Why do people miss towns?

[the holy meteor]

I really like FFXIII, but I was waiting for an area where the party could just wind down, relax, talk to people, and just get away from battles completely. The game ended up being a long, lonely, exhausting trek through an enormous tunnel infested with soldiers and monsters. There were a few moments like Nautilis and Hope's house, but such moments are too far in between.

Then again, I do know that the party is scrambling to get rid of their l'cie brands; but overall, having at least one peaceful area with some sidequests and absolutely NO battle encounters could bring an even greater balance to the game than just Gran Pulse.

[Brennan]

I really like FFXIII, but I was waiting for an area where the party could just wind down, relax, talk to people, and just get away from battles completely. The game ended up being a long, lonely, exhausting trek through an enormous tunnel infested with soldiers and monsters. There were a few moments like Nautilis and Hope's house, but such moments are too far in between.

Then again, I do know that the party is scrambling to get rid of their l'cie brands; but overall, having at least one peaceful area with some sidequests and absolutely NO battle encounters could bring an even greater balance to the game than just Gran Pulse.

Which wouldn't make sense, being that damn near everyone on Cocoon is after them.

[Suikojowy]

That seems to be a common argument but it can be fixed with a few tweaks. Square could have made it so that the party's identities were never revealed to the public in order to not cause a stir amongst it's citizens allowing the party to explore the town and stuff before a storyline event makes them leave. As for Pulse maybe at first cocoon really DID evacuate people there (before realizing it would be easier to just kill them) and those people started small communities.

[champagne supernova]

Because every single Final Fantasy before XIII had towns and they don't like the change.

[Madame Adequate]

I really like FFXIII, but I was waiting for an area where the party could just wind down, relax, talk to people, and just get away from battles completely. The game ended up being a long, lonely, exhausting trek through an enormous tunnel infested with soldiers and monsters. There were a few moments like Nautilis and Hope's house, but such moments are too far in between.

Then again, I do know that the party is scrambling to get rid of their l'cie brands; but overall, having at least one peaceful area with some sidequests and absolutely NO battle encounters could bring an even greater balance to the game than just Gran Pulse.

Which wouldn't make sense, being that damn near everyone on Cocoon is after them.

True, but that's no excuse for Oerba. Heck, having just one slightly backwater refuge would have been awesome and I reckon would have added a lot to the game. Also note that nobody on Cocoon actually recognized the characters until their tattoos were revealed - it seems their identities were not actually widely known.

[Slothy]

True, but that's no excuse for Oerba. Heck, having just one slightly backwater refuge would have been awesome and I reckon would have added a lot to the game. Also note that nobody on Cocoon actually recognized the characters until their tattoos were revealed - it seems their identities were not actually widely known.

Not to mention that the story could have easily had minor modifications to allow for towns where you could rest a bit, explore, and feel like Cocoon was something other than empty set pieces, even if only for a set amount of time before the military comes rolling through after you. As it was the entire game world felt lifeless, boring and uninteresting to me because there was absolutely nothing going on with it aside from battle after battle after yet another tired battle.

Explaining bad game design through the story doesn't magically make the bad game design disappear.

[Loony BoB]

Towns used to be so cute.

It's true. It's true.

[Lamia]

I love towns but I don't miss them.

Why?

Because I have welcomed the change of pace in the series. I'm afraid if fans are rigid in their expectations of the series and require the reptition of certain elements over and over again, that it will hurt the series more than help it.


Final Fantasy IX had the BEST TOWNS. Treno, Alexandria, and Lindblum -- amazing! Especially Treno.

In FFVII, Midgar is one of my most favorite fantasy/sci-fi landscapes ever.

[Clo]

Smurf this, I love exploring towns.

I always looked forward to stopping and seeing what the foolish locals had to say. I liked it in FFs, and in every other RPG I've played since I was 4. Even in Pokemon and Animal Crossing.

I guess if they were gone I'd expect some kind of substitute for my ingrained freakish need to talk to every human being on the planet.

[Madame Adequate]

Towns used to be so cute.

It's true. It's true.

You look like Mulley itbt.

[Wolf Kanno]

The point of towns and the issue of their watered down nature in XIII is that they make the world feel alive and immerse the player better. One of my main complaints about XIII was how I never gave a crap about Cocoon. To me, saving it was something the characters wanted but the game took no steps to make the player want to save the world or to make the player understand why the characters wanted to save it either.

You get the idea that it is home to them but since the game never gives you details on their attachments to the place, Cocoon is simply just a series of uninspiring dungeons. Even worse is the fact that the few times the game actually lets you talk to NPC's their dialogue is as inspiring as an old school 8-bit RPG and even then I feel FFII and III's NPC's were more fun and interesting.

The really annoying thing is how several other RPGs got this right and the quality of towns and NPCs have gone up in some other RPGs. At the end of XIII, I never felt a sense of accomplishment, simply just the relief of knowing I finally finished a game but I had no attachment to its world and thus never cared how the game was going to end. I ended up approaching XIII more as a game than a story cause I gained my parties resolutions halfway through and the rest of the plot had no meaning to me as a player, I was simply just an outsider watching someone else's problem.

This is why you need towns, so the player can actually have a seamless way of getting to know the world beyond boring monologues and reading source book info.

[Depression Moon]

You know what I would like to see in a town in a JRPG? Being able to go into shops and taking the stuff off the counters and paying for them at the front desk. I haven't thought what could happen if you attempted to walk out the store with those items.

[Miriel]

You know what I would like to see in a town in a JRPG? Being able to go into shops and taking the stuff off the counters and paying for them at the front desk. I haven't thought what could happen if you attempted to walk out the store with those items.

This is just. I MEAN OHMYGOD.

Blowing my mind! I would spend ALL FREAKIN' DAY shopping in stores if this was the case. Someone make this happen!

[Rase]

I haven't thought what could happen if you attempted to walk out the store with those items.

I imagine something like this.

[theundeadhero]

Dang, Rase beat me to it. The ability is older than it appears from that video though. That game is a remake of the old brick gameboy.