oops didn't even mention Serah
Despite the fact I never did make any kind of final journal post regarding Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (FINISHED IT, VERY GOOD), I am going to write a post about Final Fantasy XIII. Because, after so much delay, I have finally obtained both a copy and the means to actually play.
I am in chapter nine, ahhh, aboard The Palamecia. That's specific enough without really being spoilery, right? SPOILERS WITHIN THE CUT, OBVIOUSLY.
So, I suppose my opinions are pretty mixed. I'm naturally a grumbler so this post probably will be filled with little complaints, but I should say from the outset that I am genuinely enjoying this game. There are plenty of things about it I like (the linearity doesn't bother me, just feels like FFX - as does the Crystalwhatsit system), as well as some things I don't.
I don't really want to linger on the gameplay too much, because I'm honestly a bit quick to shrug that off when it comes to Final Fantasy. I'll endure a lot of problems if I'm enjoying the plot or characters enough. I like the battle system in this game, though Eidolon battles tend to go badly for me. The Paradigm system suits me just fine, the autobattle is a bit simplistic (and doesn't always lean toward what I want to do >:|) but it's not that different than smacking X three times in FFVII and watching everyone give 'em hell. I don't think much as changed at all, however much both haters and advocates seem to want to say otherwise. I don't know. It feels like a very familiar battle system to me. /shrug
I don't like the camera very much, but it's not Kingdom Hearts levels of intrusively bad. The soundtrack is really hit and miss - some of the cutscene music is just... confusing? But some of the location music is really pretty, so there you go. The graphics are nice.
ANYWAY, so, Final Fantasy XIII. As far as I can tell, this game is someone who played Final Fantasy XII, thought 'this Occuria business is kind of interesting, but couldn't we do more?', and subsequently crafted a new storyline involving unfathomable inhuman creatures influencing the entire fate of humankind - only they've opted to make it far more obvious and yet also somehow more oblique. A FAL'CIE IS THEIR SUN??? WHAT IN THE WORLD.
It's not an uninteresting concept, but it is... a really really odd one, considering how little the game has actually given to explaining or exploring it. I mean, l'Cie are interesting as well, as a concept, but it seems like FFXIII is too tangled in plot elements. How in the world do the fal'Cie work? Are you telling me that humans couldn't grow their own food without the fal'Cie? Is there a fal'Cie who keeps the soil sufficiently... I don't know, nutricious? Can the Sun fal'Cie even allow photosynthesis? If that fal'Cie disappeared, does their world just plunge into deep space darkness, full stop, the end? Is their world basically Pluto except the fal'Cie drifted along and though 'let's make this an ant farm'? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? IS THIS GOING TO BE EXPLAINED?
But okay, the game hasn't lingered on this, so I won't either. The main party have all reached the conclusion that Sanctum and the fal'Cie need to be... overthrown, or exposed. I'm not really sure when this happened. Lightning decided to attack Sanctum, Hope tagged along - then she realised she was just running from her feelings and had to do something else... but they're really still doing the same thing, so I'm not quite sure what changed. Snow somehow reached this conclusion, presumably after the Cavalry picked him up? But we never see the main party discuss this is a large group - they're just... all doing it now, all talking like it's a decision made. Let's expose the Sanctum's anti-Pulse stance as a device of the fal'Cie, and then l'Cie will have a true chance at life! Hooray! Except they still don't know what their Focus is, and I just don't know what they're doing. Guys, what are you doing?
I really liked Lightning to start with. I mean, I still do, honestly, but she's starting to fade off into the background in a really disappointing way, and that is frustrating. But I like her! She is horrible at addressing her feelings, she's stern but well-meaning, she tries to keep people at arms length but really can't manage it (see: Hope), she has an explosive temper though I suspect we won't be seeing much more of it. Just lately, she's been apologising to people like Snow (SHRIEK) and generally being quiet and responsive rather than leading any conversations or scenes, and that makes me sad.
Snow is my least favourite by a margin, though he's obviously not an unpleasant person. I feel sort of bad for disliking him as much as I do, but he just gets right under my skin. He just annoys me, really! All his bravado and hero-gimmicking, and I know a lot of it is a cover, but basically every single character is playing false in some way or another and he just happens to be doing it in a way I really can't stand. He just infuriates me. And he's a big thicko. YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT. HE'S JUST THICK.
Hope is...! Hope is alright, but I feel like he just reached his peak. I mean, we'll see! Maybe the plot will find more for him to do. But as things stand, it really feels like he's had his hour. Then again, he hasn't had an Eidolon battle yet, has he? We'll just have to wait and see! Anyway, I know he's unpopular due to being whiny (oh fandom, why do you always do this?), to which I say 'he's fourteen and his whole life just imploded - oh yeah, and he saw his mother die'. I mean really. He could be the whiniest in the world and I think he'd deserve some leeway here. Come on. (That said, I won't miss the phrase Operation: Nora. Yikes.)
Of course, he was also the catalyst for some really awkward narmy scenes that had... really been pushing Lightning in this direction I'm not completely sold on. I like their relationship, incidentally! But all that 'finding the hope he's named for' or whatever it was, ohhh. I winced.
Sazh is wonderful, what can I even say. Every single thing about Sazh is brilliant, the end. Sazh is the best. He and Lightning were my favourites, now I think he's edged ahead. And I was really loving the relationship between him and Vanille, though plot twists have seen to shifting that rather significantly. So I guess we'll have to see on that.
Vanille's plot twists have been unsurprising but welcome, so far. It was obvious from the start that she wasn't what she appeared, and her being from Pulse & already a l'Cie was always the most obvious possibility. But that is okay! I am interested to see where they decide to go with this. ... AND FANG IS FINE TOO, you know, I got bored with talking about this, I should at least try and mention one other thing before abruptly finishing this post.
So, what the heck was up with them leaving Hope's dad behind? Tie him up and have him say he was forced to help them? How does that make any sense? He'll be purged! I was just sitting there screaming, 'Have Cid take him! Have him go with the Cavalry! He might not be safe with them, but it'll be safer than leaving him where he is!'
But nope, nothing in the cutscene remotely indicates that. They tie him up, he and Hope have a moment before parting ways, and that is that. EXCEPT THE DATALOG BLATANTLY SAYS HE'S WITH THE CAVALRY NOW??? Well I'm glad you listened, FFXIII, but that is not what happened in the cutscene at all! That is not what you showed! Why would you do that? What in the world? What sort of weird story-telling-- hfdjsk, dear oh dear. That's what the last few hours have felt like, several strange story-telling misfires that make me nervous of whether the game is going to hold up now the opening is done, and our big character revelations are starting to kick in. I am just not sure where you're going, FFXIII. You're flawed, for sure, but show me the FF game that isn't. I want to keep liking you. Don't do this to me 8(((
Seriously, this is just rambling. I apologise for not doing a better job, this is so badly not conducive to discussion, gfhdj.
I am in chapter nine, ahhh, aboard The Palamecia. That's specific enough without really being spoilery, right? SPOILERS WITHIN THE CUT, OBVIOUSLY.
So, I suppose my opinions are pretty mixed. I'm naturally a grumbler so this post probably will be filled with little complaints, but I should say from the outset that I am genuinely enjoying this game. There are plenty of things about it I like (the linearity doesn't bother me, just feels like FFX - as does the Crystalwhatsit system), as well as some things I don't.
I don't really want to linger on the gameplay too much, because I'm honestly a bit quick to shrug that off when it comes to Final Fantasy. I'll endure a lot of problems if I'm enjoying the plot or characters enough. I like the battle system in this game, though Eidolon battles tend to go badly for me. The Paradigm system suits me just fine, the autobattle is a bit simplistic (and doesn't always lean toward what I want to do >:|) but it's not that different than smacking X three times in FFVII and watching everyone give 'em hell. I don't think much as changed at all, however much both haters and advocates seem to want to say otherwise. I don't know. It feels like a very familiar battle system to me. /shrug
I don't like the camera very much, but it's not Kingdom Hearts levels of intrusively bad. The soundtrack is really hit and miss - some of the cutscene music is just... confusing? But some of the location music is really pretty, so there you go. The graphics are nice.
ANYWAY, so, Final Fantasy XIII. As far as I can tell, this game is someone who played Final Fantasy XII, thought 'this Occuria business is kind of interesting, but couldn't we do more?', and subsequently crafted a new storyline involving unfathomable inhuman creatures influencing the entire fate of humankind - only they've opted to make it far more obvious and yet also somehow more oblique. A FAL'CIE IS THEIR SUN??? WHAT IN THE WORLD.
It's not an uninteresting concept, but it is... a really really odd one, considering how little the game has actually given to explaining or exploring it. I mean, l'Cie are interesting as well, as a concept, but it seems like FFXIII is too tangled in plot elements. How in the world do the fal'Cie work? Are you telling me that humans couldn't grow their own food without the fal'Cie? Is there a fal'Cie who keeps the soil sufficiently... I don't know, nutricious? Can the Sun fal'Cie even allow photosynthesis? If that fal'Cie disappeared, does their world just plunge into deep space darkness, full stop, the end? Is their world basically Pluto except the fal'Cie drifted along and though 'let's make this an ant farm'? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? IS THIS GOING TO BE EXPLAINED?
But okay, the game hasn't lingered on this, so I won't either. The main party have all reached the conclusion that Sanctum and the fal'Cie need to be... overthrown, or exposed. I'm not really sure when this happened. Lightning decided to attack Sanctum, Hope tagged along - then she realised she was just running from her feelings and had to do something else... but they're really still doing the same thing, so I'm not quite sure what changed. Snow somehow reached this conclusion, presumably after the Cavalry picked him up? But we never see the main party discuss this is a large group - they're just... all doing it now, all talking like it's a decision made. Let's expose the Sanctum's anti-Pulse stance as a device of the fal'Cie, and then l'Cie will have a true chance at life! Hooray! Except they still don't know what their Focus is, and I just don't know what they're doing. Guys, what are you doing?
I really liked Lightning to start with. I mean, I still do, honestly, but she's starting to fade off into the background in a really disappointing way, and that is frustrating. But I like her! She is horrible at addressing her feelings, she's stern but well-meaning, she tries to keep people at arms length but really can't manage it (see: Hope), she has an explosive temper though I suspect we won't be seeing much more of it. Just lately, she's been apologising to people like Snow (SHRIEK) and generally being quiet and responsive rather than leading any conversations or scenes, and that makes me sad.
Snow is my least favourite by a margin, though he's obviously not an unpleasant person. I feel sort of bad for disliking him as much as I do, but he just gets right under my skin. He just annoys me, really! All his bravado and hero-gimmicking, and I know a lot of it is a cover, but basically every single character is playing false in some way or another and he just happens to be doing it in a way I really can't stand. He just infuriates me. And he's a big thicko. YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT. HE'S JUST THICK.
Hope is...! Hope is alright, but I feel like he just reached his peak. I mean, we'll see! Maybe the plot will find more for him to do. But as things stand, it really feels like he's had his hour. Then again, he hasn't had an Eidolon battle yet, has he? We'll just have to wait and see! Anyway, I know he's unpopular due to being whiny (oh fandom, why do you always do this?), to which I say 'he's fourteen and his whole life just imploded - oh yeah, and he saw his mother die'. I mean really. He could be the whiniest in the world and I think he'd deserve some leeway here. Come on. (That said, I won't miss the phrase Operation: Nora. Yikes.)
Of course, he was also the catalyst for some really awkward narmy scenes that had... really been pushing Lightning in this direction I'm not completely sold on. I like their relationship, incidentally! But all that 'finding the hope he's named for' or whatever it was, ohhh. I winced.
Sazh is wonderful, what can I even say. Every single thing about Sazh is brilliant, the end. Sazh is the best. He and Lightning were my favourites, now I think he's edged ahead. And I was really loving the relationship between him and Vanille, though plot twists have seen to shifting that rather significantly. So I guess we'll have to see on that.
Vanille's plot twists have been unsurprising but welcome, so far. It was obvious from the start that she wasn't what she appeared, and her being from Pulse & already a l'Cie was always the most obvious possibility. But that is okay! I am interested to see where they decide to go with this. ... AND FANG IS FINE TOO, you know, I got bored with talking about this, I should at least try and mention one other thing before abruptly finishing this post.
So, what the heck was up with them leaving Hope's dad behind? Tie him up and have him say he was forced to help them? How does that make any sense? He'll be purged! I was just sitting there screaming, 'Have Cid take him! Have him go with the Cavalry! He might not be safe with them, but it'll be safer than leaving him where he is!'
But nope, nothing in the cutscene remotely indicates that. They tie him up, he and Hope have a moment before parting ways, and that is that. EXCEPT THE DATALOG BLATANTLY SAYS HE'S WITH THE CAVALRY NOW??? Well I'm glad you listened, FFXIII, but that is not what happened in the cutscene at all! That is not what you showed! Why would you do that? What in the world? What sort of weird story-telling-- hfdjsk, dear oh dear. That's what the last few hours have felt like, several strange story-telling misfires that make me nervous of whether the game is going to hold up now the opening is done, and our big character revelations are starting to kick in. I am just not sure where you're going, FFXIII. You're flawed, for sure, but show me the FF game that isn't. I want to keep liking you. Don't do this to me 8(((
Seriously, this is just rambling. I apologise for not doing a better job, this is so badly not conducive to discussion, gfhdj.