Brand New Trailer Revealed.

[Laddy]

Also, too much Sci-Fi, not enough Fantasy.

Out of thirteen games, this is the third Sci-Fi one, I don't think that's 'too much' at all. But to each her own, I guess.

I, however, feel Fantasy < Sci-Fi.

[hhr1dluv]

Methinks some people are being a




But eh, to each his or her own.
I will admit that this trailer did not make me squeal with excitement...but I'm starting to think that I can't get excited about things anymore. Maybe I'm too old.

[Croyles]

I think the only people on the net that hate everything about final fantasy games are right here on eyes on ff lol.

I think it looks good, i dont know if thats because i was expecting less or if i just genuinely like the look of it, although i do still need to see more.

Yeah i wasnt that excited, but i never really get excited by trailers anymore, not like when i was 12 anyway lol.

[ljkkjlcm9]

My only other complaint was the seemingly return to the classic battle formation of "good guys on one side, bad guys on the other. You attack and then move back to your side of the field" shenanigans. It feels counter productive to its predecessor. Oddly enough, I didn't think this one would irritate me as much as I thought it would.

I think they did this for one quite obvious reason. One of the biggest criticism FFXII got was for the battle system. A lot of the "fans" hated the battle system. Most preferred the "random encounter" enemies and allies on opposite ends. Square pretty much has a catch 22 going on. No matter what they do, they will be criticized. You can't please all the people all the time.

I'm also not one to get overly excited about a game anymore. Sure I look forward to games, but they don't do anything for me like they use to. I still love RPG's and such, and I either play them until I've perfected it, or until I get bored with it. I pretty much buy every RPG I have time for on the systems I own. If I get a PS3, I'll get the game, if not, owell. No single game will ever sell a system for me, regardless of how "amazing" it is. EVERY game has it's flaws. And NEARLY every game has it's strong points (there are a few with none.) But there has never ever, nor will there ever be, a flawless game. Perfection is impossible in a human society, because someone will always find something to complain about.

THE JACKEL

[skillzboy4]

Eh. The graphics are ok, but I dislike the whole approach toward design and graphics that brings things too close to the uncanny valley.

I much prefer animation that's amazing looking, but also unrealistic at the same time. Like the stuff Pixar does. They make the smart move of NOT making humans appear humans. I guess in general, I'm just so sick of the aesthetics of the recent Final Fantasy games. The graphics just get better and better but the style and design aren't evolving at all. =/ Same ol' same ol'.

Also, too much Sci-Fi, not enough Fantasy.

You said it best... more fantasy..

[Dreddz]

I don't think you should judge the games aesthetics from that one trailer. If you've watched previous trailers it shows other settings far from futuristic. Square have never gone for one overall look in their games so you can bet we'll have a mixture of enviorments. Similer to FFVIII.

[Croyles]

sci fi is fantasy, what r u loking for? witches & warlocks?

[Rostum]

Eh. The graphics are ok, but I dislike the whole approach toward design and graphics that brings things too close to the uncanny valley.

FFXIII is no where near the uncanny valley. Beowulf, that's something that is in the uncanny valley.

[Loony BoB]

If it was a game under a different name, most of us would probably be raving right now. I think it looks great - better and more fluid than any JPRG I can remember, with the possible exception of FFXII, but I disliked the battle system FFXII used so to me this is a step backwards - in the right direction.

Note: This entire opinion is based on the three gifs as I'm yet to get home so I can watch the full videos. =x But if three gifs can look more impressive than any other JRPG then clearly they're doing something right.

I can agree with Miriel regarding how sometimes it's better to be unrealistic, though. That's something I loved about VII, the blocky characters with massive heads and hands I have no problems with sci-fi though. VII and VIII had a lot of sci-fi to them and I think they're the best so far.

[Wolf Kanno]

I think they did this for one quite obvious reason. One of the biggest criticism FFXII got was for the battle system. A lot of the "fans" hated the battle system. Most preferred the "random encounter" enemies and allies on opposite ends. Square pretty much has a catch 22 going on. No matter what they do, they will be criticized. You can't please all the people all the time.

THE JACKAL

I understand its a catch 22 and was implemented for the backlash of XII's system. Yet I feel it diminishes the overall quality of the cinematic combat system cause your party consistently now returns to their "starting positions". I just feel like they are trying to go forward but fans are preventing them from doing so. Also, could you imagine the cinematic set-ups that would have been possible if characters just stay where their actions ended? You could have a single teammate surrounded by enemies and could perform magic or some skill to knock them all away...

If it was a game under a different name, most of us would probably be raving right now. I think it looks great - better and more fluid than any JPRG I can remember, with the possible exception of FFXII, but I disliked the battle system FFXII used so to me this is a step backwards - in the right direction.

To be honest, my only interest in the game stems from it having Final Fantasy in the title. If it was called something else I would be ignoring it cause I frankly don't like its design. Its plot is intriguing and despite not reaching my expectation in terms of fluidity, the battle system looks good too; but I just hate the design of the world and its characters. Like one person in this thread pointed out, I really feel like the game borrows elements from past successful FFs in order to lure fans.

[Spatvark]

Like one person in this thread pointed out, I really feel like the game borrows elements from past successful FFs in order to lure fans.

That would be because Nomura is a hack.

[Croyles]

Well have you seen Pulse? That place looks lush, so im guessing there will be a mix of sci fi and fantasy locations (even though i think they are often one and the same things).

Think of the shinra building/midgar, or galbadia, none of those places really looked appealing, and while we are on that subject, most of FF6s locations looked dull and dreary, it was still a great game though.

I dont like the design of any of the secondary characters though. Orange hair? Asian girl who takes her clothes off in the morning and puts them on at night? Little blond kid? Meh.
But lightning, sazh, snow and that vanille girl are designed alright imo, even if it is still Nomura.

I reckon the next final fantasy should be a collaboration between eastern and western cultures. Japan does battle system and story, west does graphics, character design is done by japanese AND westeners and music done by the japanese
Yes it will never happen.

[Bahamut2000X]

But lightning, sazh, snow and that vanille girl are designed alright imo, even if it is still Nomura.

Fixed.

[Miriel]

Out of thirteen games, this is the third Sci-Fi one, I don't think that's 'too much' at all. But to each her own, I guess.

I didn't say that there was too much Sci Fi in the Final Fantasy series, I said there was too much Sci Fi from what was shown in this trailer for THIS particular game. And I'm not into that. I mean hell, I totally fell asleep while trying to watch Star Wars. It's just not my thing. I don't mind sci fi when it's nicely integrated into a story like FFVII or Firefly/Serenity/BSG. But if the primary focus is on the science fiction aspect of things, I'm not too keen on it. Guns and machines and robots, it's all alright, but I'm not a huge fan of it.

FFXIII is no where near the uncanny valley. Beowulf, that's something that is in the uncanny valley.

I don't think Final Fantasy is there yet. I don't look at the graphics and think, "whoa that's creepy". But the trend has been to make things look more and more realistic and hyper realistic rather than to steer completely away from that, which is exactly what Pixar does. I'm not really talking so much in terms of character designs looking too human, but more in terms of facial expressions, movement, clothing, etc. Take that instance in the trailer where there's a group of people sitting down and one of the characters looks up. I found that to be eerie.

I can agree with Miriel regarding how sometimes it's better to be unrealistic, though. That's something I loved about VII, the blocky characters with massive heads and hands

Man, I loved those polygonal characters. <3 And I really love the design for the remakes of Final Fantasy for DS. I guess it's just the aesthetic that I prefer. I mean, I was pretty wowed by the graphics in FFX. But since then there hasn't been much of an evolution or development in style. Like I said in my previous post, it's just the same ol' same ol' only a little prettier.

[Rostum]

I don't think Final Fantasy is there yet. I don't look at the graphics and think, "whoa that's creepy". But the trend has been to make things look more and more realistic and hyper realistic rather than to steer completely away from that, which is exactly what Pixar does. I'm not really talking so much in terms of character designs looking too human, but more in terms of facial expressions, movement, clothing, etc. Take that instance in the trailer where there's a group of people sitting down and one of the characters looks up. I found that to be eerie.

Well, when you start to get to hyper-realistic models, there's more parts to move for animation. When you aim to animate perfectly to what we see in the real world, that is when you get to the uncanny valley because even one of the tiniest most un-noticable feature not moving correctly is when we start to feel creeped out by it (ala Spirits Within).

Pixar, well let's not get into that I'd be here all night, they're the pioneers of CGI and are the most talented folk in the industry. But your point is valid, this is a very good reason for the way they do their stuff.

I still don't really see Final Fantasy XIII as heading towards it, simply because of the style of animation (it's very fast paced and a lot of it not humanly possible; more anime style kind of like a dulled down version of Advent Children). But each to their own I guess.

I'm more dissapointed in the fact that the trailer had no real colourful moments. I am sick of all these new hyper-realistic western games that have boring and dull textures and designs. However, I have noticed in other images and trailers a lot of unique and colour designs so I am staying optimistic.

Edit: I love seeing low-poly work, and I absolutely love the chibi styles of FFIII/IV for the DS. But FF7's extremely low-poly (i.e. block hands) characters were just plain awful, even for back then. But I forgive the creators, it was still a large feat at the time. I would say FFXII really improved on artistic direction compared to FFX, however FFX's design was remarkable, imo. So don't get me wrong, I favour stylized CGI highly, compared to hyper-realistic. No contest.