what's more important?

[-Tidus4]

For the two upcoming console FF games what is more important? put these in order:

Graphics, Gameplay, plot, VA(Voice acting), CD(character development), CS(how the story is told through cut-scenes.) and music.

Here is my list:

Plot
CD
CS
Gameplay
VA
Music
Graphics

[Final]

Plot
CD
CS
Gameplay
Music
Graphics
VA

[Whiplash]

Character Development
Plot
Gameplay
Cut Scenes
Music/Voice-Acting
Graphics (I can safely put this at the bottom of the list and act like I don't care because we already know they're going to be fantastic)

[Passion]

Character Development
Plot
Gameplay
Cut Scenes
Music/Voice-Acting
Graphics (I can safely put this at the bottom of the list and act like I don't care because we already know they're going to be fantastic)

QFT. :aldo:

[Pain Clone]

plot
game play
character development
music
voice acting
Graphics
Cut scenes

Well if it for an ff game i think plot comes firsts but although the cut scenes r great u dont really need them to enjoy the games. but this final fantasy im talking about and i dont think they will cut back on the cut scenes ant time soon lol.

[FANTASY-BOSS]

Plot
CD
CS
Gameplay
VA
Music
Graphics
_________________



https://www.videogamesplus.ca/images/ps3_ff13_display.jpg

[adiduz]

...Hmm, well when it comes to critics, gaming websites, journalists, news articles what they mainly rate for is gameplay and plot, mainly gameplay though. For me it's different, gameplay is usually a big factor when it comes to a great game, but what I like from an epic game is a good plot and a lot of character development. I love intriguing and unique games that go for a different purpose in what it means to be a game. I also love games that mess with my emotions and how I feel about life. Usually after beating a game so epic I kind of feel down and somewhat depressed after realizing the story has come to an end. The reason why is because of the well thought out plot and how I became very attached to the characters. This is what a great game should have and what will make it memorable for years to come. When beating a game so epic having replay value is a must. Music also plays a big role in games, what words can't describe music can in some situations. Music can also make certain parts of the game memorable or describe the emotion of the setting. So for me the stories and characters is what draws me to games. Being a great game doesn't mean it has to have the best "graphics" or "visuals" as I call it.:thumbsup:

1. Plot: Having an intriguing and unique plot is what draws me to the game.
2. CD (character development): Becoming attached to the characters is a must for me. Mixing with my emotions and confusing me on what to think is what normal games can't do.
3. Gameplay: Also a big factor when it comes to games. Having unique controls and replay value.
4. Music: Music can illustrate what words can't in a lot of situations. It can also make some parts or scenes in a game very memorable. Especially Final Fantasy.(Most memorable part where music was used in FFX for me was Mt. Gagazet, "People of the North Pole" is what the song was called.
5. VA (voice acting): The game could be just straight text you read off and it still could be a great game. For example "Zelda Ocarina of Time" was like that and it was well received and probably one of the greatest games of all time. One of the first games to ever get a perfect 10.0 from gamespot.
6. CS (how the story is told through cut-scenes): Not always necessary, but a good thing to have to show your point of view. Also good for eye-candy.
7. Graphics: Just because a game has the best graphics doesn't always make it a great game.

Hopefully the new installment of Final Fantasies will be nothing but flawless...

[IBeatMyMeat]

1: CD- since it looks like few characters they gotta have them well developed or youll lose interest.
2: plot
3: gameplay
4-7: what does it matter....its a FF game they arent going to lag behind in any of these areas....graphics, cutscenes, Voice-acting, and music....all are usually brilliantly done in FF games.

[VeraAlexander]

This is my order

Plot
CD
Music
CS
Gameplay
VA
Graphics

[7 of Hope]

Character Development
Plot
Cut Scenes
Gameplay
Graphics
Voice Acting
Music

[Desi]

did we not have this before?

Gameplay
Gameplay
graphics

[IBeatMyMeat]

ahahaha i lold at that xD go gameplay!!

[Bun]

I've got to say:

Plot - You can't have a good game without a good story.
Character Development - Whether or not the story is good or bad, your characters may be just the thing to save it.
Voice Acting - Bringing characters to life, to me, is an essential part of character development that needs to be taken into careful consideration. If a character is wrongly cast, then hearing them speak could be like nails to a chalkboard.
Cut-scenes/Music - I put these two together because when the cut scenes move the story along, the music has to fit right, make sense and generally tell its audience what to feel.
Graphics - I do care a lot about graphics, but overall it's not as important to me as the other aspects.
Gameplay - Never been a huge deal for me, which is why it's at the bottom.

[Chick]

CD - Even if you have an original story, the characters can make or break it.
Plot - Yes.
VA - If you screw this up then it just gets really hard to watch. But on the other hand, you can just push MUTE.
Music - I'm a very musical person, so I can't help it.
Graphics - I don't mind if the graphics aren't that great, but they make the game much more interesting.
CS - As much as I love them, I could live without them.
Gameplay - I've never really cared much for the gameplay.

[Stiltzkin]

Plot - There is no Final Fantasy without it.
Character Development - This is of great importance.. if this is not added in correctly it can basically ruin the entire game.
Voice Acting - This as well is of great importance.. everyone hates a little kid voice on a grown man with a bad ass outfit, or a giddy schoolgirl voice on the biggest bitch of the game.
Music - Nobuo Uematsu. Enough said. - Nobody should worry with this man behind the music.
Cut scenes - These are probably only necessary at crucial moments of the game, like I do not want to be thrown to death with 20 min long cut scenes.
Graphics - I haven't had a single Final Fantasy where graphics ruined the game, Final Fantasy is known for it's story and gameplay not for it's graphics.
"Though lately they've added more eyecandy and I'm not complaining! :wub:"
And last but certainly not least: Gameplay.
"FINAL FANTASY" & "GAMEPLAY" ..Those words are alike.. perfect harmony.

Final Fantasy has never let me down with the Gameplay aspect.
So I'm not worried regarding this either.

Yay.. I kinda pulled through I didn't wanted to do this at first but I did! ^_^

[IBeatMyMeat]

im liking how so many ppl are putting graphics and such at the bottom not because they feel it isnt important, but because they know SE wont fail us on those things ahahah.

[Naunen]

Plot
Character Development
Gameplay
Cut Scenes
Music
6-7: Graphics and Voice Acting

[-Solid_Rain-]

Plot
CD
Music
gameplay
CS
graphics
voice acting

[Haruka no Bachi]

Plot
Music
Gameplay
CD
Graphics
CS
VA

Well... sahmefully I don't know the meaning of some of this letter-stuff .___. But the caracters, the ost and the story is very important for me.

[Kaiwa]

1. Character Development
2. Plot
3. Voice Acting
4. Cut Scenes
5. Gameplay
6. Music
7. Graphics

[Whiplash]

Plot
Music
Gameplay
CD
Graphics
CS
VA

Well... sahmefully I don't know the meaning of some of this letter-stuff .___. But the caracters, the ost and the story is very important for me.

A key is provided in the first post.

[ArgoXavier]

Plot
CD
Game play
Music
CS
VA
Graphics

[Desi]

All these mid to low gameplay ratings are scaring me. Think of the future! Read some books.

[Kaiwa]

Well Character Development is also part of the gameplay and those are all pretty high :)

[-Tidus4]

I see it like this, if the Plot is shit (for example the main character wanting to overcome his/her fears by making some breakfast), the Character's are crap ( e.g dull, look like crap, no personality) and the cut-scenes are as pointless are ever ( e.g the character goes downstares to water the plants) then the game can never be a FF game. I don't know about others but i always want to have a reason to play a game. Woud you have loved FFx or FF7 or w.e if the Plot and CD were complete shite? I mean I totally lost the reason to finish FF12 even though i actually liked the battle system.

[Adam Blade]

Plot
Character Development
Gameplay
Cutscenes
Music
Voice Acting
Graphics

[Sadistic]

Graphics
Plot
Cut Scenes
Gameplay
Character Development
Voice Acting
Music

[balthierxashe]

Character Development (the plot could be really good, but if the characters suck I won't care)
Plot
Music
Gameplay
Voice acting
Cut Scenes
Graphics

I only allow myself to put those last two at the bottom because I know I won't be let down, haha

[Ukoku]

Gamplay
CD
Plot
Music
VA
CS
Graphics

[liljc91091]

Plot
CD
Gameplay
Music
CS
VA
Graphics

[olorin818]

1. gameplay- since everything match to this point,
2.Music- well at least some tracks will be composed by Nobuo Uematsu
3. CD - without proper characters we wont get the same feeling of playing
4. CS - cutscens were always playing major role in ff games, they were sort of returning for playing. Most of FF had these wonderful breathtaking CS
5. Voice acting - well we must believe in what the characters says
6. graphics - I do care about the graphics, and its good enjoy it
7. plot - hmm anything could be a good story...

[liljc91091]

^^^ Anything can't be a good story rpgs are all about the story

[balthierxashe]

^^^ Anything can't be a good story rpgs are all about the story

Yeah, there are some shitty story ideas out there...I don't know if I could make it through the game if it was a terrible story, even though it's a FF

[olorin818]

really, i thougt its always about saving the world:)

[balthierxashe]

really, i thougt its always about saving the world:)

To be a good story, it's gotta have more than 'saving the world'. The journey is what counts, after all ;)

"Hi, my name is Lightning. The world is threatened by violent Pikachus. Only I, and my misfit team of sort of friends, can save the world....*many painful hours later* OH we've finally done it. We've eradicated the world of those dreadful Pikachus, which were actually controlled by an evil Kirby! Don't worry, we killed that one too. Yep, the world is saved. I'm going to go off and do nothing as good as this awesomeness the rest of my life till the day I die. Cheers!" :)

[Luriana]

To be a good story, it's gotta have more than 'saving the world'. The journey is what counts, after all ;)

"Hi, my name is Lightning. The world is threatened by violent Pikachus. Only I, and my misfit team of sort of friends, can save the world....*many painful hours later* OH we've finally done it. We've eradicated the world of those dreadful Pikachus, which were actually controlled by an evil Kirby! Don't worry, we killed that one too. Yep, the world is saved. I'm going to go off and do nothing as good as this awesomeness the rest of my life till the day I die. Cheers!" :)

I fell off my planky chair in rolling laughter after reading this.

aSDSADDADAQDASDAQDASDASDQDASDAQD :D

And BTW, what counts, IMO, is music, gameplay AND story. Story comes first. The rest just fills the remaining gaps :aldo:

[balthierxashe]

I fell off my planky chair in rolling laughter after reading this.

aSDSADDADAQDASDAQDASDASDQDASDAQD :D

And BTW, what counts, IMO, is music, gameplay AND story. Story comes first. The rest just fills the remaining gaps :aldo:

lol! I'm glad I could entertain you :)

But what if the story rocks but the characters are shit and you don't care one bit about them? For me, at least, that would ruin it no matter how good the rest of it was :(

[Gaia]

To be a good story, it's gotta have more than 'saving the world'. The journey is what counts, after all ;)

"Hi, my name is Lightning. The world is threatened by violent Pikachus. Only I, and my misfit team of sort of friends, can save the world....*many painful hours later* OH we've finally done it. We've eradicated the world of those dreadful Pikachus, which were actually controlled by an evil Kirby! Don't worry, we killed that one too. Yep, the world is saved. I'm going to go off and do nothing as good as this awesomeness the rest of my life till the day I die. Cheers!" :)

:lol:That is so hilarious and kawaii! :cool: You could totally write a good in-depth chapter story about this!

Anyways, here's my opinion:
Plot
Graphics
CD
Gameplay
CS
VA
Music

[XIII]

CD + CS
Plot
Gameplay
VA
Music
Graphics

You can't have good cutscenes if the characters are shit-covered pieces of cardboard. No, shiny colours and smooth texturing do not a great cutscene make. Likewise, endless spouts of dialogue don't make a good cutscene either if the people speaking them have the personality of cement.

[balthierxashe]

:lol:That is so hilarious and kawaii! :cool: You could totally write a good in-depth chapter story about this!

Anyways, here's my opinion:
Plot
Graphics
CD
Gameplay
CS
VA
Music

LOL, thanks!! I suppose I could write an insanely weird chapter story about it...*suddenly feels the need to* If I do, I'll post a thread if ya'll want to read it XD

[Flint]

"Hi, my name is Lightning. The world is threatened by violent Pikachus. Only I, and my misfit team of sort of friends, can save the world....*many painful hours later* OH we've finally done it. We've eradicated the world of those dreadful Pikachus, which were actually controlled by an evil Kirby! Don't worry, we killed that one too. Yep, the world is saved. I'm going to go off and do nothing as good as this awesomeness the rest of my life till the day I die. Cheers!" :)

Love it!:)

I vote Square Enix sack Nojima and hire you instead!

[ArxTheHero]

Here is my order,
Gameplay
Graphics
Plot
Music
I'm to stupid to understand what the others meen.

[XIII]

Here is my order,
Gameplay
Graphics
Plot
Music
I'm to stupid to understand what the others meen.

Which means you didn't read the first post thoroughly, where he clearly explains what it means. :cookie: How could you fail such a simple task? I thought reading the first post was the only way to understand what the topic is actually about. :aldo:

I'm also astounded at 'plot' getting shoved behind 'graphics' and 'gameplay'; you'd rather have kickass graphics than a kickass plot? :blink: You're okay with mediocrity?

[The_TragiC_PrincE]

can i choose all????

[ArxTheHero]

Which means you didn't read the first post thoroughly, where he clearly explains what it means. :cookie: How could you fail such a simple task? I thought reading the first post was the only way to understand what the topic is actually about. :aldo:

I'm also astounded at 'plot' getting shoved behind 'graphics' and 'gameplay'; you'd rather have kickass graphics than a kickass plot? :blink: You're okay with mediocrity?
Ya I though I edited that. I only read the list then I went back and read the terms.

[balthierxashe]

Love it!:)

I vote Square Enix sack Nojima and hire you instead!

LOL I would die from happiness if that ever happened, haha

[InquietusSomnus]

1. Story line
2. Character Development
3. Voice Acting
4. Cut Scenes
5. Gameplay

We really don't have to worry about graphics and music. :D Tetsyu and Yoko have that under control. :D

[The Lightning]

All of those are equally important. The key to making a great game is mastering all of the choices you listed, one is no more important than the other.

[Naunen]

All of those are equally important. The key to making a great game is mastering all of the choices you listed, one is no more important than the other.

----But in terms of individuality, we place values.

[Alwinp]

CD - Seeing your character grow better is what makes you go forward
Plot - story has to be tense & emotional. I don't want these things you can predict, but that won't happen hopefully
VA - I hated FFX just because the voiced sucked, i prefer japanese with subtitles

Everything else will be good anyway.

if i had to chose in order

Graphics
Music
CS
gameplay

[Esagan]

CD - Seeing your character grow better is what makes you go forward
Plot - story has to be tense & emotional. I don't want these things you can predict, but that won't happen hopefully
VA - I hated FFX just because the voiced sucked, i prefer japanese with subtitles

Everything else will be good anyway.

if i had to chose in order

Graphics
Music
CS
gameplay

No offense, but if graphics are at the top of your list, and gameplay is at the bottom, why don't you just go for a walk outside with your MP3 on?
http://i458.photobucket.com/albums/qq307/JesusBlewMeOnce/a_025HicksApone.jpg

[Raidori]

For the two upcoming console FF games what is more important? put these in order:

Graphics, Gameplay, plot, VA(Voice acting), CD(character development), CS(how the story is told through cut-scenes.) and music.

Here is my list:

Plot
CD
CS
Gameplay
VA
Music
Graphics

Plot
Gameplay
CD
CS
VA
Graphics
Music

[Thunder]

For the two upcoming console FF games what is more important? put these in order:

Graphics, Gameplay, plot, VA(Voice acting), CD(character development), CS(how the story is told through cut-scenes.) and music.

Here is my list:

Plot
CD
CS
Gameplay
VA
Music
Graphics

Character Development
Plot
Cut Scenes
Gameplay
Voice Acting
Graphic
Music

I put Gameplay 4th because if a game have solid plot and well developed characters (the main characters at least) i could bear with average gameplay; as in FF X, where the plot was intrigiung but the gameplay very 'static'

[elektr1k]

Plot - This is essential for creating a great game of this genre. The game needs to get you to actually care about what's happening in the story.

Gameplay - Gameplay is also of high priority. The game needs to be fun and innovative (though this is of course highly debated and won't appeal to those just playing for story). But the battle system should keep you interested enough so that you aren't tired of seeing it again and again and again.

Music - This can seriously make or break a game. Good music will help make the experience memorable.

Character Development - You know, this should be up there with plot, and for the same reason -- this should be done in such a way that you aren't able to easily predict how a character will develop, so we can't just jump to conclusions.

Cut Scenes - I doubt we'll have a problem here. My only request is that the ending is done awesomely like VI, VIII and IX.

Voice Acting - I have a feeling we won't have a problem with this either. Besides, I'm sure a lot of us are going to import anyway.

Graphics - The least of the concerns here. We've seen the trailers; they're fine.

[Strifer]

Graphics - Music and Plot

[Vtks]

For the two upcoming console FF games what is more important? put these in order:

Graphics, Gameplay, plot, VA(Voice acting), CD(character development), CS(how the story is told through cut-scenes.) and music.

Here is my list:

Plot
CD
CS
Gameplay
VA
Music
Graphics
for me it will be like this:
Plot Cs
Graphics
Gameplay
Music
Cd

[Luriana]

Plot, Gameplay, Character Development, Music, Cutscenes, Voice Acting, Graphics.

Who cares about graphics nowadays anyway?

[Ikkin]

I'm going to put conditions on mine, because I'd have to have several versions otherwise.

So, first, we assume that everything must be at the "decent" level, at the very least. If any of it is not at least decent, or at least tolerable, it doesn't really matter how awesome the rest of it is. Then again, this is Final Fantasy, and they haven't had a problem with any of them since Disney showed them how voice acting is done (...well, they did start doing proper voices after Kingdom Hearts... >.>).

Second, graphics gets split into animation, character models, art style, and everything else graphical. Cutscene concerns get split into animation, dialogue, and cinematography. Character development gets split into character empathy and character arc. Gameplay gets split into mechanics, balance, and reward structure. Just because some of them are a lot more important than others to me.

That said...

1) Character empathy: I believe that the biggest advantage that interactive media have for telling a static story is the ability to gain player empathy for the characters, so I really want characters (or, at least, one character) who I can feel something for. Games are at their best, however, when they can make you feel alongside the character - when the confluence of factors inside the game make the player feel the desperation, guilt, relief, elation, etc. that the characters themselves are feeling, and I would be willing to put up with a massively flawed game for such an experience.

2) Animation: Nothing gets in the way of my empathy for characters more than bad animation, so this is one of the few points where there is no such thing as "tolerable." If I can't tell what a character is thinking, but not saying, just by looking into their eyes, there's a problem. (This is quite possibly my biggest problem with DS games) Bad animation is also one of the quickest ways to wind up in Uncanny Valley. Fortunately, this is one of the things Squenix excels in, so I don't think it's something I need to worry about.

3) Voice acting: Again, this is something that can get in the way of my empathy for characters all too easily. Unlike animation, there is a "tolerable" level in most scenes. However, major emotional scenes require awesome voicing, or else they'll feel fake. I'm a lot more worried about this than either of the above, because while Squenix hasn't been bad with voicing recently, they really need to figure out how to get English-speaking male VAs to scream.

4) Reward structure: The single most important gameplay concern, mainly because it involves both the gameplay and the story, since cutscenes can be considered a reward. If there's one thing I don't like in a game, it's feeling like I'm not really getting anywhere for playing. The story should never be put on hold for an hour so I can run around the world and fight through a puzzle-ridden dungeon, taking down three barely-story-related bosses in the process. Likewise, going out of my way for treasure chests should be rewarded, and not with 42 gil. (I'm looking at you, FFXII >_>; )

5) Balance: Under no circumstance is it proper to assume that the player will be doing extra quests when balancing boss fights. Going from 15,000 HP bosses to 50,000 HP bosses is just plain intimidating, particularly when you haven't gained many levels in the interim. Consistently difficult, yet beatable and rewarding enemies are awesome, however.

6) Dialogue: I'm willing to put up with poorly-written (or translated) dialogue more than I am bad animation or bad acting as long as the point comes across, though there is a point at which it interferes with empathy and becomes a problem. This point is probably closer to "tolerable" than "very good," however.

7) Mechanics: Mediocre mechanics lead more towards spacing out than towards annoyance for me, as long as they're not purposefully unfair (which would not happen as long as the mechanics are tolerable). Even buttonmashing for the majority of time is fine, as long as the game is appealing in other ways. I'd much rather be doing something than not doing something, though; the difficulty of taking direct control in FFXII bothered me more than any other kind of mechanical issue would.

8) Art style: Realistic graphics just tend to look bad to me on the current-gen systems, and aren't all that inspiring even in off-line renders (apart from the "shiny..." factor). Normal-mapping and polygon edges bother me as well, regardless of the point on the realism-vs.-stylization scale at which the game lands. The FNC games, fortunately, are nicely stylized and, from what I can tell, have abnormally high-poly characters, so I don't have much to worry about there.

9) Character arc: While this generally goes side by side with character empathy, it doesn't matter quite so much if the character stays mostly static as long as I'm still able to feel for him. The case in point here, I think, would be Shadow of the Colossus. It generally does help a lot, however.

10)Music: Music is the kind of thing which can really add a lot to the mood and emotion of a game, but doesn't do much damage unless it's awful, so it gets rated lower down.

11) Plot: It might seem weird that this is so low, but plot should be entirely based around character, rather than vice versa. Doing this might throw the pacing off, but I'd rather the characters stay in character. I've come to expect Squenix to leave lots of things left open, anyway, since they would rather never let the player find the answer to a question than have us find out in a contrived or untimely manner. =P

12) Cinematography: Good cinematography looks nice and can sometimes enhance the emotional feel, but in most cases, simply showing the characters from a point of view where we can see them is good enough.

13)Character models: I find character models to be very fun to look at from an artistic perspective, and they certainly tend to go hand in hand with good animation, but without good animation, they're nothing.

14) Other graphical concerns: Pretty backgrounds are awesome, but characters should always come first, in my opinion.

[taepoppuri]

Plot
CD
Gameplay
CS
Music
VA
Graphics

[RLx]

Gameplay
Plot
Graphics (Gotta love eye-candy...)
CD
CS
Music (I have no doubt the music is gonna be good neways...)
VA (Don't mind the VA if it's below avg... like FFX voice acting wasn't THAT bad...)

[AT23]

Balance is important.

[Vtks]

Balance is important.



soooooo what do you mean??????? which of the games is more important????

[Sabin]

1. Gameplay - The game must be fun to play.

2. Plot - Playing must be fun, but in RPGs a plot is important

3. Music/Voice-Acting - I hate when games have bad voice acting.

4. Character Development - It's always interesting to learn things about your characters.

5. Graphics - I do like good graphics, but it is the least important for me.

[Kooichi]

Gameplay: No matter how awesome the plot is, without solid gameplay, the game is nothing to me...unless it's that new Ghostbusters game xD

Character Development: CD is also important to me because I love a party of characters developing throughout the game, having serious and funny times with each other and reaching a solid closure at the end.

Plot: RPG's thrive on their interesting and epic plots so a bad plot would ruin the experience.

Music: Songs that I can't keep out of my head after completing a game are songs that I'm going to be happy to hear everytime they come up during the game. It enhances my enjoyment :]

Graphics: Although I still strongly believe that bad graphics don't always equal a bad game, beautiful and stunning graphics make a much game better.

Cut-scenes: With the important parts of the story being acted and told with awesome fully-rendered cutscenes, normal cutscenes for the usual stuff, and a good pace between gameplay and story is what I would want but it's never really a problem.

Voice-acting: I can deal with voice-acting like FFX so isn't a big deal for me, but the better the voices are, the more awesome the characters and story will be.

[Final.F.Nerd]

Plot - the plot makes a great FF game - good news is that most of them are perfect in this area
CD - memorable characters is one of the things that draws me to a FF game
Gameplay - The gameplay is almost always great, it keeps me coming back for more
Graphics - FF has been on the forefront of the greatest graphics - so no worries there
VA - Voice acting is important - but its not essential
CS - Cut scenes is what FF gamers expect - I am not worried about this at all
Music - I love FF music - They always seem to capture the moment perfectly - but it is not needed to make a great game (for me)

This was really hard for me - but at the same time I have faith in (most) anything that S.E. does.

[AT23]

I can't really decide, it takes a lot of factors into making a game which is why I value balance. However, I do enjoy the characters and story of a game so I'll choose Character Development as the most important to me. What makes the characters so great is if there is a growth and improvement that is the result from overcoming a hurdle which the audience can feel and relate to. This does not have to be the protagonist, but could even be a side characters as well.

[OujiMakaSan]

CD
Plot
Gameplay
VA
CS
Music
Graphics

[DreamEater]

Gameplay - It's a game. Lmao at people not putting gameplay first. It's like they're looking for more of a movie than a game.
Graphics - If I'm going to spend $400 on a PS3 for this game, I better get max PS3 graphics.
Music - Makes a game more pleasant to play.
CD- Characters are all the same to me: Emo, annoying, or cliche...
Plot - *sigh* another love story or whatever. Who,cares.
CS - Cutscenes are really annoying sometimes. They make games too much like movies.
VA - RPG's have been good enough without them in the past.

[NEALBLEWMEONCE]

Gameplay: I've spent hours on an Atari watching little colored pixels flash across the screen with nothing but "blip, blop, bloop, beep" for sound. Everything else is secondary to this.

Graphics: An engine that squeezes the most out of every clock cycle is great, but I think art direction and overall "look" are more important than benchmarks.

Sound Effects: I think sound effects (including music) are neck-and-neck with graphics in terms of importance.

Voice Acting: Seriously, sometimes videogame VA is so rancid I think they should've stuck with text-boxes. This can break a superb plot with great CD and CS. It can also vastly improve a mediocre plot with mediocre CD and CS.

Plot.

Character Development.

CS.

[3FinalGamer3]

-Gameplay
-Plot
-CS
-CD
-VA
-graphics
-music

But I'm not sure about the order, I think that a game needs at least a good average of quality at everyhting in this list, you can't have a great game with only a good plot or only some good music, everything is kinda important. Oh well in the end I just like to play games that don't annoy me and make me want to throw my ps3 out of my window:aldo:

[LOL]

Gameplay- Who cares about the game if its going to make you cry because the gameplay sucks
Plot- If the plot is an epic fail I can't seem to get any enjoyment playing the game.
Character Development- Its like a sub-division of plot, I don't want my characters to keep the same morals over the story if they suck bad
Graphics- Good graphics add emotion to characters expressions and good art in general is pleasing to the eye.
Cutscences- They help move along the story but I bought the game to play and not watch a movie.
VA/Music- I just turn the sound down or ignore the voices as long as the characters are good.

[rutea7]

1- Plot
2- Gameplay
3- CD
4- VA
5- music
6- CS
7- Graphics

of course i expect everything to be good but i think square enix is not doing a good job with the plot and character development lately and thats the basics that make a game good and memorable so i hope they do a better job this time

[Lord Noctis]

Plot
Graphics
CS
Gameplay
Music
VA
CD

[chaosblade77]

Scale of 10, and this is in reference to pretty much any RPG, not just the XIII games.

1. Gameplay (10/10). If it's not fun to play, I won't play it.

2. Plot (9/10). Slightly less important than gameplay, but if I'm not interested in what's going on I might not feel like coming back to the game after taking a break from it.

3. Character Development (8/10). This pretty much falls in with the plot as far as I'm concerned. Characters should be relatively interesting and I like stories that revolve around the characters rather than the world.

4. Music (6/10). A good soundtrack is always nice. A bad soundtrack won't prevent me from playing a game though.

5. Graphics (4/10). Poor art direction will drive me crazy, but the technical graphics of a game don't really matter to me anymore as long as some effort is put into it. Good graphics are nice, but I'm not picky.

6. Voice Acting (2/10). I'm of the belief that voice acting should be optional. If it's good, great, I'll listen. If it's bad, I'd like to have the option to not care, turn it off, and just read the text.

7. Cut Scenes (1/10). I'm assuming this means pre-rendered cutscenes and stuff. It all comes down to the design of a game, and I'm completely fine with a game not even having any cutscenes outside of characters standing around talking to move the story along like the SNES days assuming that's all that's required. If a cutscene is necessary due to how the story flows or something that's fine, but overusing them can hurt a game more than help it.

[Chicat]

For the two upcoming console FF games what is more important? put these in order:

Graphics, Gameplay, plot, VA(Voice acting), CD(character development), CS(how the story is told through cut-scenes.) and music.

Here is my list:

Plot
CD
CS
Gameplay
VA
Music
Graphics

They're all just as important in their own respect. If you miss one of them, you're not going to get a very good game, are you?

[NEALBLEWMEONCE]

They're all just as important in their own respect. If you miss one of them, you're not going to get a very good game, are you?

Not necessarily.

For some games the voice acting is so bad they'd be better off without it. :D

[Chicat]

Not necessarily.

For some games the voice acting is so bad they'd be better off without it. :D

Or better, redub them?

[Luriana]

Or better, redub them?

I don't think even that could save it.

[yourmomma]

1.Good Story/Music - well whats a good story with bad music? i think that the music enhance the whole feeling of that you're actually doing something great (even though its saving the world for the 122:th time)
2.Gameplay - Now days it just isnt enough with the old combat systems
3.Graphics - If you're going to stare at a game in 100+ hours then you might wanna be looking at something beautiful
5.CD - Its always a nice touch with characters that develope in those 100+ hours (not like *cough* FFXII)

[sobchack]

they're all part of the only real component, gameplay

[Aurelia]

The general porn
The homosexual porn
The heterosexual porn
The futanari porn
Character development
Plot
Gameplay
Graphics
Music
CS
The guro porn
The scat porn

[Zezlar]

Here is my list:

On a Sony or Nintendo Console (Sony prefered)
Plot
Gameplay
CS
Graphics
CD
Music

[LOL]

The general porn
The homosexual porn
The heterosexual porn
The futanari porn
Character development
Plot
Gameplay
Graphics
Music
CS
The guro porn
The scat porn

Best list on the entire thread. But you forgot the almighty THE Porn, not A type of porn, THE Porn.

On Topic:

Plot
Character Developement
Gameplay
CS
Graphics
Music

Other than porn the character development plot and gameplay are in the top three because sound can always be muted and graphics is just bonus eyecandy
and I rnaked Cs higher than graphics because story can be shown in the cutscences.

[Moklin]

Gameplay
Character Devopement
Plot
Sound
CS
Graphics

[Momo329]

Here's mine ^^ :

Plot- It's a Final Fantasy. There MUST be a good plot <3
Character Development- I like to see characters change for the better or worse (unlike Tidus, who was still the same gaytard from beginning to end)
Cut-Scenes: I really look forward to cutscenes...
Graphics: I'm a sucker for good graphics ^^
Gameplay: It should be fun, but I care for the story more
Voice Acting: I hate terrible voice acting but I don't really care too much
Music: It should be memorable but not too important

[Ivan]

Gameplay, story, sidequests/minigames, graphics, character development, uniqueness and HOT CHICKS!!

[D.hinty]

Story dont have to be masterpiece of literature just make interesting c&c and not being 100 generic crup, and it should be presented right you should not have to much information at start gothic 2 mistake. Possibilities that story creates for player, atmosphere are more important then the core story.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

Gameplay and story are the most important things, if a game doesn't have those then it's not worth playing.

Also, the level of grammar here hurts my brain in ways I never thought possible.

[Falsate]

Personally, I've always thought the whole point of a rpg was to have a unique Story and Character Development system compared to other genres. If it didn't, it might as well fall under all those other genres since they all have gameplay.

At the sametime, there must be some balance between these categories.
My line-up: Story > Character Development > Gameplay > Graphics.. the rest is just there.

[Gay]

Character Development
Plot
Music/Voice-Acting
Cut Scenes
Graphics
Gameplay

[Dirtyred70]

CD
Plot
CS
Gameplay
Graphics
VA
Music

Plot is like sugar cookie batter & characters are the baker. Crappy baker= Crappy cookies. Simple as that. ^_^

[Dire]

It fuckin pisses me off to see "music" ranked so low on many people's lists.

For me, that's part of what MAKES Final Fantasy! It's something I am truly passionate about.

Those who don't think music is that important, doesn't deserve music at all! u_u

[Gd_Master16]

^^^ I agree. Music is about at the top for me. I LOVED FF7's music. I thought every peice was AMAZING, and found some of it to be almost hypnotic. Im pretty sure 13 will a have good graphics, storyline, CG, and gameplay, but Im still not sure about music. Im hopin its good!

[Obscura]

A balance of everything is what is most important in my opinion.

[Lord Of Dumbasses]

Dressed characters.

Or undressed. I couldn't care less.

If there's porn...

...it's a good game...

[Little Miss Scarlett]

Music's a bit iffy, if it's good, it'll really really improve the game, but if it's bad, it still won't kill the game unless it's SE's special version of It's a Small World.

Plot
Character Developement
Music/VA
Gameplay
CS
Graphics

Hard to choose though, since all pretty connected. Even if a plots good, it'll seem shitty if the cutscenes are cheesy, the script and voice acting's cheesy, the music's annoying, and the graphics are weird and convulted.