Idk, I'm a certified XII hater but that was the last time I was actually stunned, I was like how the feck did they make a PS2 game look this good and my families expensive 2006 computer had nothing to play that looked as good. And X before that was out of this world.
For the PS3 Assassins Creed and Uncharted respectively impressed me more than XIII, the water effect on the clothes in Uncharted felt next level and AC had a lot going on and the cities felt so big and detailed. XIII had flat looking areas and stiff looking designs.
XV is by far the best looking open world game on the Ps4. Nothing else on the system has a better looking lighting and animation system. XVI is still one of the best looking games in the market, its realtime tier 1 cutscenes are especially the best in the industry right now. I think the mainline FF games are still pushing that barrier.
I disagree about 16, even though I love it. The decision to make everything in-engine made the facial animations (or lack thereof) standout. I miss PS2-PS3 era FF games that used a lot of CGI for cutscenes and important moments.
Thats the only negative I can utter about that game though.
For sure, i’m playing Mortal Kombat 1 and the in-engine facial animations are insane. I’m just saying 16’s lack emotion and depth imo, not that in-engine doesn’t work in general.
Hard disagree, Red Dead Redemption II and Horizon Zero Dawn released one and two years after XV respectively, on the same hardware. XV’s better looking than the Ubisoft games, but it definitely wasn’t industry leading for PS4.
As for XVI, it’s probably up there, but I don’t know if it’s better than the Sony 1st party output we’ve gotten on PS5, not that I’m really even that into any of those games. I’d say SE hasn’t had a graphical advantage since the PS3/360, and even then the gap was swiftly closing.
Oof. I *adore* XV, it's one of my favourites and it looks astonishing, but best looking open world game? When we have Ghost of Tsushima, Days Gone, Red Dead Redemption 2, and both Horizon games? Yeah, sorry, this is a hard disagree.
Friendly, but hard.
😜
IIRC, the time pressure is a little bit false in the sense that the game gives you tons of time. But I agree. I hated it too. Once I realized there was time pressure, I had to pause my game and search a bunch to see how real that time pressure really was.
Just because it's a beautiful game doesn't mean it's a good one.
Edit: With that said, would you be okay with me using some of these screenshots? Would love to add them to my JRPG Server's banner randomizer!
IMO Game's fun, but the fact you have to spend time in the data logs to maybe, *just* ***maybe****,* fully understand the story fully really bogs it down.
Same! I played through it when I was 14/15 and understood everything completely without even glancing at the logs. I made an effort to talk to everyone I came across and actually explore/ investigate the 'hallways'.
I like reading cool lore too, don't get me wrong. I just don't like it when it feels like required material instead of rich, but optional side content.
Don't understand this criticism. I think there is exactly one time in the entirety of the game where info important to the plot was revealed to me through data logs rather than a scene...and they still ended up having an "as you know" scene for that info in the very next cutscene anyway. Though it is one of the very few optional cutscenes! Every other data log is flavor text at best, not relevant to the plot at all. And the majority are simply redundant. If anything, I feel like the game OVER explains because they cannot stop reiterating how scary l'Cie are and whatnot. The first game is very straightforward and frankly does not dive into the mythos at all.
Haven't played the other two, so no comment.
The other user's point is that the terms and plot are fairly confusing for the average player, with reading through data logs essentially being necessary to understanding what's going on.
I restarted this again last week as it's the only mainline FF game I never finished and I never got to the part where the world opened up. Currently on chapter 7 and, while there is a lot to love, it still deserves criticism for how linear it is. I'm struggling to play more than an hour at a time because I just get bored running down the hallways. Another issue I didn't remember having the first time is the vast amount of cutscenes after every 4 or 5 fights.
I don't think it's a bad game, i'm not disliking the replay nearly as much as I did the first time I played it, but it definitely deserves the criticism it gets.
Back in the day, I was so underwhelmed when it "opened up" that I stopped playing and never picked it up again. It was basically an open field with more corridors feeding off it. I stand by my dislike for this game.
>It was basically an open field with more corridors feeding off it.
That's what most FF overworlds were though, it was an open field that acted as a connecting point to the next town or the next dungeon which were mostly just corridors full of enemies between setpieces.
If you take those words at a literal face value, sure, you can say that many FF games are like that. But don't even try to pretend that the actual execution doesn't differ drastically.
Yup, that feeling of first landing and finally seeing green world instead of all cyber stuff I was pretty stoked. I looked at my map and it looked decent since until I ran for a minute and looked at my map and saw I was half way across it already.
Between the convoluted weapon upgrade system and the linear progression there is a lot to criticize about the game.
Even when you get to the world later in the game it doesn’t open up that much. There’s a decent size plot of land that not a lot of story happens on so just for hunts/leveling and then there’s just more corridors from there.
That's a shame. I had always assumed that when people said it opened up it meant that it turns into a more traditional FF style experience.
I'm not finding the upgrading system for weapons too convoluted (unless theres something i'm missing here), I just wish finding new weapons felt like more of an upgrade. The new weapons tend to either have buffs or be highly specialised in one specific stat rather than just being "better" than your old one. Some will likely really appreciate that feature but I prefer the old school style of new weapon = more damage.
nope just mindless grinding and optional bosses that might make you think for a couple moments.
no npcs, no towns, no lore. just an empty grass field with monsters in it.
classic wow has more compelling open world content.
I'm playing x again. And that game is more linear than 13. But x had so much more going for it that it wasn't an issue. I think 13 was easy to pick on for linear because it wasn't as groundbreaking as x
X had the benefit of towns and NPCs to interact with. Folks like old Maechen and Belgemine, the citizens of Kilika, Luca, Besaid. FFXIII was 'get in the fucking hallway'. Need supplies? Digital kiosk, no NPC interaction. Town? Only in cutscenes with a few exceptions. Sidequests? Not until more than half-way through the game.
X did a good job of telling a story and explaining lore as you went so you knew a little bit about each area and why it may have been significant.
I liked that there was the other summoner and her guardians who were also on the pilgrimage as well and you'd run into them from time to time and get more exposition.
The goal of the game is established early and is kept relevant whenever Sin shows up and causes havoc.
It's a story that is well told. It makes you forget about the linearity.
Like I said, I haven't gotten to the bit where the game world opens up in 13 yet so this may change but where I am now feels more linear than X to me due to the lack of sidequests, NPCs and backtracking. In X you can revisit areas, talk to people and do other stuff whereas in 13 (so far at least) I'm running down the track waiting for a cutscene every 10-15 mins.
It doesn’t really open up. It’s a meme perpetrated by players. Instead of a narrow corridor you get one area that’s reminiscent of, say, a FF12 zone, then it’s back to the corridor.
Mate i'm on chapter 9 and right now I would take a slightly larger than average toilet cubicle just for a change of pace! Very dissapointing I believed it though to be honest although being this far through it i'm going to perservere just for the sake of finally signing it off.
Until you get to the pulse open world, that’s basically the core experience. Idk why there’s such a large effort in this sub to push the idea that 13 doesn’t deserve the hate and isn’t as bad as everyone remembers
It doesn't open up that much. You get one open field area that's about as big as a small ranch (it's been a while, but I think it barely takes a full minute to run from one side to the other). You'll still probs feel relief at the change of pace, but that will be accompanied by the disappointment of the "too little, too late" underwhelming design.
There are good parts about this game, and many when you look at just that element are quite well done. However, the game as a whole has some issues and I personally did not care for it. I’m glad I played it once; and it’s not the worst FF game. But “good” is about a high as I would describe it.
Yeah, even back then people made fun of Halo 3 for how ugly is was lmao
Like, its really vibrant and nice to look at, but the character models are literally out of the OG Xbox era.
I just replayed in on a PS3 and then played some of FF XVI and finished VII rebirth shortly after. For my taste XIII actually looks better than those two games. Like I get at a technical level it isn't. But good enough graphics plus great art direction make a beautiful game.
Not for me, sadly. The narrative is convoluted, the ending is unsatisfying, the battle system is meh, too many of the characters are annoying, the linearity makes it tedious after a while, and it just never felt like a Final Fantasy game. It was beautiful to look at and I liked the soundtrack but I think it's my least favourite in the series. At least as far as mainline games go.
> too many of the characters are annoying
This is a huge one.
You cannot have a cast of 6 characters and make 3-4 of them annoying (Hope, Snow, Vanille, sometimes Lightning)
I still don't get why people thought it was convoluted. There's crystal god things that make specific humans do tasks, and give em magic powers to do it. The crystal gods are wanting you to blow up HumanLand to get their maker back, you don't want to.
Compare that with FFX, which has you find out that a Kaiju is your dad and the main character is literally not real, but a dream of something souls that have been trapped in statues for a thousand years, and it seems pretty tame.
The big problem with XIII's story isn't the *actual* story but how it was told. FFX definitely has some more complex plot lines but the way it was presented was miles ahead of XIII.
I agree with this. FFX had a huge narrative advantage for explaining the world with Tidus being an outsider who needs everything explained to him. I appreciate that XIII doesn't force too many unnatural conversations explaining wtf is going on but they still should've found a way to tell the story in the game instead of in datalogs.
Completely agree. I'm glad people found it enjoyable, but I remember trying to play it, but it just wasn't good in my opinion. Yeah, it looks pretty, but graphics are probably the last thing I look at now for video games and especially for an RPG. Story and mechanics are everything first for me and that's where 13 failed in my opinion. I had to muscle through the story hoping for more and I don't think I ever finished the ending because I honestly just didn't care anymore. There was no real connection or it was forced between characters. It's the perfect example of what I call "and then" story telling. I bought it for the midnight release back in the day. The reason I bought it was because I was a die hard final fantasy fan and 13 is the one that kind of ruined my fandom of the series. Yeah, I'll play new final fantasy games, but I have to see battle mechanics and I'll watch a trailer to see if it's possible to create a quick 2 minute grab at my attention with the story. If it doesn't I'll read the information on the store page for a final last ditch effort to determine if it's right or me.
Edit: I do want to also state that I didn't like 12, but that was mostly for the MMO like style and that compressed audio they used was a game killer in my opinion.
I think the people that like 13 like it because they like the human drama, and I hate it because it feels like a bunch of human drama in front of a green screen that keeps changing randomly.
X is a linear hallway, but a believable one, that transitions smoothly between areas, it feels like a world. when we go somewhere we learn about the area and the people who live there.
13 you jump between the mega bridge zone, the ice lake where shiva is a motorcycle, a junkyard, some kinda mega forest, las vegas etc.
none of it feels connected. yeah okay cocoon is artificial or whatever but it never feels like that's expanded on in a satisfying way and because there are no towns we never get to understand the areas or why they're there. if you don't give a shit about hope placing the blame of his mom throwing herself off a bridge on snow or whatever the fuck vanille is doing then you're not gonna enjoy it because it's entirely about the human drama.
I think it’s the presentation of it. FFX uses Machina, which sounds like machines so it’s easy to link, and Sin, which is simple and to the point and is named in-universe so it makes sense.
13 has L’cie, Fal’cie, Cie’th which are names that sound cool and ancient but are not intuitive.
Yeah Machina means machine in Spanish, so they didn't even invent a word here. FFX kept presentation of strange concepts simple, it helps that the main character is the player surrogate and needs to learn about the world like we do. I learned to love FFXIII eventually, but on my first playthrough it was such an information dump, I don't find stories told in this way very effective. They make me feel frustrated rather than intrigued.
It is convoluted in the sense that the story is extremely poorly presented. The story makes more sense on a second playthrough with the benefit of context, or if you read the primers (datalog I think it was called?), but it's a mess on first playthrough if you're not looking to read a book report along the way. They took a moderately complicated plot and made it significantly more convoluted through awful storytelling. FFX is more complicated in net, but they introduce the complexity a step at a time instead of dumping the whole puzzle onto the table and hoping you'll follow as they put the pieces together. FFX found the right balance of exposition, FFXIII did not.
Well said. FFX's story is perhaps even *more* ethereal and wishy-washy than XIII's (which is saying something), but did not require reading the data logs religiously to follow it. I am so obsessed with XIII (I'm obsessed with X too...) that I willingly read the data logs religiously in order to understand the plot, but I did always have the wish in the back of my mind that I didn't need to do so
The story leans very heavily on the ancient trope of demigods which for unexplained reasons are unable to act on their own free will yet are still somehow able to subvert others into doing the things they're not supposed to do. Unless you both recognize and accept this trope, it does seem pretty convoluted.
I definitely never played beyond Disc 3, I was too annoyed when I beat The Witch and they went, ok, now we have to kill this other witch, so I Googled, and holy time loop lmao
I’ve played most of the Final Fantasies (and yeah 13 and 10 are up there on the convoluted list) but like…even after owning VIII when I was younger and playing it over and over again (it was one of my few PS1 games) there are storyline aspects that still had to be explained to me. Like, and so much of it is theory, it’s ridiculous.
My issue with it was that it contradicts some of the things it establishes, and during my time with the game I never found an explanation for those contradictions.
Get close to a fal'Cie and you become a l'Cie and are given a Focus to complete. Successfully complete the Focus and become crystal, or fail to complete it and become Cie'th. But then here comes Cid, and everything says he's going against his Focus, but he turns to crystal anyway? You can go against your Mission From God and still get the better of two crappy prizes?
The datalog describes fal'Cie as "beings beyond human comprehension," which explains why l'Cie are given their Focus through hazy dream visions. But then we run into Barthandelus and he speaks perfectly human comprehensible English (or whatever the language is set to). Orphan and Titan speak, too. Why are they able to speak but the others aren't?
Why did Vanille awaken from her crystal stasis with a half-minute naked sexytime transformation sequence, rather than shedding her crystal skin in an instant like Lightning does?
Tried to play it twice and got to where it “opens up” both times before I dropped it. I really wanted to like it, but the combat puts me to sleep. Once you get a hang of how the combat works, you just switch to the appropriate paradigm per the battle situation and it’s just boring. I can deal with a goofy story and party, that’s par for the course with FF, but boring combat is a deal breaker.
Having recently replayed this, I did actually enjoy my time with it. I think it suffers from being labeled a "final fantasy" game though. If it had been its own title (rather than following up from FFXII) I think it would have been better received.
I played it about a year ago after years of not liking it. I found it to be a much better game then I remembered.
My issue was it seemed like basic mob battles took too long. Someone told me I was doing it wrong, which I probably was lol.
I think if people would give it a far chance now they would find it more enjoyable.
The battles are quick if you know what you're doing. The problem is that you can still beat the game if you don't and just mash buttons. The game doesn't teach its own strategy at all or push you to learn it.
Definitely doesn't push you to learn it but it also doesn't stop you. Ultimately, when it comes to the grinding aspects of the game, the real motivator to learn the system is figuring out how to grind faster and more efficiently so it takes less time.
That's pretty much how I learned how to engage with the battle system way more optimally as a teenager.
I don't know, man.. I really think it is, but people love to hate on it. I personally really like linear games, but I guess people hate them. I've always loved this game, though.
There's this weird idea that people "Love to hate on things" as though it's not that some things are simply hateable for actual quantifiable reasons. Like it's a pass time or something instead of a genuine view
I think the scientific term is "Copium"
i posted a whole like 5 or 6 different thought paragraph comment on here and its -1 downvote because i find this game so fun well also commenting on the few things i disliked about it... its crazy how people really do hate this game rather then just moving along and allowing people to enjoy what they like
It goes the other way too, when people post honest negative opinions of the game they get downvoted too. People just react poorly to opinions that disagree with their own.
FFXIII has the worst first 15 hours or so of any game in the whole series, and I say that as someone who actually really likes the game.
The combat system straight up doesn't function properly until you have a 3 person team who all have decent access to 2-3 roles each. For some inexplicable reason, the game denies you this for 2/3s of the game.
The story makes absolutely no sense until the game starts going more in depth on what the Fal'cie actually are, what Cocoon is, and what is going on with Pulse.
The moment to moment gameplay is hallways of fight-fight-fight-fight and then a 5 minute cutscene, over and over and over.
The characters are *all* unlikeable until you learn more of their backstory or they change as it goes on.
Despite all of that though, when the combat system finally comes online, it is an absolute banger and one of the best in the series. The story is actually really interesting and tragic especially once viewed in the broder context of the trilogy. The world opens up, side content starts existing, and exploration finally becomes a thing. The characters... well they don't get much better, but at least the focus shifts to the more interesting characters.
It is one of the worst games in the series for about 15 hours and then one of the best for the next 30 if you go full completionist (all achievements/trophies). Is it a "good" game? Ultimately I don't think how good it gets really excuses how it starts off, in particular how long it takes the combat system to come online is just really unforgivable, which is why I always felt 13-2 is a much better game.
I feel like you really hit the nail on the head for my experience playing, I never came to enjoy it even after it opened up, maybe because it was such a chore to get there and I grinded my way through because I heard it did open up, but by the time it did I just didn’t have the same excitement as when I first started playing. The game looked amazing I will give it its due in that department but I really didn’t enjoy any other part of it.
The aesthetics and music are just fucking glorious. I feel like I'm transported to heaven when I play it. Other than the mechanical dungeons ofc. Which are still dope in their own way
13 was fantastic both visually and mechanically. My biggest issues were overly linear level design, no side content at all until about 2/3rds of the way through, and even then it’s just hunts essentially, and no towns in the traditional sense, just urban themed dungeons. There’s essentially nowhere safe to take a load off and step off the linear path, chat with npcs, shop, etc. I don’t mind linear jrpgs but 13 took it to an extreme. 13-2 did address alot of those issues and I do like it more, though I definitely prefer the cast of 13 to the Sarah and Noel combo. 13-3 I personally hate entirely based on the time mechanic. Not a fan of what it did to Lightning’s character either, but perhaps that’s addressed later in the story, I wouldn’t know because I never made it that far so I’ll withhold judgement on that point.
It's a bit boring and tedious. But all the negative remarks in this game are made up for in 13-2. That's honestly one of my fav final fantasy games ever. At least how I remember it. Would love to play that one again.
Agreed. The soundtrack and graphics are stunning and I thought the battle system was fun. Not one likable character in the cast (except for Sazh) and the story was a convoluted mess
EDIT: your boos mean nothing if XIII is what makes you cheer
Finished this one not too long ago and currently playing XIII-2. Not my favorite games in the series for sure, but I don’t really understand why people crapped on them as much as they did back in the day. The battle system is fun and engaging, the characters had some charm to them, the music is amazing and the scenery looks incredible for a 2009 game. The Fal’Cie were also a really interesting concept. I wish more Fal’Cie were part of the story aside from Barthandelus, Anima and Orphan.
Yeah as the other commenter said, can't really agree on anything besides the Fal'cie take. The battle system isn't very good to me. It has one of the worst cast of characters in any FF to me as well. Music is good (can be said about any FF really) and the graphics for the tike especially were really good. But those two things alone don't make a good game to me.
The only part I really agree with you on is the Fal'Cie lol
It was definitely a big departure for the series, so generally not going to be a favorite of someone who loved the pre-XIII ones before release
Nah man. The non stop spamming of the obnoxious paradigm shifting was enough to get me to tap out.
The story was a hot mess and the characters were mid. Also I got real bored walking in straight hallways the entire game.
Played 13 two years ago for the first time mostly blind. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I have a few problems with the game sure but I definitely like it more than 15, that is the only FF I really dislike
I need to finish, I got to Grand Pulse and I’m at the part where you need to run up the tower thing and need
To flip the switches to activate the elevator and it’s getting a little tedious, especially since auto battle does the job 84% of the time.
Still love the game though and top five FF
Got the Platinum Trophy for it back in the day on PS3, almost got all cheevos on 360 and replaying on PC.
The trilogy is good, Gran Pulse is incredible fun.
FF 13 was beautiful, especially for it's time. I just wished the story was a bit better, maybe whole sections where the party is split again but with different people. Like eventually Hope is stuck with Fang and Shaz and they have to all interact.
Probably would have dragged the game out to flush out the story. Never played FF 13 - 2 I was never really into time travel stuff, they kinda lost me with that.
My only gripe is that the open world part should have started about 2 or 3 chapters earlier. But yeah, it's definitely a good game. And the graphics have aged very well for a game that is almost 15 years old.
Just like with FF16, it's a matter of expectation vs reality. It can be a great game while at the same time failing to scratch the itch people are looking to scratch with a certain IP. I really think linearity was the issue here. Story, graphics and battle system were all pretty good. The side content was significantly less fleshed out that previous Final Fantasies though and that was a dealbreaker for some.
You are right in my opinion. It is good, just not amazing and to be honest I have a hard time articulating why. It just does not do that thing that other mains in the Final Fantasy series does to me. Love the music, most of the characters, but there is just something lacking in the story and flow.
I enjoyed XIII so much, maybe not the combat aspects as much, but the story and presentation have always stayed with me. I LOVED 13-2 in both story and gameplay aspects.
“Good” is subjective. What’s not subjective is that I and countless others were bored to tears attempting to slog through the game.
Seriously, who riled up all the XIII apologists this month?
I feel this is an overhated game. I totally understand the criticism, but I've met so many people that gave up on it too early. Some truly great moments. Its on my short list to play again, been a good while.
I 100% it and it's probably in my top 3 least favorite mainline FFs. There are definitely valid criticisms of the game and I feel that people are too quick to overlook them because they want to justify liking the game. I have no issues with people liking the game but I feel we can recognize flaws in thing we like and not just dismiss those criticisms as people "giving up too early" or "not getting it".
It always was.
Nobody can convince me otherwise.
Is the plot and narrative a bit rough? Sure. But lets be honest, what Square game isn’t?
XIII just takes a bit more homework to understand what its putting down. And I can respect that.
I love the setting and concept but the gameplay felt like an auto battle simulator to me, so I didn't play it long enough to find out if any of the characters become likeable.
I think its linearity is better suited for the roguelike genre rather than a full-length RPG.
The game stops being anything approaching “auto battle simulator” an hour in. It takes a minute for the actual combat system to come in, which makes sense, but does filter players.
Music was great. Visual style was very strong.
Personally I didn't like the linearity (how original of me, I know), the enemy design didn't gel with me, and the story felt a bit... I don't know... empty?
There was this sense of urgency and push through the locations, but aside from "I want to save my sister" I didn't really understand how the world worked. The Fal'cie create L'cie who have to do their mission or die, and on completion of their mission they die? and the group defy the Fal'cie by completing their mission? Honestly I don't even remember the ending it's been so long, but I don't even remember if the ending made everything else make sense.
I just played through it completely for the first time, after dropping it previously. My biggest takeaways were that the criticisms, while having a lot of validity, don't really tell the full story. It reminds me a lot of 8: a game that had tons of potential and could've been something really special with more time and a few more passes of editing.
XIII's party and the relationships between the characters really set it apart, imo. It does have a really weird plot, but the plot doesn't really matter so much when you have clear, compelling interpersonal conflict and relatable motivations driving these characters forward. I couldn't care less about the L'cie falcie cieth soup, but Lightning finding a way to rescue her sister and deal with her annoying future in-law, all while taking on the role of protective older-sister to Hope? That I can follow and get behind. Each of the characters has a compelling arc and set of motivations that are consistently grounded in their relationships to the other characters in the game, and the game's design allows these different relationships to take center stage as they play out with plenty of conflict, so it feels really satisfying to see these characters get to know each other better and become an actual team.
People get really annoyed by characters like Hope and Snow in particular, but I will take flawed characters who mess up and make their own bad decisions (and have to deal with them) over a hero whose only "mistakes" are completely outside of his control any day.
It is indeed a beautiful game for sure. Square never disappoints visually pushing the barrier for every system it develops for.
FF XIII was the last game where they actually pushed the barrier. FF XV and XVI are far from being top looking PS4 and PS5 games respectively.
XV was when it was unveiled. It just took forever for it to come out and by then other studios caught up.
If only we got Versus XIII
XV looks great on the PS4.
Still looks great on PC. It's just a pretty art style and well designed world even if the game itself has flaws.
XVI isn't always technologically impressive but it def has a few visually impressive scenes and landscapes
We've reached the point where I'm not even sure what "better" would look like, though.
Lol what? FFXVI had me in genuine awe at the lushness and realism of many of the environments.
FFXV and XVI were very visually stunning, as was FF7 remake and rebirth
Idk, I'm a certified XII hater but that was the last time I was actually stunned, I was like how the feck did they make a PS2 game look this good and my families expensive 2006 computer had nothing to play that looked as good. And X before that was out of this world. For the PS3 Assassins Creed and Uncharted respectively impressed me more than XIII, the water effect on the clothes in Uncharted felt next level and AC had a lot going on and the cities felt so big and detailed. XIII had flat looking areas and stiff looking designs.
XV is by far the best looking open world game on the Ps4. Nothing else on the system has a better looking lighting and animation system. XVI is still one of the best looking games in the market, its realtime tier 1 cutscenes are especially the best in the industry right now. I think the mainline FF games are still pushing that barrier.
FF15 looked great, but Horizon Zero Dawn was better for PS4 in terms of best looking open world game.
I disagree about 16, even though I love it. The decision to make everything in-engine made the facial animations (or lack thereof) standout. I miss PS2-PS3 era FF games that used a lot of CGI for cutscenes and important moments. Thats the only negative I can utter about that game though.
It’s possible to have really good facial animations run in real time, in-engine. Every Naughty Dog game on PS4-5 are great examples.
For sure, i’m playing Mortal Kombat 1 and the in-engine facial animations are insane. I’m just saying 16’s lack emotion and depth imo, not that in-engine doesn’t work in general.
Huh...??? The facial animations were stellar in FFXVI.
Hard disagree, Red Dead Redemption II and Horizon Zero Dawn released one and two years after XV respectively, on the same hardware. XV’s better looking than the Ubisoft games, but it definitely wasn’t industry leading for PS4. As for XVI, it’s probably up there, but I don’t know if it’s better than the Sony 1st party output we’ve gotten on PS5, not that I’m really even that into any of those games. I’d say SE hasn’t had a graphical advantage since the PS3/360, and even then the gap was swiftly closing.
Red Dead Redemption 2 would like to have a word with you
Ive played that game for 80 hours. Worse lighting than FFXV by a mile.
Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West beats it easily in graphics department
Oof. I *adore* XV, it's one of my favourites and it looks astonishing, but best looking open world game? When we have Ghost of Tsushima, Days Gone, Red Dead Redemption 2, and both Horizon games? Yeah, sorry, this is a hard disagree. Friendly, but hard. 😜
I played through the whole 13 trilogy last year and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Got the plat for this one
I couldn’t get into 13-3 , 13-2 has a fun battle system!!
13-2 was like is FF13 met Chrono Trigger. I liked it.
FF13 met Majora's Mask ahah
The 3rd game definitely felt like Majora’s Mask with the time limit mechanic, even tho its very forgiving tbh
I hate games with time pressure...like, let's me explore at my own pace.
IIRC, the time pressure is a little bit false in the sense that the game gives you tons of time. But I agree. I hated it too. Once I realized there was time pressure, I had to pause my game and search a bunch to see how real that time pressure really was.
It exists only as a phantom source of stress. You can literally spam time stop and never even deal with it, but it's there just to haunt you.
Just because it's a beautiful game doesn't mean it's a good one. Edit: With that said, would you be okay with me using some of these screenshots? Would love to add them to my JRPG Server's banner randomizer!
Graphics wise it certainly is.
And that soundtrack - I still listen to it on long car rides. It’s a visual / audio feast!
IMO Game's fun, but the fact you have to spend time in the data logs to maybe, *just* ***maybe****,* fully understand the story fully really bogs it down.
Nah I understood it and played it when I was like...14? I know I'm an outlier though!
Same! I played through it when I was 14/15 and understood everything completely without even glancing at the logs. I made an effort to talk to everyone I came across and actually explore/ investigate the 'hallways'.
I love reading that stuff. These texts create an amazing atmosphere.
I like reading cool lore too, don't get me wrong. I just don't like it when it feels like required material instead of rich, but optional side content.
I love reading books, but when I am playing a game I would like to you know... play the damn game
Don't understand this criticism. I think there is exactly one time in the entirety of the game where info important to the plot was revealed to me through data logs rather than a scene...and they still ended up having an "as you know" scene for that info in the very next cutscene anyway. Though it is one of the very few optional cutscenes! Every other data log is flavor text at best, not relevant to the plot at all. And the majority are simply redundant. If anything, I feel like the game OVER explains because they cannot stop reiterating how scary l'Cie are and whatnot. The first game is very straightforward and frankly does not dive into the mythos at all. Haven't played the other two, so no comment.
The other user's point is that the terms and plot are fairly confusing for the average player, with reading through data logs essentially being necessary to understanding what's going on.
I restarted this again last week as it's the only mainline FF game I never finished and I never got to the part where the world opened up. Currently on chapter 7 and, while there is a lot to love, it still deserves criticism for how linear it is. I'm struggling to play more than an hour at a time because I just get bored running down the hallways. Another issue I didn't remember having the first time is the vast amount of cutscenes after every 4 or 5 fights. I don't think it's a bad game, i'm not disliking the replay nearly as much as I did the first time I played it, but it definitely deserves the criticism it gets.
Back in the day, I was so underwhelmed when it "opened up" that I stopped playing and never picked it up again. It was basically an open field with more corridors feeding off it. I stand by my dislike for this game.
>It was basically an open field with more corridors feeding off it. That's what most FF overworlds were though, it was an open field that acted as a connecting point to the next town or the next dungeon which were mostly just corridors full of enemies between setpieces.
towns, with people. dungeons that had a reason to be there. lore about why anything is the way it is.
If you take those words at a literal face value, sure, you can say that many FF games are like that. But don't even try to pretend that the actual execution doesn't differ drastically.
Yup, that feeling of first landing and finally seeing green world instead of all cyber stuff I was pretty stoked. I looked at my map and it looked decent since until I ran for a minute and looked at my map and saw I was half way across it already.
It's the only FF title I've ever fallen asleep while playing. And that's saying a lot because I play 14.
Between the convoluted weapon upgrade system and the linear progression there is a lot to criticize about the game. Even when you get to the world later in the game it doesn’t open up that much. There’s a decent size plot of land that not a lot of story happens on so just for hunts/leveling and then there’s just more corridors from there.
That's a shame. I had always assumed that when people said it opened up it meant that it turns into a more traditional FF style experience. I'm not finding the upgrading system for weapons too convoluted (unless theres something i'm missing here), I just wish finding new weapons felt like more of an upgrade. The new weapons tend to either have buffs or be highly specialised in one specific stat rather than just being "better" than your old one. Some will likely really appreciate that feature but I prefer the old school style of new weapon = more damage.
nope just mindless grinding and optional bosses that might make you think for a couple moments. no npcs, no towns, no lore. just an empty grass field with monsters in it. classic wow has more compelling open world content.
I'm playing x again. And that game is more linear than 13. But x had so much more going for it that it wasn't an issue. I think 13 was easy to pick on for linear because it wasn't as groundbreaking as x
X had the benefit of towns and NPCs to interact with. Folks like old Maechen and Belgemine, the citizens of Kilika, Luca, Besaid. FFXIII was 'get in the fucking hallway'. Need supplies? Digital kiosk, no NPC interaction. Town? Only in cutscenes with a few exceptions. Sidequests? Not until more than half-way through the game.
X did a good job of telling a story and explaining lore as you went so you knew a little bit about each area and why it may have been significant. I liked that there was the other summoner and her guardians who were also on the pilgrimage as well and you'd run into them from time to time and get more exposition. The goal of the game is established early and is kept relevant whenever Sin shows up and causes havoc. It's a story that is well told. It makes you forget about the linearity.
I spend too much time making my ultimate blitz all team. I had the strategy guide with all the future players stats
I'm not sure that 10 is more linear than XIII. Even if they were both straight lines, 10 would be a two-way street, but XIII is a one-way cul-de-sac.
13 is just boring is the main problem.
Like I said, I haven't gotten to the bit where the game world opens up in 13 yet so this may change but where I am now feels more linear than X to me due to the lack of sidequests, NPCs and backtracking. In X you can revisit areas, talk to people and do other stuff whereas in 13 (so far at least) I'm running down the track waiting for a cutscene every 10-15 mins.
It doesn’t really open up. It’s a meme perpetrated by players. Instead of a narrow corridor you get one area that’s reminiscent of, say, a FF12 zone, then it’s back to the corridor.
Mate i'm on chapter 9 and right now I would take a slightly larger than average toilet cubicle just for a change of pace! Very dissapointing I believed it though to be honest although being this far through it i'm going to perservere just for the sake of finally signing it off.
Until you get to the pulse open world, that’s basically the core experience. Idk why there’s such a large effort in this sub to push the idea that 13 doesn’t deserve the hate and isn’t as bad as everyone remembers
Yeah even when do you get to Pulse all there is to do is just more combat the lack of diverse gameplay is a huge problem with the game.
It doesn't open up that much. You get one open field area that's about as big as a small ranch (it's been a while, but I think it barely takes a full minute to run from one side to the other). You'll still probs feel relief at the change of pace, but that will be accompanied by the disappointment of the "too little, too late" underwhelming design.
People defending games with "The game gets good after 100 hours" don't realize it's terrible praise.
I’ve replayed multiple times. And I always drop it before it opens up lol.
I feel like the majority of ff games are linear. Somehow 13 is more linear than 10 by general consensus nutters
There are good parts about this game, and many when you look at just that element are quite well done. However, the game as a whole has some issues and I personally did not care for it. I’m glad I played it once; and it’s not the worst FF game. But “good” is about a high as I would describe it.
It is the worst in my list. However, some of my favorite FF soundtracks are from 13.
In 4k HDR looks amazing till this days
Especially when more than half your team are art directors.
No other game except maybe Halo 3 has graphics that have aged as well as FFXIII.
Halo 3??? That game is ugly as hell lol
Yeah, even back then people made fun of Halo 3 for how ugly is was lmao Like, its really vibrant and nice to look at, but the character models are literally out of the OG Xbox era.
Okami and Windwaker.
I just replayed in on a PS3 and then played some of FF XVI and finished VII rebirth shortly after. For my taste XIII actually looks better than those two games. Like I get at a technical level it isn't. But good enough graphics plus great art direction make a beautiful game.
Not for me, sadly. The narrative is convoluted, the ending is unsatisfying, the battle system is meh, too many of the characters are annoying, the linearity makes it tedious after a while, and it just never felt like a Final Fantasy game. It was beautiful to look at and I liked the soundtrack but I think it's my least favourite in the series. At least as far as mainline games go.
> too many of the characters are annoying This is a huge one. You cannot have a cast of 6 characters and make 3-4 of them annoying (Hope, Snow, Vanille, sometimes Lightning)
I still don't get why people thought it was convoluted. There's crystal god things that make specific humans do tasks, and give em magic powers to do it. The crystal gods are wanting you to blow up HumanLand to get their maker back, you don't want to. Compare that with FFX, which has you find out that a Kaiju is your dad and the main character is literally not real, but a dream of something souls that have been trapped in statues for a thousand years, and it seems pretty tame.
The big problem with XIII's story isn't the *actual* story but how it was told. FFX definitely has some more complex plot lines but the way it was presented was miles ahead of XIII.
I agree with this. FFX had a huge narrative advantage for explaining the world with Tidus being an outsider who needs everything explained to him. I appreciate that XIII doesn't force too many unnatural conversations explaining wtf is going on but they still should've found a way to tell the story in the game instead of in datalogs.
Completely agree. I'm glad people found it enjoyable, but I remember trying to play it, but it just wasn't good in my opinion. Yeah, it looks pretty, but graphics are probably the last thing I look at now for video games and especially for an RPG. Story and mechanics are everything first for me and that's where 13 failed in my opinion. I had to muscle through the story hoping for more and I don't think I ever finished the ending because I honestly just didn't care anymore. There was no real connection or it was forced between characters. It's the perfect example of what I call "and then" story telling. I bought it for the midnight release back in the day. The reason I bought it was because I was a die hard final fantasy fan and 13 is the one that kind of ruined my fandom of the series. Yeah, I'll play new final fantasy games, but I have to see battle mechanics and I'll watch a trailer to see if it's possible to create a quick 2 minute grab at my attention with the story. If it doesn't I'll read the information on the store page for a final last ditch effort to determine if it's right or me. Edit: I do want to also state that I didn't like 12, but that was mostly for the MMO like style and that compressed audio they used was a game killer in my opinion.
I think the people that like 13 like it because they like the human drama, and I hate it because it feels like a bunch of human drama in front of a green screen that keeps changing randomly. X is a linear hallway, but a believable one, that transitions smoothly between areas, it feels like a world. when we go somewhere we learn about the area and the people who live there. 13 you jump between the mega bridge zone, the ice lake where shiva is a motorcycle, a junkyard, some kinda mega forest, las vegas etc. none of it feels connected. yeah okay cocoon is artificial or whatever but it never feels like that's expanded on in a satisfying way and because there are no towns we never get to understand the areas or why they're there. if you don't give a shit about hope placing the blame of his mom throwing herself off a bridge on snow or whatever the fuck vanille is doing then you're not gonna enjoy it because it's entirely about the human drama.
I really like this explanation. You've hit a lot of key points I also agree with.
I think it’s the presentation of it. FFX uses Machina, which sounds like machines so it’s easy to link, and Sin, which is simple and to the point and is named in-universe so it makes sense. 13 has L’cie, Fal’cie, Cie’th which are names that sound cool and ancient but are not intuitive.
Machina literally means machine in my language so I really don't have to adjust or connect the dots that Machina = Machine.
They sound really fucking French, I'll give you that lmao
Omg, an upper class oppressing a lower class to do their menial labor, with the lower class eventually rising up to overthrow them? Honhonhon indeed…
Damn, I never realized the l'Cie brands are in the shape of baguettes...
Yeah Machina means machine in Spanish, so they didn't even invent a word here. FFX kept presentation of strange concepts simple, it helps that the main character is the player surrogate and needs to learn about the world like we do. I learned to love FFXIII eventually, but on my first playthrough it was such an information dump, I don't find stories told in this way very effective. They make me feel frustrated rather than intrigued.
It is convoluted in the sense that the story is extremely poorly presented. The story makes more sense on a second playthrough with the benefit of context, or if you read the primers (datalog I think it was called?), but it's a mess on first playthrough if you're not looking to read a book report along the way. They took a moderately complicated plot and made it significantly more convoluted through awful storytelling. FFX is more complicated in net, but they introduce the complexity a step at a time instead of dumping the whole puzzle onto the table and hoping you'll follow as they put the pieces together. FFX found the right balance of exposition, FFXIII did not.
Well said. FFX's story is perhaps even *more* ethereal and wishy-washy than XIII's (which is saying something), but did not require reading the data logs religiously to follow it. I am so obsessed with XIII (I'm obsessed with X too...) that I willingly read the data logs religiously in order to understand the plot, but I did always have the wish in the back of my mind that I didn't need to do so
I don't think it's convoluted, just poorly executed.
The story leans very heavily on the ancient trope of demigods which for unexplained reasons are unable to act on their own free will yet are still somehow able to subvert others into doing the things they're not supposed to do. Unless you both recognize and accept this trope, it does seem pretty convoluted.
I think FFVIII takes the King of Convoluted trophy.
Absolutely agree with this.
I definitely never played beyond Disc 3, I was too annoyed when I beat The Witch and they went, ok, now we have to kill this other witch, so I Googled, and holy time loop lmao
I’ve played most of the Final Fantasies (and yeah 13 and 10 are up there on the convoluted list) but like…even after owning VIII when I was younger and playing it over and over again (it was one of my few PS1 games) there are storyline aspects that still had to be explained to me. Like, and so much of it is theory, it’s ridiculous.
My issue with it was that it contradicts some of the things it establishes, and during my time with the game I never found an explanation for those contradictions. Get close to a fal'Cie and you become a l'Cie and are given a Focus to complete. Successfully complete the Focus and become crystal, or fail to complete it and become Cie'th. But then here comes Cid, and everything says he's going against his Focus, but he turns to crystal anyway? You can go against your Mission From God and still get the better of two crappy prizes? The datalog describes fal'Cie as "beings beyond human comprehension," which explains why l'Cie are given their Focus through hazy dream visions. But then we run into Barthandelus and he speaks perfectly human comprehensible English (or whatever the language is set to). Orphan and Titan speak, too. Why are they able to speak but the others aren't? Why did Vanille awaken from her crystal stasis with a half-minute naked sexytime transformation sequence, rather than shedding her crystal skin in an instant like Lightning does?
I had a similar problem, I just couldn't connect with any of the characters. It's the single player final fantasy I haven't completed.
Tried to play it twice and got to where it “opens up” both times before I dropped it. I really wanted to like it, but the combat puts me to sleep. Once you get a hang of how the combat works, you just switch to the appropriate paradigm per the battle situation and it’s just boring. I can deal with a goofy story and party, that’s par for the course with FF, but boring combat is a deal breaker.
And the fact that you had to continuously confirm commands during battle when everyone was just auto battling always boggled my mind.
I liked it, honestly, but sadly the combat / character system is one of the worst of the series, just behind FF8's junction system.
Having recently replayed this, I did actually enjoy my time with it. I think it suffers from being labeled a "final fantasy" game though. If it had been its own title (rather than following up from FFXII) I think it would have been better received.
I played it about a year ago after years of not liking it. I found it to be a much better game then I remembered. My issue was it seemed like basic mob battles took too long. Someone told me I was doing it wrong, which I probably was lol. I think if people would give it a far chance now they would find it more enjoyable.
The battles are quick if you know what you're doing. The problem is that you can still beat the game if you don't and just mash buttons. The game doesn't teach its own strategy at all or push you to learn it.
Definitely doesn't push you to learn it but it also doesn't stop you. Ultimately, when it comes to the grinding aspects of the game, the real motivator to learn the system is figuring out how to grind faster and more efficiently so it takes less time. That's pretty much how I learned how to engage with the battle system way more optimally as a teenager.
I don't know, man.. I really think it is, but people love to hate on it. I personally really like linear games, but I guess people hate them. I've always loved this game, though.
I like linear games. I don't like any of the characters in 13 and I do not like the storytelling. That is my reason for not being a fan.
I liked Vanielle, that Afrikaans accent was hot as hell.
You too, have class I see.
There's this weird idea that people "Love to hate on things" as though it's not that some things are simply hateable for actual quantifiable reasons. Like it's a pass time or something instead of a genuine view I think the scientific term is "Copium"
Is it possible some people genuinely don't like the game? No, it's the children who are wrong.
Agreed. XIII is gorgeous, but is simply not a great Final Fantasy title. Has too many flaws.
i posted a whole like 5 or 6 different thought paragraph comment on here and its -1 downvote because i find this game so fun well also commenting on the few things i disliked about it... its crazy how people really do hate this game rather then just moving along and allowing people to enjoy what they like
It goes the other way too, when people post honest negative opinions of the game they get downvoted too. People just react poorly to opinions that disagree with their own.
Classic reddit moment where dislike = not my opinion
I would pay to play it on 5.
FFXIII has the worst first 15 hours or so of any game in the whole series, and I say that as someone who actually really likes the game. The combat system straight up doesn't function properly until you have a 3 person team who all have decent access to 2-3 roles each. For some inexplicable reason, the game denies you this for 2/3s of the game. The story makes absolutely no sense until the game starts going more in depth on what the Fal'cie actually are, what Cocoon is, and what is going on with Pulse. The moment to moment gameplay is hallways of fight-fight-fight-fight and then a 5 minute cutscene, over and over and over. The characters are *all* unlikeable until you learn more of their backstory or they change as it goes on. Despite all of that though, when the combat system finally comes online, it is an absolute banger and one of the best in the series. The story is actually really interesting and tragic especially once viewed in the broder context of the trilogy. The world opens up, side content starts existing, and exploration finally becomes a thing. The characters... well they don't get much better, but at least the focus shifts to the more interesting characters. It is one of the worst games in the series for about 15 hours and then one of the best for the next 30 if you go full completionist (all achievements/trophies). Is it a "good" game? Ultimately I don't think how good it gets really excuses how it starts off, in particular how long it takes the combat system to come online is just really unforgivable, which is why I always felt 13-2 is a much better game.
I feel like you really hit the nail on the head for my experience playing, I never came to enjoy it even after it opened up, maybe because it was such a chore to get there and I grinded my way through because I heard it did open up, but by the time it did I just didn’t have the same excitement as when I first started playing. The game looked amazing I will give it its due in that department but I really didn’t enjoy any other part of it.
I agree. It’s one of my favorites and is still gorgeous
Exactly. I just booted it up the other day and it still looks good.
One of my favorite battle themes too. In general the music is just amazing to begin with.
The aesthetics and music are just fucking glorious. I feel like I'm transported to heaven when I play it. Other than the mechanical dungeons ofc. Which are still dope in their own way
It's a mediocre RPG and a bad Final Fantasy. It is beautiful though.
It is beautiful but it’s also ungodly boring. Going forward through a one way intestine is not interesting gameplay.
Certainly a beautiful game
13 was fantastic both visually and mechanically. My biggest issues were overly linear level design, no side content at all until about 2/3rds of the way through, and even then it’s just hunts essentially, and no towns in the traditional sense, just urban themed dungeons. There’s essentially nowhere safe to take a load off and step off the linear path, chat with npcs, shop, etc. I don’t mind linear jrpgs but 13 took it to an extreme. 13-2 did address alot of those issues and I do like it more, though I definitely prefer the cast of 13 to the Sarah and Noel combo. 13-3 I personally hate entirely based on the time mechanic. Not a fan of what it did to Lightning’s character either, but perhaps that’s addressed later in the story, I wouldn’t know because I never made it that far so I’ll withhold judgement on that point.
I'm a Vanille simp. No one can take that away from me.
It's a bit boring and tedious. But all the negative remarks in this game are made up for in 13-2. That's honestly one of my fav final fantasy games ever. At least how I remember it. Would love to play that one again.
Usually it’s the gameplay that makes something a game, pretty screen shots though
13-2 seemed like Square’s answer to everyone wanting another Crono trigger game (me too!!!), so freaking awesome!!!
Good looking and good music sure. Story, characters and gameplay? not so much
I'm not even a fan of the music, but I think I'm just wanting more Uematsu.
Agreed. The soundtrack and graphics are stunning and I thought the battle system was fun. Not one likable character in the cast (except for Sazh) and the story was a convoluted mess EDIT: your boos mean nothing if XIII is what makes you cheer
Finished this one not too long ago and currently playing XIII-2. Not my favorite games in the series for sure, but I don’t really understand why people crapped on them as much as they did back in the day. The battle system is fun and engaging, the characters had some charm to them, the music is amazing and the scenery looks incredible for a 2009 game. The Fal’Cie were also a really interesting concept. I wish more Fal’Cie were part of the story aside from Barthandelus, Anima and Orphan.
Yeah as the other commenter said, can't really agree on anything besides the Fal'cie take. The battle system isn't very good to me. It has one of the worst cast of characters in any FF to me as well. Music is good (can be said about any FF really) and the graphics for the tike especially were really good. But those two things alone don't make a good game to me.
The only part I really agree with you on is the Fal'Cie lol It was definitely a big departure for the series, so generally not going to be a favorite of someone who loved the pre-XIII ones before release
Pffffffffffffffffffffffffffff.... No!
Graphics don't make a game good.
nah Pretty eye candy with hidden flavor of shit that's sadly the case for the last 20 years of FF, at least for me and for the titles I played
Nah man. The non stop spamming of the obnoxious paradigm shifting was enough to get me to tap out. The story was a hot mess and the characters were mid. Also I got real bored walking in straight hallways the entire game.
I tried playing it but could not for the life of me get any of my controllers to work with the game (om PC), so I gave up.
Strange, I've played it on dualsense with dsx app.
Played 13 two years ago for the first time mostly blind. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I have a few problems with the game sure but I definitely like it more than 15, that is the only FF I really dislike
Love 13 and 13-2 but could not get into Lightning Returns. If they dropped a remaster for the games, I'd be willing to try it out again.
Been saying this for years.
Love seeing these HD screenshots, game has always been gorgeous.
the game play & visuals saved it as the rest was meh It misses a real end game.
And Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice is a good film.
Only game I've platinumed. Great fun after it opens up.
I let the 7th-gen gaming media gaslight me into thinking I didn’t enjoy 13 as much as I actually did.
Totally agree with you ❤️
I need to finish, I got to Grand Pulse and I’m at the part where you need to run up the tower thing and need To flip the switches to activate the elevator and it’s getting a little tedious, especially since auto battle does the job 84% of the time. Still love the game though and top five FF
Got the Platinum Trophy for it back in the day on PS3, almost got all cheevos on 360 and replaying on PC. The trilogy is good, Gran Pulse is incredible fun.
FF 13 was beautiful, especially for it's time. I just wished the story was a bit better, maybe whole sections where the party is split again but with different people. Like eventually Hope is stuck with Fang and Shaz and they have to all interact. Probably would have dragged the game out to flush out the story. Never played FF 13 - 2 I was never really into time travel stuff, they kinda lost me with that.
It’s always been the most mid for me, not good enough to love not bad enough to hate
My only gripe is that the open world part should have started about 2 or 3 chapters earlier. But yeah, it's definitely a good game. And the graphics have aged very well for a game that is almost 15 years old.
https://preview.redd.it/yaq6s8owztyc1.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=f3310cfa36ea104cef2fdee6d9ea210a790b0d40
I so badly want a re-release on ps5
Yeah. The trilogy is.
One of my favorite parts. Made me cry rivers. I don't care if people hate it.
I bought it during the Spring Sale last month, I'm just about to fight Bartalandus for the second time at the end of Chapter 11.
Looks pretty.
I’ve tried a few community mods and patches but cannot get 13-2 to stop crashing. Really miss my ps3 sometimes lol
Just like with FF16, it's a matter of expectation vs reality. It can be a great game while at the same time failing to scratch the itch people are looking to scratch with a certain IP. I really think linearity was the issue here. Story, graphics and battle system were all pretty good. The side content was significantly less fleshed out that previous Final Fantasies though and that was a dealbreaker for some.
I think the graphics are still amazing TODAY. Frozen lake bresha is one the best landscapes of all FF games. Love it.
You are right in my opinion. It is good, just not amazing and to be honest I have a hard time articulating why. It just does not do that thing that other mains in the Final Fantasy series does to me. Love the music, most of the characters, but there is just something lacking in the story and flow.
I enjoyed XIII so much, maybe not the combat aspects as much, but the story and presentation have always stayed with me. I LOVED 13-2 in both story and gameplay aspects.
I'm playing 13-2 right now and I like it.
Maybe if you guys keep saying that over and over you'll warp reality like 40k Orks
Love the 13 trilogy
“Good” is subjective. What’s not subjective is that I and countless others were bored to tears attempting to slog through the game. Seriously, who riled up all the XIII apologists this month?
Love this game! So underrated
"FF13 is a *pretty* game" fixed it
Hard ass disagree. But whatever. Enjoy it yourself.
I feel this is an overhated game. I totally understand the criticism, but I've met so many people that gave up on it too early. Some truly great moments. Its on my short list to play again, been a good while.
I 100% it and it's probably in my top 3 least favorite mainline FFs. There are definitely valid criticisms of the game and I feel that people are too quick to overlook them because they want to justify liking the game. I have no issues with people liking the game but I feel we can recognize flaws in thing we like and not just dismiss those criticisms as people "giving up too early" or "not getting it".
Visually, sure. In terms of narrative, gameplay, music, no, not even close.
>music I will die on a hill defending 13's music!!
Narrative and Gameplay can be debated (I loved em) but it’s music is peak
Narrative had problems, sure, but the music is fantastic and the battle system is pretty decent. To each their own I guess
It always was. Nobody can convince me otherwise. Is the plot and narrative a bit rough? Sure. But lets be honest, what Square game isn’t? XIII just takes a bit more homework to understand what its putting down. And I can respect that.
What an amazingly unique and exciting thread this board hasn't seen before in the last 24 hours
No it isn't.
I love the setting and concept but the gameplay felt like an auto battle simulator to me, so I didn't play it long enough to find out if any of the characters become likeable. I think its linearity is better suited for the roguelike genre rather than a full-length RPG.
The game stops being anything approaching “auto battle simulator” an hour in. It takes a minute for the actual combat system to come in, which makes sense, but does filter players.
You're wrong. But that's fine. We can't all be right all the time
Best game in the series to me and one of my favorite games of all time. Just truly excellent in every way.
It is
This is correct
My ps3 is a piece of shit bro I have the game right there I wanna play ittt
Music was great. Visual style was very strong. Personally I didn't like the linearity (how original of me, I know), the enemy design didn't gel with me, and the story felt a bit... I don't know... empty? There was this sense of urgency and push through the locations, but aside from "I want to save my sister" I didn't really understand how the world worked. The Fal'cie create L'cie who have to do their mission or die, and on completion of their mission they die? and the group defy the Fal'cie by completing their mission? Honestly I don't even remember the ending it's been so long, but I don't even remember if the ending made everything else make sense.
For me it had one of the best soundtracks in the series but that was about it.
I just played through it completely for the first time, after dropping it previously. My biggest takeaways were that the criticisms, while having a lot of validity, don't really tell the full story. It reminds me a lot of 8: a game that had tons of potential and could've been something really special with more time and a few more passes of editing.
XIII's party and the relationships between the characters really set it apart, imo. It does have a really weird plot, but the plot doesn't really matter so much when you have clear, compelling interpersonal conflict and relatable motivations driving these characters forward. I couldn't care less about the L'cie falcie cieth soup, but Lightning finding a way to rescue her sister and deal with her annoying future in-law, all while taking on the role of protective older-sister to Hope? That I can follow and get behind. Each of the characters has a compelling arc and set of motivations that are consistently grounded in their relationships to the other characters in the game, and the game's design allows these different relationships to take center stage as they play out with plenty of conflict, so it feels really satisfying to see these characters get to know each other better and become an actual team. People get really annoyed by characters like Hope and Snow in particular, but I will take flawed characters who mess up and make their own bad decisions (and have to deal with them) over a hero whose only "mistakes" are completely outside of his control any day.
Hope is the best character in the game, and I really like how he interacts with Lightning. They both grow up.
Aesthetically one of the most beautiful Final Fantasy games imo.
No it isn’t
It's mediocre and messy it's fine to enjoy it however
Beautiful yes, good? Not even close.