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| This game is so beautiful |
So, a couple things. I started this game as a ‘second impressions’ or even a ‘game exp’ article. Knowing this game could take as long as 40
hours, I wanted to talk more about it, but didn’t want to wait until the
end. And the fact is, I don’t’ know if I’ll
make it to the end. After musing a bit
on elements of the game, I eventually settled into a ‘gameplay diary’
format.
So, a
little about FFXIII. First: while
the game is gorgeous, I find that I just really don't like the hyper-realism
that SquareEnix seems to love. Every Final Fantasy game since X has been
progressively more realistic, higher resolution. Really, I feel like the
trend started with FFVII, with IX being a brief break with more cartoonish
designs.
Especially with voice acting, there ends
up being a lot of the uncanny valley. The characters emote, but they
don't do it quite right, and it creates a weird dissonance. Basically,
the characters are like really advanced puppets, as opposed to cartoons. I love
cartoons. I'm not wild about puppets. And I'm really not wild about
hyper-realistic puppets.
Additionally,
there's the content. Final Fantasy stories are always epic and dramatic.
I think that's true for all of them. And having that drama told with
voice acting from puppets... it leaves very little to the imagination, so I end
up noticing how cheesy it is. I think I find with a lower detail and text
based action, I am able to fill in the gaps with my own imagination, which
helps me enjoy it.
FFXIII
is beautiful, but overdone, I guess. I'm bout twelve hours in now, and
it's definitely too slow. I'm in chapter 7/13, and every level is too
long, and the action has so little variance.. I feel like I'm just playing it
because I have to keep playing. I can't imagine playing through to the
end. I just don't think I have patience. But then when do I stop?
===============
well,
anyway, I got a brand new character, so I'll ride that out a little bit.
Still love the combat. Which is essential because the game is basically
95% combat, 5% inventory and level management.
Or, more accurately, 60% combat, 35% cinemas, 5% inventory management.
I
have grown to like most of the characters, except Snow. Snow is the
worst. He is a pompous blowhard with tons of unearned confidence.
He never hears what anyone is saying to him and he proclaims himself to be a
'hero' and he never makes good decisions or recognizes the consequences of his
actions. He is the worst.
However
I do appreciate that they give him the 'sentinel' role and his use of an old
standby of the 'provoke' ability, which causes enemy to attack him. It
works really well with his attitude, and I do appreciate that this ability
matches his character so well. I suppose
I should tell you that FFXIII manages its class system by making everyone
multi-class, with the ability to shift through up to 6 configurations on the
fly during battle. It’s very strategic
and satisfying, but also fast-moving and exciting. I do really love the combat in FFXIII.
3/25/19:
I’m about
14 hours in, chapter 9 of 13, and I just realized that this game is a delight
to play. I think the problem thus far has been that it's just really slow
to actually get anywhere. So
much time spent walking through pointless levels, endless battles and crappy
dialogue. But by now, after all this
time, I've come to enjoy the characters! They've had real development, I care
about where they are going from here. The
combat has matured a great deal in the course of the game and is very engaging.
I am enjoying myself.
But
boy, it took a while. And it was a different sort of wait than I'm used
to. That is, there was just so much combat and virtually no exploring.
Very different from hours long games I’ve played in the past. It seems like this could have been done in
half the time, but instead it was filled with pointless battles and mediocre
cinemas.
I feel
like I'm growing close to a conclusion. Like, if FFXIII were a movie, I
would be at the big finale. I think that this element of the storyline
has drawn me into the game, given the action a sense of purpose, as opposed to
endless plodding. However, I anticipate another 25 hours of gameplay!
Hoo boy.. what will that be like?
I
suspect this game will kind of be in 2 parts. Almost like FF VI’s ‘world
of ruin kind.’ Except oh geez, I don't know if I have the patience for that
kind of thing anymore. If it is divided
in this way, you can bet I’ll be making the comparison to FFVI.
3/26:
okay,
wait, nevermind, as of yesterday evening I was actually 18 hours
in! hours 12-18 were the fastest so far in the game. Much faster than
hours 0 - 6. Just took while to get cooking.
And
I'm up against what could be the last boss in the game. If, you know, it
weren't chapter 9/13. This is the first epic-size boss and not just
a stage boss. It’s nice to be given a
real combat skill test.
3/27:
Okay,
I'm up to 20 hours now. After a really cool rescue mission type level,
full of action, I believe I've reached a 'phase 2' of the game. I'm
actually a little bummed out, because the level to follow has been really slow
and uninteresting. The characters have quite literally called it
'training' so I think this is just an officially sanctioned 'level raising'
area. The game supports this as well by opening up all 'classes' to all
characters. Prior to this, each character had 3 choices of archetype, but
now i can make anyone anything if I want.
Unfortunately,
I'm feeling a bit burned out by this stuff. I tried a few different team
combinations but ultimately feel most comfortable with the one I've been
playing for the last few levels. I know how they fit together, and I
don't really feel like learning to play a new arrangement. If the game
hadn't taken so long to get to this point, I might feel differently. Were
this hour 10 instead of 20. But for now I just want to push through to
the next section, which is what so much of the game has been up to this point:
Pushing through.
03/28:
I
found myself able to slow down with the pace of the game. Okay, we're
raising levels. Just chill out and do the best I can with the fights.
Plot the level progression of the characters. Still, I've got the sense
of just wanting the game to end, creeping in. I've already put in 20
hours, and I'm feeling a little trapped. Like, I'm spending virtually
every moment of free time on this game. That is to say, I squeeze it in
whenever I can. And I'ts hard to take a break. It's hard to look at
that free time and say 'no, I'll do something else.' I think that’s what
bothers me. a 10 hour game gives me a break between games. A 45
hour game? yikes.
So
yeah, even though I'm enjoying the game, I feel like at any time I could reach
a point where I just drop it. I think it's just a matter of some other
game or activity becoming more interesting to the point where I choose to do
that instead.
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