Final Fantasy XIII

[dreamweaver13]

To me the problem is not so much the accent, but rather than it sounded unnatural.

The English voice actress is Georgia van Cuylenburg who is from Melbourne Australia. If they wanted a non-American/British take on the English language then why not have her speak like Australians normally speak? It is obvious from the voice acting that she is being told to "sound American" or something to that effect without the presence of vocal coaches (it's a game after all, I doubt that they'd go to that extent). The resulting mess is called Vanille .

Gosh I hate that character so much... I hope she gets turned to crystal or something.

You're right. The closest image I had of Vanille's accent was Claire from Lost tv series (and I have always found Claire adorable). But the problem is sometimes its sounds like Claire (i.e. Australian accent), but more often than not, it's an entirely different thing altogether -- some kind of alien accent that I can't figure out. Which makes the voice acting quite a mess.

But no, I don't hate Vanille. Not yet, at least. I hope my internal/imagined japanese voice for her will be enough to keep me from that.

[David Hingtgen]

I boosted the Blaze Fire saber from lvl 1 to 16 in one shot, just because I got so sick of seeing/using Gladius.

Seriously, as their final str stats aren't THAT different in the end (and likely easily made up for with accessories) I will literally go with whichever one looks cooler when transformed. Early on, Gladius has a big str advantage over Blaze Fire. But at the very end it's at best 1/6 or 1/7 more. And if Lightning is EVER a ravager, Blaze Fire may end up being the best all-round weapon at the end due to having triple the magic of Gladius. (if you have a PURELY commando Lightning all the time, apparently the "Haute Claire" path is probably the best for that---but it's way to early to know end-game party/paradigms)

[kanedaestes]

Apparently everyone from Pulse has an Australian accent apparently

Edited March 16, 2010 by kanedaestes

[David Hingtgen]

Yeah, but only some have it consistently...

[Beltane70]

That's what I was thinking, Ghost Train. It sounds like Vanille's voice actor is trying to lose the Australian accent, but was clearly not doing too well.

To answer your question, dreamweaver, Vanille's voice was played by the same woman that played Nia in Gurren Lagann and Nono in Gunbuster 2. If you've seen either of those, then you know what Vanille's voice is like.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

Whatever intent the creators had with Lightning, there's no way I would ever dislike that character, even from the start. She's way too cool. And hot. And cool.

LOL, it's Sheryl Nome reasoning all over. I'm inclined to agree, as the trailers have been leading me on for so long that I just HAVE to like the characters. Still, there are times when Lightning is just one cold hearted b!tch. Though even she's realised it by now and regrets it a bit. I cut her slack anyway since I just assumed she was worried for Serah. I just read over on Penny arcade how much Tycho hates most of the characters. It's sad, but I can sort of understand it. THey're really the type you have to grow to understand. Not every character can nor should be sympathetic and likeable in the start just to be considered a "good" character.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

This thread lists the stats when maxed out for every weapon, and their effects:

http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/rpg/finalfanta...&pid=928790

May be useful for future planning etc. (really, the game itself doesn't describe weapon upgrading well at all)

Also, from looking around the boards, any "strike" attack from Lightning is determined by her str, not her mag (I had thought it was so, but I like confirmation). So even as a ravager, she should go for str IMHO. (of course, that requires that you are controlling her and making sure she always does strike attacks whenever possible---an AI'd Lightning will mix in lots of spells as a ravager)

Thanks. I'd say view Com I knew about the strike bit. It's the same in how if you use magic heavy Sahz on commando, he'll prefer Ruin, as it uses his magic stat. I'd say view COM/RAV more as the difference in Chain Guage and Elemental, rather than one uses STR, the other MAG.

To me the problem is not so much the accent, but rather than it sounded unnatural.

The English voice actress is Georgia van Cuylenburg who is from Melbourne Australia. If they wanted a non-American/British take on the English language then why not have her speak like Australians normally speak? It is obvious from the voice acting that she is being told to "sound American" or something to that effect without the presence of vocal coaches (it's a game after all, I doubt that they'd go to that extent). The resulting mess is called Vanille .

Gosh I hate that character so much... I hope she gets turned to crystal or something.

It's been growing on me a bit, but they solely added it to provide the Pulse clue. I was more caught off guard by it than anything. Still, I'd say it's probably better than any other "cute" English voice inherent in dubs. Can't wait to hear the serious voice. Listening to the Japanese trailer, I'd say most of the voices are pretty on par actually, and so deliveries are much better in context than the English trailer suggests. I think they even rerecorded some lines. Serah can be a little rough at times, and Vanille's accent give or take (and not present in the trailers it seems) but Lightning isn't as wooden as the trailers suggested. Hope sound almost exactly the same. Though going off those, I'd actually go so far as to say I prefer Fang in English. It's just clicks for her better.

[dreamweaver13]

Dang. Spoiler.

That's what I was thinking, Ghost Train. It sounds like Vanille's voice actor is trying to lose the Australian accent, but was clearly not doing too well.

To answer your question, dreamweaver, Vanille's voice was played by the same woman that played Nia in Gurren Lagann and Nono in Gunbuster 2. If you've seen either of those, then you know what Vanille's voice is like.

Oh damn. I would have loved that. damn you square for not providing a japanese audio with english subs!!

(ha. as if i wasn't pissed enough by the fact that I'm missing maaya sakamoto's voice for Lightning)

LOL, it's Sheryl Nome reasoning all over. I'm inclined to agree, as the trailers have been leading me on for so long that I just HAVE to like the characters. Still, there are times when Lightning is just one cold hearted b!tch. Though even she's realised it by now and regrets it a bit. I cut her slack anyway since I just assumed she was worried for Serah. I just read over on Penny arcade how much Tycho hates most of the characters. It's sad, but I can sort of understand it. THey're really the type you have to grow to understand. Not every character can nor should be sympathetic and likeable in the start just to be considered a "good" character.

LOL. Sheryl. sigh.

Even without watching any trailers beforehand, i Loved lightning at the first instance. After all, the first scene has her busting out of the purge train. how awesome is that? And even when she's playing the cold-hearted bi*ch card, I still can't find myself taking it against her.

Edited March 16, 2010 by dreamweaver13

[kanedaestes]

Sorry i forgot that was a spoiler. My apologies.

[Ghost Train]

Lightning is what every perverted sick twisted Final Fantasy fan has wanted for over a decade...

... a female Cloud (jk)

[Hikuro]

K....anyone else hating the save system on their 360? I've got 26 individual saves : / so it's a pain in the ass to go looking for my recent save file. I gotta pay attention to the time signatures.

[Oihan]

This thread lists the stats when maxed out for every weapon, and their effects:

http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/rpg/finalfanta...&pid=928790

May be useful for future planning etc. (really, the game itself doesn't describe weapon upgrading well at all)

Also, from looking around the boards, any "strike" attack from Lightning is determined by her str, not her mag (I had thought it was so, but I like confirmation). So even as a ravager, she should go for str IMHO. (of course, that requires that you are controlling her and making sure she always does strike attacks whenever possible---an AI'd Lightning will mix in lots of spells as a ravager)

PS--I've seen a few places say something about the enemies scaling/level with your weapon? Do they? How so? I mean, if I boost Lightning's to 20 or something, will the enemies become much tougher---that'd really kind of screw you if the rest of the party had weak weapons.

I just wanted to add that I'm not a fan at all of Action RPGs. However, FFXIII is the one exception to the rule for me; I'm really enjoying the game. Looking at that list, do you guys think it would it be best to wait to upgrade the weapons till the ones you want are picked up? I know some of you have already started upgrading...but I only have 1500gil so far...so I dunno how much I'll be able to buy later on; I have kept all of my components thus far. I've finally reached the point where I can upgrade my weapons for the first time and I'm hesitant to do so.

[shiroikaze]

Yay for me, I finally ordered the game (at a decent price to boot!) and now I will be able to see what I have been missing these past days.

Though I feel the need to finish FFXII now since mikeszekely has rekindled my interest in the game again . The battle system doesn't feel as off-putting as I remember it to be...

Whatever intent the creators had with Lightning, there's no way I would ever dislike that character, even from the start. She's way too cool. And hot. And cool.

And together with Hope, makes a great pairing.

Oh damn. I would have loved that. damn you square for not providing a japanese audio with english subs!!

(ha. as if i wasn't pissed enough by the fact that I'm missing maaya sakamoto's voice for Lightning)

^This. So much. But Yoshinori Kitase says we can't have it for reasons so obvious!

If they bring it back by DLC (for free or at a very tempting price point), I'll forgive 'em.

Edited March 16, 2010 by shiroikaze

[David Hingtgen]

Big revelations at end of ch 9. Ch 9 boss was long, but not hard IMHO. Only got a 3-star rating though (but I beat it the first try). My party was Light/Vanille/Fang---I think Light/Hope/Fang may have been better.

As for money---I quintupled my money in ch 9. Maybe more than that. Prior to this, upgrade just with what you have. Just make sure to not use any "good" components until you've got a 2x multiplier. (wait until you have the cash to spend on good organic points to get a 3x multiplier) (and I'd suggest not using the BEST components unless you've got 3x).

Ch 9----grind and farm!

[wolfx]

Oh damn. I would have loved that. damn you square for not providing a japanese audio with english subs!!

(ha. as if i wasn't pissed enough by the fact that I'm missing maaya sakamoto's voice for Lightning)

There's a reason for that. For all the new Square Enix games, they retimed the mouth movements for the english release so it won't look odd in the cinematics. So putting a japanese track over "english-timed cinematics" would've made that effort pointless.

[dreamweaver13]

There's a reason for that. For all the new Square Enix games, they retimed the mouth movements for the english release so it won't look odd in the cinematics. So putting a japanese track over "english-timed cinematics" would've made that effort pointless.

Seriously? Coz while i'm watching the cut scenes, the lip movements still seemed out of synch to me. Sure, it's definitely not as bad as an 80's kung fu movie, but there's still something off about it.

[Keith]

That's what I was thinking, Ghost Train. It sounds like Vanille's voice actor is trying to lose the Australian accent, but was clearly not doing too well.

To answer your question, dreamweaver, Vanille's voice was played by the same woman that played Nia in Gurren Lagann and Nono in Gunbuster 2. If you've seen either of those, then you know what Vanille's voice is like.

DAMN YOU SQUINIX, WHY DIDN'T YOU GIVE ME JAPANESE LANGUAGE OPTION!!

[dreamweaver13]

Sorry i forgot that was a spoiler. My apologies.

Well, that teaches me to read this thread when i'm only 6 hours into the game.

You have to laugh or roll your eyes a bit at how

they probably settled on australian being the accent for Pulse natives. The land down under. hyuk, hyuk.

I can't even say if it's funny or lame.

Edited March 16, 2010 by dreamweaver13

[wolfx]

Seriously? Coz while i'm watching the cut scenes, the lip movements still seemed out of synch to me. Sure, it's definitely not as bad as an 80's kung fu movie, but there's still something off about it.

I read it somewhere during the development of FFXIII and i didn't notice glaring mouth sync problems. If anything, the sentences constructed for FFXIII sound absolutely normal and not as odd as anime dub sentences. (they tend to make strange sounding sentences just to fill in some syllables that were there in the japanese track)

On another note, goddamn the creatures on

Gran Pulse

are tough as nuts. >.< I find myself having need to change my battle team often to cater for specific monsters.

[Ghost Train]

I put in a quick 30 min before work today, and turned my PS3 off during the cliffhanger. Light and Hope surrounded by PSICOM in Boudum... I wonder what will happen next?

[dreamweaver13]

I'm loving the battle system more and more as the game progresses (my first eidolon battle! awesome!). However, I have a bit of a reservation with the reward system based on time. I'm the type of FF player that enjoys a long battle every now and then. While I may get by an enemy by simply slashing at will (which would usually finish the battle in less time, but with a higher KO risk), I'd rather set up a bit for the easy (but sometimes slower) win. Thus, sometimes, i like to set up with a synergist and saboteur first, then as a second tier go for a commando-medic combo to make sure my team is in full health. Only then do I go for the kill with commando-ravager combos.

This way, I lessen the risk of being KOd, and I get a kick out of the battle (even if it may get a bit protracted at times). But while I thoroughly enjoyed the battle, a part of me is still saddened if i don't get 5 stars for the speed. It's kind of a downer at the end of a fantastic battle, to only get 3 or 4 stars. So, while the reward system is good in itself, it may have a tendency of causing players to hurry up, rather than enjoy the battle.

[David Hingtgen]

IMHO 5-star rewards are only slightly better than 3/4 star rewards. I don't think anything is "5-star-only", it's just more likely. I have gotten rare drops from 3 and 4 star battles---just not often. Whereas you fairly often get "rare" drops from 5-star battles.

You're not really missing much, if anything, by going slower. I don't think CP rewards are affected at all.

PS---when are people here using summons? I really only find them useful for "normal yet tough" encounters. They just aren't powerful enough to be useful for most bosses---they reset the stagger-chain bar, and if you stagger the boss prior to summoning them, your party could probably do more damage. Also, once you get "renew", a 2 TP technique, that quickly becomes VERY useful, and probably a better use of TP than any summon.

Of course, the fact that a dismissed summon casts like raise-all and curaga and dispel-all makes it useful as a last-ditch "save us!" option.

[Chowser]

Anyone close to finishing yet? I am stuck on

Orphan's third form and have not turned off my system yet because I don't want to go back to the last save point and fight Orphan's first two forms again and again.

Half the time, I can barely make it past the second.

never mind, I just had to be patient and keep healing.

and now I return to my regularly scheduled life...

Edited March 17, 2010 by David Hingtgen
Don't ya think the identity of the final/near-final boss is a spoiler?

[Wanzerfan]

I just started Chapter 3 and having a blast with it.

My only complaint so far is with the instruction booklet, because it doesn't include the credits.

Of all the actors they have for the game, I have a guess on one of the charcters-I think Snow is voiced by Cam Clarke. I'm not 100% sure, but it's similar enough; so take it for what it's worth.

[kanedaestes]

No it is definitely not Cam Clarke who has a very distinctive voice and all his voices sound the same.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0802988/

[David Hingtgen]

I thought he sound very Cam Clarke-ish too, but figured it wasn't him.

Lightning's voice actress should be evident to Bioware fans--if you don't recognize her yet, you will in Ch 5, when she has a "long quiet talk" and she sounds rather different. If you just want to know, it's

Liara from ME

[Beltane70]

Troy Baker is the actor's name that plays Snow.

[wolfx]

IMHO 5-star rewards are only slightly better than 3/4 star rewards. I don't think anything is "5-star-only", it's just more likely. I have gotten rare drops from 3 and 4 star battles---just not often. Whereas you fairly often get "rare" drops from 5-star battles.

You're not really missing much, if anything, by going slower. I don't think CP rewards are affected at all.

PS---when are people here using summons? I really only find them useful for "normal yet tough" encounters. They just aren't powerful enough to be useful for most bosses---they reset the stagger-chain bar, and if you stagger the boss prior to summoning them, your party could probably do more damage. Also, once you get "renew", a 2 TP technique, that quickly becomes VERY useful, and probably a better use of TP than any summon.

Of course, the fact that a dismissed summon casts like raise-all and curaga and dispel-all makes it useful as a last-ditch "save us!" option.

I find the later monsters to be quite tough and eidolons are a godsent against those particularly difficult "hunts" when there's too many of those small fry who have ample amounts of HP. Do not balk at a swarm of leech looking things. They killed me a few times when I was missing a sentinel paradigm.

Oh and i barely made it out of my final eidolon battle after a couple of retries. The battles seem inconsistently hard at some points.

[Keith]

I just started Chapter 3 and having a blast with it.

My only complaint so far is with the instruction booklet, because it doesn't include the credits.

Of all the actors they have for the game, I have a guess on one of the charcters-I think Snow is voiced by Cam Clarke. I'm not 100% sure, but it's similar enough; so take it for what it's worth.

Are you serious? He didn't once belt out "BURUTHA!!"

[wolfx]

Just killed the chapter 11 boss after numerous retries. >.<

Got 0 star rating.

Anyone had trouble with him? His spells of mass destruction were really painful.

[Chowser]

oops, sorry, i was trying to figure out how to do the spoiler tags then got tied up with the kids.

[Ghost Train]

I'm kind of intrigued more about Versus-XIII now that I've played 13. So it takes place in the same universe - yet in a modern world similar to our own. It's not a prequel or a sequel, but it also makes no reference to Cocoon, Pulse, or the Fal'Cie. Does not compute .

[David Hingtgen]

If anyone wants to know, I played around with saving and reloading just to see how they looked, and transformed the Blaze Fire and Gladius:

Flamberge looks pretty identical to Blaze Fire, just with an orangey blade with gold edge----flame-themed colors, but no actual "flames".

Helter-Skelter I think is a bit longer, more curved, almost scimitar-shaped than Gladius. but still shaped very much like Gladius overall. Black blade, gold edge.

[shiroikaze]

I'm kind of intrigued more about Versus-XIII now that I've played 13. So it takes place in the same universe - yet in a modern world similar to our own. It's not a prequel or a sequel, but it also makes no reference to Cocoon, Pulse, or the Fal'Cie. Does not compute .

Wait, Versus is supposed to take place concurrently with FFXIII?

Also, I be damned if they pulled a Star Ocean 3 twist.

Edited March 17, 2010 by shiroikaze

[Ghost Train]

Wait, Versus is supposed to take place concurrently with FFXIII?

Also, I be damned if they pulled a Star Ocean 3 twist.

I'm going by wikipedia... which is never wrong, always accurate, and never biased . But this is the original article: http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/705/705978p1.html.

Keep in mind, that Final Fantasy XIII is not a prequel or sequel to the other two FFXIII titles in the traditional sense. As Square Enix explained, the trio is linked through a common mythology but do not have any common characters, worlds, or stories. They all take place in the same universe, but aren't related to each other directly.

That sentence of course makes no sense. How can you have nothing in common except for thematic elements and still take place in the same "universe"? Perhaps it's on another planet or something.