[Game Complete] Pushing It to the Thirteenth Hour: My Step by Step Impressions of Final Fantasy XIII.

[Cat Rage Room]

Are the transforming summons really that significant?

No, they're not, but it looks dumb.

Any explanation probably would have been dumb,

Then they shouldn't have had it!

However, I'm not sure how they're any more useful than they were in XII, I think they're grossly underpowered and serve, at best, as a delaying action as you can't die when you have one out.

Sure they're more useful; they actually heal you (and fast too), they don't die instantaneously, their attacks are pretty powerful and serve to bring up the Chain Gauge, and their transformed mode are a pretty decent way to deal damage with no retailiation whatsoever. Also, when they leave, all of your party members are healed to max.

In FFXII, Espers were more like

*SUMMON SEQUENCE*

*whoops I got hit once I died*

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I think we can at least all agree that the Gambit system was a matter of personal taste.

NOW THIS IS NOT THE TOPIC FOR GAMBIT DEBATES STOP TALKIN' ABOUT IT

 

[Cat Rage Room]

And all of this doesn't change the fact that you're doing the same shit you've been doing from 1-10. You're managing a party, and you can give them all commands at once.

However I will say this on the matter, because the Paradigm system is similar. I for one, don't like any sort of alterations like that on the system. I like it old school all the way in that respect. I want to manually pick what Party Member A, B, C, and D do for every turn of every facet of every battle and for the gameplay to accommodate nothing more than that (as in no Gambit/Paradigm system or whatever). Games like Star Ocean and Tales are forgiven because of the nature of their systems, but otherwise, I prefer for the game not to even make any sort of unnecessary alterations to that style of gameplay.

 

[ForceStealer]

I agree, in general. But like I said I do kinda like the try at focusing on the macro strategy of a battle. At the very least it was a cool idea, and matched with the speed and timing, it really made me change the way I thought about certain battles, and I like that.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

But like I said I do kinda like the try at focusing on the macro strategy of a battle

Not my cup of tea. I am all about the micromanagement of battle. I don't want any macromanagement in any RPG battle (besides for exceptions like SO and Tales) whatsoever. I don't even want the option, or any part of the gameplay being worked around it to any degree whatsoever. The 'Auto battle for one turn' option that many RPGs have is enough for me.

If you don't want this shit here then split it Mog.

Well, you guys are talking about Gambits, and I'm talking about the Paradigm system and macromanagement in battles in general in FFXIII. If you guys want to talk about the Gambit system, then do so in another topic, dawg.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Let's just move on. Next update a little later on, I've been playing quite a bit now.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

*shoots self*

 

[Russell]

Update?

After reading this thread I decided to buy the game and try it out myself, got it Tuesday by trading in a few other games.

Owning to a lack of job & absolutely no life *loser* I’m about 27 hours in and on Gran Pulse.
At this point I’m wondering where this none linear bit is. Right now the only choice I have is which monsters on the vast plains on Gran Pulse do I kill and in which order, mainly: Where to Grind?

But the entire game up to this point has felt like one long grind, I don’t feel like doing anymore.
Is there anything to do other than more battles?
Any minigames?
Anything to with money other than buy items for the woeful ‘hit-and-miss-guess-work’ upgrade system?

Despite some flaws (that I won’t get into), I’ve enjoyed getting up to this point but I’ve been waiting for the game to open up a bit and now I’m still waiting. :/

(Also despite my better judgement I‘ve fast become a Vanille & Fang fanboy) *shame*

 

[Makoeyes987]

Update?

After reading this thread I decided to buy the game and try it out myself, got it Tuesday by trading in a few other games.

Owning to a lack of job & absolutely no life *loser* I’m about 27 hours in and on Gran Pulse.
At this point I’m wondering where this none linear bit is. Right now the only choice I have is which monsters on the vast plains on Gran Pulse do I kill and in which order, mainly: Where to Grind?

You SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH and enjoy your cutscenes and killing tubes, damnit! You better be happy you have any monsters to fight at all!

But the entire game up to this point has felt like one long grind, I don’t feel like doing anymore.
Is there anything to do other than more battles?
Any minigames?
Anything to with money other than buy items for the woeful ‘hit-and-miss-guess-work’ upgrade system?

What? Gonna go cry to your mommy? YOUR MISSION IS TO KILL, SOLDIER.

No. No. And NO. Lace up them boots and be glad you have monster hunts to KILL.

Despite some flaws (that I won’t get into), I’ve enjoyed getting up to this point but I’ve been waiting for the game to open up a bit and now I’m still waiting. :/

(Also despite my better judgement I‘ve fast become a Vanille & Fang fanboy) *shame*

Almost everyone does, soldier. No need to feel shame.

And why did MOG just make out with a double barrel?

 

[Russell]

I have enjoyed the cut scenes; they look so good you can barely tell between the CGI and the in game graphics.

I have enjoyed combat, and enjoyed the satisfaction of working out how to bring down the eidlo-, eliod-, err... Summons.

And I will probably go off hunting down the l’cie waystones scattered all over the place, it’s just…… give me something other than battles to do for fuck's sake.

I like cake, but if I had nothing to eat but cake for breakfast, lunch & dinner I would tire of it after a while and want some variety.

One minigame that isn‘t combat related? Is that to much to ask? Triple Triad? Blitzball? Chocobos? Anything, oither than more battles. A minor complaint perhaps, given my enjoy of the game thus far, but it couldn't have been that difficult for the developers to include one.

 

[Max Payne]

Battle system would have faired better from being able to pause combat and give out individual commands ala Dragon Age imo, also the ability to switch characters mid combat.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I agree!

 

[DLPB]

but it couldn't have been that difficult for the developers to include one.

Maybe it was just too difficult in HD

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

You SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH and enjoy your cutscenes and killing tubes, damnit!

Action tunnels, faggot.

Maybe it was just too difficult in HD

Zing!

 

[ForceStealer]

There is some minimal chocobo treasure-hunting stuff later, but it is just that, minimal.

 

[Lord Noctis]

Finally got the game myself. The lack of exloration is a pain in the ass, as others have said, but I'm really enjoying myself so far.

 

[Russell]

Update?

Until I&#8217;ve completed it I don&#8217;t want to hand out a verdict, but so far I&#8217;d recommend renting it, NOT buying it. After playing for about 27-28 hours I&#8217;d say that the reply value is zero. <_< I&#8217;ve become sick of the grind and I&#8217;m now on Batman Arkham Asylum again.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

This is pretty much what happened to me, and I'll cover this in an update. The game is simply unplayable for me straight through; too much mental fatigue. I can play FFVII or FFIX for days on end, and in my high school days I pretty much did, and hell, I could now, but FFXIII would pretty much give me a stroke if I tried. However I will update later on tonight.

 

[Bex]

I'm having trouble replaying it too, the Vile Peaks and Gapra Whitewood are just too...ugh.
I hate the party being split up, after it being so fun in the final few chapters.

 

[ForceStealer]

The hated the Gapra Whitewood the first time around, I can only imagine the second.

Though I've hated Great Glacier, for example, every single time I've played FF7

 

[sheens]

Gapra Whitewood is the worst part. I hate Hope and Lightning together. Don't know why.

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

Perhaps it's because you have a problem with statutory rape?

 

[Bex]

Well, Hope does call Lightning 'Mom' at one point.
CREEPY

 

[Max Payne]

The amount of pron/fanart of them as a couple as opposed to what I thought would make japan crazy (the oerbas) is disturbing.

 

[Bex]

There is more hopexlightning than fangxvanille.
IT SADDENS ME