Thoughts on the XIII games

[Omegaflare]

I platinumed XIII-2 and have 91 % on XIII. I have beat all optional bosses and got all ultimate weapons and such but I couldnt complete the Treasure Hunter trophy (that one is insane!!) because I sold one of those elemental rings and you cant get them back. I needed it to upgrade it to another item that I cant get any other way (one of the brooches I think). Anyway it was impossible to get Treaure Hunter for me unless I would restart EVERYTHING so thats the only trophy I really missed. I achieved and completed every challenge the game has though so I am still pretty satisfied.

Thank god the XIII-2 and LR trophylists dont have such insane annoying trophies like Treasure Hunter. I like a challenge but that was just annoying.

However when X and X-2 HD come out, you bet i will not rest until Platinumed the hell out of them both (FF X is my most favorite game of all time, all my heart and soul belongs to this game)

 

[APZonerunner]

Then let's do our best to make this site a natural get-together for people of various camps to mingle with, and to welcome the opinions each other without falling into the common internet standard of one side hounding the other into submission~

Ahhh, she gets it. Thumbs up.

My opinion on FF13 is basically this:

• FF13 - An interesting if emotionally stunted story and cast of characters set alongside gameplay with an identity crisis and a lack of finesse.
• FF13-2 - Deeply finessed and improved gameplay mechanics, but many of the facets of FF13's story I found most intriguing flushed down the toilet
• LR - From what I've played thus far in my few hands-ons MASSIVELY different and extremely intriguing combat (we'll see how it holds up over 20+ hours though) but story that makes me want to put my head through a wall.

So if FF13 is one extreme, LR is the other... and 13-2 is somewhere in the middle. The series has gone through a very linear journey, in my mind.

 

[Azuardo]

Did you draw those? I can't really tell what transformed. Looks like a dude that transformed into Serah but in the second pic it looks like a huge robot thing.

Ah, you didn't complete XIII, did you? Remember Barthandelus?

 

[Storm2356]

Ahhh, she gets it. Thumbs up.

My opinion on FF13 is basically this:

• FF13 - An interesting if emotionally stunted story and cast of characters set alongside gameplay with an identity crisis and a lack of finesse.
• FF13-2 - Deeply finessed and improved gameplay mechanics, but many of the facets of FF13's story I found most intriguing flushed down the toilet
• LR - From what I've played thus far in my few hands-ons MASSIVELY different and extremely intriguing combat (we'll see how it holds up over 20+ hours though) but story that makes me want to put my head through a wall.

So if FF13 is one extreme, LR is the other... and 13-2 is somewhere in the middle. The series has gone through a very linear journey, in my mind.

Yeah, the story is a bit... odd... but I'll probably still enjoy it because unless it contradicts itself, makes no sense to begin with, or is just too off the wall crazy that I just hate it, I'm pretty well content with the plot of any game.

 

[APZonerunner]

I think the story has begun to eat its own head a little bit, but that's what you get when you try to spin out two sequels from a game that really very clearly and obviously wasn't intended to have one and complicate it with time travel.

 

[Leon Aether]

Before I get into a thread regarding the XIII saga, it's inevitable to expect an argument! Aaaaah!!! FF fans are completely divided nowadays!
I will try to please everyone with opinion which is entirely subjective...

Okay, FFXIII... What can I say about this game? Linear, great story, adorable characters, enjoyable battle system with paradigms (though in XIII it was pretty annoying seeing them shifting every time like Power Rangers, glad they fixed that on XIII-2), marvelous-astonishing-breath taking graphics, too much sci-fi if you ask me in some locations which I can't tolerate, enjoyable summon system, and a great menu (Crystarium etc). Plus an unforgetable OST especially that Oerba theme!!! Gimme more!!!
I did try for Platinum in XIII once better never managed to get it, I can't do the same things over and over again, I'm pretty bored...

FFXIII-2... Weird story at first playthrough, adorable though on second. Caius joins the FF villain group, and in my opinion he is by far the best in the FF history, for so damn many reasons, especially because of what led him to become a bad guy. Battle system the same but with some fixed stuff, no summons (that's bad), so damn easy game, visuals not as polished as XIII's still very nice... Oh and it was in this game that I liked Serah. Maybe because she was accompanied by Noel and that cute piggy-kitty called Mog (How much I love him!).. As for the OST, I believe some compositions surpass even it's predecessor's.

LR, from what I have seen, I love everything about it so far, especially the way that the story continues and it's battle system. I can't express a full opinion though until I dig in it on February. I can say that on one hand I'm glad that there were two sequels as I really loved this saga, but on the other I can agree with most people that SE stretched it a bit. I prefer one complete installment than three and I hope this kind of history won't be repeated with FFXV. One sequel is tolerable, but two... No...

 

[Kagari]

I think the story has begun to eat its owstory d a little bit, but that's what you get when you try to spin out two sequels from a game that really very clearly and obviously wasn't intended to have one and complicate it with time travel.

Pretty much. They should have switched out writers long ago because at this point the story has more anime cliches than your typical mainstream Shounen Jump outing.

 

[Squirrel Emperor]

Sry but if I read things like "shoving Lightning down our throat" I just roll my eyes in disgust. Lightning is a very popular character (She was voted the most popular female Ff character in Japan). if you dont want to play with her then dont buy the fricking game, nobody is shoving her her down anyones throat. ah man this whole stuff is pissing me off just like in the other forums. Always the same hater bullshit, I am so sick of it. UGH

I have a few questions about that poll.

Who voted? How many voted? Did all Final Fantasy fans in Japan vote? Are they fans of FFXIII? Are they not fans of FFXIII? How old are the people who voted? How many Final Fantasy games did the person play? Long time fans or did they recently just get into the franchise? Did people vote honestly? Who made the poll? Is the poll only accessible to certain groups of people like magazine subscribers? How close were the results? If another poll were made today by the same people, would the results be the same? Have there been similar polls made by other people from other places that show the same results? Is there a level playing field such as, "Do all female Final Fantasy characters have voice acting? Are they all sprites? Are they all high quality 3D models? Can they all show emotion with words and body language?" Can we trust that the poll was not manipulated? Does this poll give a true or false picture of the public opinion?

Can we honestly use this poll a strong valid evidence that Lightning is the most popular Final Fantasy female in Japan?

As for the, "shoving Lightning down our throat" part... When you take the time to dissect and analyze it, that pretty much comes down to having to put up with FFXIII for an entire console generation, a console generation that lasted 7-8 years, when fans were so used to getting a brand new numbered entry every 1-2 years over 10 years ago. You tell us to not, "buy the fricking game" and based on sales, a lot of people did exactly that with FFXIII-2. But for those who are not going to continue to invest their time in the FFXIII saga and are waiting for that new numbered title, surely you can see and understand where the frustration and hate comes from when they say things like, "shoving Lightning down our throat" for example. People are simply sick of her and the FFXIII saga and want to move on to something different and new. 7-8 years is a very long time to go without a brand new numbered title.

Instead of getting so pissed off about it. Take the time to actually learn and understand why people say stuff like that.

 

[Azuardo]

Come on, Mognet, you're better than this...
As for Omegaflare, I kind of get where they're coming from. Three years of unnecessary...almost abuse, honestly (not on this forum, but if YT and GameFAQs/NeoGAF didn't exist, ugh...) is something that many of the XIII fans have had to endure. Doesn't make it very fun to be a fan any more. Like it or not, many of us actually understand why people don't like XIII. I have a few gripes with it myself. And I have a few gripes with a lot of other past FF games, but I'm not going to constantly go into forums, YT comments, whatever, and be so negative. All. The. Time.
As the naysayers might say: "it's my opinion."

Of course, but the point is that that unnecessary bashing of the games hasn't been happening on this forum. I, too, would be angered if I went onto a news post for a game I loved, or a video, and saw nothing but hate or bashing or trolling for the game all the time. But when you're in a thread especially made to ask for and debate about the opinions - the good and the bad - about a game, there's no avoiding differing opinions. The important thing is that there hasn't been a single person abusing anyone's opinions or bashing on the game for no good reason in this thread. It's been full of healthy views and opinions. So it's a bit of a shock and definitely unnecessary to bring up the hatred people feel for those that troll and bash with no good reason in a topic that has been completely void of it.

 

[Storm2356]

Oh, hi, Sapientia.

 

[buddhafied]

If you ask me if I am in the like or dislike camp of XIII, I will tell you that I should be in the "like" camp; however, if you ask me which is my least favourite Final Fantasy game, I will probably say it's XIII as well.

I've been a long time FF fan and even though I didn't play all of them, I've liked every FF main series game since VI (I have I-V but just never had a chance to play...) including Tactics. For this series, it's almost hard for me not to be biased as I so strongly like the game. The only two games that I fail to love initially are XIII and XIV.

Unlike some people, I don't have much problem with the casts of XIII. Yes, Vanille's voice can be slightly annoying and Snow could not be more "bro" like, but those aren't an issue with me. At the end, I still care of them and care about their cause. What my strongest problem of the game is the straight corridors fights and then meet the boss at the end style for the first 20 hours of the game. Many had defended it as the story line allows that, but to me, that's just saying "well, of course this game is boring because the game is about a boring guy and his boring life!" That's not a very good excuse because it implies the game's story is flawed by default, which I don't think is the case for XIII actually. A group of people escaping can still get lost from time to time, therefore not completely just running in a straight line. This alone took me a very long time to get used to. Combining with the the seemingly forever handholding and a long time to get to finally having fully control of the AMAZING battle system, I actually had to drop the game for a year and come back to finish, after 18 hours of play through.

I absolutely loved the battle system of the world of XIII. Far as I remember, MMO aside, the three battle system FF that was very awesome to me was XIII, X and XII. I love the no wait for X, the MMO like XII and the quick-change of XIII. I was very happy they kept it for XIII-2 and hopefully it retains part of it in Lightning Returns.

The year off gave me some time to get over the, in my opinion, boring part of the game; and when I picked back up, it wasn't too far for me to get to the open world and open battle system; therefore I were able to really enjoy the game at that point. I learned to like it at the end. I use the word "learn" because none of the other Final Fantasy (including XIV) I had to learn to love them, I either like or dislike (I dislike XIV until Yoshida took over and then the game started to transform. By the time they were about to close the XIV 1.x server, I was already liking the game. A Realm Reborn is an instant love... but that's another topic.)

I think Lightning is a very strong lead. I like her actually more than Cloud and on par with Terra and Celes (and definitely way more than Squall, who I absolutely just want to shove his face somewhere so I don't have to read his dialogue every time I play VIII). I like her, I understand her and I am glad she's back for Lightning Return.

So far, LR shows a lot of potential. I agree with some others that I'm not a big fan of this costume "barbie" part, as I almost find that "cheapens" Lightning a little bit. Yet, I have to say from everything I watched so far on trailer, I don't mind it. The gameplay seems extremely fun and fast pace. If everything is done right and can justify the way she changes all the costumes, I'm not going to hold that against the game. A lot of things are just preferences, at the end, everything boils down to the story, the characters and the gameplay.

Also, yes, guys. Let's be civil here. I've read all the post, I personally don't feel any of the negative feedback about the game was very offensive or really bashing it. I can understand why we defend our favourites, because I surely do, and after all the years of reading a lot of bashing from other forums about XIII I can see why some of you are even more defensive, but please also aware that the people currently postings are not (or might not) be the same people you have been dealing with in other forums; hence there's no need to carry the same burden you had in other forum into this new one. The site has only been up for a very short period of time, it's too early to be all screaming and kicking about things.

 

[Storm2356]

Time for another random question: What's your favorite Full ATB Skill in either XIII or XIII-2?

 

[Kagari]

I have a few questions about that poll.

Who voted? How many voted? Did all Final Fantasy fans in Japan vote? Are they fans of FFXIII? Are they not fans of FFXIII? How old are the people who voted? How many Final Fantasy games did the person play? Long time fans or did they recently just get into the franchise? Did people vote honestly? Who made the poll? Is the poll only accessible to certain groups of people like magazine subscribers? How close were the results? If another poll were made today by the same people, would the results be the same? Have there been similar polls made by other people from other places that show the same results? Is there a level playing field such as, "Do all female Final Fantasy characters have voice acting? Are they all sprites? Are they all high quality 3D models? Can they all show emotion with words and body language?" Can we trust that the poll was not manipulated? Does this poll give a true or false picture of the public opinion?

Can we honestly use this poll a strong valid evidence that Lightning is the most popular Final Fantasy female in Japan?

As for the, "shoving Lightning down our throat" part... When you take the time to dissect and analyze it, that pretty much comes down to having to put up with FFXIII for an entire console generation, a console generation that lasted 7-8 years, when fans were so used to getting a brand new numbered entry every 1-2 years over 10 years ago. You tell us to not, "buy the fricking game" and based on sales, a lot of people did exactly that with FFXIII-2. But for those who are not going to continue to invest their time in the FFXIII saga and are waiting for that new numbered title, surely you can see and understand where the frustration and hate comes from when they say things like, "shoving Lightning down our throat" for example. People are simply sick of her and the FFXIII saga and want to move on to something different and new. 7-8 years is a very long time to go without a brand new numbered title.

Instead of getting so pissed off about it. Take the time to actually learn and understand why people say stuff like that.

I can answer this. The poll was limited to Japanese users who signed up specifically for Square Enix's Member's forums and said forums were only open for a limited amount of time. Initially they did a poll asking for people to write in responses for their favorite male characters in which around 800 people responded. Then, they took it further and asked fans to write in their replies for female characters - 500 of which responded. Looking at the female poll, the top answers were very close - if I remember right Aerith and Lightning were only about two votes away with Yuna very close as well. In fact, when the poll began, Aerith and Yuna were fighting it out for the top spot from the very beginning. So yes, the poll itself wasn't a very big sample size and the sample it took from were people who do not necessarily represent the over all broader fanbase.

 

[Fleur]

Suddenly, I've just received a possible answer for why Square chose to put in both a Yuna and an Aerith costume into Lightning Returns. Someone has been looking at that poll as well, no doubt. It doesn't seem as random anymore now!

 

[Nikolasvanitas]

Time for another random question: What's your favorite Full ATB Skill in either XIII or XIII-2?

Army of One and Sazh's Cold Blood helped me destroy countless Adamantoises

 

[Leon Aether]

Come on, Mognet, you're better than this...
As for Omegaflare, I kind of get where they're coming from. Three years of unnecessary...almost abuse, honestly (not on this forum, but if YT and GameFAQs/NeoGAF didn't exist, ugh...) is something that many of the XIII fans have had to endure. Doesn't make it very fun to be a fan any more. Like it or not, many of us actually understand why people don't like XIII. I have a few gripes with it myself. And I have a few gripes with a lot of other past FF games, but I'm not going to constantly go into forums, YT comments, whatever, and be so negative. All. The. Time.
As the naysayers might say: "it's my opinion."

Just like in Nova Crystallis, here you are stating the most balanced answer! GJ!

Well, you are aboslutely right. All this time we were hiding like rats, like it was a shame to love a game. I got really tired of this honestly and the same thing happens apparently in every forum-site whatever... Ok some hate XIII and the reasons of this fact I think have been made clear countless of times and that's entirely acceptable, but still most people continue to explain and explain and explain, like it will change anything.

I think it's really unacceptable both forcing your hate to someone who loves the saga but also being offended by someone who hates the game, just because you actually think that his comment is targeting you specifically... There is no point in such arguments, and it's better to not even reply in such behaviors. From these kind of people reactions I'm really sick... Like there is no maturity left... As Sapientia stated above "It's my opinion"...

 

[Leon Aether]

As for the abilites, I will go with Light's Army of One, Fang's Highwind and Hope's Last Resort because it reminds me of Holy and it's visuals are really awesome!

 

[Azuardo]

It's strange. I don't even dislike the games. I have negatives about just about every game I enjoy - we all do. But hey, some people will always take negative opinions as personal attacks, even though they really should be mature enough to know they aren't.

I don't really remember the full ATB attacks, except for Army of One and perhaps Highwind.

What I do remember doing is using Sazh's summon and continuously spamming his Blitz moves to smash the living crap out of those adamantoise enemies when I was farming. It felt like 30 hours when getting the Plat was actually spent farming! Quite literally just so you could create weapons and accessories that would then never be used and to get that Treasure trophy. Now, that, I didn't agree with lol.

 

[Zack]

To me, if you care enough about FFXIII you should be willing to put up with the negativity and be willing to handle the constructive criticism on the board. If other people attack the characters you like, ignore them, because you love them. I'm willing to fight for the games that I love and not feel discouraged about what other people think. There are plenty of games that I love that get blasted all the time, like Dynasty Warriors and Hyperdimension Neptunia. It's sort of part and parcel with this genre. =]

Anyway, I am about an hour from the end and my problem right now is that I am probably really underleveled. Going into the final areas (I think I'm right before some tower or something?), what level were your characters at?

 

[Azuardo]

Anyway, I am about an hour from the end and my problem right now is that I am probably really underleveled. Going into the final areas (I think I'm right before some tower or something?), what level were your characters at?

Tower...tower... Taejin's Tower? Or are you past all that?

I think I was underlevelled when I got to the final boss my first time around. Though I can't remember the levels I was. Might have ended up grinding a bit in the Steppe (there's a couple of enemies you can spam fight over and over for lots of CP - a behemoth and tiger-like beast duking it out near the cave entrance).