preordered for PS3... this is something I've been looking forward to but not getting really into, so as not to come into it with any expectations...

I just hope I don't hate the battle system like I did with X-2 or whatever. A shitty battle system can kill it for me, but I've enjoyed most of them. I honestly liked the X system the best though, but I can't see them going back to that.

3/6/2010 12:24:35 AM

Tomorrow!

3/8/2010 10:40:39 PM

can't beat amazon release date delivery

3/8/2010 10:49:07 PM

will be picking this up today after work. am very excite

3/9/2010 8:28:50 AM

Just got my copy from amazon.

3/9/2010 1:38:09 PM

I already rubbed one out to the opening sequence

But I can't get used to the camera. It has more of a floating feel to it than I'd like.

3/9/2010 8:17:37 PM

graphics are quite nice (got ps3 version)

3/9/2010 8:21:17 PM

Just got to the part where they introduced the Crystarium. I'm glad that the whole party seems to be together, the constant switching was kind of annoying. Nice graphics, but not jaw-dropping. I like how fast the battles are.

3/9/2010 11:23:36 PM

I can't get a battle to be < 3 seconds. That said, 3 seconds. Wow. Feels like Chrono Trigger on speed.

That said, I like it.

3/9/2010 11:40:24 PM

camera will def. take some getting used to.

but i like it so far!

3/9/2010 11:53:30 PM

Man, the dialogue is god awful It's like, the more detailed the environments and characters become, the more ridiculous the things that come out of their mouths sound.

Other than that though, I've enjoyed my time with it. The combat system is WONDERFUL and the skill tree seems even better than the Sphere Grid from FFX. And other than Snow and Vanille, the characters are all pretty likeable this time around. Lightning is basically Cloud 2.0, but a little less emo.

In short, I like what I've played so far and I'm looking forward to seeing how the combat evolves as the game goes on. The story isn't much of a hook so far, but it keeps the action moving



Oh yeah, the graphics are excellent. Not as technically impressive as say, Uncharted 2, but very pretty nonetheless, and the CGI sequences are top shelf stuff as per usual with Square.

[Edited on March 10, 2010 at 12:44 AM. Reason : :]

3/10/2010 12:42:25 AM

Quote :

"I can't get a battle to be < 3 seconds. That said, 3 seconds. Wow. Feels like Chrono Trigger on speed. That said, I like it."

I got :02 when the one chick used blitz and killed three of the rectangular dudes at the beginning of the fight. The story/characters are pretty terrible at this point. Vanille makes me want to put a gun to my head. It's early, though.

3/10/2010 3:22:02 AM

Yeah the "sugary-sweet, super cheerful chick" archetype needs to go away. Shit's annoying.

3/10/2010 10:00:21 AM

is the combat really that boring in the beginning?

sound like it isn't from you guys

3/10/2010 11:18:15 AM

Combat is pretty damn boring for the first couple hours

3/10/2010 11:29:45 AM

Yeah, combat is pretty boring until you get access to the paradigm system.

3/10/2010 11:46:38 AM

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-final-fantasy-xiii-face-off?page=1

Seems like the PS3 version's graphics are almost universally superior, particularly when it comes to CG sequences.

3/10/2010 1:59:46 PM

i'll be picking it up on friday since the gf is out of town all weekend

i kind of look forward to the linear structure and not needing a strategy guide or gamefaqs up on my laptop so i can find everything

but i will probably use gamefaqs near the end when i want to do all the so called sidequests that open up

3/10/2010 2:23:48 PM

^^after actually reading that whole article and even watching some of the comparison vids i would not be scared to pick up the 360 version

while his technical knowledge is impressive, he makes a huge deal out of nothing and his nerd rage is kind of annoying

the most disappointing port i can ever remember is Mortal Kombat II

the SNES version looked soooo much better than the Genesis and I was obsessed with that game

[Edited on March 10, 2010 at 2:51 PM. Reason : .]

3/10/2010 2:46:41 PM

just got it

3/10/2010 8:04:55 PM

Through the first disc already. One thing that is kind of annoying me, at least at this point, is that there isn't a persistent world that you travel through. It's like you travel a really linear path and then the path blows up behind you most of the time.

The battle system, up to this point, seems to be all about making timely paradigm switches. Not too difficult, though you can get screwed if you don't have the right paradigms setup before the battle. Odin took a shit on me the first time I encountered him, but the second time was a breeze.

3/10/2010 8:17:15 PM

i guess everyone is playing....

3/12/2010 1:52:38 PM

are the non-CG cut scenes real time or video recordings where the in-game engine was used with like 10000x AA applied?

there are a couple moments (lightning handing in her sword and getting on the purge train) that look way sharp but are obviously not CG

3/12/2010 2:22:59 PM

i really think they are intermixing real time and cg it is a cool way to make the graphics seem even better

i'm not sure but pretty sure

man the first hour and a half were really boring but i finally unlocked the cystalium or whatever so it is getting better

3/12/2010 9:13:31 PM

yea really...

i can barely distinguish between realtime and CG on the character models

3/12/2010 9:46:08 PM

Quote :

"are the non-CG cut scenes real time or video recordings where the in-game engine was used with like 10000x AA applied? there are a couple moments (lightning handing in her sword and getting on the purge train) that look way sharp but are obviously not CG"

They do both, the ones you're talking about that look significantly better than gameplay but obviously not CGI are exactly what you say. Scenes that were rendered using the game engine on something more powerful than the PS3, than encoded into 1080p video.

3/12/2010 9:57:59 PM

I really really really hate all the grunting and sighing and other random noises that the voice actors make every other second, and most of the dialog in this game is just garbage ("moms are tough" actually made me lol) but I'm entertained enough to keep playing.

3/12/2010 11:28:47 PM

final fantasy was so much better without spoken dialogue ... i just don't think they can get the translation and pacing correct even though they now have better voice actors

if i wanted porn sounds i would watch porn vanille..............

3/13/2010 2:59:11 AM

^You still had some laughably bad translations in the older games, too.

(Example: "You spoony bard!")


...though I do agree that Square needs to get themselves a much better stock list of voice actors. Most of the people they use have such terrible pacing that they still manage to sound foreign even with decently translated dialog. It shouldn't be that hard with the huge budget they've got to have (unless they spend it all on Japanese voice actors)... just look at the cast of any Bioware or Valve or Tim Schafer game in the past decade, then hire those people. Problem solved, and they'd probably even be able to improvise the bad lines into something decent.

[Edited on March 13, 2010 at 8:46 AM. Reason : .]

3/13/2010 8:40:04 AM

I think the voice acting in FF XII was much, much better. It may have been because the plot was more about politics than a bunch of lovey dovey crap and silly revenge plots.

3/13/2010 11:34:14 AM

I was a little lost trying to understand the upgrade system, but I found this:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessage.php?board=928790&topic=53851580

3/13/2010 2:58:58 PM

i just finished Uncharted 2 and man I gotta say this game is freakin gorgeous

the world's artwork is just so well done, many times i will just rotate the camera and look around

also the music is the best I have heard in a long long time

I do have problems with how easy the battle system is.... I was fighting a boss who used flame attacks and even without using Libra, Hope cast "banfire" or something

I mean I had to switch him to the synergist role but still too easy

3/15/2010 12:26:26 PM

^i too, just finished uncharted 2. prolly picking up ff13 tonight. i feel like i should be more excited about it. there is also a chance i'll hold off and pick up god of war 3 instead. decisions decisions.

3/15/2010 12:58:57 PM

uncharted 2 was so great i think i might buy it later on or if i could get my friend to buy it so we could play co op

i will probably just rend GOW

3/15/2010 1:31:27 PM

All the stupid grunting and moaning reminds me of Dragonball, which is a bad thing.

The dialog is retarded. Vanille's voice acting and character are atrocious. The story is retarded so far. I absolutely do not care about the citizens of Cocoon, don't know who the bad guy is, or why anyone would be afraid of the government. "Fal'Cie are bad" but isn't there a Fal'Cie protecting Cocoon? Except it's not really protecting it. Or something.

Just got the first Eidolon (and of course the story arc'd away before I could even play with it).

The combat is dumb. Maybe it's my fault for not playing a Final Fantasy since IX and not ever getting weaned into controlling only one character. Auto-Attack, Auto-Attack, Auto-Attack, Paradigm Shift, Auto-Attack, Paradigm Shift, Auto-Attack....the aforementioned Eidolon battle was slightly interesting since I had to paradigm shift in order at specific times.

It sure is pretty though. I bet it's a lot more fun to watch than to play. Playing consists of me hitting up a lot to move my character forward on the rails and hitting the a button at regular intervals during battles.

I'm going to give it some more time though. It does look nice.

3/15/2010 3:00:45 PM

i can't put it down because i keep trying to get to the point where everyone says it gets better

the dialog is poorly written and sometimes characters make decisions and say stuff that makes absolutely no sense especially

[spoiler]
a particular scene were lightning decides that humans are pets to the fal cie and then decides to split ways with hope for that reason ... wtf
[spoiler]

i've accepted that this game is hey! mumbo jumbo look at all the pretty stuff

3/15/2010 3:45:01 PM

Quote :

"arc'd"

Just so you know, arc is a real word that plays by real-word rules. It's perfectly fine to say arced.

3/15/2010 4:00:50 PM

so far the eidolons seem worthless except to shield you from attacks for a while thus lowering your ranking

i don't understand how to get into gestault mode .... one time i was automatically put into it due to something in the story and didn't know what the hell to do

3/15/2010 4:04:40 PM

You get into Gestalt mode by hitting square. If you go to the Datalog and view the primer on Battles pertaining to Summoning it explains it fairly well.

3/15/2010 9:47:23 PM

Quote :

"the dialog is poorly written and sometimes characters make decisions and say stuff that makes absolutely no sense especially"

Yeah I really really really can't stand Hope. He's a gigantic pussy and him blaming Snow is just totally and completely stupid, that thing that happened wasn't his fault and the worst part is none of the other characters call him out on it. Every time he's on the screen I'm just hoping whoever he's talking to will bitchslap the bejesus out of him, but it never happens

3/16/2010 2:06:01 AM

So can we talk about Hope's mom dying without worrying about spoiler alerts?

She didn't appear to have any injuries, she just slipped and fell...down the same hole that Snow and everyone else fell with no ill consequence. The game tried to make me think her falling to her death was a big deal, and then Snow and his buddy fall down the same cliff and bounce up like "ho hum".

[Edited on March 16, 2010 at 9:26 AM. Reason : hope]

3/16/2010 9:16:41 AM

yea it happens pretty early and i already read that it happened in various articles before it came out

i guess hope kinda thought that snow used his mom so he could meet up with serah

as for gestalt mode - after you do a summon there is a gauge that builds up and it is best to enter gestalt mode then but i haven't been able to build that gauge up yet

i think you have to use the same methods that you used to beat the eidolon to build that gauge such as using defensive sentry moves with shiva

3/16/2010 9:35:48 AM

As a friend of mine put it, it's as if they built a beautiful and elegant combat system (I really like the combat in this game) and graphics engine, and then, looking at the calendar, they realized "Oh crap, we have to write a plot!" and tossed together a bunch of leftover cliches. It's not as if Square Enix doesn't know how to write a plot, FFXII did a good job with storyline in my opinion, creating that vast, epic feel.

3/16/2010 9:55:25 AM

a good story was what i wanted most

all these japanese game plots are becoming nonsensical like metal gear solid 4 (that story was ridiculous)

ah well i'll still give it more time but i highly doubt there is even a villain here...

3/16/2010 10:02:57 AM

^^ I thought a different team within Square Enix worked on FF12. One of the groups that had been involved with FFT/Vagrant Story and other projects with halfway decent stories (hence the Ivalice setting).

I've been amazed with how fans of the series are willing to put up with so much crap in a game just because it has Final Fantasy in the title. The large majority of opinions i've been reading are something to the effect of "Well the story is awful and the characters are boring/annoying, but the battles are sort of ok so i'm gonna keep going and see if it gets better."

3/16/2010 10:15:14 AM

It's more...I paid cash monies for this game, can't get a full refund, so I might as well play it.

3/16/2010 10:19:26 AM

the story in xii was decent but i didn't like anything else

i enjoyed playing it for a long time up until the point i realized i hated the battle system

i gotta give xiii some more time before i make a final opinion

3/16/2010 11:46:51 AM

i was pretty excited before this came out, but after reading all this i don't think i'll get it. if anybody that has it wants to get rid of it in a little while let me know, i'd buy it, just not for $60

[Edited on March 16, 2010 at 11:56 AM. Reason : for PS3]

3/16/2010 11:55:49 AM

haven't played FF13 but am currently about 150hrs into FF12... the key to a successful story is a love story/triangle, cliche as it may be.

that's exactly why FF7 and 8 have such universal appeal (girls included)

[Edited on March 16, 2010 at 1:40 PM. Reason : ]

3/16/2010 1:38:06 PM

set em up

3/16/2010 11:02:53 PM