I'm on chapter 4 though...
There's a thread for that. Come chill with me in it!
I haven't completed chapter 2 so I'll just skip reaing all the posts
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!
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
WICKED-AWESOME SIG.
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.
You posted in this thread, dude. 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.
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.
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.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.
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.There are forks, sure, but there's still little in the way of exploration.
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. Vanille and Labreau are both very aesthetically pleasing. ;D
Bow before the mighty Javoo!