Final Fantasy XIII

[eugimon]

finally finished. Had one ultimate form weapon and the end boss was ridiculously easy.

[CrusherJ]

finally finished. Had one ultimate form weapon and the end boss was ridiculously easy.

Finished as well. I wish I could say the entire boss fight was easy....the first part was easy, the second was hard cause he had ridiculously cheap moves, and the third I wondered why'd they even bother calling that a boss it was so easy. So yeah if not for the second phase of the fight the whole thing would've been a joke.

I'm glad I finished and the game was fun, but I still feel underwhelmed by the story and characters, I just didn't care a lot about them in the end. Now, I'll just finish the missions and max out my party so I can put this game to rest.

[eugimon]

Didn't have a problem with the 2nd form either. Got 5 stars for every mode.

Went with light and hope in medic mode and healed up in a round after getting hit by the cheap shot, switched to "bully" with light in commando and hope and fang doing buffs and sabotage, then poured it on with light and hope in ravager mode and fang doing commando. Got them to stagger twice and killed it during the second stagger.

tip: switch to sabotage when the stagger is running down if you know you're not going to be able to kill it. Sabotage is almost 100% effective when the baddie is in stagger and with enough debuffs in place, getting them to stagger again is easy.

It's sad when the bosses are weaker than some of the medium difficulty monsters out there.

Edited April 19, 2010 by eugimon

[David Hingtgen]

Yeah well, you're not supposed to level up to an ultimate weapon and take out the optional post-game uber-monsters BEFORE you win. I bet the final boss is pretty easy after that much grinding...

[eugimon]

Yeah well, you're not supposed to level up to an ultimate weapon and take out the optional post-game uber-monsters BEFORE you win. I bet the final boss is pretty easy after that much grinding...

hmm, good point.

[dreamweaver13]

So I just

finished the Pulse chapter and i'm about to board the flight back to cocoon

. Is there any way to go back to Gran Pulse and do some grinding before I finish the game, or does the story go on to the end once I board that ship?

[eugimon]

So I just

finished the Pulse chapter and i'm about to board the flight back to cocoon

. Is there any way to go back to Gran Pulse and do some grinding before I finish the game, or does the story go on to the end once I board that ship?

don't worry, you have one more chance for grinding later on. But if it's just for CP the grinding in the next chapter is better.

[dreamweaver13]

don't worry, you have one more chance for grinding later on. But if it's just for CP the grinding in the next chapter is better.

Thanks. Aside from CP, i'm also going for more components and gil, though. I haven't even transformed any of my weapons yet.

[eugimon]

Thanks. Aside from CP, i'm also going for more components and gil, though. I haven't even transformed any of my weapons yet.

Gil farming in the next chapter is much more consistent than in Pulse. There's quite a few monsters that drop incentive chips, perfume and other money rich stuff.

But if you're looking for Gil, make sure you finish vanile's sidequest in pulse and do the chocobo treasure hunt. And don't forget the cieth mission 7 exploit for both Gil and upgrade components.

[RDClip]

So, i finally picked up this game yesterday and played about 6 hours.

The thing that stood out the most was how much i dislike the battle system. I absolutely hate not being able to give commands to my other party members. And the game is over if the leader dies and the other 2 are still alive, thats just plain dumb.

As usual Square puts out very pretty visuals and epic storytelling. FFXII's Vaan was a horrific failure of a main character, so this game gets a one-up on that department. I kinda like how Lightning is a pragmatic tough girl and Snow is a wannabe hero. Is Vanille supposed to have an Australian accent?

[eugimon]

Yeah, I don't much like the battle system either.

[RDClip]

Yeah, I don't much like the battle system either.

I really wish Square will resurrect the old standard system they used to use on the pre-FFXII games. Just something simple where i command all my party members, none of this AI nonsense.

[David Hingtgen]

And the game is over if the leader dies and the other 2 are still alive, thats just plain dumb.

Just like Mass Effect! (I wonder if that was an intentional copy on Square's part) "Faster, and more western-style combat" is the current goal of many JRPG companies AFAIK, due to the relative sales of recent JRPG vs western ones.

Is Vanille supposed to have an Australian accent?

The actress is Australian, so she actually does, not merely "supposed to". The "weirdness" apparently comes from that she was instructed to try to sound "not so Australian" (and younger)----and what you get, is Vanille. This is what her normal voice/accent is: http://www.youtube.com/user/GeorgiaVC#p/u/6/JVc1JXTQDf8

(somewhat ironically, Fang's actress is American)

[eugimon]

Just like Mass Effect! (I wonder if that was an intentional copy on Square's part)

The actress is Australian, so she actually does, not merely "supposed to". The "weirdness" apparently comes from that she was instructed to try to sound "not so Australian"----and what you get, is Vanille.

At least it makes sense from a story point of view in ME (though not from a game mechanics) as the story is about Shepard, but in FFXIII the story isn't about any of them individually.

I find it odd that there was howls of protest that ME and ME2 were RPG-lite but that level of angry rhetoric isn't present when people talk about FFXIII. Do people really just equate a cumbersome inventory system with a game being an RPG?

[Gunpod71]

What you guys think about the soundtrack? It is memorable like FF3 (VI) and Chrono Trigger?

[eugimon]

I thought the soundtrack was instantly forgettable, but more than that, I thought thematically it was contrary to the tone the game was trying to set.

They're supposed to be on the run, hunted by everyone, unsure what they're supposed to do or how to do it and for half the game (story wise) at odds with each other. But the music is devoid of any tension or urgency and downright bucolic at times.

To me, it's just another example of what I felt of the game as a whole. Lots of things that are interesting as separate elements but unable to come together to form a cohesive finished product. On the other hand, it was nowhere as tedious as Lost Odyssey, so there's that.

[David Hingtgen]

"Soundtrack disconnect" seems more common lately in games of all type. Music may be GOOD, it just doesn't seem to be "correct".

I still think FF9 has the best "song fits the situation" of any FF.

[dreamweaver13]

(somewhat ironically, Fang's actress is American)

Ironic indeed. Fang sounds more australian to me than Vanille's is-it-or-isn't-it-australian accent. It (Vanille) hasn't really grown on me, as I thought it would. Also probably because I finally heard the japanese Vanille VA doing the voice over and I loved it (go Nia!!).

About the battle system, surprisingly enough i liked it. i like how fast paced it is. and the danger of my leader being KOd keeps my attention focused. Admittedly during the start the battle system is a drag (since basically you have nothing else to do with your leader but attack or heal). But later on when the tough enemies come in and the party members start getting various abilities, it gets quite interesting. Paradigm shifting becomes crucial, and real time strategy comes into play.

Soundtrack? The music is good (some are even Kanno Yoko-ish) but I agree there's a disconnect at times.

[dreamweaver13]

Anyone here who fought that mountain/behemoth/giant moving around in gran pulse? How was the battle? and how do you even reach it in the first place?

[Gaijin]

Anyone here who fought that mountain/behemoth/giant moving around in gran pulse? How was the battle? and how do you even reach it in the first place?

You don't fight it. You get to talk to him for challenges though, or so I'm told.

[Beltane70]

You don't fight it. You get to talk to him for challenges though, or so I'm told.

This is correct. There's a series of 17 monsters that the Titan sends you to kill.

[dreamweaver13]

This is correct. There's a series of 17 monsters that the Titan sends you to kill.

Aww... what a letdown. oh well, 17 monsters will have to do. thanks!

[Black Valkyrie]

I still think FF9 has the best "song fits the situation" of any FF.

Agreed, plus also FF4.

[Shadow]

Hmm, I need to play FF4 sometime. I liked the music in FF9 and 6. For FF13, honestly there was no track that stood out to me.

The battle system was fun and kept me on the edge but that leader KO status drove me nuts and is one thing I wish wasn't included.

Heard somewhere in Kotaku magazine, Square Enix tried to explain some of the negative Western reviews. Basically saying, Westerners are into the free-roaming, little storyline RPGs (Fallout 3) and that's why it got more negative press on this side of the world. Sounds like they were alittle sore.

[shiroikaze]

Hmm, I need to play FF4 sometime. I liked the music in FF9 and 6. For FF13, honestly there was no track that stood out to me.

The battle system was fun and kept me on the edge but that leader KO status drove me nuts and is one thing I wish wasn't included.

Heard somewhere in Kotaku magazine, Square Enix tried to explain some of the negative Western reviews. Basically saying, Westerners are into the free-roaming, little storyline RPGs (Fallout 3) and that's why it got more negative press on this side of the world. Sounds like they were alittle sore.

While using images from Hitman and Tomb Raider in their slideshow. They're not "RPGs" but they fit their description

[CrusherJ]

Haven't been able to play much cause of work, but ran into the ochu pack last night; not a hard fight just took a bit of time (3:00). I'm gonna try farming them for cp after I get the growth egg.

[CrusherJ]

Anyone beaten Mission 55 and can offer any pointers on it? Trying to get the growth egg early and getting my tail soundly handed to me.

[Beltane70]

Although it may take a long time and some retries, spamming Vanille's Death spell is pretty much your only hope at this time.

[CrusherJ]

Although it may take a long time and some retries, spamming Vanille's Death spell is pretty much your only hope at this time.

I see, ok I'll give that a try, thanks!

[CrusherJ]

Wow! I got super lucky and got him with Death on the third try! Rest of the battle was easy! Thanks again for the tip!

[Beltane70]

Wow! I got super lucky and got him with Death on the third try! Rest of the battle was easy! Thanks again for the tip!

No problem! I think it took me about 45 minutes of restarting that fight to get death to hit, while other fights, I'll only have to use it two or three times.

[Chowser]

finally tired of Halo Reach beta, so I am back to this. I am at the point where I just finished the game and can warp back to do the missions. I know to try to do all the C and D missions first to do some leveling, but other than mission 7 for gil farming, what other missions are best for getting money? I want to buy the stone to transform my lionhart into ultima weapon so i need mucho gil. Light/Fang/Hope are all done with Level 4 of the thing in their major roles, so i will try to get them up to 5 next.

also, would like know easiest method for getting sprint shoes? whatever makes autohaste.

[Chowser]

argh, game is hard. just finished all of Titan's trials and still can't take on the big dinos. sad when i look at my son playing on the 360 where he cheated and modded his stats.

[Murphy]

I got this game a month ago, and played a couple of chapters, then quit. havent really gotten in the mood to play it anymore. The only characters i like are lightning, and vanille. Snow is a douche and his rebel group in one of the beginning cut scene are so stupid firing those guns that aperently dont run outta ammo. Then hopes mother "moms are tough" scene was really anti dramatic and lame. The story is retarted, i mean the falcie are suppose to be feared and unknown, but it seems the characters know everything about them, such as when they have to learn their focus, then sazh lame excuse was "well thats what the legend says" I hate the fact that there are no more random battles, but I like the battle system. The one thing i hate about the battle system is that you only control one person. I hate the leveling up system, another sphere grid type thing, hated it in X now here it is again in XIII. I hate the linearity of the main quest, following a long tube with no places to visit (ie towns). The shops are a let down you visit a computer hub to buy useless crap, this alone takes away the felling of going on a grand quest.. (they did this in mgs4 too were you went into the menu screen to buy weapons). anyways i should have learned my lesson after X, that FF is ruined now.I mean this is what final fantasy has become? Dumbed down so square-enix can make a easy buck? whatever that my 2 cents.

[Archer]

I got this game a month ago, and played a couple of chapters, then quit. havent really gotten in the mood to play it anymore. The only characters i like are lightning, and vanille. Snow is a douche and his rebel group in one of the beginning cut scene are so stupid firing those guns that aperently dont run outta ammo. Then hopes mother "moms are tough" scene was really anti dramatic and lame. The story is retarted, i mean the falcie are suppose to be feared and unknown, but it seems the characters know everything about them, such as when they have to learn their focus, then sazh lame excuse was "well thats what the legend says" I hate the fact that there are no more random battles, but I like the battle system. The one thing i hate about the battle system is that you only control one person. I hate the leveling up system, another sphere grid type thing, hated it in X now here it is again in XIII. I hate the linearity of the main quest, following a long tube with no places to visit (ie towns). The shops are a let down you visit a computer hub to buy useless crap, this alone takes away the felling of going on a grand quest.. (they did this in mgs4 too were you went into the menu screen to buy weapons). anyways i should have learned my lesson after X, that FF is ruined now.I mean this is what final fantasy has become? Dumbed down so square-enix can make a easy buck? whatever that my 2 cents.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I got this game when it came out and played through the first couple chapters. I soon saw myself slowly spending more and more time switching to modern warfare 2 though. For some reason, after the nth time of pressing the x button to autoselect moves to attack with in battle, I really started to get bored.

This FF was kind of a let-down for me. I really wish square enix would convert FF into a Star Ocean type combat system.