I waited years for Final Fantasy XIII. When I camped out for the PS3 in 2006, I was already thinking about how great the next entry in the iconic franchise would be. When I finally got the chance to play it, I put every ounce of effort into liking it, but the truth was that it just wasn't fun. I played for 26 hours, thinking that I would begin to like it when a certain nuance of the combat was unlocked, or when the environments became less linear. Fun had to lie just around the next corner, right? They couldn't have screwed up such a huge game with such a long development cycle, right?
I can only hope that Square Enix had their ears open after FF XIII's launch. They need to fix everything that eroded the review scores and the fans' faith in the series.
1) Linearity can work, but straight corridors with forced encounters are no better than the random battles of old.
I can only hope that Square Enix had their ears open after FF XIII's launch. They need to fix everything that eroded the review scores and the fans' faith in the series.
1) Linearity can work, but straight corridors with forced encounters are no better than the random battles of old.
2) The battle system can be extremely fun and is one of the best things about the game, but encounters need variety beyond "hit this part of the enemy first so he's vulnerable."
3) Story and characters. The characters certainly look the part. But aside from the overly complicated outfits and some oddly sexualized characters - I'm looking at you Vanille - the characters don't really hold my interest. Sure, they've all got reasons to hate being Fal'cie, and the framework for interesting back-stories is built, but everything is laid out on the surface. It's like the characters are a list of traits that only run skin deep. This goes for the entire story. Square Enix gave themselves a lot to work with here. They've created a visually striking world that's full of tension, but the plot twists and turns before we are given a chance to care about Gran Pulse and Cocoon. It seems like complications are thrown in just for the sake of making the plot complicated.
I have faith that Square can still create a stellar sequel, but they need to go back to the drawing board in some respects. They've built a beautiful world with an intriguing premise, but now they have to build farther by allowing players to explore and become connected with that world through game play and story.
3) Story and characters. The characters certainly look the part. But aside from the overly complicated outfits and some oddly sexualized characters - I'm looking at you Vanille - the characters don't really hold my interest. Sure, they've all got reasons to hate being Fal'cie, and the framework for interesting back-stories is built, but everything is laid out on the surface. It's like the characters are a list of traits that only run skin deep. This goes for the entire story. Square Enix gave themselves a lot to work with here. They've created a visually striking world that's full of tension, but the plot twists and turns before we are given a chance to care about Gran Pulse and Cocoon. It seems like complications are thrown in just for the sake of making the plot complicated.
I have faith that Square can still create a stellar sequel, but they need to go back to the drawing board in some respects. They've built a beautiful world with an intriguing premise, but now they have to build farther by allowing players to explore and become connected with that world through game play and story.