| Runa216 said: I knew someone would mention difficulty. I found the game disgustingly hard, but also remarkably simple. To me it was like EVERY FPS EVAR...in that it didn't require skill, just steadfast determination and a touch of luck. Anyone could beat the game and beat all the enemies, just keep trying till it works. To me the difficulty curve was broken and unfair, and entirely unrewarding. the grade isn't a matter of how difficult it is, but how well done it is. the difficulty in this game was bullshit. too much reliance on luck and repeat attempts. The game isn't difficult at all, and I didn't die million of times trying to figure out how to beat the enemies. All you have to do is properly set up your paradigms, stagger and perfectly time your paradigm change. And I know you're going to mention that paradigm shift animation leaves you wide open, but it really doesn't make a difference since the ATB gauge charges up while the animation is going on. When the animation is over, your bar is full, and any shift after that lasts a second. FFXIII is one of the easiest JRPGs I've played. there was absolutely no 'innovation' in the battle system. It was basically a simplified, dumbed down version of 12's combat system, but sped up and with like 1/10th of the customization options. You had absolutely no control over your allies and blah blah blah.... The reason I gave this such a bad score is because as far as I was concerned, it was just a dumbed down, simpler version of previous games. No innovation, nothing new added. Yeah, it was faster paced and more action packed, but at the cost of customization. The game is basically an evolved form of the ATB system or fast-paced version. Actually, the system reminds me of Persona 3/4, except that it's ATB instead of turn-based. There is little customization with the paradigm roles, and I did find each of the six roles to be useful in some ways. what replay value is there? you play through the game, you kill all the marks...there's no reward for playing it a different way, there's no alternate ways to do things, few hidden items you may not have gotten. Oblivion has good replay value because you can play it COMPLETELY different the second time. same with games like Red Dead Redemption (fame and alignment meter) and inFamous (Hero/infamous meter), THAT has replay value. this game was so restrictive and had so little side content/alternate gameplay styles that it objectively has no replay value. If you wanna play it again, I'm certainly not one to tell you no, but theres no incentive in game to do it. You basically described 99% of JRPGs. Generally, JRPGs have poor replay value since you can't play them differently in your second run or have an effect on the game's story since it's already pre-determined, and let's not forget they're pretty long as it is. IDK about you, but replaying a 40+ hr game and having to battle the same enemies and watch the same events and ending doesn't bond well with me. Only a few JRPGs actually let you change the direction of the story such as Devil Survivor and Tactics Ogre. Though, going by the comparisons, I agree that Western games are way better eastern games in terms of designs. narrow hallways are HORRIBLE level designs. I know it's been said before (and for the record, I prefer linearity...storyline wise), but going in a straight line for 95% of the game is not good design. in FFX, you could explore side caves and hidden areas, the only remotely decent area in the game was Gran Pulse, which was just a series of different hallways. I don't remember seeing any side caves in FFX, unless you're talking about the one in the Calm Lands. FFX is generally the same as FFXIII, and both of them have one open area. |
Responses in bold
