The lights are on
Final Fantasy XIII releases next Tuesday. I’ve been waiting patiently to play this game since its announcement 14 years ago (give or take a year or a decade). When it was announced as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, many journalists, myself included, wrote that Final Fantasy XIII could be the game that gives Sony the edge in the console war. When Square Enix stripped the exclusivity away with the surprising announcement of an Xbox 360 version, the scales tipped back in favor of Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Yet, here on the eve of Final Fantasy XIII’s launch, I’m not hearing the buzz of a generation defining game. I hardly hear a buzz at all. It feels like just yesterday when I stood in line with hundreds of die-hard Final Fantasy fans eager to get their hands on Final Fantasy X. For the last week, I’ve searched for friends willing to join me at Final Fantasy XIII’s midnight launch. No takers.After declining my invitation, I asked these people if they intended to play Final Fantasy XIII. The responses were surprisingly negative. A handful of people said they purchased Final Fantasy XII and never finished it. From this, they were reluctant to try out the next installment. Another group of people said that their pallet for RPGs chanced when they played Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Mass Effect – making it nearly impossible to go back to a traditional JRPG. Some said that the trailers did little to evoke excitement, going as far to say it looks “boring.”The tonality of these responses reminded me of when I asked my friends if they were going to pick up Tomb Raider 3. The underlying sentiment for both franchises is that the ship has set sail.From what we’ve seen of this generation’s role-playing games, western developers are pushing the genre forward, whereas Japanese developers are content with iterating on tradition. Neither development philosophy is better than the other. I’m just as excited to play a JRPG as I am a western RPG. The difference I’ve found is that most JRPGs deliver familiar packages. They’re born of a pre-existing mold. Western RPGs are exploring uncharted territory – often aligning themselves with other genres just as much as they are RPG fundamentals. The choice boils down to nostalgia versus innovation.I can understand where my friends are coming from…to a certain extent. The allure of something new will always be stronger than familiarity. But to write off Final Fantasy because it holds onto the past seems unfair to me. I don’t want Final Fantasy to change. I like Final Fantasy the way it is. If George Lucas changed his vision for Star Wa…wait…. If Electronic Arts decided to turn the next Madden football game into a first-person sports simulation, it wouldn’t be Madden any more. If Nintendo changed Zelda into a Fallout clone, it wouldn’t be Zelda.Tradition is what Final Fantasy is. Tradition is what has me counting the days until Final Fantasy XIII’s release. I can’t blame my friends for latching onto Fallout, Dragon Age, World of Warcraft, or Borderlands. With all of these great games to play, the industry is experiencing a role-playing renaissance. Final Fantasy is the old guard in this exciting time. I’m not going to judge it because it’s holding true to its past. It deserves a fair shot just like every other RPG.
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Thank you for this. It's nice to know we share the same view on this matter. XIII is going to be awesome.
Oh forgot to say even if we don't share the same view on kid characters in JRPGs :)
I'm very excited for XIII but I'm trying not to get too excited about it since I'm broke... Just got Borderlands and can't afford anything else T_T. To be honest though, I've always been more excited for XIII Versus rather than XIII standard. Still, I'm hoping I'll be able to get it sometime soon.
I don't care what other people are saying, I'm still going to pick this one up. I too was put off by Final Fantasy XII, but what I've seen of the combat in trailers tells me that it's not going to be another game where the gambit system plays the game for you in the most uncinematic way possible. I know a lot of people are criticizing the game for being linear, but Final Fantasy X was as well and it's one of my favorites in the series.
Whether or not I pick up the game at midnight on Tuesday depends on whether or not I can get a ride with a buddy, cuz my car is sadly not in working order at the moment.
I don't know, I don't think the 'traditional JRPG' vs. western innovation is really fair. One of the problems so many people - as shown by some of the comments above - had with twelve was that it wasn't a traditional RPG. Again, in describing the FF XIII battle system, how much does it actually sound like the JRPGs of whichever golden years you want to choose? Fight - Item - Magic - Defend - mix it up later with whatever you want, but that's what makes a traditional JRPG, and there are very few of them around these days. If you had described to me the way that FFXII had played back when I was playing FF6 or Chrono Trigger - or even FFXIII and Wild Arms - I would have said, 'no. That's just not an RPG'. So I guess what I'm saying is that I would love to see a traditional JRPG on the market - I just don't think FFXIII is actually it.
Until Square Enix learns how to craft a compelling story without relying on a linear progression (including a lack of player choice), The West will be on top.
ill try to play it when comes out. the problem with current rpgs is that you never feel balanced, either you feel too weak or too strong and its just weird
Reserved, and will be getting on Tuesday. Can't go to the midnight release because of College midterms. BLARG. Also probably won't get much time into it until Friday, Thursday I'm being crushed by midterms too.
But, after saying all of that. I can't wait, it's going to be hard as hell to study with FF on my mind.
Eh, i don't know. I loved FFX, and basically every FF game I've played so far, but there are just other fish in the sea. I'm sure i'll rent it some time during the summer, and have a great time with it, though.
I think the main reason people aren't as exited at the FF series, is because they're taste is changing (like you said). FF's stories, which where once the best around, pale in comparison to the stories of Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, Uncharted, and Dragon Age.
I haven't liked a Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy 7. I keep waiting for a game that blends solid RPG gameplay with an unforgettable story. I think that he biggest problem is that JRPGS have a set mold for their storylines that make it so that the stories become forgettable. There is very little variance in story and in the end, I walk away feeling that I've been there and done that before.
Eentually I will pick this game up and try it, but it won't be until after the game goes down in price.
For me, though I acknowledge that they do hold onto tradition, I think Final Fantasy games are extremely different from one game to the next. I played 7 and absolutely loved it. I played 9 and liked it. I played 10 and was a bit bored. I played 12 and was confused because of how different it was. Every one I've played seems really different from the next. I know that's just me but I think a lot of other people who have experience with the series feels the same way.
I have a pre-order and will get it tuesday Night. But from what I've heard this will be the least final fantasy like ff so far. I wish (i know many will disagree) that they had stuck to a more familiar final fantasy formula...the more I hear about xiii the less excited I get.
Sorry for the double post, just had to add that I am not happy or excited for the new battle system. I want control over my party beyond paradigms.
I wasn't a fan of XII, and the fact that the same team who made X is developing XIII doesn't excite me; the last really great FF for me was IX. That was the last time I felt I was on an actual adventure with some dynamic characters.
XIII looks to have at least an interesting premise and a colorful cast, not to mention the battle system looks exciting an invigorating.
And the JRPG is constantly being ridiculed for not reinventing the wheel, but it's the same reason I watched Curb Your Ethusiasm for the last decade: I know the formula, but it always makes me laugh. JRPG's are tried and true, let's keep them that way.
JRPG'S > FALLOUT , DRAGON AGE ORGINS, BORDERLANDS
BORDERLANDS DID NOT DESERVE AN 8 LET ALONE 9.25,EVERYDAY U GUYS DISSAPOINT ME MORE AND MORE WITH YOUR B/S REVIEWS BC2 9.5 LMAO HIRE BETTER STAFF CAUSE YOU GUYS ARE SLIPPING
Why don't people embrace FF13 like previous games? Because we are all waiting for that FF7 remake.
Seriously, that "it's only a tech demo" announcement was such a low blow to everyone. You just don't get people worked up for a game that's not gonna happen.
Has the Shenmue series taught us nothing? Why don't hardcore sega games like MadWorld and HotD:Overkill sell on the Wii? Because of underlying Shenmue issues. Believe it.
The truth can be adjusted.
Can't wait for XIII.
Also I feel like there was a significant similarity between the battle systems of Dragon Age and FFXII, though the AI for Dragon Age was less sophisticated, or not less sophisticated but less specific choices in their commands. Dragon Age had a heavier emphasis on rapidly switching between characters and choosing commands, but I definitely had FFXII flashbacks when I first went to set up battle commands on Dragon Age.
double-posting, but I couldn't resist
it is really pretty funny that Reiner's blog was all about how JRPGs never change and that it why nobody wants to play XIII, and then everybody in the comments is basically saying "I'm not playing XIII because it's too different".
Also, can't believe I saw someone say they wanted a fresh, compelling story LIKE THE ONE IN VII. Look, I *loved* Final Fantasy VII, but it had the absolute KING of all stereotypical JRPG stories.
Also about VII, I hate to see people still clamoring for a stupid next-gen graphics remake of VII. Square obviously wants to work on new stuff (be it the latest Final Fantasy or something totally new like Nier), why should they have to go back and do MORE ridiculous fan service for a super old RPG. The game is on PSN. Replay it. If you think a remake is going to recapture the magic from the first time you played it, you're wrong. It won't happen, so relax.
No doubt I'm getting it. I enjoy how complex FF can become if you take the time to fight the most difficult monsters they throw at you.
I personally feel that the FF series keeps getting better and better. I have already set aside my copy =)