@@GtheMVP No, it objectively doesn't. Texture are still super low res. Shadows, light, reflection, POV, culling, ect... are all of a lesser tech and it shows. Now, it look quite nice but it's nowhere close of PS4 in term of graphical fidelity. Except resolution ofc.
@@alexandrebelair4360 I'd agree with you on a lot of titles, where they look like partial PS3/360 remasters, but Lost Odyssey is simply gorgeous running in 4K. I was playing it on my 75 inch Q90T tv, I was blown away. Where it shows it age is in the character models and some textures, but the art style holds up really well.
Exactly what I've told numerous people, at least about the first game. It doesn't look modern to me per se, but it's so perfectly executed that just at a higher base resolution, you really do get wowed by it all despite the low-resolution textures and of-the-era model detail.
Damn I never heard of trial version of FF13 before. FF13 on PC with custom 4k driver is amazing by the way, butter smooth 60fps and at 4k. With the enemies visible on the field it makes the one sin the distance still look sharp. Hoping the triology gets a remaster on the newer consoles (same gameplay just improve performance, resolution etc.). This also would allow them to be played on the ps4/ps5 which have no BC with PS3. Ironically you can still hear NPCs talk in FF13, you just walk close to them and they will say some lines, its just not done with a button press. On the open world issue it seems FF13 suffered with timing, as you guys pointed out FF10 is similar with linearity for much of the game, ff7 remake another example, but FF13 was released as open world craze was at its peak. There is a fair few people who originally hated FF13, went back to it later and then said they like the game. I actually love the trilogy, I think both battle systems are some of the best I have ever seen in a JRPG, lightning returns battle system I think should have been used for FF15. Watched whole video now, you two guys been fans of the triology I guess got us this video thanks, and yeah the LR stutters on PC, even on a RTX 3080 and 13700k are still there, but not as bad haha, maybe in about 10 years hardware can brute force through it.
Funny, I remember most open worlds coming out post Skyrim and post FFXIII, not helped by the reaction to the latter... Reaction which I still hold has less to do with actual level design and more with XIII 's ideas over fate... And how dbz' s creator gets called out and "insulted" (SOMEHOW)
I genuinely don't understand why they haven't released a 4K trilogy on the PS5 yet. They've done basically every other Final Fantasy game over to the PS4/5 generations, it's the one we're missing now.
@@Patrick-y4d1zI’m assuming it would be somewhat easy. They don’t even need to do serious work. They look good on ps3 already. Boost them to 60 frames and slap it on disc(s) and let us have fun lol
@@Patrick-y4d1zIt’s very simple, it’s because it’s hard to emulate the PS3. The Cell processor was unique. That’s why even the PS5 uses cloud streaming from Cell processors instead of on-device emulation. And yes, you can absolutely run PS3 games on an emulator, but they will have bugs and performance issues.
2009 was 15 years ago now. You've got to think that someone could've been just born at the time and would now be in their mid teens - who are a very large part of the gaming generation. Think of it this way. When Final Fantasy XIII came out in 2009, the equivalent Final Fantasy in 1994 was FF6 on the SNES.
I love the 13 games, and 13-2 is my favorite Final Fantasy game straight up. The presentation in all 3 is incredible, the transitions between cutscenes, battle, and pre-rendered scenes are fantastic. It really sucks how much of a goddamn nightmare it is to try to get the PC port of 13-2 to run at all since the PC versions of all three are pretty well optimized and run much more smoothly than the original consoles. It's really shocking hearing that the 360 has stronger specs than the PS3 though, I had it in my head for 20 years now that 360 was a beast but PS3 barely surpassed it. Kinda glad now that my phat PS3 YLODed and I had to get a later model 360 to keep playing 7th gen games on console. Not too much of a loss either, other than MGS4, since PlayStation has no games lmao
The original videos you did on this trilogy a bit ago made me go back and play them last year and I have to thank you for them; wat a bizarre but wonderfully unique trilogy of games. Each one with their own strengths and weaknesses that always feel like odd responses to the one that came before. Really glad I had the patience to do it all though because, while there are some low points, I found myself really invested and moved by the whole thing. So yeah.... thanks :)
Why was I ignoring this video until now, thinking it was a retread of the previous DF video about FF13? Great job. Try4ce breaking down the L'Cie/Fal'Cie/C'ieth nonsense was great too.
i really do feel like the 13 games are looked back on now with a lot less hate in a post 15, 16, 7Remake world depending on who you ask. Also the trilogy art direction has such a vibe to it that it hasn't aged a day
Marc Duddleson made an error when saying you couldn't toggle the resolution on Xbox 360 games for X enhanced games. You can knock the games back down to 720p, there is an option for it within the emulator itself when hitting Start and Back buttons together, if you wanted to favour framerate over visuals. Besides that, it was a fantastic video from the both of you.
Personally, I'm into disabling the fps boost, getting the rock solid 30 fps available nowadays and keeping the res. 30 is good enough for me, if 100% stable, not a reality on the OG versions.
Fantastic timing. Just picked up FF XIII for PS3 recently to finally give it a try. Loved the insight into its history here. Thanks for the time and attention to detail taken here, as always.
You can play all mainline Final Fantasies on the current PlayStation except one. Final Fantasy XIII. What's more, with backwards compatibility, you can play it on the Xbox Series X. SE needs to remaster this thing for the PlayStation at the very least to restore balance to the universe.
The PC version with the mods really is amazing and completely flips it around performance wise. And you can probably run it on a toaster at this point Definite Version™️ with the JP voices and PS5 movies
Yeah, Marc might be the only one who enjoys more the gameplay of lighting returns. I remember being quite disappointed when I learned that the battle system had little in common with the previous 2 games that I loved so much, FFXIII-2 in particular
Just THANK YOU ❤ THANK YOU for giving this awesome triology it's well deserved second big stage. It's still my favorite shot to the Final Fantasy series.
Talking about presentation, beautifully made video, love it. And I personally love so much ff13 story, its about prejudice and has so many emotional moments, the ending its wtf but ok lol
Seeing these comments pop from time to time weird me a little, since I'm not from an anglo country, but I can see the reasoning and worry merits, there's nothing to be worried, thankfully. Snow is a 21 childish hunk and she is 18, while her older sister Claire, (Lightning is her leaking the 2000's edge and refusing her real name, cannon!) is 21 too. Serah is just a short stack by american standards a 5'4"(but average worldwide), and they happen to pair her with a hunk. Even the japanese got weirded out by Snow's size and called him mr. 33cm, or 13 inches in imperial units because of his foot size. A 6'7 guy stands out as sore thumb in Japan, a true Goliath. They went very exotic and bold for the time, there was no politicized diversity on the culture. I loved it back then and I love when things like this are organic, Sazh, for instance, is my favorite character, a role model father and easygoing man, he had a complex role of also being a comic relief and they played it so well not to cheapen his serious story and mission. Square Enix has a great history of handling human beings as human beings.
When discussing alpha to coverage for hair rendering, there's another benefit: sorting. Even today, transparency sorting for rasterized rendering is still not actually solved (and very likely can't be), though there are a number of solutions that do an admirable job giving the appearance of proper sorting. If you get into that sort of technical detail, I recommend looking into order-independent transparency. Alpha to coverage doesn't have any of the same sorting issues inherent to alpha blending, it's relatively cheap to render, and can look virtually identical to alpha blending under the right conditions. Super-sampled alpha to coverage looks fantastic at or above 4 samples per pixel, and can look just as good with certain temporal AA implementations for far lower performance cost compared to alpha blending.
So what you are all saying is, with those resolution limitations on the 360 version (unless on a Series), the best way to play the 360 version is on a standard definition CRT.... Got it! 😃
Amazing Video guys absolute 10/10 !! Even though i didn't play FF13 myself and only played Lightning returns it was still packed with interesting content and every bit of the video was presented and explained so well and fully packed with information in a way that it really made me want to play 13 even though i don't like the combat system myself as many it seems but at the moment you played the battle song i was getting hyped ! And seeing the style and graphics kinda holding up nowadays still especially with mods it makes it a perfect time now to pick it up i suppose
Another excellent DF retro production. I never finished any of the FF13 games but play the first one a fair bit and really enjoyed it. I am surprised how much better the PS3 version was over the 360 though given the game's origins, it is not that surprising I guess. Thanks again for another great DF retro video.
Marc/Try4ce, maybe you’ve learnt this in the last 2 years, but you actually CAN disable the One X Enhanced resolution boost. You actually do it within the emulated 360 guide while game is running , in the Settings > Xbox One X settings menu. They phrase it as Graphics or Performance, which just means resolution boost On or Off.
I recently replayed the PS3 version of the game. Still an amazing adventure all these years later. If you are able, seek out the Asian version of the first two games as they offer the original Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles.
I think FF7 Rebirths implementation of NPCs giving out passive atmospheric dialogue is pretty good. I feel they have better things to say than FF7 Remake. Just an opinion. However there should be some indication of which NPC is speaking. A lot of times their dialogues are longer than a few seconds and it’s easy to run past their audio radius and missing what they say, then having to walk back slowly trying to see which one is going to trigger it again. Maybe when they are speaking a little a text box icon can pop over their heads?
Recently finished Lightning Returns for the first time after putting it off for all these years. Game is actually decent but the PC version's performance is atrocious. FFXIII-2's PC version is terrible as well which hurts because I really like that game. Gonna enjoy watching this video. FFXIII was a great audio-visual spectacle back when it released on PS3. Those pristine cutscenes were a joy to watch.
Did you know if you wiggle the stick back and forth, the character follows your input for a couple of seconds and Lightning does this weird hand gesture that she's had enough of your bullshit and stops responding to input for another couple of seconds?
haven’t tested performance with it but I’m fairly certain you CAN force the original resolution on enhanced xbox games via the 360 guide menu? (hit select + start, i forget the exact setting but it’s 100% a thing)
The upscaling and graphics mods that are available today on the pc version need to be replicated for a PS5 and Series X/S release. This game is stunningly beautiful running at 4k60
Awesome Video and I am happy that the FF13 series gets some love here. I really enjoyed the games and FF13-2 is still one of my favorite FF games of all time.
Would like to see coverage of Dragon Age The Veilguard. We got a 20 minutes gameplay reveal. Would like to hear your thoughts in the visuals whether it is good or bad.
While I've seen some praise the visuals, I think they look decidedly last generation. Aesthetically, though, Veilguard looks like a mess. Given the art direction and hack & slash nature of the combat, a far cry from the strategic combat Dragon Age was founded on, I have no doubt that this is going to be another Andromeda for Bioware. It won't be long until EA shutters Bioware.
@@stuckintheinbetweenI mean, Andromeda is actually an incredibly well crafted game, with the best core combat BioWare's ever done, and it's the best looking, technically, with a quite strong and cohesive art style, as well. I'm still worried about 'Veilguard', however. ME:A had a well implemented vehicle, and most importantly a very good, dynamic traversal system based around jumppacks, boosts, ect. I didn't initially like the idea of ME leaning harder into traversal during combat, but it ended up great. DA should be focusing on party-based strategy - not single character power spamming and """exciting""" fast paced action. Andromeda had ideas that made sense for ME to pivot to. I don't think DA has an equivalent path. It's just looking like another step away from the CRPG roots.
@@SabiJD "I mean, Andromeda is actually an incredibly well crafted game, with the best core combat BioWare's ever done, and it's the best looking, technically, with a quite strong and cohesive art style, as well." Hard disagree with pretty much all of that. I wouldn't call it "an incredibly well-crafted game." From the characters, to the narrative, to the planets which weren't fun to explore and I found to be pretty terribly designed, and I largely found the art direction to be pretty hideous. And while the combat was the one thing people did tend to enjoy, I enjoyed playing Mass Effect 2 a lot more than I did Andromeda. Andromeda's combat almost felt too loose and floaty to me. Mass Effect 2 felt heavier and more grounded. I was initially excited for Andromeda getting back to the ME1 style, much like I was with Saints Row 2022 getting back to the SR1/2 style, but both spectacularly failed to get what the originals got right.
@@stuckintheinbetween The trilogy took three games for the actual core gameplay to be about adequate/competent. Andromeda was snappier and far more fluid, and especially if you spec'd for aggressive movement (biotic charges, hover time, etc) it was one of the best (ranged biased) 3rdP action systems around. A few large passes from greatness, but excellent for an A/RPG. In terms of sheer craft, Andromeda's flow was so far ahead of the trilogy - which somehow managed to degrade in key ways. By which I mean how ship activity, system map interaction, space flight/ship navigation, and then to the Nomad and/or on foot. Now and then you have quite short black load screens, but by and large it kept up a fairly seamless experience. The system transitions almost felt like Trek title sequences, sweeping towards and between planets or comets. I feel ME:A is one of the best examples around of how to best marry open structure, but with an ultimately linear main story. Witcher 3 is a poor example, that so often felt at odds with its own format. ME:A didn't go for a very urgent time sensitive main plot. Just like DA Inquisition - which is ME:A's spiritual sibling - it's just as much a story of an organisation and its expansion/troubles. Almost every thing you do feeds into trying to settle the cluster, be it gaining resources or stabilising both worlds and social/cultural schisms. 'Faffing around' is thus part of the central goal. So theme and gameplay structure reinforce each other. The Big Bad was quite dull, at least until you uncover he's essentially a Roman general getting notions, and is becoming a problem to be solved by the Senate - leading to potential collusion with the Initiative to stop him. I liked that aspect, which gave some much needed dimensionality to them. But the pacing and relative lack of urgency was a good decision. I adore Cyberpunk 2077, but its core narrative decision kinda sucks. Its urgency contradicts its game structure. ME:A is well balanced; faffing is encouraged and justified, and the Big Bad threat is mostly in the background, bar the cultural effect of his incursion against the Angaran. Some key plus points for me are subjective, for example I think Shepard is a failure of A/RPG lead character design. They never felt like my creation, *or* the writers'. Shep fell between two design stools. I personally much prefer BioWare to have more defined leads. If they can't be arsed to create an actual RPG, then don't try to pretend I get to make 'my' character. I therefore think Hawke and Ryder are far more successful design choices. Shep is a badass 'icon' - but Ryder is a character. I also feel ME:A is better sci-fi. It's more classic Trek; hopeful without being naive, and interested in cultural clashes and conflict resolution. I love the idea of an intergalactic one-way trip, and the writing actually engages with the idea, and how it might mentally affect those who left their entire galaxy behind. I think it understands the psychological states of its main characters better, too, and is clearer with their arcs across the story. ME2, even, feels oddly compressed with its character arcs. Loyalty missions are the most extensive explorations, but they feel so rushed. Great at the time, but I don't feel that aspect has aged especially well. ME:A is more subtle from the off. Except when it's not, to be fair... Cora's arc feels rather blunt and in your face. However, the old krogan is a series highlight; a veteran who's getting close to death, who is too convinced of its own social obsolescence. ME:A - like DA:I - bests the ME trilogy in how it uses the group dynamic, too. They'd learnt how to layer in more interactions across the game between the various characters and crew. It ends up feeling more like a place of work where these characters have slowly bonded (Drack and the doctor being a good example. she, as the resident psychologist, is the one who identifies his unique form of fatalism). Anyway, I could go on... I went to bat for Dragon Age II since launch, and I think attitudes to that have changed over time. I wager a similar thing will happen with ME:A. That process has already started, but I think as even more players discover it - able to judge it for what it is, not what it wasn't - that'll calcify even more. ME:A's launch state was bad (I wasn't dumb enough to play it at launch. I waited months and played a nigh on flawless build), but I think most at least agree the reaction was histrionic (and at times just bad faith). I loved the trilogy as it unfolded. But Andromeda became my favourite in the series. It has some atrocious moments of dialogue writing, absolutely, but overall it's well thought out, with some very good writing as well.
@@SabiJD I found Andromeda's world painfully dull and unintuitive to navigate. It reminded me of Far Cry 2 in regards to this, just a far less ambitious game in comparison. If I had never played Andromeda, I wouldn't have missed out on anything. From a level design, story, narrative, character, etc., perspective, it failed to impress me with anything it was trying to do. The awkward facial animations at launch were the least of Andromeda's problems. The tired face meme was the only interesting thing to come out of the game's existence, sadly. I'm glad you liked Andromeda, however there's a reason it's largely mocked and plans for a successor to it were scrapped. It's the worst game in the franchise that doesn't deserve to be a part of such a beloved franchise. I like a lot of mid games. I've tried repeatedly to get into Andromeda. I judged it for what it was. Even if it didn't have the Mass Effect IP attached to it, it still wouldn't be a good video game, it would be even more forgettable than it already was. Andromeda felt like Gameloft's attempt at the Mass Effect franchise.
I tried really hard to get into these games and just couldn't. Actually, I could say that about most, if not all, Final Fantasy games post-PS2. Lightning Returns was honestly the most interesting of the 3, IMO, despite being the least liked of them. Lost Odyssey remains the best "Final Fantasy" since then.
I don't know what pleasantly surprises me more: that people can finally admit XIII was a tough pill to swallow _without_ needing to act like it's retroactive justification for Hiroshima and Nagasaki... ... Or that Lost Odyssey hasn't been forgotten. In any case, thank you.
I actually think this is the case for the Xbox Series consoles, due to back compat and the enhancements. Edit: I like how none of us watched the video yet, because I’m pretty sure they mention it themselves lol
Final fantasy XIII 2 and Lighting Returns is 4k 60 fps on xbox series X through backwards compatibility. Though its not flawless that should do the trick.
@@freeme123go8 But most people don't want the Xbox Series consoles. Also, many people want to have a physical copy of the game. Not a digital download.
@@Patrick-y4d1z Oh definitely! I was just letting OP know that what he wants technically already exists. If he has a Xbox console. Also I have physical copies and they work just fine on the new gen consoles.
This is a great video guys FF13 is a mixed game for me but it definitely has its ups and the battle system is a great one. I do disagree with Marc about towns. obviously ymmv but towns represent a rest time in between exploration or dungeons, it helps pace JRPGs into modes of battling/exploring and then resting, knowing more about the setting and preparing for the next exploring session. Older final fantasies did this to great effect. The lack of resting time if you will then makes the dungeons feel overlong as it is ALL there is to do in the game and makes the game feel as if you are running a neverending marathon. All that said, graphics are still beautiful and the soundtrack is just as good. In the end it is completely understandable how someone can love it as well as hate it.
I never played a FF game I did not like, cant say the same for my other fav, Resident Evil. Even 13 and 15 had its moments, and 16 was incredible, despite the lack of RPG elements.
FF13 games are some of my favourite FF games, I didn't like that at release, but when I replayed them a few years ago I really enjoyed them. There's some real depth in the combat , even though the combat differs between the three games. They also have some of the best music in the series.
I love FF XIII, I still have my JP PS3 copy, that was the first time I finished the game. Now I play on PC 4K@60. And I modded the 4K cutscenes (57,6 GB on Steam), so it´s perfect.
John referring to the PS3 as the PS Triple will never fail to get a chuckle out of me.
Long live Chad Warden.
Xbox 360….we ain’t trying to do geometry….we trying to play some games. Halo…more like GAYLO
@@adamterry550 Da Wii? Shiet...
these guys are OG Chad fans and it thrills me to no end.
C'mon...that lil controller? Dat looks like a DEAL 🤝 . DOE 🦌
Chad Daddy we miss you, please show up even for a pic.
Its crazy how much just going to 4k makes these games look modern. Speaks to the quality of the original artwork and design.
So true. Emulating Lost Odyssey at 4K or 1440p makes it look like a PS4 game ported to PC. It's stunning. The fast load times help as well.
@alargecorgi2199 Yes and no. On most monitors it barely makes a difference. You are too close and the monitor is too small.
@@GtheMVP No, it objectively doesn't. Texture are still super low res. Shadows, light, reflection, POV, culling, ect... are all of a lesser tech and it shows.
Now, it look quite nice but it's nowhere close of PS4 in term of graphical fidelity. Except resolution ofc.
@@alexandrebelair4360 I'd agree with you on a lot of titles, where they look like partial PS3/360 remasters, but Lost Odyssey is simply gorgeous running in 4K. I was playing it on my 75 inch Q90T tv, I was blown away. Where it shows it age is in the character models and some textures, but the art style holds up really well.
Exactly what I've told numerous people, at least about the first game. It doesn't look modern to me per se, but it's so perfectly executed that just at a higher base resolution, you really do get wowed by it all despite the low-resolution textures and of-the-era model detail.
The music in these games are so unique and beautiful
Something no Final Fantasy ever failed at: Music
It's not really unique lol
@@alexandrebelair4360ff16 ?
Is.
@@alexandrebelair4360 by definition it sort of was. It didn't follow the traditional Final Fantasy music such as the Prelude or Victory Fanfare.
Yes! The world does not get nearly enough FFXIII love, seeing a feature length video about this beloved trilogy is always a delight!
This is amazingly well-produced and it's filled with a lot of nostalgia. I personally enjoyed the FFXIII trilogy.
Same!!!
Ff13 taught me 2 things, Moms are tough and You wanna be a HERO?
Damn I never heard of trial version of FF13 before.
FF13 on PC with custom 4k driver is amazing by the way, butter smooth 60fps and at 4k. With the enemies visible on the field it makes the one sin the distance still look sharp.
Hoping the triology gets a remaster on the newer consoles (same gameplay just improve performance, resolution etc.). This also would allow them to be played on the ps4/ps5 which have no BC with PS3.
Ironically you can still hear NPCs talk in FF13, you just walk close to them and they will say some lines, its just not done with a button press.
On the open world issue it seems FF13 suffered with timing, as you guys pointed out FF10 is similar with linearity for much of the game, ff7 remake another example, but FF13 was released as open world craze was at its peak. There is a fair few people who originally hated FF13, went back to it later and then said they like the game.
I actually love the trilogy, I think both battle systems are some of the best I have ever seen in a JRPG, lightning returns battle system I think should have been used for FF15.
Watched whole video now, you two guys been fans of the triology I guess got us this video thanks, and yeah the LR stutters on PC, even on a RTX 3080 and 13700k are still there, but not as bad haha, maybe in about 10 years hardware can brute force through it.
Funny, I remember most open worlds coming out post Skyrim and post FFXIII, not helped by the reaction to the latter... Reaction which I still hold has less to do with actual level design and more with XIII 's ideas over fate... And how dbz' s creator gets called out and "insulted" (SOMEHOW)
Hoping for an FF13 Collection for PS5!
I genuinely don't understand why they haven't released a 4K trilogy on the PS5 yet. They've done basically every other Final Fantasy game over to the PS4/5 generations, it's the one we're missing now.
Yes! It's my favorite series...in the series!
@@Patrick-y4d1zI’m assuming it would be somewhat easy. They don’t even need to do serious work. They look good on ps3 already. Boost them to 60 frames and slap it on disc(s) and let us have fun lol
@@Patrick-y4d1zIt’s very simple, it’s because it’s hard to emulate the PS3. The Cell processor was unique. That’s why even the PS5 uses cloud streaming from Cell processors instead of on-device emulation.
And yes, you can absolutely run PS3 games on an emulator, but they will have bugs and performance issues.
Damn that's a shame. Glad my Xbox just runs the games.
Thank god we live in the same era as that in which Digital Foundry exists
Me: Wait FF13 is considered retro now?
It came out in 2009... I could have sworn it wasnt that long ago.
2009 was 15 years ago now.
You've got to think that someone could've been just born at the time and would now be in their mid teens - who are a very large part of the gaming generation.
Think of it this way. When Final Fantasy XIII came out in 2009, the equivalent Final Fantasy in 1994 was FF6 on the SNES.
I can feel the dust in my veins holy shit
This game looks so good for 2009 game!
@@callmeivan2064 shit its ash now.
More like 2010 in the western world. Late December 2009 was only the release date in Japan which is basically 2010 in my book.
I love the 13 games, and 13-2 is my favorite Final Fantasy game straight up. The presentation in all 3 is incredible, the transitions between cutscenes, battle, and pre-rendered scenes are fantastic. It really sucks how much of a goddamn nightmare it is to try to get the PC port of 13-2 to run at all since the PC versions of all three are pretty well optimized and run much more smoothly than the original consoles.
It's really shocking hearing that the 360 has stronger specs than the PS3 though, I had it in my head for 20 years now that 360 was a beast but PS3 barely surpassed it. Kinda glad now that my phat PS3 YLODed and I had to get a later model 360 to keep playing 7th gen games on console. Not too much of a loss either, other than MGS4, since PlayStation has no games lmao
The original videos you did on this trilogy a bit ago made me go back and play them last year and I have to thank you for them; wat a bizarre but wonderfully unique trilogy of games. Each one with their own strengths and weaknesses that always feel like odd responses to the one that came before. Really glad I had the patience to do it all though because, while there are some low points, I found myself really invested and moved by the whole thing. So yeah.... thanks :)
Why was I ignoring this video until now, thinking it was a retread of the previous DF video about FF13? Great job. Try4ce breaking down the L'Cie/Fal'Cie/C'ieth nonsense was great too.
33:00 This tactic actually originated in FF12, where the majority of NPCs are similarly non-interactive and reveal world details passively.
Thanks guys, I appreciate the amount of work that goes into these retro videos.
I really enjoyed this video! Thanks for putting together a full-length movie about the trilogy 😊
i really do feel like the 13 games are looked back on now with a lot less hate in a post 15, 16, 7Remake world depending on who you ask. Also the trilogy art direction has such a vibe to it that it hasn't aged a day
Marc Duddleson made an error when saying you couldn't toggle the resolution on Xbox 360 games for X enhanced games. You can knock the games back down to 720p, there is an option for it within the emulator itself when hitting Start and Back buttons together, if you wanted to favour framerate over visuals.
Besides that, it was a fantastic video from the both of you.
Personally, I'm into disabling the fps boost, getting the rock solid 30 fps available nowadays and keeping the res. 30 is good enough for me, if 100% stable, not a reality on the OG versions.
Fantastic timing. Just picked up FF XIII for PS3 recently to finally give it a try. Loved the insight into its history here. Thanks for the time and attention to detail taken here, as always.
13-2 remains one of my favorites. So many good memories with that game and the soundtrack went crazy in that one
The ending got me.
This game has for me still the best Soundtrack of all FF games. Perfect in every situation.
it's the pokemon game right?
13-2 is probably my favorite FF game in general.
When I went to play through XIII completely for the first time I was so in love with the story and actually got kind bummed when it opened up.
Sitting here, waiting for a remaster of this glorious trilogy.
You can play all mainline Final Fantasies on the current PlayStation except one. Final Fantasy XIII. What's more, with backwards compatibility, you can play it on the Xbox Series X. SE needs to remaster this thing for the PlayStation at the very least to restore balance to the universe.
11:39 John's word choices never cease to amuse me.
Soundtrack of FF13 is by far one of the best in FF history, presentation was top notch too.
Perfect watch for the Sunday afternoon, love df retro
I'm so glad John made this! FF13 is so underated and the hate for it by some is SO OVERBLOWN!
Thank you!
The PC version with the mods really is amazing and completely flips it around performance wise. And you can probably run it on a toaster at this point
Definite Version™️ with the JP voices and PS5 movies
FF13 was the first 1080P game I played. It made such a difference. There were'nt many 1080P games back then.
It was 720p on PS3 and even loweron X360.
Every time I see MLiG and John together is amazing. Thanks!
FF 13 to this day is my favorite FF by a large margin.
Think you forgot the /s
I like your efforts to will a Trilogy remaster into existence.
John and Mark thank u for this 😊
I'm dying to replay these games sometime soon. Love all three, espeially for the lore, the art style and the music, all of which is top, top tier.
Yeah, Marc might be the only one who enjoys more the gameplay of lighting returns. I remember being quite disappointed when I learned that the battle system had little in common with the previous 2 games that I loved so much, FFXIII-2 in particular
Just THANK YOU ❤
THANK YOU for giving this awesome triology it's well deserved second big stage. It's still my favorite shot to the Final Fantasy series.
Talking about presentation, beautifully made video, love it. And I personally love so much ff13 story, its about prejudice and has so many emotional moments, the ending its wtf but ok lol
God this video is pretty high quality! Thanks for all of your insight and perspective about the games!
Snow and Serah always look so creepy together. Like a dude in his mid-20s dating a 12-year-old.
Serah and Vanilla being 19 is...lkke idk I guess I have to take the writers word for it. Hope is somehow 14 though despite looking like them.
Seeing these comments pop from time to time weird me a little, since I'm not from an anglo country, but I can see the reasoning and worry merits, there's nothing to be worried, thankfully. Snow is a 21 childish hunk and she is 18, while her older sister Claire, (Lightning is her leaking the 2000's edge and refusing her real name, cannon!) is 21 too. Serah is just a short stack by american standards a 5'4"(but average worldwide), and they happen to pair her with a hunk. Even the japanese got weirded out by Snow's size and called him mr. 33cm, or 13 inches in imperial units because of his foot size. A 6'7 guy stands out as sore thumb in Japan, a true Goliath. They went very exotic and bold for the time, there was no politicized diversity on the culture. I loved it back then and I love when things like this are organic, Sazh, for instance, is my favorite character, a role model father and easygoing man, he had a complex role of also being a comic relief and they played it so well not to cheapen his serious story and mission. Square Enix has a great history of handling human beings as human beings.
I had no idea that textures bleeding into each other had an official term. Thank you for showing me what Z-Fighting is!
Played the trilogy on the 360 back in the day, lots of fond memories.
I love this trilogy, its part of my best years of gaming 🥲 Thanks for this marathon DF❤
I'm downloading about 120 GB worth 4k 60fps remastered FMV/cutscene mods now 😅
P.S. FF13 soundtrack gives me goosebumps.
When discussing alpha to coverage for hair rendering, there's another benefit: sorting. Even today, transparency sorting for rasterized rendering is still not actually solved (and very likely can't be), though there are a number of solutions that do an admirable job giving the appearance of proper sorting. If you get into that sort of technical detail, I recommend looking into order-independent transparency.
Alpha to coverage doesn't have any of the same sorting issues inherent to alpha blending, it's relatively cheap to render, and can look virtually identical to alpha blending under the right conditions. Super-sampled alpha to coverage looks fantastic at or above 4 samples per pixel, and can look just as good with certain temporal AA implementations for far lower performance cost compared to alpha blending.
Laughed out loud when the NeoGAF meme was read aloud
It always brings me a smike when John and crew puts so much love into a project for a game that might not desrve it.
So what you are all saying is, with those resolution limitations on the 360 version (unless on a Series), the best way to play the 360 version is on a standard definition CRT.... Got it! 😃
i still go back to ffxiii every now and then. it was a bit unpolished but god did it keep me engaged.
unpolished? It was arguably the BEST looking game of the ps3 era.
Amazing Video guys absolute 10/10 !!
Even though i didn't play FF13 myself and only played Lightning returns it was still packed with interesting content and every bit of the video was presented and explained so well and fully packed with information in a way that it really made me want to play 13 even though i don't like the combat system myself as many it seems but at the moment you played the battle song i was getting hyped ! And seeing the style and graphics kinda holding up nowadays still especially with mods it makes it a perfect time now to pick it up i suppose
Enchanted Arms is such a weird bizarre gem that im glad I got to play. I loved the grid based combat
Another excellent DF retro production. I never finished any of the FF13 games but play the first one a fair bit and really enjoyed it. I am surprised how much better the PS3 version was over the 360 though given the game's origins, it is not that surprising I guess.
Thanks again for another great DF retro video.
Marc/Try4ce, maybe you’ve learnt this in the last 2 years, but you actually CAN disable the One X Enhanced resolution boost. You actually do it within the emulated 360 guide while game is running , in the Settings > Xbox One X settings menu. They phrase it as Graphics or Performance, which just means resolution boost On or Off.
1:48 Is this a re-release of a older video? 13 years after 2009 is 2022. I'm stoked to watch this! Just wondering.
It was released in multiple parts, they compiled it into one
I can't wait to see your Sunsoft video John and I'm especially hyped for your Saturn vs PS series!
I recently replayed the PS3 version of the game. Still an amazing adventure all these years later. If you are able, seek out the Asian version of the first two games as they offer the original Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles.
anyone know the name of the music in 54:54?
It sounds like The Gapra Whitewood from XIII OST
I think FF7 Rebirths implementation of NPCs giving out passive atmospheric dialogue is pretty good. I feel they have better things to say than FF7 Remake. Just an opinion. However there should be some indication of which NPC is speaking. A lot of times their dialogues are longer than a few seconds and it’s easy to run past their audio radius and missing what they say, then having to walk back slowly trying to see which one is going to trigger it again. Maybe when they are speaking a little a text box icon can pop over their heads?
I see anything Final Fantasy and I watch.
Here I am, yet again watching a video about a game franchise that I absolutely do not care about. Well done you two.
Really enjoyed this video!
Recently finished Lightning Returns for the first time after putting it off for all these years. Game is actually decent but the PC version's performance is atrocious. FFXIII-2's PC version is terrible as well which hurts because I really like that game. Gonna enjoy watching this video.
FFXIII was a great audio-visual spectacle back when it released on PS3. Those pristine cutscenes were a joy to watch.
Sweet video. FF XIII and XIII-2 aren't perfect by any means, but they'll always be special to me. Masashi Hamauzu's music is so so good.
One of the last great installments in the series for all of its whimsy and wonder. Highly underrated.
Another Df Retro banger! I have to pick this trilogy for xbox for a new up rezzed playthrough, thank you for amazing content.
My favourite trilogy, loved this video DF ❤.
Wait, was this video recorded in 2022 and uploaded in 2024? Oh (looks at video description) I see...
Lets hope for a trilogy remaster!!
Brilliant, thank you both for this
Those B-roll is astonishing!
Yaaay I love the XIII games. Thanks for this.
Amazing video guys. Hopefully these games get ported to modern consoles one day so that I can finally experience them
Best spherical harmonics in a game, ever?
54:04 It's now 2022 is it John??? 😆
Woah, those crystal cases look nice. 15:13
Did you know if you wiggle the stick back and forth, the character follows your input for a couple of seconds and Lightning does this weird hand gesture that she's had enough of your bullshit and stops responding to input for another couple of seconds?
FF13 series is my favorite out of the all FF games ❤
With the news about the remake/remaster tweet I think we need you to host some more discussions. Please.
The worst FF game of the series gets a 100 minute DF video, count me in :D
It certainly wasn't my favourite Final Fantasy, but the soundtrack really was great! Glad to see some love for the boss battle theme.
haven’t tested performance with it but I’m fairly certain you CAN force the original resolution on enhanced xbox games via the 360 guide menu? (hit select + start, i forget the exact setting but it’s 100% a thing)
The upscaling and graphics mods that are available today on the pc version need to be replicated for a PS5 and Series X/S release. This game is stunningly beautiful running at 4k60
Awesome Video and I am happy that the FF13 series gets some love here. I really enjoyed the games and FF13-2 is still one of my favorite FF games of all time.
Would like to see coverage of Dragon Age The Veilguard. We got a 20 minutes gameplay reveal. Would like to hear your thoughts in the visuals whether it is good or bad.
While I've seen some praise the visuals, I think they look decidedly last generation. Aesthetically, though, Veilguard looks like a mess. Given the art direction and hack & slash nature of the combat, a far cry from the strategic combat Dragon Age was founded on, I have no doubt that this is going to be another Andromeda for Bioware. It won't be long until EA shutters Bioware.
@@stuckintheinbetweenI mean, Andromeda is actually an incredibly well crafted game, with the best core combat BioWare's ever done, and it's the best looking, technically, with a quite strong and cohesive art style, as well.
I'm still worried about 'Veilguard', however. ME:A had a well implemented vehicle, and most importantly a very good, dynamic traversal system based around jumppacks, boosts, ect. I didn't initially like the idea of ME leaning harder into traversal during combat, but it ended up great. DA should be focusing on party-based strategy - not single character power spamming and """exciting""" fast paced action.
Andromeda had ideas that made sense for ME to pivot to. I don't think DA has an equivalent path. It's just looking like another step away from the CRPG roots.
@@SabiJD "I mean, Andromeda is actually an incredibly well crafted game, with the best core combat BioWare's ever done, and it's the best looking, technically, with a quite strong and cohesive art style, as well."
Hard disagree with pretty much all of that. I wouldn't call it "an incredibly well-crafted game." From the characters, to the narrative, to the planets which weren't fun to explore and I found to be pretty terribly designed, and I largely found the art direction to be pretty hideous. And while the combat was the one thing people did tend to enjoy, I enjoyed playing Mass Effect 2 a lot more than I did Andromeda. Andromeda's combat almost felt too loose and floaty to me. Mass Effect 2 felt heavier and more grounded.
I was initially excited for Andromeda getting back to the ME1 style, much like I was with Saints Row 2022 getting back to the SR1/2 style, but both spectacularly failed to get what the originals got right.
@@stuckintheinbetween The trilogy took three games for the actual core gameplay to be about adequate/competent. Andromeda was snappier and far more fluid, and especially if you spec'd for aggressive movement (biotic charges, hover time, etc) it was one of the best (ranged biased) 3rdP action systems around. A few large passes from greatness, but excellent for an A/RPG.
In terms of sheer craft, Andromeda's flow was so far ahead of the trilogy - which somehow managed to degrade in key ways. By which I mean how ship activity, system map interaction, space flight/ship navigation, and then to the Nomad and/or on foot. Now and then you have quite short black load screens, but by and large it kept up a fairly seamless experience. The system transitions almost felt like Trek title sequences, sweeping towards and between planets or comets.
I feel ME:A is one of the best examples around of how to best marry open structure, but with an ultimately linear main story. Witcher 3 is a poor example, that so often felt at odds with its own format. ME:A didn't go for a very urgent time sensitive main plot. Just like DA Inquisition - which is ME:A's spiritual sibling - it's just as much a story of an organisation and its expansion/troubles.
Almost every thing you do feeds into trying to settle the cluster, be it gaining resources or stabilising both worlds and social/cultural schisms. 'Faffing around' is thus part of the central goal. So theme and gameplay structure reinforce each other.
The Big Bad was quite dull, at least until you uncover he's essentially a Roman general getting notions, and is becoming a problem to be solved by the Senate - leading to potential collusion with the Initiative to stop him. I liked that aspect, which gave some much needed dimensionality to them.
But the pacing and relative lack of urgency was a good decision. I adore Cyberpunk 2077, but its core narrative decision kinda sucks. Its urgency contradicts its game structure. ME:A is well balanced; faffing is encouraged and justified, and the Big Bad threat is mostly in the background, bar the cultural effect of his incursion against the Angaran.
Some key plus points for me are subjective, for example I think Shepard is a failure of A/RPG lead character design. They never felt like my creation, *or* the writers'. Shep fell between two design stools.
I personally much prefer BioWare to have more defined leads. If they can't be arsed to create an actual RPG, then don't try to pretend I get to make 'my' character. I therefore think Hawke and Ryder are far more successful design choices. Shep is a badass 'icon' - but Ryder is a character.
I also feel ME:A is better sci-fi. It's more classic Trek; hopeful without being naive, and interested in cultural clashes and conflict resolution. I love the idea of an intergalactic one-way trip, and the writing actually engages with the idea, and how it might mentally affect those who left their entire galaxy behind. I think it understands the psychological states of its main characters better, too, and is clearer with their arcs across the story.
ME2, even, feels oddly compressed with its character arcs. Loyalty missions are the most extensive explorations, but they feel so rushed. Great at the time, but I don't feel that aspect has aged especially well. ME:A is more subtle from the off.
Except when it's not, to be fair... Cora's arc feels rather blunt and in your face. However, the old krogan is a series highlight; a veteran who's getting close to death, who is too convinced of its own social obsolescence.
ME:A - like DA:I - bests the ME trilogy in how it uses the group dynamic, too. They'd learnt how to layer in more interactions across the game between the various characters and crew. It ends up feeling more like a place of work where these characters have slowly bonded (Drack and the doctor being a good example. she, as the resident psychologist, is the one who identifies his unique form of fatalism).
Anyway, I could go on...
I went to bat for Dragon Age II since launch, and I think attitudes to that have changed over time. I wager a similar thing will happen with ME:A. That process has already started, but I think as even more players discover it - able to judge it for what it is, not what it wasn't - that'll calcify even more. ME:A's launch state was bad (I wasn't dumb enough to play it at launch. I waited months and played a nigh on flawless build), but I think most at least agree the reaction was histrionic (and at times just bad faith).
I loved the trilogy as it unfolded. But Andromeda became my favourite in the series. It has some atrocious moments of dialogue writing, absolutely, but overall it's well thought out, with some very good writing as well.
@@SabiJD I found Andromeda's world painfully dull and unintuitive to navigate. It reminded me of Far Cry 2 in regards to this, just a far less ambitious game in comparison.
If I had never played Andromeda, I wouldn't have missed out on anything. From a level design, story, narrative, character, etc., perspective, it failed to impress me with anything it was trying to do. The awkward facial animations at launch were the least of Andromeda's problems. The tired face meme was the only interesting thing to come out of the game's existence, sadly.
I'm glad you liked Andromeda, however there's a reason it's largely mocked and plans for a successor to it were scrapped. It's the worst game in the franchise that doesn't deserve to be a part of such a beloved franchise.
I like a lot of mid games. I've tried repeatedly to get into Andromeda. I judged it for what it was. Even if it didn't have the Mass Effect IP attached to it, it still wouldn't be a good video game, it would be even more forgettable than it already was. Andromeda felt like Gameloft's attempt at the Mass Effect franchise.
The first ff 13 game was very good I really loved the visuals character design and music especially
I'm playing the Steam version of Kingdom Hearts right now and I'm amazed at how good it still looks, the artstyle is really doing alot
I did'nt realized this would be so technical.
I tried really hard to get into these games and just couldn't. Actually, I could say that about most, if not all, Final Fantasy games post-PS2. Lightning Returns was honestly the most interesting of the 3, IMO, despite being the least liked of them. Lost Odyssey remains the best "Final Fantasy" since then.
I don't know what pleasantly surprises me more: that people can finally admit XIII was a tough pill to swallow _without_ needing to act like it's retroactive justification for Hiroshima and Nagasaki...
... Or that Lost Odyssey hasn't been forgotten.
In any case, thank you.
Is this being re-uploaded?
The prelude still one of my favourite
Please make a trilogy remaster for current gen consoles 🙏 4K HDR 60fps would do it justice!
Yep I never played lightning returns
I actually think this is the case for the Xbox Series consoles, due to back compat and the enhancements.
Edit: I like how none of us watched the video yet, because I’m pretty sure they mention it themselves lol
Final fantasy XIII 2 and Lighting Returns is 4k 60 fps on xbox series X through backwards compatibility. Though its not flawless that should do the trick.
@@freeme123go8
But most people don't want the Xbox Series consoles.
Also, many people want to have a physical copy of the game. Not a digital download.
@@Patrick-y4d1z Oh definitely! I was just letting OP know that what he wants technically already exists. If he has a Xbox console. Also I have physical copies and they work just fine on the new gen consoles.
Damn I'm finna go back and play these
This is a great video guys FF13 is a mixed game for me but it definitely has its ups and the battle system is a great one. I do disagree with Marc about towns. obviously ymmv but towns represent a rest time in between exploration or dungeons, it helps pace JRPGs into modes of battling/exploring and then resting, knowing more about the setting and preparing for the next exploring session. Older final fantasies did this to great effect. The lack of resting time if you will then makes the dungeons feel overlong as it is ALL there is to do in the game and makes the game feel as if you are running a neverending marathon. All that said, graphics are still beautiful and the soundtrack is just as good. In the end it is completely understandable how someone can love it as well as hate it.
I never played a FF game I did not like, cant say the same for my other fav, Resident Evil. Even 13 and 15 had its moments, and 16 was incredible, despite the lack of RPG elements.
FF13 games are some of my favourite FF games, I didn't like that at release, but when I replayed them a few years ago I really enjoyed them. There's some real depth in the combat , even though the combat differs between the three games.
They also have some of the best music in the series.
I couldn't care less about FF13 but I loved your guys video about it!
Am so glad I have the series X versions of all 3 games
I love FF XIII, I still have my JP PS3 copy, that was the first time I finished the game. Now I play on PC 4K@60. And I modded the 4K cutscenes (57,6 GB on Steam), so it´s perfect.
I got tired of waiting for a remaster so I built a custom PC with a RTX3070, and played it in 4K/60 with HD mods.
The Xbox 360 never fails to amaze me. I can’t believe (but can) this console was able to put on this showing. 👏
FF 13 It’s my favorite game in the series. I love when you talk about it! ❤