The plot of Final Fantasy XIII takes place in a world known as Pulse and revolves around the story of the fal'Cie , mechanical beings with godlike power created from crystals residing inside them. People who are marked by the fal'Cie for greater purposes are called l'Cie Each l'Cie has a Focus, a goal the fal'Cie wants him or her to fulfill within a certain amount of time; however, the fal'Cie do not explicitly say what the goal is: l'Cie learn what their Focus is by interpreting visions that are given to them. L'Cie gain the ability to summon Eidolons (monsters who fight with the l'Cie), but this ability comes with a price: if a l'Cie dies before completing his or her Focus, fails to tame his or her Eidolon, or fails to complete his or her Focus within a set period of time, he or she becomes a monster known as a Cie'th . If a l'Cie does complete his or her Focus, the reward is not much better: permanent transformation into a crystal. For this reason, being chosen as a l'Cie is seen as a curse.
Some 1,300 years ago, a fal'Cie named Orphan constructed a paradise for humanity: the shell-like city of Cocoon, which floats high above the surface of Pulse. Then Orphan created life forms and machines for Cocoon's inhabitants to use, and humanity flourished. A war was fought between the Pulse and Cocoon, and Cocoon prevailed. However, fear lingered in the hearts of the people of Cocoon, for the day another invasion might come from the world beneath again.
Although most Cocoon citizens have never seen Pulse with their own eyes, they have been told that it is a dangerous place that has strange effects on those who venture down to its surface. Consequently, anyone who is discovered to have visited Pulse is immediately subjected to quarantine and exile by the theocratic government of Cocoon, known as the Sanctum. The Sanctum enforces this policy with its strongest military branch, PSICOM.
As Snow leads the resistance group, Team Nora, in an attempt to stop the purging of civilians, the mysterious Lightning fights her way past PSICOM soldiers with the aid of Sazh to find a Pulse fal'Cie, Anima, who turned her sister, Serah (who is also Snow's fiancée), into a l'Cie. Through a chain of events, these three, along with two exiles, Vanille and Hope, are forced by the fal'Cie of Pulse to become l'Cie, and with that became enemies of humanity with the Focus of bringing about the downfall of Orphan and Cocoon.
The concept for Final Fantasy XIII's battle system is to maintain the strategic nature of command-based battles. The system stemmed from a desire to create battles similar to those found in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Like those in Final Fantasy XII, enemies are integrated into the world environment. However, unlike Final Fantasy XII, battles do not take place in the same "dimension", instead there is a short transition and players are transported to a new battle screen, separate from the main playing world. The Active Time Battle (ATB) system will return, but it will work differently from its predecessors. Users will be able to chain large numbers of commands together in order to achieve attack bonuses. The Final Fantasy XIII battle system, with the option to use "Paradigm Shift"
Multiple commands can be stacked into slots per turn and released at the same time to form a combo. The number of command slots increases as the characters grow in strength. These commands include series staples such as Attack, Fire, Blizzard and Cure, as well as new ones such as Ruin, Ruinaga, and Radial Strike. The difference between XIII's battle system and the ATB gauge is that these commands can still be placed in the slots even though the bar has run out, and the actions will be executed once the required slots are filled up. The game does not make use of MP but introduces "cost points" for each command, which determine how many times the commands can be used per turn. Because magic cannot be used outside of battle, the Hit Point (HP) of the party is completely restored after each battle.
When engaging an enemy, the camera moves to another position and the battle menu appears, making the battle transitions nearly seamless. The after-battle victory screen in XIII holds information such as the time it took to finish the battle, the highest number of combos executed, the number of break attacks and the quality of battle which is determined by a ranking of one to five stars. The party will be able to purchase new weapons in the game for use in battle.
A "Break State" is one of the new features of the Final Fantasy XIII battle system. The breaks refer to the times an enemy enters a state of reduced retaliation. This occurs when a chain combo has been maintained for a certain period of time on an enemy, filling a bar to maximum. When a high level combo has been achieved, the enemy will glow red and enter this state, during which the player will be able to inflict high amounts of damage and knock some enemies high into the air. The chain bar will gradually deplete during this period; when it becomes empty, the break state ends.
The "Role" system exists in order to control what abilities are available to characters in battle. Rather than having all abilities available to characters as they are learned, abilities are restricted to certain Roles, similar to the Job system of previous installments. The Japanese version's Roles are Attacker, Blaster, Defender, Enhancer, Jammer, and Healer, while the English localization calls them Commando, Ravager, Sentinel, Synergist, Saboteur and Medic, respectively. Commandos strike with physical, non-elemental attacks; Ravagers use elemental abilities like Frost Blow and Thundaga; Sentinels provoke and absorb enemy attacks, and dish out counterattacks; Synergists use buffs like Shell and Brave, while Saboteurs use debuffs like DeShell and Bio; and Medics exclusively heal, using abilities like Cura, Raise, and Esuna. Roles, with a specific purpose in mind for each, are the only means by which to direct ally AI.
Each character may only take on one role at a time, and each combination of three Roles for a given party is called a "Paradigm". Up to six Paradigm combinations may be stored at any one time. During battle, players may switch between them on-the-fly, called a "Paradigm Shift". Timing Paradigm Shifts correctly can fill the ATB gauges, making switching frequently in battle an advantage.
The leveling system for the game is called the Crystarium System which resembles the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X. Instead of gaining experience points after winning a battle, characters gain CP (Crystal Points) which can then be spent in order to unlock abilities and increase attributes such as maximum HP. Every character has a Crystarium, and within it, different sections corresponding to each Role the character has available.
The Crystarium is not initially available within the game, and only becomes available through story sequences. After that point, levels in the Crystarium become unlocked as the story progresses, essentially capping the amount of growth that can be achieved in the middle of the game. Every character initially specializes in up to three Roles, and the other Roles are not even available in their Crystariums until much later in the game.
The classic summoned creatures called Eidolons return in Final Fantasy XIII. Each character possesses only one Eidolon that is summoned from a crystal that sprouts from the character's mark of l'Cie.[12] The Eidolons include series staples Odin, Shiva, Alexander, and Bahamut, and newcomers Hecatoncheir and Brynhildr. When summoned, the Eidolon stay in battle while the characters accompanying the summoner leaves the party. There is also a new feature called "Gestalt Mode", which when activated joins the summoned and its summoner; Snow can ride and steer the combined Shiva Sisters which is a motorcycle, Vanille's Hecatoncheir can transform into a bipedal mech with machine gun turrets in which she can control, and Sazh can ride and steer Brynhildr as a race car. This changes the pace of the combat significantly. But not all summons turn into mechanical vehicles; Odin's Gestalt Mode changes him into a horse for Lightning to ride on, Bahamut's Gestalt Mode is a flight mode for Fang to ride on, while Alexander's Gestalt Mode changes him into a large castle which surrounds the enemy and fires lasers at them from all sides. The summons play a major role in the game's storyline as well, much like Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy X.
February 11, 2010 - Although Final Fantasy XIII is still one of the most anticipated Japanese role-playing games scheduled to launch in the United States and Europe this year, I was never terribly excited about it. I, of course, would feel a stirring in my chest whenever massive tradeshow monitors were ignited with Square-Enix's glorious CG footage and I do recall feeling a few butterflies in my stomach when I first picked up a controller to play the Japanese demo, but that's about it. Perhaps I was just keeping my expectations reasonable or I was concerned about the design philosophies behind the game's unusual battle system, but this week, all that changed.
I recently had the opportunity to play Final Fantasy XIII in a much quieter, more controlled environment where I could more leisurely experiment with and explore the game's many subsystems. It was during this demo that the game's battle system finally clicked in my head. It's certainly taken a while, but I'm now officially excited for Final Fantasy XIII. There's no way for me to know if the full experience will live up to the now wild expectations, but -- at the very least -- I can now fully enjoy the final month leading up to the game's U.S. launch.
For those of you that missed out on our preview coverage of Square-Enix's upcoming JRPG, Final Fantasy XIII stars a cast of six characters with the mysterious "Lightning" taking the lead. The game takes place on two main worlds: Cocoon and Pulse. Pulse is a savage, sprawling field, whereas Cocoon is a spherical moon that hangs above it. The demo I played took place on Pulse, and this was one of the first times I was able to actually play in this environment.
It should be said that Final Fantasy XIII is gorgeous. Standing amidst the sweeping plains of Pulse was a magnificent experience, as creatures could be seen sprinting through the field in the distance, birds cast shadows on the ground as they glided overhead, and massive, dinosaur-like beasts meandered slowly and carefully through the canyons. The developers at Square-Enix clearly invested just as much energy into the game's visuals as they did when developing the game's sleek interface and sizzling CG.
At the start of my demo -- after I drooled the proper amount over the game world -- I explored a few more of Final Fantasy XIII's menus. It was here that I learned a tidbit that brought me great relief: you can in fact control which characters are in your party and you can also select which character you as a player control during combat. I was previously under the impression that story progression dictated your party's members -- which is usually the case -- but the end of the game does open up and give players more options.
The battle system in Final Fantasy XIII is incredibly complex, but the fundamental basics are easy to grasp: players control one character at a time and can execute a string of commands in any order, as long as their command gauge has had enough time to fill. As the gauge fills in segments, the player can queue up as many commands as there are available segments. The AI handles control of the other characters in the player's party of three.
The other main component of the Final Fantasy XIII battle system is the Paradigm sub-system. A "Paradigm" refers to a collection or grouping of Roles that each character is currently assigned. There are six possible Roles available to the cast including Commando, Ravager, Sentinel, Saboteur, Synergist and Medic. Although each character in the cast of six has particular base statistics that might make them more suited for one Role or another, these Roles are open to everyone. So there are plenty of customization options available to players.
When building a Paradigm before battle, the player must consider what sort of Roles are needed at any one time. As the Role selected determines the character's abilities, it would be extremely unwise to head into battle with all three characters acting as Medics, for example -- they would be unable to attack. It's all about finding an effective balance that suits the situation. Commandos, for example, are all about melee attacks, while Ravager's are magic-based and can also serve as support units. Sentinels, on the other hand, are defensive in nature, while Saboteurs and Synergists are de-buffers and buffers, respectively. So one handy combination might be one Commando, one Ravager and one Medic. This set of three Roles forms a Paradigm.
Fortunately, players can create up to six Paradigms before battle and then switch between them at any time during combat. This is called a Paradigm Shift and dictates how all the characters in the party behave. While speaking with Yuji Abe, the battle director of Final Fantasy XIII, I was told that this Paradigm system was designed to give players control of the flow of battle. If your characters are getting weak, set up a Paradigm where two of your characters are medics and one is a Synergist. There are numerous possibilities and the fact that each character has a full grid of level-ups to grind through (similar to the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X and the License Board in Final Fantasy XII) for each available Role, players can sink an exorbitant amount of time into powering up.
Although Director Motomu Toriyama confirmed with me that there was no downloadable content currently planned for Final Fantasy XIII (because Square Enix wanted a 100-percent enjoyable experience right on the disc), the game looks even more promising than ever before. I can now say that I am officially excited for Final Fantasy XIII, especially after seeing the character Fang summon her Eidolon, Bahamut.
After the king of dragons descends from the sky, shattering ancient, pulsating runes and splitting the clouds above, he can then transform into what I can only refer to as a "dragon jet fighter." Fang rides him around as he decimates the poor, underpowered creatures below with blasts of energy. This was about as close to a full "OMG" moment as I could have possibly hoped to experience.
Also, the game features little baby sheep that prance around on the field. You cannot interact with these sheep, but just look at how adorable they are. Who wouldn't be excited for this game?
I recently had the opportunity to play Final Fantasy XIII in a much quieter, more controlled environment where I could more leisurely experiment with and explore the game's many subsystems. It was during this demo that the game's battle system finally clicked in my head. It's certainly taken a while, but I'm now officially excited for Final Fantasy XIII. There's no way for me to know if the full experience will live up to the now wild expectations, but -- at the very least -- I can now fully enjoy the final month leading up to the game's U.S. launch.
For those of you that missed out on our preview coverage of Square-Enix's upcoming JRPG, Final Fantasy XIII stars a cast of six characters with the mysterious "Lightning" taking the lead. The game takes place on two main worlds: Cocoon and Pulse. Pulse is a savage, sprawling field, whereas Cocoon is a spherical moon that hangs above it. The demo I played took place on Pulse, and this was one of the first times I was able to actually play in this environment.
It should be said that Final Fantasy XIII is gorgeous. Standing amidst the sweeping plains of Pulse was a magnificent experience, as creatures could be seen sprinting through the field in the distance, birds cast shadows on the ground as they glided overhead, and massive, dinosaur-like beasts meandered slowly and carefully through the canyons. The developers at Square-Enix clearly invested just as much energy into the game's visuals as they did when developing the game's sleek interface and sizzling CG.
At the start of my demo -- after I drooled the proper amount over the game world -- I explored a few more of Final Fantasy XIII's menus. It was here that I learned a tidbit that brought me great relief: you can in fact control which characters are in your party and you can also select which character you as a player control during combat. I was previously under the impression that story progression dictated your party's members -- which is usually the case -- but the end of the game does open up and give players more options.
The battle system in Final Fantasy XIII is incredibly complex, but the fundamental basics are easy to grasp: players control one character at a time and can execute a string of commands in any order, as long as their command gauge has had enough time to fill. As the gauge fills in segments, the player can queue up as many commands as there are available segments. The AI handles control of the other characters in the player's party of three.
The other main component of the Final Fantasy XIII battle system is the Paradigm sub-system. A "Paradigm" refers to a collection or grouping of Roles that each character is currently assigned. There are six possible Roles available to the cast including Commando, Ravager, Sentinel, Saboteur, Synergist and Medic. Although each character in the cast of six has particular base statistics that might make them more suited for one Role or another, these Roles are open to everyone. So there are plenty of customization options available to players.
When building a Paradigm before battle, the player must consider what sort of Roles are needed at any one time. As the Role selected determines the character's abilities, it would be extremely unwise to head into battle with all three characters acting as Medics, for example -- they would be unable to attack. It's all about finding an effective balance that suits the situation. Commandos, for example, are all about melee attacks, while Ravager's are magic-based and can also serve as support units. Sentinels, on the other hand, are defensive in nature, while Saboteurs and Synergists are de-buffers and buffers, respectively. So one handy combination might be one Commando, one Ravager and one Medic. This set of three Roles forms a Paradigm.
Fortunately, players can create up to six Paradigms before battle and then switch between them at any time during combat. This is called a Paradigm Shift and dictates how all the characters in the party behave. While speaking with Yuji Abe, the battle director of Final Fantasy XIII, I was told that this Paradigm system was designed to give players control of the flow of battle. If your characters are getting weak, set up a Paradigm where two of your characters are medics and one is a Synergist. There are numerous possibilities and the fact that each character has a full grid of level-ups to grind through (similar to the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X and the License Board in Final Fantasy XII) for each available Role, players can sink an exorbitant amount of time into powering up.
Although Director Motomu Toriyama confirmed with me that there was no downloadable content currently planned for Final Fantasy XIII (because Square Enix wanted a 100-percent enjoyable experience right on the disc), the game looks even more promising than ever before. I can now say that I am officially excited for Final Fantasy XIII, especially after seeing the character Fang summon her Eidolon, Bahamut.
After the king of dragons descends from the sky, shattering ancient, pulsating runes and splitting the clouds above, he can then transform into what I can only refer to as a "dragon jet fighter." Fang rides him around as he decimates the poor, underpowered creatures below with blasts of energy. This was about as close to a full "OMG" moment as I could have possibly hoped to experience.
Also, the game features little baby sheep that prance around on the field. You cannot interact with these sheep, but just look at how adorable they are. Who wouldn't be excited for this game?
Square Enix's anticipated title, Final Fantasy XIII, is just around the corner, and today marks the first day that U.S. online media is allowed to review the game. Unfortunately, due to the global PSN error that crippled PS3s everywhere (including our debug systems) and other factors, I wasn't able to beat the game before today. Yes, even after more than 30 hours with Final Fantasy XIII, I'm still not close to the end.
Rather than attempt a review without completing the full experience, I decided to delay the review until Monday and instead provide you readers with my impressions so far -- especially for those of you that are debating whether or not to pre-order the game this weekend. Although Final Fantasy XIII is extremely different from the other members of the franchise and it has its fair share of problems, it's still an excellent Japanese role-playing game.
I've discussed the game's premise and story in the past, so I won't do so at length here. All you need to know is that the game stars Lightning, a stoic officer in the military, and a group of individuals connected to her in one way or another. The opening of the game will be familiar to those who tried out (or saw footage of) the Japanese demo, as it's essentially the same. Lightning and Sazh are aboard a government train and things get crazy real fast.
Final Fantasy XIII is primarily about the dynamic between two worlds: Cocoon and Pulse. Cocoon is a spherical moon that hangs above the savage world of Pulse. The narrative also includes a fascinating take on the West's perception of the divine, as there are powerful beings known as the fal'Cie that watch over humans. Humans branded by the fal'Cie are called l'Cie, and they are given a specific "Focus," or task, that must be completed, lest they transform into monsters upon failure. This mythology plays an extremely important role in the game's story and it's been great so far.
The criticisms that have circulated the internet regarding Final Fantasy XIII are mostly true. The first 25 to 30 hours are extremely linear. This is not an exaggeration -- the game is almost on rails during these segments, as there is usually only a single path that you travel down, with occasional side paths that might tease you with treasure.
This first section of the game (and arguably three quarters of the experience) is not only linear, but also restrictive. Players are not allowed to choose their party or party leader -- these selections are dictated by the story progression. Although this might be a tremendous pain to some gamers, I actually enjoyed the linearity and restrictions, because it forced me to experiment with all the characters and their various battle roles. Of course, players that aren't aware of Final Fantasy XIII's open-world conclusion might be much less enthusiastic, especially if they believe that the entire game is completely linear.
Another seemingly universal complaint is the fact that there are "no towns" in Final Fantasy XIII, but this claim can be somewhat misleading. There absolutely are towns in the game -- just not in the traditional JRPG sense. During your journey, you do pass through different cities and locales, but they're just as linear as the game's dungeons. So while it's initially disappointing to not have peaceful areas to explore and take a break from battle, there are plenty of beautiful, fantastic environments to marvel at as you continue through the story.
It's safe to say that Final Fantasy XIII is very different than the other Final Fantasy titles, but it's a lot of fun. The battle system is surprisingly complex and -- perhaps even more startling -- extremely difficult. Although players only control one character at a time, there is plenty of micromanagement to be found.
While in the neutral position, your main character's turn gauge charges up. This gauge is segmented, so when it's full, there are actually three full segments contained within it. Executing a single command requires a certain number of segments. For example, a basic attack requires one segment, so players can queue up three at a time. A Blitz attack, alternatively, costs two segments of the gauge. As characters grow, their turn gauges will expand, enabling players to select a more complex series of actions.
The most important element of battle outside of this basic command selection is the Paradigm system, which controls the battle roles of each character. There are six different roles that a character can train in and each character is particularly capable in three of those roles. Some roles are better suited for attacking, while others are designed for defense or restoration. By selecting a custom "Paradigm," or grouping of several roles, players can freely switch the roles of their characters anytime during battle.
This might sound like a gameplay design afterthought, but it's absolutely critical to survive in Final Fantasy XIII. This game requires constant micromanagement and changing Paradigms in order to come out victorious, and I really appreciated that challenge -- even when things got frustrating.
So the question remains: do you put down money for a pre-order? I say "yes, you do." Although Final Fantasy XIII is incredibly far removed from its predecessors, it's still a breath-taking JRPG with an extremely interesting story and a realized game world. The voice acting is generally top-notch, the presentation is off the charts and there are chocobos to be ridden. It might not be the best Final Fantasy out there, but that doesn't stop it from being enjoyable.
As a quick note for owners of multiple platforms, I strongly recommend getting this game on the PS3. The 360 version seems to run well enough, but it's noticeably less sharp and is spread across three discs.
Rather than attempt a review without completing the full experience, I decided to delay the review until Monday and instead provide you readers with my impressions so far -- especially for those of you that are debating whether or not to pre-order the game this weekend. Although Final Fantasy XIII is extremely different from the other members of the franchise and it has its fair share of problems, it's still an excellent Japanese role-playing game.
I've discussed the game's premise and story in the past, so I won't do so at length here. All you need to know is that the game stars Lightning, a stoic officer in the military, and a group of individuals connected to her in one way or another. The opening of the game will be familiar to those who tried out (or saw footage of) the Japanese demo, as it's essentially the same. Lightning and Sazh are aboard a government train and things get crazy real fast.
Final Fantasy XIII is primarily about the dynamic between two worlds: Cocoon and Pulse. Cocoon is a spherical moon that hangs above the savage world of Pulse. The narrative also includes a fascinating take on the West's perception of the divine, as there are powerful beings known as the fal'Cie that watch over humans. Humans branded by the fal'Cie are called l'Cie, and they are given a specific "Focus," or task, that must be completed, lest they transform into monsters upon failure. This mythology plays an extremely important role in the game's story and it's been great so far.
The criticisms that have circulated the internet regarding Final Fantasy XIII are mostly true. The first 25 to 30 hours are extremely linear. This is not an exaggeration -- the game is almost on rails during these segments, as there is usually only a single path that you travel down, with occasional side paths that might tease you with treasure.
This first section of the game (and arguably three quarters of the experience) is not only linear, but also restrictive. Players are not allowed to choose their party or party leader -- these selections are dictated by the story progression. Although this might be a tremendous pain to some gamers, I actually enjoyed the linearity and restrictions, because it forced me to experiment with all the characters and their various battle roles. Of course, players that aren't aware of Final Fantasy XIII's open-world conclusion might be much less enthusiastic, especially if they believe that the entire game is completely linear.
Another seemingly universal complaint is the fact that there are "no towns" in Final Fantasy XIII, but this claim can be somewhat misleading. There absolutely are towns in the game -- just not in the traditional JRPG sense. During your journey, you do pass through different cities and locales, but they're just as linear as the game's dungeons. So while it's initially disappointing to not have peaceful areas to explore and take a break from battle, there are plenty of beautiful, fantastic environments to marvel at as you continue through the story.
It's safe to say that Final Fantasy XIII is very different than the other Final Fantasy titles, but it's a lot of fun. The battle system is surprisingly complex and -- perhaps even more startling -- extremely difficult. Although players only control one character at a time, there is plenty of micromanagement to be found.
While in the neutral position, your main character's turn gauge charges up. This gauge is segmented, so when it's full, there are actually three full segments contained within it. Executing a single command requires a certain number of segments. For example, a basic attack requires one segment, so players can queue up three at a time. A Blitz attack, alternatively, costs two segments of the gauge. As characters grow, their turn gauges will expand, enabling players to select a more complex series of actions.
The most important element of battle outside of this basic command selection is the Paradigm system, which controls the battle roles of each character. There are six different roles that a character can train in and each character is particularly capable in three of those roles. Some roles are better suited for attacking, while others are designed for defense or restoration. By selecting a custom "Paradigm," or grouping of several roles, players can freely switch the roles of their characters anytime during battle.
This might sound like a gameplay design afterthought, but it's absolutely critical to survive in Final Fantasy XIII. This game requires constant micromanagement and changing Paradigms in order to come out victorious, and I really appreciated that challenge -- even when things got frustrating.
So the question remains: do you put down money for a pre-order? I say "yes, you do." Although Final Fantasy XIII is incredibly far removed from its predecessors, it's still a breath-taking JRPG with an extremely interesting story and a realized game world. The voice acting is generally top-notch, the presentation is off the charts and there are chocobos to be ridden. It might not be the best Final Fantasy out there, but that doesn't stop it from being enjoyable.
As a quick note for owners of multiple platforms, I strongly recommend getting this game on the PS3. The 360 version seems to run well enough, but it's noticeably less sharp and is spread across three discs.
Followers of Final Fantasy are used to waiting; the thirteenth instalment is only the third offline entry in the last ten years, and the first to embrace the HD generation that's such a perfect canvas for Square Enix's epic and consistently beautiful vision. It's fitting then that now it's finally here Final Fantasy XIII is happy to make people wait a little longer, and it's only after thirty hours of play that it opens up and begins to deliver the game many were hoping for.
Such a move shouldn't be too surprising as this is a series that reinvents itself upon every new entry – that much, at least, is constant. Just as you can expect Chocobos, Summons and a side order of grinding so too can you expect new ways to fight, new worlds to explore and new ways in which to interact with them. XIII's no different, and any notions that this is a return to the series' tradition after the wayward son that was its immediate predecessor should be dismissed; this is just as radical a departure as the MMO-tinged Final Fantasy XII, and its extension and revision of the basic formula is likely to prove just as divisive.
Final Fantasy XIII strips away so much of what we've come to expect of a Japanese RPG that it puts forward a strong case for not being considered as one at all. Yes, it's true that the first half of the game funnels players through one long, winding path, but that overarching linearity is just one of many stark design decisions taken by a game that's ruthless in its jettisoning of some of Final Fantasy's most treasured traits. Towns are gone, non-playable characters all but exterminated and there's nothing in the way of extracurricular activity until beyond that thirty hour mark. The series' has never been truly open-ended, but Final Fantasy XIII's more stubborn than most in its insistence to stick to the script.
This minimalist approach isn't necessarily to the game's discredit, and stripping away many of the excesses that have accumulated over 22 years of Final Fantasy games can prove initially exhilarating. It's an approach that comes through strongest in a battle system that can lay claim to be one of the series' best. Like Final Fantasy XII, enemies are visible on the field meaning that this game isn't haunted by the spectre of random encounters – unlike XII battle takes place on a separate plane as XIII returns to the more traditional turn-based system.
Active Time Battle (ATB), a system that's powered the games since 1991, makes a comeback in spectacular fashion, and while Final Fantasy X and its direct sequel are the nearest touchstones (no shock given X's battle planner Toshiro Tsuchida has taken on the same role for XIII, while X-2's director Motomu Toriyama takes the reins for the first time in a mainline entry) XIII easily trumps both. At the most basic level, characters draw upon an APB bar that fills over time for their moves, with more powerful moves demanding more sections of the meter. It makes for fast-paced encounters whereby correctly inputting the optimum moves can be as challenging as selecting the right strategy, although an auto-battle option puts the game on auto-pilot if so desired.
It may not sound too far removed from the norm, but like much else in Final Fantasy XIII what's really telling is the omissions. There are no MP points to speak of, with the ATB bar sharing the burden of both physical and magical attacks, while character's status is instantly reset after every battle. The two things combined mean that the constant management of party members that past games have demanded has been stripped out completely - and it's an edit that's beneficial to the experience.
It leaves the emphasis firmly on the Paradigm Shift mechanic, something which has its roots in Final Fantasy X-2's Dress system. Parties can change their class configuration at the touch of a button – come up against an enemy susceptible to magic and it's possible to switch to Tri-Disaster, a combination utilizing three Black Mages (or Ravagers in Final Fantasy XIII's unique parlance, wherein Paladins are called Sentinels, White Mages are Medics and Warriors are Commandos) to grind them down; receive a pummelling and it's advisable to switch to Combat Clinic, with one Sentinel tasked with soaking up the damage while two Medics are placed on healing duty.
With control restricted to one character in battle while the AI takes charge of the other two party members, it's the biggest asset in the player's arsenal and one that does a wonderful job of both welcoming players not versed in the arcane arts of RPGs and providing a pool of depth for more experienced players to wallow in. While it's not as nuanced as the superb micro-management that Final Fantasy XII's Gambit System dictated, what it lacks in intricacy it makes up for in immediacy.
The immediacy is matched by a dynamic presentation of battles - they're breakneck clashes in which the player is given total freedom to move the camera around the acrobatics and spells. They make for a great spectacle that's delivered at a breathless pace – and speed is one of Final Fantasy XIII's key concerns when it comes to combat. Battles are graded depending on how quickly a fight is finished, with the best way to a swift victory coming through wearing breaking their defences.
Combat isn't the only target for Final Fantasy XIII's reductive revolution. Traditional levelling has also been replaced with character progression that's now the sole concern of the Crystarium, a distant relative of Final Fantasy X's Sphere Grid. Skills and physical upgrades are unlocked with Crystarium Points earned in battle, with each character's class levelled up separately via a slickly presented matrix of orbs. It's compulsive but limited; too often the game will place an artificial cap on progression that it lifts at its own whim.
It's a problem that's felt across the board; large parts of Final Fantasy XIII feel overprescribed and overly restrictive. As has widely been reported the path only widens after 30 hours, but in some ways that's the least of its crimes – it takes 25 hours for the game to hand over control of who's in the party and who leads it, the culmination of an unnecessarily protracted drip feed of skills and techniques that saps much of the enjoyment that's to be had with the otherwise superlative combat system.
It's one of several sacrifices that feels like it's been made to serve the story as the interweaving narratives of the six main characters dictates the make-up of the party, and frankly Final Fantasy XIII's tale's not worth losing so much freedom for. The story is by no means a bad one, but it's lacking both the gravitas and wit of past entries, stuck instead in a rut of weak characterisation and murky plot details.
The protagonists themselves range from the good to the plain forgettable. Teen fop Hope's the worst of the bunch, an amalgam of the most insipid of Japanese RPG clichés who spouts about faith and fate and wonders if he can ever realise his true potential. Spoiler alert: he does. Beanie-touting Snow's little better, having an annoying tendency to pound his fists together, lecture about heroics and give knowing winks to his compatriots.
And so it's Final Fantasy XIII's cover star Lightning who instantly endears herself thanks to her habit of landing a firmly placed fist on Snow's face whenever he gets too full of himself. Unfortunately her personal tale soon gets bogged down in generic swash, leaving Sazh to emerge as the best of the leading bunch, which comes as a surprise. With the Chocobo that resides in his afro and some clumsy early moments, he's set up as whimsical comic relief, but as his story's revealed he emerges as the most human of the cast, and hence the easiest to empathise with.
They face an evil that's never really personified, and the absence of an arch villain leaves much of the story without a clear focus. Loosely, it involves each of them branded with the mark of the fal'Cie, mechanical gods who the citizens of Cocoon live in fear of, the protagonists goal being to prove that the enemy isn't quite what it's made out to be.
Hence that linear opening, a byproduct of the lead characters' plights as fugitives; marked as enemies to a state that's kept its populace in the dark as to the true nature of the enemy, they've no choice but to run headlong through the world of Cocoon in a bid for escape. It's a pursuit that's never less than beautiful and is quite often astounding. Final Fantasy XIII looks impeccable, its first rate art design served with technical excellence and giving an overall experience that's to date without compare.
Whether it's fleeing through luminescent forests, through crystal caves formed from freshly frozen tidal waves or in one rare quiet moment traipsing across a beach lit by a low pink sun, it delivers splendour in excess. When it first opens up, it's one of those moments; like the storming of the beach in The Silent Cartographer or those first steps on Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time, it's truly breathtaking.
Closing Comments
But the lack of anything substantial to do beyond fleeing and fighting soon brings the game crashing back to earth, and even when the walls are lifted Final Fantasy XIII’s world can seem strangely lifeless. As a technical feat the game is a triumph, but it seems a slave to its own spectacle, manacling the gameplay to serve its own bombastic vision and ultimately while the excellent combat and stunning visuals are enough to recommend it, they're not enough to earn it a place amongst the series’ top rank.
IGN UK Ratings for Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
9.5 Presentation
As you'd expect from a Final Fantasy, it's front-end is immaculate, proving both user-friendly and drop dead gorgeous.
10 Graphics
Final Fantasy XIII consistently delivers some of the most stunning sights we've seen this generation - and it's going to take something to top their splendour.
9.5 Sound
Nobuo Uematsu's absence isn't felt too much, as from the Battle Theme onwards the soundtrack's excellent. Even Leona Lewis' effort ain't half bad.
8.0 Gameplay
While the combat is stellar it's left to carry too much weight, with little else aside to engage the player.
8.0 Lasting Appeal
Yes, it's sixty hours to see it to the end, but that doesn't mean sixty quality hours - too much of it is lost to banal and repetitive grinding.
8.3
Impressive OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
Such a move shouldn't be too surprising as this is a series that reinvents itself upon every new entry – that much, at least, is constant. Just as you can expect Chocobos, Summons and a side order of grinding so too can you expect new ways to fight, new worlds to explore and new ways in which to interact with them. XIII's no different, and any notions that this is a return to the series' tradition after the wayward son that was its immediate predecessor should be dismissed; this is just as radical a departure as the MMO-tinged Final Fantasy XII, and its extension and revision of the basic formula is likely to prove just as divisive.
Final Fantasy XIII strips away so much of what we've come to expect of a Japanese RPG that it puts forward a strong case for not being considered as one at all. Yes, it's true that the first half of the game funnels players through one long, winding path, but that overarching linearity is just one of many stark design decisions taken by a game that's ruthless in its jettisoning of some of Final Fantasy's most treasured traits. Towns are gone, non-playable characters all but exterminated and there's nothing in the way of extracurricular activity until beyond that thirty hour mark. The series' has never been truly open-ended, but Final Fantasy XIII's more stubborn than most in its insistence to stick to the script.
This minimalist approach isn't necessarily to the game's discredit, and stripping away many of the excesses that have accumulated over 22 years of Final Fantasy games can prove initially exhilarating. It's an approach that comes through strongest in a battle system that can lay claim to be one of the series' best. Like Final Fantasy XII, enemies are visible on the field meaning that this game isn't haunted by the spectre of random encounters – unlike XII battle takes place on a separate plane as XIII returns to the more traditional turn-based system.
Active Time Battle (ATB), a system that's powered the games since 1991, makes a comeback in spectacular fashion, and while Final Fantasy X and its direct sequel are the nearest touchstones (no shock given X's battle planner Toshiro Tsuchida has taken on the same role for XIII, while X-2's director Motomu Toriyama takes the reins for the first time in a mainline entry) XIII easily trumps both. At the most basic level, characters draw upon an APB bar that fills over time for their moves, with more powerful moves demanding more sections of the meter. It makes for fast-paced encounters whereby correctly inputting the optimum moves can be as challenging as selecting the right strategy, although an auto-battle option puts the game on auto-pilot if so desired.
It may not sound too far removed from the norm, but like much else in Final Fantasy XIII what's really telling is the omissions. There are no MP points to speak of, with the ATB bar sharing the burden of both physical and magical attacks, while character's status is instantly reset after every battle. The two things combined mean that the constant management of party members that past games have demanded has been stripped out completely - and it's an edit that's beneficial to the experience.
It leaves the emphasis firmly on the Paradigm Shift mechanic, something which has its roots in Final Fantasy X-2's Dress system. Parties can change their class configuration at the touch of a button – come up against an enemy susceptible to magic and it's possible to switch to Tri-Disaster, a combination utilizing three Black Mages (or Ravagers in Final Fantasy XIII's unique parlance, wherein Paladins are called Sentinels, White Mages are Medics and Warriors are Commandos) to grind them down; receive a pummelling and it's advisable to switch to Combat Clinic, with one Sentinel tasked with soaking up the damage while two Medics are placed on healing duty.
With control restricted to one character in battle while the AI takes charge of the other two party members, it's the biggest asset in the player's arsenal and one that does a wonderful job of both welcoming players not versed in the arcane arts of RPGs and providing a pool of depth for more experienced players to wallow in. While it's not as nuanced as the superb micro-management that Final Fantasy XII's Gambit System dictated, what it lacks in intricacy it makes up for in immediacy.
The immediacy is matched by a dynamic presentation of battles - they're breakneck clashes in which the player is given total freedom to move the camera around the acrobatics and spells. They make for a great spectacle that's delivered at a breathless pace – and speed is one of Final Fantasy XIII's key concerns when it comes to combat. Battles are graded depending on how quickly a fight is finished, with the best way to a swift victory coming through wearing breaking their defences.
Combat isn't the only target for Final Fantasy XIII's reductive revolution. Traditional levelling has also been replaced with character progression that's now the sole concern of the Crystarium, a distant relative of Final Fantasy X's Sphere Grid. Skills and physical upgrades are unlocked with Crystarium Points earned in battle, with each character's class levelled up separately via a slickly presented matrix of orbs. It's compulsive but limited; too often the game will place an artificial cap on progression that it lifts at its own whim.
It's a problem that's felt across the board; large parts of Final Fantasy XIII feel overprescribed and overly restrictive. As has widely been reported the path only widens after 30 hours, but in some ways that's the least of its crimes – it takes 25 hours for the game to hand over control of who's in the party and who leads it, the culmination of an unnecessarily protracted drip feed of skills and techniques that saps much of the enjoyment that's to be had with the otherwise superlative combat system.
It's one of several sacrifices that feels like it's been made to serve the story as the interweaving narratives of the six main characters dictates the make-up of the party, and frankly Final Fantasy XIII's tale's not worth losing so much freedom for. The story is by no means a bad one, but it's lacking both the gravitas and wit of past entries, stuck instead in a rut of weak characterisation and murky plot details.
The protagonists themselves range from the good to the plain forgettable. Teen fop Hope's the worst of the bunch, an amalgam of the most insipid of Japanese RPG clichés who spouts about faith and fate and wonders if he can ever realise his true potential. Spoiler alert: he does. Beanie-touting Snow's little better, having an annoying tendency to pound his fists together, lecture about heroics and give knowing winks to his compatriots.
And so it's Final Fantasy XIII's cover star Lightning who instantly endears herself thanks to her habit of landing a firmly placed fist on Snow's face whenever he gets too full of himself. Unfortunately her personal tale soon gets bogged down in generic swash, leaving Sazh to emerge as the best of the leading bunch, which comes as a surprise. With the Chocobo that resides in his afro and some clumsy early moments, he's set up as whimsical comic relief, but as his story's revealed he emerges as the most human of the cast, and hence the easiest to empathise with.
They face an evil that's never really personified, and the absence of an arch villain leaves much of the story without a clear focus. Loosely, it involves each of them branded with the mark of the fal'Cie, mechanical gods who the citizens of Cocoon live in fear of, the protagonists goal being to prove that the enemy isn't quite what it's made out to be.
Hence that linear opening, a byproduct of the lead characters' plights as fugitives; marked as enemies to a state that's kept its populace in the dark as to the true nature of the enemy, they've no choice but to run headlong through the world of Cocoon in a bid for escape. It's a pursuit that's never less than beautiful and is quite often astounding. Final Fantasy XIII looks impeccable, its first rate art design served with technical excellence and giving an overall experience that's to date without compare.
Whether it's fleeing through luminescent forests, through crystal caves formed from freshly frozen tidal waves or in one rare quiet moment traipsing across a beach lit by a low pink sun, it delivers splendour in excess. When it first opens up, it's one of those moments; like the storming of the beach in The Silent Cartographer or those first steps on Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time, it's truly breathtaking.
Closing Comments
But the lack of anything substantial to do beyond fleeing and fighting soon brings the game crashing back to earth, and even when the walls are lifted Final Fantasy XIII’s world can seem strangely lifeless. As a technical feat the game is a triumph, but it seems a slave to its own spectacle, manacling the gameplay to serve its own bombastic vision and ultimately while the excellent combat and stunning visuals are enough to recommend it, they're not enough to earn it a place amongst the series’ top rank.
IGN UK Ratings for Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
9.5 Presentation
As you'd expect from a Final Fantasy, it's front-end is immaculate, proving both user-friendly and drop dead gorgeous.
10 Graphics
Final Fantasy XIII consistently delivers some of the most stunning sights we've seen this generation - and it's going to take something to top their splendour.
9.5 Sound
Nobuo Uematsu's absence isn't felt too much, as from the Battle Theme onwards the soundtrack's excellent. Even Leona Lewis' effort ain't half bad.
8.0 Gameplay
While the combat is stellar it's left to carry too much weight, with little else aside to engage the player.
8.0 Lasting Appeal
Yes, it's sixty hours to see it to the end, but that doesn't mean sixty quality hours - too much of it is lost to banal and repetitive grinding.
8.3
Impressive OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
This one is going to get messy. Final Fantasy XIII is going to divide gamers like few other titles this year. It's a game with some really great attributes – it looks amazing for a start, but it's clearly been designed with extreme accessibility in mind, and that has resulted in a great loss of control for the player. Some will be able to forgive it this, others won't.
What are we talking about? We're talking about a game where basically everything is (or can be) automated, and where players follow an incredibly linear path. We've italicized that for good reason by the way. It's baffling (there we go again) how linear Final Fantasy XIII is. We're talking about literally walking down one path for a huge portion of the game, with no hub town, and no side quests.
Now, we understand why Square-Enix has done this – the team obviously wants to tell a tightly-paced and exciting story that sweeps players up and along, but within that there's still room for player freedom. Why wait for 30 hours to give us that? The most you can hope for in your first few days with Final Fantasy XIII is a room or area tucked off to the side of the main path. Why there aren't multiple routes and more areas to explore we have no idea. Instead, this is one long corridor, with an eventual shift a long way in.
So that's the first major disappointment. And that disappointment is wrapped up in an opening sequence (the first hour or so) that's one of the worst I've played in a while. Not only is the path painfully linear – the characters are literally running in a straight line along a series of straight roadways, but the more interesting battle mechanics aren't revealed until later, meaning that you have no real options in battle and you're basically just pushing up until you enter a battle, then hammering X to get through it. You don't even earn any form of XP for the first couple of hours, with makes the whole thing even more laborious.
Now, this introduction may have been forgivable if the game hooked players in with an intriguing story and memorable characters, but the opening – for all its slick fight scenes and climactic-looking events - is a very mixed bag. We find out there's some kind of conflict between Cocoon – a city high above the ground, and Pulse – the land below. The rulers of Cocoon, the Sanctum, are shipping anyone who might threaten the security of the city off into exile in Pulse, a process known as the Purge. Rebel forces are fighting it out with Sanctum soldiers and it's into this melting pot that we're thrown.
Cool setting, right? Pity that the rebels are such absolute twats. These guys are fighting a guerrilla war, but are wearing such elaborate, immaculately turned out outfits, with not a single hair out of place, that the whole thing is laughable. They spout clichés, act flippantly, whinge and carry on, and just seem entirely removed from what's actually going on. Snow, their leader, is meant to be a headstrong, blinkered kind of kid, but this is just such a poor introduction to him. (Looking over my notes, at this point I refer to him as 'Captain Douchebag' – not a good start.) They seem above the action, and this feeling only continues as the characters battle a parade of faceless enemies, all of whom disappear into nothingness when defeated. There's just no convincing grounding for this world, and the corridor-like design further exacerbates this.
Thankfully, not all the characters are so annoying, and you'll become more engaged with the ensemble as the game progresses and more background is revealed. The overarching story is pretty interesting too, with its tale of l'Cies: humans who are marked by mysterious mechanical creatures called fal'Cie and must fulfil their 'focus' – a goal that is never explicitly stated, or else they'll become a lumbering, twitching demon. L'Cies are able to use magic and summon Eidolon, and because of this power and their less-than-clear purpose, are regarded as enemy number one by the Sanctum. The Sanctum, in fact, will Purge anyone who has even come into contact with a l'Cie.
Confused? It all makes sense, but it will take you quite a while to get there, as it's pretty poorly communicated to begin with, and the nomenclature Square-Enix has chosen is deliberately flowery – what with their fal'Cies and Pulse l'Cies - to the detriment of the player's understanding of what the hell the characters are going on about.
It takes a long time for the battle and party systems to build too, with all the layers and functionality being revealed gradually - over several days play, in fact. One of the strongest aspects of the game's mechanics is the new Paradigm system, which pretty much automates the Gambit system from Final Fantasy XII. In XII – for those who didn't play it – you could set up how your party will behave in battle, with a series of 'if, then' rules, like 'if a party member's health drops below 50%, then cast a healing spell'. That kind of idea. It meant in the heat of battle you didn't have to be micro-managing everything, and the more you played the more extensive the gambits you could set up.
Paradigms are a simplified, automated version of this. Each character in your party can take on a number of roles in battle, such as Commando, Ravager, Saboteur, Synergist, Sentinel and Medic, each of which has a different goal. Saboteurs, for instance, cast debuffs - spells designed to slow and weaken enemies, while Medics are obviously all about keeping the party healed. Players are able to set a number of Paradigms – role combinations that assign specific characters specific roles, which they can instantly switch between in battle. It's a good system, and means that you can quickly change between trying to deal maximum damage, to trying to stagger an opponent (one of the key elements in taking down tough opponents is to stagger them by filling their 'chain gauge') or trying to stay alive.
The Paradigm system works really well, but unfortunately there isn't much substance to the way the roles themselves evolve. The basic idea is that strengthening a character in particular roles is the main way party members evolve in FFXIII. The usual XP system, where you earn XP in battles and automatically level up at certain thresholds, has been ditched for this game. Instead, you earn Crystogen points, which are spent in the Crystarium. In the Crystarium you can advance your character's strength, magic, health and skills for each role, with each role representing a different path. While this does allow you to, say, level up a character as a Commando at the expense of his or her Ravager path, the reality is that it's just the illusion of choice.
Within each role there are no real options – you just spend your points to move up and along a basically linear path of progression, while levelling up one role at the expense of another isn't a real choice either because at regular intervals you'll have levelled up one role as far as you can, so as you earn more points and wait for more levels in the Crystarium to be unlocked, you wind up levelling up everything. Simply put, this is a big step backwards from Final Fantasy XII's License Board system, and far less engaging.
So what about in battle? Surely the roles come into their own there? Well, yes and no. Yes in the sense that they serve their purpose well, no because it's all pretty automated. Your party members look after themselves, performing the goals of their role, while the character you're controlling has the freedom to build attack sequences from any of the abilities available within his or her active role. Most of the time you won't bother, however, because it's just as effective to simply automate your attacks. Once you've sussed out an enemy (using the Libra technique or a Librascope item), selecting auto-battle will see your character pick the most appropriate attacks for the enemy. If its weakness is water, your character will use a water-based attack. Why remember something, when the game will remember it for you?
You're far more likely to just focus on the big picture – swapping Paradigms efficiently - than you are to be worrying over individual attacks. Thankfully, this is still entertaining – partly because the battle animations are so slick and seamless. In fact, being totally honest, it's the visual spectacle of Final Fantasy XIII that is the primary thing that has propelled me through it. This is just such a polished product. The cutscenes (which are now very regular but relatively short) look amazing, the character models are of an incredibly high standard, the battles are more believable than in any previous game - with a much greater feeling of actual combat as opposed to just being stat crunching paired with swiping vaguely in an enemy's direction, the bosses are as big and wild as you'd expect, and some of the world design is truly gripping.
Case in point, one of the early locations is Lake Bresha, where an impact has thrown up great waves of water, which have then crystallised, leaving you walking around this crystal wonderland, where great crystal arcs curl above you. It's stunning. Then there's Gapra Whitewood, a towering bio-mechanical forest, or Palumpolum, a large town with an incredible draw distance and subtle, but spectacular, use of lighting, colour and distance haze. Oh, and Nautilus, the city of dreams, which is nothing short of spectacular.
Not every location is a stunner, but the visuals in general certainly go a long way towards cloaking the game's deficiencies. Take the Eidolon, for instance. These are mighty beings that can be summoned in battle, to both fight alongside you, and to team up with you. Snow, for instance, calls on Shiva, two hot chicks with, erm, wheels on their heads. They can then intertwine together, like some kind of girl-on-girl Voltron to create a bike... which he rides. Ahem. Does the ability to summon these creatures add anything much to the game? Not really. Do they look cool and add a little more eye candy in battle? Yes sir.
Closing Comments
How, then, do we feel about Final Fantasy XIII? Well, I’ve really enjoyed my time with the game, but there’s no question that the mechanics are far less involving than in XII. There’s also no question that if Square-Enix had used the present mechanics, only with a little more choice – a better Crystarium system for role development and a less linear path through the first 20-30 hours, for starters – this would have been a much better game. Even so, this is a staggeringly pretty PS3 game, and for all its faults, it is enjoyable and it is a meaty adventure... just not meaty in some of the ways we would have hoped.
IGN AU Ratings for Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
9.5 Presentation
The character designs get more and more ludicrous with every instalment. Even so, the art direction is stellar and the menus are user-friendly.
10 Graphics
Stunning. The characters look phenomenal, while some of the world design will blow your mind. A real showcase for the PS3.
8.5 Sound
Decent score, although you’ll get sick of hearing the same battle music over and over. Voice acting is reasonable, but Fang’s accent is awful. Not quite Aussie and it stands out like a sore thumb.
7.5 Gameplay
Here’s where the game falls down. It’s fun enough, but so automated and on-rails initially that there’s a real danger players won't get to the point where it opens up.
8.5 Lasting Appeal
It’s a massive game with a ridiculous amount of content. That said, bigger isn’t necessarily better. A slightly shorter game with a more unified design might have worked better
.
8.4
Impressive OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
What are we talking about? We're talking about a game where basically everything is (or can be) automated, and where players follow an incredibly linear path. We've italicized that for good reason by the way. It's baffling (there we go again) how linear Final Fantasy XIII is. We're talking about literally walking down one path for a huge portion of the game, with no hub town, and no side quests.
Now, we understand why Square-Enix has done this – the team obviously wants to tell a tightly-paced and exciting story that sweeps players up and along, but within that there's still room for player freedom. Why wait for 30 hours to give us that? The most you can hope for in your first few days with Final Fantasy XIII is a room or area tucked off to the side of the main path. Why there aren't multiple routes and more areas to explore we have no idea. Instead, this is one long corridor, with an eventual shift a long way in.
So that's the first major disappointment. And that disappointment is wrapped up in an opening sequence (the first hour or so) that's one of the worst I've played in a while. Not only is the path painfully linear – the characters are literally running in a straight line along a series of straight roadways, but the more interesting battle mechanics aren't revealed until later, meaning that you have no real options in battle and you're basically just pushing up until you enter a battle, then hammering X to get through it. You don't even earn any form of XP for the first couple of hours, with makes the whole thing even more laborious.
Now, this introduction may have been forgivable if the game hooked players in with an intriguing story and memorable characters, but the opening – for all its slick fight scenes and climactic-looking events - is a very mixed bag. We find out there's some kind of conflict between Cocoon – a city high above the ground, and Pulse – the land below. The rulers of Cocoon, the Sanctum, are shipping anyone who might threaten the security of the city off into exile in Pulse, a process known as the Purge. Rebel forces are fighting it out with Sanctum soldiers and it's into this melting pot that we're thrown.
Cool setting, right? Pity that the rebels are such absolute twats. These guys are fighting a guerrilla war, but are wearing such elaborate, immaculately turned out outfits, with not a single hair out of place, that the whole thing is laughable. They spout clichés, act flippantly, whinge and carry on, and just seem entirely removed from what's actually going on. Snow, their leader, is meant to be a headstrong, blinkered kind of kid, but this is just such a poor introduction to him. (Looking over my notes, at this point I refer to him as 'Captain Douchebag' – not a good start.) They seem above the action, and this feeling only continues as the characters battle a parade of faceless enemies, all of whom disappear into nothingness when defeated. There's just no convincing grounding for this world, and the corridor-like design further exacerbates this.
Thankfully, not all the characters are so annoying, and you'll become more engaged with the ensemble as the game progresses and more background is revealed. The overarching story is pretty interesting too, with its tale of l'Cies: humans who are marked by mysterious mechanical creatures called fal'Cie and must fulfil their 'focus' – a goal that is never explicitly stated, or else they'll become a lumbering, twitching demon. L'Cies are able to use magic and summon Eidolon, and because of this power and their less-than-clear purpose, are regarded as enemy number one by the Sanctum. The Sanctum, in fact, will Purge anyone who has even come into contact with a l'Cie.
Confused? It all makes sense, but it will take you quite a while to get there, as it's pretty poorly communicated to begin with, and the nomenclature Square-Enix has chosen is deliberately flowery – what with their fal'Cies and Pulse l'Cies - to the detriment of the player's understanding of what the hell the characters are going on about.
It takes a long time for the battle and party systems to build too, with all the layers and functionality being revealed gradually - over several days play, in fact. One of the strongest aspects of the game's mechanics is the new Paradigm system, which pretty much automates the Gambit system from Final Fantasy XII. In XII – for those who didn't play it – you could set up how your party will behave in battle, with a series of 'if, then' rules, like 'if a party member's health drops below 50%, then cast a healing spell'. That kind of idea. It meant in the heat of battle you didn't have to be micro-managing everything, and the more you played the more extensive the gambits you could set up.
Paradigms are a simplified, automated version of this. Each character in your party can take on a number of roles in battle, such as Commando, Ravager, Saboteur, Synergist, Sentinel and Medic, each of which has a different goal. Saboteurs, for instance, cast debuffs - spells designed to slow and weaken enemies, while Medics are obviously all about keeping the party healed. Players are able to set a number of Paradigms – role combinations that assign specific characters specific roles, which they can instantly switch between in battle. It's a good system, and means that you can quickly change between trying to deal maximum damage, to trying to stagger an opponent (one of the key elements in taking down tough opponents is to stagger them by filling their 'chain gauge') or trying to stay alive.
The Paradigm system works really well, but unfortunately there isn't much substance to the way the roles themselves evolve. The basic idea is that strengthening a character in particular roles is the main way party members evolve in FFXIII. The usual XP system, where you earn XP in battles and automatically level up at certain thresholds, has been ditched for this game. Instead, you earn Crystogen points, which are spent in the Crystarium. In the Crystarium you can advance your character's strength, magic, health and skills for each role, with each role representing a different path. While this does allow you to, say, level up a character as a Commando at the expense of his or her Ravager path, the reality is that it's just the illusion of choice.
Within each role there are no real options – you just spend your points to move up and along a basically linear path of progression, while levelling up one role at the expense of another isn't a real choice either because at regular intervals you'll have levelled up one role as far as you can, so as you earn more points and wait for more levels in the Crystarium to be unlocked, you wind up levelling up everything. Simply put, this is a big step backwards from Final Fantasy XII's License Board system, and far less engaging.
So what about in battle? Surely the roles come into their own there? Well, yes and no. Yes in the sense that they serve their purpose well, no because it's all pretty automated. Your party members look after themselves, performing the goals of their role, while the character you're controlling has the freedom to build attack sequences from any of the abilities available within his or her active role. Most of the time you won't bother, however, because it's just as effective to simply automate your attacks. Once you've sussed out an enemy (using the Libra technique or a Librascope item), selecting auto-battle will see your character pick the most appropriate attacks for the enemy. If its weakness is water, your character will use a water-based attack. Why remember something, when the game will remember it for you?
You're far more likely to just focus on the big picture – swapping Paradigms efficiently - than you are to be worrying over individual attacks. Thankfully, this is still entertaining – partly because the battle animations are so slick and seamless. In fact, being totally honest, it's the visual spectacle of Final Fantasy XIII that is the primary thing that has propelled me through it. This is just such a polished product. The cutscenes (which are now very regular but relatively short) look amazing, the character models are of an incredibly high standard, the battles are more believable than in any previous game - with a much greater feeling of actual combat as opposed to just being stat crunching paired with swiping vaguely in an enemy's direction, the bosses are as big and wild as you'd expect, and some of the world design is truly gripping.
Case in point, one of the early locations is Lake Bresha, where an impact has thrown up great waves of water, which have then crystallised, leaving you walking around this crystal wonderland, where great crystal arcs curl above you. It's stunning. Then there's Gapra Whitewood, a towering bio-mechanical forest, or Palumpolum, a large town with an incredible draw distance and subtle, but spectacular, use of lighting, colour and distance haze. Oh, and Nautilus, the city of dreams, which is nothing short of spectacular.
Not every location is a stunner, but the visuals in general certainly go a long way towards cloaking the game's deficiencies. Take the Eidolon, for instance. These are mighty beings that can be summoned in battle, to both fight alongside you, and to team up with you. Snow, for instance, calls on Shiva, two hot chicks with, erm, wheels on their heads. They can then intertwine together, like some kind of girl-on-girl Voltron to create a bike... which he rides. Ahem. Does the ability to summon these creatures add anything much to the game? Not really. Do they look cool and add a little more eye candy in battle? Yes sir.
Closing Comments
How, then, do we feel about Final Fantasy XIII? Well, I’ve really enjoyed my time with the game, but there’s no question that the mechanics are far less involving than in XII. There’s also no question that if Square-Enix had used the present mechanics, only with a little more choice – a better Crystarium system for role development and a less linear path through the first 20-30 hours, for starters – this would have been a much better game. Even so, this is a staggeringly pretty PS3 game, and for all its faults, it is enjoyable and it is a meaty adventure... just not meaty in some of the ways we would have hoped.
IGN AU Ratings for Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
9.5 Presentation
The character designs get more and more ludicrous with every instalment. Even so, the art direction is stellar and the menus are user-friendly.
10 Graphics
Stunning. The characters look phenomenal, while some of the world design will blow your mind. A real showcase for the PS3.
8.5 Sound
Decent score, although you’ll get sick of hearing the same battle music over and over. Voice acting is reasonable, but Fang’s accent is awful. Not quite Aussie and it stands out like a sore thumb.
7.5 Gameplay
Here’s where the game falls down. It’s fun enough, but so automated and on-rails initially that there’s a real danger players won't get to the point where it opens up.
8.5 Lasting Appeal
It’s a massive game with a ridiculous amount of content. That said, bigger isn’t necessarily better. A slightly shorter game with a more unified design might have worked better
.
8.4
Impressive OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
’s all in the name. The 13th main instalment of a series that has relentlessly spawned subsidiaries over the past decade, the distinguishing factor is in those words as a title, rather than a brand. A true Final Fantasy – only the second since 2002 – is still an event.
This time around, it’s also a big reveal. Final Fantasy XIII changes the basic formula of the series radically – to an extent that no pre-release talk hinted at – and strikes out on its own. Even the most basic assumptions about what a Final Fantasy game should be are left at the door: this can barely be described as a roleplaying game. You won’t come across a single town worthy of the label, talk to shopkeepers or be swept into an intricate minigame. Your characters don’t even level up for the first few hours. It’s best to get the beginning out of the way: it’s a disaster of pacing that both bores and condescends to the player. There’s an excellently rendered cutscene to start off, and for the next two hours you’ll do little but run forward through walled-in environments and press a single button over and over to dismiss enemies. By the time you encounter anything approaching a challenge, FFXIII is stirring one emotion in particular: boredom.
The combat system is the culprit. Square Enix has constructed a masterpiece within the structure of turn-based battling, but the game is scared of you getting it wrong. While the system is complex, it’s not too hard to get to grips with the basics, but you won’t have access to the full capabilities of your party until around 20 hours in. It introduces every element at a crawling pace, and seems to think the only way players learn is through repetition – you’ll get a new tactic and then have to barrel through a series of identical enemies that are defeated by spamming it.
When your party is finally operating at full capacity, there’s still more of the linear story to trudge through – and it is a trudge. The game’s producers have gone on record as saying that western audiences don’t understand this first section, but in fact we do: it’s just a bit rubbish. The first 25 hours of the game are one long corridor of palette-swapped enemies, fights that never quite find the right level of challenge, and cutscene after cutscene (after cutscene) leaving your joypad entirely idle.
Then it all goes right. Your party decamps to Pulse, a sprawling, slightly-more-open world beneath Cocoon, and the real FFXIII begins to emerge. It’s that combat system. You directly control the party leader, with two support characters fighting automatically, but you can also control their roles: there are damage dealers, tanks, medics and so on. Any combination can be pre-arranged, and up to six can be swapped between on the fly when in battle. The scope for customising your loadout doesn’t initially seem overwhelming, but it quickly becomes clear what a difference a change makes, and how small a number six really is.
The enemies span the full gamut: hulking, nimble, pack-hunters, solo attackers, magic-based, physical brutes, immune to some things and weak to others. Each also has a ‘Stagger’ bar, separate from their health. Fill this to the top, and damage is doubled while new offensive options become available. Your role is management. Use Evened Odds to heal your wounds, bulk up and soften your enemy (with a party of Saboteur, Medic and Synergist). Switch to Tri-Attack to fill their Stagger meter quickly (all Ravagers). Switch to Hero’s Charge to maintain the level of Stagger while healing any damage done in the meantime and adding new buffs to your party (Commando, Synergist, Medic). Another Tri-Attack and, despite resistance, they’re staggered – unleash Endless Assault (Commando, Commando, Medic), launch them in the air and begin dealing out the big blows. They don’t touch the ground for the next 30 seconds, and by the time they’re down, they’re out.
Things don’t always go so smoothly. You’ll often find yourself in desperate rearguard actions, using Salvation (all Medics) just to stay alive and wait for a respite, when you can squeak out a few boosts and attacks before hunkering back down. The possibilities in your party are so dynamic that the enemies have to be deadly, capable of killing you in a few quick hits, to force you on to the back foot. If you’re not alive to the flow of combat, you’ll quickly find that your party leader has been downed. It’s a system as capable of playing rope-a-dope as it is delivering a knockout blow, and the fact that those Active Time Battle gauges still anchor it is nothing short of remarkable.
For around 20 hours after your arrival on Pulse, FFXIII hits a sweet spot, the relentless pull of the narrative dissipated over hunting side-quests and the simple joy of exploring to see what visual marvel is around the next corner. There are definite issues with the way in which FFXIII switches between visual styles, but when you’re in-game and wandering around this remarkable world, they’re just background static. Cocoon is an inspired setting, its blend of high technology and sky-spanning architecture blessed with a vibrancy and vivid colour that often leaves you open-mouthed. Pulse, though more traditional in its savage-land stylings, still manages to be awesome through the sheer scale of the place, beasts the size of buses idly grazing as feral cats attack a behemoth.
It’s a significant prop to a story that has moments of poignancy and a few good characters, but ultimately falls flat. This is such a well-realised world that to have it inhabited by Final Fantasy clichés is especially disappointing. Hope (really) is a kid tormented by the death of his mother. Vanille’s an over-sexualised nonentity. Sazh is a convincing argument against Danny Glover and Lionel Richie ever again being combined into a single character. The biggest problem is that there’s simply no one else. Outside of the main party, every single character in this game is either a cackling cipher, a bystander with a few repeated lines, or a deus ex machina who’s there and gone within the space of a cutscene.
Some people don’t like numbers, but try this little sum. If you submit 25 hours of your life to a misjudged series of linear battles and cutscenes, Square Enix lets you play FFXIII, and you’ll get 25 decent hours out of it. It’s an equation that might just balance out – but for who? Well, the fanbase, certainly, will find Lightning to be the Cloud substitute they’ve been yearning for, and in the hunting side-quests the grinding fix they’re after. For anyone less dedicated – who wouldn’t really care if a Chocobo makes an appearance or not – it’s more troubling. FFXIII is uncommonly beautiful, with a background fiction as rich as its story is poor, and at its beating heart is a battle system that stands among the genre’s finest. Its structural changes are brave, but in minimising everything that happens outside of that main narrative the baby’s been thrown out with the bathwater, leaving a potentially interesting world that you just don’t care about saving.
FFXIII takes brave risks with the series’ foundations, but they ultimately create trembling fractures throughout the entire edifice, that robust battle system unable to support the weight of an entire world. Final Fantasy games are always an investment. This time, the returns are questionable
This time around, it’s also a big reveal. Final Fantasy XIII changes the basic formula of the series radically – to an extent that no pre-release talk hinted at – and strikes out on its own. Even the most basic assumptions about what a Final Fantasy game should be are left at the door: this can barely be described as a roleplaying game. You won’t come across a single town worthy of the label, talk to shopkeepers or be swept into an intricate minigame. Your characters don’t even level up for the first few hours. It’s best to get the beginning out of the way: it’s a disaster of pacing that both bores and condescends to the player. There’s an excellently rendered cutscene to start off, and for the next two hours you’ll do little but run forward through walled-in environments and press a single button over and over to dismiss enemies. By the time you encounter anything approaching a challenge, FFXIII is stirring one emotion in particular: boredom.
The combat system is the culprit. Square Enix has constructed a masterpiece within the structure of turn-based battling, but the game is scared of you getting it wrong. While the system is complex, it’s not too hard to get to grips with the basics, but you won’t have access to the full capabilities of your party until around 20 hours in. It introduces every element at a crawling pace, and seems to think the only way players learn is through repetition – you’ll get a new tactic and then have to barrel through a series of identical enemies that are defeated by spamming it.
When your party is finally operating at full capacity, there’s still more of the linear story to trudge through – and it is a trudge. The game’s producers have gone on record as saying that western audiences don’t understand this first section, but in fact we do: it’s just a bit rubbish. The first 25 hours of the game are one long corridor of palette-swapped enemies, fights that never quite find the right level of challenge, and cutscene after cutscene (after cutscene) leaving your joypad entirely idle.
Then it all goes right. Your party decamps to Pulse, a sprawling, slightly-more-open world beneath Cocoon, and the real FFXIII begins to emerge. It’s that combat system. You directly control the party leader, with two support characters fighting automatically, but you can also control their roles: there are damage dealers, tanks, medics and so on. Any combination can be pre-arranged, and up to six can be swapped between on the fly when in battle. The scope for customising your loadout doesn’t initially seem overwhelming, but it quickly becomes clear what a difference a change makes, and how small a number six really is.
The enemies span the full gamut: hulking, nimble, pack-hunters, solo attackers, magic-based, physical brutes, immune to some things and weak to others. Each also has a ‘Stagger’ bar, separate from their health. Fill this to the top, and damage is doubled while new offensive options become available. Your role is management. Use Evened Odds to heal your wounds, bulk up and soften your enemy (with a party of Saboteur, Medic and Synergist). Switch to Tri-Attack to fill their Stagger meter quickly (all Ravagers). Switch to Hero’s Charge to maintain the level of Stagger while healing any damage done in the meantime and adding new buffs to your party (Commando, Synergist, Medic). Another Tri-Attack and, despite resistance, they’re staggered – unleash Endless Assault (Commando, Commando, Medic), launch them in the air and begin dealing out the big blows. They don’t touch the ground for the next 30 seconds, and by the time they’re down, they’re out.
Things don’t always go so smoothly. You’ll often find yourself in desperate rearguard actions, using Salvation (all Medics) just to stay alive and wait for a respite, when you can squeak out a few boosts and attacks before hunkering back down. The possibilities in your party are so dynamic that the enemies have to be deadly, capable of killing you in a few quick hits, to force you on to the back foot. If you’re not alive to the flow of combat, you’ll quickly find that your party leader has been downed. It’s a system as capable of playing rope-a-dope as it is delivering a knockout blow, and the fact that those Active Time Battle gauges still anchor it is nothing short of remarkable.
For around 20 hours after your arrival on Pulse, FFXIII hits a sweet spot, the relentless pull of the narrative dissipated over hunting side-quests and the simple joy of exploring to see what visual marvel is around the next corner. There are definite issues with the way in which FFXIII switches between visual styles, but when you’re in-game and wandering around this remarkable world, they’re just background static. Cocoon is an inspired setting, its blend of high technology and sky-spanning architecture blessed with a vibrancy and vivid colour that often leaves you open-mouthed. Pulse, though more traditional in its savage-land stylings, still manages to be awesome through the sheer scale of the place, beasts the size of buses idly grazing as feral cats attack a behemoth.
It’s a significant prop to a story that has moments of poignancy and a few good characters, but ultimately falls flat. This is such a well-realised world that to have it inhabited by Final Fantasy clichés is especially disappointing. Hope (really) is a kid tormented by the death of his mother. Vanille’s an over-sexualised nonentity. Sazh is a convincing argument against Danny Glover and Lionel Richie ever again being combined into a single character. The biggest problem is that there’s simply no one else. Outside of the main party, every single character in this game is either a cackling cipher, a bystander with a few repeated lines, or a deus ex machina who’s there and gone within the space of a cutscene.
Some people don’t like numbers, but try this little sum. If you submit 25 hours of your life to a misjudged series of linear battles and cutscenes, Square Enix lets you play FFXIII, and you’ll get 25 decent hours out of it. It’s an equation that might just balance out – but for who? Well, the fanbase, certainly, will find Lightning to be the Cloud substitute they’ve been yearning for, and in the hunting side-quests the grinding fix they’re after. For anyone less dedicated – who wouldn’t really care if a Chocobo makes an appearance or not – it’s more troubling. FFXIII is uncommonly beautiful, with a background fiction as rich as its story is poor, and at its beating heart is a battle system that stands among the genre’s finest. Its structural changes are brave, but in minimising everything that happens outside of that main narrative the baby’s been thrown out with the bathwater, leaving a potentially interesting world that you just don’t care about saving.
FFXIII takes brave risks with the series’ foundations, but they ultimately create trembling fractures throughout the entire edifice, that robust battle system unable to support the weight of an entire world. Final Fantasy games are always an investment. This time, the returns are questionable
Final Fantasy XIII is a mix of some good ideas and questionable implementation. Square are trying to push the series in a new direction and there are some very obvious growing pains, but also promise of a better future for the series as a whole (and when you're speaking about a multi-million selling franchise, a better future is good indeed).
You've all heard of the weaknesses already: the plot is thin and in parts incomprehensible, the characters are usually 2D caricatures and the game is extremely linear. None of these would be big problems in and of themselves, but when you put them all together, you end up with a game that feels very light. It's almost like Square made a 20 hour RPG but then decided the game needed to be 40 hours long after all and just stretched it out.
As a result there are long segments in the game where very little happens aside from you running down practically identical corridors and fighting the same four enemy types indigenous to that particular dungeon over and over again. Again, this wouldn't be a big problem IF there was something else to spice up these corridor runs. Some neat mechanics that varied from dungeon to dungeon based on the locale. Something that would make Space Corridor A different from Lovely Forest T, other than the background graphic. There isn't, though, and so the game became very much a grind for me by the 10th hour when I felt like I'd seen all there was to see and was just waiting to see everything again repeatedly.
The combat system is the real gem of Final Fantasy XIII. It mixes computer assisted decision making, great graphics and a nice group system into a package that offers an experience you won't find in any earlier Final Fantasy games. As a result it really feels fresh. When things are at their most hectic, it's tons of fun to jump from paradigm to paradigm in an effort to keep everyone alive while keeping the enemies debuffed, your party buffed and still doing damage.
It's a shame, then, that this wonderful system isn't really utilized all that often. Aside from boss battles and other big nasties, most battles are little more than 10 second diversions where the default Slash & Burn paradigm crushes all enemies while you hold down auto attack -- and then you have to repeat literally the same battle 40 more times to complete the dungeon. I would've liked to see far fewer, but more involved and complicated fights to really take advantage of the system.
One part worth mentioning are the Gestalt battles, which are where you obtain new Eidolons, this game's version of summons. They are traditionally crazy and flashy, maybe a bit too much so: it's hard to keep a straight face when two space lesbians embrace each other into a motorcycle or a huge fiery satan turns into a dune buggy, but that's Japan for you.
The battles, though, feel like little more than puzzles, and unwelcome ones at that. I appreciate the theory: each Eidolon has a specific weakness you have to exploit to fill up his Stagger bar and thus his Gestalt bar, battering him into submission and winning the battle. The trouble is that these combinations are absolutely binary. If Space Satan requires one member to block attacks and the other member to buff up his physical defense to yield, everything else will result in absolutely and automatic failure, once the battle timer is up. These combinations are often extremely arbitrary and thus frustrating to figure out.
So, then. Paper-thin and incomprehensible plot, character caricatures that are supposed to entertain you for the linear 40-60 hours it will take you to complete the game and a battle system that isn't really utilized. These problems are very real and do affect the game to a significant degree. Many people will absolutely hate it. Worth it, though? Surprisingly I will say "possibly". There's a certain charm to Final Fantasy XIII that's buried under the ridiculous fantasy lingo, sudden mood changes the seemingly manic-depressive characters go through every five minutes and critically high Japan levels, but it's all a game of "occasionallys".
Occasionally you will find a fight that really tests your mastery of the paradigm system and makes your adrenaline flow. Occasionally you will watch a cinematic that is so masterfully made and hits its intended emotional marks so well that you can't help but be truly moved. When these occasions find you, the game really works and you can see why Square's revolution-in-the-making might be worth suffering 30 hours of grinding space bees for.
You've all heard of the weaknesses already: the plot is thin and in parts incomprehensible, the characters are usually 2D caricatures and the game is extremely linear. None of these would be big problems in and of themselves, but when you put them all together, you end up with a game that feels very light. It's almost like Square made a 20 hour RPG but then decided the game needed to be 40 hours long after all and just stretched it out.
As a result there are long segments in the game where very little happens aside from you running down practically identical corridors and fighting the same four enemy types indigenous to that particular dungeon over and over again. Again, this wouldn't be a big problem IF there was something else to spice up these corridor runs. Some neat mechanics that varied from dungeon to dungeon based on the locale. Something that would make Space Corridor A different from Lovely Forest T, other than the background graphic. There isn't, though, and so the game became very much a grind for me by the 10th hour when I felt like I'd seen all there was to see and was just waiting to see everything again repeatedly.
The combat system is the real gem of Final Fantasy XIII. It mixes computer assisted decision making, great graphics and a nice group system into a package that offers an experience you won't find in any earlier Final Fantasy games. As a result it really feels fresh. When things are at their most hectic, it's tons of fun to jump from paradigm to paradigm in an effort to keep everyone alive while keeping the enemies debuffed, your party buffed and still doing damage.
It's a shame, then, that this wonderful system isn't really utilized all that often. Aside from boss battles and other big nasties, most battles are little more than 10 second diversions where the default Slash & Burn paradigm crushes all enemies while you hold down auto attack -- and then you have to repeat literally the same battle 40 more times to complete the dungeon. I would've liked to see far fewer, but more involved and complicated fights to really take advantage of the system.
One part worth mentioning are the Gestalt battles, which are where you obtain new Eidolons, this game's version of summons. They are traditionally crazy and flashy, maybe a bit too much so: it's hard to keep a straight face when two space lesbians embrace each other into a motorcycle or a huge fiery satan turns into a dune buggy, but that's Japan for you.
The battles, though, feel like little more than puzzles, and unwelcome ones at that. I appreciate the theory: each Eidolon has a specific weakness you have to exploit to fill up his Stagger bar and thus his Gestalt bar, battering him into submission and winning the battle. The trouble is that these combinations are absolutely binary. If Space Satan requires one member to block attacks and the other member to buff up his physical defense to yield, everything else will result in absolutely and automatic failure, once the battle timer is up. These combinations are often extremely arbitrary and thus frustrating to figure out.
So, then. Paper-thin and incomprehensible plot, character caricatures that are supposed to entertain you for the linear 40-60 hours it will take you to complete the game and a battle system that isn't really utilized. These problems are very real and do affect the game to a significant degree. Many people will absolutely hate it. Worth it, though? Surprisingly I will say "possibly". There's a certain charm to Final Fantasy XIII that's buried under the ridiculous fantasy lingo, sudden mood changes the seemingly manic-depressive characters go through every five minutes and critically high Japan levels, but it's all a game of "occasionallys".
Occasionally you will find a fight that really tests your mastery of the paradigm system and makes your adrenaline flow. Occasionally you will watch a cinematic that is so masterfully made and hits its intended emotional marks so well that you can't help but be truly moved. When these occasions find you, the game really works and you can see why Square's revolution-in-the-making might be worth suffering 30 hours of grinding space bees for.
Homesite: http://www.final-fantasy-13.net/banner1.jpg
Eh, its early but whatevs. I didn't want some prune-juiced moron making the thread instead. :3
You know the drill, talk about the game: what looks cool, what doesn't look cool, your experience, what you think overall etc.
