Final Fantasy XIII is reviewed

[VeloZer0]

Linear gameplay and linear story are also two different things. I categorize linear story as including story (obviously), but also subquests as well. This is what I feel is the design decision, and I won't get into a discussion about personal preferences. (Maybe in a few posts )

What I think about non-linear gameplay is having the world more open to you while you are completing the linear/non-linear story. In some games with 'non-linear' storys you are extremely limited as to what you can do aside from the established areas of 'non-linearilty'. Some games like FFT have strongly linear storylines (i'm not counting propositions), but inside of this linear story the meat of the game is just fighting and leveling your characters, a non-linear activity. Likewise a game like FFX was completely linear in both ways, I will give you that running along a straight path for 40 hours could probably be made into a better game experience.

In FFI there wasn't anything to do outside of the main linear quest, but there was excitement and exploration involved in just finishing the main linear quest. I think the problem now with linearity is that it lays too much out for you. Even if the story line is completely focused with no distractions, you have to feel like you are out exploring something new and exciting. (Something I feel 2d overhead cam/world map does much better then 3d 3rd person/linked areas).

Because lets face it, if your life was on the line in a world destroying chain of events, would you be running around being someones errand boy?

[Wolf Kanno]

I pretty much agree with you VeloZer0, though I would like to point out that you can actually do stuff out of order in the original FFI (its actually possible to get the Job Class changes before you fight Marilith, if you know how...) but yes, I feel the real problem does come from games and their stories spelling too much out for the player. I kinda learned this with my GF, her experience with the series is with FFX and X-2 but she has been having the hardest time completing FFVI cause she is constantly getting lost and unable to find where to go next despite the game giving her instructions, she has not even gotten to the WoR yet. I sometimes wonder if we take our foresight for granted and quickly forget how taxing some of the early JRPGs really are.

As for side quests being logically silly cause you're trying to save the world, this is only amusing cause the majority of games only open up most sidequests at the end of the game after your party has been swept up in the doomsday scenario. Whereas logically, it would make sense to have a diversion when your still in the first half of the title getting tossed into minor problems that eventually snowball into the Doomsday scenario. V and VII did this beautifully

So I don't see them being terribly silly as much as utilized poorly by designers who feel they need to design for endgame as opposed to fleshing out the whole title.

[Bolivar]

Not to sound generic and adding little to the conversation, I kind of agree with both of you guys. I loved FFX anyway but I still feel it would have tremendously benefitted if you had a little leeway. But there is a fine line to walk, because opening up too much choice for the player makes me completely lose interest in the game, the only one really like that which I managed to get into, lose myself in, and love was Far Cry 2, weird mentioning that game in this thread, but it was infinitely more like an RPG than most games that claim that title today, if you can believe it.

[Flying Arrow]

I was going to throw my own two cents in, but Velo and Wolf have got it covered.

Many, if not all, of the FF games drag the player along a linear path from the beginning to the midway point. A lot of them even take it straight through to the end. X is the most notable example in this case, except, as was already said, the GAMEPLAY was just as linear with world exploration being essentially guiding Tidus down a tunnel. It's not like previous games were Oblivion-like in scope, but it never felt as restrictive as it did in X. VI opened up nicely (in terms of player freedom) in the WoR, so maybe XIII takes a similar strategy? (The review comments are unclear.) XII was completely unlike any other FF in the exploration respect, but XIII seems to be polar opposite of that.

I could rant about why I love XII because of its wide-open world and why I'm so iffy with X because of its tunnel-vision, but in the end it boils down to execution and creativity. VII (my personal favourite) is very linear in the opening Midgar bits, but VII's opening might also be my most fond FFing moments ever. Breaking it down, I find that almost every screen, task or maze in all of FFVII has something interesting or unique about it. The game is linear, but it stays fresh throughout by consistently throwing out something new to pique the player's interest, just like any good action/adventure (God of War or SotC) or platformer (Mario and the original Mega Man series). This is probably the Zelda fan in me who still feels immense satisfaction at figuring things out to progress, but I'm hoping that for all its 'linearity' FFXIII isn't a point-A to point-B title.

[Dignified Pauper]

If the story is epic, then linearity is awesome.

Games with lots of sidequest, Star Ocean (PS) for example was a game with a good use of side-quests, albeit the private interaction system was overwhelming sometimes.

[Skyblade]

I pretty much agree with you VeloZer0, though I would like to point out that you can actually do stuff out of order in the original FFI (its actually possible to get the Job Class changes before you fight Marilith, if you know how...) but yes, I feel the real problem does come from games and their stories spelling too much out for the player. I kinda learned this with my GF, her experience with the series is with FFX and X-2 but she has been having the hardest time completing FFVI cause she is constantly getting lost and unable to find where to go next despite the game giving her instructions, she has not even gotten to the WoR yet. I sometimes wonder if we take our foresight for granted and quickly forget how taxing some of the early JRPGs really are.

As for side quests being logically silly cause you're trying to save the world, this is only amusing cause the majority of games only open up most sidequests at the end of the game after your party has been swept up in the doomsday scenario. Whereas logically, it would make sense to have a diversion when your still in the first half of the title getting tossed into minor problems that eventually snowball into the Doomsday scenario. V and VII did this beautifully

So I don't see them being terribly silly as much as utilized poorly by designers who feel they need to design for endgame as opposed to fleshing out the whole title.

Actually, the problem ties in with the entire structure of the RPG system. If the side-quests are availible early on, and supposed to be dealt with early on, their rewards must be suited to weaker characters who are just starting out. That being the case, players have less incentive to complete them.

Let's take FFVII. Say they moved Chocobo Breeding to Disc 1, right after you encountered the Golden Saucer. What reward would be right for that? Anything too powerful would unbalance the rest of the game. But anything too weak would be replaced quickly as you advanced the plot anyway, so people wouldn't bother to get it.

FFVII handled it better than most by having Materia rewards, which grow with the user to retain usefulness as you levelled up, and were extremely useful end-game for getting the Master Materia, but for a lot of games, such things didn't work that way. FFX-2 also did a decent job by having unlockable dressspheres, which also grew with the user, so they could retain their utility throughout the game.

By keeping the sidequests until the end of the game, they can give end-game level rewards, which are enough to offer an incentive to players without completely unbalancing most of the game.

[VeloZer0]

You make an excellent point. This is one of the main reasons I am not interested in doing side quests mid game is (in my mind) I associate side quests with 'ultimate equipment' type stuff, and am always massively disappointed with the rewards.

Of course another reason, which I think is fairly well explained in my previous posts but I haven't explicitly stated yet, is that if the story is sufficiently captivation (as every FF game should be) I am pushing to get to the next plot point to see what happens. What I meant to say with the side quests being at the end of the game, is that it is a better place to insert them story wise not for the characters of the game, but for me, the player; as by that point most everything is explained and only the final confrontation remains. (Also, I can beat the game, and then reload my last save point and start questing from there.)