Is this one of the most underrated games of all time?
>sold 7 million copies
>liked by half of them
Nope.
>>343842123
>Excellent Visuals
>Excellent Soundtrack
>Okay story
>Lackluster characters
>Okay combat system
>Horrible game design ( linear story, side quests garbage, 8hr game)
I enjoyed it since it was my first FF gam, though.
>>343842123
Underrated? It did pretty well and enough people like it.
I mean, fuck, it's part of a trilogy that wasn't even planned when this game was finished.
OK but this has to be hands down the worst writing of all time
>>343842123
Not even close
>>343846850
Personally I liked the game but you can tell that it was unfinished. Instead of building the world and adding the open world and lore they just typed it up in the menu and let you read it.
The character's themselves had a nice development and most learned something by the end of the game. Even Vanille was likeable by the end.
I'd say Hope was really the only annoying character.
>>343842123
>sells millions of copies
>hated mostly by people who haven't played it
>the people who hate it and haven't played it make the same stupid arguments like
"Muh story" "Muh characters" and "it's linear" even though those arguments are found for every final fantasy
>hands down has the best soundtrack for any final fantasy, but that either gets ignored or people just hate it because they hate everything about final fantasy XIII
>literally everything from summons to music to hot protag are hated
>combat will always be said to be shitty even though it's quicker and arguably more strategic than just grinding until you can kill anything with a single turn
Yeah I'd say it's a bit underrated. It's not the best final fantasy, but it's not the shittiest piece of shit to every exist like most people claim it is
>>343847828
>I'd say Hope was really the only annoying character.
>Not Snow who is legitimately the only character who learned fucking nothing and was just a grating dumbass across the entire series
>>343849528
You mean the only character that strived to be a hero and fight for the weak and innocent? The one who refused to let anything or anyone get to him until he lost Serah for good after doing all that shit to keep her safe?
Fuck you
>>343842123
one of my favorites mostly because i love the stance dance revolution combat
>>343849012
I will never understand you Hamauzu cocksuckers, but music is subjective, so have at it.
>set 60 fps cap
>get 45-50 fps and frame drops everywhere
>set 30 fps cap
>get 20-25 fps and frame drops everywhere
the fuck
>>343849012
I just hated Fang and Vanille's fake ass Aussie accents. That, and the paragon system was absolute fucking trash. How hard is it to control 3 people at once? I don't need the PC to auto attack/cast for me.
>>343850232
Hamauzu is an incredibly talented composer, especially far more than Nobuo. His music is much more creative harmonically, timbrally, and rhythmically than Nobuo's which generally sticks to pop tropes.
Compare:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGoSAJeVwg8
to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2SHDFt8pSc
Or say:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bvb1ULEG3M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMacrDEwwsU
>>343850232
>>343850507
In particular, Hamauzu's job on the 13 soundtrack is one of only a very few soundtracks for video games that meets the level of classical film soundtrack standards set by Korngold and others, while still working in its forced repetitive context.
>>343850507
>generally sticks to pop tropes
Really? I wouldn't say that at all...
>listen to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxp8nmhAuVE
Surely that's a pretty cherry picked example...
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkOb6F2bxak
Yeah, you're fucking right. Still, FFXII's OST is my favorite FF soundtrack, followed by XIII's.
>tfw FFX always had a shit soundtrack and I had never noticed that
>>343851896
>Really? I wouldn't say that at all...
He himself talks about The Beatles and Elton John being primary influences.
>>343842123
This was the worst FF game of all time. You run in a straight line the whole game and combat plays itself. It's pretty and the story was nice but it might as well been a movie.
>>343852371
>and combat plays itself.
how you know a person played the first hour
yes IMO since the shitposting about it is so loud fucking everywhere on the internet
basically the MGS V effect
>>343842123
It's shit!! Get it through your fucking skull!!!
>>343845142
My first true one as well, though I had tried to play V and II years earlier with no luck
>>343850507
>>343850640
I find him almost exclusively forgettable. (Besaid Island, Arms of Shinra and Dust to Dust being the positive exceptions.) If you were to ask my frank opinion about him I would say I disrespect him and consider his theme for Yuffie in Dirge of Cerberus to illustrate everything I mean. It's an incredibly generic Asian theme instead of something specific to Yuffie. And such choices I cannot appreciate. His music is background music, that doesn't rock the boat or assert itself. He is very talented and skilled, but to me he never uses those qualities to make statements and claim attention in games. Making it feel like there is no soundtrack.
Besaid Island is pretty good, but it sounds so unlike Hamauzu's other work, that I'm always tempted to think that he modeled it after Uematsu, because of Japanese work etiquette of respecting predecessors before doing your own thing. Even though Hamauzu was around since V as a sound mixer or somesuch, I think? Spira unplugged is Uematsu? I didn't care much for his work either in X. He felt tired.
Maybe it is the pop thing. Maybe I like his melodies or non-leit motif overdose outside of IX. Maybe I just want the music to sound videogamey. Crass to a degree. Besides I think Mizuta is superior to Uematsu anyway outside of his homeruns.
But what do I know? I haven't studied music theory. My favorite video game composer of all time is Daisuke Ishiwatari, the butt rock personified.
>>343849012
>If someone doesn't like a game I like it's because they haven't played it.
No, they couldn't possibly think this dog shit on rails RPG with brain dead gameplay is bad. It looks pretty. That's it. Everything else about it is a total fucking chore because it's just one disappointment after another. It's probably fine if you play it expecting it to be mediocre garbage, but it deserves every bit of shit that's thrown its way.
It's enjoyable, just gotta get past the first few hours. Combat really picks up its not just mash one button like some fools say
>>343853390
>His music is background music, that doesn't rock the boat or assert itself. He is very talented and skilled, but to me he never uses those qualities to make statements and claim attention in games. Making it feel like there is no soundtrack.
Be honest, you don't know anything about music and are just trying to justify the fact that you don't "get" the music.
>modeled after Uematsu
There is not a single Uematsu track like Besaid.
>>343842123
If you don't know what underrated means, maybe.
>>343849528
I appreciate Hope's development but he was still a cringelord even at the end of the game. Maybe if they'd done something more interesting with his older self
I fucking hated Snow for the longest time but he somehow grew to be my favorite character. Dude had a hard life too
I'm 7 hours in.
I like the combat, visuals, and soundtrack.
BUT FOR FUCK'S SAKE THIS PACING IS ABSOLUTE GODDAMN SHIT TIER
IN THE FUCKING LAKE FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF
STILL IN THE GODDAMN JUNKYARD
GODDAMMIT GET ME SOME BETTER LOCATIONS
>>343849012
Hating FF13 is literally a forced meme by a very loud vocal minority.
FF8 has the worst writing and cast
FF2 has the worst gameplay
These are the two objectively bad games of the franchise.
>that L'Cie mission where the dude is tasked with killing his wife who has become a flying Cieth monster
>ultimately fails which is why you have to finish his job for him
I know its favor text but got damn that's tragic
>>343853637
Most locations are memorable and they get better after the junkyard with maybe one exception
>>343852371
nice meme
>xiii
>worst
also confirmed underage, ii is the worst.
>>343852807
lol no, the first hour is when you actually think what you do in battle actually matters and spend about ten hours picking out all the spells and attacks on your own before you realize it's more efficient to just let the game do it on its own. All you have to do is change a strategy every few minutes. Maybe pick a spell on your own if you need to. That's it.
>>343853854
basically auto-battle for mobs, auto-battle until stagger for larger mobs/bosses (if you're a ravager at least), pick strikes or strongest non-blockable spell when staggered
fuck Behemoth Kings though
>>343842123
13 is the type of game that occurs after the drama of ff12
>committee made cast
>plot made after
>director who won't argue with the highe rups
>'safe' cast
>the whole faux novelia crystalis shit.
>enough unused assets to shat out 2 extra games for asset recoup.
It probably would have been the shittiest big budget JRPG released that gen if Star Ocean 4 didn't exist.
>>343854221
Don't forget that a lot of the reused assets for sequels was because XIV fucking bombed on release
>>343850324
>no native 1440p setting
>have to use GeDoSaTo
>can't switch button icons from KB to controller
>all that effort because square puts literally no effort into their ports
Come the fuck on guys, just spend an extra month on your shit and polish it up. Shit's embarrassing. Silicon studio Thailand or whatever that did FFIX did a way better job than you guys did with X and XIII.
>>343854382
the thing that bothers me oddly moreso, is 13-2 made me realize Serah was a much better 'lead' character than Lightning. but i'm probably just titty blind after all those hours of the rain physics.
>>343854576
Lightning, while not an inherently bad or uninteresting character, *was* a shit protagonist but that's Toriyama's fault
>>343853494
>Be honest, you don't know anything about music and are just trying to justify the fact that you don't "get" the music.
I don't. I said as much. I can see that he uses a lot of instruments in intricate ways, that clearly requires a lot of skill. Almighty Bhunivelze for instance requires intricate knowledge to create.
To my layman ears, usually Hamauzu builds up in his songs, but where the crescendo would be he stops and returns to the standard chords of the song. It's a sort of cockblocking. In other rarer times it sounds to me like cacophony or non-aggressive elevator music.
>There is not a single Uematsu track like Besaid.
That isn't exactly what I meant. I only meant that I enjoyed it and that it sounds different than his other songs. And I said tempted not do on purpose. In fact that means precisely that I won't say it. There's a melody about Besaid Island that is continuous instead of broken apart. So I said I was tempted to give an explanation for this phenomenon. It's still mostly Hamauzu. Molded was a stronger word than I intended anyway (a cooperative nod for a unified soundtrack would've been closer), I admit.
>>343854991
As much as I hate him, if I had the same opportunity, I would probably put my dream waifu/hasubando in a trilogy, too. Lucky bastard.
>>343854991
yeah i'll agree there. I think Lightning could work as a lead with the right writer, but not with Toryima hovering around.
>>343855172
That's probably what ends up hurting Lightning more than helping. his unwillingness to let her 'grow' outside of his ideal vision of her results in her effectively resetting in both 13-2 and LR.
I don't get why people seem to like XIII-2 or even XIII LR more than vanilla XIII.
LR was just bad, with a better combat system.
XIII-2 Had some of the shittiest plot/characters, I don't think the game being less linear somehow made it better than the base game.
>>343856378
vanilla XIII had the best looking Lightning, too
>>343856378
I may as well answer, since LR is self-evident. What XIII-2 did right on its own or compared to XIII:
Caius - Amazing.
Soundtrack - Mizuta did incredibly and Suzuki gave it a lot of controversial flair.
(Chronobind - Second best minigame in the series)
Emphasis on interactivity - Feral links*, leader switching, live triggers, QTEs*, timetravel, jumping and mog clock all contribute here
Gameplay outside of battles - Good variety
Serah - Everything from personality to looks and actions. Isn't one-dimensional. The arc was respectable if a bit shallow.
Mog Clock - Every random/fixed encounter system should have this instead. Screw sneaking around getting back attacks, that wastes time.
Atmosphere - It's a mix of lighthearted and serious. Overall adventurous.
XIII-1's anything ignored - Thank you.
Timetravel - Freedom and allows locales to change "naturally" to give it an episodic non-stale feel. Vastness in time and technological progression adds to the grandeur of the game.
Monster system - Addicting and deep
(Arena - Cool)
Story - Progressed in a rational way for the first time since VII besides XII. The conflict is human instead of godly or abstract ideological world destroying plot for no good reason from some impersonal bad guy.
The ending - Loved it.
FF imagery/conventions - Made it fit the series better.
Battle improvements - Starts from the get-go. Paradigm tuning fixes most infuriating A.I. quirks. Shift animations cut and damage values fixed so you don't have to favor casting lightning. Leader death allowed. Feral Link and leader switching makes you almost feel as though you control everyone. (Personal only, but I'll take too easy over tedious any day.)
Noel - Likable and not quite one-dimensional either
Graphics - It's beautiful, sometimes even stylish
Explained XIII-1's ending - A bonus
*) I don't like QTEs, but these were done well (they're optional and telegraphed or chosen in case of monsters) and did emphasize interaction with the game.
>>343842123Hank Hill
>>343845142
Im ok with this.
