Why do so many people hate this game????

[Duomaxwell43]

I got it the day it came out and did not put the controller down for anything pretty much. I thought it was great from beginning to end, and even after the end! So I'm just wondering what people hated about it so much?

If it's the battle system being auto, why is that a bad thing? I mean in the old FF's weren't you just pushing X to attack, then down-X-X to select a spell? In this game, all you have to do is press it once and don't have to worry about selecting it. But if it really bothers you so much, you can still manually select it!

If it's the linear path in the game, well I think that's awesome! I'm a perfectionist and HATE to beat a game without getting everything. This time around I can beat the game first, THEN worry about getting everything, plus you get a new crystarium level!

If it's the story, well I can't help you there. Stories are always a personal opinion. For example, FF8 is my absolute fav game of ALL time, but many don't like it cause the story. I thought the story in 7 was awesome too, but to me, it just didn't compare to 8.

If it's the characters, yet again that's personal opinion. I hate little kids (notice how they ALWAYS appear in JRPGS???) but I found Vanille and Hope to actually not be near as annoying!

It seems to me that A LOT of people had too many high expectations of the game and when their outrageous idea wasn't in the game they were hell bent on hating it, never giving it a try. Me, I just went with the flow and didn't make any unruly ideas and just kept to reality.

But anyway, I'm just curious to know why people didn't care for it. I won't flame anybody for their opinions, and I hope you won't flame me for mine...

[Neg]

I'm giving you rep for that post. Cuz it's Christmas and that's how I roll.

Also, welcome to Shrine

SERIOUS BIDNESS MAY NOW PROCEED~

[Duomaxwell43]

Lol thanks!
I'm not ENTIRELY new, I had an account on here a while back and can't remember my user name now...But thanks for welcoming me back anyway! =D

[FIGHT SMACK IN THE ORPHANAGE]

[Hidden link. Register to see links.]

[CC]

Because everybody's opinion is different, but a lot mutually don't enjoy this game. I personally do.

/thread

[ANGRYWOLF]

I don't hate it.
It is too linear.There are no towns and no npc intereaction.
No real minigames, just those quests which are a lot like the hunts in FFXII.Some monster you have to kill as opposed to the traditional minigames which Square seems to have abandoned.
A lack of diverse magic.Again no blue magic.
Not being able to control all the characters during a battle.Not being able to switch characters in and out of your party during battles.
More difficult to make gil in this game than even in FFXII.
Unable to reach the final level of the crystalarium until the post game.
Stuff like that.
It's better than FFXII but not by very much.It's not an epic FF and fans were expecting it to be hence their disappointment.

[CC]

XIII is a far cry from being better than XII. I wouldn't even call it on par, but I still stand by my enjoyment of what I played. Hopefully by my birthday one of my relatives will feed my greed and buy it for me, along with a Ps3 and an Xbox360 (hey, it beats having to choose one over the other before I've tried them out firsthand) and make me cupcakes. And clean my house, too.

[Aniki]

If it's the linear path in the game, well I think that's awesome!

...and this is were I stopped reading.

[CC]

Lol. The linear path isn't what I would call 'awesome', but it's . . . I guess not the worst thing there is.

[Smarty]

Most games are linear anyway, but at least some try to look open ended or at least offer some nice distractions along the way. FFXIII took it too far with the linearity and I think that's what bothered most people. At least put a damn treasure on the road or something! I know they're fugitives but surely they can spare a moment to pick a potion up from the ground.

[Enkidoh]

At least put a damn treasure on the road or something! I know they're fugitives but surely they can spare a moment to pick a potion up from the ground.

Uh, there is treasure chests in FFXIII though Smarty - they're those floating silver orbs that make a whirring, winning noise when you're near them. Most were hidden off the 'main path' though and required either a little exploration or the strategy guide to find.

At least treasure orbs weren't random anymore like in FFXII. I hated opening one in FFXII expecting something good, only to get 1 gil (and that's even if the treasure container was even there; half the time they didn't spawn at all).

But yeah, FFXIII's main problem is it's linearity. Of course being fugitives it's obvious they can't just wander freely around the world, but there were other examples of similar plots in earlier FF games where the cast became fugitives from the law and were still able to explore the world map to an extent. FFXIII's linearity just came across as an example of the development team spending more time developing the graphics engine than working on gameplay and storyline.

[FIGHT SMACK IN THE ORPHANAGE]

I really don't think the game's main problem is its linearity. The story and characters are quite bad, which I think is way more of a detriment to the game's overall quality.

[CC]

That, and I think the game takes itself a little too seriously. I personally like it, but all the other games gave you some laughs all the while contending with a moderately serious storyline. Sazh seems like the comic relief of the game, but it seems forced. I agree totally with Enkidoh that the game seems like just a huge display of this new White Engine than a real thorough game.

I still like it though. Don't ask why; I guess I'm just not hard to impress.

[Smarty]

Uh, there is treasure chests in FFXIII though Smarty - they're those floating silver orbs that make a whirring, winning noise when you're near them. Most were hidden off the 'main path' though and required either a little exploration or the strategy guide to find.

Really? Well, I guess I just didn't encounter any. I didn't play it for very long.

[Dragoncurry]

It seems to me that A LOT of people had too many high expectations of the game

Totally, everyone should have gone into FF13 with extremely low expectations, you know with Square's reputation for making quality RPGs and the fact that it was like 8 years or whatever in the making. Yeah. Not expecting good things at all yo.

[CC]

Totally, everyone should have gone into FF13 with extremely low expectations, you know with Square's reputation for making quality RPGs and the fact that it was like 8 years or whatever in the making. Yeah. Not expecting good things at all yo.

ROFLCOPTER!!!

Very true, though.

[FIGHT SMACK IN THE ORPHANAGE]

Really? Well, I guess I just didn't encounter any. I didn't play it for very long.

There's one moments after the first battle in the game.

[Oriens]

Hmph, this game is incredibly awesome.
I have no idea how it COULDN'T have been linear! It was that way because of the story and scenario.

I doubt if you became a fugitive ON THE RUN and hated by the whole world, you would be stopping in towns and going to some chocobo expo or messing around. If you were allowed to, I think that would be another issue today. Doesn't make sense if you think about it. The setting of the game world isn't one that I would want to explore anyways. Coocoon/Pulse seem like places where it would suck live in.

Luckily some sidequests come later but it's this extraordinary story that limits the gameplay/freedom mainly. It's win-lose. Win for me because I haven't seen a game with a story like this in a long time and sometimes I like getting to the point. The story takes a while to develop so just playing mini-games and wondering in my mind what's actually going or what happened in the past on would kill me even more.... You just have to bear with it.

[Vrykolas]

The game doesn't appeal to the average western gamer, simple as that. Western gamers want games that look and feel cool, and that make them feel cool, powerful and free. They want the main hero to be an outsider who can do what he damn pleases, and generally be the greatest and coolest person ever (and it helps if they themselves are that main hero).

FF13 goes for that in some measure, but stays faithful to JRPG tradition in others, creating a kind of Frankenstein's Monster of a game, that doesn't truly appeal to West or East. Another example of this is how the game is extremely linear until the later chapters where it suddenly becomes open world without warning.

I liked this game, but I don't begrudge people for disliking it, because it often makes itself very hard to love. the only thing I would really take issue with are the accusations that the game's plot is weak. I think it could have been told better, but the story itself is very good indeed.

And my stance on towns full of pointless NPCs and peaceful rural music is a matter of public record - they are always extremely boring and we're better off without them.

FF13 is a good game, but western gamers don't like JRPGs anymore. So to be truly sucessful, it would have had to either be near perfect or compromise so much in deference to western gamers, that it wasn't a JRPG at all.

My personal opinion is that they should stop trying to appease western gamers, because they are never going to do it. They should forget what analysts and industry forecasters tell them they should be trying to do and just trust their own instincts.

Because those instincts are what gave us the classic old JRPGs.

[BalambStudent]

Granted it pissed me off the first time I finsihed it and was "Oh is that it" but on umerous play throughs I appreciated it. It reminded me of the games I use dto play on my C64 and Amiga as a child, game soyu could pick up an complete within a reasonable amount of time. FF13 is one of my fave FF next to X..I love 12 but it can be such a grind. FF 13 I think is very underated and I hate the whole "its so linear!!" whinging. It is a nice throwback and enjoyable. I don't have to mop up pointless sideuests to get the best weapons or 100% playthrough.

[spheregrid94]

Hmph, this game is incredibly awesome.
I have no idea how it COULDN'T have been linear! It was that way because of the story and scenario.

I doubt if you became a fugitive ON THE RUN and hated by the whole world, you would be stopping in towns and going to some chocobo expo or messing around. If you were allowed to, I think that would be another issue today. Doesn't make sense if you think about it. The setting of the game world isn't one that I would want to explore anyways. Coocoon/Pulse seem like places where it would suck live in.

Luckily some sidequests come later but it's this extraordinary story that limits the gameplay/freedom mainly. It's win-lose. Win for me because I haven't seen a game with a story like this in a long time and sometimes I like getting to the point. The story takes a while to develop so just playing mini-games and wondering in my mind what's actually going or what happened in the past on would kill me even more.... You just have to bear with it.

I truly agree, it's soo good! I guess people expected more of a FF7 with better graphics though :/

[CC]

I truly agree, it's soo good! I guess people expected more of a FF7 with better graphics though :/

You seem cool Nice to see a friendly new person for a change Welcome!

[Esura]

I personally like FFXIII. Granted I haven't beaten it yet, not because I dislike it, but because I've been playing Phoenix Wright games and SSF4 hardcore. I'm at Chapter 11 right now at Taijin's Tower. The thing I like about this game is that you are back to full health after battle. This has been something I've been asking for in a JRPG for years! I don't have to consistantly resource manage my magic points (well, this game has no magic points) and health points against randoms so I can be in tip top shape to face some random boss.

And my stance on towns full of pointless NPCs and peaceful rural music is a matter of public record - they are always extremely boring and we're better off without them. .

This is why I'm loving FFXIII so far as well. Never understood the appeal of talking to NPCs for useless info.

[Darth Revan]

I tried multiple times to like/play FFXIII, and my disdain for it grew even more. Unlikable characters, stale story. The music never grabbed my attention like it used to in previous titles either. Graphic wise, yes it was pretty, but graphics don't make the game.

[Squallsdog]

The game doesn't appeal to the average western gamer, simple as that. Western gamers want games that look and feel cool, and that make them feel cool, powerful and free. They want the main hero to be an outsider who can do what he damn pleases, and generally be the greatest and coolest person ever (and it helps if they themselves are that main hero).

FF13 goes for that in some measure, but stays faithful to JRPG tradition in others, creating a kind of Frankenstein's Monster of a game, that doesn't truly appeal to West or East. Another example of this is how the game is extremely linear until the later chapters where it suddenly becomes open world without warning.

I liked this game, but I don't begrudge people for disliking it, because it often makes itself very hard to love. the only thing I would really take issue with are the accusations that the game's plot is weak. I think it could have been told better, but the story itself is very good indeed.

And my stance on towns full of pointless NPCs and peaceful rural music is a matter of public record - they are always extremely boring and we're better off without them.

FF13 is a good game, but western gamers don't like JRPGs anymore. So to be truly sucessful, it would have had to either be near perfect or compromise so much in deference to western gamers, that it wasn't a JRPG at all.

My personal opinion is that they should stop trying to appease western gamers, because they are never going to do it. They should forget what analysts and industry forecasters tell them they should be trying to do and just trust their own instincts.

Because those instincts are what gave us the classic old JRPGs.

Wow, well said