Final Fantasy XIII Spoiler Thread (SPOILERS)

[Kuja9001]

Got my platinum

 

[Fangu]

Congratulations dude!!

The question now is: Can you look at a picture of the cover of the game now without having the urge to throw up?

 

[Kuja9001]

Question

Does anyone own the FFXIII Scenario Ultimania?

 

[Yuri Lowell]

Got my platinum

Overall opinion of the game compared to XIII, XIII-2 and classic FF?

 

[Kuja9001]

Reading through the old posts is exciting.

Sakamoto Maaya​

(Lightning)'s part:

Ø Sakamoto's first impression of Lightning => 'cold', 'strong', 'female warrior'.
Ø During the audition, she was told by the staff that, 'Although Lightning looks like that (I assume that's about her being all cold and badass), it's all because of the environment she was grown up in that forced her to be strong. But on the inside, she's just a normal woman in her early twenties.'
Ø She was also told that, 'We would like you to voice Lightning as the sort of character who tries very hard to be strong and mature, but on the other hand still remains some sort of childish innocence.'
Ø Sakamoto also voiced Aerith from FFVII, while Aerith was a little bit hard to voice, Lightning's character seems a lot closer to her true self and that makes her feel comfortable.
Ø In her opinion, despite having a cold image, Lightning can just be as hot-blooded as Snow. And she thinks this is the similar part between herself and Lightning.
Ø To Sakamoto, Lightning is the kind of character who doesn't like to show her true feelings nor anxiety to people around her, yet she doesn't hide them away either. Objectively speaking, Lightning is a rather clumsy character to her.
Ø Sakamoto's favourite part of Lightning => 'She looks cool and all yet imperfect.'
Ø Lightning not only sees Serah as her sister, but also as her child. Staff told her, 'Lightning feels a strong sense of responsibility to become like her mother or even her father. She will protect Serah at all cost even if it meant risking her own life.'
Ø Of all characters, Sakamoto likes Hope the best. Part of it is due to the fact that 'the two have spent a long time together', but she also thinks he's a good kid.
Ø The scene which left her the strongest impression was the last scene where Lightning and Serah meet again. Sakamoto says if it was her she would call out 'Serah!' then ran up to her, but then she would feel gloomy all of a sudden because Serah would run to Snow instead. (LOL!)
Ø 'Congratulations.' – Sakamoto had this line recorded over and over again because she had difficulties in getting the tone right.

Thats interesting so the Lumina thing didn't completely come outta nowhere.

 

[Kuja9001]

http://squareportal.net/2014/10/19/first-look-at-final-fantasy-xiii-dlc-that-never-happened-details-screenshots-video/

 

[Danseru-kun]

I just finished this game and here are my thoughts:

My thoughts about the game

Spoiler

What I like

• Developed friendship between characters, lots of character development
• "New" relationships that barely get attention in media like future in-laws, friendship between a strong female figure and a young boy etc.
• Gorgeous graphics and good music
• Gameplay is easy to grasp but enjoyable
• Skippable cutscenes
• Convenient saving areas
• Dying doesn’t make you respawn in the last saving area
• Since the characters are all unique you’re gonna use them all
• It’f fun to experiment with combinations
• Dimensioned female characters who drive the plot and lots of female-female relationships
• Multiple-perspective story and using Lightning as a decoy protagonist
• Fang and Vanille.
• Having freedom on character stat growth
• Eidolons are beautiful and fun to use
• Game is the right length for me (57 hours to finish it)
• AI’s are helpful and intelligent

What I don’t like

• Very linear in most parts. Wasted opportunities in several areas like
• Boring NPCs
• Nautilus, they could have included a lot of mini games there.
• In regards to being linear many maps are predictable: walk walk walk fight walk cutscene
• Auto makes you reliable on O O O O and since I’m a busy person I can’t afford to slow down the gameplay. I did try using the manual method but it’s too fast for me so I resort to Auto
• Most accessories are useless and unnecessary, seriously
• Potions and other “cures” become obsolete early in the game
• Since not everyone can be a “safe” leader, you barely get to use their Eidolons. In fact I only used Sazh’s, Hope and Vanille’s onece or twice in the game and it’s only because I wanna see them in action.
• Final battle is only challenging if you didn’t figure it out, I did and it became too easy (hint:a status effect that drains life)
• The universe is complex and was shoved into the player early on, reading through the manuals can be tedious
• To be honest I’m still trying to grasp the Fal’Cie’s mptivations and the ending and I’m not sure if I understood it right
• Jhil’s role is only that!???

Other stuff:

• Most used character is Hope then probably Lightning. I love Hope’s buffs.
• I’m not fond of Saboteurs since they don’t always work
• I guilty ship adult!Hope x Lightning (ok stone me now)
• I think the writers kinda “chickened out” with Fanille since they deliberately inserted things so that the lesbian undertones get more “ambiguity” through the apparently “sisterly bond” they share. But maybe making it a mix of family-romance is what they intended but I don’t know.
• Sadly I won’t be adventuring in Gran Pulse I’m a very busy person
• That’s it for now, I might ramble from time to time. I had a good experience but I don’t think I’ll be invested in it unlike my love for FFVII.

 

[Lex]

Perhaps you should try the two sequels

My favourite thing to do in that game is honestly just to build up a stagger to 999 then hammer an enemy with Highwind. Oh boy it's so enjoyable.

Regarding Fanille

la la la people who deny fanille are trash and live a life of trash

Do not fret, the fans know it's canon

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Perhaps you should try the two sequels

Only if you want to make yourself have an urge to punch small animals in the face.

The gameplay improves with each installment, Danseru, but the quality of the plot, storytelling and characterization each take a nose dive from which they never recover.

 

[Blade]

To be fair, Squeenix did admit their mistakes and improved with each game.

To be honest, I had a lot of fun with FFXIII-2, probably the most fun I've had in a long time. If you like Chrono Trigger you will like XIII-2.

With regards to Lightning Returns... it felt a little lonesome compared to XIII-2, but there's plenty to customize and mess around with. The game feels more like an Action game than an RPG though.... If you get it, get it with the thought that you're finishing what you started with the first two games.

 

[Danseru-kun]

Perhaps you should try the two sequels

I am playing FFXIII-2! It's way more enjoyable in terms of gameplay. Noel is like my dream guy and I have a big grin on my face all the time.

Regarding Fanille

Fanille is canon especially the moment they reunited but like I said I'm not sure if SE chickened out really intended it to be a hybrid of romantic and family love. That's one of my favorite bits when they were embracing each other and others (esp Hope) we're like "OMG lesbians."

The gameplay improves with each installment, Danseru, but the quality of the plot, storytelling and characterization each take a nose dive from which they never recover.

Yes I agree the sequel's gameplay is better! What I like:

• Being able to jump on obstacles instead of boring auto-jump
• More complicated maps and no direct direction where you go, making stuff more challenging. Finally you know if you're heading north instead of rotating cams
• LOTS of NPCs with personality! I love this! When I was throwing my moogle in the the Steppe the people were watching the spectacle and saying "wow what was that is that edible?"
• Moogle throwing yessss
• Being able to customize you paradigms to involve priorities
• Being able to go into different "timelines" and continue where you took off
• Chocobos being available early on
• Being able to choose your conversations. I make Serah a jerk or immature as much as possible but sometimes I can't help but choose the relevant convos.

What I don't like:

• Errrr I'm not sure what to feel about the continuation since the ending of FFXIII was poignant a relatively happy ending (well I don't think Fang and Vanille are miserable
• I feel the story would have worked focusing on just Noel and Serah and excluding everyone else. It would be perfectly okay as a spin-off where Noel jumps on time and encounter the old heroes without messing up their lives.
• The music is too "pop" compared to the epic feel of FFXIII and I don't like the vocal themes
• Serah and Lightning's outfit... :/
• Chocolina :/ I wish she could just shut up.

After FFXIII-2 I might buy LR but let's see. I'm disappointed that Hope was de-aged and I hate Lightning's bikini-armor-big pants costume :/

 

[Blade]

If you hate it don't wear it. :p

There's actually better setups besides using Equilibrium.

Not to mention "Standby ATB Recovery" is one of the best Rare Synthesis abilities in the game which can be equipped to any Schema.

 

[Splintered]

Not to mention "Standby ATB Recovery" is one of the best Rare Synthesis abilities in the game which can be equipped to any Schema.

What seriously? I didn't know that. I hate equilibrium but I always have it on. Which reminds me I need to go back to LR, I need to beat aeronite.

Being able to jump on obstacles instead of boring auto-jump

You know a lot of people made fun of this but... I really liked the jump function. I don't know, even if it's just an illusion, it makes the environment feel a lot more interactive when you can navigate like that. A town feels more like a town when I don't have to walk down the steps, I can just jump to the next level. I dunno.

I hope they keep that, although it's not a priority. If it takes a decent amount of extra coding and money that leave it off, but it's greatly appreciated.

LOTS of NPCs with personality! I love this! When I was throwing my moogle in the the Steppe the people were watching the spectacle and saying "wow what was that is that edible?"

This was the best improvement. But then again I love talking to npcs, I'm weird.

Being able to choose your conversations. I make Serah a jerk or immature as much as possible but sometimes I can't help but choose the relevant convos.

Yeah. They made such a big deal with it (NEW WINDOW LIVE TRIGGER MOMENT GUYS WATCH OUT) for something that the older FFs had, but it made it a lot more fun. Doesn't really work with characters with strong personality so I can see why they leave it off, but maybe next time.

I wish they went a step further with it, like make actual decisions that impact the story but eh.

Errrr I'm not sure what to feel about the continuation since the ending of FFXIII was poignant a relatively happy ending (well I don't think Fang and Vanille are miserable

If you want to enjoy LR and XIII-2... don't think about the original. It massacred the story and uprooted a fantastic, but otherwise plot holey, ending. Also they absolutely do none of the original cast justice, except for maybe Hope.

The music is too "pop" compared to the epic feel of FFXIII and I don't like the vocal themes

The music is... interesting in XIII-2. I've met people who LOVE it and people who HATE it and rarely anything in between. It was made by multiple composers and it was made to not sound like Final Fantasy. Toriyama is an... interesting fellow.

 

[Blade]

Yeah, all the defensive-based abilities can get Standby ATB Recovery attached to them via rare synthesis...

1. Get two of the same ability at Level 4 or Level 5.
2. Save Beforehand.
3. Synth them and see if you get a rare synth.

I have Standby ATB Recovery equipped to Mediguard, ATB Charge, Evade, Counter Attack, Counter Spell, and quite a few others.

Other good ones are Grand Wizard, Committal, Grand Finale, Element Chaser, and a few others (I wrote about them in an earlier post in the LR thread).

 

[Danseru-kun]

If you hate it don't wear it. :p

As if I have money for DLC :/ I brought this 2nd-hand copy for 10$ and that's a week worth of allowance to me.

You know a lot of people made fun of this but... I really liked the jump function. I don't know, even if it's just an illusion, it makes the environment feel a lot more interactive when you can navigate like that. A town feels more like a town when I don't have to walk down the steps, I can just jump to the next level. I dunno.

The jumping reminds of KH:BBS which was an immensely fun experience. I agree being able to jump makes it more interactive and less "laser-guided."

This was the best improvement. But then again I love talking to npcs, I'm weird.

I love talking to them too, watching them react to stuff is a delight. That's one of my problems in FFXIII since I miss the conversation bubbles. Not being able to interact much lessens the experience. For example, there's a father missing his child in Palumpolum and you find the child later on. Would it be more interesting if you can return him then trigger something from Sazh?

I wish they went a step further with it, like make actual decisions that impact the story but eh.

There's also some missed stuff like for example I actually went to Snow before to Hope so when I chose the option "Have you heard anything about Snow?" it's inconsistent to what I just did.

If you want to enjoy LR and XIII-2... don't think about the original. It massacred the story and uprooted a fantastic, but otherwise plot holey, ending. Also they absolutely do none of the original cast justice, except for maybe Hope.

I'm having second-thoughts on LR. I like Lightning but I'm not sure I love her enough to buy a game where's she's the only one playable. I'm also not fond of the premise and HOPE IS DE-AGED AND IT PISSED ME OFF.

The music is... interesting in XIII-2. I've met people who LOVE it and people who HATE it and rarely anything in between. It was made by multiple composers and it was made to not sound like Final Fantasy. Toriyama is an... interesting fellow.

I'm actually hating it! I just went to Oerba and I want to turn the volume off. Oerba is one of the emotional places in the first game with your two heroines' home ravaged by time, the image of Cocoon floating in the sky then the beautiful music. But in FF13-2 the music is replaced by something that ruins the aesthetic of the place.

(although realistically Oerba should either be underwater or covered in dirt after 500 years but it's fantasy and it's okay)

BTW speaking of music, I like "My Hands" way better than the Japanese track.

 

[Lex]

As if I have money for DLC :/ I brought this 2nd-hand copy for 10$ and that's a week worth of allowance to me.

There are hundreds of costumes in Lightning Returns.

 

[Danseru-kun]

There are hundreds of costumes in Lightning Returns.

I thought the comment was directed towards my hate for Serah's FFXIII-2's outfit. The DLC outfit prices seem reasonable individually and I badly want the White Mage outfit.

As for LR hundreds of costumes are awesome but if Lightning's the only playable character I'm not sure I'll want to play it.

 

[Lex]

I guess I'd just say it's highly subjective, and you're not really going to be able to form an opinion unless you actually play it.

My opinion on the whole thing is a bit controversial compared to most I suppose. I preferred Lightning Returns to FFXIII-2. That was probably just in terms of the fact that I wanted more from XIII's original cast, which LR does provide, and it does this without ignoring the characters and development of XIII-2 aswell. I was bothered about it just being Lightning too, but it didn't really bother me when I played the game. The gameplay is also super fun and rewarding when you get used to it.

This is coming from someone whose favourite character in the series always has been and always will be Fang, so take from that what you will. Lightning undergoes a bit of character assassination in XIII-2, and I feel like this improves with LR. Also I really liked the ending, a lot of people didn't. I shed a few tears, but it was more "this is the end of an era" than "this ending is so emotional".

That's the crux of it for me I think. LR caused me to have emotional reactions, XIII-2 didn't. Hope being de-aged bothered most people (including me), but there is at least a reason for it. Can't say more without spoilers

 

[Danseru-kun]

^

Reading about that makes me consider buying it a little more. But LOL I already know why Hope was de-aged and I'm not satisfied with it. I actually know the ending of FFXIII before I even played the game, just like my first experience with Crisis Core is watching Zack's death in youtube. But I guess I have the ability to feel emotional despite knowing what's gonna happen.

TBH I'm not sure if I understood FFXIII's ending and what the party wants to accomplish by

Spoiler

bringing down Orphan which destroys Cocoon (their focus at the first place) how would they save people????

As for DLC.... I just found out my country isn't in the regions available for a PSN account :/ Goodbye Nightwing DLC for Batman, goodbye extra outfits for FFXIII, goodbye DLC characters in Guilty gear Xrd. I'm super pissed.

 

[Lex]

You can set up a PSN account for any region you like btw, it doesn't have to be your home country

The question of XIII's ending is best answered by someone like Splintered or Kuja or Hito or Tres or something, I have what's in my head and they all have the encyclopedia of the Ultimanias and stuff burned into their brain. My head tells me that they were essentially backed into a corner and had to do it consequences be damned, resolving to find a way to "fix it later" (which was ultimately Fang/Vanille "saving" it).

Essentially they spend the whole game going "We must protect Cocoon!" knowing that Barthandelus wants them to destroy it, and in the end they actually do what he's been wanting from the very beginning, they just manage to save the people and stop it from completely falling (thereby thwarting his plan to "summon the maker").

 

[Blade]

Yeah, even without DLC there's tons of customization in LRFFXIII, so don't even worry about lack of content!

As far as only playing as Lightning goes... while that may seem lonesome at first... as you progress, you actually have Hope accompany you (in spirit) along with a few allies you run in to along the way... so in a way it feels like Metal Gear Solid (weird comparison I know).

Though, in all honesty if there IS one DLC you should get it's XIII-2's Requiem for the Goddess... it sets the tone for LR, and the battles ahead. (Or at least watch a video of someone playing it... the duel between Caius and Lightning is intense!)

 

[Splintered]

^



TBH I'm not sure if I understood FFXIII's ending and what the party wants to accomplish by

Spoiler

bringing down Orphan which destroys Cocoon (their focus at the first place) how would they save people????

I don't know if the ulti said anything but from my interpretation it's exactly as Lex said. Vanille's story arc shows that just giving up and ignoring the problem actually makes things a hell of a lot worse, she even makes a speech right before the invasion of Eden that even if things turned out badly, they had done everything they could. Hope later says during the final battle that if they have the power to destroy it, they have the power to save it.

They're basically running on faith, which is all they have at the moment.

The reason they initiated the attack

Spoiler

on Orphan in the first place is because they were backed into a corner. When their search in Pulse yielded no answers, Bart essentially went to plan B (which was a bluff but it got them moving).

By putting Cid as the primarch he essentially baited the Calvary into rebellion. The Calvary took it, assassinated Cid, and was going to knock down Eden completely, including destroying Orphan.

The group had to stop the Calvary, which is why there were so many Cieth in Eden, they were all the Calvary members that Bart stopped since it was just a plan to to lure the l'cie in. Lightning and co realized that they needed to kill Bart too, because as long as he was in charge Cocoon would never be safe.

So they didn't go to Eden to destroy Orphan, they did it to save Orphan, and kill the man behind the curtain.

It wasn't until they destroyed Bart did they realize that they triggered Orphan's awakening, and was in with the plan the entire time. By then it was too late, they were trapped and they had to do something because 1. it was attacking them and b. if they escaped it didn't solve the problem- they'd just find a new group of l'cie to destroy them.

So they they destroyed Orphan and just hoped things would work out in the end. Which it did, humanity's will persevered and Ragnarok proved it could do more than destroy.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Essentially, XIII's whole plot comes down to the Heart of the Cards. Probably part of the reason XIII-2 felt so thematically disconnected, because precisely the opposite rules were in play there.

 

[Danseru-kun]

@Lex and Splintered

Thanks for that. For some reason my copy doesn't have any subtitles even if I enable them. I get the gist of things but I'm not exactly sure if I heard some stuff right.

I actually watched the ending 3 years ago because I like the graphics and I have no idea what exactly happened. Now I'm replaying it over and over again it's just touching and poignant with the song with Fang and Vanille holding hands for eternity. It sent shivers.

It's good news for me then, my copies say they can be registered in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand I guess I'll just pick my nearest neighbor

@ Tres

I think 13-2 should have been better if it just left the FFXIII main characters untouched save for Serah. Noel's story could work like this: Cocoon is destroyed in the future due to some Caius thing and he has some story with Yeul (I'm just in my first Oerba visit I'm not yet too sure of the plot.) Then he travels back in time to save the world and Serah assisted him.

I find the Lightning goddess thing so unnecessary and right now I'm hating Caius :/ He feels like a Villain Sue to me as for now

@Blade

You know if you compare a game to another game there's a high chance I never played the other :/ I'll decide to play LR depending on my satisfaction on 13-2. Right now I still have to finish Arkham City and Mirror's Edge.

 

[Danseru-kun]

Okay... my experience with this game is opposite to FFXIII. I like the gameplay in 13-2 much better but the story isn't that interesting for me so far that I lack motivation to continue. I just got the key from another time in Augusta Tower and is now roaming the Steppe and hopefully I can cross the other side. Some of my current thoughts:

• So Lightning was drafted by Etro to be her knight or something? I find this jarring since Lightning is like "screw the gods" last game and will rather die than put Serah in danger
• So okay there are a lot of Yeuls... every Yeul they meet happen to be a girl in her teens? What a coincidence
• I hate Caius, he's just so narmy to me

I just captured a giant cactaur with Synergist abilities and it's great. I want a green chocobo badly but even if I defeat it I never captured one.