FF XIII-2 Announced

[jay_are]

It is the year 2010, Planet Earth is peaceful. Lunar SSH and Final Fantasy 13 are released.
Fans of Lunar rejoice, while Final Fantasy fans are severely let down.
Fans of Lunar ask for a sequel, fans of FF do not.

In 2011 which one receives a sequel? FF13!

Money is Power

[Nobiyuki77]

It is the year 2010, Planet Earth is peaceful. Lunar SSH and Final Fantasy 13 are released.
Fans of Lunar rejoice, while Final Fantasy fans are severely let down.
Fans of Lunar ask for a sequel, fans of FF do not.

In 2011 which one receives a sequel? FF13!

Money is Power

Completely off topic, your avatar is amazing! Is there more?

[brightshield]

Ugh... XIII was bad enough. Square seems intent on draining our sanity points yet again though(props to those of you that get the sp reference). Most of the game is one giant tunnel, and the plot was unbearable.

Two posters on gamefaqs summed it up the best.

long version:

we need help
moms are tough
my mommy died
it's snows fault.
whats dis big metal guy
rawr i curse juu!
What's our focus?
I don't know.
we have to save cocoon!
no stoopud! we have to destroy cocoon!
what!? no waiz!
i hate my dad.
Lolz your dad is a cool guy.
Lolz im just as that age.
whos diss chick
shes molested me
oh shes cool
we wont fulfill our focus
we gunna save cocoon
zomg why are we monstars?
lame magic trick.
we stop juu space pope!
Lolz Juu FOOLZ did jus wut i wanted!
O noes!
cocoon gunna die!
wait, haxnarok save cocoon!
we did our focus we turn crystal
wait now we normal!
o snap a goddess did it!


short version:

We're going to save the world by doing the exact thing big bad pope wants us to do and then having two fanservice lesbians transform into a flashy Deus Ex Machina and save the world for us.


So yeah... it's safe to say that I'll be skipping XIII-2...

[Ardent Fox]

Ugh... XIII was bad enough. Square seems intent on draining our sanity points yet again though(props to those of you that get the sp reference). Most of the game is one giant tunnel, and the plot was unbearable.

Maybe if the game is bad enough it'll turn its own volume down or switch input. Maybe even erase its own save data. That'd just give me a reason to stop playing.

[Dragonmaster Lou]

You know, I'm starting to think that stuff like this is why I'm not quite as into gaming in some respects as I used to be -- at least with a lot of the newer RPGs. It seems like they just don't draw me in as much as the older ones and their overly convoluted plots in an attempt to be more "mature" or "serious" or "philosophical" or whatever just don't work. I played through SSH at lightspeed because despite being a "modern" RPG, it was still the same classic old-school story. I've been playing through Sega CD EB (which still holds up, IMHO, and is in many ways better than the Saturn/PSX remake) and Phantasy Star IV and they also captivate me much more than anything more recent has.

[Kizyr]

You know, I'm starting to think that stuff like this is why I'm not quite as into gaming in some respects as I used to be -- at least with a lot of the newer RPGs.

I definitely agree, but in the mix there are still some exceptions. Everything I've seen of Dragon Age and Mass Effect indicates that, had I the time to play it, they'd draw me in just as much as some of my favorite classics.

Ugh... XIII was bad enough. Square seems intent on draining our sanity points yet again though(props to those of you that get the sp reference). Most of the game is one giant tunnel, and the plot was unbearable.

Thanks for the summary. Now I don't need to play it!

We're going to save the world by doing the exact thing big bad pope wants us to do and then having two fanservice lesbians transform into a flashy Deus Ex Machina and save the world for us.

But maybe I'll get the artbook after all. KF

[Dragonmaster Lou]

You know, I'm starting to think that stuff like this is why I'm not quite as into gaming in some respects as I used to be -- at least with a lot of the newer RPGs.

I definitely agree, but in the mix there are still some exceptions. Everything I've seen of Dragon Age and Mass Effect indicates that, had I the time to play it, they'd draw me in just as much as some of my favorite classics.

Oh, I'm not ruling out newer games being as captivating. I just haven't come across any as of yet, but I haven't been playing too many newer games either.

We're going to save the world by doing the exact thing big bad pope wants us to do and then having two fanservice lesbians transform into a flashy Deus Ex Machina and save the world for us.

But maybe I'll get the artbook after all. KF

Preach on, brother Kizyr.

Hell, I'm half tempted to pick up Ar Tonelico if I find it in a bargain bin somewhere for similar reasons... hehe.

[Ardent Fox]

The funny part is we're considering this to be a game as opposed to a 60+ hour movie where you push a button or two every so often.

Almost like the movie pauses itself until you pick up your remote control and press the play button.

[Alunissage]

Gamefaqs commentary is best left at Gamefaqs. Especially of the "I can't comprehend any relationship that isn't parental or sexual" variety of stupidity, as that last one was.

[Dragonmaster Lou]

The funny part is we're considering this to be a game as opposed to a 60+ hour movie where you push a button or two every so often.

Almost like the movie pauses itself until you pick up your remote control and press the play button.

You know, I've been hearing how a lot of folks in Japan who normally may go into working on anime are instead choosing video games because it's more lucrative and there is less of a "get back to the salt mines!" mentality in the game industry vs. the anime industry. I wonder if this is a side effect of that -- you have folks that really are anime producers trying to make video games, hence you get games that are barely more interactive than anime.

[brightshield]

I definitely agree, but in the mix there are still some exceptions. Everything I've seen of Dragon Age and Mass Effect indicates that, had I the time to play it, they'd draw me in just as much as some of my favorite classics.

Yeah, they're great games. Western RPGs are still great, it's the JRPG genre that seems to be decaying...


Thanks for the summary. Now I don't need to play it!

lol, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Hope in particular is probably the most whiny crybaby in the entire series.


But maybe I'll get the artbook after all. KF




Gamefaqs commentary is best left at Gamefaqs. Especially of the "I can't comprehend any relationship that isn't parental or sexual" variety of stupidity, as that last one was.

Well, the lesbian thing is debatable. There are some very suggestive scenes between the two, but nothing has been confirmed. They are pure fan service though, and their role in the ending is a textbook definition of a "deus ex machina".

[Alunissage]

Suggestive, hell. People see what they want to see. Their relationship is never defined outright, so of course people look for an easy and titillating label instead of actually paying attention. There were plenty of reasons why they'd have a tight bond; it is completely unnecessary to attempt to introduce sexual motivations, which even if they were at all supported by the game content (they're not, that I recall) are in any case irrelevant.

Hope at least had reason to be upset, if in a frustrating way since the player knows the full situation and the characters do not. I suspect there are many far more annoying FF-series characters (Rikku is always the archetype of annoying in my mind).

[brightshield]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyDOQgMvYCY

This scene in particular is where a lot of the "they're lesbians!" ideas are coming from. Vanille places her hand on one of Fang's breasts as they embrace, and then Fang lifts up Vanille's skirt. Granted, there's a good reason for the skirt lift, but Vanille's hand on Fang's breast is more questionable.


As for Hope, he had no reason to be upset at Snow.

*spoilers*




Snow attempted to dissuade Nora from fighting, attempted to save her life(at great risk to his own), and even granted her dying wish(to protect Hope). Hope even knows all of this, but tries to kill Snow anyway.




*end spoilers*


He's just an angsty little crybaby with mommy and daddy issues. You may not find him annoying, but his entire character was just one big "waaah!" if you ask me.

And yes, if you hate Rikku so much you will definitely hate many FF characters more than Hope.

[Alunissage]

I don't recall Hope knowing all of that -- that his mom asked Snow to watch over him in particular, because Snow didn't know that Hope was the kid in question until much later, because there was more than one kid dressed as Hope was at the time that Nora volunteered. But the thing is, a kid in grief -- or an adult, for that matter -- will be irrational and blame the person he saw as responsible for his mother's death, because if Snow hadn't gone off to fight Nora wouldn't have gone with him. I think you underestimate the trauma of the situation. Also, as I recall, Nora is the one who lets go, but from where Hope was it would look like Snow dropped her -- and again, Snow had no reason to explain this to Hope because he didn't know Hope was the kid in question. Lightning's explanation of the acronym of Snow's group just rubbed it in further.

The important point, though, is that he doesn't stay that way. He works it out, rather than hanging on pointlessly to a grudge like many an RPG character (like, oh, TSS Ghaleon). And given the time period covered by the game -- two weeks plus some? -- he recovers pretty quickly.

As for the scene you links... for heaven's sake, people are calling THAT suggestive? Vanille is shorter than Fang. She looks up to her as an older protector. She's more or less crying on her and leaning on her for comfort. If Fang were male you would never call that (the embrace) suggestive, regardless of their relationship; it's exactly what you'd expect someone to do. Where else is Vanille's hand supposed to go? And it's a totally public scene. Again, people are seeing what they want to see.

I will admit that I was thrown off by the checking the mark immediately afterward, and so were the other characters in the scene, clearly (since they turn away -- which they did not do during the embrace). But that's more an indication of Fang's rough protectness and pragmatism; she gets straight to the point.

[Monde Luna]

I always saw Fang as a motherly figure to Vanille personally. I think Allun is right when she says people see what they want to. As for Hope it's natural to be angry and put the blame on someone when you lose a parent at that age it's rough. He is just a kid when the adventure starts out, I honestly think he handled the situation pretty well.

[Shiva Indis]

The important point, though, is that he doesn't stay that way. He works it out, rather than hanging on pointlessly to a grudge like many an RPG character (like, oh, TSS Ghaleon). And given the time period covered by the game -- two weeks plus some? -- he recovers pretty quickly.

For your description, it sounds like this kid's issues were handled pretty well. I doubt it would have bothered me. But speaking in general, I get the idea that a lot of people express disgust at fictional characters who behave in a childish/irrational manner...I wonder why?

And kinda more on topic, of all the Final Fantasy-related announcements in the recent SE news dump, I still can't muster any enthusiasm about any product with "XIII" in the title. But the addition of Gilgamesh to Dissidia? That's cool.

[localflick]

http://psp.ign.com/articles/114/1145091p1.html

There's actually another Dissidia on the way, and I have nothing against that, but in the SNES and PSX days there would be one Final Fantasy every few years. They were really great back then, and every release was something special. Now they're coming out so frequently, and in so many variations I can hardly keep up.

The 4 Heroes of the Light is great but it wasn't promoted much, and I hadn't heard of it until I saw it in a Best Buy and picked it up thinking it was a Final Fantasy knock-off. To contrast that, I have a bad feeling Squenix will spend a lot of money promoting FF XIII-2 only to have it be a minor expansion released to milk as much money out of the existing engine as possible.

Personally I'll be playing Ys Chronicles I and II on PSP, assuming I can finish Felghana and Seven by then. At least that franchise still has a quality mix of retro and new releases. FF1 has been released for NES, PSX, GBA, PSP, Virtual Console and the iPhone. And people keep buying it which sucks because when Chrono Trigger didn't sell well when it was released on the DS Square said they didn't want to keep working with the franchise because people weren't interested. Honestly the lack of sales probably had something to do with the fact that they charged $45 for an SNES game with a poster. They just don't get their audience anymore.

[Jenner]

You know, I'm starting to think that stuff like this is why I'm not quite as into gaming in some respects as I used to be -- at least with a lot of the newer RPGs.

I definitely agree, but in the mix there are still some exceptions. Everything I've seen of Dragon Age and Mass Effect indicates that, had I the time to play it, they'd draw me in just as much as some of my favorite classics.

Here's the thing. The folks at Bioware have been in the business for a long time. They made video games back in the day when you couldn't get away with just making a game sparkly as -Dragon Diamond- but not supporting it with a story and have it sell well. Even after the EA buyout Bioware somehow managed to keep the brunt of their experienced workers. A lot of the folks at Square and Enix have who had any expertise in making a good RPG story and characters bolted after the buy out (which resolved itself shortly after FF10 and is one of the reasons why I say 10 is the last good FF) some bolted even before that.

I guess it's a brain drain?

[brightshield]

I don't recall Hope knowing all of that -- that his mom asked Snow to watch over him in particular,

You may be right about this, as I haven't played the game in a while. However, Hope was there when Snow attempted to dissuade Nora from fighting, but she was the one who insisted(hence the "moms are tough" line). He saw Snow attempt to save her life as well. I mean how else could that be perceived? Nora let go on her own, but even if Snow's strength gave out; he still risked death to try and save her.


But the thing is, a kid in grief -- or an adult, for that matter -- will be irrational and blame the person he saw as responsible for his mother's death

That's the thing, I don't see how he could hold Snow responsible. His mother joined the battle, even after Snow refused to bring her. It's not like she was drafted into the conflict or anything of the sort. She would have joined that battle regardless of anything, so blaming Snow was the act of an irrational and whiny crybaby. I don't see it as "realistic" at all.


The important point, though, is that he doesn't stay that way. He works it out, rather than hanging on pointlessly to a grudge like many an RPG character

There was nothing to work out for any one with even slight common sense though. He should have been angry at the cocoon soldiers. I could even see him being angry at his mother, but not the one guy that tried to stop Nora from fighting...


(like, oh, TSS Ghaleon).

At least Ghaleon directed his anger at the people responsible for his grief.


Where else is Vanille's hand supposed to go?

Around Fang perhaps. If I used that excuse, I'd be arrested.


Here's the thing. The folks at Bioware have been in the business for a long time. They made video games back in the day when you couldn't get away with just making a game sparkly as -Dragon Diamond- but not supporting it with a story and have it sell well. Even after the EA buyout Bioware somehow managed to keep the brunt of their experienced workers. A lot of the folks at Square and Enix have who had any expertise in making a good RPG story and characters bolted after the buy out (which resolved itself shortly after FF10 and is one of the reasons why I say 10 is the last good FF) some bolted even before that.

Agreed.