I thought they were pretty good for the Wii...  Its nice to see they're finally using motion capture to throw some excitement in, definitely an improvement over some of their staler cutscenes.

United States viewers only!!!  Why would you discriminate!?!? =(

I'm actually finding myself surprised that I'm going to miss as mundane an experience as "town exploration".
I suppose I kind of liked the freedom associated with chillin out between tough dungeons.  Always nice to be in an area where you're not persecuted.  I suppose its can be compared to a book: you read the content, but you don't really explore it (where as old FF titles gave the freedom to explore the world).

As Parn said; I hope the linearity doesn't destroy the replay value.  Makes me wonder if there's an extra dungeon or how sidequests (if any) are handled.  Hell, BoF:DQ handled that nicely by giving you more plot.  Actually, I'm surprised the title has come up; seems like there are similar presentations between BoFV and FF13.

I'd actually gladly pay DLC if it means more content... maybe this was Squeenix's idea all along.

I will take this as a new FF experience; and I'm not pissed at the lack of traditional FF elements (its nice they're taking a more proactive approach to the game); but kinda bummed out if it only is one long dungeon, void of non-story-progressing elements.

Makes me sad the people are disliking FF13 based on its lack of "traditional" elements.  But that may be a different matter.

I'll admit I've taken a bigger cozy with Western games...
The rehashing and butchering of the genre (c'mon.... who the fuck would buy "My World, My Way?") has made it tiresome and in dire need of a lift.

I also kind of blame the Japanese-hard-core-anime culture that's sort of weeded its way in to their presentation.  Hell, you can't get a young talk show hostess to be entertaining without being all "kawaaaaii" in some way.  So many of their games have their heroes come to some sort of revelation; which is followed by a speech about saving the world, protecting friends, being strong.  Can't say this appeals to Westerners much; the ones who say anime is crap, proceeding to play anything but.

I can see games facing a decline because the last few years of Japanese gaming have had a strong emphasis on young heroes (whom NO ONE WANTS) wearing figure-skating-like outfits, saving the world, and winning the day because of friendship and love.  Its tiresome, and not appealing.

This is why I love RPGFan.... GameFaqs' forum was giving me a fucken headache.

Yikes.

Good, this saves me from buying a game and looking at a dick-headed looking hero all day.

I blame three years hype...

That and the fact they took out/lessened a lot of (traditional) RPG elements.
Gamefaqs peeps are pissed at the lack of towns, lack of proper explorations, etc. 

I kind of see what they mean, this seems more like an adventure game with RPG battles strewn in (and at least from the streams I've seen).  No one likes Snow, death is often, and the game is composed of dungeons and cutscenes.

Indeed a problem if people were looking for a fuller, more versatile experience... but the battling sure does look fucking awesome.
I've still seen very high player reviews too.  A lot of complaints are from those 6-10 hours in.

I feel bad for eager PS3 players who are looking forward to a pretty craptastic space adventure.
Hope the extra content can shape the game up a bit better; and maybe change some of the gamw around.
...won't save the awful story, but hey, its not like its TriAce's forté.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-XbjFn3aqE

Mythbusters: Fun with Gas!

....I never knew an anti-helium existed...!

Beat the second dungeon and third tier of floors in LoZ: Spirit Tracks.
Again, this game probably has the most innovative dungeons seen in the last while for the Zelda series.  There are a great number of extras to keep the player occupied as well.

Choo-chooing for stuff I've missed is hellannoying though.  The train is pretty slow, and compensating for the "evil trains" (collision course = 1 hit kill) is a pain in the ass, especially amongst other distractions.  I may use some codes to speed up the trains since I heard they exist. :P

Not bad.  I found the amount of work he does decreases as Nomura's overtake of Squeenix becomes more apparent.  And Sahz  looks like he's gonna fucken kill someone.  Something about it seems a bit less there though...  However, its probably the most honest to the original designs so far (Amano's Terra, though gorgeous, is wearing something different every time).

I'm curious how the game loses linearity.  I'm hoping its much less than "you get to travel more".

Haha; I really didn't like Phantom Hourglass.  That holds true.

I'm not saying Spirit Tracks is the end all and be all either.  It IS a good hand held title though. :P
Consider me surprised.

I do feel the train thing is stupid though.  Yeah its fun.  [MINOR FIRST GAME HOUR SPOILERS?]  But the story revolves around the "spirit tracks" as a way of life that is impermanent to this incarnation of Hyrule.  It has its own *speshal* tower, and some stupid pun-named race as their guardians (the "Locomo") ...The big premise in this game feels about as uninspired as a pet rock.
The story, even though its there, is hardly basis for a good one.

Train driving, which is pretty fun at first, is also quite tedious and loves throwing in new elements to make it that much more aggravating.

It gets better; not only does Link have a train instead of a boat, but he ditches the baton for yet another flute-like instrument.  I'm worried a third DS game will feature an blimp and a didgeridoo.

The game IS an improvement over Phantom Hourglass.  But it feels like only for correcting a few faults, and adding a few more marketable gimmicks (ie; playing as Zelda...sorta).  I'm pleased to say they work; but it just doesn't feel like its for the right reasons.

I'm on the bandwagon of great politics, boorish characters (too life-like).

I found the gameplay much too drawn out as well; don't care for combat you're not really much apart of.

Got further in Spirit Tracks.

I'm actually loving the puzzles and dungeons in this game.  Complex, tricky, but well designed. 
While the game feels pretty gimmick-y, expanding on something Zelda games have always done well, there is a sense of joy when doing it in this game.

I'm not too fond of the touch screen mechanics, it feels to slippery a bit at times, but makes for a bunch of unique gameplay elements.  Pretty nice visuals, and lovely music.

The game doesn't have much of a sense of atmosphere but the graphics are bright and vivid. The story is kinda stupid.  Your typical alternate land of Hyrule is threatened by a distressed princess, and saved by a green hero...except with train tracks vital to the functioning of the land. (unless it gets into some awesum plot twists at the end).

Otherwise, a worthy pickup.