| TornadoCreator said: So for FFXIII what are the core aesthetics and did it achieve them. Well it's an RPG with a focus on story and an intricate combat system that is designed to provide challenge. The game has a long length and the genre encourages customisation. As such the primary aesthetics are as follows; Narrative, Challenge, Discovery and Expression... in this order. (Interestingly they'd be in reverse order for a Western RPG due to the opposing aesthetical approach to the genre). Narrative - Does the game tell a coherant narrative, with character delevopment, growth, and advancement of plot? Does it follow a pre-defined or abstract structure, ie. the mono-myth, the three act structure, flowing tension etc. and if so does it succeed in following or subverting it's structure? Does it contain characters that defy stereotypes, consisting of true character traits, both consistant in writing but mutable along with and in relation to the plot and the involvement of other characters? Finally, Is the storyline, and background world in which it's set, internally consistant? Final Fantasy XIII fails on all counts. Challenge - Does the game offer a tactical obsticle and the tools by which to complete it, in order to test reaction, body, skill, or mind? Is the Challege scaling in such a way that increased skill is met with a steady flow of increased challenge such that the challenge neither becomes trivial or taxing? Again, Final Fantasy XIII fails on all counts. Discovery - Does the game offer means by which to explore; be that exploring a world, a characters past, or even opinions and ideals? Does the game allow the player to enter in with the intention of finding something new and previously unseen? In this case, the game is inconsistant at best, as the logs at least offer some way to explore the background, but it's ultimately unfullfilling. The part where exploration would be most apparent, and where discovery is expected however, the game flat out fails on. Lastly, Expression - Does the game offer players a way to insert themselves into the game? Does the game offer a way for the player to influence direction in the game, such as deciding equipment, class, or even appearance in order to make things unique and personalised? This can be achieved in many ways, in Minecraft for example you can mold the entire world to your liking. In most Western RPGs this is a key feature, with text trees and a customisable character to make your own. In JRPGs this is less of an issue, but choosing your materia in FF7, deciding how to junction in FF8, even choosing which way to go on the sphere grid in FFX are all ways of asserting your expression. FFXIII has none of this, with illusions of customisation at best. Failed. By every criteria that we judge the artistic capablities of a JRPG on this game has failed. It is an OBJECTIVELY bad game! |
Don't you see you're mixing your own personal, empirical subjective experience into the analysis?
Narrative: it does tell a story, with a prologue and a full clossure. Does it contains characters that defy stereotypes? (And why characters have to defy stereotypes? Is that a rule or something?) Sazh does. Narrative is good.
Challenge: game is mostly easy. Are you deeming points because the game is easy? And if you don't like it, there's challenging enemies to be found!
Discovery: you yourself admit that there's a way to explore the background of the game, but you YOURSELF call it unfullfilling. Too bad it is for you, it isn't for the rest!
Expression: weapons and accessories are present, and they do customize your character in meaningful ways. Like the one that gives you a small percentage of 100% Staggering an enemy. THERE'S CUSTOMIZATION TO BE FOUND! And remember, all characters have a specialization inside the specialization you choose on the Crystaliarium (Like Fang, which turns out to be the best Synergist).
You're just bashing a game that you didn't like, reverting to some complex analysis to masquerade the subjectiveness. It is not necessary. You can just say you didn't like the experience it offered. It is as simple as that.
But don't come and tell me FF XIII is a Bad Game Objectively and Bioshock is a Good Game Objectively, because that's plain bullshit. Narrative, Challenge, Discovery and Expression in Bioshock is a joke and not because of that the game is bad. No, it is a game: that's only the pure objective assertion here. Good, or bad, that's into the plane of subjectiveness.
