FFXIII NPCs

[Mitsuki]

Am I the only one who found them to be...oh I don't know...boring? It's not the same like in the previous FF titles. The NPC in FFXIII seemed to only talk to themselves rather than making an actual conversation with the main characters. One of the aspects that I liked in an RPG game is being able to have a short (and entertaining) conversation with the NPCs, and having the option to pick out a response to give to them and see their reaction. I did not really see this happening in FFXIII - they all seemed like mindless robots to me. Nothing interesting about them. But in other FF titles and other RPG games that I've played years ago, there's actually quite a few NPCs that still stuck in my mind because for some reason I found them memorable enough.

 

[Gaige]

I've never really found any FF NPCs to stand out in particular for me, but to be honest, I found the FFXIII NPCs to be that little bit less real myself. I think it was partially due to the fact that you visited almost every area once only, and so the NPCs and their dialogue didn't change to fit the story. For example,

Spoiler

the NPCs at the Hanging Edge were only focussed on the Purge. You didn't get to see them worrying about the L'cie problems and the attack on Eden etc later in the game, because you never returned.

 

[Harlequin]

Am I the only one who found them to be...oh I don't know...boring? It's not the same like in the previous FF titles. The NPC in FFXIII seemed to only talk to themselves rather than making an actual conversation with the main characters. One of the aspects that I liked in an RPG game is being able to have a short (and entertaining) conversation with the NPCs, and having the option to pick out a response to give to them and see their reaction. I did not really see this happening in FFXIII - they all seemed like mindless robots to me. Nothing interesting about them. But in other FF titles and other RPG games that I've played years ago, there's actually quite a few NPCs that still stuck in my mind because for some reason I found them memorable enough.

That's because FFXIII had been slimmed down of most RPG elements and made into more of an action game than a role playing one.

By a curious coincidence, the 'slimming down' was taken quite literally in terms of game mechanics. Vast, sprawling locales resembled little more than an illusion and what the gamer was in fact left with was corridor after corridor after corridor of relentless fighting.

This factor coupled with the fact that every environment in FFXIII was merely a skin change (notice how there only a handful of areas that aren't sprawling with enemies) and there wasn't any room for NPCs to make nearly as much of an impact as they did in previous FFs.

What little dialogue they did provide (which was by no curious coincidence a soliloquy) meant that they and other small themes in the game's narrative were ignored.

Careful pacing is crucial in any immersive medium, towns and NPCs provided that careful pacing FF had relied on (and quite heavily it must be said) over the years. Ripping it out of this FF was a bizarre move by Squeenix.

Most of the industry said immersive dialogue and a sense of place for the player are the core aspects to any prospective RPG.

With the evidence of this game. Squeenix said, No, visuals are.

 

[Linnaete]

I think I can see why SE went for this direction with the NPCs. As FFXIII itself is a very linear path from the beginning to the final boss with a huge emphasis on battles in every area, there are very few chances to have NPCs. As the game lacks actual towns completely, SE was able to have them all voiced to create an impression of realism. There were few enough of them to make this feasible. During the development process, SE boasted about how the environment around you would feel more alive and happening.

But ironically what that leaves with are like robotic beings. They utter the same terse, repetitive lines whenever you go near them, so it gets annoying to hear things like: "I wanna go home" every few seconds. The NPCs just give an illusion of the previous FF games. You won't care about them because you won't see them ever again. I missed being able to revisit NPCs as Diar said.

 

[Harlequin]

And what about the classic recurring NPCs? Where's Biggs and Wedge? Pfft.

The problem is games are becoming far too expensive to develop and in a way I sympathise with Squeenix (sympathy that soon dissolves when I realise all the money they're syphoning off defenseless fanboys).

Games need to look better and better, gameplay has to be more and more extensive and mechanics have to be innovative and fresh.

It all culminates into a huge strain on the gaming industry and developers find themselves forced to take a stab at the less cerebral side of gaming (fps for example) to balance the books.

It's not so much where they could've improved on the game as it was where could they shift focus? I get the impression they chose to cut out the slow pacing of the fighting/cutscenes/towns and NPCs because the average consumer (as it were) focuses more on the visuals and action than the storytelling and sandbox experience that is wandering a town and meeting the locals.

A stark look at how coming iterations of FF might just shape up

Has the old school fan been abandoned? Or has Square been strong armed into these moves by growing expectations in the industry?

Discuss.

 

[DLFlux]

It goes with the story tbh. The same way as the lack of towns and such like.

Think about it. l'Cie are feared, so it makes sense that you can't just go off wondering through whatever place you like chatting to anyone you like. The only exception to this next bit is that place you go to (can't remember the name) with Sazh and Vanille and there's that little chocobo mini game, but any way, everywhere you go (apart from what I just mentioned) there's always a crisis. The people aren't just going to stand and chat even though the parties brands are covered. Then there's the "auto-talk" feature, if this is switch on then they will just repeat and repeat every time you go near them. If it's off, then it's up to to decide whether you wanna hear what that have to say.

Spoiler time.

Spoiler

Which is why Gran Pulse is your only true freedom to run around as you please. There's no humans, noone to get scared, no panic and so on. Every other location besides Pulse, you are on the run.

So even though it is a tad dissapointing for a FF game, it does make sense.

 

[CHIP]

I think I only noticed about 10 NPCs betwen Chapter 1 and 10. Could be mistaken, but there certainly weren't many. Like some have said, I liked confabbing with NPCs in previous games, even if talking to them had no determination on the direction of the story, it was still fun, and really created the feeling you were in some vast world, populated with thousands of other people; they really added to the game's overall immersion.

To me, FFXIII smells like a game designed acutely for neophytes and casual gamers in mind - with chunks of core gameplay repeated ad nauseum to pad things out and the complexities and depth of previous games slimmed-down so the game is easier for newcomers to get to grips with. Making the game so action-centric I think has been a calculated attempt by Square to increase its accessibility and broaden their user-base, but as a result, they've marginalized the more seasoned demographic. The sort of gamers that want depth, and unfortunately, "depth" is something that I think the FF seies is losing. Developers and publishers seem more concerned nowadays with making pretty pictures and aping movies.

 

[Rey]

Well its not Like Star Ocean where NPCS give you weapons and items and shit like that. But I will say the NPCS in FF XIII were a bit boribg like Suki said. When I went throough the rotal eden hallway so many times for gil grinding all I hear is :You are as good as dead if you go out there" Or "I wanna go home" like Olivia said. So many little guys and girls just saying the same shit. But DL FLUX summed it up pretty well and I agree 100% that it is story related. Would have been coolt o have NPCS in Oerba though. But it was destroyed and old and the only thing left was Backti and a bunch of monsters.

 

[Fusionist]

Well first I'm glad people realize that they ARE NPCs in FFXIII. So much whining pre-release about how lacking NPCs ruined the game (again, people making judgments on a game without playing it make me lol). Well, the NPCs are still here - did that change your opinion boys and girls?

But just to make sure we're clear here, when we talk about NPCs, we're talking about all those random citizens/troops that say things, and not necessarily say them to you sometimes, right?

Or do you mean characters that we simply don't control in the game? NORA gang, Hope's mom, etc?

If it's the former, I didn't really care enough about what they had to say. As mentioned, 1-2 people in the area pretty much summarizes what all people in the same area are feelings. But sorry, that's similar to other games I've played, so I wasn't expecting much, let alone a riveting convo snippet to whoa me xD

If it's the latter, they had their moments, but I think it's been said FFXIII was more about fast-paced and such. Get one-two scenes and then get back to running and fighting *shrugs*

 

[Harlequin]

It goes with the story tbh. The same way as the lack of towns and such like.

Think about it. l'Cie are feared, so it makes sense that you can't just go off wondering through whatever place you like chatting to anyone you like. The only exception to this next bit is that place you go to (can't remember the name) with Sazh and Vanille and there's that little chocobo mini game, but any way, everywhere you go (apart from what I just mentioned) there's always a crisis. The people aren't just going to stand and chat even though the parties brands are covered...

...So even though it is a tad dissapointing for a FF game, it does make sense.

Which just smacks of bad game design. I liked Palumpolum for example and would've loved to return there, but no, the only time I'll see Palumpolum again is if I restart the game.

Nonsensical really.

AVALANCHE (FFVII) were a feared terrorist organisation but would waltz around because no one knew who they were. Crisis did seem to follow them at every turn but it didn't mean you wern't allowed to return to some of the places you would have liked to. Strong FFXIII spoiler:

Spoiler

Cid Raines hid the fact that he was a L'Cie up until the battle with him at the end of chapter 9(?).

For example,

Spoiler

Mideel and the Temple of the Ancients were both destroyed but the player has the option of still returning to those locales, albeit the necessity to do so practically non existent.

I'd wager the game designers did this deliberately to cut corners and thought the gamers wouldn't see past the facade.

Well, the NPCs are still here - did that change your opinion boys and girls?

There were undoubtedly going to be NPCs in the literal sense, but what the majority of the sceptics were anticipating was NPCs in the game being little more than obvious props to make an empty world seem that little more authentic.

As for the villains. Who really remembers Jihl Nabaat? Yaag Rosch? When compared to this installment previous FFs seem to have an embarrassment of riches in the villain department.

 

[DLFlux]

Which just smacks of bad game design. I liked Palumpolum for example and would've loved to return there, but no, the only time I'll see Palumpolum again is if I restart the game.

Nonsensical really.

AVALANCHE (FFVII) were a feared terrorist organisation but would waltz around because no one knew who they were. Crisis did seem to follow them at every turn but it didn't mean you wern't allowed to return to some of the places you would have liked to. Strong FFXIII spoiler:

Spoiler

Cid Raines hid the fact that he was a L'Cie up until the battle with him at the end of chapter 9(?).

For example,

Spoiler

Mideel and the Temple of the Ancients were both destroyed but the player has the option of still returning to those locales, albeit the necessity to do so practically non existent.

I'd wager the game designers did this deliberately to cut corners and thought the gamers wouldn't see past the facade.

Where I do agree that the lack of freedom, NPC worth, sidequests etc was dissapointing, I just think that it is justified by the story, no matter how lazy it seems.

Games will always lose certain things when they are aimed to bring in a wider audience. Take Metal Gear Solid 4 for example. Good solid game, great gameplay, graphics, story. Put it up against the rest of the series and it is definately the worst. Full of retcons, the story telling is dumbed down so new players get the jist of what's happened in the previous titles, the stealth element can be forgotten, should you chose to just run and gun. And so on. It is unfortunate, but things will change over time. Developers seem to be wanting more and more money, they gain more sales but lose the hope of long term fans.

Would've loved XIII to have more freedom

Spoiler

Pulse is cool, but it just a big field really

more worth of NPCs, airship to track back to previous locations and so on. Though it is not a bad game without these things imo. HUGE improvement on XII in terms of story and character developement.

And to be honest, I didn't really miss NPCs. The locations you are allowed to go back to are pretty cool. Though I do agree with Palumpolum, when I first saw it my reaction was "woah, looks to be another Gold Saucer type place!" Would've been great to go back to and just play mini games there.

 

[Fusionist]

Who really remembers Jihl Nabaat? Yaag Rosch? When compared to this installment previous FFs seem to have an embarrassment of riches in the villain department.

I'm inclined to agree about Jihl. Her purpose ended up being

Spoiler

to reveal the true villain was Dysley/Bartandelus

and to be the token evil woman character.

But Yaag was awesome! Omg, that dude is relentless! Chases you all over the damn place, wtf D=

 

[Linnaete]

Though I do agree with Palumpolum, when I first saw it my reaction was "woah, looks to be another Gold Saucer type place!" Would've been great to go back to and just play mini games there.

I think you have Nautilus on your mind, not Palumpolum. The latter was just a port city.

Also SE did say something about the enormous amount of content that was cut from the final release. Apparently so much content was cut it could have been a game of its own. Among what was cut included Nautilus-related things as well as Team NORA's base or something like that in Bodhum.

Frankly, something like that just makes me despair. I can't help but feel a bit suspicious that having to accommodate an Xbox 360 port of the game may have had something to do with the necessity of the cuts.

As for the NPCs, I thought there were very few of them this time (I'm talking about the NPCs who are named, e.g. Gadot). Other than the six main characters, the other NPCs make very sparse appearances. I suppose the nature of the story means that they couldn't appear too often - although I didn't really like it. They just needed more screentime.