• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

FF13 makes way more sense if you just skip all the cutscenes...

S

shiftplusone

Member
and just read the data logs after the chapters

I just hit chapter 8, my playtime is at like 9.5 hours, and I feel like I have a good grasp of the events of the story leading up to this point because the logs are super concise

I played before on PS3 at launch and kinda followed it but felt it was too fucked up pace wise to try and care

Now that I'm playing on steam it's been easier to follow when I don't have their 45 hours of cutscenes telling me that hope is real sad and then mad and then mad about being sad

It's a lot more fun this way too since the battle system is opening up like 8 hours in instead of 25+

It might very well fall apart and turn to shit before the end but for now I'm giving it a chance(that it probably doesn't deserve) and enjoying myself quite a bit

This not having a full time party shit needs to quit real soon though

Does 13-2 have the same datalog system? There's no way I'm gonna trust square Enix with some time travel shit without a handbook of "here's what you ACTUALLY need to know"
 
B

Blablurn

Member
Final Fantasy XIII is a class game. Square Enix outdid themselves with this wonderful game. It's a miracle from start to finish. Maybe even a wonder. A true gaming wonder. Lightning is the hero we deserve. And I hope she comes back. One day. Lightning. I'm waiting for you.
 
A

Alex_Mexico

Member
Blablurn said:
Final Fantasy XIII is a class game. Square Enix outdid themselves with this wonderful game. It's a miracle from start to finish. Maybe even a wonder. A true gaming wonder. Lightning is the hero we deserve. And I hope she comes back. One day. Lightning. I'm waiting for you.
Click to expand...
......not sure if serious....
 
wolfhowwl

wolfhowwl

Banned
Blablurn said:
Final Fantasy XIII is a class game. Square Enix outdid themselves with this wonderful game. It's a miracle from start to finish. Maybe even a wonder. A true gaming wonder. Lightning is the hero we deserve. And I hope she comes back. One day. Lightning. I'm waiting for you.
Click to expand...

The Goddess lives in France now.
 
I

Icyflamez96

Member
Blablurn said:
Final Fantasy XIII is a class game. Square Enix outdid themselves with this wonderful game. It's a miracle from start to finish. Maybe even a wonder. A true gaming wonder. Lightning is the hero we deserve. And I hope she comes back. One day. Lightning. I'm waiting for you.
Click to expand...

dr-nefarious-derp-o.gif
 
E

Elfstruck

Member
Blablurn said:
Final Fantasy XIII is a class game. Square Enix outdid themselves with this wonderful game. It's a miracle from start to finish. Maybe even a wonder. A true gaming wonder. Lightning is the hero we deserve. And I hope she comes back. One day. Lightning. I'm waiting for you.
Click to expand...

Shhhh...dont say it out loud like that, Toriyama might make another Lighting game. :(
 
Cheezeman3000

Cheezeman3000

Member
shiftplusone said:
Does 13-2 have the same datalog system? There's no way I'm gonna trust square Enix with some time travel shit without a handbook of "here's what you ACTUALLY need to know"
Click to expand...

All of the XIII games have the datalog. XIII-2 gives you the full battle system much sooner though and the pacing is better so you shouldn't feel like you need to skip cutscenes. Definitely try to avoid skipping scenes in that game, IMO it's the best one.
 
I

IdreamofHIME

Member
My only complaint about FF13 is the stagger system, why they thought every enemy in the game need a shell around them is beyond me...especially the enemies and bosses that have a force field as well.

Story, characters, leveling, setting, mythos...everything else was great.
 
P

playXray

Member
I'm currently on my 3rd playthrough, and for the second time I am skipping all the cut-scenes, but this is the first time I've ever read the datalogs - OP is right, they make the game so much more understandable without having to see Hope angst his way through the game.
 
T

T.O.P

Banned
Yup, bought the game on Steam for 6$

Skipping everything outside of a few cutscenes, game feels way more awesome this time around

Love to death the XIII battle system, and damn it looks gorgeous on PC
 
S

spekkeh

Banned
Leafhopper said:
How is Final Fantasy 13 a trading card game?

That brain slug is doing it's work.
Click to expand...
:p.

The game is only turn based battles, there's nothing else. Battles where you look at which card the opponent plays and you then decide to counter it with a synergist, sentinel, commando etc deck. Sometimes new cards or eidolons are added or subtracted so you can play different decks.
 
S

shiftplusone

Member
Blablurn said:
Final Fantasy XIII is a class game. Square Enix outdid themselves with this wonderful game. It's a miracle from start to finish. Maybe even a wonder. A true gaming wonder. Lightning is the hero we deserve. And I hope she comes back. One day. Lightning. I'm waiting for you.
Click to expand...

spekkeh said:
Without the cutscenes it's basically a TCG.
Click to expand...

I made this topic at 1:30 am my time so I'm going to assume you people were sleep deprived when making these posts

Tidus_Great said:
no point of playing FF games if you aren't into the storylines
Click to expand...

I am into the storyline though! Just not into their presentation of it. I'm still getting it this way, too

Shining Sunshine said:
No it still doesn't make sense since you run in a straight line in a 30 hour tutorial. For any RPG, that makes no sense at all.
Click to expand...

Not if you skip! It becomes like... 11 hours of tutorial
 
S

Stereogatari

Banned
I barely touched the datalogs and it made sense to me. Then again Inception made sense to me the first time through, so I might just have a knack for these things.
 
C

Caronte

Member
spekkeh said:
:p.

The game is only turn based battles, there's nothing else. Battles where you look at which card the opponent plays and you then decide to counter it with a synergist, sentinel, commando etc deck. Sometimes new cards or eidolons are added or subtracted so you can play different decks.
Click to expand...

By that definition even a FPS is a card game.
 
I

itzknickknac

Member
Tidus_Great said:
no point of playing FF games if you aren't into the storylines
Click to expand...
You can still follow the story, without watching cutscenes. OP did nothing wrong with skipping cutscenes. It's Toriyama who fucked it up. Idk what he was thinking with the direction of presenting the story through flash backs but I think it's what ruined the experience. Everyone would've looked past the linear maps if he had told the story better.
 
R

robotzombie

Member
Tidus_Great said:
no point of playing FF games if you aren't into the storylines
Click to expand...

I find the storylines of most final fantasies to be borderline terrible, and I've repeatedly played through and loved the vast majority of the series

on a day where The Order reviews came out, you somehow managed to make the silliest post
 
M

MaverickHunterAsh

Member
shiftplusone said:
and just read the data logs after the chapters

I just hit chapter 8, my playtime is at like 9.5 hours, and I feel like I have a good grasp of the events of the story leading up to this point because the logs are super concise

I played before on PS3 at launch and kinda followed it but felt it was too fucked up pace wise to try and care

Now that I'm playing on steam it's been easier to follow when I don't have their 45 hours of cutscenes telling me that hope is real sad and then mad and then mad about being sad

It's a lot more fun this way too since the battle system is opening up like 8 hours in instead of 25+

It might very well fall apart and turn to shit before the end but for now I'm giving it a chance(that it probably doesn't deserve) and enjoying myself quite a bit

This not having a full time party shit needs to quit real soon though

Does 13-2 have the same datalog system? There's no way I'm gonna trust square Enix with some time travel shit without a handbook of "here's what you ACTUALLY need to know"
Click to expand...

While I don't agree that the cutscenes are throwaway like that (I rather enjoy Square Enix's wacky brand of shameless, absurd melodrama), I'm glad someone else is enjoying Final Fantasy XIII. It's an awesome game that deserves to be played and loved by more people instead of just being dismissed because it's linear, which is not something people complain about when it comes to other genres and for some reason only want to consider it a negative when Square Enix is involved.

FF XIII-2 does have a similar datalog system, and it's similarly another excellent game (albeit in different ways than XIII). You are correct for not trusting Square Enix with a time travel story, especially one that didn't have time travel in it in the first place; the story's a mess, but it's a fun, gorgeous, melodramatic mess.
 
R

Ralemont

not me
Interesting idea. Not that anyone needs this confirmation, but doing the opposite (not reading the logs and only watching the cutscenes) is a pretty terrible idea as I found out in my one and only playthrough.

Great game once it opens up, though, even if the story only continues to get worse.
 
I

IHaveIce

Banned
spekkeh said:
:p.

The game is only turn based battles, there's nothing else. Battles where you look at which card the opponent plays and you then decide to counter it with a synergist, sentinel, commando etc deck. Sometimes new cards or eidolons are added or subtracted so you can play different decks.
Click to expand...

you mean it is indeed a turnbased rpg?
 
PaulBizkit

PaulBizkit

Member
MaverickHunterAsh said:
It's an awesome game that deserves to be played and loved by more people instead of just being dismissed because it's linear, which is not something people complain about when it comes to other genres and for some reason only want to consider it a negative when Square Enix is involved.
Click to expand...

C'mon, man... it's an RPG, you're supposed to explore the land, go wherever you want (when the plot allows it at least), wander around and discover secrets, side quests, etc. I know there are games that have this always-a-hallway design like shooters and God Of War games, but exploration is a key component of the RPG genre.

That being said, i liked Grand Pulse a lot (i might be wrong with the name, it's where the game opens up and you have a biiig plain with monsters and stuff)
 
E

Eudaemonium

Member
MaverickHunterAsh said:
While I don't agree that the cutscenes are throwaway like that (I rather enjoy Square Enix's wacky brand of shameless, absurd melodrama), I'm glad someone else is enjoying Final Fantasy XIII. It's an awesome game that deserves to be played and loved by more people instead of just being dismissed because it's linear, which is not something people complain about when it comes to other genres and for some reason only want to consider it a negative when Square Enix is involved.

FF XIII-2 does have a similar datalog system, and it's similarly another excellent game (albeit in different ways than XIII). You are correct for not trusting Square Enix with a time travel story, especially one that didn't have time travel in it in the first place; the story's a mess, but it's a fun, gorgeous, melodramatic mess.
Click to expand...

I loved FF13-2, though I feel 13 is the better game overall. 13-2 had Noel and Caius, who I loved way more than I expected to, and the plot *is* nonsense, but it is beautiful nonsense.

I never picked up LR, though. Nothing I saw about it remotely attracted me.
 
H

Hibiki Kurosawa

Member
spekkeh said:
:p.

The game is only turn based battles, there's nothing else. Battles where you look at which card the opponent plays and you then decide to counter it with a synergist, sentinel, commando etc deck. Sometimes new cards or eidolons are added or subtracted so you can play different decks.
Click to expand...
Well, that was quite the stretch...
 
S

Shepard

Member
I played almost through the whole game thinking "wth am I doing?". Tbh, I kinda hated the game until I beat it, the final was quite nice.
 
J

Jisgsaw

Member
Stereogatari said:
I barely touched the datalogs and it made sense to me. Then again Inception made sense to me the first time through, so I might just have a knack for these things.
Click to expand...

Oh great, maybe I'll have my question answered then, been asking it myself since I played the game (obviously FF13 spoiler):
I still don't get how the cast determined it would be a good idea attacking Orphan at the end of Ch.11 (I think. Was it chap. 10 maybe?). I mean the whole begginning of the game was about not doing that, then in Ch. 9 Barthandelus plainly tells them what desastrous consequences attacking Orphan would have.
Why then do they suddenly decide to attack it? I mean ok, it plays out good enough, but no way in hell could they have forseen that. From what they knew, their action would just destroy all of Cocoon/humanity...

Eudaemonium said:
I never picked up LR, though. Nothing I saw about it remotely attracted me.
Click to expand...

For what its worth, it's my favorite from the trilogy. Great gameplay, great permanent world.
 
R

Ralemont

not me
Jisgsaw said:
Oh great, maybe I'll have my question answered then, been asking it myself since I played the game (obviously FF13 spoiler):
I still don't get how the cast determined it would be a good idea attacking Orphan at the end of Ch.11 (I think. Was it chap. 10 maybe?). I mean the whole begginning of the game was about not doing that, then in Ch. 9 Barthandelus plainly tells them what desastrous consequences attacking Orphan would have.
Why then do they suddenly decide to attack it? I mean ok, it plays out good enough, but no way in hell could they have forseen that. From what they knew, their action would just destroy all of Cocoon/humanity...
Click to expand...

The game's central issue is that it sets up an interesting Catch-22 for its protagonists from the beginning (one might even call it the premise of the game) and then
doesn't have the balls to follow through to the logical conclusion that the bad guys win. Instead we get the power of friendship turning us back into humans from monsters and miracles saving Cocoon from what surely would have been a genocidal act of desperation in attacking Orphan.
 
J

Jisgsaw

Member
Ralemont said:
The game's central issue is that it sets up an interesting Catch-22 for its protagonists from the beginning (one might even call it the premise of the game) and then
doesn't have the balls to follow through to the logical conclusion that the bad guys win. Instead we get the power of friendship turning us back into humans from monsters and miracles saving Cocoon from what surely would have been a genocidal act of desperation in attacking Orphan.
Click to expand...

Well, technically, IIRC,
they (and Cocoon) were saved by Etro, which would more or less make sense.
What still doesn't make sens to me is why the main cast did a 180° turn and suddenly decided to kill Orphan.
I mean, I liked the game and the story (even though the narration is garbage), but that' a pretty big plot hole.

Shepard said:
FFXIII ending question:
Why did Orphan fight back? I thought it wanted to die.
Click to expand...

Same reason the main cast were made fal'Cies:
it had to, just like it couldn't kill itself, or Barthandelus couldn't kil him
 
L

LiK

Member
well, you're right that all the info is buried in the Data Logs. Great lore but shit storytelling in the actual game and cutscenes.
 
R

Ralemont

not me
Jisgsaw said:
Well, technically, IIRC,
they (and Cocoon) were saved by Etro, which would more or less make sense.
What still doesn't make sens to me is why the main cast did a 180° turn and suddenly decided to kill Orphan.
I mean, I liked the game and the story (even though the narration is garbage), but that' a pretty big plot hole.
Click to expand...

That was how it was eventually explained in XIII-2, yes. At the time, when it happened, it was explained as them believing in each other or some nonsense.

Generally I give XIII-2's story a pass because:

1. It spent most of its time trying to fix XIII's shitty ending and
2. when it wasn't doing that it was telling a pretty good, sad story about Noel, Caius, and Yeul.
 
G

Garrett Hawke

Member
Blablurn said:
Final Fantasy XIII is a class game. Square Enix outdid themselves with this wonderful game. It's a miracle from start to finish. Maybe even a wonder. A true gaming wonder. Lightning is the hero we deserve. And I hope she comes back. One day. Lightning. I'm waiting for you.
Click to expand...
If you were serious I would agree with you (apart from the miracle bit, there are some issues). Still, amazing game and Lightning >>>>
 
A

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
This game makes even MORE sense if you just skip all the walking through corridors and just enjoy the awesome combat system and music.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Ralemont said:
The game's central issue is that it sets up an interesting Catch-22 for its protagonists from the beginning (one might even call it the premise of the game) and then
doesn't have the balls to follow through to the logical conclusion that the bad guys win. Instead we get the power of friendship turning us back into humans from monsters and miracles saving Cocoon from what surely would have been a genocidal act of desperation in attacking Orphan.
Click to expand...

This is how I recall feeling about the story. Melodrama aside, I was interested in seeing where they would take it and was very disappointed in how they handled the last few chapters or so.
 
S

Stereogatari

Banned
Ralemont said:
The game's central issue is that it sets up an interesting Catch-22 for its protagonists from the beginning (one might even call it the premise of the game) and then
doesn't have the balls to follow through to the logical conclusion that the bad guys win. Instead we get the power of friendship turning us back into humans from monsters and miracles saving Cocoon from what surely would have been a genocidal act of desperation in attacking Orphan.
Click to expand...

Well summarised. One of my hopes with the storyline was that Serah would turn into a C'ieth monster and we'd have to kill her.

Also I wish the C'ieth monsters were more than just generic battlefield enemies.
 
R

Ralemont

not me
Stereogatari said:
Well summarised. One of my hopes with the storyline was that Serah would turn into a C'ieth monster and we'd have to kill her.

Also I wish the C'ieth monsters were more than just generic battlefield enemies.
Click to expand...

This is another reason why I like XIII-2.
The game sets up the storytelling promise that changing the future can potentially kill a Seer. So you change the future and holy shit! Serah gets killed. This is what I mean by having the balls to follow through...even if we all knew she'd get resurrected eventually in LR. :p
 
Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Member
So...

GAF has super expectations for FFXIII. It's mostly a failure on all counts as a FF game. GAF (and most of the vocal internet) hate FFXIII with a passion. Now "GAF" thinks it's a "great" game?

Okay. Better graphics on the PC and skipping cutscenes (which only removes one problem on top of many) doesn't change things. For as much flak that the gambit system from FFXII received, the battle system in this game is actually quite a bit worse overall and you have even less control compared to the supposed "auto combat" of the previous game. Ten hours into the game and it finally kind of opens up, but then it's just a big island with a bunch of random elite enemies to kill. Yay!
 
N

NHarmonic.

Member
Blablurn said:
Final Fantasy XIII is a class game. Square Enix outdid themselves with this wonderful game. It's a miracle from start to finish. Maybe even a wonder. A true gaming wonder. Lightning is the hero we deserve. And I hope she comes back. One day. Lightning. I'm waiting for you.
Click to expand...

Best post ever. The hero we deserve indeed.

Ralemont said:
That was how it was eventually explained in XIII-2, yes. At the time, when it happened, it was explained as them believing in each other or some nonsense.

Generally I give XIII-2's story a pass because:

1. It spent most of its time trying to fix XIII's shitty ending and
2. when it wasn't doing that it was telling a pretty good, sad story about Noel, Caius, and Yeul.
Click to expand...

Really? I sincerely don't know what's more shitty: the original ending or the retcon they did in 13-2. It was so nonsensical...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Don't you hate it when you only master a game at the end, but it would be tedious to play through again? (FFVII Remake cry thread)
14
926
MikeM replied
  • Poll
Why Xbox Abandoning The Traditional Console Business Model, Makes Business Sense
Business Analysis Platform 2
72
5K
WitchHunter replied
  • Poll
Why Dino Crisis remake simply doesn't make sense and what Capcom needs to remake instead.
Opinion Poll Analysis 2
97
5K
ThatPolishGuy replied
Solar Ash - one of the best 3D platformers of all time
LTTP
25
2K
diffusionx replied
What's a choice you made in gaming that altered your entire gaming career moving forward
Social Opinion 2
97
3K
Metalman96 replied
Top Bottom