I agree with a couple of the things you said but the combat system gets a lot more interesting later in the game. It's a great game.

I'm almost buying this game for the 360... but I don't know why, I have not just a feeling, but almost a certainty I won't like it, for a lots of reasons, including the ones in the OP.

Fair points although for many I doubt they're seen as a problem.

While of course it doesn't affect every game, there is a clear progression in gaming towards simplification and the removal of anything that could be deemed onerous for the player I feel, and this title did seem to exhibit the normal symptoms of that design mindset.

This means HUD's that point the way, most puzzles handed to you on a plate and a focus on what I think of as continuous gameplay - funneling the player through encounters with little to confuse or divert them from the flow and no need to really manage anything much about their characters or working out what to do and where to go do it.

I haven't played that much FF, although I've played a few RPGs in general, and I was surprised (although not nearly as bothered as you!) that there was so little interaction and that until you hit Gran Pulse there was nothing to do but follow a straight line, fight a bit, and watch cutscenes.

As for the battle system it was okay but I found the issue (for me anyway) was that while I felt selecting my attacks was better in principle, and certainly more involving, it was simply too slow. Auto-selecting worked better overall but it meant you did nothing but hit X for the most part and let your team sort it out.

The paradigm shifts gave you a bit more input and the ability to switch tactics, but I felt the system should have been two-tier - the existing system with a lower level where you could then sub-select from pre-set attack/defense combos within that paradigm.

It's ironic, I think, that in a game whose core narrative theme is making your own choices you as the player are rather limited in your choices.

i hate this game so much. i thought 12 was the worst ever, but 13 actually makes 12 looks good! i never beat either game because they got so damn boring i just stopped playing.

YOU SIR STOLE MY TOPIC

i posted this last week, you thief!!!!!!

i said this to akibafan

"here is the kill bill quote read it you'll see what i mean.

"bill: About two minutes, just long enough for me to finish my point. Now, a staple of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone. Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race."



so if FF 13 was targeted at western gamers (and its succes here and failiure in japan are prof of that), how does square sees us? that we get lost easily, that we cant choose spells, we cant uderstand complex plots, we cant choose equipment or party, we all graphic whores, etc, Final fantasy 13 is square enix's "critique on the whole" western market. Is as clear as Water.

it has nothing to do with me liking it or not, think about it, why put a yellow mark at the end of the path when you cant get lost? they think western gamers are dumb, is logical, the computer chooses for you the attacks and all. why? they think you are not capable, it all makes sense. why choose the party for you? because you cant, is simple, i dont know why you think it has to do with my taste."

i'll take the opportunity to post my FF13 review

I agree with the OP.

oh and this is my 191 post thread in GT , you thief

http://forums.gametrailers.com/thread/final-fantasy-xiii--critique-t/1059292


:P

j/k

Still at it I see.

I love that line about Superman and Clark Kent from Kill Bill Vol 2.  I actually wish they'd make a Superman movie that actually took stock of the fact that he's simply an Alien and that in a sense he doesn't have superpowers - he's simply himself.

Getting a bit off topic but I do like that line.