Final Fantasy XIII [PS3, X360]

[obonicus]

I think the fans will buy it regardless of how the demo turns out. If they are interested in roping in the undecided or not interested, then a demo can a go a long ways towards selling them on it--why only sell 1 million when you can sell 2.

Well, I don't think the undecided will have such an effect. It's doubtful that a demo would spur the game's sales that much.

I'm not sure how much effort it will take to localize a demo, but it seems that it would be effort that they would have to go through anyway for the game release right? It's not like they don't have to do it at some point anyway.

Well, sure, I just mean that a demo being ready for JP doesn't mean a thing when it comes to NA/EU.

It could do more harm than good for the undecided, but I would think that the effort is worth the risk in this case.

Without a demo or before I see it firsthand, I probably would be 40-60 against picking it up.

Honestly, though, if I were SE I wouldn't create a demo, and instead release impressive CG trailer (intermingled with some of the cooler battle scenes) after impressive CG trailer.

Was FFXII that bad???

It was very different. Such vast difference is oftentimes bad, especially for series that are in their 'teens'. It wasn't a bad game, though, but it had real problems. It was polarizing, to say the least -- they took the typical FF and made it very MMO-like, with allies you can program behavior into. It's pretty interesting, IMO.

 

[tha_con]

If I know Square Enix (which I do) then we can expect to see a Demo for the game bundled with...

....another Square Enix game.

I won't lie, I bought Dragon Quest VIII just to play FFXII, and it was the best thing I ever did, because it introduced me to Dragon Quest!

 

[BadTB25]

OK, I kind of see where you're coming from.

For me, it would solidify a buy or no buy. While I love CG, especially really well done CG, I'm past the point of being sold on CG alone.

For the demo, I'd be more interested in a release closer to the NA release and would be more than willing to wait for the localization. I remember when the Dead Rising released. That was one game that probably greatly benefited from a demo. L4D, SF4, Bioshock and a few come to mind that really took off after the demo. Some bombs include Too Human (although I liked it) and Blue Dragon (demo-wise)

Of course, there are those in the general gaming scene that can be convinced from trailers alone.

Off topic: I'm still waiting for a new Phantasy Star Online for either the PS3 or X360 without a subscription. I really enjoyed the DC version back in the day.

 

[obonicus]

If I know Square Enix (which I do) then we can expect to see a Demo for the game bundled with...

....another Square Enix game.

I won't lie, I bought Dragon Quest VIII just to play FFXII, and it was the best thing I ever did, because it introduced me to Dragon Quest!

Well, maybe there'll be something they want to sell -- Last Remnant PS3 port, maybe, but I doubt it. Otherwise it doesn't seem like there's a ton of HD games coming. And this time, DQIX is a DS game, no shipping HD demos with that.

 

[neliz]

thanks for naming TLR. which also recovers your entire party after a battle.
The game itself, and the puzzels.. *sigh* It doesn't even come close to offering a nice polished experience with some kind of story behind it like FFX/XII.

I'm playing it on PC btw.

 

[ZeroRay]

Some off screen shots from the demo:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3399/3442026272_8019b32a85_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3624/3441213405_2fcb4c6a03_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3603/3441279497_777ddaebc5_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3597/3441213551_bc1585b020_o.jpg

The impression from one guy who already has the demo is very positive. He loved the battle system and the synergy you have with your party members. He also praised the CG work.

 

[obonicus]

L4D, SF4, Bioshock and a few come to mind that really took off after the demo. Some bombs include Too Human (although I liked it) and Blue Dragon (demo-wise)

Street Fighter 4 had a demo? RE5 for instance sold me off the demo, I absolutely hated the controls. Survival horror isn't really my genre, but I might've bought it to play coop with friends if not for the demo.

 

[BadTB25]

Didn't it??? Nope a quick check of Xbox.com says no

Maybe it was the SF2 remix I'm thinking of.

 

[I.S.T.]

I'm sure all the console makers play this game.

Also, it could very much be Sony's fault as well depending on their Japanese exclusive agreement.

That said, I will probably pick this up for my PS3 over my Xbox360 when it comes out. Then again, I haven't played a Final Fantasy game since I thru IV. I've really liked what I've seen so far.

I watched my bro-in-law play all the way through FFVII. The overly aggressive random battles threw me off wanting to play it, but I enjoyed the story and cutscenes.

Overly aggressive? The game is easy as hell. He probably didn't change out equipment/level up/level up materia/use materia or something.

 

[BadTB25]

Overly aggressive as in take 2 steps random battle, take another 2 steps-random battle--repeat and repeat and repeat. It was not like that the entire game, but there were points that it seemed like it was just a way to artificially make the game longer.

I know it was a mainstay of JRPGs at the time, but it got annoying after a while. The story and cutscenes were worth it---barely. FFVII was not the only game guilty of it, but when you are watching instead of playing it got boring.

My favorite game with this similar system was probably Skies of Arcadia, so I know that they can be fun as well.

I'm hoping they allow you to choose when to enter an encounter ala Blue Dragon, but mix it up with FF style. From the vid that was released it looks really good from a battle perspective.

 

[vazel]

Someone's playing the demo here. http://ja.justin.tv/esegk

Edit: Now that was a meaty demo. Music is excellent. Game is very cinematic with cutscenes galore. Walking around the world feels like FFX with more linear pathways(thank goodness they did away with the offline mmo stuff from FFXII except your teammates are still AI controlled but it works good within the more active battles of FFXIII). Battles look good, a bar is continually filling up and you queue up moves and when the bar is full the moves are executed; you can execute three regular moves or one big move.

 

[I.S.T.]

Overly aggressive as in take 2 steps random battle, take another 2 steps-random battle--repeat and repeat and repeat. It was not like that the entire game, but there were points that it seemed like it was just a way to artificially make the game longer.

I know it was a mainstay of JRPGs at the time, but it got annoying after a while. The story and cutscenes were worth it---barely. FFVII was not the only game guilty of it, but when you are watching instead of playing it got boring.

My favorite game with this similar system was probably Skies of Arcadia, so I know that they can be fun as well.

I'm hoping they allow you to choose when to enter an encounter ala Blue Dragon, but mix it up with FF style. From the vid that was released it looks really good from a battle perspective.

You had bad luck. I've gone through the game more than once and have sometimes had to run around for three minutes before I got a fight.

Randomness is the bane of JRPGs, IMO.

 

[BadTB25]

I wasn't playing it, it was my bro-in-law that was.

He had a good time, but after a while I would only really pay attention when there was a cutscene or when he did a summon. I bought him the system and game for X-mas since at the time he was unemployed.

I've played the DS FF games and have had fun with them although I've only finished one of them.

I've watched a little bit of the streaming demo and so far it looks pretty good.

 

[Sankari]

I'd love for them to bring back the good old world map. I have missed it ever since X came out.

 

[user542745831]

So you want to see Final Fantasy XIII in action?

The Final Fantasy XIII demo has now been captured -- in full -- and placed on YouTube.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/15/so-you-want-to-see-final-fantasy-xiii-in-action

Final Fantasy XIII Demo Screens

http://kotaku.com/5212934/final-fantasy-xiii-demo-screens

 

[ban25]

My copy shipped today from Play-Asia. Should have it in a few days.

 

[ZeroRay]

What people have to remember is that the demo build is from dec. 08. The developers already mentioned that the game has undergone massive changes; for example, the battle system in the demo is only "half" of what the actual battle system is like.

What I'm wondering is, if there's an install for the demo? As it will indicate how the actual game will use the hard drive. What I mean is that the RE5 demo disc required an install and couldn't run from the disc. From what I'm gathering, it seems the XIII demo doesn't have one which is good news since it means that SE has implemented some sort of streaming and that the actual game won't eat up my little 40 gigger like I'm fearing.

 

[BadTB25]

I've just read the preview at 1UP.

I'm happy to hear that there will not be random battles.
I'm not sure if I like that there is no XP and leveling though.

The graphics look really nice so far. The framerate will likely improve once they start optimizing before release.

 

[ShadowRunner]

I've just read the preview at 1UP.

I'm happy to hear that there will not be random battles.
I'm not sure if I like that there is no XP and leveling though.

The graphics look really nice so far. The framerate will likely improve once they start optimizing before release.

Im pretty sure i read somewhere that the leveling system was removed from the demo, but will be in the final game. There was a whole list of things that they said would be different in the demo.

 

[BadTB25]

I was going by this story on 1up.

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3173735

I really like that in most RPGs, you start as a scrub and become an uber-stud by the end of the story. I'll give them benefit of the doubt and credit or willingness to try something new.

I hope it turns out well.