It’s an age-old argument that dates back as far as anyone can remember. Discussions carry on year after year as players moan and groan, mumble and grumble about their favorite games being too linear. How linear is too linear, though? A game that throws you on a set path with clear objectives and no way to alter your course could be seen as linear, even if the world appears to be semi-open in nature.
Many people will have their own opinion, as there can never be a clear cut definition. Whether or not you like linearity, you have to draw the line somewhere. I recently came across an image (which can be seen below) of a Final Fantasy XIII area map. I’m not going to say that this is something I didn’t see coming: Final Fantasy has been a long proponent of airtight maps devoid of much room to walk.
There’s something about seeing an overhead view of the area map, though, that makes me uneasy. Naturally, Japanese RPGs aren’t expected to be as open-world as their western brewed counterparts, but surely the team over at Square-Enix has to come to a point where they say “hey, we need to give players more freedom of movement and exploration.” It really depends on who you are, but in this day and age, I expect action and RPG games of all sorts to be more open in terms of traversal throughout the playing world.
I’m sure this won’t be game breaking, as people will be far too involved in strategically taking out foes and completing quests to care about where they are, but what do you think? Click here to get your own view of the world made out of shoestring (the image is literally too tall for me to post).
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December 19, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Thank you 360! necronzero(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Yup, it’s all because of the 360 why this map is that small. I think if it was exclusive then it would’ve been bigger. Then again, they could’ve still made it the same game and added multiple 360 discs. An extra 23 discs would’ve worked Khalid(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 1:38 PM
what an idiotic statement mheim1989(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 3:33 PM
lol sarcasm. It was a reply to the above. Khalid(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 10:56 AM
The whole point of RPG’s to me is to explore. Walk forward and fight isn’t a good look, this ain’t Final Fight Adrian Pottinger(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 11:13 AM
It does look quite linear but it’s only one map. Granted it’s quite large but all ff’s have some parts that are like this. mark(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 11:55 AM
I’ll take a straight forward, linear story anytime. I’m sick of all the western RPGs that lack a true, involving story for the sake of “exploration” and “choosing your own path.” Games like Oblivion were a GIANT BOREFEST because they are so “open” you can’t even get involved in the story (or lack of). They are essentially “storyless.” Sorrow880(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Agreed. Western RPG’s suck… But I will give Mass Effect one last go. Khalid(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Who cares? This is only the map of one area. It’s a JRPG, linearity is a good thing. Sure WRPG’s are more open world and fun to explore, but their stories usually suck. JRPG’s stick to the traditional linear formula, which allows them to create good stories. bluem00se(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 1:56 PM
Lol, WRPG storyline sucks? comeon, JRPG are usually hero saving the girl and everyone is happy.
Mass Effect/Kotor/Baldur’s Gate/PlanetScape Torment and many more WRPG games have amazing world and storyline.
Btw= exploring is a good thing. Who cares(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 1:58 PM
Can you honestly say you were “wowed” by the plot of any JRPG? They’re usually really convoluted and unoriginal. Mike(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 2:14 PM
Yes, actually. As far as i’m concerned Final Fantasy X had the best storyline out of any game i’ve ever played. Western RPG’s just throw in an open – world setting and a bunch of guns and call it a finished product. JRPG’s actually have a heart and soul to them, there’s a REASON for the events happening. You don’t just go around shooting people in the head with a slightly modified gun for no reason at all. David Macphail(Quote)
December 19, 2009 at 4:21 PM
All I’ll say is that both JRPG’S and WRPG’S have their faults. I love JRPG’S for there stories but the linearity of some keeps me from from getting truely engage in the game. For instance the new Star Ocean: Last Hope, great game, but when I’m out leveling up my characters I end up wondering when the next cinamatic is going to happen so I can stop being bored. With WRPG’S I find that sometimes there isn’t enough story to keep me interested. Like Borderlands, great game, fun to explore but the lack of a gripping story has kept me from beating it lately. Both WRPG’S and JRPG’S have there strengths and weaknesses. Don’t count either of them out for lack of story or open worldness. Samory Henry(Quote)
December 20, 2009 at 4:08 AM
i would love to see more open world games like saints row, infamous, prototype, red faction guerrilla and GTA.
true crime, the new game announced at the VGAs is looking really enticing hopefully its done well.
mafia 2 is my most anticipated game for next year, every trailer i see makes me want the game that much more. name(Quote)
December 23, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Well first of all we shouldn’t lump all games with RPG aspects as WRPGs…for example, Borderlands while having RPG elements is really a Roguelike game (Like Diablo)…ie emphasis on items/stats not storyline.
The truly classic WRPGs have amazing storylines…Ultima IV-VII, Baldur’s Gate, Betrayal at Krondor etc. Sure they started as Pen and Paper stat builders (Ultima 1-3, Phantasie, Bard’s Tale, Might and Magic) but that was the demand in the 80s…since then they have evolved quite a bit.
I like both JRPGs and WRPGs and each has games with weak stories etc…but when done right nothing beats a game that has a compelling linear story in a non-linear world (Dragon Age, Baldurs Gate 2 etc). Epyx(Quote)
December 25, 2009 at 3:59 PM
It’s “Final Fantasy”, because Square Enix says so, not because some disappointed fans whine about it lacking, or over compensating, why don’t we actually wait for the game to, I dunno, come out, before judging it? <_<; From APPEARANCE alone, it looks really good, aside from the (REALLY?) fruity looking clothing going on, the character and environment looks very detailed, and worthy of play. I, for one, plan to spend the $65 for my own copy, woot. Melissa(Quote)
March 6, 2010 at 3:26 AM
This is a late response to an old comment. That said I wouldn’t spend 65$ on a game that is considered vastly compact compared to other games in the series. That said thanks to Amazon I’m gonna get it new for 30$ which I am more then happy to pay for then flip it afterward. Anyways, back on topic, how can you say not to jump to conclusions? This game was already released in Japan on December 19th of 2009. Granted the post in question was made on the 25th and topic the 19th I’m sure there is more then enough people that played it that can confirm this consensus. There’s been numerous American and European reviews that played the Japanese version. While I’m sure this game would have scored a 9/10 in most cases was docked to mainly due to a lot of people feeling, as it was put eloquently by one reviewer, “A dark tunnel that you are constantly pushed down with pretty wallpaper”. No one want’s to feel that they are constantly pushed down the path with no room for exploration. That said with exploration comes sidequests which there in lies side stories which add to the over all experience. I like a good helping of exploration, to add to the overall experience, cause when I play I like to play it thoroughly the first time through, and if need be for an alternate alignment story track a second, but never with as much interest as the first. As I’ve invested myself already into the characters, plot, and gameplay and the mystery is gone for me.
Anyways, didn’t mean to go off on a rant just wanted to express my views, as well I’m sure it will be a great game, with a great story, won’t surpass anything done previously by Square. Tup(Quote)
January 23, 2010 at 8:27 PM
Anyone who wants to sacrifice game play for getting a “great” story is a damn fool. You want a great story, read a book. The only reason anyone would find any of these FF game’s stories to be interesting is due to severe lack of exposure to good literature, good story telling. Orwell(Quote)
March 23, 2010 at 7:57 AM
Wait, I disagree. I have read plenty of great literature, and I still think a good story is vital to an RPG, and especially a Final Fantasy game. However, I do agree that game play should NOT be sacrificed for it. This is the same reason I hated FFX.. it seemed like a really pretty mystic quest. Sure, the story was alright (by far not the best in the series) but it wasn’t so good that it made me forget that I was playing MQ all over again. Plenty of FF games contained a great story while keeping game play intact.. so why does SE insist on this type of crap? *sigh* I hope FFversusXIII is better… TheDarkAssofMonteCristo(Quote)
February 25, 2010 at 1:33 PM
Man, sorry to say, but this FF gonna be a shit!! What the guys of Square are thinking? Shit, A Final Fantasy Linear???? Go to hell man! And Oblivion, Mass Effect, Fallout, have, indeed, a open-world….but this don’t affect the history!!! Oblivion, MF and Fallout have a wonderful history!
One more thing: the history of Final Fantasy X is SHIT!!! Gustavo(Quote)
March 10, 2010 at 12:41 AM
Ya completing quests lol….
Its not just linear. It’s almost completely devoid of quests and npcs. I can’t believe they did this. g(Quote)
March 17, 2010 at 8:45 AM
Dragon Age is utterly ruined by the crappy B-Movie script, the player is totally hemmed in with a crap linear approach., feels like I’m playing in a coffin ffs.
Lol you can’t even jump, swim in a lake if you want too, just re-install Oblivion and play that until Two Worlds II comes out. Steve(Quote)
March 22, 2010 at 3:47 PM
ok while I do admit this game is really liner, I don’t really think its a bad thing. Does anyone who’s posted a coment even know the story? In it they’re branded (quite literally) fugitives, and are on the run. Think about it, the whole word is afraid of you thinking you’re some kinda monster. They’re not gonna ask you to go find their lost kitty or some random thing like that. If you know the storry the fact it’s liner makes allot more since. Also if you’re on the run you wouldn’t for no obvious reason decied to go back to a town you alreaddy past a week ago. Also its not just ff13 that’s liner, I mean just have a look at ff10. Ok so the maps are a bit wider in some parts but not by much & you’re basically moving the same direction through most of the game. Or what they did with ff12 they made bigger areas but didn’t have hardly anything in them other than more monsters to fight. Now I’m a big final fantasy fan and love all the games but my point is in the case of ff13 I don’t think the linearity is a bad thing. Ultimatriple7(Quote)
June 30, 2010 at 3:29 PM
I am one of those who says FF13 is too linear. I agree with the idea that FF (like Zelda) should deviate from mechanics to keep the games up to date with the times, or to even push technology and expectations forward. Some say it only has bad reviews (over linear-ness) because it’s FF, and that if it were a different title it would have been accepted as an enormous accomplishment of a game, but I disagree there. It is supposed to be an RPG, and not only is it not an RPG because there is ZERO exploration and character interaction (no puzzles to figure out by interacting with others), it is also not an RPG because there is no level or skill system. I realize there is the crystagen point system, but that is also 99% linear, and it keeps speed exactly with the game events, so you don’t have to think about where to put points, just keep putting points in and you’re good. Lastly, you can’t roleplay. All the character’s stories are in place, and all you do is perform battles and listen to the story, you can’t change names or make decisions or anything. BUT!! I DO love the paradigm system, where you switch between healers, attackers, supporters, etc. That is indeed a major accomplishment for (possible) RPG’s, of which FF13 is not. Suamere(Quote)
July 10, 2010 at 6:43 AM
Sorry but this is wrong. If you have actually played, and you have done the missions and the extras, you will see how much you can go back and forth, and explore. Anything is linear if you only follow the story. Even ‘open’ games like GTA and Assassin’s Creed.
This game is amazing, best Final Fantasy yet. mizukage(Quote)