[assurdum]

Originally Posted by DonaldDuck

The graphic upgrade, if true, is a wonderful thing.

I was afraid of poor framerate (transparencies... ouch!) but... If that´s rock solid the game could be among the best visually speaking.

Maybe Square-Enix has REALLY mastered the hardware of PS3.

Really interested in how the 360 version performs.

The amount of cutscenes seems huge... 9 hours surpasses Son of the Patriots for sure... I hope the animation of real-time scenes made in-engine will be good.

Great impressions so far.

Uh? wat?

[xatnys]

Originally Posted by assurdum

Uh? wat?

The demo was known to have noticeable fluctuations in framerate, the fear was that this might carry over into the full game.

[inefficient]

Originally Posted by Rurouni

any comments on the load times? how long the load times between battle and scenes? did it install stuff into the hdd?

There is no HD install, not even a small one. There is only a loading screen when loading a save game after quitting and it gives you a brief summary of where you left off. Otherwise there are no loading screens in game.

[assurdum]

Originally Posted by xatnys

The demo was known to have noticeable fluctuations in framerate, the fear was that this might carry over into the full game.

Ah the demo; well S-E said clearly that demo had some fps problem at the time, we knew, but not the final build.

[nightshade]

I came across this image today & I noticed something for the first time...Oerba is shown wearing a sari in this game; its a traditional Indian Dress.Must say I am surprised to see this; cause I am not really used to seeing game characters wear the traditional Dress from my country ha

http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/ar...26751_640w.jpg

[oramay]

Originally Posted by nightshade

I came across this image today & I noticed something for the first time...Oerba is shown wearing a sari in this game; its a traditional Indian Dress.Must say I am surprised to see this; cause I am not really used to seeing game characters wear the traditional Dress from my country ha

http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/ar...26751_640w.jpg

Does your traditional version show as much skin?

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by oramay

Does your traditional version show as much skin?

Yes, well most of them are exactly like this.
And if you look at the more toned down & sober version then you'll notice the only major difference it has is that it has sleeves for the blouse.

Other than this whatever difference you notice is down to the way the person is wearing it, she may choose to show more skin or she may not.

[inefficient]

I'm about 30 hours in now. And man does the game open up!

I don't want to spoil anything. But all my concerns about the game being too linear etc go right out the window after reaching a certain point. It's like playing an entirely different game now.

I cannot believe what I am playing. So completed unexpected and amazingly awesome.

[patsu]

That's great ! That's what I want to hear after playing the demo. I think I should go recycle the demo disc now.

[inefficient]

I just beat the game.

I think everyone on this forum should play this game. Simply for the graphics alone this game is a must play. I don't understand how anyone interested in 3D graphics would not want to play this game. It is simply an epic masterpiece from a visual standpoint.

It's probably not on the same level of technical achievement as something like a KZ2 or Uncharted. But as an artistic achievement I'm pretty confident to say it has no peers. The number of visually stand out moments in this game is an order of magnitude larger than all the memorable scenes in KZ2 and U2 combined. This might seem like hyperbole. And don't get me wrong I loved both KZ2 and U2. But KZ2 you can play for 1 hour and you already have a good feel for the look of the whole game looks like. Even in U2, the number of times my jaw dropped I can easily count on my fingers. But with FF13 it wasn't like "oh ya this really almost looks like a jungle" or "yup this ice really looks like ice". This game took my eyeballs to places it had never been before. And for 50 hours!

[patsu]

Originally Posted by inefficient

But as an artistic achievement I'm pretty confident to say it has no peers. The number of visually stand out moments in this game is an order of magnitude larger than all the memorable scenes in KZ2 and U2 combined

Considering my awe for Uncharted 2 Chapter 16, your statement is certainly to say the least. Fear not, I will check it out based on your earlier comment about gameplay already.

[Enzyme]

Originally Posted by inefficient

I just beat the game.

I think everyone on this forum should play this game. Simply for the graphics alone this game is a must play. I don't understand how anyone interested in 3D graphics would not want to play this game. It is simply an epic masterpiece from a visual standpoint.

It's probably not on the same level of technical achievement as something like a KZ2 or Uncharted. But as an artistic achievement I'm pretty confident to say it has no peers. The number of visually stand out moments in this game is an order of magnitude larger than all the memorable scenes in KZ2 and U2 combined. This might seem like hyperbole. And don't get me wrong I loved both KZ2 and U2. But KZ2 you can play for 1 hour and you already have a good feel for the look of the whole game looks like. Even in U2, the number of times my jaw dropped I can easily count on my fingers. But with FF13 it wasn't like "oh ya this really almost looks like a jungle" or "yup this ice really looks like ice". This game took my eyeballs to places it had never been before. And for 50 hours!

Can't wait to play this game.

50 hours in total?
Did every sidequest too (if there are any) or just rushed to the end?
Any minigames of some sorts?

[Silent_Buddha]

Couldn't have done all the sidequests and minigames and collections, etc that are usually packed into a FF game. If so, this is a really really short FF game.

Regards,
SB

[PARANOiA]

Originally Posted by patsu

Considering my awe for Uncharted 2 Chapter 16, your statement is certainly to say the least. Fear not, I will check it out based on your earlier comment about gameplay already.

Beware of hyperbole Not saying it won't be good but it always helps to go in with average expectations and have them exceeded rather than expecting awesomeness only to be let down.

[ShadowRunner]

Originally Posted by inefficient

I just beat the game.

I think everyone on this forum should play this game. Simply for the graphics alone this game is a must play. I don't understand how anyone interested in 3D graphics would not want to play this game. It is simply an epic masterpiece from a visual standpoint.

It's probably not on the same level of technical achievement as something like a KZ2 or Uncharted. But as an artistic achievement I'm pretty confident to say it has no peers. The number of visually stand out moments in this game is an order of magnitude larger than all the memorable scenes in KZ2 and U2 combined. This might seem like hyperbole. And don't get me wrong I loved both KZ2 and U2. But KZ2 you can play for 1 hour and you already have a good feel for the look of the whole game looks like. Even in U2, the number of times my jaw dropped I can easily count on my fingers. But with FF13 it wasn't like "oh ya this really almost looks like a jungle" or "yup this ice really looks like ice". This game took my eyeballs to places it had never been before. And for 50 hours!

Without spoilers, how is the story? That is the single most important thing to me in a final fantasy game. For reference my faves so far have been FFVII and FFX. As long as the story is good everything else is just icing on the cake!

[ban25]

Originally Posted by Silent_Buddha

Couldn't have done all the sidequests and minigames and collections, etc that are usually packed into a FF game. If so, this is a really really short FF game.

Regards,
SB

The games have certainly gotten longer, but FFVII could be comfortably finished in 20-30 hours.

[ultragpu]

Originally Posted by inefficient

I just beat the game.

I think everyone on this forum should play this game. Simply for the graphics alone this game is a must play. I don't understand how anyone interested in 3D graphics would not want to play this game. It is simply an epic masterpiece from a visual standpoint.

It's probably not on the same level of technical achievement as something like a KZ2 or Uncharted. But as an artistic achievement I'm pretty confident to say it has no peers. The number of visually stand out moments in this game is an order of magnitude larger than all the memorable scenes in KZ2 and U2 combined. This might seem like hyperbole. And don't get me wrong I loved both KZ2 and U2. But KZ2 you can play for 1 hour and you already have a good feel for the look of the whole game looks like. Even in U2, the number of times my jaw dropped I can easily count on my fingers. But with FF13 it wasn't like "oh ya this really almost looks like a jungle" or "yup this ice really looks like ice". This game took my eyeballs to places it had never been before. And for 50 hours!

Oh it will be mine on 9th of March alright regardless of the graphics though it's certainly good to hear how well it stacks up artistically. Also really interested in how well the story was told since that's what makes the FF series for me.

[inefficient]

Originally Posted by Silent_Buddha

Couldn't have done all the sidequests and minigames and collections, etc that are usually packed into a FF game. If so, this is a really really short FF game.

Regards,
SB

Ya I skipped most of the side missions. They intentionally left a lot of optional end game content to come back to. Like monsters that are ridiculously hard and not even worth attempting till after you have beat the game.

There aren't really any mini games that I saw. Though I guess for people who care about trophies/achievements, collecting all the weapons and accessories and unlocking everything is a mini game in itself.

Story wise I'm not sure what to compare it to. It is not an overly complex story. A quite straightforward save the world type of affair, with only some minor plot twists and turns. But at least is very strongly delivered. And it takes you to amazing set pieces. Almost all of the focus is on your small group of characters and what brings them together. I was more interested in what happens to each characters than what was going on the "save the world" plot line-- because you know there is only 1 way that is going to turn out anyway. Apparently FFX is the closest other game people are comparing it to with the story telling style. But I haven't played that one. FFVII I have played, and the thing about that game that I liked was not really the story but the way it made you feel attached to the characters. And FFXIII works for me similarly.

[obonicus]

I remember reading a while ago that FFXIII was SE's attempt to make as FFVII a game as possible, without calling it FFVII. Whatever that means.

[patsu]

Originally Posted by PARANOiA

Beware of hyperbole Not saying it won't be good but it always helps to go in with average expectations and have them exceeded rather than expecting awesomeness only to be let down.

Don't worry, I have a low-pass filter built-in. The FF XIII demo wiped out any enthusiasm I had for the game.

I am going to buy the game after inefficient's second post on the topic anyway. In a very real sense, anything that is very different from the demo should be enjoyable. ^_^

[E2K]

Originally Posted by patsu

Don't worry, I have a low-pass filter built-in. The FF XIII demo wiped out any enthusiasm I had for the game.

lol, I experienced the same thing
They were talking in crazy chinese, with chinese subtitles and I was like: "WAT???"
Also it was really stupid that all the menus were in chinese also.
I hope they change this for the final game, so I can understand what is going on..

[AlStrong]

Originally Posted by E2K

lol, I experienced the same thing
They were talking in crazy chinese, with chinese subtitles and I was like: "WAT???"
Also it was really stupid that all the menus were in chinese also.
I hope they change this for the final game, so I can understand what is going on..

You mean Japanese, right?

<_<
>_>

[E2K]

Originally Posted by AlStrong

You mean Japanese, right?

<_<
>_>

Captain Obvious Achievement unlocked!

Oh and merry Christmas everybody !!

[Silent_Buddha]

Originally Posted by E2K

lol, I experienced the same thing
They were talking in crazy chinese, with chinese subtitles and I was like: "WAT???"
Also it was really stupid that all the menus were in chinese also.
I hope they change this for the final game, so I can understand what is going on..

It's a good thing you don't live in Japan or China or you'd be massacred as you left your house. There is no great fondness between the Japanese and Chinese.

Regards,
SB

[patsu]

The language has nothing to do with the quality of the FF XIII demo. Regardless of what options you choose, I am pretty sure you can triumph in the battles. ^_^
It's too easy and boring.