Final Fantasy XIII Review

Posted by Terra_corrupt in Console, Featured, Microsoft, Reviews, Sony | 17 comments

“That boy has had some memories full of glee.

That boy’s childhood was filled with Adventure.

That boy was worried that the Adventures would end.”

 

Tifa’s Theme – Final Fantasy VII

 

 

In 1999, I was brought to my Cousin Roy’s house. He was around 15 at the time, while I was a mere 7. It was at this time, that he was kind of enough to give me Final Fantasy VII to play on my newly bought Playstation (Well, given might be a stretch, he was frustrated and didn’t want it anymore. Over the next 3 years, I was, for lack of a better word, obsessed. Never before in my life had I had such an Experience. It was amazing, I played that game like it was the last game on earth. Needless to say, I became a Final Fantasy fan.

From then on, I decided to play the series. Since X had just been released, I picked that up in 2002. I loved the story, and especially the music. I began to notice ‘Nobuo Uematsu’ and credited him as my favourite Music maker. That same year I picked up Final Fantasy VIII and IX. All were wonderful experiences in their own way.

I began my Web surfing days in 2005, and noticed the anticipation of Final Fantasy XII. I was definitely one of them, and decided to explore the mindset of the gaming world on the series. Some were welcoming the change in style, hoping that the series would return to the Non-Futuristic era of I-VI. Some however were complaining the loss, saying that the magic would be lost. On neither side, I picked up Final Fantasy XII in 2007. For the firs t time, I was disappointed. I now understand that it is not a bad game, it’s just not the game for me. No one else will convince me otherwise, Final Fantasy XII = Vagrant Story 2.

Knowing that XIII would be a long wait, I decided to go back in time, and Play VI.

It was good…… Very Good.

It became my favourite game.

I picked up III and IV for the DS, and played V via Emulator.

And then, 2 days ago, Final Fantasy XIII arrived.

 

 

I was worried about this game, to be frank. I was disappointed in the over-analysis that most reviewers took on board when playing it, rather than actually trying to enjoy the game. I tried to enjoy the game. I tried to return to the mindset that I had been in 11 years ago. Disregarding the Internet community’s opinions, I decided to actually play the fucking game, unbiased, unknowing and very afraid.

 

 

NOTE: As you may gather from the preface, I am a HUGE Final Fantasy fan. It is my favourite series of games and as such, you wouldn’t be wrong for thinking that I might be biased. Rest assured, I am looking at this game cleanly. For the next hour in writing this, I’m not a Final Fantasy Fan. I’m just a Gamer.

NOTE 2: I have NOT completed the full game yet, and as such, do not know the ending. I am about 15 hours into the game.

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: At first glance, it seems that the series has returned to the futuristic setting so commonly associated with Final Fantasy VII and VIII. It looks like it has gone back to characters that look more Anime based than anything else. The combat system looks Interesting, and a bit confusing. The music sounds different, but has potential.

 

GAMEPLAY  

 
“I think we’re gonna need a bigger Ultima Weapon”

Boss theme – Final Fantasy IX

 

Combat:

The Final Fantasy series’ vast array of combat systems, be it Job’s in III, ATB in IV or Junctioning in VIII, all owe themselves to one Man. Hiroyuki Ito.

He did not design the combat system in this game.

This seemed to discourage many, but after seeing the E3 trailer so long ago, the battle system looked to Intriguing to ignore.

Instead of controlling 3 characters, you may have full control over only 1, only being able to shift the other characters Paradigm’s (see below).

The battle system is based on Ito’s ATB gauge used in Final Fantasy’s IV-IX, but altered. Throughout the battle, a bar fills up (like in the old games) only this time, you can link together various attacks depending on how much of the bar is filled.

Say that the bar is only half filled. Then you many only be able to execute 2 “Attack” commands, whereas if the Bar is filled to the end, you will be able to execute 3. There are potentially hundreds of combinations for battle with this system. Along with this comes the “Stagger” feature, an essential part of XIII’s battle scheme. When landing a number of attacks on a certain individual enemy. They will become “Staggered” and the amount of damage dealt to the monster will go up considerably. This becomes the only way to fight in some battles. Along with this comes the “Paradigm Shift” function. Paradigm’s are, basically, Jobs. There are 6 to choose from. Commando, Ravager, Medic, Sentinel, Synergist and Saboteur. Each Paradigm has its own battle scheme, be it physical attack’s, magic attack’s or healing magic. Each of the 6 playable characters may shift between Paradigms during battle with the L1 button, allowing for a lot of variety when battling.

Then of course, there’s the Summoning. Eidolon’s return from VI and IX to help out. Upon capturing an Eidolon, you may bring it to battle to help, or initiate “Gestalt Mode” (Gestalt being one of the many series tributes). In this mode you bond with the Eidolon in question to initiate a variety of attack’s based on, yet another bar.

If you have No idea what I have just described in the preceding paragraphs, don’t be alarmed. The game has well placed tutorial’s at various sections of the game explaining the system.

The battle system can get a bit confusing at times, sometimes you may have accidentally shifted Paradigm’s when you meant to use an Ability, but the potential that the battle system has is without Limit. So far I have found the battle’s engrossing and, above all, challenging. The battle’s last much longer than in previous Final Fantasy’s. The only negative I have encountered (so far) is that the familiar “Fanfare” music is absent from the game. Also, while it’s not a complaint more than a note, you are healed after every battle, entering a new one with full health every time. The Rating system is strange and unnecessary and the Boss battle’s are slightly easier than regular monsters.

Rating: 9/10

 

 

Field:

Final Fantasy’s I-VI were 2D. Final Fantasy’s VII-IX were 3D with pre-rendered backgrounds. Final Fantasy X got rid of the fixed camera as the camera moved with you. XII allowed full control of the camera. In XIII the camera is, once again fully controllable, but to a lesser extent that XII. You run through sections like so many other Final Fantasy’s and encounter Enemies and Intractable Items along the way. Upon meeting an enemy, you are transported to the Battle screen, so there is no fighting on the field like in XII.

Jumping returns from Final Fantasy X-2 in an effort to “recreate the feel of Advent Children” as Tetsuya Nomura put it. The jumps this time around are much more fantastic and unreal. On the field there is much happening, be it ships crashing, NPC’s running or Environments crumbling at your feet. Save points are very regular this time around as well. The characters you travel with walk, and most times run at your side, ahead or behind you. They also utter lines of dialogue in the process, creating a very nice and un-empty atmosphere.

One thing to note is the Linearity of the field and most importantly, the lack of towns or settlements in the game. The path in the field does diverge off into sections, but area’s such as the Calm Lands in Final Fantasy X are nowhere to be found in this game (yet). Also, from what I have heard, there is not as many sidequests as most other entries in the series.

Rating: 8/10

 

Everything else:

The Character progression system is known as ‘’The Crystalarium”. Much like the sphere grid in Final Fantasy X, after each battle you obtain CP or Crystal points. These points can be spent on the Crystalarium. After choosing which Paradigm of the Crystalarium you want to develop, you are taken to a grid in which you can learn new abilities and gain new stats at the cost of CP. Each character’s Crystalarium is different, and so the Customizing gets pretty interesting.

You can also upgrade your weapons and Accessories at save points by converting items that you find on your trip into EXP for the Weapon. Once a certain EXP in a weapon has been reached, the weapon will gain a level, featuring new stats and sometime abilities.

The Crystalarium is a very User-friendly and colourful system, and the Weapon Upgrade system is cool, if a bit underwhelming.

Rating: 9/10

 

TOTAL GAMEPLAY SCORE:  9/10

 

CHARACHTERS /STORY /ATMOSPHERES

“Lightling comes off as a female version of Cloud Strife”

Terra’s theme – Final Fantasy VI

 

Characters (Brief):

 

Lightning – A young woman of about 20 who works for the Guardian Corps of Coccoon. When she learns that her Sister, Serah,  is an l’Cie, she sets to save her from the Purge. She boards an l’Cie train in order to sabotage the Purge.

Snow – Serah’s Fiancée and leader or resistance group NORA. He fight’s the Sanctum’s troops in a bid to save the l’Cie during the Purge.

 

Vanille – A Happy, Bright girl who is very mysterious. Her reasons for being in the Purge are not explained.

 

Sazh – A Cheerful man with a Chocobo living in his head. He seems to know much about the fal’Cie. His reasons for being at the Purge are Unknown.

 

Hope – A Young boy who was mistaken for an l’Cie along with his mother and brought to the Purge. After witnessing the Death of his mother, he is looking to wrack up enough courage to confront Snow about his true feelings.

 

Yun Fang – A Mysterious woman working for The Sanctum, despite bearing a hidden l’Cie mark.

 

 

Story (Brief):

The story of Final Fantasy XIII revolves around the fal’Cie, god-like deities that posses mighty abilities. The game is set on Coccoon, a “Paradise” above the “Hell” that is Gran Pulse below. The fal’Cie choose people to carry out a task known as a “Focus”.  These chosen few are known as “l’Cie”. If an l’Cie fail’s to carry out said Focus, they get turned into a “Cie’eth”, a fate worse than death. The game begins in the middle of “The Purge” in which the Government of Coccoon “The Sanctum” take all l’Cie and execute them under the guise of exile. Lightning and Snow both try to save Serah, and Sazh, Hope and Vanille seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The 5 were chosen to be l’Cie and must now live with the knowledge that they must complete a Focus, or be turned into a Cie’eth.

 

Atmosphere:  

The game’s presentation is one of great Magnitude. Besides the massive Mythology behind the story and Mystery behind the Characters, the whole World is magnificent to experience. The well detailed cutscenes and colossal Environments lend a sense of beauty only found in games like The Wind Waker and Okami. Much of the game is comprised of Cutscenes which may put some Gamers off, but this inevitably lends itself to an overall Cinematic feel. This kind of Atmosphere is also seen in Metal Gear Solid 4.

While much of the game is devoted to Storytelling and Cutscenes, they are always interesting and compelling to watch, unlike in previous Fantasies such as X and XII. The Story is Grand, but can seem a bit too overwhelming, and hard to memorize. The characters can sometimes be annoying, but ones like Vanille are just so cheerful and Exuberant that you have to love them.

This is by no means up to par with the storylines found in previous fantasies, but if you can keep yourself from comparing the games while playing you’ll find the experience enriching and exhilarating.

 

Overall: 7/10

 

GRAPHICS

 

“The environments are amazing”

I can say, without a doubt in my mind, that this is the greatest looking game graphically I have ever seen. The HD Graphics seen in this game can have you staring at the screen for hours. The keen attention to detail on the field map, to the fantastic effects used in the battle screen all lend itself wonderfully to the overall experience. The inclusion of a moveable camera was an essential move, as it helps you observe every single nook and cranny of the world. The character designs were well thought out and executed, as Noumra’s familiar character design returns. It might have been interesting to see Yoshitaka Amano’s take on Character design, especially with such Graphical power at his disposal, but it’s nice to see some familiarity in the series.

 

Rating: 10/10

 

 

MUSIC

“Wait, what?”

One of the most important things to pay attention to when making a Final Fantasy game is the Music. Anyone who denies Uematsu’ influence on the series would need some great arguments. Sadly, Uematsu hasn’t composed a Final Fantasy soundtrack since X. Instead we have Masashi Hamauzu who you may remember composed the Music of Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus. It’s a pity to say that while his music does lend itself to the atmosphere in its own way, it lacks the familiarity and emotion that Uematsu’s music so beautifully contained. While to some people the Music will not be that big a deal, other’s may distance themselves from the game for this reason. X-Factor (KILL, KILL, KILL) winner Leona Lewis sings the main theme, “My Hands”. While I feel compelled to rip the track to pieces, it seems the only memorable piece in the game besides the battle theme. And in fairness to Leona Lewis, she can actually sing (Not like most Popular Singers today)

 
Main theme

Battle theme

My hands – Leona Lewis

Rating: 6/10

 

 

OVERALL:

 
“I iz in ur Afro, cuter than evar”

So far, I am enjoying the game very much. Playing it as I played Final Fantasy VII all those years ago really pays off and lends itself to the overall experience. I reckon I will be at this game for a good while. The bitter feeling that was left in my mouth as a result of XII is finally gone with this entry of the series. It’s well deserving of the title “Final Fantasy” and I hope it will be well received by gamers everywhere. Its a pity that Critics are overanalyzing the game so much, Game’s are not made to analyzed, they’re meant to be played!!

 

Overall Game Result: 8/10 (As of review conducted 12 March 2010)

 

Until next time folks, happy trails and happy gaming

 

Terra away!!!!!