Final Fantasy XIII

[Legend_in_blue]

19 hours in, chapter 9. Still enjoying this. Battle system still very good and well balanced.

Eidolons though do not appear to have the same impact as in previous incarnations such as Anima in FFX.

[Legend_in_blue]

22 and a half hours in.

End of chapter 9.

Solid boss.

Any tips?

[Manwell Pablo]

22 and a half hours in.

End of chapter 9.

Solid boss.

Any tips?

**** off level up, upgrade weapons come back?

What I normally do if stuck in FF.

[h1210]

**** off level up, upgrade weapons come back?

What I normally do if stuck in FF.

Not really that easy on this one!

Make sure you use Fortisol and Aegisol, makes a massive difference if you haven't tried already. Using a Librascope won't hurt as it scans all enemies in one go rather than having to do each portion one by one. Think I just had a Medic most of the time and focused the other two (Ravager and Commando) on one portion at a time taking out the outside ones first and switching the Medic to another Ravager when I could afford to.

Apologies for the spoiler but you'll fight this guy again later and he is much harder!

[Legend_in_blue]

**** off level up, upgrade weapons come back?

What I normally do if stuck in FF.

I am fully maxed out with everyone apart from gaining the role level from 2 to 3. So this is no good.

Upgrading weapons I am delibrately staying clear of at the mo as this can be cocked up early if done the wrong way and not easily reversible.

Tbf, I didn't do a lot of experimenting with the squad last night, I got frustrated with it so switched it off and had a beer.

I don't take to being beaten very easily.

I'll try Sazh in the squad and use haste. That should speed things up nicely.

[Legend_in_blue]

Not really that easy on this one!

Make sure you use Fortisol and Aegisol, makes a massive difference if you haven't tried already. Using a Librascope won't hurt as it scans all enemies in one go rather than having to do each portion one by one. Think I just had a Medic most of the time and focused the other two (Ravager and Commando) on one portion at a time taking out the outside ones first and switching the Medic to another Ravager when I could afford to.

Apologies for the spoiler but you'll fight this guy again later and he is much harder!

Cheers.

I'll try a lineup with Light, Sazh and Vanille and see what happens.

[Legend_in_blue]

This thread is too quiet. What's up people? Have we all taken it back and traded in...

28 hours in now and chapter 11, Gran Pulse. The game is opening up nicely now and it feels a lot like FFX for some reason. It's like the plains from X. Huge open area and lots of opportunity for CP upgrading.

Has anyone had any success with the upgrade system? I still haven't upgraded anything yet.

[MC Prussian]

Finally got round playing some more FF XIII recently. And I'm slowly getting into it, even though it doesn't feel like a proper Final Fantasy. Yes, it's very cinematic, the graphics top-notch.

Yet I can't really put my finger on it, but something's clearly missing.

I don't particularely like this one anime style, the game lacks more distinctive characters, the six playable ones are more or less cliché-ridden stereotypes and amalgamates of characters past. The text s*cks, it really does. Cheap one-liners without any heart or deeper intent.

Although I must say, Vanilla doesn't bother me as much as I expected her to.

The storyline is a mess, don't ask me what's going on in this game. I get the rough idea, but never before has a FF left me so confused. Also, we never get to know the characters any deeper - they remain shallow, superficial.

Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? This time around, you can't really define the frontiers.

The first quarter of the game you spend in silly and short one-way dungeons predominately, which is more than just bland. I know FF VII offered exactly the same at the beginning of its storyline , but 13 years ago, Square managed to intertwine an intriguing backstory and some wonderful worlds within Midgar.

What is left of it now? Almost nothing.

The battle system resembles more of a button mash-up session than a series of personal tactical decisions (having said that, some enemies need a really smart approach, and that's not just the mini-bosses and bosses).

All in all, a good, but not great RPG. It scores with its looks, but the basics are screwed-up. I miss my classic FF with all its magic, Gil, shanty towns & comical creatures and most of all, it's a bummer they couldn't include more Eidolons/Summons - six is way too few.

And there are only little side missions once you progress further into the storyline.

The weapon customization has also been revamped and doesn't appeal too much to me - no more proper shops, it's all virtual within the virtual FF world.

I want FFVII in a revamped version, I want it for the XBOX 360 and I want it now.

[Legend_in_blue]

Ok, 46 hours in now and the game is starting to show why it's not up there with FFX in terms of brilliance.

It was great ploughing through to chapter 13, I enjoyed that part but the decisions placed on character levelling and the crystarium grid as americans would call it now 'sucks'. I got right through to the latter stages of chapter 13 and decided to go back to Pulse to clear up some of these missions (have done around 20 now of about 60) but going around doing these is a chore, it really is.

On top of that in order to level up weapons you need 2 million gil for one component for each weapon and I've racked up around 150 000 gil in 45 hours...

I'm going to grind for as long as I can stand it, hope I've maxed everything out as much as poss and finish off Bart for good.

I still only use Light, Fang and Hope in my party too. I've never switched out to anyone else.

It's frustrating to say the least. My other criticism is of the eidolons. They suck compared with the aeons in X. At least I used them in X. In this one I've barely used them and they feel tacked on.

To grind CP there's an area off the NE part of the open grasslands right next to a save where you can get a pre-emptive every time and it gets you just under 7000 CP. Do this 30 times over and it'll rack up the CP nicely.

If you can stand it...

[Legend_in_blue]

Finished the main story of this beauty three minutes short of 55 hours.

Will probably go back for more and try to finish off all the remaining missions 41 - 64.

Hardcore FF players insist it takes around 100 hours to do everything.

I'm not sure I'll stick at it for even half of the added time!

[Legend_in_blue]

Can we now call this the "Final Fantasy XIII-2" thread?

FFXIII-2

So who has part 2?

Picked up a copy but haven't tried it yet myself. It's averaging 81 from 28 reviews on metacritic.

Early impressions state that it's more open ended and you have more freedom of choice. The battle system has also seen some refinements.

Will post a review up over the weekend!

[Yojoe36]

FF has been dog shite for years. Close thread

[Legend_in_blue]

FF has been dog shite for years. Close thread

It's actually a pretty good game.

So far it's what XIII should have been. No complaints. Everything is as it was but it is better. Minor improvements have made quite a lot of difference. And the graphics and musical score are second to none.

The time travelling aspect works well and the reviews which comment on the confusing storyline strike me as a little strange as it's not hard to follow at all. Maybe these people aren't too bright.

You should try it. Makes a change from bashing trigger buttons at countless deathlords, falmer and bandits in Skyrim.

[Yojoe36]

It's actually a pretty good game.

So far it's what XIII should have been. No complaints. Everything is as it was but it is better. Minor improvements have made quite a lot of difference. And the graphics and musical score are second to none.

Apart from the fact you have to pay for DLC to see the actual ending. What a fvck up.

[Darkon84]

Have never bought or even played ANY of the Final Fantasy games. They have never seemed to interest me, but considering giving it a try. Any honest and balanced views?

[Yojoe36]

Have never bought or even played ANY of the Final Fantasy games. They have never seemed to interest me, but considering giving it a try. Any honest and balanced views?

Here's my advice. Don't buy it.

Looking for an RPG? Wait till Dragon's Dogma comes out.

[Legend_in_blue]

Have never bought or even played ANY of the Final Fantasy games. They have never seemed to interest me, but considering giving it a try. Any honest and balanced views?

FFX (on PS2) is one of the greatest computer games ever created.

That and VII.

You should try both, although VII is tricky to get unless you have a PS3. You can get it through the store.

As for earlier FF's you could always download the ROMs and run them through xsnes.

Are they decent? They're ok. VII and X are the best though.

I wouldn't recommend you get the latest XIII-2 unless you try XIII first. It's not everyone's cup of tea either so you might not like it. But that's Japanese RPGs for you, you either like 'em or you don't. If you have a 360, Lost Odyssey is also another decent Jap RPG. You should be able to pick up a copy pre-owned.

[leicsmac]

Have never bought or even played ANY of the Final Fantasy games. They have never seemed to interest me, but considering giving it a try. Any honest and balanced views?

FF6 to FF10 are all pretty damn good games, 7, 8 and 10 being the best. Since then it's all been pretty much dross IMO - too many flashy visuals and not enough emphasis on gameplay and plotline, which of course is what the FF series is famous for.

If you can find them, any FF from 6 to 10 are well worth playing, even though they show their age some.

[Darkon84]

Here's my advice. Don't buy it.

Looking for an RPG? Wait till Dragon's Dogma comes out.

haha straight to the point, I like it.

Cheers to everyone, I think I'll just wait for now, probably end up buying one when I'm drunk. Thats usually the best way

[Manwell Pablo]

FF6 to FF10 are all pretty damn good games, 7, 8 and 10 being the best. Since then it's all been pretty much dross IMO - too many flashy visuals and not enough emphasis on gameplay and plotline, which of course is what the FF series is famous for.

If you can find them, any FF from 6 to 10 are well worth playing, even though they show their age some.

Anything from IV to X you'll get a decent game, VII closely follwed by VI being the best imo, I've never quite understood the hype about X which I don't think is particularly stand out. Two and three are better than XIII to be honest, same with XIV which is a waste of time. I just about stomached XII as it had its good points but XIII was the first one I actually couldn't get to the end of and its been gathering dust on my shelf for about 18 months and id put it on amazon if I thought I'd get more than three quid for it (needless to say wont be bothering with the sequal)

[Finnegan]

As Manwell says, anything from 4 to 10 is worth your time. Six, seven and eight are fantastic. Nine is a bit of a wobble, in my opinion, but I know others that loved it.

Yojoe strikes me as one of the most woeful judges of computer games (and, indeed, popular culture) as you can find so don't let him put you off.

Gameplay has never been the most exceptional facet of FF games but the stories, worlds and characters all make the experience worth it alone.

[Legend_in_blue]

FXIII-2 update.

I'm 12 hours into it now. The story still makes sense. The gameplay isn't too disimilar to XIII although the addition of monsters to your party makes a change. For the better? - Well at least I don't have to put up with irritating characters forced on me in XIII.

The game itself still feels linear, even though there is choice as to where you can go and what you can do. The reason for this is that the areas themselves are quite small, nothing like the gran pulse area in XIII as yet. Just because you have a choice of destination, doesn't make this any different to XIII, since when you get there, there's pretty much only one way to go. Also the secondary missions, go there, collect that, are a little boring, particularly after having completing a shed load in Skyrim. A change is needed.

Graphics, musical score are very impressive.

Still, it does what I expected it to. Nice filler in before ME3 beginning of March, I'll have it done by then.

[Darkon84]

Cheers for the other reviews and thoughts guys. I'll wait until I've got a bit more time on my hands though. Playing football 4 times a week, and also getting back in to Football Manager and Skyrim aren't helping, along with pub time etc too, but I'll bare it all in mind.

[Legend_in_blue]

The game is too easy. I still haven't died from a single battle yet. Into episode 5 and although it's fairly entertaining, the difficulty curve, or lack of it, is making it less so.