Second Runoff Round 2009, Game of the Year

[Zkuq]

Jaicee said:

Zkuq said:

I'd really love to vote for FFXIII, but the game has some serious flaws. Still, there's something magical about that game, and it's something that Final Fantaxy XV, which is in many ways a much better game, lacks - and I'm not getting that good vibes about XVI either (but I haven't played it yet).

FF13's flaws IMO are just common JRPG subgenre flaws for the most part, like a frequent lack of appreciation for subtlety. And generic, squealing anime girl Vanille who's highly annoying chirpy infantilization grates on my nerves. And the music's nothing to write home about. Those are small potatoes to me in comparison to the soullessness of 15's overarching storyline. It's super easy to tell that a lot of heart and soul went into Final Fantasy XIII's tale about finding your own purpose in life and the importance of having one and the pacing thereof. The 15th entry, by contrast, felt to me more like a half-hearted concession to Western design tastes. And also much too heavily male-oriented for me.

I haven't played very many JRPGs, but that certainly matches my impression. I actually have conflicted feelings about the music of FFXIII, but it's definitely not even close to the level of Uematsu's works. I personally could appreciate the heavy male-orientation of FFXV, but... it wasn't really my cup of tea either - but it was quite well done, for what it is. I feel like Final Fantasy as a series is perhaps technically keeping things that keep it Final Fantasy while feeling less and less like Final Fantasy, kind of like Doom (at least in my opinion).