Why is it the XIII games are the only numbered title games in FF that manage to actually IMPROVE WITH EACH SEQUEL/SPIN OFF?!?!?!

[Reyn 1,755]

Credit to Jim for making me realize this. ^_^

 

I mean seriously!! Look at VII and X. Those games had sequels/Spin offs/prequels, and most of them tended to be worse then the ORIGINAL GAME. The only exception really is Crisis Core, since its almost, if not as good as the original VII. But thats only because Nomura made it, and he is good at making Action JRPG's. Other then that, all the other sequels and spin offs ended up being worse then the original game.

 

Yet, with the XIII games, the sequels tend to be better then the original, they ACTUALLY IMPROVED WITH EACH GAME, instead of being worse then the original, instead of being like VII and X.

 

I admit, XIII was pretty bad, so they could improve more then they could with VII and X, but STILL! It wasnt that bad. XIII was more or less like X for the most part(save for the characters and the plot) and yet the sequel to X wasn't as good as the orginal, and the sequels to XIII were better then the original.

 

I mean, XIII was linear and only had side quests where you fight stuff, but at least it had decent gameplay and good story. XIII-2 was more open world like previous FF games, and had actual side quests not just for fighting enemies, and it was more fun. LR FF XIII/XIII-3, is also open world, with a seamless map so you can technically walk to anywhere in the game world with little to no loading. We've seen gameplay, which is even better then in the first 2 games, due to it being more of an action RPG, and the Schema system. There are also actual sidequests(as shown in the Japan Expo) and you have GP to slow and stop time and heal yourself. The XIII sequels actually improved, while the other sequels and spin offs to other FF games ended up worse then the original game. :|

 

But this is a good thing. This shows, there may still be hope for FF yet.

[catmaster0116 2,676]

Originally, didn't Square Enix say that that FXIII project was really big they couldn't fit it into one game, so they improved whatever content not put onto the original FFXIII and marketted them as sequel titles. I guess they had to respond to the fans and what the audience/market wanted too hence the huge fanservice square enix is placing in Lightning Returns

 

The other games didn't follow this structure, games like FFX and its sequel FFX-2 was more like "FFX was a success" so they decided to recreate modified project materials from FFX to recreate FFX-2.

 

of course this is entirely my hypothesis and I could be (and probably be) very well incorrect.

[XxCobaltxX 321]

i mean the first are quite hard  to beat

[Shazzam 142]

I personally didn't see that much of an overall improvement from XIII to XIII-2. There were just as many improvements I liked to those I didn't like. Both great games, but I  prefer XIII.

[Sora96 17,256]

What was wrong with Advent Children Complete? 

 

Square Enix have only done sequels a few times.

[Sora'sMum 352]

What was wrong with Advent Children Complete? 

 

Square Enix have only done sequels a few times.

It wasn't a game, first of all. And we're talking in terms of games, I believe. 

[xxClouDxxmoon 901]

Well FFVII and FFX are some of the best games in the series, so it is kind of hard to do better anyway. And for XIII, well, could they of even done worse? It was a pretty bad game that lots of fans were unhappy with,so they pretty much had the opportunity to improve on every aspect of the game. Pretty much, with XIII they had lots to improve on so it gave a chance for sequels to be better, and with VII/X the games were a huge success so with other titles they mainly just concentrated on doing something different, which in the end wasnt as good as the originals, though they still had allright success.

[Zanzetsuken 66]

Personally, I found the XIII sequels dulling compared to the first title. 

 

Sure they may have added in a heap of new content in XIII-2, but graphically, I found it terrible. The lighting in that game was terrible and everything felt really shiny that it hurt. The story went in a different course with all it's time-travel nonsense. Man, and the story DLC. Ugh. 

 

I absolutely loved XIII and I thought the ending that they had was satisfactory. I'm not even sure what is going on with LR. I am interested in the gameplay aspects since it looks fun but I feel that they are taking away the essence that made XIII wonderful. The things that made me love Lightning, the focus on other characters and their dilemmas and just the feeling of a complete story. 

 

I can barely believe that they actually planned a trilogy of the XIII series. I think it was just them backlashing from the criticisms of the first game. I'll get LR anyway, but I can't say that I am absolutely excited. I can't wait until this trilogy is done with and we can move onto the next titles. Right now, to me, only the story of FFXIII exists . But there was that rant. 

 

(Tabata directed Crisis Core while Nomura was the character designer. Tabata should get more credit since he makes the games with amazing battle systems ie Crisis Core, Type-0, 3rd Birthday.)

[HikariYami 354]

I am playing XIII-2 as I speak. I already beat it; I just have to find 12 more fragments. I don't think it is better than XIII but LR looks mighty fine

I actually liked X-2 better than X because of the contrast but They dropped the ball on Shuyin and Lenne.

Crisis Core will always have a place in my heart.

[Reyn 1,755]

What was wrong with Advent Children Complete? 

 

Square Enix have only done sequels a few times.

Advent Children was good, but that was a movie that was a sequel to a game, not an actual game.

Personally, I found the XIII sequels dulling compared to the first title. 

 

Sure they may have added in a heap of new content in XIII-2, but graphically, I found it terrible. The lighting in that game was terrible and everything felt really shiny that it hurt. The story went in a different course with all it's time-travel nonsense. Man, and the story DLC. Ugh. 

 

I absolutely loved XIII and I thought the ending that they had was satisfactory. I'm not even sure what is going on with LR. I am interested in the gameplay aspects since it looks fun but I feel that they are taking away the essence that made XIII wonderful. The things that made me love Lightning, the focus on other characters and their dilemmas and just the feeling of a complete story. 

 

I can barely believe that they actually planned a trilogy of the XIII series. I think it was just them backlashing from the criticisms of the first game. I'll get LR anyway, but I can't say that I am absolutely excited. I can't wait until this trilogy is done with and we can move onto the next titles. Right now, to me, only the story of FFXIII exists . But there was that rant. 

 

(Tabata directed Crisis Core while Nomura was the character designer. Tabata should get more credit since he makes the games with amazing battle systems ie Crisis Core, Type-0, 3rd Birthday.)

The whole reason that we keep getting more FF XIII is because Nomura is dragging his ass with XV's production. If he didnt take so damn long with taht and wait until 2011 to actually start making it, then we might not have gotten a XIII trilogy. If you want someone to blame for that, blame Nomura. Im kinda am glad he's dragging his ass with that though, since we got a trilogy that i think got better with the sequels.

[Rob 5,571]

Gameplay-wise, yes, I found XIII-2 better than XIII.

[PrinceNoctis 1,011]

The XIII games are really good and keep improving. You are totally right.

[Zanzetsuken 66]

 

The whole reason that we keep getting more FF XIII is because Nomura is dragging his ass with XV's production. If he didnt take so damn long with taht and wait until 2011 to actually start making it, then we might not have gotten a XIII trilogy. If you want someone to blame for that, blame Nomura. Im kinda am glad he's dragging his ass with that though, since we got a trilogy that i think got better with the sequels.

 

Wow blame Nomura for the trilogy of FFXIII? All Nomura did was the character designs and now you are blaming him for the trilogy? All the productions work in separate teams. So I can't see why the production of XV allowed XIII to be blasted into a trilogy. If anyone is to blame, it is the director Toriyama. And so is Square Enix for allowing this trilogy. I can see why the trilogy exists because of SE's financial problems and pride from the unfavourable results of FFXIV and criticisms of FFXIII, but that doesn't forgive the deteriorating nature of that game ie the latest news and the director's reactions to the topic. But if you are happy with the games, be my guest. I'm fine with the first entry but not the sequels.

 

If you read the interviews by Nomura, he held up production on FFXV because it was too much for current gen and had to change development to next-gen. So really, it was kind of like what happened to XIII when it was meant to be developed for PS2. Sure, he is dragging his ass but with the most anticipated titles of the company such as FFXV and KHIII under your development, I praise him for working so hard despite being under so much pressure. He hasn't failed us by cancelling Versus so I doubt he will fail us with XV and KHIII.

[MAtgS 70]

Because they couldn't make them worse than XIII if they tried.

[Reyn 1,755]

Wow blame Nomura for the trilogy of FFXIII? All Nomura did was the character designs and now you are blaming him for the trilogy? All the productions work in separate teams. So I can't see why the production of XV allowed XIII to be blasted into a trilogy. If anyone is to blame, it is the director Toriyama. And so is Square Enix for allowing this trilogy. I can see why the trilogy exists because of SE's financial problems and pride from the unfavourable results of FFXIV and criticisms of FFXIII, but that doesn't forgive the deteriorating nature of that game ie the latest news and the director's reactions to the topic. But if you are happy with the games, be my guest. I'm fine with the first entry but not the sequels.

 

If you read the interviews by Nomura, he held up production on FFXV because it was too much for current gen and had to change development to next-gen. So really, it was kind of like what happened to XIII when it was meant to be developed for PS2. Sure, he is dragging his ass but with the most anticipated titles of the company such as FFXV and KHIII under your development, I praise him for working so hard despite being under so much pressure. He hasn't failed us by cancelling Versus so I doubt he will fail us with XV and KHIII.

No, blame him for dragging his ass with making XV. Square obviously can't make like FF XVI and XVII and move on with the series until HE MAKES XV. And according to the interviews, Square decided to make Vs. XIII into XV early in development, but they didnt announce it until now. So obviously, they have to stall for time somehow. So the easiest way to do that, was for them to make sequels to their favorite FF protagonist, Lightning.

 

I do praise Nomura for working so hard to make XV and KH3. Im just stating the truth. He's dragging his ass with this. I know that he had to wait, but the developer kits for PS4/X1 should've come out a long time before they were announced to have a release date. So, he's not the only one to blame. But he is one of the major people to blame for them making the trilogy to stall for time.

 

What i dont understand, is how you actually HATE THE SEQUELS but love the original. The original game was good in its own right, especially in story. I do like it, though not as much as XIII-2. But you seem to utterly hate XIII-2 and LR FF XIII and refuse to look into them. Why? Have you even tried renting and playing XIII-2? For all you know, it might be great! Seriously, you really are missing out, and i'd hate to see a fellow XIII fan missing out on this, considering how there are few of us actually like XIII. You really should try playing XIII-2, really. Im sure you'd like it.

Edited July 29, 2013 by spiderfreak1011

[Zanzetsuken 66]

I hate the sequels because I thought that they were terrible. Was that not assumed? As I said before, gameplay-wise they improved but they took away the essence of what, I believe, identifies the games as Final Fantasy.

 

I wrote that I didn't like XIII-2 because of so and so reasons and that means that you assume that I haven't played it? I played it obviously and I was incredibly disappointed. Everything seemed so toned down. As for LR, I said that I'll get the game but I won't be having absolutely high expectations.

[Reyn 1,755]

I hate the sequels because I thought that they were terrible. Was that not assumed? As I said before, gameplay-wise they improved but they took away the essence of what, I believe, identifies the games as Final Fantasy.I wrote that I didn't like XIII-2 because of so and so reasons and that means that you assume that I haven't played it? I played it obviously and I was incredibly disappointed. Everything seemed so toned down. As for LR, I said that I'll get the game but I won't be having absolutely high expectations.

 

The journey that Serah and Noel had to save the future, was pretty interesting and crazy. And it wasn't toned down, it was just as dark if not darker then XIII. Seriously. When everyone gets turned into Cieth in Academia 400 AF is pretty dark, and then Cocoon crashing ends up killing everyone and making a desolate future later on. Not to mention the ENDING. Its a good game.

 

But what is this essence that you say they took away in XIII-2?

[Zanzetsuken 66]

If you found it interesting and crazy then fine. I found it corny and terrible. By toned down, I mean visually and everything felt downgraded. Story, character, visuals etc. It felt unbalanced. It felt incoherent. That is what i felt was lost in XIII-2 and soon to be LR. So what? Just because the game had a darker theme and some bits of blood, that makes it a good game?

 

As I said, this is my opinion. I don't know why you are getting worked up over it.

[Reyn 1,755]

If you found it interesting and crazy then fine. I found it corny and terrible. By toned down, I mean visually and everything felt downgraded. Story, character, visuals etc. It felt unbalanced. It felt incoherent. That is what i felt was lost in XIII-2 and soon to be LR. So what? Just because the game had a darker theme and some bits of blood, that makes it a good game?As I said, this is my opinion. I don't know why you are getting worked up over it.

Noel and Serah's personalities are good. Noel's  a hunter who is trying to save the future and refuses to kill any humans, while Serah is the kind person who won't give up, and continues on her journey despite what will happen to her. Sure, they're personalities aren't as good as the personalities of the original 6 party members in XIII, but they arent that crappy. :|

 

The visuals are still good, they are toned down a bit, yes that's true.

 

And the story is good. You try to save the future and the goddess, from a man who wants to protect the seerus and will try to destroy the timeline in the process. Its good.

 

But it is your opinion, i respect that.

[Allpro11414 71]

its kinda easy to improve on such a simple game as XIII and even then they barely touched the actual gameplay they just gave you more stuff to do the core gameplay was basically the same

 

and the story is terrible in my honest opinion, i got the first one but XIII-2's story is so random and stoopid i couldnt take it, it had absolutly nothin to do with XIII besides the characters

Edited August 6, 2013 by Allpro11414