510°

How Linear Is Too Linear? Final Fantasy XIII Map Looks Like A Shoestring

AnalogHype ran across an area map of Final Fantasy XIII and compares its shape to that of a shoestring.

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King Hippo5259d ago

*points to the FF13 map*

Japanese gamers on amazon have left their reviews and it seems a lot of them hate the game.

It seems like FF13 was a flop so hopefully FFvs13 gives everyone the next-gen FF experience that FF13 couldn't give them.

3sq5259d ago (Edited 5259d ago )

Ha! I knew it, FFXIII was a piece of crap.

camachoreloaded88065259d ago

Over the Famitsu review. Sounds like you're just paying attention to what you want to hear.

Godmars2905259d ago

You're either not reading the chart right, or onlt seeing what you want to.

199レビュー
星5つ: (66)
星4つ: (42)
星3つ: (23)
星2つ: (40)
星1つ: (28)

4-5 star total: 108
1-2 star total: 68

Depending on where you want to put the three star ratings, the game is either meh or 2/3's of goodness.

Really tempted to get translations of the latest one and two star reviews. Got a feeling those people either just bought the game and are jaded on the hype, or 360-only owners doing what all fanboys do: ruin it for everyone.

chewmandinga5259d ago

Anyone know why they don't like it?

and from the amazon link, it still seems like the majority think it's pretty good.

Johnny Rotten5259d ago (Edited 5259d ago )

Godmars

I don't know Japanese but ya when you see 108 "liked it" and 68 "thought it sucked", it's saying something no?
And who knows, for all I know they rate with stars backwards which is worse. lol

anyways it would be nice to see a translation.

5259d ago
THE MAX SPEED 215259d ago

so how is this game a flop? how many Real reviews are out at this time? or maybe the sales were too low for you?

qface645259d ago

reminds me of how people were saying dragon quest 9 was a flop because some people on amazon gave the game low scores

COME ON NOW REALLY?

Saaking5259d ago

I think FFXIII is gonna be a great game, just not what SE originally promised (Best RPG of the generation, HA! not even close)

Godmars2905259d ago (Edited 5259d ago )

There's something called Babelfish - yes, something actually called Babalfish (read the classics people!) - look it up and use it.

And honestly, why would Amazon use a different numbering system, reverse it, just because a site is in another language?

camachoreloaded88065259d ago

Because those 4 actually played the whole game. How long has XIII been out in Japan to the public? Oh yeah, all those people already beat the game a day after getting it, and it prompted them to give it one or two stars on Amazon. -_-

Even if Famitsu gave the game a sh1tty score and Amazon users gave it universally high praise, I'd still regard the magazine review to be of higher value. All it takes is one click, raters on Amazon don't even have to know anything about the game to rate it. Anyways, it's overall average is around what, 4 stars? I checked FFX and it's about the same, and if I recall that's considered to be one of the best games OF ALL TIME by Japanese gamers.

I wouldn't say I'm ignoring the Amazon users. It's just way too soon to be taking their word for it. Ha, what do I care anyways? If you don't want to play the game based on all those one star ratings, don't!

raztad5259d ago

Doesnt make any sense to hate this game (hoping it to flop) and then expect FFXIIIvs to be better. Are you forgetting is the same people/company developing/involved on both games?

So far what I've seen is a fast and really interesting combat system. Unless the story sucks really hard, this game should be good, dunno if the best RPG ever but good nevertheless. As game is on both platforms I expect a non-biased review from most sites.

CrazzyMan5259d ago (Edited 5259d ago )

Not even timed exclusive. What else you expected, it`s limited to 3 DVD!

On Amazon.jp,
well it`s 200 people of 1 000 000+, which bought FFXIII on first day.
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/...
Also, NSMB has 4 stars and Wii has 3.5 stars there.

Vivi5259d ago

If you judge how good a game is from Amazon JP reviews...

MGS4 = 3 1/2 out of 5
FFXIII 3/ 1/2 out of 5
WKC 3 out of 5
Atelier Rorona 3 out of 5

Many of the reviews are written by people who hate the series for no reason or opposing console owners. Also many are reviewing the actual site and not the game itself..... It's just like the bull*** you get on metacritic or any other website where they give users the chance to review.

If you want to see non-linear environments in FFXIII then check this out...

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

FFX was one of the best RPG's I have ever played but it was also the most linear.

FFXIII has many more open environments then X...there just available until the story has developed.

DasBunker5259d ago (Edited 5259d ago )

c'mon now guys.. trying to justify the reason a lot of people didnt like the game with reviews?

remember GTAIV? and a bunch of other games that didnt deserve that high of scores.. reviews cant be trusted

famitsu reviews? gimme a break.. i wouldnt say its a complete POS just yet tough

Myst5259d ago

I only took one star review and translated as best I could with aid of a translator to. Kanji's a pain in the ass.

Basically enemies are to powerful? with some doing one hit kills. Yet he said the game was beautiful especially the cutscenes. Though one that stuck out is s/he stated it was to linear

P.S. This is Lime's review.

And for a four star one:

The top review I can't make heads or tails of yet, seems like s/he is stating that the game play is not all that? But the cutscenes and such are great.

P.S. That was Geemu's review

This one is a five star:

In a five star review by Tommy Tommy he states that graphics are topnotch basically all the way down to facial wrinkles (?) The battle system isn't easy or something like that not to sure the context. Also those who hate movies and hate the change of pace from a JRPG Tradition should reconsider ( I think ). Though it seems like the story is good.

That's all I felt like looking into, I think AP can read Japanese if so hopefully he will take over.

FACTUAL evidence5259d ago

guys this games is "ok". But i knew it was going to be a let down....don't care about spoilers? Well my friend is youtubing his whooole entire playthrough as of now...enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

BYE5259d ago

Only 3 1/2 stars, that's really bad for Amazon.

Let's see how western reviews will turn out. If they're under 90 -> money saved in an already packed march.

GrandDragon5259d ago

The Japanese Amazon is equivalent to an Open forum where haters and fans alike can cast their judgements and unfortunately almost ever good game has been rated negativity including MGS 4 and the likes....

I am So excited for this Game to release!!! DAM!

leila015259d ago

"Doesnt make any sense to hate this game (hoping it to flop) and then expect FFXIIIvs to be better. Are you forgetting is the same people/company developing/involved on both games?

So far what I've seen is a fast and really interesting combat system. Unless the story sucks really hard, this game should be good, dunno if the best RPG ever but good nevertheless. As game is on both platforms I expect a non-biased review from most sites."

That's not like you Raztad, you usually despise all multiplats, what happened?

Bodyboarder_VGamer5259d ago (Edited 5259d ago )

edit: Apparently the game's story is good and graphics are the best they have seen but the game's so linear that some people are even comparing it to the second disc of Xenogears were the only thing you do is press the X button to advance the text. The battle system sucks because it's way too simple and gets boring fast because the only thing you need to do is smash the button. Another complain is, the battle theme song, it gets really annoying with the time and, too many cut-scenes like in Metal Gear. It is more like a movie than game.

BTW I just used google translator.

raztad5259d ago

@lelia

hehehehe. Thats funny. I never despise a game, unless of course game sucks badly IMO. I own several multiplats, enjoying Dead Space right now but that doesnt mean I cant make any criticism. Some of you guys confound criticism with hate.

Arnon5259d ago (Edited 5259d ago )

"Yeah, take the word of 60-70 random people over the Famitsu review."

Uhh... yes? 60-70 user reviews of "random people" that have played it vs. 1 review of a guy in journalism. How does he have more credibility than the 60-70 people who played the game, probably just as much as he did?

Also, Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy versus XIII are not developed by the same team. Isn't vsXIII developed by the folks who did Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2?

Pyrrhus5259d ago

Wasnt Famitsu review 4 people.

And with amazon sites, we should take into consideration the amount of people giving it 4/5 as well as the other low scores.

IntelligentAj5259d ago

Has anybody played FFX? That game I considered linear and it's my favorite FF aside from 6 and the one i've put the most time into after FFX12. Damn are people looking for a reason to hate this damn game!?

FamilyGuy5258d ago

5 (66)

4 (42)

3 (23)

2 (40)

1 (28)

108 4 to 5 stars (good)
91 1 to 3 star votes (ok to bad)

I'd say it's just barely in the positive, but positive none-the-less, not "bad" altogether as some of you are implying. I'm still getting a copy as I can and prefer to judge games for myself.

Ninji5258d ago

Look how many people agreed with those bad reviews and found them helpful compared to the people who agreed with the positive reviews. A ton of people agree with the bad reviews. FF13 flopped, just face it. I knew the game would be garbage from the beginning and it seems like Japanese gamers agree.

FamilyGuy5258d ago (Edited 5258d ago )

I think more like the game but people who don't like things speak louder and more often than people who do. I've been watching the live streams since it was released and have heard no real complaints. If you find a bug in your coffee you're going to cry foul to every person you see but if that same coffee, was instead (no bug), some of the best you'd ever had you would simply become a regular customer to it and rarely mention how great it is to anyone.

Only complaints I've heard were about Snow being so whiny and many will still buy because it's still Final Fantasy. Just like, despite Halo ODSTs reviews saying it could have been DLC or not full priced tons still bought and will buy it because it's still a new Halo game.

SaiyanFury5258d ago

I'm not going to call FF13 a bad game, nor will I call it down for various reasons cited by people on multiple sites. FF13 LOOKS great. I'm sure it sounds great. I'm sure all of the characters are thoroughly enjoyable. But if this story is accurate, then this game seems to be what FFX was on PS2. It also had great graphics, great sound. Some of the characters were annoying, and it had a good setting. But, on the other hand, it was also a game I ultimately didn't enjoy very much. Simply because FFX was nearly completely linear. JRPGs do have a history of being linear but eventually open up and let you explore around at your will. If FF13 continues in the same mold, I don't think I'll end up enjoying it as much as a guided storyline that eventually opens up the map for exploration for extras and whatnot. No doubt a lot of people will think differently than me, and I invite your opinions. Please explain your views. :)

pixelsword5258d ago (Edited 5258d ago )

but then again, the genre ought to suggest and encourage exploration for FFXIII's maps.

Wasn't the Lost Odyssey very linear as well?

StarCSR5257d ago

That won't happen since FF VS XIII is not even a standard RPG.

+ Show (29) more repliesLast reply 5257d ago
life doomer5259d ago

wow, a lot of people are really hating it from what i can tell. Lets wait until it comes to the us.

El_Colombiano5259d ago

That can't be the ENTIRE map...that's like, a level or something.

Johnny Rotten5259d ago (Edited 5259d ago )

according to the site Analog Hype got the map from, it's around the 6 hour mark and while taking a glimpse at later maps it they say it looks to be no different.

http://www.sankakucomplex.c...

lordgodalming5259d ago

FFX had almost no branching paths and is typically in the top 5 of best PS2 games lists. Linearity can be done well, just like open-world can be screwed up.

lagoonalight5259d ago

No offense dude, but there are quite a few gamers that think FFX ruined the series as a whole. I am one of them. I also think tho that people thinking these games can be oblivion x 2 with all the open world design need to think of the limitations of the consoles. Anyway, I don't think this is a first day buy never did. FF8 forever.

FinalFantasyFanatic5259d ago

Wait... What? If your going to pin the decline of the series on anyone game it would have to be FFX-2 or FF12. FFX was overall a great game even if you do pick on it for any of it's flaws.

aaronisbla5258d ago

10 and 12 were great games. thats a lame ass excuse Finalfantasyfanatic, if you can say that about FF10 then so can i about 12. All of them have faults and we all have our fav FF game, but don't try to pin the "downfall" of FF games on 12,game was pretty solid like the last few FF games

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young juice5259d ago (Edited 5259d ago )

WOW i just noticed something completely unrelated.

Playstation gem = Playstation gym

ps3 version of wii fit.

has anyone else noticed this potentially genius marketing plan?

Oerba_Fang5259d ago

FFX = one of the most linear JRPG's in history

FFXII = one of the most open JRPG's in history.

Which game was better?

It's all a design choice.

I'm just below halfway in to my import copy of FFXIII, the first parts of the game are very linear. The part I am on now I've been exploring this freaking huge open field area and mountain range, it's mind blowing.

The planet of Cocoons environments = FFX
The planet of Pulses envrionments = FFXII

If you had no problems with FFX then you are gonna love this.

GrandDragon5259d ago

This Article is incredibly misleading. Have you guys seen the pulse video where that girl is running around that vast grass terrain?!!

To say this is too linear and then post some map of the beginning areas is incredibly misleading.

I can CONFIRM that this Map is misleading ans the actual terrains are vast in the mainland areas which is similar to FF12

Shane Kim5259d ago

You @sshole are you playing FF13 right now?! Me want too.

anti-gamer5259d ago

FFX was big Disappointing for most ff fan how plaid most ff game before ffx so as FFXII.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5259d ago
Nitrowolf25259d ago (Edited 5259d ago )

ya i heard that this game was only going pretty much straight
check this out saw it at Gamefaqs forums
***BOSS PICTURE SPOILER*****
http://pds16.egloos.com/pds...
such and ugly boss

I hope FF13VS isn't bad, i have faith in it since one of the DEV(or director?) from KH (was it? or FF7?) is working on it

@God Mar
lol, its still ugly

TheHater5259d ago

WTf is that? For some odd reason, that does not fix the mold of a FF boss

chewmandinga5259d ago

i guess everyone runs out of ideas eventually...

Godmars2905259d ago

Boy, you can hardly spot the photoshop...

Godmars2905259d ago

If that actually is photoshop, who knows I might be wrong, it means that people are actively going out of their way to ruin the perception of the game.

Nevermind that we don't know what contest the monster's being introduced in. Could be someone mutating in real time with the monster codec keeping track.

Seriously, Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon never came under this level of scrutiny and they probably should have.

TapiocaMilkTea5259d ago

That looks weird and out of proportion, even for a monster..........

kiddster585259d ago

that this is fake as 3 sided coin you can tell its fake because look at the hands of it. they go over a line while the legs go under. That may be a boss state screen but the picture is not a boss

hatchimatchi5258d ago

that thing is 100% photoshopped.

FFXIII is a good game, i'm like 8 hours into it, yea it's linear so far but lots of FF games are linear until the story allows for it to be open world. I love the game so far.

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70°

The 7 Best Final Fantasy Characters: Unveiling the Legends

While FFVII ranks highly, there's more to the series than one game. Here's Chit Hot's picks for the seven best Final Fantasy characters.

220°

The older it gets, the more I respect Final Fantasy XIII

Alex Donaldson: "Hindsight is a hell of a thing, however, and in the years since Final Fantasy XIII, my respect for the decisions its developers made has skyrocketed. In the two Final Fantasy titles since we see both the brilliance and the folly in alternative approaches - and in Final Fantasy VII Remake, we get a more nuanced understanding of what FF13 was trying to accomplish from many of the same development leads."

Einhander1972143d ago

FFXIII is actually one of the best Final Fantasy games.

I also sort of was disappointed at the time, never as much as the bandwagon. But really all the fantastic 3D rendered cutscenes and I actually liked the characters and the story though convoluted was actually fantastic and the ending was extremely emotional. So much budget and time were put into that game Square had such big plans, I actually have always felt kind of bad for how things played out.

I have been thinking for years how great it would be to get all three games on one disk for PS4 or 5.

Nyxus143d ago

I always liked this game, and I agree, a rerelease for current gen would be nice.

Shane Kim141d ago (Edited 141d ago )

Gotta take off the nostalgia glasses. It's the worst FF. Shiva as a bike, I mean come on.

Elda141d ago

Shiva as a bike is strange but saying FFXIII is the worst FF is not at all a fact, that's simply your opinion.

Terry_B141d ago

*One of the 3 equally bad FF's

DivineHand125141d ago (Edited 141d ago )

When I got my series X a year ago, I bought FF13 for nostalgia reasons but ended up being disappointed. When I first played it around the time it launched, I didn't have a lot of experience with final fantasy games, so I enjoyed it. Fast forward to when I played it again, I found that the game had many unnecessary filler moments instead of just giving us meaningful content.

The game is also very linear and a quote on the article said it best. "It is like a sewage pipe that leads to the ocean until it opens up on Grand Pulse."

The story didn't make much sense either and I believe it is my mistake as I played the FF7 remake on PS5 prior which is a night and day difference in terms of pacing, storytelling and likeable characters even though cloud is aloof.

FinalFantasyFanatic141d ago (Edited 141d ago )

Probably was a mistake to play any of the golden era FFs first (e.g. FF6 through FF10), it makes it harder to enjoy some of the FFs that aren't as good. I think FF12 was where major issues with the series started becoming apparent, and it just got worse from there.

FinalFantasyFanatic141d ago (Edited 141d ago )

I didn't really care for it that much, the only saving grace was that it had a better story than 15 (overall it was better than 15) and possibly 12, and even then, you had to read some of it through primers, like reading a book. Plus the battle system was reasonably fun for what it was, even if it was more the spectacle that was exciting for me (e.g. summoning). And to be fair, the 13 trilogy got better with every games, I still don't like Snow though.

Gamingsince1981141d ago

Ff13 is only good if you haven't played a ff before, or any other games that are decent for that matter.

-Foxtrot141d ago

It is in fact no way the best Final Fantasy game, it's one of the worst

Linear corridors, Cutscene, Fight, Cutscene...rinse and repeat

Dialogue and characters are pretty bad, especially Lightning as the main FF hero, they literally said they tried to make a "Female Cloud" and they failed.

Story was pretty awful

I could go on

I think the only alright thing that came from the game was the music.

Elda140d ago

That's not a fact that's your personal opinion. The game sold 11 million copies between its 2009 release up until 2014 including critically reviewed as an 8 out of 10 or an 80 out of 100. The game does have some issues but it's not at all a fact as one of the worst FF games.

-Foxtrot140d ago

Elda

Not just mine mate

A large majority

So….

Traecy140d ago

N4G commenters such as yourself aren't the majority. The game was well received.

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gold_drake143d ago (Edited 143d ago )

i liked the game alot but i didnt like how they handled the terminology.

i dont mind reading data logs but it had soo many.

but i always loved the music and how it looked. the battle system wasnt too bad either.

but i like 13-2 more :)

i still dont understand why we never got a remaster of the trilogy

Eonjay141d ago

Xbox kinda did. Besides the video files of course which are still best on PS3 due to bluray.

Snookies12143d ago

XIII is a pretty solid game, but XIII-2 is WAY better. XIII-2 was one of the few games I decided to go for a Platinum trophy in, early on. Had so much fun the entire way through getting it too!

Eonjay141d ago

Totally agree. FF 13 was okay but 13-2 is my favorite FF game ever.

shinoff2183143d ago (Edited 143d ago )

I hated this to when it released. I haven't much liked a ff game since ff10 as much , aside from ff7remake. I decided to give it another shot on my series x since it's not on a current ps and was liking it quite a bit(just takes me some time to get over things ) until star ocean 2 remake came out I was all over that.

Square should definitely remaster it or something for ps4 ps5

KillerB141d ago

my favorite jrpg trilogy ever

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70°

Interview: Making music with Masashi Hamauzu

Square Enix Blog: "How do you compose iconic songs that help define a legacy? We speak to legendary composer Masashi Hamauzu about his work on Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XIII, and Final Fantasy VII Remake, and how to make unforgettable music."

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square-enix-games.com