Final Fantasy XIII series sold over 10 million games, do they deserve it?

[Pristine20]

The Fury said:

Pristine20 said:

Hmm...I don't exactly remember S-E advertising FFXIII as a "turn -based RPG". Final fantasy has always had different battle systems. FFXII wasn't strictly turn based either. If you mean waiting for ATB gauge before an action, FFXIII had that too.

No control of entire party =/= bad. KH did it and it was received just fine. In SMT:Nocturne, your party can't revive you either...is that game bad? FFX  has leveling limits via the level 1,2,3 and 4 sphere blocks...was it bad too? Tales of Graces F doesn't use MP either, is it a bad game? You really think a lack of random encounters is bad? Seriously most games have abandoned those since early ps2. There was exploration once you reached pulse similar to FFX calm lands in that regard. Bad game? I think not. Health regenerated after battles...why is it bad? Just because it didn't in older games?

Whether you connected with the characters is completely personal and not really relevant to how good or bad the game is. I can't connect with Hayabusa but I still love Ninja Gaiden series. Not sure what that has to do with anything. The datalog thing I'll give you,  some things should've been explained without forcing you to read up yourself. In all FF games besides maybe FFXII, you can pres "X" to win probably 80% of the time. Not sure why this became a problem after FFXIII. Not sure why pressing X to level is any worse that automatically gaining your stats and abilities. You just sound really nostalgic.

IMO, it was a great FF game. I've played FF7,8,9,10,10-2,12,13,13-2 and the only one that lagged slightly behind the rest is 13-2 because it was clearly cheaply made (and other things) compared to the high production values FF has. That's about it.

No, I said Final Fantasy is a turn based JRPG, not FFXIII. We just expected that. Sure the ATB is there but a butchered version, FFXII had a weird version too but it was luckily a great game.

I'm not comparing FFXIII to other games, I'm comparing it to Final Fantasy games. That is what it had to live up to and it really didn't. 

 KH wasn't trying to be a game where you control everyone, the main character is Sora so you played as Sora. I haven't played Nocturne so can't comment but in a Final Fantasy game, I expected to fail only if all my party perished. In FFX you could choose the advanced sphere grid and if you want make Tidus a magic user. No MP meant strategic magic use was out the window, no longer could I have one character cast protective magic knowing that's all they'll cast while my other character uses Fire magic because they have MP left and the other to Heal. Hardly exploration, one part of a world when in previous FF games, I could go back to any area I wanted pretty much. Yes, having health regen removed things like hotels or tents, using MP outside of battle remained lost so the risk in your next fight was greater. The random encounters is more of a personal one mind you, many people don't like those but I was always fine with them but same with FFXII, there was no element of surprise, did not one fear the arrival of a random Malboro hoping it didn't use Bad Breath before your could escape?

If I can't connect to characters it means my enjoyment of the characters/story is lost in a game that is meant to be story focused. The X to win thing is based on zero thought put into it, not literal. Yes you pressed 'X' to choose a skill in FF8 but you had to choose what to do, attack normally, choose a magic, a GF or an item. In FFXIII it was press X on the first auto-battle option then wait until the ATB filled and do it again. In other FFs you can choose in what order character learn things, if they learn things, their abilities their magics, in FFXIII you went to a crystarium and pressed X until the points ran out.

 

Maybe I am nostalgic, wanting FF games to be a certain way but why not? FF games were great because of superb storys and solid traditional gameplay. This felt lost in a FFXIII. It was a good game but wasn't a good FF game. This is the problem.

No final fantasy game is exactly the same, some are very similar but that's about it. They've never done the same exact thing before so why expect it now? I see you like FFXII, I love that game too. Were you around for it's reception though? It was hated almost as much as FFXIII for "playing itself" via gambits. Dragon Age series did the same exact thing yet no hate. FF "fans", I tell ya...

You really shouldn't be expecting the same from this series, they've always changed it up which is why it's at iteration number 13.

I don't think FF13 was trying to be a game where you control everyone either. Part of the strategy was controlling the right character to win certain battles. Like I said again, it doesn't have to be the same as the old games to be good. Leader death = game over has been done before by beloved games is all I was trying to say. That doesn't make a game bad. It's just something you personally don't like for whatever reason. Same goes for the micromanagement of MP. Items have always been plentiful in FF games allowing you to carry 99 of each. MP-management boils down to pop an ether when you run out same goes for recovery items n general. They are plentiful in these games so why act like part of the strategy is managing them? I thought it just saved time to refill your health after battle. I don't think something is necessarily difficult if it has to rely on surprise to be as such and most running into areas with marlboros were prepared with the right status defenses anyhow.

 

When I say X to win, I mean all you need to win in most battles in FF games is to keep clicking the "attack" button till the enemy dies. I'd say FFXIII is actually for complicated than the rest by making you use L1 a lot as well. People complain about auto-battle  but the reality is that you don't have to use it. Nothing wrong with giving the option to those who do though. I still don't get this hate for the crystarium. Sphere grid is the same thing. The license board is pretty similar as well. Is it because you prefer to click to learn rather than hold X?

I think you are nostalgic. Trust me even the FF games you do like have their own fair share of haters. What is traditional gameplay? Waiting in a queue like FFX? Was FFXII traditional?