The Official Final Fantasy XIII Thread

WaWard · Post by **WaWard** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:22 pm

This whole game makes me cringe. Why did they have to water it down for the inferior Xbox 360?

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:33 am

A work in progress:

[google] Final Fantasy XIII Drinking Game Rules[/google]

Drink whenever you find treasure
Drink whenever there's a save point
Drink whenever a fight takes less than 10 seconds
Drink whenever a fight takes more than a minute
Drink whenever Hope is emo
Drink whenever Snow laughs
Drink whenever you see something new
Drink whenever the little chocobo pops out of Sazh's hair
Drink whenever Lightning attacks another party member
Drink when Snow says "Serah!"
Pass the controller to your left (and drink) whenever someone joins or leaves the party

WaWard · Post by **WaWard** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:48 am

You're gonna get alcohol poisonning in less than 20 minutes!

Undine · Post by **Undine** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 6:20 pm

That's the 2nd most potentially lethal drinking game I've heard of.

Yuka · Post by **Yuka** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 8:08 pm

What's the first?

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:04 pm

This one's pretty mild tbh.
Trapped In The Closet drinking game's where the money's at!

Undine · Post by **Undine** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 2:37 pm

Yuka wrote:What's the first?

"Roxanne"

You you put the song Roxanne on, and drink whenever they say "Roxanne" or "red light."

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 9:34 am

Yeah, I've made up song drinking games even worse than that

Yuka · Post by **Yuka** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:31 am

The Womanizer drinking game? A shot for every 'Womansier?'

Calbrena · Post by **Calbrena** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:31 am

I say blue, you say what?

So where is SGUK's official review of FFXIII? How many Gs?

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 11:04 am

Joei's going to write a review.
I'm actually still playing it, so won't review it until I either get totally stuck, or finish it.
It's pretty good so far, but holds your hand so amazingly much.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 11:45 am

I also have "screenshots" on my camera and phone that I want to use to demonstrate shit

Yuka · Post by **Yuka** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 12:44 pm

Oh good. Just what we needed. FFXV will play itself and just let you watch.

WaWard · Post by **WaWard** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 1:28 pm

Sounds like NSMBWii to me.

Undine · Post by **Undine** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 3:31 pm

FFXVI is the graphical version of progress quest?

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:54 am

Yuka wrote:Oh good. Just what we needed. FFXV will play itself and just let you watch.

The battles are a lot more involved than recent FF games, but I'm about 30 hours in, and I've barely seen a branch of path or village.

WaWard · Post by **WaWard** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:30 pm

Undine wrote:FFXVI is the graphical version of progress quest?

I can't play progress quest no more.

Joei · Post by **Joei** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:40 pm

Here, this is the game. Someone said it so I don't have type it.

Cut scene —> Would you like to save? —> Cut-scene —> Walk forward five minutes, fight some monsters —> Save point —> Cut scene —> Boss —> Cut-scene —> Would you like to save?

Usually the cut scenes involve Snow yelling Sera every 2 seconds. Even if you weren't playing a drinking game revolving around this, having to hear it so often will prompt you to drink regardless.

I hope the linear, hand holding of this game ends at some point otherwise it's going to be annoying. The dungeons look massive but it's actually just a path going straight forward with no branches.

I remember how shocked we were at one point when we found an area that made the game resemble an actual RPG. It was so funny we took photos in disbelief.

So far I mainly want to play it to see how many times Lightning hits Snow for being a cunt.

Basically watching and playing this game made me fall to the ground in despair as Hope does every other cut scene.

Joei · Post by **Joei** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:42 pm

Oh, and it's really fucking pretty. Duh.

WaWard · Post by **WaWard** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:34 pm

Joei wrote:Here, this is the game. Someone said it so I don't have type it.

Cut scene —> Would you like to save? —> Cut-scene —> Walk forward five minutes, fight some monsters —> Save point —> Cut scene —> Boss —> Cut-scene —> Would you like to save?

I hope the linear, hand holding of this game ends at some point otherwise it's going to be annoying. The dungeons look massive but it's actually just a path going straight forward with no branches.

Sounds like every FF since they started sucking. Except XII. Then again people hated that one too.

Joei · Post by **Joei** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:55 pm

well thats the obvious response. not true though.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 12:29 am

Joei. The game gets better.
I'm about 35-40 hours in and it's pretty damn good now. Bigger areas, multiple paths, grinding, and NPCs

The game just holds your hand for a lot longer than any game really should.
Probably my GOTY and a very late runner for my Game Of The Decade.
Certainly my favourite Final Fantasy since 8, and definitely my favourite battle system in the series.
Will give my impressions here when I either get totally stuck, or finish it.

Yuka · Post by **Yuka** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:51 pm

You know, if there's one thing I've noticed about the way I play RPGs... I don't like towns. I rush through them, I don't talk to NPCs unless it's to progress the story and/or part of a fetch quest and in games like Lost Odyssey they're way too big and take forever in a day to get through.

Sounds like FFXIII might be more fun to play in that regard, especially if the battle system is as fast and fun as it looks, since that's what draws me in.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 7:30 pm

I like towns. I get bored in RPGs when the action isn't broken up enough.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 12:01 am

Towards the end of the game now, and the outdoor areas are absolutely fucking huge, like bigger than XII and XI huge, with massive monsters fighting oneanother, dragons flying around the sky, multiple side-quests, and hidden areas to explore.
Well chuffed with this game tbh. Will finish the Japanese version soon, and look forward to playing it in English

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:43 pm

I don't know what chuffed means, but the context makes it look positive.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:28 pm

Chuffed: To be very pleased, proud or happy with yourself.
Not to be confused with
Chuff:The name for a women's genitalia or more commonly pubic area

Garbo · Post by **Garbo** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:39 am

Game gets better? I'm about 30 mins in and it's pretty boring so far.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 11:53 am

The game hasn't started yet if you're only 30 minutes in.
The battle system is really good, and the exploration element eventually opens wide out.

HKK · Post by **HKK** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 1:06 pm

Garbo what is your psn?

Garbo · Post by **Garbo** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:33 am

i pmed u

Plaztik · Post by **Plaztik** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:05 am

Garbo wrote:i pmed u

u scared to post it

Send me too, boi

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 4:40 pm

I seem to collect PSN contacts, but never really play with them.

Garbo · Post by **Garbo** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 5:30 am

[16:27] <Garbo> haha
[16:28] <Garbo> I think I've fucked up my playthrough of ff13
[16:28] <Garbo> I'm about 5 hours in now, and they finally introduced weapons levelling
[16:29] <Garbo> for the past 5 hours, I've been winning all these rubbish items from enemies, and because the game gives you so little gil, I've been selling everything off for money cuz i thought it was like ff12 loot
[16:29] <Garbo> now i have nothing to upgrade weapons with

Garbo · Post by **Garbo** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 5:44 am

Just around this part of the game, I had Sazh, Vanille, and Hope in my party. I don't know how to change party members or change party leaders, or whether or not I could even do so, but I was stuck with a party of 3 blasters.

Some of the enemies are so hard to break with magic, there was one battle where I actually got 0 points.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 7:03 am

I can walk you through it if you actually need help. You can't change party members until later, but setting a leader and some Optimas is easy. Two blasters and one attacker is pretty much all you need to break most of the random encounters in the game.

Oh, and the weapon upgrade stuff you get in the first 20 hours of the game does nothing compared to stuff you get later. Like, you might need 1000 of them to upgrade a weapon by 1000 points, but later on one item found found randomly in a bundle of 5/6 in a battle will be worth 2000 itself.

Garbo · Post by **Garbo** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 9:21 am

i know how to set Optimas, and I couldn't get 1 attacker because like I said, I only had Sazh, Vanille, and Hope in my party. Sazh was only on Crystallium Level 2, so he had no attacker optima yet.

I just don't know how to set leader. And, cool about the itam thing.

So I guess gil really is in short supply.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:05 am

To be honest, you don't really need to buy stuff until later in the game. I have a fuckload of gil now, and I have no clue where it all came from.
Also, in case you missed it, you can pick the other option on the weapon upgrade screen to dismantle weapons. Do this to all the ones you don't think you'll be using, and use the generated parts to upgrade the weapons you are using.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:07 am

Oh, and I'm presuming you're haven't arrived at the point of the game where you can start switching party leaders.

Garbo · Post by **Garbo** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:34 am

Do weapons get better, or do people generally just use the first weapon and upgrade from there? I never know with these things.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:05 pm

I wouldn't take my personal playthrough as a definite example, but I'm pretty sure all my characters are equipped with upgraded versions of the initial weapons.
I intend to play through the game again when it's out in English, and expect to faceplam several times as I find out how much easier I could have made it for myself if I knew what I was doing

Garbo · Post by **Garbo** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 8:10 am

This game is.. not easy.

The enemies are so uneven, I question if I'm doing something wrong, because I don't think I should be getting 1 star in every battle that doesn't have lightning in it, or even when it does. Breaking is a pain sometimes, most of the game so far gives you only 2 party members which sucks dick, and timing is very annoying when some party members only have 3 atb levels.

I've been building lightning up with attacker as her main, and then along comes the bit with Fang, where she is the main attacker and suddenly Lightning is the Blaster. I don't like that

.

Garbo · Post by **Garbo** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 8:16 am

Sazh and Vanille spend way too much time together. They're a horrible pair to fight with, and if they end up together I'm gonna murder someone.

Also, I wonder how people who disliked ff12's story are gonna actually like this one. "Story".

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:02 pm

The story is at least a bit more engrossing and sprawling than XII's.
Oh, and if you're at the point I think you are, there's no more Sazh/Vanille after that bit. Your party will combine, and you can start picking what 3 members you want (though frequently you'll still be forced into a shit party for boss battles, which is annoying)>

Garbo · Post by **Garbo** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 8:56 am

Is it more engrossing? Because it's not at the moment. Each chapter is basically a different area, it almost feels like missions. Sazh and Vanille finish one chapter at the edge of a cliff, then in the next chapter they're in the middle of a jungle. Nothing feels like it ties together well, everything feels completely inconsequential, and I feel no empathy toward any of the characters and their plight.

When I first played FF12, I was always dying to know what would happen next, even in the Japanese version. In FF13, I just wanna get to the next bit where my Crystallium levels up so that I can do some more levelling.

Up until this point, there is so very little story. We all know what the situation is, L'Cie are bad, they can use magic, good guys become L'Cie, fight to save Sera against all odds. That is what the entire story is so far, and I'm a good 13 hours in now. 13 hours into FF8 and you had gone from completing your military training to plotting to assassinate the sorceress.

Nothing has happened in this.

HKK · Post by **HKK** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 10:29 am

You forgot that everything happens in extreme convience.

You're flying in like some fighter plane, stolen, then next you're somewhere else...but wait! The plane crashed! Zazh and Vanille split up from Hope! Now it's just Zazh and Vanille! With a complete change in terrain and setting!

Yet somehow, the party continues to find each other. It's the most ridiculous excuse for splitting the party up I've ever seen in an rpg. This makes the world feel very random in structure. I mean, one minute you're at the snow dungeon as Lightning, and the next you're at some ruins with completely different architecture. The world (or rather, Cocoon) lacks a sense of believability despite trying to convince you of its plight.

When they said that the party wouldn't really become a full party before ways into the game and that the game had a chapter system, I was envisioning something more akin to Suikdoen III or Dragon Quest IV. You know, the characters have their own adventures...they don't even KNOW each other yet in many cases, the game split up into chapters, and the game builds up a common goal for all the characters to eventually join up in the last moments of the game.

But in FF13, there's no structure at all to the switching of party members. It all seems to happen for completely arbitrary reasons. Almost like a Hollywood film.

Even in my (admittedly) short time playing FF13, I was really disappointed with the way the story was being told. But the battle system was so fun I didn't mind.

Garbo wrote:That is what the entire story is so far, and I'm a good 13 hours in now. 13 hours into FF8 and you had gone from completing your military training to plotting to assassinate the sorceress.

Nothing has happened in this.

I felt the same way. I played 4-5 hours of the game and it felt off. Nothing really happened. In typical Japanese fashion, they had a lot to say but nothing really important.

In those 4-5 hours I basically played the intro, did an ice dungeon and some other stuff, but nothing really major happened aside from a fight with Shiva and the intro part which was covered in the demo. I stopped after that.

In comparison:

FF7 - in the first 4-5 hours you have blown up a Mako reactor, Sector 7 has been turned into a pancake, you rescue Tifa from a brothel dressed up as a girl, and you save Aerith from Shinra Building.

FF8 - By then you should be in Timber helping Rinoa with the train mission, and by then you've tackled a mission in Dollet. Which was awesome.

Hell, even in FF12 by hour 5 you should be in the prison after having stolen magicite from the castle treasure room.

It seems to me though, that FF13 is more character based than plot based. Which probably makes up for this, kinda. But when you're teased with a really interesting looking playground and don't get to fuck it up in the first few hours, that results in a really bad case of blue balls.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:11 am

Good points.
I'm loving the battle system and the Crystallium system though, so not much of that stuff bothers me.
Maybe the characters and story will irk me more when I can understand everything that I'm reading/hearing.

HKK · Post by **HKK** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:39 am

Yeah, the battle system is so good I don't really care.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 12:26 pm

Sometimes battles can be a bit harsh and annoying, but easiness doesn't = good quality or enjoyment.

Joei · Post by **Joei** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 12:57 pm

SERA!

*runs off*