For everything we loved about the playable demos of Final Fantasy XIII at this year's Tokyo Game Show, there was bound to be a few things that didn't jive with us. Nothing's perfect, as they say.
Square Enix's next big thing is shaping up to be great, but we had a few gripes after our demo sessions this week. I will say now that I don't think that any of these below listed items are deal breakers. Even though we've only seen three demos of the game since it's announcement, I think it's safe to say that Final Fantasy XIII will be a pretty solid game.
They haven't shown us what the odd sports-based or skill-based subgame will be, so I can't gripe about that one yet. I'm sure whatever it is will be terrible, though.
I don't like the camera
For as polished as Final Fantasy XIII is looking and sounding, it's worrisome that the in-game camera is floaty and imprecise. Just like in Final Fantasy XII, you'll control the camera with the right analog stick. Sometimes getting your bearings is disorienting, never mind trying to peer around a corner as you walk. While I realize that this is a role-playing title and not an action game, you'd think that there would be tighter camera control for a game that lets you evade moving enemies as a game play element. In more than one instance I found myself actually walking into a monster while trying to avoid them. Fix this, Square Enix.
I don't get the action points
While I get that they wanted to eliminate the need to jump on the overworld map, the little blue circular swirling light action points seem unnecessary. I believe that I saw these action points listed as game features in the past. Really? They're nothing more than a visual guide to tell you that you can access another part of the overworld. The problem is that they're placed in places that are obviously created to look like the gateway/doorway into the next area. They're more of a distraction than a help.
I don't like the generic enemies
I realize that these are only demos, but I'm already tired of the Final Fantasy-typical enemies already. Robo-cat things? Why? Why are they here? I seriously doubt that the game's story will explain why robo-cats attack you when you pass by. At least the canary yellow faceless military men make a bit more sense in context. They're still annoyingly generic, though. Other enemies included the random strong guy and the sewer-based slime. These almost seem like cop-outs when compared to the game's setting and battles.
I can't take the sensory overload in battles
What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On? While I'm glad that we've moved away from tiny hit point damage counts, the big-assed futuristic font used in Final Fantasy XIII might be too big. There's a lot going on in battles, and these big numbers just add clutter. I appreciate that they try to keep battles dynamic and exciting, but with multiple party members moving around you and enemies flying overhead, it's hard to keep track of what's going on. Big characters in the mix make it worse. Summon Odin into the party and things reach an even higher level of confusing. Unfortunately, some of this is also related to our first gripe, the camera.
I don't like the lack of the victory theme song
Where's the Final Fantasy "Victory" theme that we've come to expect post battle? Maybe they just left it out of the last three demos? Let's hope so.
Contest:
1:00 PM on 09.25.2009
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Heaven save you from Disgaea!
Sensory overload is gonna be a bi!ch though. Being colorblind probably won't help.
FF12 didn't have the victory theme except after large boss battles. The camera in FF12 was just fine and if you had problems with that, I don't know what that says about you aside from how terrible you are. Action points like showing where to go have been used in a lot of games. They're usually something you can toggle on/off. The enemies thing is just a retarded thing to pick at. You've had how many years (even decades at this point) to come to terms with the idea that they don't explain why the armies of the world employ odd creatures and such. It doesn't matter, get over it.
"These complaints are absolutely awful and basically tell the entire internet that you have no place previewing the game at all."
While I agree that they are nitpicky, Dale reviews Atlus games on a frequent basis, all of which require much more skill/patience than any Final Fantasy title.
I'd actually contend that its NICE that him and Colette are giving us more wishy-washy previews rather than glowing ones: I'm sick of seeing "it had some problems, but overall, it was PRETTY FUN" for every upcoming game on a lot of websites.
Calm down. Maybe you missed this yin to the yang you just read:
http://www.destructoid.com/tgs-09-what-i-liked-about-final-fantasy-xiii-149913.phtml
I don't understand how people are so quick to defend a game they haven't played yet. These are just impressions so far...
I completely sympathize with the comment about generic enemies. Recently I have been starting to get irked by a good amount of JRPG art direction (not all of them, there are always exceptions). As a whole though I am getting burned out at how formulaic character/area/monster designs are getting for JRPGs (they have a pool to pick from for futuristic games and then for fantasy games). I'm largely to blame due to RPGs being a huge part of my gaming diet since the SNES, that being said I just end up taking breaks from playing them and diving right back in after a while. I feel like I'm in an abusive relationship and keep coming back even though I know JRPGs will never change...
It's not Persona
See title
No anime cutscenes to wet my cock
It's just not weaboo enough, sorry.
Atlus had nothing to do with it
And you know that's indicative of bad quality
It's not Persona
Oh come on Dale you know I'm joking with ya.
I'm definitely not "annoyed" at the game not explaining each and every enemy in the game. But then again, I'm not annoyed anywhere near as easily as most other gamesr, apparently.
I think I can handle the sensory overload. I dunno, I kinda like how your vision turns black and white and more blurry right before you die in L4D. While I'm sure it is not exactly the same, it sounds to be of the same vein.
Also, yay for bigger fonts. Disgaea 3 (which I'm going through yet again, thanks trophies!) has some so-small-it-is-almost-illegible. Thankfully, our brains can scan enough of a word and we'll be able to actually interpret it. I think Valkyria Chronicles was the same way... Small and thin text that became hard to read. Maybe it's because I have a CRT TV with a small resolution?
Even if it is not, I'm going to pretend it is! That way I can feel better about dropping a grand on a nice 120hz HDTV sometime within this next year~
I've never played XII so I can't comment about the camera.
Problem comes when they design the game to look good on HDTV's but not on CRT TV's. Small text has always been a problem with a lot of gamers who still haven't upgraded to HDTV's for next gen consoles. I have no problem with the fonts on disgea 3 or Valkryria Chronicles on my 32" off the wall brand HDTV running in 720p.
I guess I'll just never understand why people crusade for these huge companies who see you as nothing more than a dollar sign. Every single review/preview is the writers opinion on what is wrong or right with the game. I like when critics are actually critical of a games strengths and weaknesses rather than being scared to say anything because the fanboys can't handle anything being said wrong about their precious title.
Here's a novel idea. Be a gamer, not a fanboy.
Hmmmm
I WOULD SAY SOME MORE THINGS BUT MY HYPERBOLE METER NEEDS TO RECHARGE.
Triple Triad disagrees.
If not the weirdest FF monster.
*clicks ADD COMMENT*
I've only been reading this site for about two years now, but I thought Dale was like the resident JRPG nerd guy? If anything I'm happy he's writing this article because he's probably more informed about FF than other editors would be.
Question about the camera though, I recall XII not letting you change the inversion of the camera, which really annoyed me. Was there any way to do that in XIII? I can't stand inverted cameras.
Where's the Final Fantasy "Victory" theme that we've come to expect post battle? Maybe they just left it out of the last three demos? Let's hope so."
Maybe it ties into the narrative somehow. Like, though one enemy may be slain, their fight continues on. Or something. I won't mind the lack of it if the game gives of said feeling of pressure. I wouldn't like it if the theme was in, yet so was that feeling.
Newsflash virtually every game on every platform has some type of generic enemy. What do you expect, an extra 4 hours of painful cutscenes involving the various characters discussing the biology and history of "cat mech" enemies? Not friggin likely.
Finally, the idea that you expect the minigame to suck right off the bat tells me that you aren't exactly approaching from an objective viewpoint. My guess? You are grasping at straws just so you can write an extra post and earn that 3 cent per word salary. Keep up the great work!
First off, get a damn avatar. It'll actually make you look like something more than just a passing fanboy trying to defend his game (I doubt it).
Secondly
http://www.destructoid.com/tgs-09-what-i-liked-about-final-fantasy-xiii-149913.phtml
Read that and shut the fuck up, dammit.
Sorry man, didn't know your superior psychoanalytical skills would allow you to determine that I'm a pathetic fanboy for not having an avatar. Christ you should be writing books!
Make up your mind.
It really says something about people when 90% of you have no ability to argue beyond screaming FANBOY at someone. Great job. I think I understand why gaming's as terrible as it is now a bit more.
It is important to find these things that detour us from the game. It makes the publishers work harder to please us and make better games.
As long as there's victory fanfare for the boss battles, I'm fine. Most of the random encounters don't need a victory fanfare anyway.