Finally unwrapped my XBox copy after spending night after night playing Battlefield Bad Company 2. To put this in perspective, I first played this game on my friend's PS3 in full 1080p on his 30-inch HD. Now I am stuck playing it on my 20-inch flatscreen in standard def (red/white/yellow). It still plays the same, I notice zero slowdown in loading or battle transitions, but the graphics obviously suffered greatly. I mean, the cut scenes are still amazing, but the gameplay graphics got nothing on blu-ray.

Everyone keeps trying to convince me to buy a PS3 using MAG/FF13/Heavy Rain as an excuse. When I tell them that A) I own no blu-ray movies B) all of my friends are on XBox Live C) I'm not buying a system for the sake of one game D) I'm not buying an HD TV so I can in turn buy a system for one game and E) two of my friends have PS3s which they will readily let me borrow, they look at me like I'm from another planet.

Buy an HDTV and a high-def cable for your 360?

My 360 is an older version with no HD output. :( Only component. I even tried a friend's component cables and they weren't compatible. I'm going to try Gamestop tomorrow for some third party cables.

Loving the game. Only flaws I find are that the camera outside of battle seems real... floaty, I guess? I seem to just move it around a hell of a lot to just make sure I didn't miss any treasure.

Another flaw is that most of the interactions between characters seem to be a bit too much spelled out in the datalog instead of cutscenes, although that might just be me on that one(Can't read subtle emotions for shit).

Also, Sach is the best character ever dammit.

Oh, and before I forget, the PS3 version has a code for a FFXIV item, as well as THE PS3 BETA HOLY SHIT.

Gonna put mine in, fer sure.

Chapter 5 End Spoilers:

Hope: " Operation Nora. Stage One complete."

I wanna rip my ears out and shove them down my throat.

You'll feel better by the end of chapter 6. Trust me.

We're currently on 7, but Phantom is sleeping before work and I'm not going to hear the end of it if I play ahead without him. HE can play ahead, but his offer was that I could start a new game. :shifty:

Chapter 6 is cute even if it makes me believe that Sazh is the most incompetent father ever. Then I get to chapter 7 and Hope starts his "pets" rant and all the goodwill I had in me vanishes.

I know Final Fantasy has never been known for its subtlety, but there's "being straight-forward" and then there's "getting hit with melodrama the size of an anvil".

Even with Hope and Vanille around, I still find the cast of FF13 to be surprisingly believable. Take Lightning for example. Yes, she was a TOTAL bitch at the start of the game, but she seems to have softened a bit by now. I mean, it's quite striking when it goes for a flashback and Lightning pulls some shit like "This is the worst birthday ever" . Then she comes back to the present, Hope goes on some stupid tangent like "I HAVE TO GET STRONGER SO I CAN AVENGE MY MOTHER, THIS PLAN IS CALLED OPERATION NORA. MY MOMS NAME WAS NORA BTW." And Lightning just doesn't comment.

Vanille would be believable if she would tone down the ditzyness. I'm half expecting it all to turn out to be an act later on - like, she pretended to be shallow so no one would get to know her or something - because at this point she's just ARGH.

Sazh is great, Lightning is good if familiar, Snow is great when he's not obsessing over Sarah, and Fang is good from what I've seen of her (which admittedly isn't much).

Regarding weapon levels - does anyone else find it to be almost inhibiting? I keep finding weapons for my characters, but I've spend so much on the weapons they're already holding that there's no reason to switch.

On weaponry, it's much better to only upgrade what you're actually going to use. Resources are scarce in this game, both components and Gil. Weaponry seems to fall into four categories:
- high ATK, low MAG
- balanced ATK and MAG
- low ATK, high MAG
- low ATK, low MAG, special effect

Depending on your needs and each character, some just make more sense than others, especially at first. Don't waste your components upgrading every weapon. You will quickly run out. Also, be as thorough as possible in searching for stuff, because they were REALLY tricky with the AI and party banter. Your NPC allies will rush off on the straight path through, ignoring all the hidden areas, dead ends, and alternate paths that hold chests, and let me tell you, having to buy a weapon after missing it is a good way to wipe out every last Gil you own. Just one can break your bank. Also, don't get dissuaded when your party members say something like, "What, we're going back?" when you try to backtrack. In some cases, there IS no going back and there's an item there, so yeah, the devs made sure to fuck with you.


On Vanille, I will only say she is not what she seems and you'll get to see that later.

I'm into chapter 5 now. I like how every character seems to be working on their designed personality flaws.

Lightning was a bitch, shows a maternal side, start to like her more. Sazh seemed incompetent and aloof, learn he's got some depth beyond the quips, start to like him more. That sort of thing.

Still don't like Hope at all. I roll my eyes everytime Vanille talks, but I still don't hate her yet.

In related news:

How do you tell an entire group to "douche-chill" at once?

Like Square-Enix has never developed for other platforms before or owe their company to Sony. Fuck that noise.

It's Europe. Their first FF release ever was FF7 on the PS1. So, yeah, they DO think it's a betrayal. They've never had the series on anything else.


That said, yay, fanboys? I mean, you have all the Wii fanboys ragging on the Move for being *gasp* a handheld motion controller and therefore an exact rip on the Wii, and Reggie sure as hell isn't helping by spouting broad accusations that Sony and Microsoft are ripping off motion controls and should be ashamed and how Nintendo is really going to blow the market out of the water with their next console they're not even planning yet and generally being a smarmy dick and giving millions of sensible people the urge to punch him in the face. Then I'm sure there are Microsoft fans who are spouting the superiority of Natal, confirmed people generally ignoring that Sony had the EyeToy YEARS ago (and often confusing it with the PS3 Eye), and basically everyone sniping at the other sides because they think their console choice is the best.


Edit: Considering starting that new file, just to play. If I didn't have to have an English assignment in by Monday, I totally would right now. Phantom hasn't played any further since last night before work and I needs mah fix. :p

No excuse for being douches. Not like Europe doesn't have the intrawebs to spend twelve seconds on to find out it existed elsewhere.

You'd think if they like the series so much, they'd want the franchise/company to be successful as possible. With as bad as the economy is in most places, everyone needs to get what they can however they can get it, including consumer businesses. Shit, you'd think that crowd would just be happy enough to get a free game console and awesome game.

It seems the REAL beef was that the game was advertised on the US with just the 360 Logo and not the PS3 logo. And also the whole "360 owners get free avatar items", but that was before the whole "PS3 owners get FF14 free item when they register their FF13"

You're assuming humans are rational creatures. And I thought I was innocent. :p

I'm joking, but really, fanboys and fangirls transcend all logic and sensibility in their rabid devotion to a single object. Console fanatics will bitch about any console that's not their favorite, game fanatics will rabidly maul anyone who tries to point out a flaw, etc. These are people who have delved into full-on obsession and don't listen to reason anymore.

You are 100% correct sir, a gentleman and a scholar. I'm just saying I don't give them douche-pass for fanboyism. I think it actually ups their admissions application to Douche Academy.

...And I have copyrighted Douche Academy now. I am owed a quarter everytime someone uses it.

Does Hope ever grow up and get off his "Snow's fault for everything" crap? Seriously. I just want to slap the little shit. Chapter 5 and I just listened to him blame snow for everything and was hoping lightning would bitch slap him, but nope, she didn't. He really pisses me off. I enjoy the other characters but him. I hated controlling him because he bugs me so much :(

He gets over Snow by the end of chapter 6.


Speaking of crap we don't like, Phantom may have put down the game for the foreseeable future due to a somewhat bullshit boss battle. Apparently, your fight with Galenth's true form involves a really tough battle in the first place and then also something that either kicks in automatically or happens as an attack that makes your Gestalt bar drain before your eyes. He couldn't give me any details because he doesn't know what happened, so I asked on the boss talk page on the FF wiki. Hopefully, someone will figure out exactly what happened and add it to the battle tactics, because he's never put down a game he's liked over one thing before.

He aced me with Destrudo the first time I tried him. I rarely use Eidolons though, so I never had him do that to me. a Rentless Assault on him makes the fight easier in the second phase as it limits the damage of the attack.

Yeah. The wiki page says nothing about summoning in the battle, and he got pretty far without doing so using an alternative tactic to the one suggested, but he just couldn't win and the Gestalt bar just took the cake. Guessing from the sounds, he had to force himself to set the controller down before he threw it.

Who did you use, BTW? It might help him to have a tactic he knows another real person used.

Lightning, Sazh and Hope. I followed this guys strategy, Didn't get the 5 star but I did beat it.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/detai...sage=593191913

It was funny, up until that point there wasn't a single hard boss fight at all. And Hope improved after his stupidity. I've been playing pretty much nonstop today lol.

I find it hilarious how the original trailer's battle scene became a fucking cutscene.

No Kuja? No Kefka? No Sephiroth?
 

So ... I've heard there's no cool antagonist in this game.
Is that true ? :(

The antagonist isn't bad, but it doesn't seem to focus on the story that much right now. You don't really follow around the enemy as much in this one as you did the others. Least thats how it looks to me. The Sanctum leader guy isn't a bad main Villain though, but the story is focused mostly on the heroes.

This game's Cid is the most boring Cid since FFVI Cid.

They're underdeveloped, and two of the villains get offed way too quickly.

Basically character wise it's the inverse of FF12

13
Predominantly younger cast with a old guy dragged along.
Well developed heroes
Under developed villains
One boring Cid

12
Predominantly older cast with some tag along older teens
Underdeveloped heroes
Well developed villains
TWO awesome Cids.

Both star a stoic brooding female protagonist though.

Yeah that is pretty much how it looks. It i sort of aggravating in FF XIII because of the lack of a goal in general for the characters for the first 7 or so chapters. They just kind of run around either fleeing the enemy or chasing them. The lack of a real goal and a real enemy bugged me. Least with almost every other FF you actually have an enemy you are after.

Although Al-Cid is apparently not an official Cid.

My brother just got everyone made l'Cie. He's waiting for Red XIII to show up.

I find that the plot is alot easier to follow early on with a little primer that I made myself. NB: I'm not sure if I'm right.

fal'Cie = Espers
l'Cie = Mages

I only wish. I see the lack of such a character as the ultimate missed opportunity of the game. :(

It's more like:

l'Cie = FF4 Summoners
fal'Cie = demigods

That was enjoyable. I agree with that commenter. Steel guard is Snow's official catch phrase for now on. XD

Ending spoilers:

"Hey, no matter what happens, we can't kill Orphan because that would be bad and stuff."

"Right. Also, we need to reiterate this decision for every cutscene for the next 2 hours."

*party gets to Orphan*

"Fuck it, let's kill him."

the ending was pretty awful. Especially the part where everyone got turned to Ci'eth or however the fuck you spell it, and they all turned back to normal because of the infinite power of positive thoughts! At that point I was hoping that the Maker would come back and be all like "yeah I turned them back because you're being kind of a dick, Orphan" or something because that would've been less dumb.

It's more that anyone can theoretically will themselves back to normal from Cie'th, and Cid Raines almost did beforehand, from what I've read. They basically just were able to take advantage of that.

I figured out the thing I hate most about the game, besides Hope. It's not even a part of the game itself.

...Square Enix, could you have picked a gayer song for the commercial? Even if you tried?

I mean, in the big scheme of things, it's good that it's the worst thing about the game, but c'mon. All this great action going on and you back with some sappy love-pop shit?

Okay if I had to rate the stories of the FFs I've played immediately after finishing the game it would be:

Tactics > VI > XII > VII > IX > IV > V > X > XIII > VIII > III > I

BECAUSE THAT'S HOW WE ROLL IN HERE

Wow kinda surprised that was the worst part of the game (I enjoyed "My hands".)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H_G1wm10Q9.../PicardWTF.jpg

They actually switch places depending on the house of the moon. I think IX's was a lot more charming, but disc four and three are really inconsistent with what was set up in disc one and two.

I'm feels like I'm on Endgame, 'cause I can finally choose who's in my party, but there's a whole disc left. We're off to kill the Primarch, the horrible Primarch of 'Coon!

What, no love for mystic quest?

Or II, either. He is now obligated to play it as punishment for rating X below VII, V, and IX.

Don't get me wrong, I loved IX, and if VII had been about Red XIII, it would have quite possibly been the best game ever (Cloud ruined Aeris' death, but I cried for both major developments in Red's story). But V? Really? Maybe I just didn't stick around long enough, but the characters were paper-thin and just as flat as far as I dragged myself through, leaving me with the feeling they were utterly interchangeable. I understand they got development later on just from hanging around FF Wiki, but Christ, I got bored with it and went back to playing Chrono Cross.

By growing up and moving on before the Big Bad Boss fight?

Why do people hate FFII so much ? The game is pretty cool !
I admit that the "level up" system is a huge pain in the ass..... but ....
It has a good story, it has a real plotline and also lots of interaction with villains and other characters. It's true that the story is a bit cliche at times... but still, it's pretty good for NES standards.
The music and the graphics are better than FFI's.


Long live the mystic quest !

I'd have to say it's mainly because of the level system people rag on it. That's my only grip with it. God I hated that system. I had huge attack at one point but meager HP because nothing hit me, then got to a boss and one hit killed me because of that. So lame.

If they complain about cliche story I woulld like someone to tell me what FF isn't a cliche'd story at times.

True.

It was really annoying.... getting good stats was a huge pain in the ass!
I remember staying in places where monsters were weak and having my party members attack and heal each other in every battle. (It's the only way to get good HP and defense)
I also remember that near the end of the game you learn the strongest spell.
It was ultima or holy, or something like that. It was supposed to be the strongest spell in the game, but since you learn the level 1 version of it and you have to level up all your spells in order to actually do some damage... it was the crappiest thing ever.
If I remember correctly I used it against the final boss ... and could only deal 15 points of damage. :sweatdrop


Also true.

No, by completely delving into narm territory. His speech was just so overdone that it ruined the impact of the moment for me. His mortal enemy just killed the woman who mystified and beguiled him, so he held her as she died in his arms, laid her gently to rest, and immediately unleashed his emotion-laden revenge on her kil-AHAHAHA, no, he sat there holding her for ten minutes going on about how she was dead while Sephiroth just stood there calling him an idiot before waltzing out sans one instant-boss tentacle.

On the other hand, when Buenhagen died, Red showed an actual resistance to the idea, an unwillingness to accept the loss of the only person he had left, acting as if by refusing to accept or allow it, it could be avoided, and lamenting in simple terms when he realized he was powerless, ending the scene with a single, baleful howl, which said so much more than any of what Cloud came out with.

Cloud handled Aeris' death with immediate acceptance and dialogue so bad that THE MAIN VILLAIN called it out as bullshit, where Red's reaction to Bugenhagen's death was so much more human and heart-wrenching.

While it was technically superior in nearly every way, it tried to do too much all at once and misstepped the execution on a lot of it. Natural growth could have been good if it had been handled a bit better. To level spells up, you had to use them hundreds of times, which was prohibitive given your low MP. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if your stat growth hadn't been so pathetic, so the game essentially expects you to ride off the seat of your pants to get anywhere. Then there was the weapon proficiency system, not a bad idea, if it hadn't prevented you from actually specializing in a weapon. But no, to get anywhere with one weapon after the third level, you had to work on other weapons, meaning your party would usually be operating with sub-optimal equipment. Then there was the illusion of an open map, only instead of walls, they blocked areas off with battles far beyond your party's abilities, so the only way you knew not to go somewhere was by dying and reloading. Not to mention the fact that there were also places you HAD to go where the enemies would crush you like bugs. On top of that, the keyword system turned the game into a protracted chore of rubbing every word you came across on every NPC one by one like a bad adventure game in hopes they'd reward you with more than just a different bit of text. These are all things that could have worked if they'd been handled better, or would have been forgivable if done alone, but the game was a hodgepodge of poor execution to the point that most people didn't get far enough for the story to actually unfold.

It's good to know that the adequate approach to troubling times is cathartic violence.
And oh no, I'm not doing what the villain thinks I should do! I must be doing things wrong!

I didn't really find his speech that out of place, considering Sephiroth was giving his speech as well, it seemed to fit then going all rageahol on Sephiroth because Aerith died. Also, Sephiroth called bullshit on his feelings, not his speech. It really wasn't immediate acceptence, it was more along the lines of things he'll be missing of her.

I mentioned only the ones I finished to completion. Objectively speaking XI would be in the third or fourth place, but since I never finished that crap it's not there.

V has the decency to not get all sappy and melodramatic. It may be the most contrived piece of shit ever, but it is a brief and fun piece of shit.

More games should be like V.

I find it ironic that you say this having rated IV above V.

Dark Knight Cecil: "I'm a dark knight but I don't right killing all these people but I have to be loyal to the king so I'm saaaaaad. :'("

Paladin Cecil: "My girlfriend has been kidnapped she is my life my hope how will I ever live without her I am saaaaad. :'("

Later on, Paladin Cecil: "It turns out I'm from the moon I'm fighting my older brother I don't fit in also I don't want to kill my brother but I have no choice so I'm saaaaaad. :'("

Kain: "My best friend is in love with the woman I want to be with also I got mind controlled and had to fight him for a while so I'm saaaaaaad. :'("

Edward: "My girlfriend is dead also I am a spoony bard so I'm saaaaaaad. :'("

etc etc etc

I know it's ironic, but even then I have to admit there's almost nothing to hang on to FFV's plot. It is non-existent, although non-intrusive. And for all the melodrama FFIV contains, it never is teeth-grinding or overplayed, unlike later titles in the series.

I'm still before chapter 11 where the game opens up, but I am still digging it. The linearity isn't as bad as people have been saying, and definitely no worse than X up to Zanarkand.

My favorite numbered Final Fantasy would probably have to be V, because of the Job system followed by 8 for gameplay reasons and having some of my most favorite boss battles ever.

I'll say what I've said elsewhere...

The first fight in the game, the enemy attacked right before Lightning did, and Lightning decided that she'd just run against the geometry of his arm for a second or two instead of, you know, attacking. Great start, game!

Other than that, it's okay. Combat is still boring as fuck because usually all I do is press auto-battle, since when I was playing with Lightning, I didn't notice Blitz for a while, and now I'm playing as Not-Seifer, so the same is happening here.

There also seems to be the gaping plot hole of why are Sahz and Lightning even together. It just throws them together in the beginning, and I have no idea how they're together and why they're grouped up. It seems they just met, and aren't too fond of each other. SO WHY ARE THEY TEAMED UP? Blergh.

Sahz is pretty awesome, even if he suffers from "Haha the animal can talk but he's the only one who can understand it" durpa durr syndrome.

Also, I miss my normal levels. Combat feels kinda pointless right now, since half the time I don't get anything, and the other half of the time I get potions and maybe a Phoenix Down. No thanks, game. I don't think I've used an item yet, I don't need any more. I guess I get components, which maybe I'm supposed to sell for money? I dunno, maybe I'm supposed to save them up for something, so that's what I'm doing now. Only thing I can buy at the store right now is more items anyway, because fuck this game be eeeeeaaaasy.

Also, @Blues, you complained a lot about having to sell stuff for money in XII, but I don't think I've noticed you do the same for this game. Any particular reason why, or does the game start handing out money like candy after the tutorial?

Money is pretty scarce in this game.

Kinda unrelated but if I had to describe this game I would say this is the Kingdom Hearts II of the Final Fantasy series.

About the time you get your first usable Eidolin the combat switches from "Auto Battle-> AUTO BATTLE HARDER-> Maybe a potion-> Victory!" to having to watch your enemies and switching paradigms when you need to. It gets deeper.
There are a lot of holes that slowly get filled in as the game goes on. Jeez man do they have to go HEY THIS IS WHY I AM HERE while looking at the camera? Honestly, they are all strangers and as they come to trust each other and spend time together they open themselves up.
You leave the goddamn chocobo chick alone.
You can't really tell but you are actually getting points to spend in your Crystarium (Sphere Grid), which opens up in chapter 4 I think.
DEAR GOD DON'T SELL YOUR COMPONENTS. You need them to level up your weapons.

I'm just saying I would like some context for what the hell is going on, rather than have it be Mystery Theater: Who Killed The Butler.

You sell components that sell for a lot but give little XP, like the chips from PSICOM dudes, to buy components that give decent xp in bunches to level up the modifier.

Cloud in that situation: "Oh, no! A crazed megalomaniac who plans on destroying the world killed my girlfriend and is just standing there making triumphant speeches! I must make my own melodramatic speech and let him get away for no good reason!"

aggressive person in that situation: "Oh, no! A crazed megalomaniac who plans on destroying the world killed my girlfriend and is just standing there making triumphant speeches! God, this is my chance to take the bastard out, for my girlfriend and for the sake of the world!"

passive person in that situation: "Oh, no! A crazed megalomaniac who plans on destroying the world killed my girlfriend and is just standing there making triumphant speeches! God, no! Please, don't die! Talk to me! No! *sob* What do I do?"

This pretty bluntly sums up the reason the scene fell of deaf ears with me. Maybe taking Sephy out wouldn't have been everyone's reaction, but when you're that emotional, reason goes out the window, one way or another. To put it this way, what would YOU do if a guy shot your girlfriend in the face in front of you and stood there gloating? Probably not just talk to him. In my case, I'd totally have freaked out and tried to get in some last moments with her, and when the guy started rubbing my face in it, if she were clearly gone, yeah, I'd fucking FLY at that guy and wipe the smug grin off his face. Hell would be a reprieve if I had any say in it.

I find it amusing that they both really thought it was an appropriate time to make speeches. Sephiroth has an excuse, because he saw it as a large step toward his ultimate victory and isn't quite sane in the first place. Cloud, on the other hand, at least had the excuse of having a giant glass ball thrown in his face previously, or having been under the influence of mind control, neither of which happened in this case. There was nothing stopping him from shanking the guy.

And, uh, yeah, Cloud DID accept the fact that Aeris was dead pretty much instantly. Seriously, only tries to wake her for three seconds, less than a minute until he basically throws her body to the floor to face Sephy. There was no tearful farewell between the two if she'd lingered on a bit, which she technically should have, given she was stabbed through the abdomen. There wasn't even the paralysis of despair. If he had been, he would have tried to interact with HER a bit more, rather than instantly turning his attention to Sephy and blaming him for killing her. Hell, looking at that, I was just as ready to call bull on his emotions as Sephy was. Describing his physical reactions to the murderer was not appropriate. It was almost like him counting to ten to give Sephy a running start. The scene could have played out one of two ways: either a tearful farewell where Cloud would have been utterly crippled by his sadness and Sephiroth wouldn't have been his main focus, where the battle would have begun with him still holding her, or a scene of hurt and anger where he would have actually tried to do something about it right away, realizing that she was gone. The final product was neither. Cloud was acting like Aeris was supposed to be his main focus, but she wasn't. He was angry at Sephiroth, but not enough so that he'd do something rash and vengeful. All he did was make a speech about how Sephiroth had killed her and linger somewhere in between without really committing to a strong emotional reaction in a believable way. It LOOKS like he's going to be crippled by his sadness, but then he suddenly drops her like she was nothing and just stands there while her murderer gets away.

Actually, and I'm saying this as someone who wasn't the biggest fan of FFVII, Cloud does attack Sephiroth, but since the Sephiroth was just a Jenova thing, "killing" him didn't really kill him. All I'm saying. Cloud hardly lets Sephiroth get away there.

I have suspicions that you are a cartoon character.

Whats so weird about someone who fights and kills accepting death easily? they knew that any one of them could die on their hairbrain scheme of killing Sephiroth, him accepting it is just simple. FF VI has a pretty bad speech just before they fight Kefka. It's video games and comics, Everyone makes speeches. I found 6's annoying self help speech from all the characters way more annoying then clouds. I like 6 better, but it was still a very annoying speech. And she didn't linger, she was flat out dead, they didn't even make it seem like she lingered. it was stab and then DEAD!

Yeah, but that speech is awesome for Kefka being all "Fuck you guys, I'll just blow it all up again."

You need a suitably rousing speech when you are going to fight a scary clown.

Done derailing the thread, so I'm gonna reply to this.

Odd glitch, didn't run into anything like that. Possibly a collisions issue? Weird.

Lightning has Blitz, Snow has some nifty hand grenades starting out. They're infinite, but once you get further, they fall off the radar. You'll probably have to buy them back later, but we didn't get that far yet.

It uses flashbacks to explain how everything got the way it is. For a spoiler: The two don't know each other, but he tags along because he needs help to do what he thinks he needs to do and they're going the same direction. They don't share as common a goal as he believes at first, though.

Actually, if you're not a l'Cie yet, you're not gaining any EXP. There's a Sphere Grid-like system in place again, but it doesn't kick in until you get changed.

INLINE EDIT: Let me clarify that. Where in FFX, you needed Sphere Levels to move around and Spheres to unlock crap, here you gain CP, which is a fancy way of saying EXP you can put towards any node adjacent to a lit one on the grid at any time, without needing to worry about movement, even if you can't fully reach it yet. Also, everyone has their own fully unique grid, with different abilities in different orders, stat boosts, unique abilities, and "specializations" in certain jobs, meaning what they're essentially designed around. Like, anyone can become a Medic, but it's one of Hope's major functions and he's just plain better at it than others. [/edit]

ALSO, do not underestimate the utility of items. You will use them much more later. ALSO ALSO, do NOT sell your components. This was said before, but it's a bitch to collect them and you'll be very sorry if you wipe out your stock, because they upgrade all your equipment. You'll get "credit chips" or some crap later which sell for a lot and aren't good for upgrades.

It does not, sadly. That's a major complaint for me. Gil is incredibly hard to come by for a good chunk of the game. The only reason it's not a deal-breaker is because you'll find all the equipment and most of the items you'll need if you're thorough, so you can focus on buying components. If you miss a weapon, it will break your bank. Literally, you'll have to scrape for the Gil and then wipe it out to pick up one you missed.

But short of supplementing your component stock and paying for not being a good enough raider, there's really very little use to the shops in this game. There will come a point where you'll be able to farm money-giving components from enemies, but you'll probably find yourself sitting on it because upgrading your weaponry is free, minus bought components.

Hand Grenade gets replaced by Blitz for Snow.

God fucking dammit I'm starting to get interested after all.

I told myself I wouldn't pick it up, when I first heard of it. Final Fantasy XII was something I could not get into, at all. The whole mechanics of the game did not agree with me. Eventually got a guide. Who knows? Maybe it's just the first bit that's irking me? Got through that "first bit" (don't remember exactly where) and decided to sell it anyway.

The more I heard about this one, though... Yeah. I've got it lying next to my PS3. Were it not that I'm playing Metal Gear Solid 4 (and surprisingly liking it!) and Yakuza 3, I'm sure I'd be much further in. The bit controlling Lightning and the bit with Snow (Halfway through the character introductions now?) sold it for me. Maybe it'll completely suck much later on, but so far... I'm liking it!

Played about 30 minutes of this at a friend's house.

It is a really pretty game, but that just makes the uninspired character designs all the more dissapointing. I like the Chocobo-in-the-hair guy and Lightning is pretty good, but everyone else looks like a cheap stripper. Yes the dudes too.

I had heard a lot of hub-bub about the battle system and even though it's fast it seems pretty boring?

And why the hell can't I view a full stat sheet? I get all of 2 stats and elemental defenses showing up, yet there's armor that boosts the defense? What is that? Is defense that weird percentage mechanic?

Battle gets better after you unlock the classes. The system is actually DESIGNED to be slightly abusable, in that if you switch between one set of classes and a similar one (Paradigm Shift), you can insta-fill your ATB bar. The game literally expects you to do this. If you're not constantly switching Paradigms, you're doing it wrong and it will grade you down based on your battle time. It's very tactical in a way.


Armor doesn't raise your defense so much as it adds to your HP, from what I can tell. If there is a true defense stat, the only way to raise it would probably be with buffs. Not 100% clear on this, myself.

I mean, it's just HP, MP, STR and MAG? Nutty. Also Paradigm Shift is eerily reminiscient of dress-spheres/ grids, and the leveling system is pretty much a spin on FFX's which would then make FFXIII = FFX + FFX-2? I'm ok with this. I imagine some people are not?

Once the game actually lets you play the combat system is pretty damn fun I don't care what no one thinks otherwise!

I need one of my characters to learn Haste ASAP though, having 4 ATB bars without Haste provides these jarring moments of nothingness in a really fast combat environment.

Are you playing on normal or slow ATB? You can change it. Also, Fortisol gives you Haste if you use it before battle, but I wouldn't waste it.

Normal. And I am aware of the most basic elements of the game thanks! You only get like 3 in the first 15 hours. I save them for bosses.

Edit: I originally considered playing on Slow because I found the combat too fast when I first popped it in. After a few hours, I just got used to it. I hope that's not their justification for the half-game tutorial though, jebus.

Vanille's design I don't mind. Though I do gotta wonder why they combined cutesy face and personality with this whole tribal/primitive look. I'm assuming there's a reason for the tribal/primitive bit, but it contrasts with her attitude and face something fierce.

Heh, heh. Sorry. Missed the four bars part. ^_^;

Hope and Sazh are the two Synergists of the game. Sadly, Sazh is the first to learn Haste... at role level 6. >>;

Sazh is a better character over all though, hope is usefull in certain areas though. Being synergist and medic work wonders.

After chapter 10 everyone has access to all roles

15 hour tutorial.

Hope it helps. :P

Augh this writing is so bad you guys. Serah's death was just... awful on so many levels. The deliver and writing of it is atrocious. Since they throw you in the story without establishing anything, her death means absolutely nothing. You don't know her, so you can't really give half a shit that she's dead. You hate any character who doesn't have a chocobo in their afro, so feeling bad because they feel bad, which is bad writing to begin with, doesn't work either. Just... ARRRRGH this is terrible.

If I wasn't already aware that the gameplay might actually become decent at some point in the future, I would drop this game right now. Holy fuck. I... I am at a loss for words.

But Nonsie, Your Hero is coming!

Honestly rent it before you buy it.

Nonsie, you need to sit your ass down and earn your way into the story. :p

No, seriously, I thought I mentioned this before, but the lead-up to the beginning of the game is done in a series of flashbacks. There are a good number of them in the first few hours, just so you get an idea of what's going on. Serah isn't done. You'll keep seeing her.