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Just got the game yesterday, and I'm only about five hours in. Has anyone else given it a try?

I rarely buy new games, but this one looked similar enough to one of my favorites (FFX) that I thought it deserved a shot. So far, I'm having fun, but from what I understand the game hasn't even really picked up yet (the first few hours of the game are like an extended tutorial).

I think I'm probably going to enjoy this one.

I'm not really into RPGs, but I have played a few FFs(FFIII, and CC: ROF, both on DS) and enjoyed them, but once I get a job, I might actually have money for once and buy a few games, and maybe a FF or two. Right now, I. Am. Flat. Out. Broke... relying on the occasional gift card... which is only $25 or so... In any case, I think the 1UP review said that the first 10 or so hours were pretty much the opening path to the game, which lead to the main 20 or 30 hours(Whoazas, thats a lot! )

Hmm, I like the paradigm and crystarium systems, I like the three-way battles, and I like how the battle system is less autonomous this time -- unlike Final Fantasy XII, now you actually have to do something, you can't just sit back and let the game play itself. That said, I find that the game progresses very slowly -- a three-hour tutorial? Unecessary.

The storytelling isn't adequate, it relies on the player's lack of knowledge of the setting to try to draw him in, and for me, that doesn't cut it. I'm not terribly worried about what a "Fal'cie" is, because that is not something I can comprehend, if it was a value in that society that I can correlate to something familiar -such as brotherhood or a marriage- or even a simple goal such as "rescue X person" then I might have been interested, but throwing disembodied synonyms at me does not work.

The main character (I don't even know if Lightning is the main character) is unlikeable, you never get to identify yourself with her or understand her motives; rather than living her adventures, I feel like I'm tagging along, just as the character of Sazh is doing (I have grown quite fond of Sazh, we seem to share the same plight: we don't know where this crazy woman is taking us). It's not that I'm bothered by her uncaring attitude, we've had plenty of such characters in the past Final Fantasy games, the problem is that I can't really tell why she is acting that way, I don't know what to think of her; in Final Fantasy VIII, you had full access to the thoughts of Squall (the protagonist) you could read his internal monologues and grasp the meaning of his behavior: he was just a traumatized individual who had no confidence in his relationships with others, because they might have ended up in unsatisfactory terms. You would watch him closely as the story progressed and see how he loosened-up a bit and learned how to become the leader of his team. Lightning, on the other hand, is just cold, and you can't even understand why.

About the other characters, I don't know what to say, I guess it's a matter of preference, either you like them or you don't (kind of obvious). Personally, my favorite is Sazh, and I think Snow's story might be interesting, I haven't really gotten too far in the game to judge him, but his conflicting objectives and his habit of thinking that he must protect everything seem to have paved the way for some interesting developments later on.

The setting, well... it's Final Fantasy, there is nothing else to say.

So far I like the gameplay, hate the presentation, I am moderately interested in the story, and I will continue playing...

I think the biggest thing to say is "it starts slow." I agree that the tutorial section is long-ish, and on repeat plays it might be a chore - but this first play-through, it's exactly what I need. The battles take the appearance of ATB battles, but with the paradigms it's more battle "management" than it is direct control of the abilities. As a result, I was glad to get the extended introduction on the new style of play.

Nihillo wrote:The main character (I don't even know if Lightning is the main character) is unlikeable, you never get to identify yourself with her or understand her motives; rather than living her adventures, I feel like I'm tagging along, just as the character of Sazh is doing (I have grown quite fond of Sazh, we seem to share the same plight: we don't know where this crazy woman is taking us).

I don't know how far you are, but I'm a little more than ten hours in (I reached Hope's home city) - and the characters and their motivations are starting to make a lot more sense. Once Lightning: ...her character is fleshed out a lot more. It sounds like maybe you haven't gotten there yet? That being said, I think the best Final Fantasy games drop you into an as-yet-unexplained situation and let events unfold in either direction (to the past and with the narrative). This one is no different.

In fact the only character I have a hard time understanding at this point is Hope. His motivation seems to be a little flimsy (looking at it objectively), and while Lightning does call him out on it, I hope that when he eventually confronts Snow (I assume this must happen) I'll understand better.

I also miss: I know there's a lot more to the game, though, and that gets me excited. I haven't been able to sink myself into a game like this since Final Fantasy X, and I really enjoy being led through a story like this one.

Maveritchell wrote:I don't know how far you are, but I'm a little more than ten hours in (I reached Hope's home city) - and the characters and their motivations are starting to make a lot more sense. Once Lightning:
[something]
...her character is fleshed out a lot more. It sounds like maybe you haven't gotten there yet?

Yes, I'm not there yet, I guess I will have to be patient and see for myself, though I would appreciate it if they gave me something to work with in the mean time.

Nihillo wrote:Yes, I'm not there yet, I guess I will have to be patient and see for myself, though I would appreciate it if they gave me something to work with in the mean time.

I don't know if that's a fair expectation - like I mentioned above, this is the hallmark of the most popular console Final Fantasies - ten was my favorite, but I'll be darned if it didn't start making sense until after the first big city. Seven was worse - I don't know that I completely understood Cloud until the very end (and perhaps after I read some plot summaries online).

Obviously there is room for differences in opinion, but the game is fun enough just to play and watch as is - however, I enjoy seeing the characters slowly make sense. The later the payoff, the more I feel like my time was better spent.

As a side note, it appears that there is a pattern emerging in the (main line) Final Fantasy games I enjoy (7,10,13). I should probably go back and play four, if patterns are any indication I will enjoy that as well.

Alright, so, I think I'm near that point you mentioned, and I must admit, Lightning has grown as a character, maybe that's because the player is put on the place of Hope as he gets to form a bond with her, as a companion in battle, I get a feeling this is going somewhere. I'm getting more and more interested in the game as it progresses, even though I had lost some of my expectations before, I'm honestly surprised - and glad.

By the way, I love Odin; Final Fantasy XIII has quite possibly the coolest, hum, "summon sequences" of the entire series, I never had so much control over an Eidolon's actions.

Maveritchell wrote:As a side note, it appears that there is a pattern emerging in the (main line) Final Fantasy games I enjoy (7,10,13). I should probably go back and play four, if patterns are any indication I will enjoy that as well.

They say the classic Final Fantasy games are the best, but I can't really tell, it's not from my time. Well, why not? You should try it... good luck finding it, though.

Nihillo wrote: They say the classic Final Fantasy games are the best, but I can't really tell, it's not from my time. Well, why not? You should try it... good luck finding it, though.

Four is the only one I've played, and I wasn't able to get through it all. Curse you, save points! But it is very good, and has both a gameboy and ds version, so it's not too hard to find.

I might be getting this soon and I can't wait! The whole "storytelling isn't adequate and character progression is to slow" stuff doesn't really bother me. I'll play and enjoy any game as long as it doesn't just flat out bore me (which I know this won't).

The only thing worrying me is that I've heard Vanille is, to quote Gamespot "an incessantly irritating waif whose superbubbly voice and high-pitched monosyllabic chirps exceed tolerable limits, even in a genre known for squeaky, bright-eyed heroines." Now that sounds like something that would really annoy me but maybe Gamespot is just exaggerating (it wouldn't be the first time ). Otherwise I've heard that the rest of the characters, the world in which you play in and the combat are excellent, so like I said I'm excited!

DarthHamster wrote:The only thing worrying me is that I've heard Vanille is, to quote Gamespot "an incessantly irritating waif whose superbubbly voice and high-pitched monosyllabic chirps exceed tolerable limits, even in a genre known for squeaky, bright-eyed heroines." Now that sounds like something that would really annoy me but maybe Gamespot is just exaggerating (it wouldn't be the first time ). Otherwise I've heard that the rest of the characters, the world in which you play in and the combat are excellent, so like I said I'm excited!

I think a good barometer is "did you like Final Fantasy X?" This game is very similar. Vanille is Rikku, basically.

I've gotten about thirty hours into the game, to the point where the world map starts to open up (the FFXIII equivalent of FFX's "Calm Lands"). Battles start to get a lot tougher, but I got the opportunity to grind my characters a bit (am I the only one who enjoys this?). I found one spot in the grasslands area that has really easy enemies for moderate-to-high XP, and I just camped there for a couple hours. In any case, I'm still enjoying it, and I've never had a problem with Vanille's character (I originally was off-put by Hope, but he got fleshed out a while ago in-game and his character is much more likeable now).

DarthHamster wrote:The only thing worrying me is that I've heard Vanille is, to quote Gamespot "an incessantly irritating waif whose superbubbly voice and high-pitched monosyllabic chirps exceed tolerable limits, even in a genre known for squeaky, bright-eyed heroines." Now that sounds like something that would really annoy me but maybe Gamespot is just exaggerating (it wouldn't be the first time ). Otherwise I've heard that the rest of the characters, the world in which you play in and the combat are excellent, so like I said I'm excited!

Well, she fits that "generic naive anime girl" stereotype, and that might be a problem for some. (my ex-girlfriend was like that, her awkward mannerisms did bother me sometimes...)

But even if you can't stand her behavior, don't worry, you won't have to listen to her all the time, just for a few minutes every once in a while. Besides, Sazh is always with her and he is a very tolerable character...

Nihillo wrote:Well, she fits that "generic naive anime girl" stereotype

Once you get to understand [particular parts of] her character better (chapter 10-ish) you will find this funnier. On a "meta"-level, that is.