While 4 is hardly my favorite entry I feel you've missed my point. In MGS4 you are at least doing something that actually resembles challenge and fun between the long winded cutscenes and despite your objective being quite simple, there are multiple ways to get where you need to, the fact is you still have multiple choices as a player to make with reaching said linear destination. Its linear level design meets non-linear gameplay; RPGs don't really have this luxury.Originally Posted by champagne supernova
The best way for MGS4 to be translated to FFX or Xeno 2 would be to put Snake out in the open in a very linear hallway large enough for two people to stand side by side. If it was based on how they did X, the guard would be asleep in the middle of the hallway with his back turned to you and Snake would start with a Sniper Rifle. While there does still exist a bit of choice its hard to ignore the obvious one...
If it was Xeno 2, that guard would be a Gecko and you would have the rocket launcher... sure you can win but its not going to be pretty cause the Gecko can kill you faster than you.
The point here should be that the level design is a simple hallway that confines the player and keeps them simply on one path. Where MGS4 is different from FFX and Xeno II is that the areas Snake sneaks in are decently sized and offer multiple ways to reach the said destination, you only have one destination but the the player gets to choose how to reach it.
As for interactive cutscenecs, I'm thinking a great deal of the chase sequences that normally would have been relegated to a cutscene, or the times the game splits the screen frame to show mulitple characters plowing through the story (while you at least control Snake). I'm talking about RAY Vs REX which no one I've talked to expected to be a playable part of the game. The problem with cutscenes is that all the really cool stuff happens in them while the player is trapped with the boring stuff... DoC is a prime example, you spend what feels like ages wittling down the health of a boss while jumping and gliding and finally after a serious war of attrition, you get to watch Vincent in a cutscene magically take down the boss like it was nothing. How is that rewarding?
I am not even going to touch this one... Must... control... inner... Troll...Blarrgh!@%$!X's combat system is regarded highly because it allowed you to plan ahead, making it more tactical and calculated than previous FFs. That's why I liked it.
Well actually... one review said (SPOILER)its kinda impossible to grind cause the game forces "level caps" on you so you will reach points where battles do nothing for you cause you can't learn more skills. This is suppose to keep battles difficult which I much appreciate.I think that if XIII has streamlined the game, that is quite a good idea, because I hate level-grinding with a passion (although I'm sure you can still do it if you want to). But I cannot comment on something I haven't tried, so I'll wait to play it before I pass any judgement (good or bad on it).
Honestly, I'm not even asking for level grinding and nor do I feel that solely makes up gameplay, gameplay in an RPG is actually a little more than just random encounters with an occasional boss fight. I expect mini-games, small quests (with actual worthwhile rewards), or as you point out later in your post, stumbling upon extra story bits, as well as my personal favorite thing: exploration. There are a variety of things you can do with gameplay in RPGs that goes beyond the battle system. What I am personally advocating here is better dungeon variety. I don't mind it being linear as long as you utilize the effects that Flying Arrow pointed out and create the illusion on non-linearity, maybe give me a few long linear branches towards some worthwhile treasure. What I'm arguing against is stuff like this. Which is pretty much the norm for XIII's level design. The party might as well be riding theme park vehicle seeing how much rails are going on in a genre about exploring and seeing new worlds as different people.
I use looking for shops as a means to actually explore the towns and see people. I'm actually doing both, meeting people and talking to them while also stocking up and gaining a small reward for making it to this point of the game. I'm a whore for customization and equipment is one of my favorite means of doing so as it usually offers the most balance since it has set guidelines. Personally I don't see how streamlining this makes it an improvement. How is removing a proper shop or town structure going to make it a better game? All you are really doing is limiting the players choices and transforming them from a proactive element in the story to a simple observer. I can't see how this is "fun". Shops can also offer possibilities for quest or help add focus to a town from a story perspective. Proper towns to me add to the world and its character, I can't even imagine them being considered tedious.I also don't understand how not being forced to go into towns to buy items and equipment is a bad thing. You shouldn't be forced to slog through loading screens and long walks to get something. If you want to go into towns in a game, it should be for random NPC conversations which fill out the game and silly side-quests. VIII had numerous - just think about Fisherman's Horizon and the cafeteria lady's son. Or the fisherman. I think X had its share of cool stuff too, but I've played VIII and X-2 and XII and most of VI and half of IV since, so my memory is a bit unclear.
I agree you should want to talk to NPCs but SE has never proven to me they have ever gotten the hang of it, even XII, which I love has its moments where chatting up NPCs is exhausting and not worth your time. Course I'm bias cause Persona 3/4 did this perfectly but no chance in hell XIII will follow that formula. The other problem here is that from what I've heard, side-quests open up mid to late game and the pacing of the story rarely gives you the chance to "stop and smell the roses" let alone chat up the few NPCs you will see in the game.
The other problem here in concerns of the purpose of NPCs in an RPG, is that your only real incentive to talk to these people is to either gain some story insight (rare nowadays) or stumble upon a quest to help you which once again slogs you back to gameplay (which I don't oppose) rarely are NPCs ever written to be interesting or be fleshed out. The problem with many RPGs is that there is rarely any real reason to ever talk to NPCs after the first meeting.Throw in the fact that a lot of the quests from what I'm heard are given to you through terminals or magic/tencho artifacts than I would say XIII's NPCs are mostly a moot gesture.
Looking at the nature of XIII's story I can jokeningly assume you will only receive four types of conversations when you actually talk to them:
Cocoon Citizen A: The Holy Government is good, the Fa'Cie are bad! The Holy Government protects us from the Fa'Cie so they are good.
Cocoon Citizen B: The Holy Government is up to no good but I won't say anything cause I don't want to be exiled.
Pulse Citizen 1: OMG!!!! THIS PLACE IS A MAD HOUSE!!! THE HOLY GOVERNMENT SUCKS CAUSE THEY WRONGFULLY ACCUSED ME AND EXILED ME!!!! I'M INNOCENT!!!!
Pulse Citizen 2: Its not really the hell hole the Holy Government said it was, its actually a nice place. Tea?
I will just agree to disagree with you cause I feel the latest entries have been mixed and match and I feel some have been steps back. Not just in the FF mainline games but in SE titles in general. To each their own.So, my point is that, from what I can see, the quality of FFs has been up to scratch since Wada has taken over. There has definitely been innovation in story-telling techniques, gameplay mechanics and graphical design, and XIII looks like it will continue the trend.
I'm not exactly happy with the Ivalice titles. I love Tactics and I enjoyed XII but the latest offerings from the Ivalice team have been sub par and completely imbalanced. I'm almost afraid to say Ivalice is as good as dead without Matsuno but perhaps they can surprise me. Still, TA2 was disappointing as a story and it hardly addressed my complaints with TA1 and RW has been a truly painful experience (the real kicker here for me is that XIII's writer and directer made this game) thanks to its really lackluster storyline and its bastardization of the XII cast. These sub-par and dreadful offerings have all but made me feel that the Ivalice Alliance should end with the Compilation of VII...The area I think that Square-Enix is failing is their IPs outside of their main series. But, perhaps what Wada is now trying to do is to create these different types of IPs under the FF umbrella - if Versus is anything to go by. In which case, a rose by any other name smells as sweet, and you can't really complain seeing how Ivalice has come under the Final Fantasy name in 2 pure iterations and 2 somewhat watered-down (Tactics Advance - bleh).
Flying Arrow: I'll get to your post later but right now I'm exhausted
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