Final Fantasy XIII - Gen. Discussion & Info

I am only about 2.5 hours in but so far this game really plays like a super slick 2010 version of Final Fantasy X. For me that's a good thing! I just hope the plot picks up soon!
 
I'm just starting CH9 now and I'm actually loving the story. Kinda jumps around a bit, but that's okay. I don't like how the parties split up and you never get to choose who you want to take though.
 
The switching back and forth between the ~3 parties is annoying since the story is told in chunks. As much as I love JRPG stories, this one is a bit hard to follow especially since the party splits up randomly for no good reason.

Not really sure what the waypoint thing is, but I plan on making my first playthrough my perfect one.

It also doesn't really make sense for you to be able to go back to PP when it's occupied by PSICOM... I had to replay that area too because the predators only appear there and there's not enough battles to 100% libra them without using the spell :/
 
I think I'm addicted to Paradigm changes. I've discovered how to speed up my ATB, which allows me to get multiple attacks in before enemies do. It's really precise, but once you figure it out, you're almost untouchable. Even if you mess up by a tiny bit, you still go a little faster. If you wait like 3 seconds before switching, then you get into trouble.
 
I haven't opened my Guide yet. It probably does have spoilers, like most game guides of today. Good game guides, especially ones without spoilers are a lost art. They died when Nintendo Power stopped doing them.

I'm 14 hours in, about
halfway through Chapter 7. I just got control of Fang. Pretty underwhelming if you ask me. Only 3 attacks, default Paradigms are Commando and Sentinel. WTH?
. I also just hit a
major plot twist.
 
[quote name='KingBroly']I'm 14 hours in, about
halfway through Chapter 7. I just got control of Fang. Pretty underwhelming if you ask me. Only 3 attacks, default Paradigms are Commando and Sentinel. WTH?
. I also just hit a
major plot twist.
[/QUOTE]

If you want to know something about classes on characters:

At chapter 10, all characters will unlock all classes.



[quote name='bjstucker']Has everyone's trophies been popping up? I think the one for Ch. 3 didn't for me but Ch. 4's did.[/QUOTE]

Pretty sure I've recieved all mine up to this point.
 
[quote name='Draekon']If you want to know something about classes on characters:

At chapter 10, all characters will unlock all classes.
[/quote]

But that's after
the dick boss fight I've heard so much about, right?

Pretty sure I've recieved all mine up to this point.
Click to expand...

I've gotten all of mine so far.
 
[quote name='KingBroly']But that's after
the dick boss fight I've heard so much about, right?
[/QUOTE]

If you're talking about the boss of
chapter 9, then yes. He was quite the bitch to kill for me. Took me about five attempts to figure out a good party to counter his moves.


Guess I'll pick the game back up and beat this chapter 10 boss.

EDIT: Woo, made it to chapter 11. Time to muck around for a while and not progress the story.
 
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[quote name='Draekon']EDIT: Woo, made it to chapter 11. Time to muck around for a while and not progress the story.[/QUOTE]


Wait, does it become not linear at some point?

Chapter 4:
Holy hell Odin! Didn't expect him to clean the floor with me upon first encounter.
 
So I'm about 17 hours in and the Joystiq thread, 15 hours is when the characters all come together and whatnot. But I always like to grind, so I saw this coming.

I stopped playing at 4am after the
Psicoms invaded Hope's house.
And then I got to the boss fight with this
huge helicopter
. Not sure if this is the boss
everyone is calling a dick.
But I saved it for today. I needed to switch my paradigms around anyway. This game is pretty good. As I expected from a Squenix FF game. The characters really have depth and I didn't think
Snow was such a arrogant asshole when he came clean with Hope.

There's been some really tough boss fights imo. Had to really work the strat to get past it.
Lighting's Odin was tough as hell. I mean damn, Snow's Odin gave you health regen and this one didn't. I blame Hope :roll:.

Getting back on this game soon, because I think I'm addicted to it. :bouncy:
 
[quote name='BlueLobstah']Wait, does it become not linear at some point?[/QUOTE]

Not really, no. The beginning of chapter 11 is a large open space with a little bit more to do then the usual place up to this point. Then a little further in chapter 11 you'll get a message talking about waypoints that can teleport you to and from each waypoint if you complete its mission.




BAHAHAHA, I'm finished with those damned Eidolon fights at last! Hate them so much.
 
[quote name='Draekon']Not really, no. The beginning of chapter 11 is a large open space with a little bit more to do then the usual place up to this point. Then a little further in chapter 11 you'll get a message talking about waypoints that can teleport you to and from each waypoint if you complete its mission.[/QUOTE]


Are these waypoints missioned based or prior areas of the game?
 
[quote name='BlueLobstah']Are these waypoints missioned based or prior areas of the game?[/QUOTE]

Mission based.


EDIT: Oh dear god, I need to stop wandering into areas that have moves which take off 2x more HP than I actually have. Christcakes almighty.
 
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[quote name='Draekon']Mission based.


EDIT: Oh dear god, I need to stop wandering into areas that have moves which take off 2x more HP than I actually have. Christcakes almighty.[/QUOTE]

So you can redo missions?
 
[quote name='Feeding the Abscess']So you can redo missions?[/QUOTE]

Yes, you can go back to the place you got the mission and it will ask if you wish to redo the mission. This helps with the 5* mission trophy.
 
What is this, Resident Evil 6? The more I find out about this game, the less I want to play it.

Unless the story revolves around bending time and re-writing history, or is extremely specific as to what can and can't be repeated (ie, nothing like being able to redo the Corel train sequence in FF7, as an example. Or really, anything involving any sort of a story), that stuff doesn't have any place in an RPG.
 
Missions don't have anything to do with the actual story progression (well, three missions do I guess), they're all side quests. Normally I'd agree with you, but since all they are is something to do on the side, my stance is a little different. Gives me a bit more outside standard play value and I don't know about you but since they're a trophy for 5*'ing them too, I'm glad they're that way. Otherwise it'd be excruciatingly difficult to get it.

Besides, the missions require you to kill a monster. What's to say that another enemy of the same type didn't power up enough in the mean time and take its place? Although a couple higher tier enemies probably won't be able to use such a cheap claim as they're likely unique like the enemy that showed itself in the chapter 11 cutscene.
 
I just want to chime in and tell Square-Enix fuck YOU for making a built in "You're taking too long on a boss" timer. After a 40 minute boss fight, the auto-cast doom kicked in and finished me off when the boss has a sliver of health left. Piece of shit.
 
[quote name='Draekon']I just want to chime in and tell Square-Enix fuck YOU for making a built in "You're taking too long on a boss" timer. After a 40 minute boss fight, the auto-cast doom kicked in and finished me off when the boss has a sliver of health left. Piece of shit.[/QUOTE]


40 minutes or are you exaggerating? I had an 8 minute boss fight with the one who changes his weaknesses all of the timm.
 
[quote name='Draekon']Mission based.


EDIT: Oh dear god, I need to stop wandering into areas that have moves which take off 2x more HP than I actually have. Christcakes almighty.[/QUOTE]

haha I used to do that all the time in the old school ones.
Still on the fence with getting this. I think God of War III comes first. :drool:
 
Ugh indeed. I've died at the end of a 10min fight against that plant boss and gotten pissed enough. Can't even imagine a 40m one...
 
[quote name='wildcpac']40 minutes or are you exaggerating? I had an 8 minute boss fight with the one who changes his weaknesses all of the timm.[/QUOTE]


And you've beaten the game then I take it? I skip enemies from time to time or else I'll go insane with all the non-stop battling in the game since there's no towns or anything to break things up really. So I'm probably lacking in the CP department. I haven't bothered with much upgrading either, but my weapons are at least level 26. I prefer it this way as it generally increases difficulty to the point I like it, so I'm kindof pissed that there's a built in auto-doom timer.

Fight may of been 30 minutes though, it was definitely my longest up to this point. I'd wager based on progression the boss had around 1,200,000 health. Guess I'll have to either go and use the nearest waypoint or fight the enemies in the general area until I can beat him without overpowering myself. Kindof sucks because I have no trouble beating the local mission or enemies.
 
[quote name='Draekon']And you've beaten the game then I take it? I skip enemies from time to time or else I'll go insane with all the non-stop battling in the game since there's no towns or anything to break things up really. So I'm probably lacking in the CP department. I haven't bothered with much upgrading either, but my weapons are at least level 26. I prefer it this way as it generally increases difficulty to the point I like it, so I'm kindof pissed that there's a built in auto-doom timer.

Fight may of been 30 minutes though, it was definitely my longest up to this point. I'd wager based on progression the boss had around 1,200,000 health. Guess I'll have to either go and use the nearest waypoint or fight the enemies in the general area until I can beat him without overpowering myself. Kindof sucks because I have no trouble beating the local mission or enemies.[/QUOTE]

One of the trophies requires you to beat an enemy that has
16,200,000
HP :D
 
I'm near the end of chapter 10 and so far I am disappointed. The level design is very uninspired. I literally thought I had got turned around in chapter 10 because each new screen looked like the last. The battles at times can seem to take overly long. The paradigm system is more of a reactionary battle style than actually planning a strategy.

The game is way to linear. I can understand wanting to keep players on track for story pacing but I want to do something else in the game besides hold up on the analog stick and fight enemies. So far the most fun I have had in the game is playing Metal Gear Fantasy and avoiding the enemies. I understand that the game "opens up" in chapter 11 but from the looks of the strategy guide the 20+ hours to get to chapter 11 isn't worth it.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']I have beaten the game. I don't recall any "autodeath" mechanisms outside of the eidolon battles.

Who were you fighting?[/QUOTE]

I think he is referring to the chapter 9 boss. It will eventually cast doom if you take to long.
 
I thought the boss at the end of Chapter 7 was my first really interesting boss fight. I've found some standard enemies to be a bit tougher so far, mainly because you're locked into 2 character parties.
 
This picture kind of sums up the way I feel about FFXIII:

http://www.analoghype.com/wp-conten...468x_final-fantasy-xiii-extreme-linearity.jpg

The basic problem is that the game is entirely too linear. Now, defenders of the game will say that every FF game is just as linear, but they're merely talking about the plot which advances in a linear fashion since this isn't Mass Effect or Fallout. However, the gameplay in those previous FF games have always allowed you to do things unrelated to the main story at pretty much every step along the way, culminating in a lot of shit to do near the end of the game.

FFXIII is the complete opposite of that. The map designs are boring corridors set against lush vistas, but you're still walking on corridors. There are no detours except for a 20-foot deviation for a treasure guarded by some creatures. Chapter 10 is filled with lots of copy/paste map design. Games in the series like 6 and 8 featured some rather interestingly designed dungeons for multiple parties while others such as 7 and 9 gave you a lot of paths to explore in each area. This game constantly drives you forward, but the forward momentum is a rather bland experience since it's just corridors filled with cutscenes, treasure, a boss, and sometimes all three.

There is little to do outside this main experience. There are a total of two or three types of sidequests. These are
the monster hunts, chocobo digging, and I think something to do with finding sheep which is more like finding a treasure chest, er...sphere
. There really aren't any towns. There's one almost like the Golden Saucer, but unlike the Golden Saucer, there's absolutely nothing for you to do there except move forward and advance the plot down more corridors.

The game eventually opens up in chapter 11, but what you'll find is that it's merely a wide open area that branches off into more and more corridors. So much for that.

The battle system also has five major flaws in my eyes.

1) The enemies have way too much HP. The combat system is fast-paced, but the battles often aren't unless you pre-empt the enemy. Beating on enemies for a long time over and over (even when staggered) is rather boring. Namely, watching my fighters attack an opponent fifty or so times (four per attack "round," and this isn't even close to an exaggeration) is boring. It seems the monsters have high HP just for the sake of high HP. This leads to...

2) The stagger system. Coupled with the high HP counts, the only feasible way to take down the enemies is to stagger them. This makes for interesting gameplay (a little bit anyway), but ultimately it all comes down to staggering the enemy, which is point #3...

3) The entire battle system apart from the opening rounds seems to be reaction-based rather than action-based. I often don't feel that I'm implementing a strategy, but rather I am simply reacting to what's happening. The damage comes in fast, I throw out the medic. The damage comes in too fast, I throw out a sentinel. The boss is using the big attack, I throw out the sentinel and heal up. HP is in good shape, I switch back to the team for building the stagger meter. Apart from the opening rounds where I buff and debuff, I'm just reacting to what the enemy is doing, trying to keep up with the damage output with crappy cure spells and doctor's code / potions for almost the entire game.

4) Paradigms. I like the fact that I have to switch through battle and manage the overall flow of combat, but that seems to be the limit of the applicable strategy. I can simply not choose auto-battle and use some different attacks, but it's not like there are many choices as how to approach the battles. I can't use materia, junctions, or abilities to change the default way I fight. All the characters feel just about the same since the only real big difference are paradigms, and even that fades away towards the end. Every battle is approached largely the same way. I know the previous sentence can be a criticism for past FF games, but they were at least less boring for me while in combat since battles ended quicker.

5) Paradigm canceling. If you queue up four (or whatever your max is) commands and choose another paradigm before the last attack goes off, you enter that new paradigm setup with a full command queue, allowing you to queue up four+ commands again. You can cancel again into another (or the old) paradigm. So you could switch between COM/RAV/RAV and COM/COM/RAV, etc. However, this seems like a lot of pointless fast "clicking" commands for no real reason.

I haven't ever really been disappointed in a Final Fantasy game (even 11 and 12), but this game's slew of corridors, lack of anything really to do but walk down those corridors, and a battle system that just has me reacting to what the enemy is doing is really killing it for me. I'm planning to trade it in on Sunday, and I probably won't even beat it by the time I trade it in because I know the last two chapters are even more corridors interspersed by cutscenes.
 
Hey guys, a quick question for those who have gotten to chapter 11 and beyond: does the trophy (PS3 version) for getting to chapter 11 come right at the start of the chapter after the cut-scene ala all the other chapters up to that point?

For some reason, I didn't get that trophy...and I wound up turning my ps3 off right after. My one and only save file is saved "during the cutscene" for the start of chapter 11 (right after a particular eidolon fight)...I don't want to start panicking quite yet, but my spring break is about to end and it's back to school for me.
 
What I don't get is if people want something from the old days...then go play those games. Considering the costs of making games these days, adding countless towns and NPCs just doesn't make sense, especially if players are going to skip/miss a lot of the work that went into making said type of game. Yes, FFXIII is linear, but then, the focus is on the story rather than how much exploring and grinding you can do...

To each their own but I prefer this linearity versus wandering around from town-to-town talking to countless NPCs and running back and forth. I would have liked the openness of Chapter 11 (the hunts) around Chapter 5 or 6 but at least I know I can look forward to a change of pace/setting. Overall, this game could have been MUCH worse and I applaud SE for doing something different rather than spitting out a last gen game with HD graphics.
 
[quote name='shawn006']However, the gameplay in those previous FF games have always allowed you to do things unrelated to the main story at pretty much every step along the way, culminating in a lot of shit to do near the end of the game.

FFXIII is the complete opposite of that.[/QUOTE]

The latter sentence following the former has me cracking up. I put 20+ hours into this game *after* beating it, and that it would have easily been another 10 if my PS3 hadn't shit out on me and died, encasing my save file in an HDD that won't work on any other system ever again (come on, hackers!).

I don't buy the reactive argument at all. I guess that's why I had trouble figuring out why people were battling creatures for 40+ minutes. Their optima paradigm lineups are jacked up, that's why. The only long boss fight I had was the final boss. Nothing approaching 40 minutes.

There's strategy in the lineups for certain. Breaking enemies makes or breaks (ha) battles. Making sure all of your paradigm lineups have someone - a blaster, defender, or jammer (sorry, folks, I haven't opened my US copy yet, and I can't remember the US job titles for shit) is needed in virtually every lineup so you can maintain your break gauge. You need to use medics (that's one I remember!) properly and sparingly - when switching to that line, the 2nd/3rd jobs have to be relevant to the battle. You have to be prepared to use your summon at the right moment (when the summon leaves, your whole party reappears, alive and with full health!). You have to treat each battle as a symphonic experience that flows together. It's *very* different from the traditional RPG style where, in this game, you can not, at all, kick back mid-battle and consider a variety of options to choose from. It's a natural extension of the ATB system in that regard. And, if you don't like it, you should try the "slow" option for a more traditional FF-style battle. It's there for you if you want it.

You're certainly entitled to your opinions on the game, but if you think the battle system is reactive and doesn't require strategy, you're doing something wrong in how you prepare for battles.
 
[quote name='SynGamer']What I don't get is if people want something from the old days...then go play those games. Considering the costs of making games these days, adding countless towns and NPCs just doesn't make sense, especially if players are going to skip/miss a lot of the work that went into making said type of game. Yes, FFXIII is linear, but then, the focus is on the story rather than how much exploring and grinding you can do...

[/QUOTE]

I agree with this more than I would like to admit. Gamers today can't seem to stop and smell the roses, sometimes I think I would be one of the only people to talk to every person in every town.

The one way path map that is posted a few posts back could be the same for the last 9 or so final fantasy games but the difference is the one way path would be a box with a maze to open world to town to next box maze, rinse and repeat. I'm not saying I don't enhoy the old formula but I am saying that the new formula is nearly the same thing and that the old formula is...old. I can understand where many of you are coming from though because these are the same reasons I hated FFVII when it came out 13 years ago, change sucks but once you stop comparing new FF games to prior FF games the more you will enjoy them. Hell I have a bigger problem with the lack of equipment in the newer FF games then the lack of a pseudo openness of the older FF games.

This is what a map wold look like from an older FF game.
ffix.png
 
I honestly don't mind the lack of towns. In FFXII, I got really confused about where I was going sometimes because the towns were basically cities spanning 4-5 screens.

I'm 19 and a half hours in right now. Chapter 8's boss gave me a bit of trouble. I actually had to make my own Paradigms for the first time in the game.
It once again confirms my hate for the Eidolon battles in this game. They're really strict with the timing.

I've also found a cheap, but effective way to grind in this game. If you're near a save point with enemies, beat the enemies, go to the save point, access it, don't save, and voila, the enemies have magically respawned.
 
I'm almost 30 hrs into the game and am really enjoying the story. I have played all the Final Fantasy games in the series and find the new changes to be refreshing from battle system to streamlining the overall experience in menus, auto-healing, lvl up system,etc. The lack of towns doesn't bother me at all either.
 
[quote name='LordVila']I think he is referring to the chapter 9 boss. It will eventually cast doom if you take to long.[/QUOTE]

I'm in Chapter 11. There's another boss there who does the same exact thing.


[quote name='mykevermin']I don't buy the reactive argument at all. I guess that's why I had trouble figuring out why people were battling creatures for 40+ minutes. Their optima paradigm lineups are jacked up, that's why. The only long boss fight I had was the final boss. Nothing approaching 40 minutes.[/QUOTE]

It's lack of stats and neglecting upgrades. The bosses strongest move brings me down to near death when I have a Sentinel out and half the battle he ended up casting fog or daze on two of my characters constantly. Probably both. So it was more of lack of battling consistantly up to this point.

I'll just go get some CP back, throw on a few upgrades and had back.
 
Yes, FFXIII is linear, but then, the focus is on the story rather than how much exploring and grinding you can do...
Click to expand...

I don't mind the fact that the story is linear, but I do mind the fact that gameplay is linear. Pushing down a corridor for 25 hours to get to chapter 11 wasn't fun at all, because it was the same thing for 25 hours in a row. Kind of like working in fast food for your first job.

[quote name='mykevermin']The latter sentence following the former has me cracking up. I put 20+ hours into this game *after* beating it, and that it would have easily been another 10 if my PS3 hadn't shit out on me and died, encasing my save file in an HDD that won't work on any other system ever again (come on, hackers!).

I don't buy the reactive argument at all. I guess that's why I had trouble figuring out why people were battling creatures for 40+ minutes. Their optima paradigm lineups are jacked up, that's why. The only long boss fight I had was the final boss. Nothing approaching 40 minutes.

There's strategy in the lineups for certain. Breaking enemies makes or breaks (ha) battles. Making sure all of your paradigm lineups have someone - a blaster, defender, or jammer (sorry, folks, I haven't opened my US copy yet, and I can't remember the US job titles for shit) is needed in virtually every lineup so you can maintain your break gauge. You need to use medics (that's one I remember!) properly and sparingly - when switching to that line, the 2nd/3rd jobs have to be relevant to the battle. You have to be prepared to use your summon at the right moment (when the summon leaves, your whole party reappears, alive and with full health!). You have to treat each battle as a symphonic experience that flows together. It's *very* different from the traditional RPG style where, in this game, you can not, at all, kick back mid-battle and consider a variety of options to choose from. It's a natural extension of the ATB system in that regard. And, if you don't like it, you should try the "slow" option for a more traditional FF-style battle. It's there for you if you want it.

You're certainly entitled to your opinions on the game, but if you think the battle system is reactive and doesn't require strategy, you're doing something wrong in how you prepare for battles.[/QUOTE]

But that's all there is to the game after beating it: the monster hunts. That's it. That's all.

I know the bosses require strategy and I'm not implying that they don't, but every fight generally revolves around the exact same strategy: timing. It's about when to use the same thing you're using every battle, not using something different every fight. I've not had a 40 minute fight (in fact, I was doing something "wrong" on the chapter 9 fight and the boss killed me via Doom, I changed up my tactic and won in 9 minutes). However, that's the thing: if you're not doing it the way the developer intended, it'll just cast Doom on you.

My boss fights don't last longer than 9 minutes and most are half that, but it's not like I'm using a lot of strategy. It really is all about using the same things in every fight, just reacting to what's happening and getting your timing down.
 
Monster hunts and rare item drops, sure. Am I missing some JRPG conventions of "side quests" here?

As for doing "the same thing" every battle, again I disagree. I constantly altered my paradigm lineups while playing the game. There was never anything close to a "killer" set of 6 that would make every battle a breeze. The game was all too happy to remind me of that in a battle.

I'm reminiscing about the epic fights w/ Adamantoises and Long Guis in chapter 11 - shame I can't fire up my game save and get to that point.

spoo, your point about "talking to everyone in every town" has me feeling guilty. I'm playing through White Knight Chroincles right now, and I'm early in the game (just hit the desert city of Albana) and the first thing I thought when going into town was "dang, that's a *lot* of NPCs to talk to. I'm not going to bother with half of them."
 
[quote name='redshadow']What's the purpose of there being save points every 6 feet in this game? Seriously.[/QUOTE]

while thats an obvious exaggeration, it is nice to be able to play this game in short bursts and not get stuck trying to push through to another save.
 
No, it's really not. Are we playing the same game? There are literally segments where save points are just around the corner from each other without any enemies between them.
 
[quote name='redshadow']No, it's really not. Are we playing the same game? There are literally segments where save points are just around the corner from each other without any enemies between them.[/QUOTE]

6ft.? youre trying to tell me there are literally save points every 6ft. come on, there are plentiful save points but theyre not every 6ft.
 
[quote name='redshadow']What's the purpose of there being save points every 6 feet in this game? Seriously.[/QUOTE]

This is a huge plus for me since I often have to stop gaming suddenly. In fact last night I actually got into a stream of events in the game where it went like 30 minutes with me being unable to save. I really had to turn the game off, my husband was getting very irritated. I almost thought it was funny that the game has so many save points but the one time I really need to turn it off I am unable to save! lol I kind of had to speed through some things so I think I probably should go back to the last prior save point anyhow to make sure I didn't miss anything. The ability to save anytime anywhere would be nice for me in every game. This one is almost there but you can still get stuck for awhile being unable to save, which for me is not a good thing.
 
This game is so cutscene heavy, they threw save points everywhere so you can go back and rewatch shit, etc... It's fine, why are you complaining about convenience, like really?

If you're gonna bitch about something at least make it something worth bitching about. Christ.

I find it amazing that people complained about the lack of customization and such, the Crystarium and upgrading/dismantling system is deep as hell, there's sooooo much to do. Ugh.

The game does get a lot better though, after the halfway mark. Felix Heights is still my favorite area, fighting in the sunset with the mellow BGM was amazing.
 
[quote name='leeloo1977']This is a huge plus for me since I often have to stop gaming suddenly. In fact last night I actually got into a stream of events in the game where it went like 30 minutes with me being unable to save. I really had to turn the game off, my husband was getting very irritated.[/QUOTE]
This! (Only substitute wife for husband. :) ) I also have a baby daughter who's been having trouble sleeping lately and I tend to play games late at night. I've actually chosen to pop in Mass Effect instead of FF13 a couple of times because with ME I always know I can save and quit at a moment's notice.
 
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