The Official Final Fantasy XIII Thread (56K Warning)

Nice thread. :)

Edit: I would take out "removal of towns" or replace it with "lack of traditional towns" because there are 5 towns in the game: Oerba, Nautilus, PaloumPorum, Eden, Bowdam.

He's busy making commercials for that baseball game (The Show) and God of War 3. I don't think Sony will advertise FFXIII as it doesn't really need it.

He's busy making commercials for that baseball game (The Show) and God of War 3. I don't think Sony will advertise FFXIII as it doesn't really need it.

naaros

Awww man, I just saw a FFXIII commercial that was for a "non-PS3 platform." I wanted one of those commercials with that guy that does all the funny PS3 commercials.frielock

Again, Hazel goes above and beyond the call of duty. this is quite possibly the msot aesthetically pleasing 'official' thread ever to grace the PS3 boards.

That said, I'm out. I have no real interest in the game myself.

I have a feeling that this game will be getting hated on by quite a few people because of the changes that have been made.

I have a feeling that this game will be getting hated on by quite a few people because of the changes that have been made.

GrandJury

Oh they will. Happens with every Final Fantasy. For example, some people hated on FFIX because it was too traditional and set in the medieval period (which I find really odd; it's like they were hating on FF for being a traditional FF game). They hated on FFX because it was linear and Tidus was annoying. They hated on FFXI because it was online and "omfg not an FF". They hated on FFXII because after FFX was so linear, they changed it to being a more open game. And they will hate on FFXIII because it's linear and is multiplatform (seriously, THIS is a reason to hate a game? Wow.).

People will find anything to hate on with this series simply because... it's Final Fantasy. :-\

That said, from every video and info I've seen, I know I'm going to love this game. One of the main things I love about the FF series, and why I don't think it'll ever get stale for me is that... They change it every game. It is never just the same game copy/pasted in a new setting. They always make a ton of changes to try to keep it fresh. And the sad thing is, they get hated on for this. I guess most people want a game like CoD where it's pumped out every year and is pretty much the same thing. :( /rant off

Finally got my copy of Final Fantasy :lol: x) !!! Woohooooo ! x3

Before the official release date too ! I've been waiting for this since i was 13 (17 yrs old now ) And its worth it xD !

Im 3 hours through and I think it's just amazing .

-From Dubai,UAE-

Grrr, give me! /jealous. :P Have fun!

Grrr, give me! /jealous. :P Have fun!

naaros

Thanks !! You toooo !

And all you FF Fans out there .> . I think it's possible to slip one out if you know somebody ;P

[QUOTE="naaros"]

Grrr, give me! /jealous. :P Have fun!

Sonyntendo

Thanks !! You toooo !

And all you FF Fans out there .> . I think it's possible to slip one out if you know somebody ;P

I don't know anyone who works at a gaming store. :( The last week is gonna take foreverrrrrrrrrrrrr. ;_;

Aww xD . May god aid you ! :'S

Aww xD . May god aid you ! :'S

i hope not...i know that im personally gonna love it :)starwarsjunky

EDIT: Bah, I hate GameSpot's editing and forum tools, lol. Formatting kept messing up or looking all messed up. :(

I've heard mixed thoughts about the story. I've heard it's great, okay, and bad. All from different sources. In a recent podcast on 1up, they kept praising the story. It's probably going to be kinda like Uncharted 2. That story wasn't very original, but the way it was told, makes it very fresh.

It's all subjective, but this set of characters looks like the most interesting they've had in a while. I mostly disliked FFXII's characters except Balthier and Ashe. FFX had ok characters. FFIX was my fav set of characters, but even some of them were pointless (Quina/Amarant). I think/hope Lightning will be interesting and have a nice backstory. I really do not see why people care about the Leona Lewis song. They will likely only play it during the credits - is it really such a big deal? I didn't like it at first either, but I actually enjoyed it during the International trailer.

I definitely don't like the idea of not having any strategy in the game because all you do is mash the attack button in their so called revolutionary fast paced battle system.frostybanana

I have not heard anything of the sort about the game. Most people who have played it said the battle system was one of the best in the series history. Not that I think it's exactly "fun" pressing attack over and over, but is that really ANY different than past FF games? Pretty much all random encounters in the previous games in the series have been won by simply pressing attack over and over. I haven't watched boss fights in FFXIII as I do not want spoilers, but I've heard they can be fairly hard and if you don't have the right strategy, you will die. And quickly. I just really don't get where people get this impression that FF games have always been very strategy-based because they haven't. It's mostly based around the story and just getting there. To me anyways.

no towns or anythingfrostybanana

And to say for the 50th time, FFXIII HAS towns. They probably just aren't your typical town where you can go in a lot of houses and jack stuff from people. But I've always found that most RPG towns are very boring; I just use them to buy stuff (which in FFXIII, you use a save point) then I head out to the next plot point. Sure, sometimes I'd go around talking to every NPC who spouts useless info, but was that really fun? Not to me. It was very tedious and most of the time, you didn't get much out of it besides NPCs praising you for your good deeds.

no exploration whatsoeverfrostybanana

A lot of the game is linear. I think everyone will admit that, but after a certain point, the world opens up and you can do a lot of missions and sidequests, building ultimate weapons, tackling epic bosses, etc. Is this any different than past FF games? Nope, not at all. It's like getting your airship in past FF games. You couldn't really do anything like exploring in past FF games because they all lead to dead ends until close to the end of the game when you get your ship.

I realize I probably sound rather defensive. And I don't mean to be, but I think people have in their mind what a traditional FF is, and if it deviates from that, it's spit on. It really makes me wonder if these people have been playing the same series that I have. A series that changes with every installment. Trying new things, new methods, new battle systems, etc. Final Fantasy XII was very "open" compared to past Final Fantasy games, and guess what? People complained that it hurt the story, and they wanted more linear. Here we are again, but the opposite. Final Fantasy will continue to change (this helps it not get too stale), so people need to start realizing that.

I hope I didn't come off too unpleasant in my post, lol. You make some very good points, and I understand where you are coming from. I think we just have different ideas of what Final Fantasy means, ya know? To me, it's mostly about the story, how I connect with the characters, and how the story unfolds (the way it's told). The thing is, the story aspect is really subjective as to whether or not someone thinks it's entertaining. So I can see why some people dislike the series or certain games in the series.

All that other stuff (I guess, just the gameplay, lol) is just something extra to me. I dunno if that seems backwards to what most people think, but that's always been the case with me. I like RPGs for their stories mostly. The gameplay has to be tolerable, but if the story keeps me going, I'll end up loving the game despite its flaws. So when people mention things like exploration, no towns, no world map etc, I just scratch my head. Not that I feel like I'm correct in any way, all that just seems like extra things to me so I don't really miss them. I never considered them as a crucial part of the FF series like others do. Oh well!

[QUOTE="frostybanana"]no exploration whatsoevernaaros

A lot of the game is linear. I think everyone will admit that, but after a certain point, the world opens up and you can do a lot of missions and sidequests, building ultimate weapons, tackling epic bosses, etc.

More or less, they are pretty different.

I consider FFX to be the best in series and it wasn't as on-rails as I've heard FXIII to be from people who have beaten it. Now, when I play a JRPG, I play for story, exploration and grinding. The first half of FFXIII only has the former where the latter two aren't even introduced until the last half of the game. This doesn't make FFXIII any worst off than any other game in the franchise because I can still respect Square for sticking to their formula - try something new with each installment. It's just that exploration is a big part of why I play these games.

I'm going to play it sooner or later because it's Final Goddamn Fantasy. You don't skip out on those kinds of games because they're quality - however, I won't be expecting the same bewilderment from this game that I got from the environments of previous games.

I don't understand what people are complaining about either.. if it doesn't have what you're looking for, find another game. There's nothing wrong with it, you're just expecting it to do something it doesn't.

I don't understand what people are complaining about either.. if it doesn't have what you're looking for, find another game. There's nothing wrong with it, you're just expecting it to do something it doesn't.

Scianix-Black

[QUOTE="naaros"]

[QUOTE="frostybanana"]no exploration whatsoeverScianix-Black

A lot of the game is linear. I think everyone will admit that, but after a certain point, the world opens up and you can do a lot of missions and sidequests, building ultimate weapons, tackling epic bosses, etc.

I don't understand what people are complaining about either.. if it doesn't have what you're looking for, find another game. There's nothing wrong with it, you're just expecting it to do something it doesn't.

And to say for the 50th time, FFXIII HAS towns. They probably just aren't your typical town where you can go in a lot of houses and jack stuff from people. But I've always found that most RPG towns are very boring; I just use them to buy stuff (which in FFXIII, you use a save point) then I head out to the next plot point. Sure, sometimes I'd go around talking to every NPC who spouts useless info, but was that really fun? Not to me. It was very tedious and most of the time, you didn't get much out of it besides NPCs praising you for your good deeds.naaros

[QUOTE="naaros"]And to say for the 50th time, FFXIII HAS towns. They probably just aren't your typical town where you can go in a lot of houses and jack stuff from people. But I've always found that most RPG towns are very boring; I just use them to buy stuff (which in FFXIII, you use a save point) then I head out to the next plot point. Sure, sometimes I'd go around talking to every NPC who spouts useless info, but was that really fun? Not to me. It was very tedious and most of the time, you didn't get much out of it besides NPCs praising you for your good deeds.Shadow-Elite

[QUOTE="naaros"]And to say for the 50th time, FFXIII HAS towns. They probably just aren't your typical town where you can go in a lot of houses and jack stuff from people. But I've always found that most RPG towns are very boring; I just use them to buy stuff (which in FFXIII, you use a save point) then I head out to the next plot point. Sure, sometimes I'd go around talking to every NPC who spouts useless info, but was that really fun? Not to me. It was very tedious and most of the time, you didn't get much out of it besides NPCs praising you for your good deeds.Shadow-Elite

I agree with all of you to an extent. I personally talk to all the NPCs because they might have some side quests for me to accomplish. I love me some side quests no matter how simple or trivial they are. Just adds a little more length and adventure to the game in my opinion.

Of course if side quests involve going to a building and signing up for tasks then the NPCs can go burn for all I care :P But yeah, towns are basically save and rest points for me as well. I'll just talk to NPCs though if I know that's the only way to obtain side quests.

[QUOTE="Shadow-Elite"][QUOTE="naaros"]And to say for the 50th time, FFXIII HAS towns. They probably just aren't your typical town where you can go in a lot of houses and jack stuff from people. But I've always found that most RPG towns are very boring; I just use them to buy stuff (which in FFXIII, you use a save point) then I head out to the next plot point. Sure, sometimes I'd go around talking to every NPC who spouts useless info, but was that really fun? Not to me. It was very tedious and most of the time, you didn't get much out of it besides NPCs praising you for your good deeds.yokofox33

I agree with all of you to an extent. I personally talk to all the NPCs because they might have some side quests for me to accomplish. I love me some side quests no matter how simple or trivial they are. Just adds a little more length and adventure to the game in my opinion.

Of course if side quests involve going to a building and signing up for tasks then the NPCs can go burn for all I care :P But yeah, towns are basically save and rest points for me as well. I'll just talk to NPCs though if I know that's the only way to obtain side quests.

[QUOTE="naaros"]

Grrr, give me! /jealous. :P Have fun!

Sonyntendo

Thanks !! You toooo !

And all you FF Fans out there .> . I think it's possible to slip one out if you know somebody ;P

[QUOTE="Sonyntendo"]

[QUOTE="naaros"]

Grrr, give me! /jealous. :P Have fun!

Dracula68

Thanks !! You toooo !

And all you FF Fans out there .> . I think it's possible to slip one out if you know somebody ;P

As long as the game has...

1. Shops
2. Woman
3. More woman
4. more shops
5. A good storyline
6. Great gameplay
7. Side missions
8. Good length
9. Cool weapons/items to find

I will be good to go.

The towns and such not be as interactive as your saying and the world map not being there is indeed a big deal. Linear paths are hardly uncommon, but I know a lot of us old school gamers enjoyed the notion that even though there is a set path, you can go across this set path any way you choose, all the while encounters side missions, towns that have a story of their own, and countless little mysterious you have the need to explore. And they don't always lead to dead ends. A lot of times you get into little side storylines you would've missed otherwise. But I have heard that it opens up about half way through the game or something, which I think is a plus. Again, i haven't played it so I don't know for sure, but with everything I'm hearing, I'm just forming an idea of what the game is. frostybanana

As for me towns are the breath of the world, the colors, backstory, mood of the citizens is what makes discovering anew tosn interesting and brings to the wortld depth. Not having any freedom in discovering the world until second half od the game is horrible, I like JRPGs where I can progress my own way, discover new areas, do side quests, level up killing mobs, and most of all input commands to all characters (including the main one) and develop them as I see fit. All those elements are nowhere in FFXIII.

Sad day when Microsoft influences a major game developer.

Best hype thread Ive seen TBH.

Nice.

Getting mt copy (borrowing) on Saturday. Pretty excited.

Lot of talk about towns.

I haven't cared about towns since FFVI (III for NA). The steampunk atmosphere of Narshe, the ragged and occupied South Figaro, the shady atmosphere of Zozo. All of the towns had their own personalities, you really remembered them when you moved on with the story (and, in FFVI's case, revisited them in the second half where they had completely changed, which was awesome.)

FFVII, VIII, and IX's towns were fine and all, but forgettable. X's Luca was pretty awesome, but deceptively small, with nothing really to do except serve as a Blitzball hub (which didn't really matter as you could access Blitzball from most save spheres.) FFXII's world was massive, but if you notice, had very few actual towns, which I quite liked. The massive hubs of Bhujerba and Rabanastre were great, then there was the brief visit to Archadia, but that was really it, besides a few small and forgettable villages. Point is, towns have slowly been phased out as the series has matured. While I do hope that Square Enix will really revisit its routes and make an FF with IV, V, and VI's atmosphere, I welcome the phasing out of towns with open arms. They've been mostly used as rest spots anyways, and haven't really played a pivotal part of the story since the SNES days. Sure, you start in Midgar in VII, have to deal withDeling City and Estharin VIII, and revisit Lindblum many times in IX, they never felt like a part of the story as the SNES towns did. Same goes with X, you basically just pass through as you progress through your pilgrimage, and FFXII's few locations, while more relevant than the others, weren't exactly centered around the story. Though I really liked Bhujerba.

So I'm not too bothered by the omission of towns in FFXIII. I'm sure there are many NPC's to interact with in Cocoon, and that's good enough for me. I've never been the kind of guy to speak with every single NPC anyways. So I suppose it's just a personal preference, but I can't see how people justify condemning the game (not accusing anyone in this thread of doing that) just because of the lack of towns. Or the linearity, as FFX was one of the best in the series, yet was as linear as it gets. It's gonna be awesome, let's just bask in its awesomeness.

what about Level up system and weapons upgrade ?

dose any body know?

what about Level up system and weapons upgrade ?

dose any body know?

7mmoody

I think the weapon system is something similar to a crafting system in MMOs? You can "disenchant" (I don't know the word FFXIII uses) various items you find (and buy) to make other items which you can use to make weapons. This might only apply to the "ultimate" weapons, though. Other gear is acquired through shops and treasure chests afaik.

If anyone has more info or can correct mine, please do so.

Lot of talk about towns.

I haven't cared about towns since FFVI (III for NA). The steampunk atmosphere of Narshe, the ragged and occupied South Figaro, the shady atmosphere of Zozo. All of the towns had their own personalities, you really remembered them when you moved on with the story (and, in FFVI's case, revisited them in the second half where they had completely changed, which was awesome.)

FFVII, VIII, and IX's towns were fine and all, but forgettable. X's Luca was pretty awesome, but deceptively small, with nothing really to do except serve as a Blitzball hub (which didn't really matter as you could access Blitzball from most save spheres.) FFXII's world was massive, but if you notice, had very few actual towns, which I quite liked. The massive hubs of Bhujerba and Rabanastre were great, then there was the brief visit to Archadia, but that was really it, besides a few small and forgettable villages. Point is, towns have slowly been phased out as the series has matured. While I do hope that Square Enix will really revisit its routes and make an FF with IV, V, and VI's atmosphere, I welcome the phasing out of towns with open arms. They've been mostly used as rest spots anyways, and haven't really played a pivotal part of the story since the SNES days. Sure, you start in Midgar in VII, have to deal withDeling City and Estharin VIII, and revisit Lindblum many times in IX, they never felt like a part of the story as the SNES towns did. Same goes with X, you basically just pass through as you progress through your pilgrimage, and FFXII's few locations, while more relevant than the others, weren't exactly centered around the story. Though I really liked Bhujerba.

So I'm not too bothered by the omission of towns in FFXIII. I'm sure there are many NPC's to interact with in Cocoon, and that's good enough for me. I've never been the kind of guy to speak with every single NPC anyways. So I suppose it's just a personal preference, but I can't see how people justify condemning the game (not accusing anyone in this thread of doing that) just because of the lack of towns. Or the linearity, as FFX was one of the best in the series, yet was as linear as it gets. It's gonna be awesome, let's just bask in its awesomeness.

Khadaj32

I enjoyed FFXII so much! I really don't know what all the hatin' was all about. I put about 140 hours in over the span of 3 games. There were only a couple of things that I didn't like about the game. The license system just didn't work for me. And I also didn't enjoy the city of Archades (don't ask). But these two minor opinionated setbacks are far outweighed by what the game accomplished. The graphics are just amazing for a PS2 game. And it had Balthier.

Now back on topic. I really enjoyed the linearity of FFX, and I think this will really help FFXIII. FFX was the game that got me started in the series, and have since gone back and played FFVII, which I also enjoyed once I got past the outdated graphics. If a game is too open-world-oriented, I find it tough for the game to hook me initially. This occurred to me when I started playing Fallout 3. However, after giving the game another chance, it became my favorite game (soon to change after the release of this game!). Open-world is a bit of a double-edged sword: the game sacrifices depth for more options.

i went and prepaid this game today. they're having a midnight release next monday so you can pretty much guess where i'll be at around 11:30.

i really always liked towns, i thought the towns in 6&7 were excellent but after that they started slipping. as far back as i go, i always liked finding a new town and running straight to the weapon and armor shop to see what i can buy. even in ff1, you had to find the secret town and learn to speak their language before you could buy your final spells (which i thought was pretty tight) side quests like that i find fun, not "go kill 2 of every enemy on this field im looking at you final fantasy 10" or "dodge a lightning bolt 100 times".... in fact, most of the final weapons in that game were ridiculous.

This is originally from a thread I created, but it was suggested that it be moved here.

If you aren't familiar with the workings of the Final Fantasy series, summons have been a huge part of the gameplay, combat, and story throughout. FFXIII is no different. FFXIII's summons come in the form of Eidolons. Each character in the game gets their own summon. However, the most controversial part of the summons in battle is when the formation of summon and summoner shifts into what is known as "Gestalt Mode." The summon essentially transforms into a vehicle or some other form of vehicle in which the character gets to battle in. Do you think that this addition to the game will negatively affect the game, or will it be welcomed into the game by offering a different sort of aspect in battle? Your thoughts please.

This is originally from a thread I created, but it was suggested that it be moved here.

If you aren't familiar with the workings of the Final Fantasy series, summons have been a huge part of the gameplay, combat, and story throughout. FFXIII is no different. FFXIII's summons come in the form of Eidolons. Each character in the game gets their own summon. However, the most controversial part of the summons in battle is when the formation of summon and summoner shifts into what is known as "Gestalt Mode." The summon essentially transforms into a vehicle or some other form of vehicle in which the character gets to battle in. Do you think that this addition to the game will negatively affect the game, or will it be welcomed into the game by offering a different sort of aspect in battle? Your thoughts please.

jrm180

Does anyone think there will be an initial download as soon as you load up FFXIII? My wont ps3 wont be online on tuesday so i will be playing the game without net access at first. If there is one, downloading it at a later date wont impact my progress will it?

This is originally from a thread I created, but it was suggested that it be moved here.

If you aren't familiar with the workings of the Final Fantasy series, summons have been a huge part of the gameplay, combat, and story throughout. FFXIII is no different. FFXIII's summons come in the form of Eidolons. Each character in the game gets their own summon. However, the most controversial part of the summons in battle is when the formation of summon and summoner shifts into what is known as "Gestalt Mode." The summon essentially transforms into a vehicle or some other form of vehicle in which the character gets to battle in. Do you think that this addition to the game will negatively affect the game, or will it be welcomed into the game by offering a different sort of aspect in battle? Your thoughts please.jrm180

It's not the most original thing, but it really doesn't change the gameplay all that much or affect my opinion of it. You can't use a summon all that often anyways (requires a certain # of TP), so it isn't like you'll be summoning every battle and having to deal with it. All the animations look fairly cool though.

Does anyone think there will be an initial download as soon as you load up FFXIII? My wont ps3 wont be online on tuesday so i will be playing the game without net access at first. If there is one, downloading it at a later date wont impact my progress will it?

AFAIK, there won't be any download upon bootup of the game. Even if you have to download it later, no, it won't impact your progress at all.