The Linear RPG

vanille-ffxiii.jpg

The controversy surrounding the recent release of decidedly linear RPG Final Fantasy XIII has caused some to make unfavourable comparisons with a previously released Flash game parody RPG, “The Linear RPG,” playable below.

You can play the game in full screen here. The creator’s homepage.

The parody version seems to have all the essential elements of a top RPG, even down to the clichéd story; translated to Japanese and given some CG or anime style visuals it could probably sell a few hundred thousand copies at least.



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    119 Comments
    Comment by zidus
    07:54 29/12/2009 # ! Good (+0.6)

    One of the best RPGs I have ever played definitely. It is true to the roots of RPG but not afraid of trying something new. I especially liked the part where the line gets all zigzag. The combat system is revolutionary, and there is a unique "auto checkpoint" feature. The story was epic and simply intriguing. This is another fantastic title from the fantastic developer Squad-Phoenix. I smell a Game of the Year.

    10/10.

    Comment by square-enix blows
    Comment by Anonymous
    08:44 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    Is it weird that I cleared that game and made it to level 48...?

    Comment by Anonymous
    09:19 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.4)

    i cleared the game at lvl 39.... mwahahaha

    this was an awesome game, if ff XIII was a interactive movie, this game was an interactive novel... though i noticed that he skipped the various caves and only concentrated on the shampoo cave

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:18 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I beat it at LV.39 but for some reason I always grind level my characters to LV.99. I'm at LV.56 i'm going to LV.99 it just bothers me if my characters aren't maxed out.

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:22 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Me too. LV 99 PWNS ALL

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:59 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    It's taking longer than expected. *sigh* LV.67 still going strong. HP5904

    Comment by Anonymous
    12:26 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    do a low level run on this. lv 37 without sideque-...wait there are no sidequests... :(

    Comment by Anonymous
    14:20 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    lv 36 \(^o^)/ !!

    Comment by Anonymous
    17:10 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    level 35 bitches.

    Comment by Anonymous
    02:32 30/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    gah, i'm actually playing it and grinding for 99 lvl >__< oh well, lvl 83 :D according to my calculations if lvl 99 is max, the hp will be maxed out on 99 999. but if there are even more levels hp will be 109684. i wonder... :D

    Comment by Anonymous
    02:39 30/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    kukuku, found a levelup glitch ^__^

    Comment by Anonymous
    03:00 30/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    gah! how could i?! looks like the level up formula is hp = hp + (hp/100*9.02)... looks like no pretty numbers on lvl 99 >__<

    Comment by Anonymous
    03:07 30/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    no dumbass, it dynamicly changing every time you level up

    Comment by Anonymous
    15:24 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    That's the feel u get with rpg's, you gotta make its worth by maxing out to the highest level sometimes :)

    Comment by Anonymous
    07:56 29/12/2009 # ! Good (+0.8)

    This is not as linear as FFXIII.

    Comment by ScottyT14
    07:57 29/12/2009 # ! Good (+0.6)

    Now I can finally say I've beaten a JRPG! Thank you Sankaku Complex~

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:22 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    are you serious

    Comment by ScottyT14
    11:44 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    No. I've beaten some Tales of... series.

    Comment by Anonymous
    14:27 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    Tales of Line

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:00 29/12/2009 # ! Drivel (-0.6)

    Not too bad, I suppose. I've played worse.

    Comment by diskonline
    08:07 29/12/2009 # ! Good (+0.4)

    What a wet dream...

    Comment by DrBomb
    08:07 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    Actually I had to level grind so it wasn't so linear, and it has a typical, no ending, where you are unable to save after finishing and the only left thing to do is actually return to the beginning and do it again :P

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:35 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    How is level grinding nonlinear?

    The point is that you're replaying the same part of the line over and over until you're ready to proceed further down the line of linearity.

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:10 29/12/2009 # ! Drivel (-0.8)

    It takes less than 5 minutes to complete the game! I haven't played an RPG since the PSP version of Tales of Eternia...

    Dang, the ending is a let down though...wet dream?

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:13 29/12/2009 # ! Bad (-0.4)

    The level grinding gave me a headache, but not in the same way that normal level grinding does.

    Comment by diskonline
    08:14 29/12/2009 # ! Quality (+0.8)

    Hey, we should not playing JRPGs for conquering it, but for enjoying the story!

    My favorite JRPG is The Legend of Heroes: A Tear of Vermilion, the gameplay is lineal too, but it has a good story, like other sequels of The legend of Heroes series.

    Comment by diskonline
    08:16 29/12/2009 # ! Good (+0.4)

    What's more, beautiful music. And you don't have to do level grinding.

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:49 29/12/2009 # ! Bad (-0.4)

    Don't tell us how to enjoy our games. I personally loved the previous FF games for customization, exploration, atmosphere, sidequests, and the storyline.

    If the game only offered a good storyline, I'd rather read a good novel, watch a good anime series, tv shows, movies, etc. Games are supposed to offer, guess what? A good gameplay amongst other things.

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:19 29/12/2009 # ! Drivel (-0.6)

    that's such a dumbass thing to say...honestly, how big of an finalfantasytard can you be?

    Comment by Anonymous
    09:24 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    thats the entire point being said here, sir disk. ff XIII has a very sucky story and linear gameplay so there's nothing to enjoy.

    FInal fantasy is well known for having a good story, good graphics, and good gameplay. but FFXIII only has good graphics, period.

    Comment by Anonymous
    15:10 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    And probably another idiot just parroting what he hears on Sankaku.

    Seriously, being 45 hours into the game, and most criticism just makes me facepalm as people are spouting so much bs based on ignorance and rumors.

    Comment by Chris
    15:50 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    45 hours of gameplay? At this point you can't be reasoned with. You now have video game Stockholm syndrome.

    Comment by A_Moose
    10:41 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    This. I don't give a flying fuck how linear FFXIII is. The battle system is supposed to be different and fun and I'm interested in the story.

    Comment by Anonymous
    00:09 30/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    There is such a thing as being TOO linear though. For me, most of the fun in RPGs is the exploring, easter eggs, optional characters, that sort of thing. Heck, I love the tales games I've played due to interesting characters and the character skits.

    A game that's just grinding, fighting, and cut scenes doesn't sound very fun to me, and the whole POINT of video games is to have fun. While some people may enjoy running on that line till the very end, it would be nice if they put something in for the rest of us, like side quests, or hidden armors, or heck, even a bloody (optional) mini game.

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:15 29/12/2009 # ! Bad (-0.2)

    Saya no Uta is pretty much linear, and nobody complains about that.

    Except for the police in some countries.

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:51 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    Because it's a fucking visual novel, not a JRPG.

    Comment by Anonymous
    11:30 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Saya no Uta is EPIC WIN!!!

    Comment by Anonymous
    06:48 30/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    which also has 3 paths, thereby making it less linear

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:19 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    I got 100%! And the Bad-Guy was so cool that I think I'm turning gay. Also this is better than Final Fantasy 7, and GirlFlash has to make a remake to be this good again!

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:21 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    Fawk, anyone making a guide for this game? I'm stuck on this one part. =/

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:00 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    one guide coming right up

    first, you press and hold the left key
    then you change your tabs(assuming youre using firefox)
    then you click back and watch the exp go up with nearly zero effort involved!

    precaution:may not work on all browsers

    Comment by Anonymous
    00:09 30/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    You are my god. Lvl 54, no effort involved.

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:21 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    I beat the game at 52, but I think I should have grinded more to make the final boss easier...

    Comment by Anonymous
    19:58 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    what final boss?

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:24 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    What is up with this site constantly bashing this game?
    I mean, it's gotten great reviews from everyone else - this is the only site to bash it.

    Did the editor's sister get raped by a Cloud cosplayer or something?

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:32 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    He's not bashing, he's talking about other people who bash it.

    Comment by A_Moose
    10:43 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I don't know, most of the commentary he includes with the articles sounds like implicit agreement.

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:25 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.4)

    All this game is missing is the pointless secret area.

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:28 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    i reach lvl. 60, then i was bored... less then ff13 at least lol

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:31 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    I kept level grinding in the final dungeon/cave and got to level 57. I think I'm a masochist.

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:44 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    ff13 is linear but awesome

    nothing wrong with linear games. It beats 'where the fuck am I supposed to go next' games. I hate confusing, crap dungeon design that literally forces you to consult an faq because the design is so fucking ambigious.

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:46 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    No kidding. I like it when I know what to do next, honestly. Yeah, it'd be nice if there were different options and different paths for re-playability's sake, but by now I don't even expect that.

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:52 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    So you like games that hold you by the hand? Looks like you should just stop playing video games.

    Comment by Anonymous
    09:04 29/12/2009 # ! Bad (-0.2)

    Agreed. I can't stand retards like that, they just have to ruin everything decent with their stupidity and incapability.

    Comment by Anonymous
    09:20 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    have you played ff13?

    its the hardest final fantasy game by a fucking mile.

    Linear level design doesn't make it easier, it just make it less tedious you dumb fuck

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:12 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I have to agree with you

    Comment by Anonymous
    09:27 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    Looks like you should learn to appreciate different things in games. And to respect other people's preferences.

    Comment by Anonymous
    09:30 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    only 95% of games are basically like that so you don't know wtf you're talking about.

    A game doesn't need to separate to 8 paths/

    Comment by A_Moose
    10:46 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (-0.2)

    Just because 8:44 Anon appreciates linear games doesn't mean he's an idiot. Not everyone faps to Elder Scrolls games where your character is dropped into a town and there's no guiding narrative whatsoever.

    Plus I think people have already mentioned that FF XIII is supposed to be extremely challenging.

    Don't be a dick.

    Comment by Anonymous
    18:50 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Have you played an Elder Scrolls game? It always tells you exactly where to go next, you're just allowed to ignore it.

    Comment by A_Moose
    10:44 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (-0.2)

    Wow, why has this been rated down? There's nothing wrong with this comment.

    Comment by Anonymous
    14:00 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    There's no fun in linear games... especially those with linear story-lines >_>

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:44 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.4)

    I think this should get an anime adaption.

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:46 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    i agree

    Comment by FrazerInc
    09:02 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    wow, i'm very impressed by the game.
    nice story, nice gameplay, you can lvl pretty fast if you're passionated enough.
    http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/2544/endlessgrinding.jpg
    took me only 40minutes :D
    39/40 because of no sound

    Comment by Chrouya
    09:16 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (-0.2)

    I actually died several times there.

    Comment by Anonymous
    09:34 29/12/2009 # ! Bad (-0.2)

    im lvl 75 suck that bitchez

    Comment by FrazerInc
    09:39 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    Anonymous said:
    im lvl 75 suck that bitchez

    80! pew pew

    Comment by Anonymous
    09:55 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    no life

    Comment by FrazerInc
    10:16 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    hrm, maybe, btw, 87 <3 xD

    Comment by Anonymous
    09:54 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    LEAVE FINAL FANTASY! ALONE! LEAVE IT ALONE!

    wahahaha!

    Comment by soulgoat
    09:55 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    The best rpg I've played in a good while.

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:03 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I don't even know what happened in the story of Linear RPG, I was too concentrated on it's awesome gameplay.

    Comment by Kurodo Dhaos
    10:04 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I discovered what I can left it auto-grinding, so I reached to lv.78 with minimal effort :P
    (And I'm getting even higher)

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:04 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    lol that was awsome.

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:05 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Probably going to be another version that is extremely better and only available for the PS3.

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:24 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    The story of this game is similar to Tales of Symphonia, at least the town part.

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:25 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Reminded me of grinding in Eldar Scrolls IV, easy and fun. Made Level 60 in the final dungeon!

    Comment by Icy-nee-san
    10:43 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Best RPG Of 2009 XD

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:14 30/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    you mean 2010

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:50 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I beat it at lvl 40... weird... @_@

    Comment by Anonymous
    12:01 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    JRPGs are obviously not played for the gameplay.

    Some say they play for the story, but I find this incomrehensible, since every JRPG story is a cliched piece of shit.

    The only conclusion I can make is that people play JRPGs for the hot babes and upskirt moments. That's why I play them.

    At the moment I'm playing The Skies of Arcadia Legends, made ultra tedious by the random battles, but if it wasn't for Aika, who I am fond of, I'd throw the game in the bin.

    Comment by Anonymous
    13:43 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    It's really damn hard lately to make an original story without it being pointless or ridiculous nowadays. It's like everything's thought of and taken and if anything, that's why the JRPG storyline in general is dead today.

    Comment by Kurodo Dhaos
    14:15 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    But a pointless and/or ridiculous story can be good too, if it's well done.

    Comment by Anonymous
    15:47 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    i think it's all about presentation, and so many games nowadays look damn near identical. triACE IS KILLING US ALL

    Comment by Anonymous
    15:40 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    From my experience all FF games are linear. You go to point A then to B then to C you continue on to point Z and beat the boss. Sure there may be mini games or side dungeons on some of the game, but over all, you progress down the story.

    The game featuring Balthear and bunny girl was by far least linear FF title in my opinion. mainly due to so many side quests, but story is none the less linear.

    I do mostly play for character development and story. They do have interesting characters in my opinion. For some reason, no matter how awesome gameplay is, if story is bad, i can't really get into it.

    As for hot babe comment... most older generation grew up playing JRPG on 16 bit or 32 bit sprites... so hot babe and miniskirt moment is definitely not why we play RPG

    Comment by Anonymous
    16:37 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    i make this point too and it usually causes a swift change in topics to something totally unrelated, meaning the conversation has been completely won.

    Comment by Anonymous
    16:38 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    i make this point too (regarding linearity of FF games) and it usually causes a swift change in topics to something totally unrelated, meaning the conversation has been completely won.

    Comment by Akumaten
    12:55 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Like with any RPG, I just trained alot. I was in it for the gameplay; if it plays good, is good.

    Comment by Bronxdragon
    13:06 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (-0.2)

    ...You are all hi......and it seems Sankaku is really with the whole bag train.....

    Comment by Anonymous
    13:31 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    man that line game was way too easy.

    Comment by Anonymous
    13:38 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    In the sequel, they'll reveal that Spaghetti was actually the pawn of the REALLY real villain, Toast!

    Watch it happen.

    Comment by Anonymous
    13:46 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Fun fact: FF13 is way, way less linear than FF10.

    Fun fact: FF10 is widely considered a classic now.

    Fun fact: It's cool to hate new things, it makes you seem old school (or in this case, gets you a couple more hits).

    Comment by Anonymous
    15:27 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    the internet is ablaze with ff13 criticisms, artefact's just reporting it. don't ahoot the messenger

    Comment by Anonymous
    02:26 30/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I'll ahoot who ever I want

    Comment by Strawdoll
    13:52 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Accidently 'botted' the game.

    Played it in Firefox, activated a download in another tab before the prompt appears, went back to the flash and hold left key, download prompt appears and flash forever 'walks' to the left.

    Feeling very proud and very silly of myself in the same time.

    EDIT : holding left/right key and right-click on the flash does the trick as well, if you guys have not figured it out already.

    Comment by Apirant
    14:03 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    That was a pretty good game. I would've gotten addicted and went to lv 99, but I managed to hold back.

    Comment by Anonymous
    14:10 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    PLEASE PLAY THE LINEAR RPG OF YOUR COUNTRY IF YOU PRAY FOR THE WORLD PEACE!:-)

    Comment by Anonymous
    01:30 30/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Are you having an antipathy against linear rpg, huh?

    Comment by Anonymous
    14:14 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I played my first jrpg by the story, but after a couple of years i realize how repetitive this storys were. Occidental rpg are far superior to japaneses rpg. In every aspect except the chics.

    Comment by Anonymous
    14:34 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    cleared at lvl 41.
    Short, yet satisfying.
    And very, very, flat.

    Comment by Anonymous
    15:38 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    This game is 37337@! Excellent 3d graphics, great storyline, cute character designs, what more could you want? A sequel?

    Completed at level 37 btw.

    Comment by Anonymous
    17:11 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Great game :)

    Warning! Spoileralert!

    Walkthrough:
    run from point 0 to 1
    run from point 1 to 2
    run from point 2 to 3
    run from point 3 to 4
    run from point 4 to 5
    run from point 5 to 6
    run from point 6 to 7
    run from point 7 to 8
    run from point 9 to 9
    run from point 9 to 10
    run from point 10 to 11
    run from point 11 to 12
    run from point 12 to 13
    run from point 13 to 14
    run from point 14 to 15
    run from point 15 to 16
    run from point 16 to 17
    run from point 17 to 18

    Congratulation, you finished this great game :)

    note: if you have trouble between one of the points, try grinding and try again

    Comment by Anonymous
    18:58 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (+0.2)

    Oh thank you, I got stuck after point 9. What would I do without walkthrough.

    Comment by Anonymous
    18:08 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    You guys suck.

    Comment by rilimu
    19:02 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Finish at lv39 nice flash game and good story, lol

    Comment by Anonymous
    19:16 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    LOL! I loved it. LVL 54 XD

    Comment by Anonymous
    20:48 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I think sankaku is trying to ward off 360 users by posting stuff like this all the time. you would think one article would be enough :O

    Comment by Anonymous
    21:12 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Pheew I had my problems with the last spaghetti-boss !

    Comment by Anonymous
    21:58 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    goddamn that flash game was boring

    that guy really had to TRY to make it that annoying, huh?

    Comment by Anonymous
    22:29 29/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Shit this buys me over from FFXIII lol

    Comment by Anonymous
    17:59 30/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Kliche woke up feeling wet,

    Comment by Anonymous
    00:07 31/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I came to level LV.107
    HP: 185455
    EXP: 488264

    Thank you Tasker for making me level up in my sleep:D

    Comment by Anonymous
    11:45 31/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Lvl 112
    hp: 285346
    exp: 786354

    and still lvling

    Comment by Anonymous
    02:27 17/01/2010 # ! Neutral (0)

    Auto-leveling ftw

    Lv 140
    HP: 3,186,495
    EXP: 11,340,005

    Comment by Anonymous
    17:52 31/12/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Weird, I had a wet dream last night after playing this.

    Comment by man1
    19:31 02/01/2010 # ! Neutral (0)

    *Insert Adam Sessler voice here*
    "...We at S-Play give this game a 5...
    ...
    ...
    ...
    ...out of 5."

    [ * * * * * ]

    Comment by tyciol
    03:15 15/01/2010 # ! Neutral (0)

    I'm not that upset, replay to find all the story twists confused me.

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