Five Things You'll Hate About Final Fantasy XIII

bigmalky

Ok, there seems to be gamers who are new to the series or don't have the love for Final Fantasy like many older gamers who have played since the days of the SNES.

I'm a gamer over 30. I'm an RPG fan. I own all three mainstream consoles and love certain games for each.

Final Fantasy XIII has been dumbed down and prettied up for the new generation of gameplayers. For some reason, you have less attention span and more materialistic views of what games should be. FFXIII is nothing more than a forward scrolling beat em up with RPG-lite elements.

I don't give a crap about how good it looks on a system, I want it to play like a Final Fantasy and it doesn't. It's for the mentally challenged achievment and trophy gatherers who need a quick fix and then move on to something else.

As for the 1-5.

1. Towns make FF games. It gives us something to break the monotiny of constant battles, some interaction with others outside of the team and some amusement in side quests and mini-games. Without these, it is not FF.

2. RPG's never mind FF are very rarely linear to the point that XIII is. You usually get a few hours leading you along to teach you the workings of the game, then it let's you find your own path. Usually by going to towns and gathering intel. It does not push you through 50-75% of the game while taking away your enjoyment. Without free-roaming and exploration, it is not FF.

3. Mini games were huge in other Final Fantasy games. Tetra Master, Blitzball, Chocobo Breeding and Racing and even skipping in IX. They were fun and time consuming if you got into them. They may not be missed as much as other things but ultimately, without them, it is not FF.

4. I want to hunt a rare monster to get a component for a multi-faceted jewel of a weapon that does over 9999hp damage after an upgrade. I want to be able to steal it with an accessory I got from a huge �&%@*"! of a boss that gives me the chance to pinch that component with 30% chance. I want armour, i want weapons, I want rare items and the chance to combine them to make even rarer ones. Without them, it is not FF.

5. Yes this is going to be a flamefest as usual. On the the PS3 using the full potential of the blu-ray, FFXIII could have been so much more. No, I'm not going on about how good this console looks to that, that's just petty, childish, 'fanboy' behaviour that seems to have gripped this generation of console gaming. With the amount of information that a Blu-ray can store, you could probably have a few towns, a better battle system and a better inventory added without having to add extra discs. Yes Square might have not had that idea for the game to start with but it's realistic. FFXIII was dumbed down so they didn't have to put a game spanning 7-8 discs as it would be costly for both the discs and the packaging and even the programming by trying to make an immense, enjoyable game on multiple platforms. You won't admit it if you do take it to the extreme with the Microsoft love, but it's true and you can deny it by words, but deep in your soul, you know it's true. With everything Square-Enix had to restrict it from being FFXIII, this is not FF.

Now, I have a 6th and 7th item to put forward:

6. The Battle System is not a battle system. It pertains to hitting libra and casting auto-battle most of the time because there is no chance to set the ATB to wait, giving it a less pliable system to work with. It's star rating reeks of western action games. I don't want to be timed on how quickly I finish a fight. I hate timed parts of games unless they're purely needed (like a bomb section in a game with a timed event to escape the area). I want my tactics to be rewarded for fighting correctly and carefully. Yes, I understand that this is the point of getting through a fight in FFXIII as quickly as possible, but it kills the intensity and cerebral integrity of it all. This is a huge killer of FF and it also gets rid of the usual thief role in the series that is a fan favourite. It's also annoying that you can't choose what your buddies do and are limited to again, Libra and auto attack. This is not FF.

7. Levelling and crystosis. Pointless. You don't really level up, the crystal grids are as linear as the gameplay and it offers nothing new to the series. SE were always good at upgrading their levelling system to be new and innovative. Again, they have dumbed it down for the casual, new generation gamers who don't have the time or mental capacity to put a half hour into making the characters yours. This is not FF.

To those who love it, well done, you either don't regard Final Fantasy as seriously as I, you don't care because you are getting a new game next week or you have the memory capacity of a goldfish and don't have time for games that should take a year to 18 months to complete 100%.

You are not a real FF player. You are a casual gamer and with this, SE will continue to deliver games that do not have the flair of those past.

It has good graphics and immense cut-scenes, yes. It can be enjoyable in parts. But where has the gameplay gone?

Final Fantasy is dead.