Originally Posted by -Adam- 13 isnt really turn based. You're selecting attacks/items whilst the enemies are still attacking, so it's pretty fast action.
I've seen my sister playing this, and from what I can tell, it's dreadfully boring to play. You literally have a button that decides what to do for you? Wait, you can tell it what to pick based on a few preset combinations.
I've also seen nothing but hallways upon hallways upon hallways upon hallways upon hal--wait, there was a corner--lway upon hallways. Three hours ago I saw her fighting in some hallway. She's still in that hallway, and hasn't died or had to reload the save at all.
Very little to no gameplay decision, no variety in the linear level design... Yeah, this sounds like a fun "game."
That's a pretty poor observation of the game. The battles actually require fast thinking and skill as the game progresses. You have to find out what the enemies weaknesses are, constantly switch between paradigms to get the right results etc. Yes there's an auto chain feature but you're being pretty ignorant if you think that's all there is to it just because that's what you've seen your sister use. There's also a lot of thinking involved when using a summon and battling and enemy with it.
As for it being linear, yes it is. People were warned of this before they even bought the game, but dont care. Cool characters, storyline and atmosphere make up for it.
Originally Posted by -Adam- That's a pretty poor observation of the game. The battles actually require fast thinking and skill as the game progresses. You have to find out what the enemies weaknesses are, constantly switch between paradigms to get the right results etc. Yes there's an auto chain feature but you're being pretty ignorant if you think that's all there is to it just because that's what you've seen your sister use. There's also a lot of thinking involved when using a summon and battling and enemy with it.
As for it being linear, yes it is. People were warned of this before they even bought the game, but dont care. Cool characters, storyline and atmosphere make up for it.
How am I supposed to know if there is "fast thinking and skill" required if all I can observe is what I can see? What I saw was a single command (Auto-Battle) being used repeatedly to defeat every encounter much faster than the "target time" suggested, to the effect of a 5 star rating. Last I checked, she was defeating some boss on disc three just doing that.
People were warned of it how, by the way? Does it say right on the case, or are you assuming that everyone reads the reviews before buying a game?
Originally Posted by -Adam- That's a pretty poor observation of the game. The battles actually require fast thinking and skill as the game progresses. You have to find out what the enemies weaknesses are, constantly switch between paradigms to get the right results etc. Yes there's an auto chain feature but you're being pretty ignorant if you think that's all there is to it just because that's what you've seen your sister use. There's also a lot of thinking involved when using a summon and battling and enemy with it.
As for it being linear, yes it is. People were warned of this before they even bought the game, but dont care. Cool characters, storyline and atmosphere make up for it.
How am I supposed to know if there is "fast thinking and skill" required if all I can observe is what I can see? What I saw was a single command (Auto-Battle) being used repeatedly to defeat every encounter much faster than the "target time" suggested, to the effect of a 5 star rating. Last I checked, she was defeating some boss on disc three just doing that.
People were warned of it how, by the way? Does it say right on the case, or are you assuming that everyone reads the reviews before buying a game?
The game does start off easy - you can pretty much use auto-battle for the first 3-5 hours worth of battles. You're not guaranteed to get 5-star ratings that way though - the rating is based on how quick you defeat the enemy, and how innovative you are in defeating the enemy (so using certain attacks which affect the enemies weak-point, which auto-battle doesn't do unless you used the Libra technique).
Your sister using just auto-battle for a boss fight seems very unlikely - I haven't got "3-discs" into the game yet, and I haven't been able to defeat a boss by simply pressing auto-battle all the time. I'm guessing what you saw either wasn't an actual boss fight, or you maybe missed some subtle things she did to win the battle. You need to manage your paradigms and look after your party members health, while also managing your attacks and special techniques - particularly for boss fights.
It sounds to me like you're watching a completely different game - maybe it'd be better for you to play it first before judging it. It's not really a game you can judge by just watching it - there is far more to it.
You're surprised it's linear?
Final Fantasy games have always been big on the storyline so they're all linear. Even Final fantasy 12 was like that except they tried to break up the story with hours of running from A to B and that got boring.
There is a section of FF13, the one I'm up to now where there is a huge open area to run about with tons of monsters roaming the fields. But the change hasn't suddenly made the game any more fun that it was before. I understand there is still a point B to find eventually.
The battle system is bizarre at first but works surprisingly well.
Originally Posted by -Adam- That's a pretty poor observation of the game. The battles actually require fast thinking and skill as the game progresses. You have to find out what the enemies weaknesses are, constantly switch between paradigms to get the right results etc. Yes there's an auto chain feature but you're being pretty ignorant if you think that's all there is to it just because that's what you've seen your sister use. There's also a lot of thinking involved when using a summon and battling and enemy with it.
As for it being linear, yes it is. People were warned of this before they even bought the game, but dont care. Cool characters, storyline and atmosphere make up for it.
How am I supposed to know if there is "fast thinking and skill" required if all I can observe is what I can see? What I saw was a single command (Auto-Battle) being used repeatedly to defeat every encounter much faster than the "target time" suggested, to the effect of a 5 star rating. Last I checked, she was defeating some boss on disc three just doing that.
People were warned of it how, by the way? Does it say right on the case, or are you assuming that everyone reads the reviews before buying a game?
Auto-Battle is useful if you can't manage your paradigms and manually input commands at the same time (Which can get pretty hard sometimes) and when you're fighting weak monsters. It does make a few battles way too easy though.
But a boss battle? Maybe it wasn't a boss or she defeated 4/5 parts of the boss.
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Andy, games with linear stories are often better than those with non-linear stories, and so linear games are often better than non-linear games. I get that. But I'm talking more about the level design than stories. In earlier FF games, the opening areas were linear, but still had an open feeling about them, whether it be by lettling you get off the rail and flip a switch or open a chest. Even the open-world areas were linear (in the sense that you had to get to a certain point before the story would continue), but there was a world out there in the form of towns, caves, whatever. You could backtrack, basically.
What it looks like Square-Enix is trying to do with 13 is take away all of the open-world (back-trackable!) "fluff" and just stick you on a rail. That fluff has a very distinct purpose, and you just don't mess with it. FF8 was the last game I played that messed with the fluff, and it sucked and had very shallow gameplay. (Truth be told, FF9 was the last one I played, so I can't really say how 10, 10-2, or 12 played.)
Rikus, what I'm getting from your post is that the first 3-5 hours are about button mashing (and holding forward), and until that point you don't get to make any worthwhile decisions in combat. Is that an accurate assessment? If it is, then I doubt I'd enjoy FF13 at all.
Originally Posted by aphant Rikus, what I'm getting from your post is that the first 3-5 hours are about button mashing (and holding forward), and until that point you don't get to make any worthwhile decisions in combat. Is that an accurate assessment? If it is, then I doubt I'd enjoy FF13 at all.
I guess you meant me and not Rikus
But yes, the first 3-5 hours is pretty much a "tutorial", though it's not explained at one. It sort of eases you into the combat - there are a couple of boss fights that you'll need to mix up your paradigms and things, but it's not much of a challenge in my opinion. It's definitely not just button bashing though - although you can just walk forward, there are little sideways with useful items and things in them. The challenges start to come after the 5 hour mark (or around there), at least for me.
I think it's obvious you wouldn't like this game anyway..
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Edited by alastair john jack
