(Chapters 1 & 2 thread) Well, the opening cutscene is hella rad

Let's post our initial experiences without fear of spoilers or being looked down upon by the cool dudes who are already like 50 hours into the game!

Now I am fighting something with a lot of saws. Why does it need eight saws? I assume it doesn't work in a saw mill. :bou::bou::bou::bou: I think it has a laser tail, is that....no...it can't be...GUARD SCORPION: THE REVENGE?

Man, Sazh is already a winner!

Ooh, camera controls. Let's see if we can make this baby look up Lightning's skirt. :smug:

EDIT: Ha. I just went off the main path and got an Iron Bangle for my troubles. Linear my ass. :colbert:

Your turn. Go!

Heh, I also thought about Guard Scorpion. That was pretty cool. But you're being harsh, maybe his day job is was slicing up enormous pieces of salami. :colbert:

I'm pretty much loving it so far. Battles are sharp and tight affairs and they're already starting to ramp up the difficulty a little. Rye died, fyi :laugh:

I love how the Frocobo just randomly pops out and back into Sazh's afro. Great win. But I'm liking everyone so far so that's cool.

And yeah that opening was just :squee:

She died? Hahahaha how terrible.

I had some boss battle (I think) and it ended with Snow getting uppercutted 15 feet into the air by said boss while Gadot shot it in the mouth. Snow was in mid air on the victory screen which amused the hell out of me. Still, he managed to punch a guy in the face, killing him, a split second before he nailed Lebreau so you've got to give the man props for that.

"Moms are tough" hahahaha.

STFU Huxley! :mad2:

I died because there was so much to LOOK AT I forgot to pay attention to my HP. I like the battle system over all. I prefer FFX's the most so far, but this is pretty rad.

I really like the opening scene. Lightning's jumping around like a psycho torpedo is fantastic - and Sazh's pathetic falling down. Sazh is incredibly endearing. Even the doofy characters are cute too.

Oh my god (SPOILER)when Mommy died I almost cried! Noooo Mama!

Does anyone else really like how in this game, children are actually treated like, you know, children? Seems like such a far cry from Pokemon RPG "You're ten years old, you're an adult now, goodbye!" XDD

My favourite line in Chapter Two so far (not much of a spoiler but I'll mark it anyway. It happens right as you get the Instrument of Tragedy achievement) (SPOILER)Sazh: Looks like we're playing for Team Pulse now. Sazh is basically the Donkey to Lightning's Shrek and I love it.

Also the Datalog is really helpful to understanding what is going on.

Moms ARE tough!

"Moms are tough" is genius, did you see what she did (SPOILER)with that rocket launcher? I mean who just knows how to do that so epically? I might need a new set :jess:

And yes hahahahah Sazh is so so win he just keeps coming out with perfect lines. :aimkiss: What a great analogy Paul :D

Also I said it to Rye IRL but I agree totally. The kids are left as far away from danger as possible and protected as best as possible.

Yeah, that's such a great way of putting it, Paul. XD I was worried they were gonna you know, Chris Rock him up, but it's much more fun and innocent, like Shrek.

EDIT: Hux and I are going to play through this rather slow, we think. We're sharing a save file and we're trying not to play it without the other one there. We switch off every so often. It's kind of better that way, to be honest!

I want this game so bad now ;-;

I tell you one thing, this game isn't nearly as linear as I had expected from the "OMG IT'S A STR8 LINE!" whining that was going on before it was released. There's been several branching paths. Hell, Hope even said to me "Are you sure you're going the right way?" when I wandered about aimlessly as Vanille.

To be honest, from what I was hearing complaints-wise, I was expecting a rather dry, old man-ish game that was more business than pleasure. But from what you guys are saying, I shall enjoy this game thoroughly :D

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

I tell you one thing, this game isn't nearly as linear as I had expected from the "OMG IT'S A STR8 LINE!" whining that was going on before it was released. There's been several branching paths. Hell, Hope even said to me "Are you sure you're going the right way?" when I wandered about aimlessly as Vanille.

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Wooooord.

EDIT: AHHHHHHHH ZOMBIES OH GOD NO.

EDIT2: Oh christ they look like the thing from Pan's Labyrinth oh god no.

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Originally Posted by Rye

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

I tell you one thing, this game isn't nearly as linear as I had expected from the "OMG IT'S A STR8 LINE!" whining that was going on before it was released. There's been several branching paths. Hell, Hope even said to me "Are you sure you're going the right way?" when I wandered about aimlessly as Vanille.

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Wooooord.

EDIT: AHHHHHHHH ZOMBIES OH GOD NO.

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Word^2

Though the maps do have a FFX feel to them (in terms of linearity that is), but it is totally not a bad thing.

The first two chapters of the game are kinda a blur to me...I was still buzzed last night when I started playing, so yeah. :x

So, I have died a bunch. You?

Not once. :smug:

I'm on chapter 4 though...

There's a thread for that. Come chill with me in it!

just saw it!

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

Ooh, camera controls. Let's see if we can make this baby look up Lightning's skirt. :smug:

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Useless. She is wearing shorts. He, he, he. Not like Ashe in Final Fantasy XII.

I at home now and will continue with Chapter 4.

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

I tell you one thing, this game isn't nearly as linear as I had expected from the "OMG IT'S A STR8 LINE!" whining that was going on before it was released. There's been several branching paths. Hell, Hope even said to me "Are you sure you're going the right way?" when I wandered about aimlessly as Vanille.

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I know the part you mean and yeah I had the same thoughts. No different from stuff in previous FFs.

I haven't completed chapter 2 so I'll just skip reaing all the posts :D

The characters are awesome, they all have so much personality, I just know they're going to be my favorite part of this game already. The battle system seems promising too.

and oh my god, none of the treasure chests have 11 gil or a knot of rust in them! :D :D :D

GAWD DON'T U PPL WORK!?!?!?!!11111

having to wait until tonight to play it is proving to be a little more torturous than expected

I think the linear complaints were regarding the plot, not individual maps; I don't think anyone said there wasn't a forking path ever. A linear plot simply means that there is really only ever one thing to do: advance the plot (no big sidequests or hidden dungeons or anything else to do in the game).

And lol at Rye dying.

I am loving this game so far, the characters are all pretty cool and I like the battle system. I also agree about the whole linear thing, I've been doing quite a bit of exploring so I don't know what all the complaining was about.

I'm just about to leave (SPOILER)the place with all the crystals, but I had to turn it off. :( Won't be able to go on it again till tomorrow!

I think what they mean is that the maps over-all look like a straight line rather than being open and expansive. I am really enjoying the game so far. I just reached chapter 5.

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Originally Posted by Raistlin

I think the linear complaints were regarding the plot, not individual maps; I don't think anyone said there wasn't a forking path ever.

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You posted in this thread, dude. :p The image in it doesn't work, but if you don't remember it, it was a bunch of strat guide scans showing the game's areas being a straight line.

The plot's linear, sure, but that's always been the way in Final Fantasy so I can't see why people would suddenly take great offence to it.

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

The plot's linear, sure, but that's always been the way in Final Fantasy so I can't see why people would suddenly take great offence to it.

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Because now for huge chunks of the game you are forced forward and cannot revisit areas.

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

You posted in this thread, dude. :p The image in it doesn't work, but if you don't remember it, it was a bunch of strat guide scans showing the game's areas being a straight line.

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The main points I was interested in that thread was how it dealt with a lack of world map. XII did it in a good way, with huge, expansive mini-maps. XIII, based on previous reviews and now my own game, has a bunch of small, narrow maps. There are forks, sure, but there's still little in the way of exploration.

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The plot's linear, sure, but that's always been the way in Final Fantasy so I can't see why people would suddenly take great offence to it.

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Many previous FFs have had large sidequests and a bunch of other stuff to do. You can decide to screw the main story for a while and spend hours doing other things. FFXIII has, based on what I've heard, differed from that quite a bit. I don't understand how you could not see a major difference. True, most FFs don't stress the non-story elements the way some other RPGs do, but there's usually plenty of other things to do. XII's sidequests (combined with gameplay) made the game, as far as I'm concerned.

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There are forks, sure, but there's still little in the way of exploration.

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So far my exploration lust has been fulfilled adequately, and I much prefer exploration to combat in RPGs anyway. And apparently there is a ridiculously huge area to explore later in the game, that isn't remotely linear. So hopefully I will be satiated until then.

Regarding paragraph 2: True enough so far, there have been no side activities of screwing around yet. Although there never really is in the opening stages of an FF if you look back at all of them. We'll see how it goes!

Enjoyed it so far, don't give a rat's arse about whatever linearity anyone might be talking about because, well, I have no complaints thus far at all. Haven't died in chapter 1 or 2 yet. Did die in chapter 3 against the frogfishlike things but that's mostly due to me not remembering to use the Paradigm Shifts until the second attempt at that battle - not died at all other than that. But yes, great game so far. :D Vanille and Labreau are both very aesthetically pleasing. ;D

Thoughts on the first two chapters:

(SPOILER)So far, the story telling is iffy. I wouldn't have understood as much if not for reading the Datalog, which is very useful. I knew Hope's mom was the one that died, but the game itself said NOTHING, as far as I could tell, about hating Snow and wanting revenge; in fact, Vanille's cheery attitude might have suggested Hope simply wanted to join up in the fight. The Datalog fills in a lot of exposition as well as fully explaining wtf has happened, though it is very repetitive at times.

I'm still a bit skeptical about the battle system, but so far it's been very quick and easy. I'm hoping with more abilities and the paradigms it will be a little more engaging.

I'm also hoping the world opens up a little bit, so I'm not just following narrow paths.

I could tell Hope was pissed pretty quickly. Pretty much immediately, actually. As for the world opening up, I'm told that it happens when you get to chapter 11 spoilerPulse. So you'll just have to be patient with that one, I suppose.

The only real complaint I have is the damned unresponsive Camera. It's a bit of a bother to use, but really it isn't a big problem, just a minor anoyance.

And yes, Sahz is awesome. His lines are excelent, and his character is actually well done.

I'm pleasantly un-annoyed with hope so far, don't really like him, but don't hate him either.

Snow is, as I thought, looking like my favorite so far, the Sahz is really close. Hey may be the comic relief, but he's also a rather deep character from what I can tell.

Here's to what looks like a beautiful game.

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

EDIT: Ha. I just went off the main path and got an Iron Bangle for my troubles. Linear my ass. :colbert:

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I got that too. Bangle twins!

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Originally Posted by Rye

EDIT: Hux and I are going to play through this rather slow, we think. We're sharing a save file and we're trying not to play it without the other one there. We switch off every so often. It's kind of better that way, to be honest!

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One player games are surprisingly fun with two or three people. My brother-in-law played through RE4 with myself and my sister-in-law as his sidekicks and it was good times.

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Originally Posted by Dignified Pauper

So, I have died a bunch. You?

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Inside the thing with the stuff there was the first big-ish baddy I ran into, I had gotten complacent and BJ was talking to me and I wasn't even looking at the screen and I tots died and I was like :ohnoes:.

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Originally Posted by Raistlin

Thoughts on the first two chapters:

(SPOILER)So far, the story telling is iffy. I wouldn't have understood as much if not for reading the Datalog, which is very useful. I knew Hope's mom was the one that died, but the game itself said NOTHING, as far as I could tell, about hating Snow and wanting revenge; in fact, Vanille's cheery attitude might have suggested Hope simply wanted to join up in the fight. The Datalog fills in a lot of exposition as well as fully explaining wtf has happened, though it is very repetitive at times.

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OFMFT. I feel compelled to read every entry in the Datalog lest I miss something, even though most of the time it's really repetitive.

I'm loving it so far! Even though I don't know what chapter I'm on! :D

I think Lightning is my favorite right now. But all the characters are pretty likable so far.

Vanille is such a [strawberry]blonde. :love:

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Originally Posted by ShlupQuack

Inside the thing with the stuff

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Yeah, there were like, things in there.

There were kind of a lot of things. I'm still in there. I may have started chapter three though... I haven't checked.

(SPOILER)The exploration get´s less linear at the Vestige but is still too much strict.I am right after Serah crystalizes.

The following are my opinions:

Linearity is not really about how the pixels on the map line up, whether the path turns or there are little offshoots with "hidden treasure" (though to be honest, most of the maps so far are far more like hallways than they are "rooms," and every map thus far has exactly one meaningful entrance and exit).

Linearity is about player choice. It's about the player's ability to choose where he wants to go in the game world. It's about choosing when and where he wants to take on side quests, and how powerful he wants to be when he chooses to take on those quests or continue with the main story. This game so far is very limiting from the perspective of player choice in those respects.

That said, the linearity seems to fit with what the designers have apparently wanted to accomplish in terms of an uninterrupted story. Rather than "linearity" being a negative here, I consider it more of a feature of the game. It's not necessarily how I like my games in general, but I think it works in this case.

I don't much care for the combat system so far. I do not like how it puts the onus on completing battles as fast as possible, how tactical decisions have largely been taken out of my hands. Trying to micromanage battles -- even just having access to my main character's commands -- typically seems to make battles take a bit longer, thereby negatively affecting the battle score. I know that 99% of fans will laud this system as the best ever, but I like being able to micromanage the spells and abilities used by my party without having the game judge me negatively for doing so. /shrug

Lightning is awesome -- love seeing a female character who is not submissive, not a flake, and not unnecessarily melodramatic. She benefits from some excellent voice acting too, not to mention some great animation.

Sazh is a great sidekick. He and Lightning are really the high points in the game so far.

Snow: dude looks cool and his resolve is a lot better than throwing temper tantrums, but every time I start to like him he starts showing hints of Tidus. I hate having to be thinking to myself "please don't ruin the game for me..." when I see him on screen. :(

Hope: I thought the Datalog entries were sometimes inconsistent with the actual portrayal and the whole Hope-Vanille thing is odd because her character has had just about zero backstory and development so far, but overall I have a lot of hope for this guy when it comes to positive character development. His mom was a highlight of the early chapters too, though I thought the "Moms are tough" line was more corny than cool.

Overall, I'm enjoying it so far. Playing it in hi-def widescreen is certainly not hurting. :p

"Moms are tough."

I almost don't feel like playing further than where I've gotten because I'm pretty sure that was the best part of the game.

The Vestige falling and turning all that :bou::bou::bou::bou: to crystal was pretty coolz tho.

im lovin this game so far!!! all the complaints...the whining...the criticisms...make me think that people don't remember FFX or any FF game for the matter when they put you on a straight path so the story shines through more in the beginning stages. and every FF game is supposed to be different - different themes, gameplay, attributes, that sort of thing. i mean, the linearity is no more linear than any map in FFX. battle system shows a lot of promise and it's awesome to watch. voice acting is awesome, expecially sazh and lightning! donkey to her shrek...lmao hilarious and true

I totally agree finaloblivion. the character build up and focus is awesome in this game, everybody is interesting! everybody is interesting! I really have no idea why this game gets criticism. :) and I love that nobody gets forgotten along the way, unlike Freya who got pushed aside after the cleyra/burmecia stuff early on. Amarant and Irvine, the latecomers barely got any screentime other than directly after they joined in. outside gagazet, kimahri was pretty useless too, but FFX was another game that did characters right, so that's good too. anyway my point is, characters are awesome and totally make this game.

I don't see much whining at all.

Personally, I like that it's linear. I like RPGs that aren't linear too, but when I play an FF I basically just want a pretty and interactive movie.

I'm loving it so far.

The only beef I have is that the lack of towns/hubs (thus far, at least) don't give much of a break in the action for breathers. But the cutscenes do a pretty admirable job of making downtime. Every time something new unlocks in the battle system, I feel like more of a badass.

I don't know what chapter I'm on, so it's hard to know what to and not to say in spoilers. I don't think it's a spoiler that Shiva is in this game, though, and I just got her. So, there's that. Called a break for tonight, but I'm sure I'll be putting in a lot more time tomorrow. I'm hooked.

And, yeah, liking this way more than I ever did FFXII. I couldn't make myself care about anything that happened in that game for the four or so hours I played it. On the other hand, I already love basically every character. Especially Sazh. "Do not shake the slippery pipe" is my favorite line so far, aside from "Moms are tough."

Anyways, I love that they took a more FFVI approach of not identifying one central character, and instead making everyone intricately interconnected. Everybody is so damn interesting and has something to like about them so far.

You can find out what chapter you're in by going to "Events" in the Datalog or by looking at your save file.

I agree about the character focus; every character is absolutely central to the story. I love it.

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Originally Posted by Shoeberto

The only beef I have is that the lack of towns/hubs (thus far, at least) don't give much of a break in the action for breathers. But the cutscenes do a pretty admirable job of making downtime.

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Spoiler?Get used to it.

Regarding the whole "FFX was linear and nobody had a problem with that, and it made the characters lovely" - I know this is slightly off topic but I hated the way FFX was linear and I couldn't stand Tidus, Yuna or Wakka. The other three characters were alright, but in FFX it wasn't a story about them, it was a story about Tidus, and he was the worst character of the lot.

FFXIII does it differently. The characters are awesome, unlike FFX. And the linearity is much more forced - (SPOILER)you're on the run, why would you be going back? It wouldn't make sense. And it's not as linear, for me - at least, not mapwise. I think that if we didn't have the minimap in the top-right corner, people wouldn't notice how linear the maps are. I mean, really - all the "secret" item spots are right there on the map, it makes for little exploration effort on our behalf. :p

So far, for me, FFXIII is untold amounts better than FFX in almost every way - the exception being sidequests, but I'm reserving judgement on that end as I've only just got to (SPOILER)Pulse, where the sidequests begin.

Jesus, BoB, this thread is for the very super beginning of the game. *adds a couple of spoiler tags*

Yeah I didn't like FFX much at all, except that it was pretty to look at.

The game is visually stunning, there is no doubt about that.

Like Crowseye I don't much care for the battles. I like to have a little more input in my battles. Selecting the abilities your leader does instead of auto battle takes more time and meanwhile the enemies are beating you. So auto battle is where it's at. I don't see them as 'crisp', I see them as boring. However, they are fun to look at.

The characters are all very well done so far. Lightning is my favorite, and Sazh is obviously entertaining as hell. Hope doesn't annoy me when considering his situation. Vanille is the only one who bugs but I expected that, and she still isn't as bad as Rikku in X-2 (but she's worse than Rikku in X).

This game has many comparisons to FFX, much more than it does to FFXII. I think XIII is to X like XII was to XI. Similar elements but taken in a different direction. I'll post more thoughts in the next chapter thread.

I think there really is a lot of control in battles, but they way in which you have to pick your tactics varies a lot more than it used to. They started getting really intense trying to use Techniques, keeping the stagger bar filling, and using the right paradigm so that you don't get face rocked. Initially, I felt it was weird, but as time goes on I'm really getting into the battles.

Yeah, the focus is less on the actual abilities and more on what paradigms you're setting yourself up with. I like having things done for me in battle, so I'm all for it.

I'm not at all interested in clicking 'Attack' a billion times, but I am interested in "Okay, this is the tactical direction we're taking" so I for one welcome our new insect overlords am happy with the battle system.

Just me though!

And me!

Me three, for the most part. Nearer the end of most FF's I ended up repeatedly using one action for most battles anyway, so it's actually more involving for me. :p

What I hated about the first two chapters was the lack of Crystal Points; seriously, in my first playthrough, I killed everyone and everything all for naught! The second time around, I still killed everything if only for loot drops; having the Crystal Points would have been pretty awesome for accelerating Crystarium development!

You should max out your Crystarium before it expands on each occasion, so don't fret too much.

Am at chapter 5 finally!
The battles really pickup on the peaks.

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

As for the world opening up, I'm told that it happens when you get to chapter 11 spoilerPulse.

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Ahhh wtf, I didn't know that happened. I thought this thread was just about Chapters 1 and 2. Damn it, that's it, I'm leaving the FFXIII forum until I've finished the game.

"There is a point later where the game opens up" is hardly a spoiler.

I told you some people are sensitive. DON'T HINT AT WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FUTURE!

Luckily, I knew you (SPOILER)got to Pulse anyway.

Edited my post, although I thought it would be kind of obvious that you inevitably end up there.

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Originally Posted by BoB

Edited my post, although I thought it would be kind of obvious that you inevitably end up there.

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I'd be inclined to agree. I'm only up to Chapter 3, and though it's so early-days that I don't even know what Crystarium is, it is obvious. And I can't wait to get there.

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Originally Posted by ShlupQuack

I told you some people are sensitive.

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Some people are stupid too, but I just refer to my signature in those instances.

First two chapters done. All I must say is that good god is this game long winded with its story.

Sahz has easily emerged as the most entertaining and most likable character. Lightning comes across void of personality (probably cause she doesn't talk) and could be a freaking android at this point. Snow is amusing but lord I was getting sick and tired of all the "hero" crap. It was funny when Balthier used it to break the fourth wall in XII and even then he only said it a handful of times in the game, which is about the same amount used in the first ten minutes of introducing Snow, of which the game just continues with it. I'm still hoping for NORA to all die Avalanche style.

Hope is annoying as I thought, I don't really understand why he's having a hard time talking to Snow about his feelings, anger to me is something that just comes naturally and doesn't need courage and mental thought put to it. You would think he was trying to ask Snow out on a date in some of the scenes. Vanille is just weird... :eep: Is it me, or is her VA the same as Rikku from FFX using a faux Aussie accent?

The opening is exciting but it really started to get bogged down with some slow pacing. Still, everything has been interesting so far. Combat still looks to be promising as I've been having fun getting the hang of it. Am I also the only person who noticed that this game is littered with Save Points? I'm practically tripping over them every few feet. I'm also going to agree with a few people here and say that some of the times the Log entries of the story explain more about what characters are thinking than the actual story is. Still, things are interesting, combat is surprisingly fun despite being bare at the moment, and the game is pretty funny, both intentionally and not so.

just got this game. Its great fun! I am loving lightning she is very cool :)

While the opening scene was pretty I didn't enjoy it much. I would much rather have a story unfold for me rather than just jump into action and then fill in the rest with back-story.

Linearity, it really is straight path so far. The branching paths you keep arguing with either quickly dead end or just lead to the same place the other would a few seconds later, but it is still early.

Sahz is surprisingly my favorite character by far. They did a great job with everybody but Vanille's accent sounds more like she has a speech impediment and Snow's hero nonsense gets annoying. I found the first mom line corny but then when she says it again it's better.

The fighting is incredibly easy. IT just took a fight or two to learn when to use a AOE attack or the single attack and that was that. I almost always manually input commands for the lead character and still earn 5 stars.

You'd have to actually try NOT to five star a battle for the first while of the game. It gets much more difficult after a few chapters.

Ended chapter 5 and still most 5 stars including all the bosses.