Final Fantasy XIII is due for release for next month, and the first reviews are starting to trickle in. Interestingly, these reviews seem rather undecided on the game, with some outlets loving it, and other outlets not too keen. The brains behind Square Enix's big game, however, aren't too concerned. They're not even paying attention.
"We try not to listen to the critics too much. Most of the criticisms have come because the first half of the game is very linear," says producer Yoshinori Kitase to Official Xbox Magazine. "But we've got a story to tell, and it's important the player can engage with the characters and the world they inhabit before letting them loose"
Director Motomu Toriyama adds: "We think many reviewers are looking at Final Fantasy XIII from a western point of view. When you look at most Western RPGs, they just dump you in a big open world, and let you do whatever you like... [It] becomes very difficult to tell a compelling story when you're given that much freedom."
While I agree that reviews should never be taken to heart of focused on entirely, there's something to be said for not just brushing their concerns under the carpet. I actually support linear games and I hope that XIII will be a great experience, but if there are consistent complaints, then maybe Square Enix would do well to examine it rather than just go, "Oh those round eyes don't understand."
Final Fantasy XIII boss responds to review scores [CVG]
Contest:
8:40 AM on 02.16.2010
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Linear is fine by me, but I've always had the most fun with Final Fantasys that had mega bosses to beat after the main game was completed, so I'm not so sure it's going to be a great game for me. X is probably still my favourite purely because of the balls hard Dark Aeons.
Reviewers are just doing their job, and if the devs don't pay attention to reviews then how can they improve their product?
I'm already prepared for FF13 to get some non-stellar reviews. The good thing about the intense coverage the game has been getting, is that I can make an educated guess that I'm going to love it, anyway. Nothing I've seen or read so far turns me off.
First post here.
Second post here.
And comic:
If that's a bbcode fail, I quit.
I think everyones looking at Final Fantasy like it's suppose to be another Final Fantasy game, it isn't something new its freaking 13! Not 1.
...then why do games like Mass Effect have a much more compelling story than any Final Fantasy since VI (or Tactics 1 going by spinoff series).
And as for my other statement:
I'm sure FFXIII will be a cut above as most games in the series are, but jrpgs as a whole are horribly linear and have ludicrously stupid stories. If you wanna go linear and talk about a compelling story you need to be a xenogears and not a xenosaga. And everyone I talked to about XIII says it is very akin to xenosaga, but a little less self righteous.
LA LA LA LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU LA LA LA!!!!!
I'd advise you to go back to ME1. The opening stages of that are extremely linear before you're set loose in the galaxy. ME2 didn't need it so much because the characters were already established from the first game. Point is all RPGs have at least some level of linearity in them to establish setting and characters before they fully set you loose. Square may have just made the opening of FFXIII a bit too long for some reviewer's tastes.
"We don't listen to criticism, especially about it being linear. That's only through the 1st Disc & a Half." :)
Oh well, I love western and eastern RPGs, so I win every time a good example of either is released. Sometimes it pays to have diverse interests.
I agree. I would apply that logic to most cases, within reason. BUT, on the other hand, Japanese developers can say nothing when the game doesn't sell in the bigger markets. Final Fantasy will be deemed a failure if it sells poorly outside of Japan. It won't sell poorly, even if it plays like shit.
Also- Mass Effect 2 is not Gears of War in space. That's like saying that Uncharted 2 is Gears of War in India. Infact, Uc2 is waaaay more of a copy of Gears than ME2 - read: Exactly the same cover mechanics!
PLUS, I've been playing Final Fantasy since the NES days, and I'm not about to stop because of some lackluster reviews. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I trust Dale North more than [url=www.destructoid.com/ten-things-i-didn-t-love-about-final-fantasy-xiii-162684.phtml]any other[/url].
PLUS, I\'ve been playing Final Fantasy since the NES days, and I\'m not about to stop because of some lackluster reviews. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
"You know those bastards think we don't know what green onions are, weird shit like that, do they even eat soup (ramen) in America?"
Sigh... Ramen =/= soup to the Japanese. Ramen == Ramen. And the Japanese don't think we know what a Negi, the only type of (Welsh) green onions they care about, is. Which to be fair, is pretty valid, most Westerners don't know what a Negi onion is.
That's just how narrative works, people. Mass Effect found wiggle room where it could but when you are describing a string of events, sometimes they have to go in a certain order.
INTERNET TOUGH GUY ALERT
All I have is two words to respond to this....
Planescape Torment
I think it's unfair to say that the West is 'whining' because they're not getting the kind of game structure they want, which I think is entirely untrue. And I think most people are just not liking what they're hearing when it comes to negative things about a FF game.
From some of the negative stuff I've read/listened to so far, it's been that way because people feel it's been dumbed down and a lot of depth has been taken out. Not it just being linear, that just in general everything just lost depth and has been more stream lined. And to me sounds like a step down from other FF titles.
I'm still interested and want to play, but I'm less excited as I was about it.
The problem I have with western RPGs is not that they don't tell a great story, because they do, but they are too open for my taste. In WRPG I often wander around not knowing where to start or do, and the story comes in fragments and it's kinda confusing for my fragile little mind. When a FF game opens up in the end, you've already familiarized yourself with the world, so you don't get confused when you can use the airship to explore the whole thing.
"This country is messed up on cross-genre Biowaresqe bullcrap. If you cant murder every house pet in the game to collect the "Pet Lover" badge "
Have you even played a Bioware game? Kinda hard to believe you have when you say things like that. Didn't you mean to pick on Fallout 3 or something?
@Cynical Gamer,
"BTW Final Fantasy X was horrible just like VIII."
Says..... you? Both were great games.
I do not mind linearity,as a whole as most stories and tales we've ever read,heard and seen are all linear.However,linearity must also be followed by a solid background(premise,story,characters) and execution.This too applies towards an open-world enviroment,albeit to a lesser extent.
The main problem is,is that Square-Enix is putting up an impression that they don't give a rat's arse about what people are trying to tell them.Instantaneous backlash towards constructive criticism,for one,pisses me off like mad in the business world as this could mean the stagnation,and possible end of something the people in this world love and support.Especially Final Fantasy.
In the opening stages of ME1 where you deemed it to be "extreme linear", that portion of the game is short (in my opinion) and serves as a brief introduction for players to familiarize themselves with the control mechanics. But even then, you're given so many options before the game throws you out into the galaxy. Did you recruit Wrex? Did you recruit Garrus? Did Fist survive?
Bioware employees roflcoptering at that quote.
I think Bioware would disagree. Though I have to admit Bioware games are more linear than say, Oblivion or Fallout 3, who's narrative, at least in my opinion don't stack up against Bioware or FF, but that may have more to do with the writers at Bethesda than it does with the open world.
At the end of the day I am sure FF13 will do what it set out to do very well and will prove to be an enjoyable experience, at lest it will to me.
Therefore, Toriyama and 2ch(look up their stupidity) have no right to to shit on the JRPG's father genre.
Ever since Western RPGs like KOTOR and Oblivion started coming to consoles to wide critical acclaim, our standards have risen exponentially. And Japan's still stuck in the LOLDragonQuest style of design and storytelling.
Like some have said, though... There are still great JRPGs out there(SMT/Persona, Lost Odyssey); just not as many these days. And linearity is fine if it's done so that it's barely noticable(FF games up until VIII or IX, Golden Sun, yes, Dragon Quest too).
For Bioware I've played: Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, NWN 1 and 2. I just feel that the direction that things are going over there is decidedly anti-narrative and anti-roleplaying. I see the difficulty curve hitting the basement, I see the number of ridiculous sex scenes in their releases going up year to year, AND I see the gaming public handing them the world on a platter cause they're getting to ogle some blue titties. Have some self respect people.
BTW I say things like that so people read my posts.
If there is one thing you can count on in game reviews, it is that there will be mudslinging.