Noonan

I figured this one could use its own thread. I'm about 6 hours in and am already enjoying it quite a bit more than 13. What does everyone use for monsters? The main two I switch between are a medic and saboteur, both around level 21.

I just unlocked the big open area that was in 13 but it didn't say what time it was; it was listed as unknown. Does anyone know where the second gate in AF 03 is? I'm guessing it opens up later on but I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

nickdawgy

The Pulsework Knight is considered one of if not the best Sentinel. Also, the Albino Lobo is one of the best Ravagers. Took me an hour of grinding to get both but they help tremendously.

I'd pick up the guide if you can. This is the first game I am going step by step with the guide. I usually don't use it until a second playthrough.

Obi-Wanma

If you NEED a guide, the game is broken, IMHO.

nickdawgy

You don't need it, but it enhances the experience.

Kenshiro

I got this for PS3, but was told by a friend that got the 360 version that it's only one disc as well.

So I'm guessing this game is going to be considerably shorter than XIII, if SquareEnix can squeeze the whole thing onto one DVD9?

nickdawgy

No, it's because the cut scenes are in real time and not FMV. That helped alot.

Noonan

I finished the story over the weekend at just under 30 hours. After the terrible way they ended the story, I won't be bothering with trying to get all the extra stuff. I unlocked quite a bit but there was still a good amount to go. I'd say the game could last 40-50 hours if you wanted it to.

fujishig

It's kinda weird so far... XIII really avoided having towns and NPCs and whatnot, and spent a ton of time (probably too long) getting you into the battle system and the leveling system, etc. Plus no random encounters. This one, at least so far, is all about talking to NPCs and towns and fetch quests, but man if you didn't play the first one I'm not sure that the in-game explanations would be sufficient for the battle system or the leveling system. And mostly random encounters.

Noonan

I didn't mind the way they handled random encounters. It was easy to run most if the time if you wanted to. I was underwhelmed by the "towns". They just used them as backdrops for dungeons. When people say they want towns in a FF game, they mean they want different shops and upgraded items at each new location. Some character would have been nice too. All the locations felt lifeless.

Jadakiss

This is a good game and doesn't deserve the hate that a lot of people like to spew towards it.

I'm on chapter/episode 5 and I've been purposely trying to avoid playing it much because I don't want it to end already. Supposedly I'm near the end. About 26 hours in. I might have to go do some side quests and stuff.

The battle system and the whole monster system is a lot of fun. Trying to get the good ones, find three that fit your team well and level them up is just addicting. Plus the little details like being able to name them and put items on them is a cool touch as well. If they do make another game, I hope the playable characters include the cast so far plus the ability to catch and use monsters like in this game. So if you wanted to go with three of the old characters, you could. Or if you wanted two of them and whatever monster you want, you could do that too. But that would be too nice so it definitely won't happen.

fujishig

I'm not sure about another game, but I did see an interview where they said there was going to be a lot of DLC

ultimaton

I'm only about 3 hours in, but so far this is my impression as well. A bunch of people milling about outside of a dungeon and a weird chick dressed as a chocobo placed at specific points through the level.

Noonan

That's what I've read too...and it's total crap. People who paid full price the day the game came out shouldn't have to wait and spend more money to see the ending.

mhg83

Yeah with that info I think I'll wait a year when they release goty real edition!

ultimaton

Well, against my better judgement, I ended up dropping $20 on some of what I thought was the more interesting looking DLC. My advice to anyone that hasn't bought any of it, but might still have some interest, is to stay away. Stay far, far, away.

The coliseum battles are tedious, artificially drawn out, and unnecessarily frustrating. The Lightning "episode" DLC is... well... I don't think I can even understand the mentality of someone that would consider that to be fun.

I enjoyed the actual game well enough, but good god the DLC was awful.

brainee

Just finished this (waited until the price dropped under $20 and time to play didn't open up until a couple of weeks ago). I guess it says something for the popularity when FF13 gets over 600 posts and this has less than 20.

So it seems like the plan for the ending to be DLC has been scrapped and we'll get a full sequel game, correct? That would be good, because making consumers pay for DLC to get the ending to a game would be one of the crappiest things done to a fan-base I'd ever heard of.

The game itself was ok. I liked FF13 more ... probably because the story/setting was new to me. I liked having a bigger mix of NPCs too. With a second game (and a third to come), the whole story feels like its starting to collapse under the weight of its complexity. The difficulty level was weird for me in that (playing on Normal), the entire game felt pretty easy to me. Up until the very last boss battle which kicked my ass I don't like it when games throw you in the deep end like that without leaving your characters and/or gameplay prepared. And of course, looking at online guides the general recommendation was to grind up my levels by a significant amount (another general JRPG practice that I absolutely hate).

I left a lot undone, but I don't really feel like playing anymore. I have Catherine on top of my unplayed pile, and that seems like it'll be a welcome shift of gears on a number of levels.