Square Enix: “Next Final Fantasy will be an RPG Again”
- Categories: Games, News
- Date: Mar 13, 2010 01:31 JST
- Tags: Final Fantasy, Production Controversy, PS3, RPG, Square Enix
Motomu Toriyama, the director said to have been the driving force behind Final Fantasy XIII’s notorious linearity, has stated once again that the main reasons for the changes were that he wanted a “story-driven” game and that it was too much trouble to make “not truly important” elements like towns in HD; he does however promise that towns and traditional RPG elements will be returning in future titles.
The development process was, he says, limited by the amount of effort required to make non-linear environments, echoing his previous comments:
“In the previous Final Fantasy games on non-high definition consoles, we were able to kind of take everyone’s ideas and include them in the games.
I call it a bento box system, where you have all of the different little things in there. So we had minigames or towns were you were able to talk to all of the townspeople. But with the HD console you’re not really able to do that because it takes so long to develop.”
Odd that Bioware and others seem to have managed what Square Enix claims is impossible even with some of the highest budgets in the industry.
“If you think about how long it’s already taken to develop this game, to have to have included all of those other aspects, it would have been too long.
So what we did instead was define what was truly important to the game, and include those aspects and really emphasize those items we wanted to include.
We had to consider the amount of time it took to create the game engine, which we built from scratch, as well, and so with that additional time included we had to decide what we could and couldn’t do.”
Asked directly if it might not have been better to pursue towns rather than cut them completely, Toriyama is dismissive:
“You can wait longer for the game where we can improve those elements!”
He also admits he personally made the design decision to strip out the traditional RPG elements:
“Personally, the Final Fantasy games that I have worked on have been very story-driven, so in terms of the development I wanted to, of course, use my personal strengths which where those.”
He does however seem chastened enough to promise their re-inclusion in future titles:
“The next title that we will create will have those elements, and the improvements to those elements that you were mentioning.”
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Well I'm a long time fan of the series and I was bashing on the game before playing because of all the things i read/saw/heard about it and now when I have it I must admit that it is not what expected but still one hell of a good looking game, its like they really made one hell of an engine and now we're just gonna have to wait for the real deal to come out.
The game is all about great graphics and no loading times so its all in one hell of a ride. It reminds me much of FFVI where you have the characters splitting up all the time (but without choosing party members). 10 first hours of the game is just pushing the X button and walking a straight path. I cant understand how ANY gamer would like that (if you're not SUPER casual).
They really did a great job with character growth but not in an RPG-way. It feels just as if they made a movie/tv-show and wanted you to be involved through the fillers.
I very much enjoy it as an experience but not so much as a game. Great battle system but it just take too long to get into the "hardcore-mode". Its not for a fan but rather for newcomers.
After being sucked into the whole, "oh its sooooo bad of a game because it's linear" mindset I decided to risk it and buy it. Turns out it's really enjoyable and has a great cast. It's just as linear as X was, which wasn't so bad, and the battles are a ton of fun. So far I'd give a B+.
X had dungeons with puzzles in them and multiple paths. X had towns and npcs with quests and secret unlockables. X let you change your party whenever you wanted.
Comparing this game to X is like comparing the original megaman to megaman X. Sure, they're both similar but 'X' is clearly superior in every possible way.
There is no such thing as a JRPG That name is fake. look into the truth and you will see that they are IAG's (interactive anime games) to even call it a rpg is an insult to the great emo in the sky.
What do you mean "again"?
sheesh seriously I liked ff13..a breath of fresh change from a system stereotype.. if you like it buy it, if not rent it...or don't bother at all..I rarely let reviews affect my game purchase decisions...I read them reviews and weigh in on it..but most of the time if a game pleases my eyes and I like the way it plays out (there's youtube and tons of other sources anyways for game references) so you guys can bash ff13 for all it is and yet turn out to be hypocrites since you still bought the game and played it..(that alone has earned SE money) an RPG can range from a linear story telling game (like MGS4) or an action packed game like GOW3 or RE5...or can be both...to each his own taste...you don't like ff13? will your bashing change anything? no? by not buying the game yes you can change...but for every person who doesn't buy the game, another new guy will fill his shoes...so what's the point? I suggest you guys just enjoy it..
This is a case of (most probably "Agile") software development gone wrong. Program manager pressures developers to implement the most important features first (ie, story), and to leave other features for later (ie, mini games, towns, more npcs, etc).
Developers gives in and build the game architecture without taking into account (ie, stub subsystems, classes and function hooks) the additional features.
When they're finally want to implement the mini games and extra towns, they find the game architecture to be too rigid to change.
While I believe Square Enix has some of the most creative story tellers/game designers in the world, I think their (current) software development processes are far behind game companies like Bioware.
if toriyama was talking about the battle engine, I'm more than statisfied with the ones from Crisis Core and Dissidia (FF7 isn't my favourite, but I think is the best Squeenix has made since FF 9). I just hope Agito doesn't become the PSP combo breaker.
I will hold on to your promise, Square-Enix...
just give us Dissidia 2 and a sequel to Chrono Trigger/Cross and we might think of forgiving what Square-Enix did with FF13
Chrono Break isn't coming, they have made so many denials it's not even funny any more, I wouldn't bother waiting; if it comes out rejoice, but don't expect it.
I know about that, but I'm kind of disappointed with how the main series has evolved. Denying the FF7 remake and the Chrono sequel contradicts Squeenix's need for cashing in more money... what the hell are they smoking now?
So they can't make towns in HD, yet their next game will have them? So their next game must be for a non-HD system? Megaton?
I'm about 30 hours into the american version of the game. So far it's been great. It's no linear than parts of FFX and I enjoyed FFX. The story is good (I don't know what kind of story some of you are expecting). The environments look amazing. Chapter 11 has a huge open area that looks like it will take me a while to explore. It's not that they can't make freely explorable towns in FFXIII....I think they just wanted to do something massive with it and they just didn't have the time. FFXIII is nowhere near as bad as some of you guys say.
So after playing through the game once already and now moving onto a second round to see if I can play out my characters a bit differently, evaluate different elements of the game. . . all in all soak in more I shall give my first impression.
This game is no where as terrible as people seem to make it out to be. And you can rage, etc etc, but I had lower expectations for this game than it itself came out to be. It was no FFVII, but it also was not a X-2 or my least favorite (proper as I see it) FF which is XII. A bit too linear in many elements, I think Motomu hit off exactly what I want to see in the next FF. I honestly believe he got most of what he was aiming for right. This game actually gave me faith in a series and genre I was beginning to despise. Dragon Age and stuff is fine, but the characters and such of JRPG games have always appealed to me due to growing up with them.
Linear yes. 2 character combat quite honestly sucks. Hope made me wish I could keep characters permanently dead. But it all worked out and showed improvements. Oh and in regards to the article as a whole. . . the first thing I noticed. A relation between Bioware and Square Enix. I'm sorry, I can't compare SE and Bioware. Similar games, different strategy/focus/characters/scenarios/etc.
I liked Final Fantasy X-2, it as fun, cheesy and had a laugh with itself; the fan-service got a bit much, but that balanced out with the great fun battle system, which was fast paced and had good tactics too, even if the gun-mage was utterly useless and you always ended up with one alchemist ;cos they're a little overpowered. It wasn't an epic story, and the characters where at times annoying, but it was an enjoyable ride which had you laughing and face-palming in a good way the whole way; and itching for the next big battle because they where so much fun. And as such, I would disagree with your review, and continue to believe that the game isn't good. I'll admit I've not reached the elusive 'one day of your life wasted before you can have any fun' mark, but I find the battle system is good, but not goo enough to keep me interested; the humour is sparse and horrible, and the story is nothing amazingly special if you compare it to 'story focused games.' There's nothing that keeps me interested for that long, and maybe it will all get better, but I still don't want to spend 20 hours of my life for it to; I could just play a game which starts out fun, and continues to be so.
That's a simple. . . to each his or her own.
X-2 is usually the brunt of many sad jokes in my friend circles. It provided a new edge of game play that I feel did find it's way into XIII unlike XII. I know a few folks who liked XII in terms of combat system because of the flexibility as they saw it. I still do prefer the combat roles of X-2 over the new synergist/medic/commando/ravager/etc roles of XIII.
I suppose you can say that there is the full out day spent doing nothing. I didn't see that, maybe you are a bit slower (Hate me more for insulting you if you wish). I got through the grindfest of the game in a mere 16 hours. That's really very little compared to most RPGs these days. I felt XII was a lot more cumbersome. And as far as I am concerned, it's about moving forward. XIII is advancement from XII. Though at the same time I agree with my best friend who said, "This game feels like test run. They needed to scrap most of it at the end and redo a large part of it. Probably put off selling it for another 6 months and it could have brought a lot more to the table"
So for now, I'll disagree with your review too.
And now we wait five more years for FFXV. (FFXIV doesn't count-its a MMORPG)I didn't play FFXI for that reason. I'm one of those people that doesn't like to "Pay To Play" SUE ME!
I prefer Eternal Sonata over Final Fantasy XIII.
I've ordered on the internet both at the same day and I must say, I'd find Eternal Sonata's storyline interesting. Amazing enviroments, likeable characters, fun gameplay, and epic soundtrack. An underrated game for sure.
haha, you're nuts. Eternal Sonata is a joke. XD Kid's game. XD
I assume you haven't played the game. Don't judge by the looks, you idiot.
Just like Unlimited SaGa I presume?
Ok, have you played Wind Waker by any change? Do you think it's shit?
Wind Waker was cool, too easy, but it was a fun game, and makes to three heart running (or four, can't remember if this one forces you) pretty well. It was a well designed game in that respect, newer players could 100% it more easily because it was easy to track what you had, and veteran players where equally challenged by skill runs. Now may I ask what your point about the game is?
Someone has already described FF13 like it is, a visual novel. Thats about as bad as it can get.
in my opinion if FFXIII was a OVA o movie , they don't need to apologize in this moment
The headline is horribly retarded...in a good way.
Square Enix: “Next Final Fantasy will be an RPG Again” ....OK no shit what else would it be? Am I missing something? I'm not buying XIII after learning that the game is pretty much a straight path and that the developers said they were too lazy to include towns.
They weren't too lazy to make towns because there are towns in the game....they look amazing too...they just don't let you roam freely through all of it....so it's not like they didn't make them. (I been playing the game for a good while now).
They modelled towns, making a town is a very different thing. Try GMing DnD, FUDGE, GURPS... game and you'll see what I mean.
Disguising a dungeon as a town doesn't make it a town. If you can't buy shit from stores, take quests from people, and use the various facilities, then it isn't a town.
Mass Effect pretty much proved this guy is full of shit, not to mention even tales of vesperia managed to shove in tons of towns into a current gen console. Eternal Sonata was similar in that it was linear as shit, but had a good battle system, music and presentation just like this game. But even ES had towns in them, and you could BACK TRACK, GO OFF PATH, and EXPLORE DUNGEONS WITH PUZZLES IN THEM.
All I'll say is so far this gen EVERY western rpg has been better than EVERY JRPG. Mass Effect 2 i hope it winks RPG of the year
Seeing how Dragon Age was my first PC game/western RPG I am inclined to agreed even though Valkyria Chronicles is a good SRPG.
FF7/8 were great!
They need to go back to that type of game play.
The series died after IX.
XIII is just fucked up movie with a minigame battle, nuff said.
thx 2 you, toriyama.
personally i dont think the story was THAT BAD, but still no better than even X.
Toriyama, i would be glad if you step down from that fakken prestigious chair and give it to the more suitable one. thank you
they should do one like FF VIII
now that is a final fantasy!
FF8 is not as good as FF6, FF5 or FF7. People should really try FF6. The game has bad graphics and sound compare to today's games (super fanicom or snes game), but the story is one of the best, along side FF7...
I will get XIII when it hits the bargain bin it's not worth 60 bucks.
XIII, to me, feels like a punishment for not liking XII. They took away the complete control and expxlotarion they had given us and handed us the linear, cutscene-laden mess that is XIII.
"Not liking XII enough" that is.
FF games never were RPGs.
They've always been stat based adventure games. When do you ever get to make any choices that affect the story? That's what RPGs are all about.
at least... there are some of JRPG that lead to different path and ending because of our action in the game.
for WRPG...i don't know?? is there any?? all i know is the evil always got beated up by some dark/neutral/holy warriors.... nothing ever change from the past
not that i hate WRPG, but WRPG also tend to very "short" and sometime the gameplay could be very easy in the long run.. the "feel" of fixed level mostly come from bioware games is a bit annoying for me (i love grind ^^)
“In the previous Final Fantasy games on non-high definition consoles, we were able to kind of take everyone’s ideas and include them in the games.
...But with the HD console you’re not really able to do that because it takes so long to develop.”
You see what graphics are costing us? Stop focusing on them!
Yay. Maybe final fantasy will be worth playing again.
seriously dont see how its that hard, like Bioware nail RPG so much on the systems just sounds like excuses. But I thought it wud suck but all the great reviews threw me off but now it all comes gushing out which is interesting.
pulento la wea final fantasy forever
I hope SE will produce RFG
role fucking game
so go hentai plissss you bastard SE
I can see the complaints has escalated in their intensity and reasoning. At this rate, FFXIII will end up being responsible for people's self-esteem problems, the economic crisis and murdering people's dogs...
To be honest, I think FFXIII has been quite enjoyable. Sure, if you have played a lot of JRPGs, you will probably not be surprised by some of the twists and events. But overall, it is a very polished package with solid characters and fantastic visual. It is nice actually to see Square Enix experimenting with the RPG formula every now and then. FFXII didn't get the balance right, but FFXIII is a vast improvement. If Square Enix simply makes FFVII+1 iteratives, sure the fans will be pleased, but that's when the franchise is really going to die from stagnation.
So yeah...don't hate FFXIII unless it actually does murder your dogs. Enjoy it while it lasts, the next one won't be here for a while.
Well, it sounds like that everyone was expecting FFXIII to be a sun of such perfection that its brilliance will erase all the empty voids in our lives that we need to play RPGs to fulfill.
Unfortunately, it was only enjoyable...though from the way some people are complaining, you would think that FFXIII entered their houses at night and murdered their dogs.
Oh yeah?
They are just trying to create an overhype by blurting out all these promises, I'm sure that in the near future they will refer to the next FF as "The best FF yet to come!". Just like with XIII.
Don't let them fool you and make you fall into the trap people, Square games turned into shit after most part of the original FF team left Square Enix.
Too true.
The majority of all the people here are so fucking stupid. How come FXIII has become so-called 'utter shit' just because it isn't what you expected it to be? Sure, it may not be as open and RPG-like as before but if you look at what's left, you cannot possible say it's shit.
The cutscenes alone make this game at least a 4/10. Then you have the gameplay, which isn't bad at all. After a while it gets pretty challenging so the fairy tale of the game playing itself can be thrown out of the window. The story, which is very solid. The characters that get totally screwed over by the English VA's, but ignoring that they are very likable.
I can't say to much because I haven't finished this yet, but so far I am enjoying this a lot. Sure, it's my personal opinion, but the stuff some of you guys are spouting out are so exaggerated like fuck.
I wouldn't say FFXIII is a bad game at all.
It has the things I usually play JRPGs for: nice characters, decent soundtrack, interesting story, decent battle system. But that's all, there is nothing else. The game is not immersive and the ultra linear stuff just feels dumb. FFX is my favorite FF and even this game feels sandboxy compared to XIII. I have no intention at all on playing XIII again.
Also, the "HD towns are too hard to do" is a terrible excuse. These guys just should be more sincere with their ideas, it's better for their work and it would make the public happier.
Well, the way I see it, the game was advertised as RPG, people expected RPG, people got Olympic level marathon game.
Not sure but if I wanted to play RPG, I wouldn't buy a sports game.
I think most people were expecting FFXIII to be so perfect as to fill some pathetic void in their lives.
Instead, it's just enjoyable, but I get the impression that FFXIII probably entered someone's home at nights, murdered their dogs and molested their console.
fuck all you stupid douche bags, theres nothing wrong with ff13 design. rpgs are about story and character interaction. and while ff13 has story the character interaction is quite non-existent.
its still better than most wrpgs, im sorry but i dont fall for the choice bull shit. and to all you world map, town, and open world whores STFU. its nothing like a interactive movie wtf are u on. the combat and moving through the world (YES THE FUCKING WORLD) makes it far from that.
ive almost beaten this game and i can tell you the reason why they dont include "town" or a world map is because its not needed for storyline purposes. no one could survive on gran pulse its full of very dangerous monsters. this is like the whole point of why cocoon exists you fucking weeboo idiots.
umadbro
Sounds like the difference between FF10 and FF12. The difference being I beat FF10 in about a week of nonstop playing and took months or more to get around to beating FF12.
FF13 looks to be in the former category, so I guess FF15 will be another snoozefest. A shame.
Maybe in another 8 or so years when the PS4 rolls around, FF16 will be the next one worth playing after 13.
This is most definitely the case of not having completed the development tools before having to finish the game. The completed tools look pretty slick, so moving forward they should have a lot more time to produce a more sophisticated game. To get the game out on time they took as many shortcuts as they could.
Was Super Linear but still Enjoyable. Grand Plus is quite the amazing place once you reach it. Too bad the entire game couldn't have been more like it with missions and a big open place to explore spread in the game.
I'm a Bioware hater and personally I think the FF series is fucking dead,Toriyama himself doesn't have a fucking clue what an RPG is :
"Toriyama went on to make some comparisons between Western role-playing games and Japanese role-playing games. Of course, he played fast and loose with the definition of the genre, using Hitman and Tomb Raider as his examples of “Western RPGs.”
The difference, he said, is that Western RPGs like those ones starring Lara Croft have camera systems that zoom in tightly on the main character because the player wants to identify closely with that single character, whereas Japanese RPG cameras are more zoomed out, because the player wants to see the entire scene from a bird’s-eye view. "
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/03/final-fantasy-gdc/
Oh dear
FF13 sucks.
Another thing Motomu Toriyama mentioned in his talk was his desire to create interactive cut-scenes, I think this should be interesting if done right. More details of the talk are here: gdc.gamespot.com/story/6253527/ffxiii-director-intends-to-keep-series-story-driven
I love of how wanting exploration in an RPG amounts to demanding perfection from it. Keep lowering that bar any further, guys, and it'll be too hard to limbo through.
I say give the listens to someone who actually cares. Maybe they can breath some new life into the franchise. Out of curiosity, I wonder what Final Fantasy would be like if it were an action beat-em-up like Muramasa or cell shaded.
ff13is so fucking horribly disjointed with so little choice they will be lucky if i ever bother with another ff again
oh!
dont you know SE likes the literary technique of "Oxymoron"
I want Squaresoft back. SE hasn't made anything good for anything but handhelds.
has anyone played Resonance of Fate? (End of Eternity in jap...i think)
is it alright?
IMO guns need to stay out of an RPG. It's fine to have a member or 2 to use guns but guns just don't fit in an RPG. A strategy RPG on the other hand works almost perfectly.
oh...
D20 modern would like a word with you.
It's the story that eventually counts.
Not that the story is that good anyway.
If that's the case, go "play" a visual novel. While storylines ARE important to JRPGs, what's the point of actively playing the game if that's all I'm looking forward to? I'm looking for an experience. Even if the story ends up being spectacular, if the presentation(which includes gameplay, graphics, and the general direction) and pacing isn't handled well, it'll end up being a mediocre storytelling medium and the storyline will be wasted. Story isn't all that counts, at least not when movies and games are meant to do more than tell a story.
im using sarcasm lock
it kinda like caps lock....
just funny XD
Yeah, it's like a book in that regard, except it's a really bad book that doesn't get to the point, and when it finally does it's underwhelming... Focusing on stories in games is a fail move, because games can't have fantastic stories, it needs to stop for some game play to happen. Moreover, if this was a visual novel would you call the story good? Heck no!
just...fking leave the gaming industry and save us the trouble. Start making movies or something.
why?
when they're racking in so much cash XD
Personally I love the new FF. Not having towns didn't really bothered me, and the linear stuff is just a joke there are so many linear games out there I don't see the point of focusing on this one, not that there is any trouble in being linear as long it is enjoyable.
I can't help but wonder why he decided the game should be story driven and let it have such a shitty story.
what?!
what is CONCIEVABLY wrong with the story?
XD
I'm not too sure why everyone keeps on bagging FF XII. It was the first truly open FF game on the PS2. If they could have added another 60+ hours of gameplay then it would have been perfect, since I thought it was too short. Graphically, towns were done well, considering the PS2s age and the battle system was sound with a mix of FF Tactics thrown in.
It just irks me that Square Enix threw everything out for FF XIII that had worked for them before. Also Toriyama is full of shit. With the budget that Square Enix has, as well as the amount of money they get from gamers each time, they could have hired more graphic designers and engineers to take care of implementing towns and other open areas in HD. Other developers do this on the consoles and pcs just fine without SEs impressive cash flow.
I won't pick up another FF based game until they take care of the prick who is killing their creativity and artistic freedom.
i do agree, while Van's character was really lacking that i keep on questioning why is he in the game, and main character at that (i resolved this issue, by deciding that i should view Ashe as the main character and try to have as small interaction with Van and Penelo as possible), it was a really entertaining RPG. And the amount of side quests and just grinding that you can do was almost overwhelming. If i have to bash on anything for FFXII, it was only for their choice of making Van, the first playable character or even a playable character, because if gives the idea that he's somehow important and titular while he's not. but the other character involved are quite decent if not rich in story.
Idk if you read the earlier article about SE laying people off or not. It seems that they obviously didn't manage their money well and they are probably short staffed to make anything noteworthy. Personally I like FFXIII and my favorites before were IX, X, and VII.
If they are understaffed and in an economic bind, then the logical thing to do would be to produce one or two smaller games with a carefully planned budget and high production values and then cash in and repeat the process until their situation stabilizes.
But what do they do? "The next Final Fantasy will be an RPG again"
Give me a fucking break. FFXIII was always marketed as an RPG. If they didn't want to make an RPG, they should have said so from the very beginning.
Despite being afraid to get it at first because of all these horrible reviews and stuff that's been coming up on the net, I actually liked FFXIII.
Exploring is pretty linear, and you would have to be brain dead or lazy to need the $40 guide book, but the gameplay itself, I enjoy.
Except there is no PRELUDE or FANFARE anywhere.
What horrible reviews? Obviously they weren't 10's but they also weren't mostly under 8's. People just love to exaggerate.
You don't get it.
If the game doesn't get a 10, a lot of people label it as "bad". It's stupid, I know, but...
Dunno what all the fuss is about: I liked X, XII and I'm enjoying XIII aswell.
Some people are too closed-minded.
They've boiled the game down to the most important components: storyline, character development, graphics and fighting.
Fuck running about aimlessly in a world map, it's just an illusion anyway. To progress in the game you're still walking along one set path...
Having an opinion which doesn't coincide with the majorit = Bad.
I agree, overall FFXIII has been very enjoyable, to me atleast. Sure, having towns and more to explore would've been a major plus, but you can't have your cake and eat it. (What the fuck does that even mean, awyway?)
I didn't see this much uproar when FFXII came, and it sucked, I didn't even complete it.
But to each his own.
I think Vanille has downs.
I agree, FFX and FFXII were great and enjoyable games with great storylines and character design. I'm sure I'll enjoy FFXIII as soon as I get some free time.
Kids these days argue and comment on things they don't understand.
i'll give you FFXII for storyline
but character design... this isn't modeling XD
Fuck the graphics and just give us stick figures, it's just an illusion anyway.
Fuck immersive world, it's just an illusion anyway.
Fuck video games, they're not real anyway.
See where I'm going with this? Video games that are set out to be immersive HAVE to be good at crafting an illusionary experience that people are not aware of. That's what made the previous FF games good. Did you get lost? A little bit, but it wasn't a maze(aside from the dungeons) and having that extra freedom of movement, illusion or not, was still more enjoyable than walking from point A to point B literally in a straight line.
To add to above, getting lost and doing things on my own pace also made the game have more of a personal connection with me. I'm not saying this isn't possible with FFXIII, but there were many moments in the older FF games where thing happened during my travel from a dungeon to a town and I loved that experience. FFXIII isn't horrible by any means but it just totally lost that feeling of the game being any sort of an "adventure".
i've sed all i can...
but i guess "...different strokes for different folks..." (cant remember, 2010)
ah... priceless
Hexa, you hit the nail on the head and yet completely missed the point. It IS an illusion, and that's EXACTLY why FF13 failed. As gamers, we like the illusion of choice. We depend on it.
Western RPGs make their entire designs about this illusion. Despite all the branching choices you can make, you can still only move within the set parameters of what has been programmed. But the sheer volumes of choices makes the illusion very strong. This is also what sandbox games are built around by creating large, highly interactive game worlds.
Most JRPGs tend to not be nearly as non-linear as Western games, but they usually at least make maps more than a straight line and include many diversions (which includes towns). They make it feel like you're still making decisions.
FF13 ruined that illusion. That illusion is key to the suspension of disbelief. If you're the kind who just plays FF for the story, then you're exactly who Square made this game for. They made it, basically, to be interactive movie. Every became linear from story to maps to even battles with their overly straightforward retake of the ATB system.
They ruined the illusion of choice and it no longer feels like a game. You feel no longer like a participant. You can only feel as involved as someone watching a movie in a theater. By ruining the illusion, your choices feel like they don't matter anymore.
Not all JRPGs do this. In fact, most of them don't. If they did, Japanese gamers wouldn't have batted an eyelash when FF13 came out, but even they knew this game was far too linear compared to other gamers. The truth is that most JRPGs still have some way of upholding that illusion which, I think, all video games should have.
If it doesn't feel like I'm changing the world somehow, frankly, I'd rather just watch a movie. It may sound like I'm boiling it down to one element, but this is an element that makes games work.
People harp on these points because if they don't work, it doesn't matter how good the other elements are. Nothing can make up for boring characters in a story-driven game. Nothing can make up for horrible fighting in a game genre where you have an encounter every 1-2 minutes, at most.
And you can't make up for destroying the illusion of choice in a medium build around interacting.
You should be in change of SE.
Hexa, you hit the nail on the head and yet completely missed the point. It IS an illusion, and that's EXACTLY why FF13 failed. As gamers, we like the illusion of choice. We depend on it.
Western RPGs make their entire designs about this illusion. Despite all the branching choices you can make, you can still only move within the set parameters of what has been programmed. But the sheer volumes of choices makes the illusion very strong. This is also what sandbox games are built around by creating large, highly interactive game worlds.
Most JRPGs tend to not be nearly as non-linear as Western games, but they usually at least make maps more than a straight line and include many diversions (which includes towns). They make it feel like you're still making decisions.
FF13 ruined that illusion. That illusion is key to the suspension of disbelief. If you're the kind who just plays FF for the story, then you're exactly who Square made this game for. They made it, basically, to be interactive movie. Every became linear from story to maps to even battles with their overly straightforward retake of the ATB system.
They ruined the illusion of choice and it no longer feels like a game. You feel no longer like a participant. You can only feel as involved as someone watching a movie in a theater. By ruining the illusion, your choices feel like they don't matter anymore.
They removed the world development, seeing the world you're inevitably going to save makes it a lot more rewarding when you do save it; if your view of the world is a long corridor, as beautiful as it may be, then there's no reason to care about it, and thus no reason to care about continuing. Plus the story-line and graphics aren't why I play games, for that there are books and movies. The fighting system is good, and the characters are alright, though a too over the top to take serious, and the game is way too melodramatic to be a laugh, but that's the way with most JRPGs now-a-days so I'll accept it; but if it's just fighting you're playing the game for then it gets boring fast, and thus doesn't work. I need some NPCs to fight for, some dead ends in my dungeon to make me feel it's getting the better of me, and some villages with little secrets that make you feel you're doing something else; illusion or not, it's important.