There hasn't been a thread for this yet, so here we go.

http://kotaku.com/5433455/final-fantasy ... e=true&s=x

I found this article to be the most practical. And I am kind of dissapointed from what I read. Seems Squeenix wasn't happy with just ridding their RPGs of world maps. But now their towns as well.

Actually, I'd be more likely to completely miss this game if the battle system didn't seem so awesome. In fact, if you guys recall, I've always talked about how I loved Final Fantasy X-2's battle system, right? It looks like they are bringing it back with Paradigm Shift. You can hold up to 6 pre-set jobs in battle and can set characters to use them. But you can also apply Final Fantay XII's gambits to them as well. Anyway, read that article... it explains it better than I could.

No towns? NO towns!? NO TOWNS!?!?
I hated the final disc of Final Fantasy 8 because of that. That's a bit of a let down. I don't think that'll stop me from getting it, tho. I still need to finish that article.

... I'm going to import it right after I press submit.

You suckers can wait for a NA release.

Also, on the subject of no towns, it sounds as though this installment of the FF franchise actually handles the no town thing in an acceptable manner. FF8.. didn't really handle it. Kind of just felt like a "f*ck you, you're not allowed to do anything else until you come kill me, you silly little bug".

I'd guess that's why most people were disappointed with the fourth disc of 8. This one, though, doesn't appear to be "taking away" our cities, but instead throwing us into a world where they're already gone - and that (very important) difference could make or break this concept.

I take it you saw that the game isn't region locked. Even if I did import, I can't read kanji yet.

I don't even have a PS3 yet, so I'm not really in hurry to get it.

It's also being release for the 360, just fyi.

My copy is on its way!

And I don't own a PS3, either. My roommate does, and I'm totally going to steal it for a while.

^_^

I demand a full review once you've gotten well enough into the game.

I had a feeling it would. I don't own a 360 either. (And I'm not planning to, for the moment)

Do not want... (Wow, the first Final Fantasy game that I actually have no desire to even try out).

No towns? No world map? No backtracking or deviating from the path? You only control one character in battle?

Final Fantasy is dead to me.

I haven't touched a Final Fantasy since 10. I'm glad I haven't.

... By the way, I have it.

And it's awesome.

How long did it take you to be able to read kanji? I am much envious now. And if future games are going to be region free, it would be very much worth it to learn.

wonder if Rosetta Stone can help with that... ... . . .

I outlined my entire study path in a separate thread for you.

The one thing I hate about RPG towns is that so many NPCs are verbose and boring (and usually lame and overdramatic or cliche) but you need a place to rest. Not only (as the article states) do you not feel connected to the world without towns but you also don't feel like you are on an adventure. You need to actually have a place to take a break from battles both in gameplay and in character development. Otherwise it seems like this is a "light gun" version of an RPG.

I will grant you that I just finished Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance (I know I'm 8 years late) and this was all about battling. The "towns" while looking less and less like towns throughout the game gave you some sense of a safe place but not much interpersonal interaction and I was thankful for that. I enjoyed the battles and did not want to get bogged down looking for the right NPC to talk to. But then again the dungeons while having the same final destination where not completely linear. And while I did feel immersed into the battle skills and the enemy types, I forgot the whole point of what I was fighting for the entire game. That's not a good sign for an RPG.

I saw some of the 4 minute 360 (music) video for this game (FF XIII) and I had to stop it mid way because the characters bored the hell out of me. I hope this game is well received by those of you who love FF but I will not be getting it.

I've had this game pre-ordered for about three years. But I don't expect that I'll actually like it.

While I do like international politics, espionage, and those sorts of things in games, FFXII put me to sleep (and this is coming from a person that *actually* reads and enjoys Thucydides, though it's not my favourite book by far). FFXIII looks like it's going to be boring too - just another part of the marketing machine.

Oh FFVII, why did you have to give such me unrealistic expectations?

I love FF, but this game won't be received by me, at all.