Yes I did it.
Three disks, around 14-16 hours of game play and I'm finished. Final Fantasy 13, the latest in the series of the classic ground breaking JRPGs can now be slotted into my inventory waiting to be sold to the next save point I come across.
Now I've been playing the FF series since I was a youngin. Playing them on SNES with my 8bit symphony and 2d awesomeness. So I guess I'm a fan boy and yes I did get caught up in the entire FFVII and FFX saga along with the rest of the suckers. (*sigh* I even cosplayed as a character one year at a convention).
So when I say things like "there's nothing spectacular about this installment". I actually know what I am talking about and have a large amount of knowledge of the history of the FF series.
And that is just it; there is nothing new or ground breaking or really anything special about the latest FF, which is an absolute shame. Anyone would have expected a bit more for the first next gen installment other then a few pretty cut scenes and updated graphics....but then again that's all next gen really is. but still.
We follow a group of mismatched companions from all walks of life along their journey to discover their calling. All the characters have their own special little story to tell and each develops their personality as much as possible along the way.
Now I do not understand the reasoning behind the voice acting in this. I know they are just trying to capture a sense of multiculturalism within their character base.....but whats with the horrid Australian accents. Don't get me wrong, I'm as Aussie as back yard cricket. But these are just terrible attempts, its like when you hear an American trying to do a English accent, just wrong.
besides that the game is actually quite fun and can prove to be challenging at some points and the character did make me laugh and almost drew a tear to my eye with the heart wrenching story.
However these are the base points that made this game feeling as if it was lacking in comparison to the older games in the series.
1. Music;
Music is a huge part of the FF series, as they where the first to use a symphonic lay out for their games. Its shown very easily with just the simple 8bit tracks from FFV and VI. The composer Nobuo Uematsu, who single-handedly composed the music for the first 9 installments, created a stunning epic soundtrack, giving each zone and area a distinct feeling or emotion they where trying to convey. In someways the music in FFXII had some of this in it, but it was lacking the whole hearted feel to it. Some people may argue this with me...each to their own. Where was my classic "win" music?
2. Cutscene after cutscene;
Its shatters the game when you walk 5 meters and get into a 10min cutscene, only to come out of that cutscene and into another 5 meter walk to fight an enemy to get into a cutscene...yes we get it, your very good at cutscenes. But this constant effort seems that rather then furthering the story or allowing the player to have development with the character and create that bond between player and character. Its more used to show a character tripping over a log or scratching ones ass.
3. Fight system;
Turning a turn based fight system into a real time event is a challenge for any devs out there. These guys at Square Enix seem to be on the right track, but you now what the problem is there. The player is not doing anything besides selecting an auto attack. That's it most the time I was just using auto attack for everything. I might as well had a coffee and read the paper and pressed the "A" button with my foot. The idea when making a turn base system is to create pressure on the player and make them think quickly, rather then just sit there and stair at the pretty lights, while button mashing "A".
These 3 points just let the game down to me. Others would say different and I am sure some of you will flame me for my opinion.....but I am entitled to it.
Three disks, around 14-16 hours of game play and I'm finished. Final Fantasy 13, the latest in the series of the classic ground breaking JRPGs can now be slotted into my inventory waiting to be sold to the next save point I come across.
Now I've been playing the FF series since I was a youngin. Playing them on SNES with my 8bit symphony and 2d awesomeness. So I guess I'm a fan boy and yes I did get caught up in the entire FFVII and FFX saga along with the rest of the suckers. (*sigh* I even cosplayed as a character one year at a convention).
So when I say things like "there's nothing spectacular about this installment". I actually know what I am talking about and have a large amount of knowledge of the history of the FF series.
And that is just it; there is nothing new or ground breaking or really anything special about the latest FF, which is an absolute shame. Anyone would have expected a bit more for the first next gen installment other then a few pretty cut scenes and updated graphics....but then again that's all next gen really is. but still.
We follow a group of mismatched companions from all walks of life along their journey to discover their calling. All the characters have their own special little story to tell and each develops their personality as much as possible along the way.
Now I do not understand the reasoning behind the voice acting in this. I know they are just trying to capture a sense of multiculturalism within their character base.....but whats with the horrid Australian accents. Don't get me wrong, I'm as Aussie as back yard cricket. But these are just terrible attempts, its like when you hear an American trying to do a English accent, just wrong.
besides that the game is actually quite fun and can prove to be challenging at some points and the character did make me laugh and almost drew a tear to my eye with the heart wrenching story.
However these are the base points that made this game feeling as if it was lacking in comparison to the older games in the series.
1. Music;
Music is a huge part of the FF series, as they where the first to use a symphonic lay out for their games. Its shown very easily with just the simple 8bit tracks from FFV and VI. The composer Nobuo Uematsu, who single-handedly composed the music for the first 9 installments, created a stunning epic soundtrack, giving each zone and area a distinct feeling or emotion they where trying to convey. In someways the music in FFXII had some of this in it, but it was lacking the whole hearted feel to it. Some people may argue this with me...each to their own. Where was my classic "win" music?
2. Cutscene after cutscene;
Its shatters the game when you walk 5 meters and get into a 10min cutscene, only to come out of that cutscene and into another 5 meter walk to fight an enemy to get into a cutscene...yes we get it, your very good at cutscenes. But this constant effort seems that rather then furthering the story or allowing the player to have development with the character and create that bond between player and character. Its more used to show a character tripping over a log or scratching ones ass.
3. Fight system;
Turning a turn based fight system into a real time event is a challenge for any devs out there. These guys at Square Enix seem to be on the right track, but you now what the problem is there. The player is not doing anything besides selecting an auto attack. That's it most the time I was just using auto attack for everything. I might as well had a coffee and read the paper and pressed the "A" button with my foot. The idea when making a turn base system is to create pressure on the player and make them think quickly, rather then just sit there and stair at the pretty lights, while button mashing "A".
These 3 points just let the game down to me. Others would say different and I am sure some of you will flame me for my opinion.....but I am entitled to it.
