I would just like to say that this is also true in reverse - otherwise solid games have suffered immensely because they've been hyped as the second joint coming of Santachrist and Bruce Lee. In fact, overhyping the game might actually be worse, since you can still be positively surprised if a game is trashed and you find it great, but if you're expectations are already in the friggin sun, you can't really help but to be disappointed.

Hype is a great way to spread the word, but it can also be destructive, whether it's positive or negative.

That's true, and I believe that you shouldn't take hype to the event horizon on either end of the scale.

Ouch, a RPM (role playing movie)

Good one!

For me FF XII was a big letdown.

No. It wasn't because of the battle mechanics or general overworld experience. It was the story around which the game unraveled.
It was so uninspiring that if it wasn't for all the extra goodies in the game like the sidequests, locations etc. then i wouldn't have bothered raking in some 120 odd hours of gameplay

Reading from this thread you can see that FF XIII is a hybrid of FF X, FF XII, a movie and an action game. Sounds very interesting.

BUT

I am terribly worried that FOR ME the experience won't be one to enjoy because of the amount of cut scenes. I have always liked games for not trying to stop me from playing the game and while i fully understand the need for cg cutscenes and strongly support their existence, I do not want a movie with interactive parts. I want a game with well placed cinematic pieces.

To tell the truth i was really mad when FF X did away with open world exploration that you had in every FF game before it. So going over the subject that you are in location A and then in location B all of a sudden is something that i had time to get used too.

I guess that if despite all the flaws that the game might have FOR ME, i will still buy it for the story it has to tell, that's how it should with rpg's imo.

Sad thing that my mom won't probably play it since she loves the series but the more action orientated battles are too much for her to handle, she only plays turn based you see ;).

I don't mean to be rude, sarcastic, mean, or anything of the sort, but this REALLY doesn't compute. Do you play most other Final Fantasies for longer than that?

FFXII is pretty easily the most massive Final Fantasy, especially considering how much less grinding it takes to finish out than is necessary for equivalent tasks in the other games (killing Yiazmat is nothing like maxing your Materia)

That's fine, but I was more getting at the "this game was a letdown. I played it for 120 hours." I almost never play a game for over a hundred hours; when I do, it's because the game is GREAT.

Well you have two ways to look at it here. Well, three.

The first and most obvious one is "it was a letdown for a Final Fantasy" but was great on its own

The second is that RPG gamers just play differently

The third is.... well, the hours kind of speak for themselves in reference to the bolded

I accept the first possibility, hence my question for yanamaster. I have to reject the second one though, seeing as how I fit into that category, yet don't display this type of behavior.

I suspect your third possibility is pure projection, though: remember, we're delving into yanamaster's mind now, not your own!