Tim Rogers' Kotaku writeup

[Necronopticous]

Interesting writeup from Tim Rogers with lots of information:

Final Fantasy XIII Impressions: 15 Years Later, 25 Hours In - final fantasy XII - Kotaku

Also, I had official Final Fantasy XIII cookies last night.



Here's to hoping Final Fantasy XIII is anywhere near as good as those cookies were.

[Psychotic]

Official cookies? Where'd you get your hands on those?

Pretty good read, though. Sounds like it'll be an interesting game at the very least.

[Wolf Kanno]

Ouch... Not too thrilled about returning to the FFX style of game design.

[Rantz]

I read parts of it and skimmed other parts. Entertaining and informative!

[Vyk]

I read the whole thing for some reason and I can see the disappointment. But I think it won't be the kind of thing that will drive me away like some of the previous entries. But we'll see

[Rad Bromance]

It sounds a lot like FFX in terms of linearity, and I happened to love X.

The only thing that I'm really disappointed about so far is that you can't control but one character at a time. I would much prefer the FFXII system over that. But who knows, I may end up really liking it.

That being said, in the clips I've seen, the story seems really interesting and the battles look quite fun, so I'm really excited, and from what most people have said who've actually played it, it doesn't start getting really good until a significant number of hours in, so I'll give it time before I judge it.

EDIT: Also, the comments about the "long cutscenes" means they probably haven't played FFX. Or Metal Gear Solid 4.

[Rostum]

Wow, what a long winded review. I didn't read it all though. I'll still get it even if it gets bad reviews.

[Flying Arrow]

Ouch... Not too thrilled about returning to the FFX style of game design.

Ditto. The game sounds fun in parts, but I get the impression a lot of it will end up giving me another case of Bevelle Disappointment.

[Lawr]

Read it all and a good enough chunk of the comments.

I don't know. The review was entertaining and answered some of my questions but I'm still kind of confused about the game. I'd play it to the end if I had it but I don't know if it'd be another XII where the gameplay saves the story.

[Moon Rabbits]

lol dungeon design.

[Rad Bromance]

lol dungeon design.

Yeah, that's basically what I said when I saw those maps.

Apparently, that's only for the earlier portion of the game though.

[Skyblade]

A very interesting read. The plot sounds very well crafted, so I look forward to it, even if the pacing is off. As for the combat, it could go either way, I'll just wait and see how it turns out.

Edit: I completely disagree with his comments on battle systems. Action games have a ton of things in their favor, but there are reasons that I play more RPGs than I do Action games, and one of those reasons is that I like the battle systems they offer. This one may not be the best ever, but that doesn't mean the entire idea of battle systems should be scrapped in favor of more action oriented gameplay.

[Psychotic]

Hell, let's make this a "reviews we like" thread.

NotArrogant.com - Final Fantasy XIII, Reviewed

I think this is a pretty good review right here. I encourage you all to read it.

[Wolf Kanno]

After reading both reviews, I like the fact that the second review gives an idea that the customization (stat/job class) side of the game might be a bit more promising than was first let on (which was basically its like the tedious Sphere Grid system ) but as I thought, this game will come down to either being like FFX or Xenosaga Episode 1 in the fact that its all dependent on how good the battle system is (which I must say sounds really promising) and its story (which is still up in the air).

[Rad Bromance]

Hell, let's make this a "reviews we like" thread.

NotArrogant.com - Final Fantasy XIII, Reviewed

I think this is a pretty good review right here. I encourage you all to read it.

I'm so excited! A fantastic, fair-minded review in English at last!