Final Fantasy XIII

[Venture]

Haha, grats Irata!!

Jaded, I'm hoping there'll be an Amazon package at my door tonight too!

[Jaded]

What tickles me about the FF XIII hysteria is... how many of us finished FF XII? Any of us?

But after the disappointment of White Knight Chronicles, and the $10 coupon, I figured I'd splurge.

aRGee, I guess you can only play 1 game at a time? I'm generally working on a PS3 game, an XBox game and a PC game (generally an MMO) all at the same time. I can't sit and play the same game day after day anymore. I like variety. Some days I need to get away from the PC. Some days I'm feeling social. Some days I'm feeling bloodthirsty. Some days I'm feeling thoughtful. I match game to mood. And when a game stops being interesting, I stop playing it. Life is too short to play a game that's stopped being fun.

+1 for use of sarcasm, though!

[irata]

What tickles me about the FF XIII hysteria is... how many of us finished FF XII? Any of us?

But after the disappointment of White Knight Chronicles, and the $10 coupon, I figured I'd splurge.

aRGee, I guess you can only play 1 game at a time? I'm generally working on a PS3 game, an XBox game and a PC game (generally an MMO) all at the same time. I can't sit and play the same game day after day anymore. I like variety. Some days I need to get away from the PC. Some days I'm feeling social. Some days I'm feeling bloodthirsty. Some days I'm feeling thoughtful. I match game to mood. And when a game stops being interesting, I stop playing it. Life is too short to play a game that's stopped being fun.

+1 for use of sarcasm, though!

Never started FFXII... After I played through FF8 last year, and having played through FFX and FFX-2 years ago, I figured I would play through FF9 first.  You know how that went, hee.

Also, lately I've been splitting my gaming time between a PC game and a console game.  Played some STO during the free month - now I figure I may play Torchlight through to its conclusion, whenever I'm not playing FFXIII...

[Gwyn]

I didn't finish FFXII -- it lost me in the industrial structure in the desert, I just couldn't get through that section.

I'm hoping this one sucks me in, but honestly the last two console games I tried to play didn't, so I'm a little worried.  Not because they weren't good games, but just because I get in my comfy recliner and start to play, but end up falling asleep.  I'm old!  [sob]

[irata]

I didn't finish FFXII -- it lost me in the industrial structure in the desert, I just couldn't get through that section.

I'm hoping this one sucks me in, but honestly the last two console games I tried to play didn't, so I'm a little worried.  Not because they weren't good games, but just because I get in my comfy recliner and start to play, but end up falling asleep.  I'm old!  [sob]

I respectfully disagree... The fact that you care/play computer and videogames (and the FF series in particular) means you shall always remain young. 

[Cragmyre]

I've never played any of them 

As for my gaming habits though, all I have to say is read my signature   

[Jaded]

I didn't finish FFXII -- it lost me in the industrial structure in the desert, I just couldn't get through that section.

I'm hoping this one sucks me in, but honestly the last two console games I tried to play didn't, so I'm a little worried.  Not because they weren't good games, but just because I get in my comfy recliner and start to play, but end up falling asleep.  I'm old!  [sob]

You should play standing up!

[Jaded]

More seriously, I quit FF XII in the desert too. I remember it just getting tedious in that I was constantly getting attacked but the fights were so trivial that they weren't a challenge, but I still had to stop moving, go into fight mode, win, collect loot and then go back into moving mode.

Actually it was a lot like being in a MMO and running through a zone full of "greens." You know they can't really hurt you but eventually so many of them are chasing you that you have to stop and fight.

[aRGee]

Well I find if I start playing one before I finish an earlier one, I usually never go back to finish the earlier games LOL!

I spend too much time playing LOTRO I guess. I am playing a couple complete games of MLB10 the Show per day on the PS3. That usually takes a couple hours. One thing about playing a good video game of a sport one really likes is that the replay value is sky high and I never get tired of playing The Show as it is probaly the best pro sports sim out there.

Back to topic......

[irata]

Well I find if I start playing one before I finish an earlier one, I usually never go back to finish the earlier games LOL!

I spend too much time playing LOTRO I guess. I am playing a couple complete games of MLB10 the Show per day on the PS3. That usually takes a couple hours. One thing about playing a good video game of a sport one really likes is that the replay value is sky high and I never get tired of playing The Show as it is probaly the best pro sports sim out there.

Back to topic......

Argee, your constant raving about the greatness that is "The Show" will achieve was nothing and no-one has been able to do thus far:  to get me to play a baseball videogame. 

[Venture]

We were having this discussion over the weekend on which ones we finished.  For me, it was...

All the Nintendo versions
VII
Never finished VIII, never got off the initial island
IX
X
Never finished X-2. In fact, I don't think I ever put it in the PS2
XI - Never played
XII - Never went back to it after getting repeatedly eaten by a giant dino
XIII - Here's hoping!!

[Gwyn]

Same at the beginning -- I finished I, II, III (IV, V, VI weren't released here until much later), then I played VII and fell really totally in love with the whole evolution.  That was my first exposure to theater-quality cutscenes and immersive gameplay, even better than I, II and III (previously III being my all time favorite SNES game and the candle I held other games up to).

Because I loved VII so much, both the story and the mechanics with the materia slots and various ways you could use materia across all the job classes... none have played the same.  I think I did finish VIII, mostly because I was grooving on the card game being in my Magic: The Gathering phase of life and it played similarly.  But that's where my finishes end.  FFX I never got past the soccer game because I kept failing and I felt like I had to win before I could go on.  FFX-2 and FFXI I never bought, and FFXII was the desert story.

So please, please, please let FFXIII be another VII!  Or at least make me fall in love with a new way to play!

[Jaded]

Well, the first hour is mighty fun.

It seems a lot more streamlined than earlier FFs but maybe that's just because it's so early. But it feels more accessible than most JRPGs. Prediction: folks who still game like its 2000 are gonna hate it, newer gamers will enjoy it. But we'll see.

[Gwyn]

I'm enjoying myself so far.  I'm engaged in the story, there's already been some heart-wrenching scenes (no spoilers) that make me care about the people, but I admit I wish FF games didn't have a tendency to begin in dark cities.  The font is really hard on my eyes, and I know I've missed a lot of treasure spheres, even with the brightness turned up.  Still, small nits and I know eventually we'll get out of the industrial park!

I think my favorite character so far is Vanille, she cracks me up.  Lightning is beautiful though, Jack and I both can't take our eyes off her when she's the main.  And the baby chocobo is too darn cute!

[irata]

having lots if fun so far. I'm dazzled by what the PS3 can do when properly pushed/programmed. I love the Lightning character so far, and when baby chocobo showed up I just LoL'd (I adore that kind of Japanese weirdness.)

Oh, and just to correct my earlier post  on the subject: the limited edition Xbox 360 faceplate is free - I just got a call from Gamestop to go pick mine up (they hadn't arrived when I picked up the game and bundle yesterday.)

[Jaded]

I read the manual last night... don't do that! At least not until you're a few chapters in. I only got part-way into Chapter 2 and the manual had spoilers (granted nothing you probably wouldn't guess at but still...)

[irata]

I read the manual last night... don't do that! At least not until you're a few chapters in. I only got part-way into Chapter 2 and the manual had spoilers (granted nothing you probably wouldn't guess at but still...)

Thanks for the heads up! 

[Gwyn]

That's one thing I found really cool about the player's guide -- right near the beginning it has a spoiler page, showing which sections of the manual contain no spoilers, medium amount of spoilers, totally full of spoilers, etc.  So you can pick and choose how to use the guide and totally avoid spoilers if you wish.  So far the main walk through I'd say is spoiler-lite, in that it of course needs to say enough to be a walk through, but it doesn't really go into any great amount of detail.  Definitely no storyline spoilers (so far), just more "head's up, there is one baddie here you can't just breeze by" kind of talk.

Not that one is really needed at this point, I just hate that feeling that I'm missing something and this way I can just relax and enjoy.  There is SO much detail, it feels like one could miss a small side-something even this early in without this little security blanket of "no, you're not missing anything".  Or at least, that's how my brain works, lol.


Oh, and another nit to pick... save games.  I don't like how that works!  How am I supposed to share the game with the family, when it's so damn easy to save over each other or lose track of which save game is my last one compared to whomever played after me's first one, etc.  I wish we could at least name the saves, or have separate queues, or some way to manage multiple players of the game.

[Jaded]

I think you should be able to set up different accounts for each family member on the PS3... then you'd each have your own set of saves?

I'm not 100% positive that'd work, but you could try it.

[Venture]

I'm digging the combat system and how I can queue up orders and just watch the fight.  Potions healing everyone to the max is a pretty good idea too.  I got to the part with Paradigms last night before calling it quits.  So far so good!


Lightning.  Pure awesome, even her sometimes manly growly voice.  Hubba hubba.

Vanille is pretty damn annoying so far.  He voice acting I can't seem to understand half the time, and her walk!  Every time I control her, I have to sing the Smurfs song while running her around. Her weapon is pretty cool though, and she has 3 actions to everyone else's 2 (so far).

Hope. Ugh. Your redeeming quality is that I got to see Vanille bitchslap you.

Snow.  Really, what's with these names for guys?  I'm glad he doesn't have pointy hair, but I was more hoping the hot NORA gal teammate became a regular character! Woo-wee!!

Sazh.  Come on Japan, does every black guy need to be comic relief?  Can't blame you though, just look at Chris Rock, Chris Tucker, Tracy Morgan...etc.  Thanks Hollywood!

Hopefully we'll be able to put more time into it tonight!