For Indeed I Promised To Eat All Of His Killing.
Sorry I've been a bit rubbish at responding to comments recently! It's a combination of having work, which is great but does mean I want to do anything other than stare at a computer in my spare time, and, well...
After all that watching-on-YouTube, I now have an actual copy of Final Fantasy XIII! And I know this is a divisive game and there are a lot of people who really hate it, but I think it has to be one of my favourite Final Fantasy titles.
Yes, the AI is so good that it makes you wonder whether you really need to be at the controller. Yes, it has the air of a game designed by someone who went 'I have an amazing idea for a thirty-hour film!' and then reluctantly added a few gameplay elements upon realising that any film that long would really have to be distributed in videogame form. But I love the characters, and the characters have always been my favourite part of the Final Fantasy series. I'll forgive a lot for a good cast. (See also Final Fantasy VIII; it has gameplay flaws (all the Drawing can become very tedious) and an incomprehensible plot, but its central cast will always ensure it a place in my heart.) And I am actually weirdly fond of the battle system, even though the characters are essentially going WE KNOW WHAT TO DO, YOU JUST SIT BACK AND LET US SORT IT OUT. It's so fast-paced and exciting even if your actual involvement is minimal.
This game also contains a lot of emphasis on the relationships between these characters thrown together by fate and how those relationships develop. I talk a lot about how much I love family relationships in fiction, but I think what more generally appeals to me is non-romantic love, and there are great heaps of it in Final Fantasy XIII. I'm so in favour of that.
I really like that some characters are noticeably chattier than others even outside cutscenes. Lightning tends to speak only when she has information or advice to impart. Sazh, on the other hand, talks all the time. He keeps up a near-constant stream of chatter as you run around. He delivers victory lines more often than not. When Vanille slips into critical health, he asks, 'You holding up, kiddo?'
(Cutest thing ever, incidentally. I want Sazh to call me 'kiddo'.)
Beneath the cut due to length: a poll about favourite characters in the Final Fantasy games! Obviously you can just skip any questions about games you haven't played or don't have favourites in.
Poll Main-series post-III single-player games only; sorry, guys.
I'm probably going to keep coming back to this poll and switching my XIII answer between Sazh and Snow. I JUST CAN'T DECIDE. (And I'm sorry if I've forgotten anyone!)
Oh, hang on, let's have a shorter poll outside the cut, about videogames in general.
Poll I have really strong beliefs about this, but, you know, I'm sure we can still be friends if you're wrong.
Unrelatedly: I went to see Catherine Tate and David Tennant as Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing yesterday! It was so much fun. If you get the chance to see it, do!
After all that watching-on-YouTube, I now have an actual copy of Final Fantasy XIII! And I know this is a divisive game and there are a lot of people who really hate it, but I think it has to be one of my favourite Final Fantasy titles.
Yes, the AI is so good that it makes you wonder whether you really need to be at the controller. Yes, it has the air of a game designed by someone who went 'I have an amazing idea for a thirty-hour film!' and then reluctantly added a few gameplay elements upon realising that any film that long would really have to be distributed in videogame form. But I love the characters, and the characters have always been my favourite part of the Final Fantasy series. I'll forgive a lot for a good cast. (See also Final Fantasy VIII; it has gameplay flaws (all the Drawing can become very tedious) and an incomprehensible plot, but its central cast will always ensure it a place in my heart.) And I am actually weirdly fond of the battle system, even though the characters are essentially going WE KNOW WHAT TO DO, YOU JUST SIT BACK AND LET US SORT IT OUT. It's so fast-paced and exciting even if your actual involvement is minimal.
This game also contains a lot of emphasis on the relationships between these characters thrown together by fate and how those relationships develop. I talk a lot about how much I love family relationships in fiction, but I think what more generally appeals to me is non-romantic love, and there are great heaps of it in Final Fantasy XIII. I'm so in favour of that.
I really like that some characters are noticeably chattier than others even outside cutscenes. Lightning tends to speak only when she has information or advice to impart. Sazh, on the other hand, talks all the time. He keeps up a near-constant stream of chatter as you run around. He delivers victory lines more often than not. When Vanille slips into critical health, he asks, 'You holding up, kiddo?'
(Cutest thing ever, incidentally. I want Sazh to call me 'kiddo'.)
Beneath the cut due to length: a poll about favourite characters in the Final Fantasy games! Obviously you can just skip any questions about games you haven't played or don't have favourites in.
Poll Main-series post-III single-player games only; sorry, guys.
I'm probably going to keep coming back to this poll and switching my XIII answer between Sazh and Snow. I JUST CAN'T DECIDE. (And I'm sorry if I've forgotten anyone!)
Oh, hang on, let's have a shorter poll outside the cut, about videogames in general.
Poll I have really strong beliefs about this, but, you know, I'm sure we can still be friends if you're wrong.
Unrelatedly: I went to see Catherine Tate and David Tennant as Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing yesterday! It was so much fun. If you get the chance to see it, do!