Final Fantasy XIII

[Stark]

So yeah, on my birthday last year (12.17) I was fortunate enough to be stationed in Japan when this amazing game released here. Now, I'm American and I know very little Japanese, but I said what the hell and bought the game anyway. So let me say this...This Game Is Amazing On All Levels! I can't believe what they were able to do with the graphics in this game. I mean, even the in-game cutscenes look way better than most games out right now. It is something else. It's linear yes, but what game FF game wasn't? (excluding the MMOs of course) It lacks the openness of FFXII, where you could decide whether you wanted to fight in a certain area to farm for items or more money, but it is still be impressive. I'm not that far in the game because of the language barrier, but it is still something amazing.

Are there any other Japanese artists or anyone else for that matter around on the boards that were able to pick it up? What are your thoughts on the game so far? Who is your favorite character to play with mostly and what are some of your favorite moments?

I also found this site: http://finalfantasy-xiii.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=11 that has a whole translation of not only the manual but of most cut-scenes that are found in the game. I suggest anyone who is a FF nut to take a look at it.

[Ian Barker]

I'm not willing to play the import, but I am definitely anticipating this game (might even pick up a PS3 just for this and MGS4). The story doesn't look promising, but the visuals should make up for it.

[Alex Chow]

This game is the reason why I want to avoid any dedicated gaming forum like the plague. I don't want to "accidentally" read spoilers in big capital letters...

It looks really sweet but I'm a little bummed out that it's not as open from the few reports I have read. Hopefully it still has things like secret bosses and optional dungeons.

[Stark]

I'm not as far ahead as you would think in a month just because of the language barrier (still getting the US version and the pink lightning console) but from what I've seen, you have roughly 5 different characters that each have their basic own attributes. You can't make them all do the same class actions like you could in FFXII which is a bummer, but you instead get dedicated characters that can perform their roles more proficiently when you're not fumbling around trying to get them back to their original weapon, gambit, and action sets.

And as for the openness, it might be more open on Pulse, but I haven't gotten there or further through Cocoon.

[Ian Barker]

I don't mind a linear story if it's well told.