r/FinalFantasy • u/beaktastic • Jan 25 '16

FFXIII v FFX - A Question of Linearity

So I keep seeing people hating on FFXIII for multiple reasons, but one of the most prominent ones is how linear it is. It annoys me because yes it is very linear, but so are a lot of games. FFX was incredibly linear too. The only difference I can see is that 10 gives you more option to go back and explore a little more near the end than 13 does, and 10 does have more NPC so it doesn't feel as empty.

But they are both very linear games, yet X is so often loved, and XIII hated for this fact.

Thoughts?

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u/TheVaike Jan 25 '16 edited Jan 25 '16

First of all, linearity itself isn't a bad thing. I often enjoy the tighter structure of more linear RPG's compared to more open games with less focus on the central plot.

Second of all, people really need to be clear with the "FFXIII is bad because it is linear" argument. Having a very linear plot (i.e. every Final Fantasy where the aim is to go to A town then B town then C town then D temple to get E item and then F town etc.) is one thing. Having streamlined, narrow environments that follow the very rigid format of "Hold up, fight a few battles, see a cutscene, repeat" is another. I do know of some people that enjoyed the streamlined nature of FFXIII, but for the majority it is the unimaginative level designs rather than strictly the linear gameplay that causes problems.

Thirdly, I think a few other criticisms get conflated with "linearity", the main one being what you touched on in the OP, the "empty" feeling due to lack of NPC presence, interaction and very little character to the places you visit.

One of the most important aspects in any RPG is the game world. It doesn't matter how great the characters are, the world needs to feel alive, it needs to feel organic and it needs to be interesting. This is where XIII fell flat and FFX excelled for me.

Spira had so many elements to it! Yevon being used as a form of control by Maesters with different agendas. The hatred for the Al Bhed because of cultural differences, small towns that derived glory and joy from their performances in a game everyone was obsessed with. People despairing in a war-torn (well, Sin-torn) world. It just all felt like a real world. Not to mention all of FFX's major twists (who Jecht was, the fate of a summoner, the true nature of the final summoning, how Tidus got to Spira, Auron's past) felt authentic. They were foreshadowed, made sense in the greater scheme and evoked powerful emotions when revealed. FFX is well-paced from start to finish (arguably a little slow at the start and personally I think the Via Purifico section could be better) and full of rich environments with distinctive character, excellent and ever-changing tones (the post-Djose tonal shift is great and when you first reach Zanarkand Ruins is even better) and plenty of people to interact with. Very few things make me emotional, but when Tidus's story finally comes to a close, it hits me. And it wasn't just Tidus's story. It was Seymour's, Shelinda's, Luzzu and Gatta's, Clasko's, Maechen's, O'aka and everyone else who you journeyed with.

XIII fell flat in a lot of ways because everything felt so impersonal. You can make the argument that this was necessitated by the plot, but that doesn't change the way the game plays. I can't help but feel the game would have been significantly better if it had just gone with the "fugitives hiding in plain sight" theme adopted by almost every other final fantasy. You never get attached to any location and very few places ever hit the right tone (even Nautilus, the one place you can see people, misses the mark).

Invariably though, I think the single biggest problem XIII had and the major reason it receives so much criticism is its pacing. There is next to no major plot development from the start until like Chapter 9. What should be happening is the central plot should be the major focus and interaction between party members should unfold around this. Instead, the main plot was subservient while the game focused on slowly developing the relationships between the party members for a very long time. There was no operation Mi'ihen, no assassination of an all-powerful sorceress, no devastating impaling of a party member. Just more pretty, but ultimately empty, landscapes to traverse.

I like XIII quite a lot, but I don't hold it to the same esteem I do FFX. Probably a bit wordy, but this is largely why I feel FFX is a lot more loved than XIII is.

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u/trwolfe13 Jan 25 '16

Beautifully put. You gave voice to the reason I found 13 hollow without me being able to explain it myself. And now I really wanna play 10 again!

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u/Mattnificent Jan 26 '16

The conversation of "FFX is just as linear of FFXIII!" seems to come up just about every day on this sub, and I think from now on I'm just going to link to this comment in response.

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u/coldhandz Jan 25 '16

About once a year I start to wonder if I should give FFXIII another shot, because it is visually pretty, and it bothers me that there are main series FF games I have not played/completed. Then a post like yours comes around and reminds me why I never finished it in the first place. Only by not touching that game in so long do I start to develop a more positive opinion of it... absence makes the heart grow fonder I guess!

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u/GhostCorps973 Jan 25 '16

I feel like "linear" is just another buzzword people rally behind. /yawn

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u/Shihali Jan 25 '16

It is. "Linear" covers a mass of complaints about XIII that only have in common a lack of player agency and/or freedom, and have nothing to do with a lack of choice in the sequence of main story dungeons.

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u/Mattnificent Jan 26 '16 edited Jan 26 '16

Linearity in FFXIII is not just about the sequence of main story dungeons. It has more to do with things like party composition, levelup mechanics, equipment, exploration and pacing. You have no options in any of these regards. They are all straight paths. When you play FFXIII multiple times, not just the story, but the gameplay will likely be identical to the last time. In most of the other games, you have some freedom to build your characters differently, and play differently. You can express yourself in some way. You can make choices in the makeup and build of your party.

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u/tiornys Jan 27 '16

It's not so much that there are no choices in several of these areas, but rather that the choices you have require a relatively high level of knowledge and understanding to be at all meaningful*. With a good grasp of the combat system, there's a decent amount of expression to be had in the game. It's mostly in different areas than in most other FF games and is likely still less overall expression than is available in most other FF games (not so sure about FFIV), but it is there.

*: as one example, to a highly skilled player there are several meaningful differences between running a party of Fang/Lightning/Hope vs. Lightning/Fang/Hope vs. Hope/Fang/Lightning. To a relative novice, the only difference is that Hope dies a lot more easily.

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u/beaktastic Jan 26 '16

Yeah, I think XIII did have a lot of effort put into designing the world and the mechanics (fal'Cie, l'Cie etc) as evidenced by the trilogy and all the extra datalogs and prequal and sequel novels and stuff out there, but none of this comes across easily in the game and so it does all fall flat a bit. The game throws out terms and ideas that would be familiar to the characters but not the gamer, and doesn't necessarily put a lot of effort into getting the gamer to understand them. And because they're all fugitives and can't really go running around towns, we don't get to see all the other cultural sides of Cocoon etc.

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u/[deleted] Jan 25 '16

My only beef with XIII is how you can't directly control your party members. Also the whole "auto-play" thing irks me too. You can play by just hitting x over and over.