LogFAQs > #976652927

Fiop posted...

I actually kinda liked this part of the game where characters were split up in pairs a lot. Each of the characters in the pair get to develop, and you get to see the interactions between them, and also the pairs change several times. It's probably why I remember several of the characters fondly even though I don't really remember the overall story very well. It's much different from FF12's approach of basically just having one party for most or all of the game once you get all the characters.

Now that shit is getting real, I'm enjoying the pairs more. When there's more forward-moving plot, the pairs become a lot more interesting. This kind of thing could work really, really well in a game with a more memorable story, or in one where more things are happening to the characters and they're interacting in response to those things.

It feels like the first six chapters were a whole lot of nothing, save for around the l'Cie branding, and that's why the pairings became tiresome. Two-person parties talking about their pasts is boring. A lot of people talk about plot vs. character but I believe they have to carry each other. If you have no plot, your characters become forgettable, but if your characters are forgettable, so is your plot. The characters didn't have enough to do with the plot until Chapter 7 - halfway through the game.

Note how great I thought it was to see Fang divulge her story. Why, you ask? Because it was being used to move her story and relationship with Lightning forward, and will give us more about Vanille when we get back to her. That was the best way to use a flashback so far. It was well-timed and fed off of events that had already happened to move forward. The previous flashbacks had mostly dwelt on what had already happened. This felt like it was being used to go somewhere.

And all of that is why I'm fine with the pairs now. Shit is happening, and we get to showcase different, rotating relationships. Light has been with Sazh, Hope, and Fang. Snow has been with Fang and Hope. Vanille has been with Hope and Sazh. That's 10 pairs for 6 characters. Not bad. Would love to see Fang/Vanille, Light/Snow, Snow/Sazh, and Vanille/Hope 2.0, if we're gonna stick with pairs.

Anyway I should play more later today after FOOTBALL.