Mat and I were talking about this just the other day, but the poor fellow had work then a soccer game, which doubtless delayed him. I’m hoping to see his first impressions of Square’s latest epic soon, but you know how those football fans are…
So Final Fantasy XIII is finally available in The West. It’s gone dual-platform, dropped the Fabula Nova Crystalis subtitle (it means “new crystal chronicle”), and is the onlyΒ Final Fantasy I have ever played. Actually I think I played the first one on the NES for a short while, having borrowed it from a friend when I was… like… twelve, but he wanted it back so I never got far.
FFXIII is an interesting bird. It is very Japanese, though not nearly so Japanese as some stuff we see on these shores. It strictly adheres to character and plot archetypes that are so textbook as to be essentially required in most Japanese pop entertainment, but are at the same time so fucking annoying to Westerners that only the most unwashed, dateless, Newtype-reading ex occasi Otaku could possibly enjoy them. But the rest, I gotta say, is pretty cool.
Yeah, it’s linear. I mean so far. It’s pretty corridor-focused. Move, fight, fight, fight, cutscene, move, fight, cutscene… you get the picture. And yet, the more I play the more I roll my eyes at the people who complain about the linearity. Final Fantasy XIII is what it is. If you went in expecting a western RPG, of course you’ll be disappointed. If you went in expecting anything other than WHAT IT IS, which is a JRPG to its very bones, of course you’ll be disappointed. Western RPGs are ferociously realistic, while JRPGs are spun sugar and gingerbread, exuberant extravagances of hyperbolic fantasy. There is no effort here to make you suspend disbelief or “accept” the world as real. It’s not real.
But like its predecessor before it, FFXIII does make an effort to move somewhat in the direction of serious narrative. This is a blood-soaked anti-establishment tale that begins with a massacre and continues with death and loss. As the ads say – would you fight to save a world that doesn’t want you in it?
As far as protagonist Lightning is concerned, the answer to that question is NO. Unfortunately Lightning accidentally finds herself surrounded by the most pathetically motley crew of wanting-to-save-the-world losers you could possibly fathom, and as hard as she tries to get rid of them, they’re stuck together. As you might imagine, Square’s cutscene department has outdone itself (I’m playing on PS3, and I hear the 360 version is slightly lower quality, but nothing to worry about) in terms of splendid CGI. The voice acting is good. Even the characters that I absolutely despise are actually playing their roles well. The actress who plays Vanille, for example, is just doing what her director told her to. The fact that human arithmetic hasn’t invented a mechanism to calculate the level to which I hate Vanille notwithstanding, the actress is really trying. Beyond that, some of the English cast are downright exceptional.
One of the things I hope to hear from Mat is whether the characters are all voiced by American actors on his side of the pond. It would be pretty cool if Lightning spoke all, you know, British over there, all sodding and whilst and honour and name on and all that. I doubt Square bothered, but for a production as lavish as this it would have been nice.
The first 4-5 hours of the game introduce the concepts, but it’s not exactly a tutorial. The game just stops to teach you new things as they’re implemented. And while the tactical battle system has not – so far – lived up to some of the raves about it, it does give the player a new perspective on controlling real time RPG combat. You can layer your commands with incredible granularity or leave the game to micromanage, while you simply keep an eye on the big picture, switching between customizable “paradigms” – general party behaviors, like hardcore attack, support, buffing, etc – as needed. Regardless you push a lot of buttons, but as Penny Arcade once said about FFXIII’s predecessor, it does at times feel like the game is masturbating.
Still, I’m enjoying it immensely. Would I have done different things with the characters, particularly the tormented and bitter Lightning, had the script been in my hands? Yes. But then, I’m a westerner, and Final Fantasy has never been about pleasing western gamers so much as tolerating them. Eight hours in, I don’t regret the purchase for a second.
Oh lord, the protagonists name is Lightning?
Says all I need to know! π bloody JRPGs…*scoff*
The name… yeah. Of course, her soon-to-be-brother-in-law-if-her-sister-hadn’t-wait-that’s-a-spoiler’s name is “Snow,” which isn’t much better. I think FF games have a meteorological naming convention. Wasn’t there a Cloud? And a Squall? They’ll run out of words soon. By FFXVII they’ll probably have a character named Cirrostratus.
But Lightning is actually pretty cool. Her outfit is impractical for the amount of running and jumping she does – though I imagine the few straight dudes in her party appreciate the ninja grrl in the short skirt. She’s angry and bitter with an ever so slight sense of humor, and I really do appreciate her willingness to punch anyone who bugs her.
Good to see you’re enjoying it, Matt. I’ve still not had chance to play it yet.. and to make matters worse we lost at the football! Would rather have stayed in and played Final Fantasy! Even the half time pies and beer were rubbish!
Like I mentioned in another comments section, I can see the linearity being a good thing. I simply don’t have time to traverse a huge, open map for 100+ hours anymore. 50-60 is pushing it but, if Square can keep the story and character progression interesting over those 60 hours I’ll stick with it.
My previous experience with FF tells me world maps and exploration are a good thing. My actual gaming habbits and lack of spare hours in a day nowadays tell me the new linearity should be a better fit. I’m excited to try it.
What I will say is that this game is probably more stripped down than it should be. Not having played previous FF games, I don’t really have a frame of reference, but there is a sense of streamlining gone mad with FFXIII. Still, I really am having a good time, and I think for fans of the genre, short skirted ninja girls with mousy hair, annoyingly chirpy underage redheads, lost causes against tyrannical governments, and/or lots and lots and LOTS of crystal (seriously, they should have just called this game Crystal Fantasy: The Crystalizing. There’s a fuckton of crystal. You can’t swing a cat without hitting some), it’s a good buy.
After I wrapped up FFXIII for the evening I went back to Heavy Rain and finished it. I need to discuss. Spoiler thread opening up on Bollocks now.
I work with a real live person named “Snow”. Really.
If those names bother you, stay away from Eternal Sonata as everyone has musical names: Polka, Beat, Allegretto, Count Waltz… you get the picture. Polka ran around in a short skirt with frilly underpants and beat people with umbrellas. I was highly entertained by the sheer craziness of it all. π
Toger I can cope with that, but really calling characters names such as Snow and Lightning is just crap. Crap, crap crap. There’s nothing cool about it (which is after all why Square did it)
Lightning is a nickname, actually, she just won’t tell anyone her real name.
Toger: your work must be more interesting than mine. Everyone here is named, like, “Steve” and “Rachel” and stuff.
My workplace is hugely multi-cultural. Can’t swing a dead cat – not that you’d want to – without hitting someone with an
“odd”not-quite-what-you’d-expect name.Just played my first hour or so of this.
In all honesty, I’m very impressed. I went into FFXIII hoping it would be good but fearing it wouldn’t be as a result of the negative reviews. The production values are through the roof, which is to be expected, and I’m really liking the combat even though it’s a little light on features right now.
I get what you mean about the voice acting, too. Snow is pretty laughable but in the context of the character, I’ve already just about learned to accept and roll with it anyway. Make no mistake either, this is no Heavy Rain in terms of terrible voice acting..
Of course I’m only an hour in but on the positive side, I’m excited for the next hours to come.
EDIT: Also, Sazh.. who has a baby Chocobo in his hair. That is literally impossible not to smile at everytime it appears.
I agree, Mat. It has shortcomings but is a really impressive game. Combat gets quite involved once Eidolons and Paradigms and stuff get rolled in. It’s a clever new approach to JRPG combat.
One thing about JRPGs and anime I don’t get: why is everyone always so young? It’s ridiculous. Later you learn that Lightning is 21 years old. I remember 21. It’s not the most responsible age. At that age I feel Lightning’d less likely be a kickass cop/soldier who disapproves of her sister’s boyfriend and more likely a slutbomb sorority binge drinker with a tramp stamp and a credit card Daddy pays off who’s slept with her sister’s boyfriend.
What’s wrong with having a 32 year old heroine? Is everyone in Japan in their teens? Lightning looks like she’s in her late 20s. What’s the point of making her a child? To appeal to the tween audience? Of course, Vanille is a child and she looks like she’s 20. I wouldn’t let my daughter dress that way. The Japanese are an odd people.
Argh! Run away!!
I hate chocobos! No, really!
Edge Magazine have given FFXIII 5/10… Ouch!
Big write up in the New York Times on this game.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/arts/television/15fantasy.html?src=me&ref=arts
This reviewer’s thoughts on RPGs track eerily close to the discussions on freedom and control, linear and open world you read around here.
In all fairness, the more I read EDGE, the more I think they’ve lost the plot. I thought the review read generally positive, but like many they opted to ignore the games strengths and concentrate on what it loses as a JRPG.
But hey, slap a controversial score on the end and *POW*.. hits hits hits.
I’m around 5 hours into it now, which is still paltry, but I’d be lieing if I said I wasn’t enjoying it. The general moving around and exploring is extremely clunky and pretty archaic (minor gripe, but the footsteps sound effects are awful) but the more the combat system unfolds the more I enjoy fighting with it. There’s a nice blend of more action orientated stuff in with the tactical side of things (which is what alot of the JRPG stallwarts are moaning about) and it’s generally ticking along quite nicely.
I really do think 5/10 is a ridiculous score even at this early stage of my own play through, though.
Edge said the game is shit up to 25 hours, and then it finally comes into it’s own. Basically very boring up to those 25 hours. Considering that’s half the game, it might warrent the 5/10. They also point out the quality differences in the cut scenes, some stunning and almost photo them others glitchy and clunky….
I’ll bring the mag in to let you read it Mat π
Interestingly, Kotaku’s review said that they preferred the linear pre-hour-25 stuff and felt lost when dropped into the open world section.
It’s funny, the reviews I’m reading are all over the place (though most scores are pretty good). Some people like Lightning, some think she’s boring. Some love the combat, some think it’s too hectic. Some enjoy the strength of story that linear games allow, some don’t like the story or the linearity. This is really a sort of “your mileage may vary” kind of game, isn’t it?
I’ve read the review, Lewis π
I don’t particularly want to be “that guy” who calls fowl of somebody else’s review or motives but, I feel quite comfortable in suggesting there’s a certain degree of shock value applied to EDGE’s score. The sort of controversial opinion about a long awaited game and major franchise that gets people talking and casually dropping into discussion. Abit like here, really. I suppose it depends how much attention you pay to scores at the expense of the actual review but, for me, Final Fantasy is not a 5/10 game (I’d be interested to see some other games that EDGE deem to be half marks as a comparison).
As for the opening 25 minutes being boring? Personally, I’d contest that, although like I say I am only around 5 hours in. At 25 hours to “open up” I can imagine many becoming frustrated, probably to the point of stopping playing, but I’m not sure I agree that it’s fair to criticise the whole of that 25 hour period. I might have 20 hours to go but I’m enjoying the opening 5 alot.
It is all about opinions though, and like Steerpike says the reviews are allover the place. What that tells me is that FFXIII is at the very least interesting enough to draw some discussion points and interest, which for me immediately places it above middle-of-the-road, 5/10 shoverlware.
(Iβd be interested to see some other games that EDGE deem to be half marks as a comparison).
EDGE recently gave “Dragon’s Age: Origins” a 5/10. I read the review. While the criticisms were valid, most were nitpicky little things. The review spent too much time on that small stuff along with some unbalanced views on other aspects in order to justify the review.
It very much smacked of a “We’re edgey and shocking, we give bad reivews to popular, highly anticipated games!”
I obviously disagree with that review. “Dragon’s Age” wasn’t perfect, but it was as much fun as I have had playing a PC game in sometime. I put in 80+ hours and could put in a lot more.
That said, I am all for generally harsher game reviews. The scale should be 1-10 and not 8-10 or whatever.
I like EDGE, though it may be that I force myself to like it because it costs me the equivalent of a spare kidney to import the magazine in the US. I don’t think theywould post a negative review simply to be edgy or shocking; the magazine prides itself far too much on its position as the leader in serious game criticism to do that.
Thing is, since EDGE does not credit its reviews or articles, it’s easy to blame the magazine as a whole rather than the individual reviewer. I don’t fully trust or fully distrust any magazine or site (except this one because we are awesome) – the first thing I look at when I see a review is who wrote it. If it’s someone I trust implicitly, like Tom Chick, I’ll give much more weight to his words and score than I would to someone I know I disagree with.
The reason game reviews are untrustworthy to begin with is that the main advertisers are part of the same industry that these periodicals cover, meaning that advertisers can make threats if they dislike scores. The other issue is that our culture of premature articulation in this industry means that hype and excitement has been building for ages – six years, in the case of FFXIII – and some reviewers simply can’t bring themselves to score a game as it deserves in the wake of that.
Of course, I agree with Mat, this is not a 5/10 game. It might be for a person dedicated to disliking JRPGs, but that person really shouldn’t be playing it anyway.
I had to read, re-read and re-read again “premature articulation” before I convinced myself that didn’t say what I originally thought it did, Matt.. π
I am generally a fan of both EDGE and GamesTM (not sure if those outside the UK will know GamesTM, but it’s very much in the same style as EDGE) but recently I’ve found some of EDGE’s scores to be a little erratic. At the end of the day though it is all about opinion, which as you rightly point out is down to the reviewer. No website or magazine ever presents a unified, singular opinion. Perhaps it would be unfair to criticise EDGE as a magazine for that review as a result of that..
One man’s 5/10 for Final Fantasy XIII is another mans 10/10 for Bayonetta..
I just played Space Giraffe on Steam, it was in some massive pack of games I bought (which are all terrible and have me wallowing in buyer’s remorse), and I think it’s safe to say that in it I have found a game I loathe more than Bayonetta.
I agree Steerpike, I hate that they don’t credit the reviewers! I wrote them and GamesTM a letter once about inaccurate reviewing which they published!
At 5/10 I’m sure it got less than Dantes Inferno! Haha, but if the first 25 hours are as boring as they say, I’d bloody give it 5! π
I’ve just unsubscribed from Edge magazine for the second time because I just get so tired of the cold, sterile writing, however robust it is. When Edge tries to deliver any sort of personality it sounds like The Borg impersonating a dead cat. With the exception of the odd Edge feature, a lot of the news/previews they have I’ve read some time before on the internet. As you mentioned Steerpike, and this is something I’ve spoken about before on the forum, it’s hard to know how to take the reviews because they’re only ever attributed to Edge. Give us some point of reference with an author name, oh I forgot, they are One, they are The Borg. The reviews are also frequently and unnecessarily bogged down in showy language and what seem like posturing ratings, ratings that are totally unnecessary in a magazine that seemingly doesn’t care for them and should be above them! I agree with you Steerpike that its clear the magazine prides itself on its content (just look at the graphic design and all those big words) but the writing itself and the authorial identity of the magazine need humanising in my eyes.
Regarding the 5/10 rating for either DA or FFXIII, I certainly don’t care because the Edge hive-mind also gave GTA IV 10/10. Pah! Now if we knew the authors it would be an entirely different story…
@xtal: Was that the bundle featuring Bob Came in Pieces? I heard that was really good, it certainly looked the part. No pun intended there.
Just wondering, why do we give a physical score, surely a review should weigh up all the pros and cons, and the reader make up their mind? π
@ Greggi, completely agree. It’s easier to hide behind annonymity isn’t it, than be a writer who could be judged by the reader base.
Well it’s not the anonymity that bothers me, although if you’re going to do a scathing review of something then it’s a convenient screen, but it’s the lack of reference it provides. How do I know that I can trust the reviewer? FFC/T-R and many other reviews out there have a personality behind them, a person with likes and dislikes, tastes that you may or not agree with that are there on the paper (or screen), but with an anonymous review you’re relying on references/indicators within the text itself to gauge the character and taste of the writer. This is always the case with an anonymous Edge review and it doesn’t help that their writing style and tone is so ascetic.
What Steerpike said: “If itβs someone I trust implicitly… Iβll give much more weight to [their] words and score than I would to someone I know I disagree with.”
Short OT: Gregg, Bob Came in Pieces ir really nice, you should at least download the demo π
Ahh, I didn’t know there was a demo. I’ll check it out!
I’d just like to add to my bite-sized rant above:
The new Edge issue is sort of making me wish I hadn’t unsubscribed. There are some really good features in there this month. Most notably on Rockstar’s L.A. Noire. It’s a 40s detective game and looks set to deliver the sort of experience the Blade Runner game did but in an ‘open world’ similar to GTA. I’ve dreamed of such a game for years because open worlds are typically so flat.
Dear Gregg, we have the interwebz, magazines are good to collect and bring to the toilet but I do believe you can find plenty of infos about LA Noire in various sites.
I dropped VG Magazines when I noticed that spending 5β¬ a month wasn’t worth it, especially because the news were always at least 5 days old, since these magazines are usually made three weeks before the release date, at least the Italian Official Nintendo Magazine.
I bought EDGE once for my american cousins, it didn’t really impress me and the lack of names related to the article gave me the same Borg feel you had. At least I got a nice old-school zelda poster π