Star Ocean 4 vs Final Fantasy XIII

[Del Murder]

Final Fantasy XIII is actually a pretty good game - it just isn't a good Final Fantasy game.

Yeah pretty much. I didn't hate FFXIII, but it certainly didn't live up to the high FF bar we've set over the years.

Never played a SO game but I voted for FFXIII because I did like it. ollbert:

[Ayen]

Final Fantasy XIII is actually a pretty good game - it just isn't a good Final Fantasy game.

Can't see it. I didn't have much expectations going in having been disappointed with X-2 and XII going in and I still thought it was a bad game even if you take the name Final Fantasy away from it. Honestly don't see what people found enjoyable about it.

[Forsaken Lover]

Even I liked a few things about XIII. The main party was decently strong, each having their own personal and understandable motivation to be there. A big part of what kept me going was waiting for the inevitable Snow/Hope confrontation as they were my favorite members of the party. I felt that whole subplot was expertly done.

Sazh and Vanille also had a wonderful dynamic and I did not see their subplot's ending coming at all. It was also adequately emotional.

The problem lay in Lightning, whom I hated, Fang, who i didn't care about.

Then of coure you end up on Pulse and the character development just dies and now it's all about "the Plot." God save us from FFXIII's plot.

The very beginning of the game is also very frustrating as they literally bombard you with terms like Cocoon, PSICOM, Sanctum, fal'Cie, etc.. I didn't get any of this until I looked it all up and by tht time I was scratching my head in irritation. This is bad storytelling. Contrast witH FFVII, where Barret is kind enough to explain what the hell is going on here with the Mako Reactor and what Mako is.

FFVII has a very fast paced beginning just like XIII but the former was well-done while the latter was not.

SO4's beginning is also nice enough to give you some exposition to explain everything that's going on. Exposition might be a bit of a lazy tool but it's still better than having to search datalogs or get on the internet and ask people.

Dare I say it, SO4 had a better articulated story.

[Mercen-X]

I don't have these systems

[Jibril]

Final Fantasy XIII is actually a pretty good game - it just isn't a good Final Fantasy game.

Could you describe exactly what you mean by this?

[Pumpkin]

I liked both games.

[Shauna]

Final Fantasy XIII is actually a pretty good game - it just isn't a good Final Fantasy game.

Could you describe exactly what you mean by this?

I think basically what it is, is that as fans of the Final Fantasy series we hold the games to a certain expectation. High expectations, whether you've been disillusioned with the series before or not. FF13 failed to meet expectations of a game within the Final Fantasy series. However, if you were to strip it of the Final Fantasy title, removing those expectations, you would find it to be more bearable as a game.

I believe that is the general message that is trying to be put across. Feel free to correct if I am wrong. :}

[Ayen]

Even I liked a few things about XIII.

It had... nice graphics?

I'm not a hard guy to impress, I like a lot of things that most people think sucked so it's not like I'm picky. XIII's problem is it feels like it's trying to be an epic but lacks any real substance, even the characters I liked felt generally lacking and it didn't get me invested like a lot of other games in the same genre. So I agree that the problem with it mainly comes from the writing.

[Spuuky]

Final Fantasy XIII is actually a pretty good game - it just isn't a good Final Fantasy game.

Could you describe exactly what you mean by this?

I think basically what it is, is that as fans of the Final Fantasy series we hold the games to a certain expectation. High expectations, whether you've been disillusioned with the series before or not. FF13 failed to meet expectations of a game within the Final Fantasy series. However, if you were to strip it of the Final Fantasy title, removing those expectations, you would find it to be more bearable as a game.

I believe that is the general message that is trying to be put across. Feel free to correct if I am wrong. :}

I actually meant two different things. That's one of them - that expectations/price/etc can totally change the way a game is perceived. For instance, if it was a $20 indie game with no previous IP you'd be utterly blown away by it.

The other thing is that brands do mean something, and I don't think FFXIII played into the brand in the right way. It takes the traditions of Final Fantasy I care about the least and blows them up, and takes the ones I care about the most and completely diminishes them. To use a somewhat old example now - World of Warcraft is a pretty good game (for the point of this example, don't argue that); but it's a TERRIBLE "Warcraft" game. The part it keeps is the lore, the part it loses is the entire game design, in that case.

[Mirage]

Even I liked a few things about XIII.

It had... nice graphics?

They weren't even that impressive. I mean sure, the videos look fancy, but there are lots of graphical details that really were behind what other AAA games delivered.

[Forsaken Lover]

I forgot to talk about the awesome final dungeon in SO4.

Mirage even conceded he liked Brilliant Rose and in addition to this awesome piece of music, the Palace of Creation is beautiful and interesting. It's a very different design for a final dungeon, with the fast synth music and bright colors. Nox Obscuros, with its subdued music and its black, dead appearance is much more what you'd expect of the evil villain's lair. Coming off that, the Palace seems even grander and more lively. The "time is stopped" parts and the little planetoids you travel across in particular stick out in my memory. That and how confusing it is to navigate the place.

But the Palace of Creation is an infinitely better final dungeon than Orphan's Cradle. I've never seen a duller final dungeon than XIII's.

[black orb]

>>> Both are mediocre games, but SO4 battles are fun and FF13 battles are a total bore. Star Ocean wins.

[Mirage]

SO4 battles are actually not very exciting.

[black orb]

>>> Arumat made them exciting. ..

[Forsaken Lover]

Reimi made the battles more exciting.