Is Final Fantasy Versus XIII The Real FF For Loyal Fans?

Ben Dutka from PSXExtreme writes: While I am indeed a fan of Final Fantasy XIII, I have often spoken about my mixed feelings concerning the gameplay. Although Gran Pulse makes it feel a bit more like FFXII, the decide-everything-for-me approach to the strategy still grates on me.

Now, I've wondered in the past if this is a nod to a new audience; to appeal to the "twitch-gaming" crowd that can't sit still for ten consecutive seconds without mashing buttons. And granted, you don't necessarily "mash buttons" in FFXIII but in order to speed up and streamline the battles so there is no "pausing" or break in the action, they simplified the approach. This to me is "RPG Lite." And then you factor in the lack of traditional RPG elements fans of this franchise have come to expect. I'm not saying they're essential; I'm merely saying there's still a place for them within the role-playing community who still pine for an FF they'd actually recognize. That being said, does anyone think Final Fantasy Versus XIII might boast more of a standard RPG feel; might FFXIII be the "new FF" for a new audience while Versus be more of a nod to the veteran, die-hard fans?

[LordMarius]

I hope so but let us see more than just trailers

[mjolliffe]

I'm expecting E3 gameplay videos in June Square Enix!

[R_1993]

I'm dying to see some gameplay from this game. Nomura said it'd be a traditional FF, and that hypes me up quite a bit.

[Commander TK]

will not dissapoint. Versus is gonna kick 13's ass

[blitz0623]

Well XIII was intended to be the Real FF, but because of the mixed reviews it got even from the critics I hope they put more effort into making VXIII the better one

[sikbeta]

2 Answers:

1· YES
2· I Hope SO

[dabri5]

I thought versus was supposed to have real time combat similar to Kingdom Hearts. How is that traditional FF?

[darthv72]

Provided it remains exclusive (not saying it would go multi but you know square and M$...) then I would guarantee Versus XIII will be the REAL FF for "PS3" fans.

If it goes multi then the answer would be an obvious NO!

[rexus12345]

Isn't this game supposed to be an action game? hence the title FF13 versus instead of FF15

[wicko]

It's an action RPG from what I've heard, more like Star Ocean possibly. Hopefully we find out at E3!

[Millah]

Call me crazy, but personally I think that a "real FF" for the true FF fans would be a turn based RPG, not an Action RPG.

[wicko]

I think what they are getting at is that it isn't as linear as FFXIII, that there are towns and airships and exploration to be had. FFXII was pretty close to an action RPG.

[gintoki777]

preoder day 1 limited edition if there is one and thats just by seeing some trailers cmon just look at the characters and theme theres no way this game will suck

[Noctis Aftermath]

I get so giddy when i think about this game, as a 22y/o male is that a bad thing?

[RumbleFish]

I really don't like turn based combat, so I hope that the game will be great. But for the FF fanbase, I don't know if they will like an action RPG that much.
Obviously it will be the better game if it stays PS 3 only.

[bakasora]

right.. lets wait 4 years and see it going multi platform and then lost of quality. Give me back my squaresoft! Ok I finished whining.

[Pika-pie]

I wouldnt say FFXIII is RPG-Lite.. Yeah they trimed away alot of the complicated stuff and replaced it with streamlined fun.

They greatest refinement I think they have done is now all your characters earn EXP while you battle, not just the ones in the party. I was so happy to see that. I really used to hate getting to the final boss in previous versions and having half of my characters super strong and they others nerfed beyond belief.

There is still so much strategy there though, there are super tough boss battles in side missions away from the story and bad asses wandering around Gran Pulse. Plenty there for the hardcore, especially if you plan to trophy ho the game. These are really really tough trophies.

[AbyssGravelord]

I really hope they have a playable version at this years E3, that would make me and I know a lot of you happy!

[WildArmed]

definitely.
I just wanna see this game in action.. and not be disappointed by the real time gameplay.
(and I"m not just talking about battles, but towns and NPC interaction etc etc)

[Noctis Aftermath]

A playable version at e3 would be too soon, just show some gameplay footage and give more info on the story and whatnot.

[Dragunov]

I hope its not gimped by multiple disc limitations

[wicko]

PS3 exclusive, so it shouldn't be. And I doubt they are in any rush to make it multiplatform either.

[Defiantmac]

Was fine, it wasn't as amazing as the older titles but it had a great amount of detail, the voice acting was well done, the story wasn't complete crap and overall it was a fun game.

[Sharpshell]

the reviews which suggest the story and dialog are bad or "worst in the series (destructoid) are total rubbish. FF 13 is good, quiet linear for the first 20 something hours. Although I take serious offense at the suggestion that the game doesn't have significant room for individual strategy from hour 3 on.

And to answer the question phrased by the article: was Dirge of Cerberus the "real" final fantasy, was "crisis core"? Fact is that Versus was intended to be the less traditional game from the start, honestly reminds me of FF X-2, which I actually quite liked, but I liked 13 too so what do I know?

[Drithe]

Ben Dutka is a joke and so is his site. Half of the people that post on there are actually the owners of the site itself. Dutka bans you if you dont kiss his ass or have ANYTHING negative to say on what this idiot says.

He thinks he is a serious "GAMING JOURNALIST" who can review games better than anyone else because he is a dumbass.

He hates MW2 and gave it a score BELOW 90! That whole site is just pathetic. You should go back and read some of the idiotic post he has, ESPECIALLY the ones on game FEELINGS and such.

End of Line.

[LittleBigSackBoy]

MW2 should get alot lower than 90 imo.

[Brklynty1]

Sounds like he did it a favor...

[duplissi]

Yeah, cause mw2 was such a good game.... honestly just because you like a game doesn't mean everyone else does, especially one that a lot of people believe is overrated. If you were looking for proof that the author is a quack look elsewhere

[DarkBlood]

This game looks to be darker which is not a bad thing for me

[e-p-ayeaH]

yeah darker...but not in a emo way thats important.

[BeaArthur]

Eh, games have to evolve to survive. A dark tone might work well but there is so little info on the game that we will have to wait and see.

[DarkBlood]

well i certinaly didnt mean "oh my god its the end of the world *cuts my self* dies ..........." lol :P

[BeaArthur]

Fans are only as loyal as the next game. I would say no though because it's going to play like Kingdom Hearts (from what I understand) which is still a departure from the series. If it was going to be a game for "loyal fans" then it would play like FF7, 8, 10.

[Tony240ZT]

I agree, it's not going to cater to old school FF fans because it's not going to be turn based.

[wollie]

I agree, if it was really for the fans, it would be more turn based. But its gonna be an action rpg.

[bjornbear]

so it can be turn based or real time depending on the game option?

that way both sides would be happy =)

[lonestarmt]

not to take away from 7,8,10 (7 and 10 are my favorite FF games), but "loyal" or "True" FF fans prob want it to be more like FF1 thru 6, and FF9. I mean there were six games before it got all steam punk. lol A lot of people only started playing FF at 7 so those people of look for something different.

[Ravage27]

and my favourite PS2 FF game is FF12, which was really radical(in a good way)

I'm also into modern-fantasy themes, so you can understand why i'm excited about this game. Note that FF8 is my favourite game of all time and i'm expecting/hoping Versus to snatch that title when it releases.

Aspects of FF i deem as core:
Gorgeous CGI
Epic story
Strong character development
Interesting world to explore

It will be a great experience as long as these aspects are covered. i'm fine with changes as long as they are, you know...ADDITIONS, and not missing content *cough* ff13 *cough*

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi_]

'YES' but come 'E3 2010' if Micro$oft get their dirty little hands on it then 'NO'!!! ;-D

[gtamike123]

they will try cause they got no games

[Eamon]

Will this be a real FF?

I dunno. I can only judge after I've seen gameplay vids. From what we know so far, it's going to be quite action orientated similar to Kingdom Hearts.

If that's so, it's not a real FF. But I don't mind. Just at least have towns and good gameplay system.

[labwarrior]

And of course will get FF13vs day one too

Fact is, those that do not care for FF13 are PS3 fanboys that play only PS3 exclusives, and of course are not even close to FF fans

FF12 was 10000x worst a FF than FF13 is actually, still people praised it just because it was "PS2 only"

[Lionhead]

"PS3 does have some good things, but are far and few between"

"PS3 simply does not get anything but reharses"

"Sorry, but linear games like 99% of PS3 exclusives are totally last gen stuff"

"PS3 has actually the lowest quality titles"

Seems easy to accuse people of fanboyism eh?

I actually liked FF12 as well, and not because it was "only on teh PS2". So get your facts straight

[wollie]

FFXII and XIII are both fantastic games. 12 is actually my favorite (if you don't count tactics!)

[v1c1ous]

very few people praise ff12 PERIOD

[CimmerianDrake]

I remember when you were a Fable II fanboy on Gametrailers. That takes me back.

Speaking as someone who has every FF game (excluding XI) I can say that, as a fan of FF, that FFXIII is utter trash compared to every other FF game, including FFII and FFXII. So stop trying to talk for FF fans by saying they all love FFXIII because in actuality most the fans don`t. It has nothing to do with the game being on whatever console, it has to do with the game have almost no semblance of Final Fantasy at all. It`s just like Spirits Within. It has the name, but that`s it.

[abcd]

Versus XIII -> real-time combat. No turn-base. No atb.

[Roper316]

while I am enjoying FF XIII it definitely doesn't have the FF feel to it. What it really reminds me of is the Dirge of Cerebus that released back on the PS2.

I am really hoping with Vs that I get that old school FF feel while playing. only time will tell I guess.

[Eamon]

Actually the art style and diversity of characters kinda remind me of FFX.

Even the pacing of the story.

Although FFX was better in every way.

[abcd]

I liked FF 13. It is much better than FF 12 in my opinion.

[Crowsnevermore]

i sure how this is going to be good. i like the idea of ACTUAL blood in the game and making it really really dark. although its a ps3 exclusive right?

[midgard227]

tho i dunno how this is an rpg for ff loyalist when it has kingdom hearts gameplay but sicker. most rpg fans like normal turnbased.

ffv13 is an action rpg people, get over it and love it :)

i cnt wait for it bwahhaa and for the record i luv ff13

[C L O U D]

I beleive Kingdom Hearts fans will appreciate this more.

[midgard227]

exactly, well battle system whise :). versus is KH meets FF.

world maps and exploration good story and a sick action packed battle system running up skyscrapers while killing things, switching on the fly between 13 different weapons.....how ever that will work lol.

i imagine noctis fighting like final form soraa, i dunno y :)

[C L O U D]

Yeah so do I.

As a Kingdom Hearts fan myself i can't wait to see what Tetsuya Nomura delivers.

[lonestarmt]

I think JRPGs in genreal. Everything Nomura touches are greatness. Seriously, kingdom hearts, FF7, and the most overlooked game The world ends with you.

[NatureOfLogic]

from what I've seen in the trailer FFv13 will be for hardcore FF fans

airships, more weapon/items, and best of all OPEN WORLD MAP(confirm)

[George Sears]

Funny thing that it's not the typical FF with it's turned based active time battle system. Personally I have no problem with this but I do hope that story wise it'll be as interesting as past iterations ( haven't played XIII yet so I can't talk about that one)

[hazelamy]

one thing i don't like about xiii is the arbitrary limits they placed on your levelling, in just about every other rpg if i find a boss or enemy too hard i'd do some grinding, well i enjoy it, call me strange if you like, but that wasn't really an option here.
considering the, if the leader dies it's game over, nature of the combat not being able to power up my characters was bloody annoying, especially when some creatures have attacks that can kill you in less than a second, allowing no time for healing.
and do not get me started on those bloody eidolons.
their use in battle seems to be inversely proportional to how much of a pain in the arse they were to get.
that said i can't see what would stop me from getting versus :)
other than lack of funds.

[lonestarmt]

I see your complaints. However, you can level up and grind believe me. When you get to chapter 11 all of the classes open up. So to fully max out your characters strength, magic, and HP you have to max out all paradigms. Which take a LONG time. Then 64 side quest missions which one grants you the gengi glove which lets you hit more than max damage. Then your weapon can be leveled up above 50 then you have to find a really rare metal or buy the rare metal which cost 12,000,000 yeah I say you have a lot to build up your party. lol I don't think you got to chapter 11 yet. lol

[sofocado]

The only thing I am hoping is that they do a better job porting this game to the Xbox 360. It was a good business decision to go mult-platform, but they have to do a better job porting VXIII.

[gamer7804]

FF Versus really isn't a traditional fantasy game, its based in a more realistic setting, so its audience to me seems different than the fantasy fans of FFXIII.

[stonecold1]

its a ps3 exclusive end of statement if you want vs you might as well get a ps3 because vs is only on ps3

[silkrevolver]

I liked it alot, but I’m disappointed. Mostly by the ending. The final sequence was awesome, but the reasoning behind why you were fighting the final bosses and what would happen next made no sense. On that note, the final bosses were way too easy. Now I’m curious if Versus will take place after XIII... and Include the thing that shows up at the very end... that would be awesome.

[Ps_alm3k]

any game with a world map and town is the better FF...
and you cannot disagree!!! The gameplay can be subjective, but the above statement is true.

[NewYork214]

i dont know but i have been looking forward to this game more then XIII from the beginning.

[NeoBasch]

Am I the only one who thought FFXIII was really REALLY good? I'm sure Versus will be amazing as well, but XIII so far has surpassed my wildest expectations. Probably has the deepest story with the most well developed characters of the series. I wouldn't trade it for the world quite honestly.

[Tex117]

In terms of traditional FF for the hardcore? No I don't think so.

FF is a turn-based RPG.

HOWEVER, I understand what you are saying, and battle aside, yes, I can see how versus MIGHT be more in the spirit of older titles. I am hopeful that they can tie all this together. FFXIII production value, Exploration of FFXII, and some killer gameplay like Kingdom Hearts. (To use more current examples)

On a side note, I think FFXIII is a much better game than reviewers are giving it credit for. Yes, its RPG lite, but its still an enjoyable experience, unless you absolutely cannot under any circumstance wade through the 20 hours of linear gameplay.

To give myself a little street credit I have played every FF originally released in the US from the first one.

It doesn't get any better than FFVI in my opinion.

Really, there are two spirits of FF. (and not within)
There are the old school style ones:
FF1-6, 9, and 12. Politically motivated story lines for the most part, and a swords and armor type.

Then there is the steam punk emo style. FVII, FFVIII, X, and XIII.

One just has to realize what type you are dealing with.

FF's are alot like sex. You never forget your first one, and the first type you play is the one you think is the "real" FF.