Well, as I was getting at with my last post, this isn't the time nor place to discuss my feelings on FFXIII. But I do want to apologize that I didn't acknowledge your posts in every single FFXIII thread I contributed to, I know how anguishing you must feel to write one of your diatribes and not have me take note, so for any emotional pain I've caused you, I'm sorry.

But I will say this, just to wrap up the XIII-centric discussion we've had on how it relates to a player's critical credibility.

I think when you engage in discussions on forums, you become far too aware and lose some of your ability to experience a game as the player is intended to. We play the role of both historian and game designer; we contextualize video games even before we've finished them and make judgments on whether the developers made a good or bad decision with the game systems, even as we're encountering them. I'll admit that I have my grand ideas floating around my head sometimes while I play games. I'll admit that they were in my head when I played Final Fantasy VI and may have unfairly magnified some of its faults.

But that doesn't mean that I'm unable to put those ideas aside and just enjoy a game. A game doesn't have to have an original plot, it doesn't have to meaningfully iterate on previous combat systems, it doesn't have to redeem the nonsensical interview quotes by the developers, it doesn't have to put marks into a group of imaginary chekboxes in order for me to just sit back and enjoy a video game.

I've had a couple games not live up to the hype and expectations I set for them. But I was still able to enjoy the amazing dungeon design of FFVI. I was still able to appreciate how awesome the ride Chrono Trigger took me on was.

And I was able to appreciate that FFXIII had, hands down, the most fully developed characters and best party interaction out of the entire Final Fantasy series to date. :luigi: