Final Fantasy 13: Success On The West

SE announced "FF13 is doing very good in the west. FF13 has been selling better than any title in the series so far"

[moegooner88]

The fact that Final Fantasy XIII has a metacritic score of 83 is a joke, it's easily one of the best Final Fantasy games i have ever played.

[ClownBelt]

I wholeheartedly agree.

[Antan]

Couldn't agree more. On chapter 7 atm.

[iamtehpwn]

that I couldn't backtrack to some of the older environments, but all things said done, This game is fantastic, I think the pacing is great. I can't believe how addicted I am to the combat system.

I've beaten the game, 71 hours (JPN) of just wondering around Grand Pulse and doing missions.

[green]

I made a comment yesterday saying that i was not enjoying the game but as of this point, i take it back. The game has all of a sudden become really enjoyable, battle are no longer a tap AAAA fest and now require taught. Overall, very good job Square-Enix.

[97gsx]

Seriously one of the best? I really dont know about that. But even with all the cuts I still enjoy ff13 more than ff12.

[Lionsguard]

Well considering I was about to banish FF13 to my leper colony of dusty games I never touched again I have to say it made its way onto my top 3 list

1.FF7
2.FFX
3.FF13

knocking off FF8 in third place and I'm still only on chap 5. It might even be able to take second place though its going to be tough FFX was freakin fantastic. FF7 is still king though, nothing will touch that. I will admit I never played a FF below 7 so you 4,6 lovers out there will disagree probably. I dont care though FF7 was what broke me into FF and RPGs in general so I owe it my life.

[spectyre]

I was kinda disappointed with FFXIII at first also. It really hooked me in around 7-8 hrs into the game. Can't wait to finish this one. The battle system was really well thought out and implemented.

[kwicksandz]

if its as sucessful as they claim then i guess all future mainline FF titles will go multiplat. The crazed otaku wont be pleased!

[Sitris]

Played a few FF titles some of the PSP ones and FF10 from last gen, played FF7 on my PS1 and this is by far my favourite one that i have played well worth the wait, LOVE IT!!! It's just so polished and beatiful like no load times and i could keep on describing how much i am enjoying it but that would fill a page. This is a quality title that all RPG fans should at least try, and more than likely love. If you have a Ps3 get it, if you only have an xbox, get it. If you don't own either, and your a RPG fan, buy what you can afford console wise and get it, cause it is that good. Once again thankyou square enix!

[rextyrann]

wether or not future FF games will be multiplat is up to the x360 sales. and i do not think that ff13 will outsell on xplat compared to the ps3 version. if i had both systems i still wouldve bought it on ps3. its kinda like tradition. the past 5 ff main series sologames (6 if you cound ffx-2) have been on ps only. no reason to change it now...

to the topic:
i guess finally people have started to build their own opinion instead of just reading and believing some game reviewing sites who maybe are too focused on some technicalities what a modern rpg should have or not.
i am not that far into the game yet, like chap4 but i can already say:
it feels more ff to me than ff12 did. and feels closest to ffx and ff7 . thats a really good thing. so far the first few hours are really just too easy since you dont get every tool of the battle system. but starting after like 4-5 playtime you can already see that this new system is really really deep. probably the best battle system they had since ff7/ffx.
regarding the lineartiy: i dont mind it all. in fact all the past ff main series were almost linear til right before the end when you got to the open world. so thats what ff has always been. dont get the people complaining about it now just because you cant go back to certain areas (which would be kinda stupid and nonsense as far as the story has been going up til now...)

[97gsx]

Reply to sitris
I have been a jrpg fan for about 18 years and I have to say ff13 is not a jrpg. Alot of the complaining about the game is coming from long time fans like me who see the game evolving into something completely different. I think the game is enjoyable but it feels more like an action/adventure game. I am at the end of chapter 9 and I have yet to see basic staples of the jrpg genre.
Mandatory proof of playing

[Sitris]

For me though it has more than enough charector development to classify as an RPg, i never said JRPG as i agree that it is not a JRPG, and i do prefer them as well. But i've grown to love Action RPGs, personally i dont believe ME2 is an RPG but it is labelled as one. So it all comes down to what a RPG really is doesn't it :) Either way i am totally loving this game, one of the best this year personally, as sadly the PS3 hasn't suplied me with much RPG goodness. It's almost turned me into a shooter fan haha

[Baka-akaB]

@97gsx

I can't really agree ... imo most of the complaint atually came from people who werent even into jrpgs to begin with , and picked any kind of bone to lash out at the game .

I dont think XIII is any less of a jrpg , than me2 is a wrpg . Both to various degrées suffer from the same issues .. steeming from too extensive experimentations in streamlining the gameplay and making it more accessible.

Yet both still remains great games for it ...
Those issues would be expected to be fixed though with sequels , and they probably will be .

Anyway my opinion would never be very popular , but i prefered it to FFX so far ... a game that imo had a great gameplay , but nothing else grabing my interest .
After FFVII , and with FFVI still being my favorite ... there hasnt been good story with FF titles imo , besides a few bright spots
like FF9 (and FXII almost making it , if not sabotaged by internal issues and turmoil over it's developpement) , the Final fantasy Tactics awesome spin off , and now FFXIII .

[kewlkat007]

Like I wrote in the other thread. Go back and play "Final Fantasy X" or "Lost Odyssey" and you will see what is missing in Final Fantasy XIII.

To me, those are "JRPGs" in their purest forms. Square-Enix took some steps back in "JRPG's in general not just Final Fantasy Franchise.

A Big FAIL so far:

-Small Towns
-Exploration
-Mini Games
-Mini Bosses
-Potion/Weapon/Accessories Shops(usually on the outskirts of town or inside)
-Individual Character(Micro Managing during Battles)
-EXP System based on points(Not just Weapon upgrade EXP)
-LiMited MP [Good or bad but dumbed down in FF13]

I'm only on chapter 9. We will see if some of this will changes. So far,

[+]Beautiful Cut-scenes [Best looking to-date/Never knew Hair Strands could look so good]
[+]Engaging Story
[+]Great Music [Great Battle music]
[+ & -] Battle System is FUN & Lazy at the same time. Remeniscene os Star Ocean Last Hopes' "BEAT" system[Choose your Job Role Sub group and Spam X Button]

[moegooner88]

I agree Final Fantasy XIII is not as good as Final Fantasy X, which is my fav game of all time, but it's fun, and personally i think it's a lot better than FFXII, which has a much higher metacritic score, btw a lot of the cons u just listed are somewhat "fixed" in the gran pulse part.It's not that FFXIII is the best or worst FF ever, it's just like Baka-akaB said 'it's ok to not like the game , but the angry fanboys need to stop pulling crap out of nowhere'

[kewlkat007]

that I have yet to see in FFXIII.(Didn't think I would have to say that)

[97gsx]

Reply to cescgooner

Your first comment stated that 13 was easily the best ff you ever played but now you say ff10 was the best? Which is it?

Reply to kewl

You hit the nail on the head. Lost oddysey is a better example of a rpg than ff13.

Reply to baka
Yea if the story isnt there I cant get into it. Thats one of the good things about ff13. Except hope ugghh that kid is annoying.

[moegooner88]

Dude i said 'FFXIII is easily ONE of the best Final Fantasy games i have ever played', not the best FF game i have ever played.Having never played a FF below 7, FFX 4 me is the best FF game ever.

[GameGambits]

This is great to see this kind of reaction for the game to gamers who bought it. I got my Japanese import copy back in December and I remember all the hate the game was getting then too from Japanese reviews and players. This stays true, but the game DOES get better and better. Once you hit Ch.11 it solidifies itself as a GREAT RPG well worth the Final Fantasy name sake.

Sure the game probably won't become as big of a favorite as previous titles for most, but like I've kept saying: If you liked Final Fantasy X you will like FF13.

[shawnsl65]

Once you guys make it to the land of Pulse.. prepare to paradigm like a mad man to survive. FFXII compared to FFXIII is like driving an automatic and switching to a manual car, true story.

[Michael Myers]

its a good game, i play it every once in a while on my ps3,i dont like like how the men look like little girls though.

[green]

which man looks like a little girl in ff13?

@VINNIEPAZ: I know thats the way it is with most JRPG's but not FF13. Sazh and Snow are the two main male characters in FF13 and they are men who look like men.

[VINNIEPAZ]

That's how it is with most JRPGs though. Me and my girl will be fighting for the PS3 soon between her playing FF 13 and me with GoW 3. Should be fun.

[KillaManiac]

Snow and Sazh look like a little girl?

Wait....I don't see how they can possibly resemble a woman.

I am scared of the ladies you must know.

[Figboy]

amount of effeminate looking male characters.

FFXII was FAR WORSE.

honestly, Snow looks like a dude, albiet a pretty boy. Hope is a kid, Zazh looks like a dude.

it was something me and my wife joked about when looking at the game. we were like, "hey, the guys actually look like GUYS for once!"

[SonySoldiers]

PLEASE DIE MISERABLY, XBOTS

[The real killer]

You was first a die hard 360 fan, why suddenly faking as PS3 fanboy?

[Def Warrant]

Can't wait for GT5. I won't need another racer (with the exception of motorstom3 and new F1) for along LOOOOONG time.

[Sitris]

.

[Baba1906]

defenitly an awsome game. well deserved. i really love the gameplay. sure there are some things that can be done begtter but it stoll rocks. i like it way better than 12.

[thief]

Though no FF fan, I am happy to see some real fans stand up for this game, so much negativity - its a well made, good-looking game with a good story and a good combat engine, why do people expect it to change the world and cure cancer?

[juniorpop]

How come? All I see are bad comments the previous days...

[garos82]

maybe its because people have finally got a round to playing it and ignoring the internet backlash the game received for stupid reasons?

ive yet to play it yet, therefore you wont catch me quoting or giving my opinion about it until ive actually got some hands on it. i suggest everyone on this site do the same and youll see the quality of the posts increase

[FanboysWillHateMe]

who are still upset that it's a multiplatform title.

Even now you got a few very anal FF "fans" here complaining and listing every single damn thing that's "missing" from this game. Haha, it's like they're the ones who direct the franchise or somethin. Still stuck in the past, smh.

If you want your towns, micromanagement, and repetitive turn-based battle system, then go enjoy Lost Odyssey and leave FFXIII alone.

[Ngai]

finished it.. it is great! very very good..

[Sitris]

Yes we know fanboys are stupid and will claim all sorts of crap in the end people like you and me can love it, and thats all that matters :) have a bubble, everyone who said that FF13 is more than what the press is saying in this thread will get a bubble from me, as i am sick to death with all the negativity on N4G to this game.

[Ngai]

Yes exactly! Bubble for you too. This game was/is just awesome. No idea how negative things can be said. Have they even played it? Finished it? It was amazing.. Though it didn't touch me emotionally much, i am still very very impressed. So much stuff to do now still.

[Superduper09]

I think it's nice to see the game selling well in the west. I personally enjoyed the game very much despite the linear nature of the early chapters. The vistas are very beautiful and characters are well-designed.

[3sq]

FF13 is a bad game, people and fans just won't admit it.

They just wanted to justify what they've bought is a good game (just like when they bought the wrong console).

The only thing FF13 has is beautiful graphic(PS3 Version) the rest is garbage.

Edit: Below if it's good how come so many have complained?(especially japanese fans)not just me and you are telling I'm forcing people? Don't be ridiculous.You said the story is good? Cheesy dialogue and boring story line which has been done thousand of times in anime already. And the music is soo...zzzZZZ(snoring).

You said it's the best you ever seen, I agree on the graphic perspective but not the rest. You did not give me any valid points WHY it's good and HOW.

I guess the Metacritic is not fact. It's only fact when it fits your need. :P

[Sitris]

Thats just stupid, i am loving the game. The story, gameplay, locations and characters are some of the best i have ever seen, and thats not even mentioning the graphics. So i think that people should stop bagging it cause its the best thing EVER (see i can do it to, it just sounds stupid)

People have their own opinions no need for things like "people and fans just won't admit it" thats not necassary, your opinion is not a fact.

[Sitris]

What do you want me to say, i personally love the story, so what that is a little cheesy, the production values are through the roof. Sorry if i don't watch alot of anime other than DBZ so i can't comment on similarities. I never said that meta is fact, i actually believe it to be a crappy place for people to base their opinions off. I am no fanboy of anything, i just love a good game and to me this game has what it needs for me, a great story (for me never really seen anything like it apart from other FFs), love the characters and the way the levels are set out. Using the graphics to set a fantastic atmosphere. Right now i am chilling to the game on pause cause i believe this jazzy music is great, but this is all boils down to my opinion and yours, so we will never agree. But i never said you had to agree with my opinion you can do what ever you want, i on the other hand will love the games i love.

Just a question though, how much of it have you played, and on what console?

[The real killer]

What you think is also a opinion.

My opinion is that FF13 is a FAIL in my eyes.
He has some good point, that story was just LAME.

Graphics is also a FAIL, the whole game is a fail since the 360 version get involve, people like you ignore that people like Microsoft ignore that, but for the FF13 fans it's a drama.

You can't feel how they feel, because you are not a FF fan.
You have to feel what they feel and than talk about it instead of your opinion, this is what going on.

The huge world is so boring empty you don't have the motivation for to play the game.

But this is also my opinion.

[Baka-akaB]

why do you guys pump out that "japanese players complained" card out the blue and all of the time when :

- most of you folks here cant even read japanese , probably only a few of us do , and not even at the same proficiency level .

- most of the negative press we received here came from western blogs and importers

- looking actually at even the most harsh bbs , and fanboy filled places like 2chan , the reception was quite ok and good .

a group of dudes covering the the imported version abck in december , and not being happy about it , does not make any kind of relevant japanese poll data and study .

So guys , it's ok to not like the game , but stop pulling crap out of nowhere .

[bakasora]

Microsoft is shaping the video gaming indust... no!
Microsoft is ruining video gaming industry.

[kingdavid]

agreed baka.

I mean the game was voted famitsu reader's game of all time recently FFS.

The list is:
1. Final Fantasy XIII
2. Dragon Quest IX: Superfluous Subtitle Adventure
3. Monster Hunter Portable 2ndG (or whatever it is)
4. Final Fantasy X
5. Tales of Vesperia
6. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
7. Persona 4
8. Final Fantasy VII
9. Tales of Graces
10. Yakuza 3

[Baka-akaB]

lol i knew i'd get disagree , but those who do probably can't even dig up actual and written thoughts from the japanese public .
Hence proving my point , and much better than an accolade .

On another point , it's pretty much like that pathetic front about "jrpg being dead" bunch of articles .

No one hold the universal truth in the matter . As shown in a few articles about japanese opinions , it would be every bit as easy to set up blogs , articles , and comics trashing most wrpgs .
In fact they sometimes do ... they just obviously would rarely ends up here or most western centric news outlet .

I am just saying stop making sh*t up , you go around saying japanese players , still the actual public for those games , are massively complaining about ffxiii or jrpgs in general , show something going in that direction .

Cause right now , sales , among actually existing other sources , are making you look like fools .

[Main_Street_Saint]

I'm going to have to give you a bubble and agree with you for the most part. I'll be frank with you, I have yet to play the game myself and so I can't agree with you fully. Now I don't really know the full plot but all the stuff I did read would indicate that it is a plot that is a tad bit overused. A terrible game though? No. legendary? Not really.

I know someone must have seen some of my earlier bashing of FF13 and I might have been too hard on it. I usually try to be more enlightened then that. So there you go. About the only real complaint that I have against the game is the story's complexity at the beginning. Far too much happening at the beginning from what I can tell. I usually like my plot to start simple and then as time goes on while playing, the story opens up and becomes really deep.

[kingdavid]

How can you agree with him without having played the game, and then you go and give this guy a bubble?

The stupidity of this place is astounding.

[shammgod]

this gsme deserves it. best game out right now...until tomorrow, GOW3

[Tex117]

Is FFXIII a bad game? Certainly not.

Its just a different spin on the JRPG, and if you give it a shot, then you might like it.

Yes its linear. As linear as FFX, but in this case we have been playing games like Fallout 3 and Dragon Age and we are very used to having choice. This is probably the biggest shock because it is so against the flow of how Rpg's in general have been trending.

The battle systems is kinda cool once you get the hang of it. If you aren't paying attention to all stats, your party is dead.

The game really is beautiful. Music is solid too.

Excellent Character design

Since I don't watch Anime, the story doesn't seem SO overdone.

Its a solid JRPG offering. Probably the best traditional JRPG this generation (which is not saying too much). But still, there you have it.

[CLOUD1983]

"Probably the best traditional JRPG this generation..."

You Sir r idiot!
How can you call FFXIII JRPG? and traditional? o.O how many traditional JRPG have you play? It's obvious that you dont have a fcking clue for what r u talking about...
Traditional JRPG my friend = towns = turn based system = shops = NPC's = weapons,armors,accessories = shops = EXP/Levels = control more than 1 char else it's action RPG not traditional... = many-many more that this game doesn't have this game not only is not a traditional JRPG it's not RPG at all...

here a few lines from a review to cure your ignorance & blindness:

"Even the most basic assumptions about what a Final Fantasy game should be are left at the door: this can barely be described as a roleplaying game. You won’t come across a single town worthy of the label, talk to shopkeepers or be swept into an intricate minigame. Your characters don’t even level up for the first few hours. It’s best to get the beginning out of the way: it’s a disaster of pacing that both bores and condescends to the player. "

"The first 25 hours of the game are one long corridor of palette-swapped enemies, fights that never quite find the right level of challenge, and cutscene after cutscene (after cutscene) leaving your joypad entirely idle. "

[kingdavid]

Its made in japan, its an rpg therefore its an JRPG.

Its definitely not traditional though.

[halojunkie]

seems like a good game, youd have to be..... insane to dissagree

[halojunkie]

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/~ .- -. ~\ Alex Tutusaus
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[Jihaad_cpt]

I myself am loving it, battle system is very rewarding when you beat something down that takes effort to chain it, like the Eidolons in a short period

[Crystallis]

The battle system is one of the best in the series. Its very well done and balanced.

[Crystallis]

I totally agree with you. I have been playing Jrpgs just as long as you and FFXIII is catered to western audience. The only elements I see in FFXIII which remind me of Jrpgs are the characters and even thats far fetched. Not to say im not enjoying the game b/c I am and I love it, but FFXIII is like a 180 degree turn from the other FF in the series.

[foxxy]

Its awesome

[bviperz]

Knowing that a lot of the elements of a traditional JRPG have been removed. I loved investing a lot of time maxing out my characters and weapons, not to mention all the side questing. Beating a FF game for me meant completely finishing everything in the game.

[Claudinho69]

but xbox fans told me it didnt matter that ff13 was better on ff13 becuz this was gon be the worst final fantasy ever, accordin to the media and such