One Man Plays Final Fantasy XIII

[Khuutra]

I just got to the first part where you play as Hope.

Sorry for the lack of updates, guys, I had to take an extended break to play some games where I felt more in control, and which were more focused on the power of rock-solid mechanics. Fire Emblem has fixed me right up.

Anyway.

I'm really kind of enchanted by the appearance of Cocoon. All those streets in the backgrounds, green lights acting as tiny artificial suns, the population density suggested by how vast this place must be for there to be millions of people but none of them being visible from where I can see. This would be a really cool place to explore.

I couldn't help thinking, while I was playing, that JRPGs are one of the genres that benefit from two things:

1. The ability to explore.

2. Navigation itself being relatively simple.

Added layers of complexity for navigation makes JRPGs worse, not better, which is why I still like 2D overworld and 2D town structures best. Adventure games are a bit different in that vertical map design can be a boon, but I don't think it would have worked well in FFXIII. THat said, I kind of wish they had.... they had made it a map I could traverse, divided into multiple levels. Maybe give me an elevator or something? Come on.

I'm playing the game in Japanese so I have no idea how the English voices measure up, but Vanille's voice is way too damn cutesy. I'm sure this has something to do with my entrenchment in my own culture's storytelling tropes, but everything about how she behaves is irritating the piss out of me right now. Hopefully that changes.