The first installment of Michelle talks too much about FFXIII
(Yes, sorry.) I will try to spoiler cut anything that might be spoilerish, but I've only played two hours and haven't really gotten into the real plot, yet, so nothing here will be too spoilery. And please don't spoil me if you're playing!
It's pretty. Very very pretty. I wish I had a bigger tv, though, because the writing is so small! I had to get right up to the tv to be able to read. Of course, it's time to get my glasses/contacts updated, so maybe that will help? (OH! I forgot about that. I'd better make appointments!)
Anyway, yes! Pretty pretty! It's kind of what the Plates in FFVII wanted to be. So far it's been all high tech fighting stormtroopers and robot cats. And there have been a high occurence of ridiculously unclothed girls, but.. *sigh* (I was all, "Oooh! I like her outfit, only maybe with a longer skirt..." and then she stood up, and it wasn't a skirt, it was a scarf tied around her waist...) I guess she was a bartender, so she wore that outfit to get better tips? Dear video game makers, I would like female characters in PANTS, thank you. Also, full shirts. Both would be nice.
Anyway. I mostly just got to meet some of the main characters, and here is my rundown of them:
Lightning: Who knows? How can you identify with the main character when they're so sullen? She was described as a female version of Cloud, but I'm really getting more of a Squall vibe off of her, and I disliked Squall. Hopefully, like 12, I'll be able to put whoever I like in the main party.
Sazh: BABY CHOCOBO! Ok, he's awesome, and down to earth, and brainwashed, just the way I like them. I'm feeling my Wakka-crush being transferred AS WE SPEAK. Also, he takes advice from a chocobo chick that lives in his hair. Definitely my current favorite playable character.
Snow: Really really wants to be Seifer when he grows up. Has a lot of growing up to do. REALLY ODD THING: In normal mode, his trench coat has a plain back. When you go into battles, suddenly he has this awesome Native American wolf thing covering the back of it. Lazy programmers, or is there more to the story? It'll definitely make cosplay more difficult.
Serah: WHY???? She's the one I was thinking about cosplaying off the bat. But she's... GAH. I just want to smack her. Maybe I'll like her better with more story. I still love her outfit.
Hope: Whiny whiny brat. He just wants to leave the party. I'm ok with that.
Hope's mom: Why couldn't *she* be in the party? She is awesome, and has a *fabulous* knit sweater that I WANT. Seriously, where can I get high res screenshots of her clothes, I want to recreate that sweater! Favorite character PERIOD right now, and am sad she has such a small part. Can I trade Hope for her?
Vanille: SO DISAPPOINTING! Love her hair, love her weapon, LOVE LOVE LOVE her character animation (party leader, all the time! She skips instead of running when she's the party leader!). But she has the WORST VOICE ACTRESS EVER!(and I've played (part of) Magna Carta!) Sometimes, especially in her voiceovers, she's quite tolerable, but in the regular cut scenes, her voice goes to squeaky high, and her accent drops in and out and changes... I feel like I've got the Mad Hatter in my party! Voice acting is very important to me, so I'm hoping that this is just her getting used to the part, and that she got the hang of the voice later. (soon) We were wishing that we could choose to mute just one voice from the party. Bleh! (Wikipedia says she's voiced by Georgia Van Cuylenburg, who is actually from Australia. Why the disappearing accent, then?)
Also, she likes to solve problems with her boobs :P (not quite that bad, I know, but, Dude, he's just a kid! Stop shoving him into your breasts!)
And that's just my impression with two hours playing! Hopefully, I'll grow to like some of the characters better!
The battle system: I haven't unlocked everything, I think, but so far, I'm able to get through just hitting the ok button a lot. I miss the Gambit system, but it's still usable -- as long as I actually pay attention to characters' health. (oops! Sorry, Lightning) It looks like it will have some good opportunity for strategizing once I unlock more options, if that's your thing. I'm happy to just hit the button, though :)
The license system: Or whatever they're calling it this time. It's very very pretty. It seems pretty limited right now, but I'm sure I'll unlock more things. It's nice to look at!
The story: I haven't really seen much of it. Much like FFVII, they start you in the middle of the action, on a train. (actually, a *lot* of it feels like FFVII) The plot is none of your damned business. I think I got through the pre-story bits and will be working on actual story now, we've gotten our tattoos and fallen onto the frozen ocean, and I quit while walking along there, but I haven't really learned much, yet. It seems like it could be a good story? My one problem is that I had formed a theory, and then Snow spouted my theory off like it was facts, so I'm sure it's wrong. Oh well. None of my business, I know :)
And... that's about it! It was very pretty to watch, I love some of the characters, and I'm interested in the story. I'm not itching to get back to the console, but I don't want to abandon the game, yet. And I haven't gotten very far in. The obsession may be waiting around that next corner :)
It's pretty. Very very pretty. I wish I had a bigger tv, though, because the writing is so small! I had to get right up to the tv to be able to read. Of course, it's time to get my glasses/contacts updated, so maybe that will help? (OH! I forgot about that. I'd better make appointments!)
Anyway, yes! Pretty pretty! It's kind of what the Plates in FFVII wanted to be. So far it's been all high tech fighting stormtroopers and robot cats. And there have been a high occurence of ridiculously unclothed girls, but.. *sigh* (I was all, "Oooh! I like her outfit, only maybe with a longer skirt..." and then she stood up, and it wasn't a skirt, it was a scarf tied around her waist...) I guess she was a bartender, so she wore that outfit to get better tips? Dear video game makers, I would like female characters in PANTS, thank you. Also, full shirts. Both would be nice.
Anyway. I mostly just got to meet some of the main characters, and here is my rundown of them:
Lightning: Who knows? How can you identify with the main character when they're so sullen? She was described as a female version of Cloud, but I'm really getting more of a Squall vibe off of her, and I disliked Squall. Hopefully, like 12, I'll be able to put whoever I like in the main party.
Sazh: BABY CHOCOBO! Ok, he's awesome, and down to earth, and brainwashed, just the way I like them. I'm feeling my Wakka-crush being transferred AS WE SPEAK. Also, he takes advice from a chocobo chick that lives in his hair. Definitely my current favorite playable character.
Snow: Really really wants to be Seifer when he grows up. Has a lot of growing up to do. REALLY ODD THING: In normal mode, his trench coat has a plain back. When you go into battles, suddenly he has this awesome Native American wolf thing covering the back of it. Lazy programmers, or is there more to the story? It'll definitely make cosplay more difficult.
Serah: WHY???? She's the one I was thinking about cosplaying off the bat. But she's... GAH. I just want to smack her. Maybe I'll like her better with more story. I still love her outfit.
Hope: Whiny whiny brat. He just wants to leave the party. I'm ok with that.
Hope's mom: Why couldn't *she* be in the party? She is awesome, and has a *fabulous* knit sweater that I WANT. Seriously, where can I get high res screenshots of her clothes, I want to recreate that sweater! Favorite character PERIOD right now, and am sad she has such a small part. Can I trade Hope for her?
Vanille: SO DISAPPOINTING! Love her hair, love her weapon, LOVE LOVE LOVE her character animation (party leader, all the time! She skips instead of running when she's the party leader!). But she has the WORST VOICE ACTRESS EVER!(and I've played (part of) Magna Carta!) Sometimes, especially in her voiceovers, she's quite tolerable, but in the regular cut scenes, her voice goes to squeaky high, and her accent drops in and out and changes... I feel like I've got the Mad Hatter in my party! Voice acting is very important to me, so I'm hoping that this is just her getting used to the part, and that she got the hang of the voice later. (soon) We were wishing that we could choose to mute just one voice from the party. Bleh! (Wikipedia says she's voiced by Georgia Van Cuylenburg, who is actually from Australia. Why the disappearing accent, then?)
Also, she likes to solve problems with her boobs :P (not quite that bad, I know, but, Dude, he's just a kid! Stop shoving him into your breasts!)
And that's just my impression with two hours playing! Hopefully, I'll grow to like some of the characters better!
The battle system: I haven't unlocked everything, I think, but so far, I'm able to get through just hitting the ok button a lot. I miss the Gambit system, but it's still usable -- as long as I actually pay attention to characters' health. (oops! Sorry, Lightning) It looks like it will have some good opportunity for strategizing once I unlock more options, if that's your thing. I'm happy to just hit the button, though :)
The license system: Or whatever they're calling it this time. It's very very pretty. It seems pretty limited right now, but I'm sure I'll unlock more things. It's nice to look at!
The story: I haven't really seen much of it. Much like FFVII, they start you in the middle of the action, on a train. (actually, a *lot* of it feels like FFVII) The plot is none of your damned business. I think I got through the pre-story bits and will be working on actual story now, we've gotten our tattoos and fallen onto the frozen ocean, and I quit while walking along there, but I haven't really learned much, yet. It seems like it could be a good story? My one problem is that I had formed a theory, and then Snow spouted my theory off like it was facts, so I'm sure it's wrong. Oh well. None of my business, I know :)
And... that's about it! It was very pretty to watch, I love some of the characters, and I'm interested in the story. I'm not itching to get back to the console, but I don't want to abandon the game, yet. And I haven't gotten very far in. The obsession may be waiting around that next corner :)