I loved it, I had a few minor things I didn\'t like about it. One thing that I thought the voices were too quiet which means that I may have to have the non-event subtitles on. Also, I didn\'t like that I felt that there was a cutscene missing in the demo which made me feel lost. This was the part where you had just defeated Atlas\'s arm and then after that it went to somewhere. (I think I might have pressed something though, correct me if I am wrong.)

However on a good note, it kept the XIII vibe and the changes were what I wanted. It\'s nice to hear a classic style moogle speak. I love the fact that you choose what course of action to take next and you can even ask the party members what they think. The scripting is good, Serah sounds like she is adapting to her adventure and Noel sounds confident and cool.

The monster capture system is good as well. I like that each monster has its own paradigm meaning that there is a stronger feeling of monster and class individuality. This also helps in choosing what monsters to equip from their stats and abilities as I would pick monsters of different paradigms.

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PS3: PenguinAlex
360: PenguinAlex

(January 11, 2012 07:03:28 PM)Rewind Wrote:  Oh I won't growl at you, but western rpg? Really? Granted I'm only in chapter 4 of XIII but I'm not seeing the comparison to a western style game.

I've only played through the first little bit of the demo, but I like the QTE's. Really, that's as far as I've gotten.

The western RPG comments are more directed at 13-2. However 13 was the a huge leap into it. Squareenix, for some time, has been looking at the west for feedback, and it shows.

The pickup quests, lack of character choice(C'mon, 2 characters?), the lack of skill or class customization, the lack of spell choice and customization, the lack of turn base combat, the removal of story telling that made FF so great (Cinematics) and move to multiple post-rendered endings and storytelling.

I could go on. It's missing stuff that made me fall in love with Final Fantasy, now it's becoming another one of the fray of WRPGs. I still think they create way better worlds, but the reasons I used to buy FF are being removed and replaced with crud.

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The leveling system is one of my few complaints. I always liked the character to level up with only there set style of fighting (ex: white magic, black magic, physical attacks, summoner) The overall interacting with people was great after what we saw in XIII. I feel like the story is going to be better than XIII. I also love the side missions. Looks like there are plenty of those to be completed.

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@Aizen, there is an option to edit your posts. You can click on the Edit button, which you can find under your posts, and thus you can add more to your original post. Thanks.

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GU Rules

PSN: Razgriz247 Steam: Razgriz247

Also, I like me some of that Chocolina.

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Human After All

Xbox Live Gamertag: DaftLink I17
PlayStation Network ID: DarkLinkI17

I\'m loving the demo. I enjoyed 13, and the sequel has fixed my biggest issues with the first, so it\'s all good. Gil from battles is very much welcomed; no more grinding the same mission to sell dark ingots. No more cheap game-overs from paradigm shift animations or leader death! The \"sphere grid mkIII\" is nice. It\'s like leveling the jobs of FFV while increasing stats. What I would change is how monsters are leveled. I want them to gain experience like Noel and Serah, but instead I have to find level 2 upgrading items to improve my Cait Sith further, which can\'t be done in the demo as far as I\'m aware. Just a minor gripe, though. The puzzle-solving time-warp thing seems like it was just thrown in to say "Look! Puzzles just like the classic FFs!" I like them, but it seems lazily implemented. Can\'t wait for the full release (Special Edition, of course). Also... CHOCO-BOCO-LINA!!! She's both annoying and cute at the same time

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(January 11, 2012 09:04:36 PM)Aizen Wrote:  

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Sorry, didn\'t mean to double, but if that spoiled it for you, why post it on here and spoil for more? I didn\'t mean to copy his, as I just added to it, sorry.

I thought about it but it doesn't really seem like a traditional spoiler. Once one person beats the game (The reviewer, in this case) the news will be out and everyone that hasn't had a chance to beat it will know.

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my initial response is...this will please those idiots who want wasted time in an RPG, i.e. YOU people XP

Why? because the crystarium is messed up, the towns are annoying and the linear path is gone...for me, that's preposterous.

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I haven\'t finished it yet mostly cuz i got bored (lol), but i was also a bit rushed. My first impressions are a mix of good and bad. Most of the good is specific stuff, but the bad is all philosophical stuff and focuses on the general impression of the game.

On the good side: its pretty (but a good game that does not make), the music is better so far (although it certainly doesn\'t compare to the oldies), the voice acting is pretty decent thanks to the lack of Vanille, the level design isn\'t a straight path (although this creates other problems), and you can talk to npc\'s again (why they took that out in XIII is beyond me).

As far as the bad, there\'s a lot more of it. Okay, small stuff first: first, i HATE the way the moogle sounds and i really want to kill that thing now, second, Serah CLEARLY shouldn\'t be strong enough to pull back a bow string with her physique (the fact that she\'s somehow super proficient with one all of a sudden just ticks me off). Now for the important stuff: the pacing is TERRIBLE on all fronts! It feels like the game is being tossed at my face and i really don\'t have the time to stop and enjoy whats happening, or maybe it\'s that nothing interesting IS happening, idk which. The music is just a little too much, the graphics (while pretty) are just a little too much, the EXTREMELY random battles are a little too much, and when all combined i never really get to appreciate them individually. Don\'t get me wrong, i like random battle systems, but i find it annoying that, while you\'re trying to enjoy the scenery, get a firm feel for the music, and listen to what other characters around you are saying, monsters pop up out of nowhere and you have only a few seconds to get a preemptive bonus on them. It all feels too hectic and, as i\'ve said before, i dont have the time to appreciate each aspect by itself. This hectic feeling is only increased with the slow speed at which the character runs. The areas are much more vast and battles occur much more often, but i feel like the character speed has only decreased. I\'m glad that they made it less linear, but the character runs too damn slow and i always got bored out of my mind while exploring for treasure since i take the time to check every nook and cranny.

One of the many things i love about ff9 is the fact that your character runs at just the right pace to keep things rolling without feeling rushed or bored. Also, ffXIII-2 probably wont have a song like the Bran Bal theme that puts me into an uncontrollable cold sweat whenever i listen to it.

Sorry for the long post, this is kinda ridiculous.

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@The_Void: I think that the reason Serah can use the bow and sword is because that the weapons are a moogle meaning that holding the weapons and pull the bow string would be easier for her.

Also I like that you can buy weapons instead of upgrading them because XIII\'s upgrade materials were almost impossible to find! I don\'t mind an upgrade system but not when I can\'t a stupidly rare drop item. (Example of a good upgrade system is FF8, at least it took effort to make the lion heart but it never felt impossible.) Funny thing is though, Mog is Serah\'s weapon so when she buys a new one from Chocolina, does she buy a new moogle? Would be really funny if that happened.

Lightning: \"What happened to the moogle I gave you?\"

Serah: \"I traded it for a newer model!\" lol

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PS3: PenguinAlex
360: PenguinAlex