Queen's Blood (Final Fantasy Thread)

[Ruki]

According to Square Enix's twitter, Famitsu gave FFXIII-2 a perfect 40/40.

"Final Fantasy XIII-2 has received perfect 40/40 scores from Famitsu. Ranbu Yoshida said, "It feels like a very different game from its predecessor; the story changes depending on where you choose to go in your time-traveling journey, and it's easy to lose yourself in changing and redoing areas you've previously finished." While assistant editor Norihiro Fujiwara wrote, "The setting and presentation is fantastic, and the issues people brought up with the first game -- its linearity, its lack of meaty gameplay -- are a thing of the past. You're sucked into the game right from the beginning, and the story's very easy to get into.""

Dammit, my hopes are raising slightly...

.....dammit .>_<

I am now hopeful for this game. Please don't hurt me SE. Please! I haven't been super pleased with FF since X.

[jrhodes]

According to Square Enix's twitter, Famitsu gave FFXIII-2 a perfect 40/40.

"Final Fantasy XIII-2 has received perfect 40/40 scores from Famitsu. Ranbu Yoshida said, "It feels like a very different game from its predecessor; the story changes depending on where you choose to go in your time-traveling journey, and it's easy to lose yourself in changing and redoing areas you've previously finished." While assistant editor Norihiro Fujiwara wrote, "The setting and presentation is fantastic, and the issues people brought up with the first game -- its linearity, its lack of meaty gameplay -- are a thing of the past. You're sucked into the game right from the beginning, and the story's very easy to get into.""

Dammit, my hopes are raising slightly...

Not to piss on your parade but Famitsu gave FFXIII 39/40 so I don't know how valid their reviews are, at least when it comes to Final Fantasy.

[Benji]

Famitsu giving a perfect score is nothing significant these days. Plenty of games, deserving and otherwise, have obtained it. Since 2009 their standards have dropped dramatically, with the list quite literally doubling what it has been in the 10 years since it gave it's first perfect 40.

[Pizza]

I'm not judging by a review score, but I'm pretty excited for XIII-2. XIII was imperfect, but it had its strong points. I enjoyed the combat a lot, and the story and the characters especially were very well done. If they can take what worked in 13 and fix what didn't like the endless corridor, which by all accounts they have, it could end up being a really good game. My hopes were already up, I think they'll get it right this time.

[Clawson]

XIII-2 also has New Game + and you get some bonuses for having a XIII save file lying around still.

It's almost seeming like one of those old international games Japan used to get for the PS2 era.

[gunnar hendershow]

Not going to give a 40/40 any credence, as has been said Famitsu just basically hands them out nowadays. However in a few weeks we'll start getting more reviews of the game and then I'll make a decision whether to get it right away or wait for a price drop.

[TKz]

God damn. It just looks hopeful and that worries me. >_>

[Ruki]

I really like the idea of capturing/using monsters.....ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CAN DECORATE THEM!

Still fucking pissed off it has an awkward numbered achievements. Makes me tempted to get it on the PS3 (but then I'd have to get XIII on PS3 AND I would miss out on all the fancy stuff you get for loading an old save file).

CHOCOBO RACES!

[TKz]

I really like the idea of capturing/using monsters.....ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CAN DECORATE THEM!

Still fucking pissed off it has an awkward numbered achievements. Makes me tempted to get it on the PS3 (but then I'd have to get XIII on PS3 AND I would miss out on all the fancy stuff you get for loading an old save file).

CHOCOBO RACES!

Like what? Do you have to have beaten the game?

[Ruki]

....I'm not really sure what the in-game bonuses will be. Likely a weapon upgrade or something that will be obsolete within 5 hours.

Although...I DO have every other FF game on PS1/2...I should just trade my Xbox version for a PS3 version.

Edit: Would there be a way to download a save or something off the internet and use that on my PS3? That way, I wouldn't have to worry about missing out on the goodies.

But dammit, I am hyped for this game :/

Edit 2:

Those who put time in on FF13 ought to be pleased to hear that save data from the previous game -- you don't have to have beaten the game, just played it -- will unlock "special monster decorations" and improve your success rates in the game's gambling area.

Special decorations and improved gambling rates? Pff, not worth it!

[Clawson]

Ugh...I'm starting to agree with TKz. XIII-2 is starting to look too promising.

[TKz]

Ugh...I'm starting to agree with TKz. XIII-2 is starting to look too promising.

Do you remember the hope we had when it was released! I remember getting a message from you that yours had arrived and being furious at mine for not.

Though, I give XIII a lot of crap, (mostly deserved) and I don't know if it was just having a HD Final Fantasy or a new Final Fantasy to play, but I did really enjoy the first like, 20 hours of XIII. I probably would have been less annoyed with it if I hadn't heard so much about how IT REALLY OPENS UP AT GRAN PULSE... when it really didn't. I mean sure, it's a nice big open land with lots of optional quests, but it was all pretty much fake. The side quests were mostly way too hard to actually do at the time.

I think I've seen enough that it's moved up to a release day purchase for me, but I'm still not about to get my hopes up. I mean worst comes to worst, it's XIII all over again. Which wasn't awful, just way too linear.

Only things that worry me so far:

1. Doesn't really mention anything about the ability to level up at will. My biggest problem with XIII was that I couldn't prepare for a boss fight or take an hour out to grind if I was having trouble with the difficulty. Honestly, despite being super linear, if I could've done that in XIII, I'd probably have a much higher opinion on it.

2. Active Time Events? Come on. Hopefully they're just for cutscenes at the end of the fight, or for stuff like using the environment in FFX to fight enemies in certain parts of the game. (Like when Yuna gets kidnapped or the fight with the first Sinspawn underwater)

3. I haven't seen a single clip of any characters used other than Serah and Noel. Those two are going to have to be pretty fucking interesting characters if they're the only ones you play as. One of the big things that I enjoyed in the earlier Final Fantasy games was picking up new characters, so I'll be fairly gutted if there's no one but those two and the occasional monster. And Lightning for a while, I assume.

tl;dr: it looks like it might be okay, maybe!

[Ruki]

Only things that worry me so far:

1. Doesn't really mention anything about the ability to level up at will. My biggest problem with XIII was that I couldn't prepare for a boss fight or take an hour out to grind if I was having trouble with the difficulty. Honestly, despite being super linear, if I could've done that in XIII, I'd probably have a much higher opinion on it.

2. Active Time Events? Come on. Hopefully they're just for cutscenes at the end of the fight, or for stuff like using the environment in FFX to fight enemies in certain parts of the game. (Like when Yuna gets kidnapped or the fight with the first Sinspawn underwater)

3. I haven't seen a single clip of any characters used other than Serah and Noel. Those two are going to have to be pretty fucking interesting characters if they're the only ones you play as. One of the big things that I enjoyed in the earlier Final Fantasy games was picking up new characters, so I'll be fairly gutted if there's no one but those two and the occasional monster. And Lightning for a while, I assume.

1. Also a concern for me. I really hope I can grind out some levels when I'm having difficulty.

2. ATEs....you know what? I think I might actually be ok with them, if they're not overdone. We shall see.

3. I assume there will be more than just those two characters, otherwise, fuck...that'll suck major loads of ass. Maybe the 3rd space is always free for the monster

But yeah, getting hopeful for this game >_<

Also, I have basically decided I am going to get a copy of 13 on PS3 to both keep my FF collection standard Playstation affairs, and so I don't have to worry about retardedly numbered achievements in XIII-2 (a lame reason, but it seriously bothers me).

[Clawson]

To be fair I liked XIII as a video game...I just didn't like it as a Final Fantasy.

[Skummy]

To be fair I liked XIII as a video game...I just didn't like it as a Final Fantasy.

I think that's been the problem for a lot of people, for the last few games. And it's only going to get worse with Sakaguchi no longer involved. They've lost sight of the "feeling" of a Final Fantasy game.

The biggest example to me, even moreso than XIII, would be the Final Fantasy VII spin-offs - they're all moody, self-consciously dark and brooding, and as a result, mostly dull as fuck, and completely miss the point. While FFVII had its fair share of melancholy and introspection, it also had dressing up as a woman to infiltrate a pimp's lair, or the Gold Saucer...it always had a bizarre sense of humour underlying it all, and above all a sense of charm, and that's been lacking from Final Fantasy games for years. That, coupled with a shift in the style of gameplay, generally means that the games might be great (though they often aren't), but they'll still never "feel" like you're playing a Final Fantasy game.

Personally, I feel that IX was the last great Final Fantasy. I've not cared for any after that - though bits of XII were fun, though again, not as a "true" Final Fantasy game. I really feel that IX was very consciously made as a send-off to the "old" Final Fantasy games as the series moved in a new direction, and that's why it's full of so many tongue-in-cheek references to earlier games in the series, and why it's generally a lot more light-hearted and fun.

XIII, I thought, was absolutely dire. It was an on-rails interactive movie until 24 hours in, when it gave you the illusion of choice by giving you a bigger map - but it was still entirely linear. That's been the case with Final Fantasy games for years, though - they make you feel like you've got a bunch of options, and that what you do might affect things, but you're still being ferried through to a definite closed point at the end. Nothing you do has any effect. But it seems like in XIII, they just gave up even trying to fool the player into thinking that they might have any influence, and turned the whole thing into an interactive storybook. Though, really, there hasn't been a real "open-ended" section in a Final Fantasy game since the End Of The World bit (it's got an official name, can't remember what it was) in FFVI. And it's a problem that most RPGs are guilty of - but, like I said, XIII just never bothered to even pretend otherwise.

[TKz]

I wouldn't say that's totally right. Most FF games were definitely linear, but with the inclusion of the world map, side quests and reasons to return to previous parts of the game that made it fairly "open-ended" in the sense that it was up to you when you wanted to do things. Part of Final Fantasy has always been that they're telling the story with distractions along the way, rather than the Skyrim/Fallout style of "Here's the story, do it if you feel like it."

You're definitely right about the lack of the illusion of freedom, but I do think FF has had some freedom. It's just not freedom of choice like you might get in a Bioware game, but freedom of how you play. What parties you set up, if you go out of your way to find certain Summons/GFs/Aeons.

And in defense of XIII, though I don't agree with taking this route, I have heard some pretty good arguments in that the story they wanted to tell required a more linear narrative. I don't totally agree with that, but I can see how that might be valid. It would have been pretty jarring for Sazh to spend two hours playing a dunk the basketball game when he's both on the run and trying to save his son.

On the plus side with XIII-2, it looks like they're trying to bring back some of the fun elements. I just hope they realize throwing what looks like AI controlled Chocobo Races and slot machines at us isn't exactly all that fun. Either way, there seems to be a lot more of an option to fuck around and have fun in this one.

[Benji]

And in defense of XIII, though I don't agree with taking this route, I have heard some pretty good arguments in that the story they wanted to tell required a more linear narrative. I don't totally agree with that, but I can see how that might be valid. It would have been pretty jarring for Sazh to spend two hours playing a dunk the basketball game when he's both on the run and trying to save his son.

As opposed to Cloud and co playing at Gold Saucer when Cloud is in a coma, Sephiroth is ready to destroy the world with meteor, Shinra is building a fuck off huge cannon, the world is literally dying underneath them etc etc?

[Skummy]

Hell, even the fact that you can spend an infinite amount of nights sleeping at a single inn when you're supposed to be rushing to save the world...

[Clawson]

All the Trophies...beware of Spoilers I guess.

http://www.ps3trophies.com/forums/playstation-trophy-news/8067-final-fantasy-xiii-2-trophy-list.html

[MalaCloudy Black]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJf5_y1Rl9A&feature=player_embedded

I, uh.