The lights are on
Final Fantasy XIII just came out, and you're probably a few hours into it by now. If so, you've probably noticed that it isn't structured quite like any of the Final Fantasy titles before it. It progresses linearly, with fewer opportunities for exploration, sidequests, and level grinding along the way. If that's a big problem for you, I suggest you rethink your position. Among gamers -- especially RPG fans -- the term "linear" has become a popular pejorative. I've often heard it used as a one-size-fits-all gripe, as if there is some kind of common wisdom that dictates linearity is as big a fault as broken controls or shoddy mechanics. "This game is too linear," someone will say sagely, as if that alone explains it all. You're going to hear people say that a lot in reference to Final Fantasy XIII, and I think those people are wrong.They aren't wrong about that fact that the game is linear; for the first 30 hours or so, you'll be shuffled from one area to the next, unable to visit previous locations or even select your own party. My question is this: Why is that necessarily a bad thing? You want to make steady progress without getting bogged down by ancillary garbage? Heresy!The linearity of Final Fantasy XIII works. It keeps the story focused and moving forward, makes the encounters well-balanced (throughout the first 2/3 of the game, at least), and minimizes the necessity of grinding in order to progress. Those are all good things that work in the game's favor, though I admit that they don't come without a cost.I've been playing Final Fantasy since the series' origin, and I know that exploration is an important aspect of the role-playing genre. It is among the things fans simply expect in a Final Fantasy entry. We expect a bunch of towns and townspeople. We expect to fly airships. We expect a vast world to gradually unfold before us. Final Fantasy XIII does not deliver on all of these expectations, but it isn't a worse game because of it. In fact, I'm more inclined to applaud FF XIII for its deviations; the strict adherence to outdated traditions and conventions is slowly killing the Japanese role-playing genre, and I'm glad that the team behind FF XIII wasn't content to simply put a new coat of paint on familiar mechanics.Oh, how I long for the bloated overworld and tedious sidequests of Final Fantasy XII.This is what it boils down to for me: The quality of a game doesn't hinge on specific elements that I'm expecting to be present – it hinges on effectively using the elements that are there. In some ways, the negative response to this aspect of Final Fantasy XIII reminds me of the outcry surrounding Final Fantasy VIII. Following the popularity of FF VII, fans were expecting more of what they loved from FF VIII. Instead, they got a magic-drawing mechanic, the junction system, and a card game. These pieces came together to form an excellent role-playing game (one of my personal favorites), but I can also see why it was met with a mixed response. It didn't matter how good it was as an isolated title – because it had "Final Fantasy" in its name, fans judged it by a different set of criteria.I'm sorry if you want to spend a lot of time talking to townspeople or wandering the overworld dealing with random encounters, but that isn't what Final Fantasy XIII provides. Instead, it gives you an amazing battle system while pulling you through the story at a steady clip. It may not be what you were expecting, but I have trouble seeing how adding more backtracking and fetch quests would improve the experience without detracting from it in other ways.Townsperson interaction is at an all-time low, leaving countless obvious statements and warnings unheard. Taken for what it is – and divorced from what people think a game needs to have in order to bear the Final Fantasy name – Final Fantasy XIII is a phenomenal accomplishment. Criticizing a game for not being a different game seems unfair to me. Saying "Final Fantasy is bad because it doesn't have enough exploration" is akin to saying "The original BioShock is bad because it doesn't have multiplayer." Yes, Final Fantasy XIII is linear. It is also awesome – so where's the problem?
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I don't disagree that Final Fantasy XIII is anything less than amazing. But I think that the reason people view a rigid linearity as a bad thing, is because the FF series is built on the idea of role playing. Exploration, conversation, side quest (which include backtracking over areas and picking up things you might of missed) and in depth character building are the bread and butter of the genre.
The lack of these things hasn't hurt my enjoyment, and I still love the experience so far, but it is a touch disappointing that some of my favorite Final Fantasy elements have been scaled back. I'm not sure at this point that you could categorize FFXIII as an RPG, because so far there isn't any role playing to be had. More like a strategic adventure game. Which I'm fine with.
I do think that people who complain about the departure from classic RPG elements have a point. If Call of Duty goes third person prospective, I'm sure people will complain, and why wouldn't they if they've come expecting one experience and getting another?
You actually may have helped me be interested in taking this one home...
I have never had a problem with linearity in any game. It's a "complaint" I always ignore when reading reviews and impressions. Sure, I like to explore, but if a game is linear so be it. Whether I'm exploring of being led down a path, assuming it's the first time I've played a game, it's all new to me either way.
When I play FF XIII, I'm going to welcome not having to talk to countless townspeople (and more than once per person to make sure they don't tell/give me something of questionable value the third time I talk to them) and not trying to keep track of every room of every house I've walked into.
I don't think anyone is wrong for being less interested in the game as a result of its linearity. That just comes down to personal preference, and everyone should absolutely prioritize their own gaming based on what is interesting to them.
That being said, my main problem comes from linearity being held up as some objective fatal flaw with the game.
@Tanooki - exactly why I am at least a little more excited for this game right now. I'm currently grinding through VII and VIII on my PSP and have to say I do not think those games have aged well, and these changes sound like welcome improvements.
@Joe
If that's your position, then I agree with you 100%
I'm six hours in, and it feels almost identical to Final Fantasy X. The linearity didn't bother me in X, and it doesn't bother me so far in XIII.
I really appreciate not having to spend 2 hours in a hallway to make sure I haven't missed a critical piece of treasure. Loving XIII so far.
Awsome this is very well put!
I Agree with
Andrew, Its kinda like FF X,FF X was my favorite till XIII came along I dont see the prob with the linear game play!
It just keeps the pace going!
Well it doesn't matter to me. No matter what I say FFXIII improves upon in the Final Fantasy series, my brother will say FFX is better. I'll just enjoy a great game, and so will my brother (but not as much as X. No Auron=not as awesome).
It's a bad thing for the very reason you stated, "It keeps the story focused and moving forward..." Games are not movies. They are not books. They are not TV shows. They are GAMES. To outright remove, strip down and restrict what makes a game what it is, the gameplay, in concerted effort to tell a story is BAD. No one paints a painting and says, "I was aiming for Beethoven." It diminishes the medium.
To wit, I have no qualms with games that focus on their narratives. I like my Final Fantasies, and my Metal Gear Solids, and my Yakuzas. But once upon a time, those were niche and now it's the norm, and Final Fantasy 13 in particular sets a bad precedent. It's the culmination of years of weeding out gameplay mechanics in an effort to present an "epic" story since optical media became the standard... and now we're heralding it as a good thing.
Mark my words. You will wake up, 10 years from now, and all your games will be gussied up variants of Dragon's Lair, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself. We will see who is the crybaby then.
Dude, tvandlust, have you played the new Final Fantasy? Your complaint that its linear nature restricts gameplay is only true if you think "gameplay" and "walking through the same place over and over again" are the same thing. The gameplay is heavily based in the combat, which doesn't suffer from the linearity.
I'm only a few hours into the game, but I'm loving the story, I think it's simply amazing. Also, it's not like it's the first Final Fantasy to be linear for a while. Final Fantasy 10 was pretty linear right up untill the end game. which was cool because when you go back to places in the end you really get the feeling as if your journey was months and months long.
X is my favorite Final Fantasy so I really don't have a problem with XIII also being linear. In fact I prefer it to be that way. A more linear game usually(not always) means a more immersive and well structured story and varied locations.
Linearity bothered me with X the first time I played, when I was older and played through it again I loved it wholeheartedly. X more than prepared for XIII, when I finish my homework and I'm done reading stuff on the internet, I'm jumping right back in. I'm loving it so far. BTW the graphics are unbelievable. I haven't played enough to say Uncharted 2 was dethroned but it looks really good.
@tvandlust:
The day games become movie-like experiences with no gameplay is the day games die. No one is going to play a game they can't play.
I'm with you, man! Thank God I don't have to explore and do a bunch of side missions for once!
@Tanooki
Tell that to Heavy Rain fans.
@ crunkgaze
That game is an exception. If every game was like that gaming couldn't survive. Well, maybe it would, but they couldn't call it gaming anymore.