Am I the FF rep?

Nope. I have a copy promised to me and almost certainly will be making it a priority for the next week or so thereafter so that I can write this site's staff review. I can't imagine a non-tragic circumstance that would get in the way of that happening. That's just the way I roll!

I'm just as much a Final Fantasy fanboy. I have my SPECIAL edition pre-ordered as of today. Getting it for the PS3 now I have one. Like a true fanboy.

this or god of war 3... after playing god of war 3 demo...i don't know. i might get ff13, if not eventually

Did you seriously think a JRPG nerd like me wouldn't buy FF13? I've had it pre-ordered since January with release date delivery. The only reason I'm not picking up in a store is Amazon was giving away free $10 credit to a future game purchase with pre-order.

edit - I AM GETTING THE 360 VERSION I AM GETTING MORE DISCS THAN YOU GUYS

btw guys be prepared for the supposed fact that it takes 10 hours before you can choose a party and 25 hours before you can customize characters

I really hope those numbers are exaggerated

I've read several reviews that said it was closer to 20 hours -- that's "the first ten chapters," apparently -- until you get to choose your party members.

I dunno... the more I read about this game, the less excited I am. So it's super-linear, with no towns or side quests or anything? And the story isn't very good? Bleh. I'm hearing the combat's fantastic, though, which is good news and could definitely save the experience should those other issues get in the way.

I'm sure I've said this before, but my roommate's picking this up for PS3, so I'll be hitting it up as soon as spring break is over.

Ugh: This one review I'm reading says that the experience system awards stat bonuses and upgrades at the end of each major boss battle, and that the system as a whole negates the need to grind. Sounds a lot like Chrono Cross, i.e. not good.

You've gotta have faith, Suskie! Have you seen the graphics?

I saw that amazon deal! I'm still debating whether to go for it. I don't know if it's still available, though. I'm waiting for a paycheck >_<

As for the reviews, yeah, there's a level cap so no grinding is available. But I hear that you're supposed to be interested enough in what's going on that you don't want to stop and grind.

I don't know... I was really put off by reviews and after I played Heavy Rain it was hard to imagine liking a JRPG again (Heavy Rain was just so subtle, the exact opposite of an JRPG).

But you know... now that it's only four days away... I'm super excited again. Like a puppy, I am.

Good to see I'm not the only fanboy here.

The offer is still available on Amazon and probably will be until the game's release date (Bioshock 2 had the same offer). Unless you have Amazon Prime, be prepared to pay for same-day delivery though.

I don't think the game sounds bad at all. It's just that it's scoring in the 8 range instead of the 10/10 that people are expecting. Frankly it doesn't sound that much different from X and I loved X (and how many people really did a lot of exploring in X's towns? I sure as hell didn't). I've enjoyed most of the series (FF & Zelda are pretty much my two favorite video game series) so I'm just not going to worry about it and reserve judgment for when I play the game.

edit - I heard some people got Mass Effect 2 early when they used release-date delivery. I've got my figures crossed that I'll be that lucky.

Hello -- did I hear a Chrono Cross refrence? That's enough to put me right off.

Actually, the damage was done by the last shitty FF game. I'll pick XII up up in about a year's time when the market is flooded in second hand copies. Then bash it and tell people I'm cool!

Having read Tim Rogers' (I would link to it, but I tend to get yelled at for doing so) review of the game, I'll inevitably own it at some point, just not right away. Plus Demon's Souls is enough RPG for me for now, anyways.

I've had the Japanese version for a while now. The storyline is typical of Square Enix storylines, so take that as you will.

Combat IS a lot of fun, though.

Also, it takes a long time to pick party members, yes, but so did some VERY good RPGs in the past. Dragon Quest IV, I'm looking at you.

Yeah, somewhat about FFXIII actually reminds me of the original Suikoden, as well.

FFIX also took a long time to select party members. I think the first time was on Disc 2 where you had 5 characters at one time, and four slots. And then it wasn't until Disc 3 onwards that you always had all 8 party members to choose from.

FFIX was one of my favourites, too.

Hell, FF4 you never get to choose your party. It's also one of the best FF games.

Not being able to choose party members isn't a huge deal to me as long as it's kept relatively even and balanced. FFIX actually handled it pretty well, since the characters were rotated in and out on a fairly consistent basis and everyone was given relatively equal time in the spotlight. It's better than FFVII and FFVIII, where I was constantly forced to use characters I NEVER used.

Yeah, fuck you, Aeris. You're fifteen levels behind everyone else and your limit breaks suck. Fuck off so I can put Cid back in my party.

Ha ha ha, yeah, I like FFIX as well. Though Steiner gets the shaft for a large portion of the game. Funny, because my final party was Steiner, Vivi, Zidane, and the weird "I eat a lot" guy. I don't recall if FFIX allows for five party members... if it does, than Garnet was in there, too. I wasn't a big fan of the rat dragoon or the rasta-ninja and I absolutely hated the fucking little imp child.

Steiner was way behind, but that bit where he and Beatrix kill those invading enemies, he gained a lot of levels. And Beatrix was absolutely awesome as a guest party member.

Kind of like Edea in FF8, but better.

Beatrix = win

Edea = poorly explained plot device

From what I've seen, the characters generally have relatively equal screentime, so that no character should end up becoming too far ahead of any other.

The game reminds me a lot of Final Fantasy VI in that although Lightning is the "main" character, the story is more focused on the entire cast and their own personal dilemmas and relationships.

Just like Terra and her crew. FFVI also happens to be one of my favourites in the series, so I'm probably one of the few that are enjoying the story.

Actually I have high hopes that I'll like the story, based on what I saw from the trailers. I'm a sucker for tragedy, so we'll see what they do with that.

Hell in FFIV I don't think you EVER got to choose party members.

Ha ha ha, apparently you aren't reading all of these posts, Radical Dreamer, or else there is an exceptionally accurate echoe on my blog.