probably be valid assuming that SE did deliver on all of these elements they are promising for the game. I don't really have a whole lot of hope for gaming PR promises from any company, so I have to play it before I can say something like that is justified.
One big difference is FFT was gameplay & story first, graphics last. FFXIII is focused on making a 'cinematic experience', which to me is a euphemism for graphics first, everything else after that.
You mean two games created by the same person have similar gameplay? And the story shares some common themes with famous literary works which basically anything can be traced back to? Color me shocked.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jecht Shot
"Similar" gameplay and "common themes" is putting it lightly. Very lightly.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...icsogremap.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...s_orge_ps1.png
That's a little more than just "similar" to me. I mean, its fine if you want to slap the FF name on it. Personally, I don't want Steve Gilmour joining SE, taking Knights of the Old Republic, slapping the FF on it, and calling it Final Fantasy XV, no matter how good KOTR was.
I have no problem with "common themes". But he took some of the exact same elements from the Bible, and basically just changed the names. In a few cases, Matsuno was too lazy to do even that (ie Pharist and Pharisee). This wasn't just "common themes". It was pretty blatant.
He makes George Lucas look original. At least Lucas had enough common sense to cannibalize some of his stuff beyond recognition to the untrained eye. A dopy kid who has been to Sunday school a couple of times could see that Matsuno is a hack (outside of Tactics Ogre and Vagrant Story; now there is a Matsuno game worthy of "lofty" admiration.)
I agree it remains to be seen if ff13 actually does a good job with fighting tactics and with storyline. But I am interested to see how it does.
I'd say XIII has more in common with FFX than Tactics, Linear "Single Road" dungeon design, little back tracking, all optional quest unlock 2/3rds of the way into the game, only equips are weapons and accessories that give small bonuses or stuff like auto haste, combat system based on total strategy instead of button mashing and character playing specific roles in combat. Now as long as it fixes the problems with FFX such as its weak difficulty, crappy plot, and generic cliche characters then XIII should be gold. :cool:
As for FFT being a total rip-off of the Bible... Except for the strong similarity between the fake story of St.Ajora and Jesus Christ. (SPOILER)There is little in common, as the big secret about St. Ajora is the fact that he wasn't a real child of god and was instead the leader of a political reform trying to overthrow the establishment which is far from the truth behind the historical and Biblical accounts of the Jesus of Nazareth, in fact its more in common with the other Jesus who was released instead by Pilate as he was the one trying to start a Jewish revolt against Rome. So I would find that to be a far cry from stealing ideas from the Bible as the basic premise is similar but the truth and revelations that follow are far from the reality it borrows from. FFX's plot is a near verbatim rip off of the Tale of Orochi, FFII is a rip off of Star Wars. :roll2
It seems more like FFVII meets FFX to me. Cloud is using the sphere grid.
and has boobs
this is an improvement, at least.
I'm retardedly excited about this game.
So am I. I don't know what that says about me, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dignified Pauper
Few weeks ago I was as skeptical as the most skeptical posters on this board and worrying that FFXIII looks way too similar to FFX (my least favourite entry in the FF series) but all of a sudden I'm perfectly prepared to put down full price come release day. One moment I'm lamenting the passing of my enjoyment of an old favourite, and the next I'm driving the bandwagon. Very, very, very few things can get this kind of excitement out of me. I'm smurfing baffled.
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Originally Posted by Lightening
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Originally Posted by krissy
This series of statements made me lolQuote:
Originally Posted by eestlinc
/easily amused
Lightning as a female Cloud basically, Team Nora as Avalanche.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lightening
I disagree with the person who claimed FFX had a crappy plot.
You could argue it could have been executed better but I thought the plot was excellent.
I don't see FFXIII as the greatest FF ever.I think it's probably too linear, lacks compelling minigames and the lack of towns and lack of nonhumans hurts it in my eyes.
I'm still going to play it but I don't feel it's going to be the best ever.
It is not the best Final Fantasy, but the story makes it one of the best Final Fantasys. Even with some strange parts - which exist in every story - it is more than just great. It is a pitty the complete version of Kimi ga iru kara is just in the japanese ending. Because of this theme the ending is even more awesome than it is without theme or another theme.Quote:
Originally Posted by ANGRYWOLF
Quote:
Speaking with a Square Enix artist who was proudly showing off her portfolio, we asked her if she was just as proud of her work on FFXIII. “Of course,” she said. So we asked what she’d been working on that day. She paused, “A rock. I’ve been working on a single rock that appears in only one scene, for three seconds, for the past three days.”
that is what it has come to. I am selling my ps3 tomorrow on ebay and buying an xbox 360. And the reason is that MGS4 and FF13 are not up to it, whilst Hironobu is going strong with a game I really want to play "Lost Odyssey", and that has Nobuo who also jumped ship.
So there we are , end of an era for me. I will probably also buy a ps2 so I can play the good games.
Just going to point out that Nobuo hasn't jumped ship. He's working freelance now. He's doing the entire soundtrack for FFXIV, for example.Quote:
Originally Posted by seiferalmasy2
Also, just because they've paid intense attention to graphical detail in FFXIII does not necessarily mean that they've shirked everything else in favor of it. That's a pretty drastic conclusion to jump to. Square Enix has a lot of resources at their disposal. The person designing those rocks generally has nothing to do with the rest of the game anyway, so I fail to see how the uncited quote is relevant.
Well I don't think I dislike the plot for FFX quite as much as Wolf Kanno does, however I think he and I both agree that the plot for FFX is clearly far from being "excellent".Quote:
Originally Posted by ANGRYWOLF
Actually I'm quite relieved that it doesn't have non-humans. I don't mind humanoids that are slightly different somehow [not really talking about elves, but things like Sprigg are okay too], but I'm annoyed at the current trend of making EXCESSIVE amounts of non-humans, as well as the other trend of making them all animal-based. I really don't care for it at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by ANGRYWOLF
a "good one"...?
How do you define what makes a plot "good" or bad"...?
For me Sin destroying humanity was a good plot.If others feel differently that's fine.
I realize some people are tired of the "world is in danger" type of storyline but I happen to like those.
Saving the world/saving humanity is in my view a worthwhile endeavor.
That's just my opinion though.
One problem I have with FFXIII is the notion espoused apparently by the socalled sanctum elite is that i'cies are a threat to cocoon.To the people of cocoon.I don't see it.I see them more as at risk people .They're at risk of becoming either crystals if they succeed or zombies if they fail.So they're more at risk for taking assignments from the falcies than they are any risk to ordinary humans imo.
One of the major problems with the plot is that Sin isn't destroying humanity, it has been co-existing with humanity for a thousand years. There is no immediacy or urgency to your quest, and humanity isn't in any need of saving. You are just out to raise the standard of living.Quote:
For me Sin destroying humanity was a good plot.If others feel differently that's fine.
I realize some people are tired of the "world is in danger" type of storyline but I happen to like those.
Saving the world/saving humanity is in my view a worthwhile endeavor.
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Speaking of plot, does anyone feel that the world of FFXIII is setting it up to reek of social commentary?
[QUOTE=VeloZer0;2794525]It's been pretty obvious to me from the beginning and is one of the reasons why I was so initially put off. Hopefully there will be some interesting spins on the standard fare of JRPG social commentary, but the trailers make it look as ham-fisted and melodramatic as anything.Quote:
Speaking of plot, does anyone feel that the world of FFXIII is setting it up to reek of social commentary?
When you spend 3 days ona rock that appears for 3 seconds, it is very relevant imho. It shows that grapgics have become the god and that manpower and finance is being ridiculously squandered. This is not what games are. Games are gameplay, story. They are not 3 day obsessions drawing 1 single rock. And it isn't just that, it is 100 other things that are wrong with XIII, from linear gameplay to AI controlled characters, from shops at a save point, to a healed party after a battle.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ouch!Just going to point out that Nobuo hasn't jumped ship. He's working freelance now. He's doing the entire soundtrack for FFXIV, for example.Quote:
Originally Posted by seiferalmasy2
Also, just because they've paid intense attention to graphical detail in FFXIII does not necessarily mean that they've shirked everything else in favor of it. That's a pretty drastic conclusion to jump to. Square Enix has a lot of resources at their disposal. The person designing those rocks generally has nothing to do with the rest of the game anyway, so I fail to see how the uncited quote is relevant.
The game is a cutscene fest and obsession and that quote proves it. As for uncited: Final Fantasy XIII (Import) (PS3) review | NowGamer
I doubt they are lying.
Also, Nobuo is part of mistwalker's main team, even though he can work freelance. He has not worked fully on any none online game since FFX (and even there it was 1/3)
I'm just going to go out on a limb and assume that Square Enix has the money to pay a very large number of people to work on a very very wide number of things in this game for a very long period of time. Be it a three dimensional rock worked on diligently by a rendering artist or a piece of music by a composer or a character quirk written in by the writer or whatever. Graphics may be a huge focus, they can afford to, so why not? But everything else is presumably a focus as well. They can afford to focus on things all over the board, for a long period of time
I wish there was a way to argue with this review
GZay2Stay's reader review of Final Fantasy XIII for PlayStation 3
But....the more I read it the more I realise he is spot on....
.Quote:
- No towns.
- No shops.
- No conversable NPCs.
- No side-quests.
- No mini-games.
- No airship.
- No world map.
The majority of the time spent making this game went to the graphics and non-interactive cut-scenes but none of these aspects are important to make a great gameplay experience; none of these will help make video games be regarded as a major art form.
The bottom line is simple: If you're buying looking for the sexiest and most beautiful looking interactive movie ever made then buy this without hesitation. However, If you're looking for a RPG with more than just pretty graphics and instead with good RPG game design and interactive storytelling then you should avoid it
You do realize that they stated that at one point there was about 300 people working on this project? One girl taking three days for rock that appears for three seconds may be a bit over-the-top in details, but FFXIII was announced in 2006 (if I recall correctly), so they've been working on it for 3 years, perhaps even a bit longer than that. Three days on a rock doesn't seem like a big deal especially given that at one point there was 300 people working on the whole project. Also, Square Enix has always produced, at least with it's FF series, gorgeous scenes for the given technology.
A way to argue with the review would to be to actually play the game yourself. Unless you are fluent in Japanese or have enough skill to get by, I doubt you imported it. For a game where the reviews have been so across the board and polarized, I think you are being a bit preemptive about declaring it as marking "an end of an era".
I can't believe this much griping is being made over a game that hasn't even been officially released in the US yet. This is ridiculous. How about we wait until the damn game is made available to people that aren't going to import it from Japan before we make judgments like this. Pretty sure that lady or whoever was trying to exaggerate how much work is being put into FF XIII's graphical detail to try and show off. But even if she isn't exaggerating, I think we can still safely assume that there are other people on the project besides her alone. I seriously doubt they all got together and said "hey guys, let's make a BAD decision and make a terrible game that's only redeeming qualities are graphics and a good battle system".
I'll admit that I'm not like mega excited about this game, but I seriously doubt it's going to be a "terrible" experience or anything. Keep in mind that this is SE we're talking about here. Although they've made some questionable decisions lately in terms of their games, I'd hardly call them "stupid". If they're making some bold changes from a traditional RPG, then they're probably banking on other qualities for good reasons. Of course, there's a chance this could all flop, but it seems to be having acceptable success in Japan, so it'll probably do fine here too. Let's wait to see it for ourselves before we jump on the "oh my god, I can't believe they did THAT" bandwagon.
All this actually works for me
- No towns. Wandering around aimlessly talking to people that don't matter. Glad I don't have to do it
- No shops. Not the same as no shopping and possibly the loss of even more pointless conversations, which is no loss at all to me. You can still shop
- No conversable NPCs. Is talking to pointless people really that important? Unless you're talking about characters that guide you through the story. If this is about people in towns, again, better off without them
- No side-quests. I don't know that they're all that necessary. I think the FF series started to get a little too addicted to the idea of side-quests after a while. And its been a long time since I enjoyed any of them. So I'd be happy if they stop. Plus I hear the game is plenty long without artificially increasing playtime
- No mini-games. Basically the same as above. Mini-games only started in FF7 and the previous games weren't considered lacking without them. Just more pointlessly bloating playtime with stuff that would probably just annoy me anyway. Again, no loss to me
- No airship. Is it really needed? I'll grant that this staple has been around most frequently in the series. But lots of video games and RPGs get by okay without an airship. Its more of an icon than a necessity
- No world map. I could re-hash my statement about pointlessly bloating playtime due to aimless wandering. But I'm content
Sorry for the people that want a seven course meal. Sometimes the developers think their main dish is good enough. Personally I find the parallels eest pointed out both amusing and profound. FFT is considered by many to be one of the best RPGs out there. Let alone best in the series. And it had very few of these things too. Different play-style yes. But completely proved the idea that all those things are just icing. But with a tastey enough cake sometimes you don't need icing :] At least, sometimes I don't
Some people are graphics whores. Some people are content whores. Graphics may not make a game, but artificially bloating it with content doesn't either. I'm in it for the experience. So we'll see how the experience is
As I understand it, whether these lacking elements upset you or not is heavily dependent on how you end up feeling about the story. I'm not sure who it was that stated it, and I can't be assed to look it up, but if the plot is better served by being a linear experience with minimal distractions along the way, this might not be such a bad thing. I'm willing to wait and see how I feel about it.
Being linear isn't necessarily a bad thing. It can work, it just depends on how they make it work. Not every game needs to be a sandbox.
Except these places help to create a sense of scope for the player, its difficult to create a compelling story regarding save the world when you have no attachment to the world. The places you go and the people you meet help to paint a bigger picture of the ordeal that is ahead of your characters. Tactics still had towns and they still had histories.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vyk
This one has been exaggerated and it may serve to be better facilitated as a means of convenience as opposed to a convenient excuse for the inclusion of towns. My real problem with the way shops work in XIII is that everything I've read makes them sound like the shops in VIII and X which were so poorly managed I wonder why even bother. The inventory will most likely always be far behind the items you find on the field and the lackluster equipment system makes me sad that I can't have optimal customization.Quote:
- No shops. Not the same as no shopping and possibly the loss of even more pointless conversations, which is no loss at all to me. You can still shop
This goes back to the argument of towns overall, NPC's allow you to get a better sense of the world and the people you are trying to help. Its a shame this is going to be removed so strongly as I feel XII was on the right track and I feel the Persona games have truly shown me how to create proper NPCs that do more than tell you the same information over and over again. These games showed me how easy it really is to create NPCs that feel less like automation's and more as being you can empathize with. Its a shame XIII is choosing to remove them as other RPG games have finally started to get them right.Quote:
- No conversable NPCs. Is talking to pointless people really that important? Unless you're talking about characters that guide you through the story. If this is about people in towns, again, better off without them
This is actually wrong, there are sidequests but much like FFX they are relegated to opening up later in the game than I feel they should. Once again, as long as they are done well, I feel sidequests are great for world building as they allow you to see more of the world unrelated to the plot. The Mark Hunts of XII gave you a wealth of imagination that goes into the Ivalice world as well as the sidequests found FFTactics. To me sidequests are only meaningless when they don't bring anything to the world like the Monster Arena in FFX or the Chocobo side-quests; once again, be eliminating these, I feel you are doing a disservice to the world and to the players as you limit your avenue for creating a cohesive world that feels real. Luckily, from what I've read of XIII, the side-quests of XIII are like XII's even down to having a bit of story attached to them.Quote:
- No side-quests. I don't know that they're all that necessary. I think the FF series started to get a little too addicted to the idea of side-quests after a while. And its been a long time since I enjoyed any of them. So I'd be happy if they stop. Plus I hear the game is plenty long without artificially increasing playtime
This depends on the game, I like when mini-games are not overused throughout the game but are also used to enhance the story. I feel VII and IX actually hit a pretty decent balance though there are a few occasions I feel it does detract from the game. When its tied to a story element and gives the player some control I feel it empowers the player in a good way and helps with immersion.Quote:
- No mini-games. Basically the same as above. Mini-games only started in FF7 and the previous games weren't considered lacking without them. Just more pointlessly bloating playtime with stuff that would probably just annoy me anyway. Again, no loss to me
I don't see it as bloating time as much as I see it as exploration and better understanding of a world. I love exploring the map and trying to stumble upon hidden secrets and such. Even better is when I can find a town that is not relevant to the story but helps add to the world by talking to NPCs about non-story related events in the world, shop for decent items, and help to create a world that goes beyond the doomsday scenario your party conveniently finds themselves in.Quote:
- No airship. Is it really needed? I'll grant that this staple has been around most frequently in the series. But lots of video games and RPGs get by okay without an airship. Its more of an icon than a necessity
- No world map. I could re-hash my statement about pointlessly bloating playtime due to aimless wandering. But I'm content
I guess overall is that my main point here is Immersion, its hard to give a damn about what's going on in the story without some background information to help the player reach some moral and ethical conclusion. A great world design can make or break a game. One of the challenges that XIII is going to have for me is trying to make me actually care about what's going on its world, I might care for the going-ons of my favorite characters but if I don't like them then I lose another way to create an attachment to the story. You should not think of the world design as simply a means to create artificial gameplay (arguably, the whole exp./level system does more of this than side-quests and and mini-games) but rather view it as a character in itself. XIII is going to have to try very hard to convince me that Pulse and Cocoon are worth my time or I will quickly grow bored as I find it difficult to believe any of the characters will be so compelling to keep me glued to the title.
I could bore you to tears with pages of arguments as to why FFX is a bad game overall but I'm pretty sure everyone here is tired of listening to my stance on the subject as I've done this several times.Quote:
Originally Posted by ANGRYWOLF
I am just going to say that I agree with WK on basically everything. He nailed my opinion on the matter in more detail than I would have given.
I'll grant all that stuff missing could have helped paint a bitter picture of the world and made it more engrossing. My problem is I haven't enjoyed how Square has done that stuff recently. Its hard for me to miss something I haven't even enjoyed for so long. But I will agree at least the -opportunities- those things opened up are now lost. I just think, for me anyway, interesting NPCs and atmospheric towns that draw you better into the story have been better found in other places. Recent Final Fantasys just haven't fit my style, I guess, and since this one is so different, and rather than trying something new with things that have annoyed me in the past, they're just putting all that on the chopping block, I'm not disheartened much. But indeed, all very valid points, Wolf. And thanks for expanding on some of the more misleading aspects, since I haven't been following reviews and mostly just going off of people's gripes
There's gotta be sidequests...
Even FFT had sidequests. There can't be none.
Same here. Part of the beauty of making your vision of a world be made into something as interactive as a game is to add many elements to create a high level of depth for your universe. I'm going to wait until I actually play this game first before I make any quick judgments on what's been "stripped" from the expectations of this game.Quote:
Originally Posted by Raistlin
However, let's assume I'm not Khalin, but some random typical RPG-player that waltzed in and saw what Vyk just said. A likely response from such a person might be along the lines of "why even bother playing an RPG if you don't want any of these things?", as there are numerous other kinds of games that are basically all graphics+battle system that run along a storyline with little else. And by the way Vyk, the point of that statement isn't really directed to try and take a shot at you or anything. What I'm actually trying to get at is the fact that I'm a little curious about what exactly will define FF XIII as an "RPG" in this case. I'm also worried of this potentially triggering a trend of companies trying to "expand their horizons" [ie try to copy elements of this "new" way of doing "RPG" games] where many new RPG's will just strip most of the classic elements we like, all because they're trying to be "unique" and "different" for the sake of being "unique" and "different" [even though it's just following a trend in the end]. I might be overly-worrying to the point of silliness, but things like this have happened before.
No I get your point. And the second half of your last paragraph actually touched on the counter point that just occured to me. Square's done a lot of "different" stuff with the series in the last few entries. FFXI was an online rpg. FFXII was basically a sandbox rpg. Suppose FFXIII is intended to be more of an action/adventure rpg. The fans expected Square to stay formulaic to a certain degree. And they never said every game would follow any kind of formula. Disappointing maybe. But its their ball to play with I suppose
And to honestly answer your hypothetical question, I really fell out of the JRPG formula for some reason a long time ago. And I miss them, but can't get into them anymore. This one's apparently stream-lined. I'm not gonna lie, I can understand the JRPG fans that want all the content and formula feeling robbed. But it works for me because I'm basically getting an abridged JRPG. Which I'll be the first to admit is a bit shameless lol But then again... it works for me :/
While I generally agree here (and with most of WK's opinions), I'm actually quite interested in seeing if and how SE can pull off creating a vibrant, immersive world while at the same time paring out all the staples of the role-playing genre. In other words, the player may not need to see the world being in danger if he or she can already feel it. Of course, all the staples exist for a reason, but their necessity and usefulness from game to game completely depends on the designers' skill and creativity in implementing them into the whole. In the case of FFXIII, maybe SE have developed some serious Hemingway-esque skills of understatement when it comes to world-building.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolf KannoExcept these places help to create a sense of scope for the player, its difficult to create a compelling story regarding save the world when you have no attachment to the world. The places you go and the people you meet help to paint a bigger picture of the ordeal that is ahead of your characters. Tactics still had towns and they still had histories.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vyk
It will be interesting to see, its one of the reasons why I'm not already decrying XIII as "epic fail" I need to play it first of course, but since they have removed so many elements that I enjoy out of the genre, it basically makes me feel that XIII can be a very good game but has lost the chance to be a great game. I feel SE is sorta gambling here by putting all their eggs in one basket with the story. Though as Vyk has kinda shown, the game does strike a great level of appeal from those who tire of RPG conventions altogether. Still, I think the big question I'll be asking myself as I play it is whether I can still call it an RPG or not.
Weirdly (As I completely disagree on FFX :p) I agree pretty much totally with WK on this. I'm expecting to enjoy FFXIII, but from what I have seen I really doubt that I'll treasure it like I do VII and X. I hope to be pleasantly surprised, of course, but I'm going into it expecting a fairly fun game.
I don't agree about FFX..
I suspect if Square brought in 10 fans and asked them what makes a great FF/what should be in an FF game to make it great they would get 10 different opinions.
I just don't think this game (FFXIII) is going to live up to the usual expectations I 've had.Maybe that's because FFXII was such a major disappointment for me but I don't feel the enthusiasm I expected.
:|
Actually I reckon they'd get 11. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by ANGRYWOLF
Getting FF fans to agree on details is like getting ten people to agree on a great pizza toppings. I'm sure XIII will bring in a whole new host of fans and we'll all grow quickly irritated with them cause we remember "how much better it was in the old days". I'm looking forward to XIII, not in a sense I feel this game will blow me away, I'm pretty sure the chance for that to happen has passed since I've never been very impressed with the game since the first videos were released but I am curious to see the experiment that it offers. I'm also looking forward to the combat system cause it sounds impressive but I'm not sure how well it will work out.
If XIII reminds me of any title, its probably Xenosaga Episode II which was an ok game from an actual great series. That game also removed a ton of RPG conventions and focused completely on story and the battle system but neither really panned out well so this is why I'm a bit apprehensive in regards to XIII as I feel the story premise is a bit hokey and overly melodramatic.
P.S. (SPOILER)FFX Sucks ;)
I think Nomura's games tend to be "hit or miss" in terms of quality. IMHO, FFVII was a hit, FFVIII could have been better, FFX was a miss, KH was a hit, FFX-2 was pretty good and both FFVII AC and KH2 were fan service... though I enjoyed the latter two. Now, based on what I've read about FFXIII and based on the gameplay videos I've seen, it seems FFXIII tries to be FFX on steroids, which I don't find a good thing. At all.
From what I've gathered, FFXIII seems to have top-notch graphics and loads of lengthy cinematics. The game seems to be very linear, and it seems the "flesh" (world map, towns, NPCs, shops etc) has been removed to make way for cinematics and walking through dungeons after dungeons. This is a lot like in FFX, which also had great graphics at that time, long cinematics, linear gameplay and a long, long road to wander, although even FFX wasn't daring enough to drop towns, NPCs and shops out of the game. In addition, just like in FFX, buying new weapons and armor doesn't seem to do much in FFXIII, and I may be wrong, but the development system feels like "let's remove all complexity and traditional FF features so that you only have to concentrate on beating the enemies".
Has anything changed from FFX? Actually, yes. FFX's slow-paced battles that became even slower if you wanted to train all characters ("PikachuTidus, I choose you! Okay, you're done, now Wakka. Great, now Yuna. Then Lulu. And Kimahri. Et cetera.") have turned into fast-paced action battles similar to FFX-2's. I personally liked those fast battles a lot in FFX-2. The soundtrack, unlike FFX's, seems very good, and it seems Hamauzu has finally succeeded in creating a great, powerful musical score. Orchestral, vocal and choral songs add up a lot to the soundtrack. As for other things, it seems Nomura didn't want to repeat FFXII's way of having subtle characters. I've heard FFXIII's characters are more like "in your face". You could even call them melodramatic. I'm not sure what to think about XIII's characters yet. I mean, FFXII's subtle characters were likable and all, but I still felt a bit like, "hopefully Revenant Wings will let me get to know the characters better", after the game. Subtlety is usually a good thing, but it shouldn't be taken too far, IMHO. I don't know anything about the actual storyline in XIII, however, so I won't say anything about it.
All in all, what can be expected from FFXIII? Great visuals. Lengthy cinematics. Great music. Fast-paced action battles. Melodramatic characters. And... well, that's it. I don't know about you, but sounds extremely shallow to me. If I wanted a movie, sure. If I wanted an action game, no problem, I guess. However, when it comes to RPGs, I'd really prefer some content. Hopefully Final Fantasy number 13 will be more than just eye candy and action battles.