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...or, you know, playing FFXIII, because it was ON SALE! last week at K-Mart and also Bayonetta was not in stock ;[
anyway after an unintended night-long marathon i am now on Chapter 5 so i guess i might as well give you my thoughts onyaoi the game.
first thing's first: this is a super-pretty game. there's noticeable artifacting during the FMV sequences, but the in-game graphics are gorgeous. so gorgeous in fact that i question why Squeenix needed to use FMVs so heavily in the first place, because there's not really a difference in quality between the two. (actually because of artifacts, the FMV parts look a little worse than the in-game graphics on the 360) maybe there's a more noticeable difference on the PS3 which would not have any compression issues, but idk.
the story is kind of...um...i don't know how to put it. it's not like, the worst thing ever but...it's a fairly standard tale so far - in a lot of ways it's similar to the little-played Grandia II (mythical creature of horror discovered near idyllic town, innocents caught up in government crack-down, main character is a former soldier who won't play by the rules) but it's told in such a way that makes it needlessly complex.
i used to read Dragonlance novels, and the more recent trilogies suffered from something best called 'cliffhanger syndrome.' basically, there were so many characters and story arcs going on at once that the authors kept switching their focus at nearly every chapter. as a reader, you'd read one chapter focusing on one set of characters, then, at the most dramatically appropriate time, the chapter would end and you'd cut to whatever some other group was doing. this led to a whole lot of literary cockteasing, repetitive exposition scenes, and plot climaxes that never lived up to the excruciating buildup before hand.
the thing is, this approach could have worked if there was something truly unique occuring. unfortunately, the vast majority of the 'plot twists!' were highly predictable, and much of the anticipation came from deliberate, needless information withholding. many resolutions in the book would leave you thinking both 'is that it?' and 'why didn't [insert character here] mention [insert plot point here] sooner - there was no reason to keep that a secret for so long!'
FFXIII has a similar approach. you play through a section with one or two characters for a little while, then you watch some cutscenes where one character spouts exposition, while another hints at some ~tragic past event~ but then waves it off when others look at him/her funny. Then, you cut to another character or group, advance to the next save point, and repeat the process again. also, the datalog updates so you can read a description of the scene that just took place, in case the excruciatingly obvious dialog confused you.
THAT BEING SAID. it's not terrible. and the characters themselves, for the most part, are enjoyable enough to keep playing through, even though i'm not deeply concerned with the overarching plot. So far Vanille and Sazh are my favorites by far, though they are the worst offenders in the 'hinting at tragedy, then waving it off' category. i'm just a sucker for the happy exterior, wounded heart type characters. :P Lightning's unrepentant, barely restrained rage is also refreshing to see in a female character. she's genuinely unlikable in a lot of ways - she's dismissive (or worse) to everyone, her motives are somewhat on the selfish side, but they're also understandable and, well...appropriate for someone with her background, i suppose. basically, i'm just glad the game hasn't felt a need to 'soften' her in a way that feels demeaning. (Okay, maybe the whole Hope thing...but even that was rather rocky until the Odin bit.)
i'd talk about the battle system next, but this entry is tl;dr already, so maybe later i will regale you with paradigm shifting and gestalt meter woes. (speaking of, HOLY PRETENTIOUSNESS SQUEENIX)
stray observations:
-the music's really, really good. i still think FFXII has the most impressive OST in the series, but FFXIII is solid. i'm not sure where i'd put it in my personal series OST hierarchy, but i feel safe in saying it's better than all of the PSX entries and FFX.
-how old is Vanille supposed to be? just by looking at her, i would guess something like 17-18 but when i first heard her speak i was like..."is she supposed to be 14?" her voice actress...leaves something to be desired. she sounds outrageously childish most of the time, but it's a very forced childish. come to think of it, her accent sounds pretty forced as well. it's not the worst dubbing job i've heard, but her's is the weakest so far.
-speaking of voice acting...is that Mary Elizabeth McGlynn voicing Hope's mother?
-does anyone else find the 'riding the eidolons' thing more hilarious than impressive? i was LOL'ing for reals when the Shiva sisters turned into a motorcycle AND when Odin turned into a horse in AN EXPLOSION OF ROSE PETALS. i mean, WHUT.
in conclusion, i think i may be Facing destiny. for awhile.
anyway after an unintended night-long marathon i am now on Chapter 5 so i guess i might as well give you my thoughts on
first thing's first: this is a super-pretty game. there's noticeable artifacting during the FMV sequences, but the in-game graphics are gorgeous. so gorgeous in fact that i question why Squeenix needed to use FMVs so heavily in the first place, because there's not really a difference in quality between the two. (actually because of artifacts, the FMV parts look a little worse than the in-game graphics on the 360) maybe there's a more noticeable difference on the PS3 which would not have any compression issues, but idk.
the story is kind of...um...i don't know how to put it. it's not like, the worst thing ever but...it's a fairly standard tale so far - in a lot of ways it's similar to the little-played Grandia II (mythical creature of horror discovered near idyllic town, innocents caught up in government crack-down, main character is a former soldier who won't play by the rules) but it's told in such a way that makes it needlessly complex.
i used to read Dragonlance novels, and the more recent trilogies suffered from something best called 'cliffhanger syndrome.' basically, there were so many characters and story arcs going on at once that the authors kept switching their focus at nearly every chapter. as a reader, you'd read one chapter focusing on one set of characters, then, at the most dramatically appropriate time, the chapter would end and you'd cut to whatever some other group was doing. this led to a whole lot of literary cockteasing, repetitive exposition scenes, and plot climaxes that never lived up to the excruciating buildup before hand.
the thing is, this approach could have worked if there was something truly unique occuring. unfortunately, the vast majority of the 'plot twists!' were highly predictable, and much of the anticipation came from deliberate, needless information withholding. many resolutions in the book would leave you thinking both 'is that it?' and 'why didn't [insert character here] mention [insert plot point here] sooner - there was no reason to keep that a secret for so long!'
FFXIII has a similar approach. you play through a section with one or two characters for a little while, then you watch some cutscenes where one character spouts exposition, while another hints at some ~tragic past event~ but then waves it off when others look at him/her funny. Then, you cut to another character or group, advance to the next save point, and repeat the process again. also, the datalog updates so you can read a description of the scene that just took place, in case the excruciatingly obvious dialog confused you.
THAT BEING SAID. it's not terrible. and the characters themselves, for the most part, are enjoyable enough to keep playing through, even though i'm not deeply concerned with the overarching plot. So far Vanille and Sazh are my favorites by far, though they are the worst offenders in the 'hinting at tragedy, then waving it off' category. i'm just a sucker for the happy exterior, wounded heart type characters. :P Lightning's unrepentant, barely restrained rage is also refreshing to see in a female character. she's genuinely unlikable in a lot of ways - she's dismissive (or worse) to everyone, her motives are somewhat on the selfish side, but they're also understandable and, well...appropriate for someone with her background, i suppose. basically, i'm just glad the game hasn't felt a need to 'soften' her in a way that feels demeaning. (Okay, maybe the whole Hope thing...but even that was rather rocky until the Odin bit.)
i'd talk about the battle system next, but this entry is tl;dr already, so maybe later i will regale you with paradigm shifting and gestalt meter woes. (speaking of, HOLY PRETENTIOUSNESS SQUEENIX)
stray observations:
-the music's really, really good. i still think FFXII has the most impressive OST in the series, but FFXIII is solid. i'm not sure where i'd put it in my personal series OST hierarchy, but i feel safe in saying it's better than all of the PSX entries and FFX.
-how old is Vanille supposed to be? just by looking at her, i would guess something like 17-18 but when i first heard her speak i was like..."is she supposed to be 14?" her voice actress...leaves something to be desired. she sounds outrageously childish most of the time, but it's a very forced childish. come to think of it, her accent sounds pretty forced as well. it's not the worst dubbing job i've heard, but her's is the weakest so far.
-speaking of voice acting...is that Mary Elizabeth McGlynn voicing Hope's mother?
-does anyone else find the 'riding the eidolons' thing more hilarious than impressive? i was LOL'ing for reals when the Shiva sisters turned into a motorcycle AND when Odin turned into a horse in AN EXPLOSION OF ROSE PETALS. i mean, WHUT.
in conclusion, i think i may be Facing destiny. for awhile.
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 02:40 pm (UTC)From:LOL I USED TO READ DRAGONLANCE, TOO! So I know exactly what you're talking about! XD
no subject
Date: 2010-05-13 12:20 am (UTC)From:the Chronicles and uh...whatever the Twins trilogy was called were pretty fun, but the more recent stuff (idk how far you read, but basically everything from War of Souls trilogy onwards) just goes ON and ON and somehow both too much and too little would happen at once...
my loathing for the phrase 'page-turner' is due almost exclusively to Dragonlance. you know what else would make me turn pages? writing
each
word
on
a
separate
page.
but that doesn't mean your story's actually...you know...engaging, or good.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-13 02:53 pm (UTC)From:lol seriously. XD
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 04:36 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 09:15 pm (UTC)From:as for the story...yeah, it's pretty standard stuff so far, with a huge layer of needless complexity to dress it up. i suppose something could come out of left field and make it really crazy/different but so far it's just....slow. :p