[Eorzea]

I happened across some FFXIII criticism and thought I'd go ahead and post it for anyone interested. I have no idea idea how valid it is, but here you go:

Quote

The whole game is completely linear until halfway through [approximately 20 hours].

There are hardly any towns.

The party is always fixed. The whole game just repeats the movie-battle sequence over and over [In fact the progression is closer to movie-run-battle-run-movie-boss-movie-run-battle�].

There are rather a lot of movies.

Moving around is like a long marathon.

The whole game system is just a clone of FF10.

You can�t flee battles [You can�t avoid most battles either as there is no sneaking past enemies, including weak ones].

Your party is completely healed after each battle.

If the main character in your party dies it is game over [There are only ever 3 characters in battle, often less, and often fixed].

The best tactic is almost always endlessly attacking. There is next to no strategy or skill involved.

The summons� transformation scenes are a joke [i.e. Odin turning into a horse].

The story is rubbish� [Spoilers omitted, but complaints centre on Snow�s constant and cringe inducing insistence that he is a hero and will "protect" whatever it is the antagonists are menacing this time]

Shopping is only done at "online" shops on save points, with no proper shops to be found.

However, this doesn�t matter as you hardly ever get any money [and you can never buy anything more powerful than what you already looted].

There have been next to no changes from the demo.

The status screen displays no real information.

There are only 8 items usable in combat [For that matter, there are hardly any weapons or accessories, and the "crafting" system mostly consists of spending drops to upgrade their 2 stats].

There are no levels.

With all their advertising money, just how was it they failed even to get Famitsu to give full points?

Source

There's also a map image to illustrate the game's linearity over the first six hours or so:

[Zounder]

"In fact the progression is closer to movie-run-battle-run-movie-boss-movie-run-battle�"

Isn't this how any RPG is, anyway? I never understand this complaint.

I don't mind linearity as long as the gameplay is good. I'm gonna try avoiding spoilers until the game comes out, so I'm not really trying to find any specific details about the game, but my excitement for the game hasn't diminished at all.

[Eorzea]

Yeah, these complaints don't really deter me, either, but I figured it was worth posting for the sake of discussion. :msnwave:

By the way, welcome to the site!

[Momotaru]

Ouch, actually I'm a bit deterred.. I came here because I fell upon information from Square concerning towns being too difficult for HD systems..

Ugh.. Keep in mind I really know nothing about the game, so I wouldn't be able to argue anything positive if I wanted to... but I have to say..

Just between 'no towns' and 'Leona Lewis', I'm disgusted... Reading that full list of 2chan complaints, I'm even more irritated.

If the story is crap and the gameplay has been minimized into complete linearity (most likely for mainstream appeal) then what exactly makes this worth playing?


Without spoiling the game, please offer reasons why FFXIII is awesome.

[TempestKin]

What is the big concern with Leona Lewis? I'm not really sure why people dislike her so much...

As for the full details if the game really is like that, I'm a bit... saddened... However, for some reason, I highly doubt it. I really highly doubt it.

[Momotaru]

It's not that I dislike Leona Lewis... (though I'm not a fan and I've really never listened to her music).

I'm just not fond of the decision to change the theme song of the game (the theme song carries a lot of weight in any game) per region. I don't need Square to make changes in order to appeal to a generic audience from my country of origin. It's the Japanese designed game series that made me a fan in the first place. It's not at all necessary to woo me by changing things I would have appreciated as they were.

Now, having the song sung in English would have been okay.. Have Leona Lewis sing the themesong in English..... Why not?
Other than a corporate decision to appeal to a wider audience, why would they replace the game's very own theme song with something else entirely? It's disappointing.

I don't dislike Leona Lewis.. But I strongly dislike edits, alterations, and misguided efforts to change any finished project in the name of financial gain.

[TempestKin]

That makes sense, I guess I am biased in some regard, in that I am a very big fan of Leona Lewis. I will say though, that she became famous in the UK and isn't as big of an artist in the US as over there.

I will agree with you in that, I wish it was the original theme song. However now a days if I wanted to find it, I could on youtube. I wish I didn't have to, but SE made there choice, and perhaps if this choice opens up more people to liking final fantasy, I wouldn't mind! :) It's a great series, even it if it is just a way for them to get more money... sadly, thats what all companies are there to do. If they get more money, they will create more games... so... It's kind of one of those give and take situations. Even if SE likes to take a lot more then they give sometimes...[Like my soul...]

I guess, I can agree with everything you said over all as a statement however. :)

[jelleriii]

Well all I would have to say is that the millions of people in japan who bought it can't be wrong right? I love the visuals that I've seen so for,and whats wrong with FF X's system, no prob here.I do think they ought to have a special PS3 like they had there (japan) for the other markets they got a cool white PS3 with decals.The best point though is its a new Final Fantasy game for a Present generation set of systems 360, PS3.

[karari]

The biggest issue I think everyone has with this game is the lack of replay value. After beating the game, there is no real reason to go back and play through it again. Infact, if what I hear is true some of the game stores down there are only buying back used copies for a rough dollar equivalent of $15-20. Sure Game Stop screws us over every chance they can get, but with used copies selling for such a low amount kind of worries me too. It did really great on release, but once word got out it didn't sell like a true Final Fantasy game should,

[Kurisu]

All this criticism isn't putting me off this game at all. If anything it's making me more interested, as I really want to be able to play the game and JUDGE IT FOR MYSELF!

As for the linearity, that doesn't really bother me whatsoever. FFX was very, very linear. That was until you got the airship. It was still a great game and, in my opinion, the story behind FFXIII seems very strong. As well as that, the battle system looks AMAZING! I can't stop watching the FFXIII International Trailer, it really does look stunning.

The theme song, "My Hands", I actually really like it! It suits the trailer well, and I don't see why there are so many complaints about it! Sure, maybe it does detract from the overall JRPG feel of the game, but I'll get over that.

Oh, and I agree with jelleriii; it's great to FINALLY have a Final Fantasy game for current gen systems!

[MiniCloudz]

Exactly, Kurisu. I agree. I'm dying to check this game out and be able to rate it myself. Sometimes these games come down to what we think personally, although I'm sure SE hasn't spent all this time making a game for it to end up failing. It seems there has been a lot of mixed elements from the series all round.

As long as game play is good, I really don't mind how linear the game is. Like people have said, FFX was linear, it's not as if roads were tiny or areas were compact, etc. Fields, ruins, roads; it was all open and displayed very nicely. I'm sure FFXIII can only improve on this.

As for the theme song, I've watched the international trailer myself (a lot) and I really think her song fits. Maybe it's not as good as the original and I have no clue why it was changed really, but it's not bad!

Ugh! All this waiting is slow torture... :msnscream:

[Apricoth]

I am just going to have to wait and see. It does make me a little disappointed reading this critique but at the same time not everyone can be pleased. So what one person may abhor I might quite enjoy! I am reserving my end opinion until I have the game in my possession and actually playing it.

[Bewoulf]

Just giving my opinions of FFXIII. I can sum it up quickly. I thought FFXII was better in every sense, but I'm enjoying FFXIII. I get disappointments with every FF, and enjoyments from every FF. I don't play Final Fantasy to be blown away each time. I play it because I know I will enjoy it every time I play it. Every Final Fantasy title does not have to be this definitive game, and I think that's what people assumed FFXIII would be like. I on the other hand, knew FFXIII was going to be linear. It was made by the same FFX team, right? That game was also linear (and never bothered anyone at the time, I feel like). I don't really have a problem with this. I never expect FF to be a giant open world to explore at my every whim (like Fallout or Oblivion). Even FFXI had strict restrictions on open world exploration. I didn't set this game too high on my expectations and as a result, I was not disappointed.

The Paradigm shift system is AMAZING! I absolutely love it. The story has so much lore, that is enjoyable as well! On my PS3, a shocking shortage of RPGs (especially JRPGs), this is one amazing effort. This wasn't a 100/100 game, but it definitely wasn't an 85/100.

This post has been edited by Bewoulf: Mar 16, 2010 - 7:21 PM

[FR8TRAIN7070]

I am a lil upset. One thing i really loved about the FF series is the world map. Even tho I loved 10 without it. But the side quests where a bit lame. This might as well be a hack N slash. You run around find a enemy fight then a movie its a hack n slash. linear and just plain upsetting that they strayed SOOOOOO far from other FF.

[Quinn]

I've only finished 4 games that I can remember....Rugrats (ps1)...ER (pc)....desprete housewives (pc)....Marvel alliance (ps2)

Apart from that I get board fast...It takes me a long time to do things like in White knight chronicles and i've played 21hours on it and thats because I work had on finding items and leveling and this game can be completed in 5-6 someone said (not that I trust them)...anyway...I played over 20 hours of ffx and finally got board...yes I get board fast of things my mind is like a goldfish and I forget i'm on 1 game and then I go buy another...

basically...so happy I haven't bought this game, the "Real" action dosn't start before 20 hours? holy moley that means 30+ hours for me...i'd get board, real boared real fast...i'm going to wait for this game to be in GAME preowned section till I get it, if not i'll play it and get board so fast i'll never go back to it again... *sigh* sorry boys FFXIII not that high on my list anymore...though the graphics are sexy as hell...apart from that...PREOWNED SECTION BUY FOR ME!!

This post has been edited by Quinn: Mar 19, 2010 - 7:11 AM