At least, in this case. That's right ya'll… I'm going to get Resonance of Fate and I'm going to not get Final Fantasy XIII. "You scrummy little hypocrite graf, you're the guy who always says 'Instead of deciding on one game over another… why not just get both?' ". I still follow that mantra. It's a maxim that I hold close, but you see, my headline for this blog is worded in such a way to simply draw you in, and nothing more. Now that I have fulfilled my honesty quota, of a whopping amount of 'one', I will write lies for the rest of this piece.

I've always considered games in their own separate individual spheres. Although I can easily convince any of you to not get God of War 3 by tearing it apart and using big words that make me look smart, that task would be all the easier if I were to compare it to other games. However that is not my agenda, at least today, and I'll let you all be free of the knowledge that comes from thinking about games far, far too much.

I never directly compared Resonance of Fate and FFXIII; in fact I was considering getting both ever since they were announced. But now it's different. I guess; the magical allure of FFXIII has worn off. In the back of my mind I always felt like it was never going to get released, and if it does, well it'll be like the release of Duke Nukem Forever… in other words, its awesomeness would be too much to handle. Well it's out now, and to be honest, I just don't care about it now.

It's not the JRPG I want at all; it revels in its orthodox design and acts like a franchise reboot. It's a 'My First FF game' type of deal. And I don't want that; I want a FF game that doesn't take 15 hours to finally open up, and one that doesn't condense the formula to just the very core. Although FF games have never been the most robust JRPG's, FF13 has absolutely no meat on it. I'm not saying it is a bad or a good game; what I'm saying is that from a mechanical and functional standpoint it is simply not the JRPG I want to play.

Also it follows the tradition of many recent Squenix titles by not including traditional Final Fantasy themes, music, and characters. Where are my moogles (I know about this one, but don't say anything to spoil it for others)? Where is my airship? Where is Cid (again, I know, but don't spoil it, playability/NPC statuses do count as spoilers)? Where is the Prelude? Please, I'm not one to wallow on old traditions and I'm the last person to write off FFXIII as a non-FF game simply because it lacks these elements. But to me, their absence is just another notch on my list of frowny-faces that FF13 has given me.

So, why didn't they put one of these in again?

So yeah, that's why I'm not going to get FF13. Even in the future, when it's real cheap and whatnot, I just won't bother with it. Just a quick history of me and the FF franchise: I've only played II, IV, and IX by myself. I back-seat gamed V, VII, and VIII. I played through most of X, and XII, but never finished them, since I grew to dislike them the more I played. Although I know the whole story of X, but I don't know how XII concludes, nor do I really care. I know most of what goes on in I, III, and VI. Of course X-2 and XI don't count. So perhaps that will give you some perspective of me and the FF franchise.

It seems I have very little reason to make such an adamant decision to not play FFXIII, especially considering I am a fan of the series. However, although I will never criticize JRPG's as a genre, I will always be the first to criticize a game within the genre; and FFXIII has certainly fallen under my cranky old eagle-eye of denigration.

---

Now Resonance of Fate caught my eye the moment I saw it. The flashy gunfights, steampunk setting, customizable characters… all in a JRPG? I would like that very much please. While it is unorthodox in nearly every facet, it still feels like a JRPG.

I'll be perfectly honest with you, if anyone plays a JRPG looking for a great story, they make goldfish look smart. JRPG's have crap stories and they always will. And Resonance of Fate has a, at best, below-average story. Although, what is considered an 'average' story in the world of the JRPG? I don't care though. I hear it has its moments of humor and from what I've seen the characters appear bearable; and that's all I ask out of the narratives in my JRPGs.

Resonance of Fate's combat system is the good-old 'so punishing until you finally learn it, and even then it's still really tough' type of deal. Also, it doesn't do the metaphorical 'gray-out' method of limiting the battle mechanics until the game is absolutely sure you've learned what it wants you to learn, like majority of JRPG's. There is no gradual spoon-feeding of mechanics; instead it dumps all the bells and whistles on your head the moment you fire it up and lets you sort them out for yourself. Tutorials? From what I've heard there is one, but it's very brief and doesn't help that much, that's a plus in my book. I haven't played a game like that in a long time, so I'm rather excited to sink my teeth into this combat system.

This is what I'm talking about.

I would like to point out that I am not a fan of Tri-Ace, at all. I've never enjoyed the Star Ocean series and their recent works haven't caught my eye in the slightest. But after I get Resonance of Fate, I'll be more willing to take a second look at their works. Squenix on the other hand… well, I'll just say that I miss the Softer days.