Poll: What is everyone's problem with XIII?

[Porecomesis]

Seriously i see more and more "omg ff13 is shit" rants everyday. Although i dont rank it as the best ff it was far from the worst and in some cases like the battle system improved on prevoious titles.

So I ask you was XIII a dissapointment for you? And if so why?

I found it a disappointment because it's just a really badly designed game; I cannot be bothered to type out a long rant explaining why so here is the bullet-point version:

- Way to linear - no exploration, no feeling of progression.

- Terrible writing - "Moms are tough", "Seraph!!!" [Every 5 seconds] and all the other corny melo-drama in the game.

- Horrible characterization - Primarily thanks to the above.

- Massive plot holes that make no sense / Deus Ex Machinas - See Anima, see the ending, see Cid Raines.

- Pointless characters - the game only has a few named characters and yet at least 5 of them are completely irrelevant...

- Battle system plays itself - there is no thought or focus to playing that system, just mash auto-attack and you'll win 90% of the time.

- Items are useless because the game is very easy.

- Elevator music doesn't match the areas - gives the plot a childish feel.

- Lack of things to do after main game.

- Melo-drama for the sake of it - the game trying to trick you Sazh killed himself when within the context of the scene it makes no sense. Insults the players intelligence.

- Horrible voice acting - again thanks to terrible writing.

- Lack of progression when leveling - you never feel particularly powerful, even during the end-game and maxed out...

- Game hides the poorly thought out story in the data-log - player has no idea what's really occurring for the first half of the game.

I could go on if I wanted to...

Basically that. Also, I'll add a few of my own:

- Too much emphasis on combat - You know what would be nice? Variety. I would like to be able to pilot more giant robots and stomp on everything and actually USE the jetpack Snow took from someone or other. The combat is every bit as bloody frequent as Star Ocean: The Last Hope's, and that is not a compliment. It means it gets really old really fast.

- Linear level design - Most of my friends have probably heard me at one point or another going on about how Star Ocean: The Last Hope is basically Final Fantasy XIII if it sucked less. Part of that is due to the level design. While Star Ocean: The Last Hope's levels are reminiscent of Metroid Prime and the original Spyro The Dragon trilogy except with fifteen times the monsters, Final Fantasy XIII's levels are more like Metroid: Other M and the The Legend of Spyro trilogy. No, that is not a compliment.

- Graphics - I suggest you read this one closely, because I don't mention the graphics for no reason. Yes, they do look good. Yes, the cutscenes are very pretty and use colour very well, almost at Pixar's level. What they aren't are noteworthy. Around the time I was in the funfair level with Sazh and Vanille, I realised that I wasn't even paying attention to the graphics. All I ever did was move forward and fight enemies and, if I wanted to spice things up a bit, press a button to jump or something. You see, Star Ocean: The Last Hope's graphics are at least noticeable because you actually interact with the environment (the harvesting and mining things, in case you didn't know) and, in rare cases, explore.


And that's all I can think of. And no, I don't like Star Ocean: The Last Hope, although gameplay wise it trumps most other JRPGs, even if the gameplay had plenty of room for improvement. If the story and characterisation were actually tolerable and the gameplay was more variable, then I would actually like it.


-EDIT-
WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! Sorry, I have more. In my opinion, Final Fantasy XIII is by far the weakest of the series. Gameplay wise, the strongest game in the series is Final Fantasy XII, and even that was poor. In any event, the combat did not take place in an alternate reality and you actually had control. Also, there were some running away and stealth bits, which we don't get enough of. Final Fantasy XIII's gameplay, as I have said before, can be best summarised by the FPS Level Design picture on Halolz.

 

[kitsunefather]

Seriously i see more and more "omg ff13 is shit" rants everyday. Although i dont rank it as the best ff it was far from the worst and in some cases like the battle system improved on prevoious titles.

So I ask you was XIII a dissapointment for you? And if so why?

I found it a disappointment because it's just a really badly designed game; I cannot be bothered to type out a long rant explaining why so here is the bullet-point venison:

- Way to linear - no exploration, no feeling of progression.

- Terrible writing - "Moms are tough", "Seraph!!!" [Every 5 seconds] and all the other corny melo-drama in the game.

- Horrible characterization - Primarily thanks to the above.

- Massive plot holes that make no sense / Deus Ex Machinas - See Anima, see the ending, see Cid Raines.

- Pointless characters - the game only has a few named characters and yet at least 5 of them are completely irrelevant...

- Battle system plays itself - there is no thought or focus to playing that system, just mash auto-attack and you'll win 90% of the time.

- Items are useless because the game is very easy.

- Elevator music doesn't match the areas - gives the plot a childish feel.

- Lack of things to do after main game.

- Melo-drama for the sake of it - the game trying to trick you Sazh killed himself when within the context of the scene it makes no sense. Insults the players intelligence.

- Horrible voice acting - again thanks to terrible writing.

- Lack of progression when leveling - you never feel particularly powerful, even during the end-game and maxed out...

- Game hides the poorly thought out story in the data-log - player has no idea what's really occurring for the first half of the game.

I could go on if I wanted to...

I'd also like to add:

- Dull as Dirt - It felt like the worst parts of an MMO, without the freedom to just look the fuck around.

Two more:

- It took 20 hours to get any enjoyment out of it- Seriously the game didn't get fun until you got to Grand Pulse and even then it wasn't all that fun because of the next point.

-No Towns Seriously no communities of people at all? That's total BS.

I never got that far. Actually bought it on launch day because my wife and I were so excited to play it too, but 16 hours (for me, my wife made it 36 hours) in, I just couldn't be bothered to continue to give a shit.

~EDIT~
Oh! Another one!

- Cheap-Ass Enemies - More than any FF I've ever played, some of the levels early on seem to be littered with enemies who can one-shot you 3 turns in, and your only resistance is repeated trial and error, combined with luck to get the shots in early. And these are unaviodable battles.

 

[thenoblitt]

i didnt mind the gameplay that much, the story was ok, hell the voice acting wasnt even terrible, it was just the horrible horrible dialogue that made me dislike it

 

[LogicNProportion]

I despise XIII...

All the reason have been listed...except for this one, I believe:

WHERE ARE THE MINIGAMES!?

I may have skipped them in an attempt to get done with the turd as quickly as possible, but I remember in VII there was that motorcycle game, the 'RTS' game at the Condor place, and even the Gold Saucer, a place dedicated to minigames.

Even some of the events took a break from the usual game elements, like doing CPR on that girl, the slap-fight with Scarlet and Tifa, etc.

I miss SquareSOFT.

 

[JediMB]

I though this was about the PS2 Cel Shaded gem XIII for a second there.

This, except it was a PC cel-shaded gem.

Throwing things into people's skulls has never been as fun as it was in XIII.

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Ib4- Oh, fuck.

I liked Final Fantasy XIII. I liked the characters (Save Snow and Hope, they can go burn in a furnace. I'm a Lightning fanboy, though.), I liked the combat, I liked the cutscenes and design, and I generally found the story tolerable. The only thing I was annoyed with was Gran Pulse, but I got used to it after awhile.

Let the flaming commence!

 

[Chancie]

I'm enjoying it so far (a little less than halfway in), but I do know it won't be my favorite FF or anything. But it's still good, I still like it, etc. I don't see what the big deal is either. I have a feeling that SE will "fail" with FF on, so it doesn't really matter what they do.

 

[EmzOLV]

Well, in my opinion, for me, I was disappointed. But that was the initial reaction. I'd just spent 2 years playing and re-playing 12 and absolutely loved it, and I knew, I knew that 13 was going to be different and weird, and it was not going to be the same.

And with that, I still played the first chapter and I got really into it - I look back and think the first time I played 12 and had that first "oh my god this is horrible I hate it" reaction because it wasn't the same as 10. And then I got really into it.

I think for me, I treat them so completely seperately, that they could have been made by different companies.

There are things about 13 I didn't like, or that I would change, things that irritated me (and don't get me started on Vanille's voice) but at the end of the day I really enjoyed it. I finished the main storyline this week (I know, always the last one to finish) and I intend on going back and finishing the hunts because I enjoy that part and would like to try and complete it as much as possible.

But that's my two cents it was never going to be a game for anybody, and you can tell, you don't see me playing Black Ops for instance.

 

[xXDeMoNiCXx]

Overall I loved FF XIII, it wasn't the best game ever but it was good there were just a few things they could have improved on.

 

[MrhalfAwake]

Overall I loved FF XIII, it wasn't the best game ever but it was good there were just a few things they could have improved on.

yeah just a handful of small bits

Everything

and then everything else

 

[xXDeMoNiCXx]

Overall I loved FF XIII, it wasn't the best game ever but it was good there were just a few things they could have improved on.

yeah just a handful of small bits

Everything

and then everything else

Ye-no.

 

[FalloutJack]

I don't have a problem with it. It's different is all.

 

[SecretAlienMan]

I think ZP phrased it best: the game tries to involve the player as little as possible

 

[Justank]

The reason I hate Final Fantasy XIII is that it had so much potential and failed MISERABLY across the board. Second worst game I have ever played, behind FF11.

 

[Souplex]

Your poll needs an option for those who abstained from playing it.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

I liked it to be honest, I don't have any complaints other than the standard ones that come with JRPGs.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I sense it's partly a case of Dr Who syndrome, in that most people love the first one they experienced, then maybe get on with one or two after that, but then decide the earlier ones were too old and the later ones don't feel right.

(Finally, an analogy from me that kinda fits!)

For instance I came in on 3/6, the SNES one with the opera bit, and loved it, as I did 7 on the PS1, 8,9, and 10 didn't really grab me and after 10 I found it hard to care, and having tried 1 and 2 on emulators they just didn't spark anything.

 

[quantumsoul]

I've played a lot JRPG's. There wasn't enough to interest me. It felt like more of the same including the characters.

I wonder if it's older players that don't like it and younger ones who do.