Final Fantasy XIII has proven to be a controversial Final Fantasy game to Final Fantasy fans. Many people pointed out for being linear, no towns, no mini games, departure from older FF games, etc. I will try my best to review this game in an unbiased way.
Storyline
From left to right: Sazh (the afro guy), Vanille (the red haired, bubbly girl), Snow (the self proclaimed Hero), Lightning (the hot strawberry blonde haired girl), Hope (the silver young boy), and Fang (the sexy black haired woman).
Small story summary taken from Wikipedia:
I will be honest. I love the story, yet I didn't like it much. The story may appeal to some people, or may not. Too tragic, weak storyline filled with weird and hard to understand terms, lack of memorable villains, etc. and However, I find that this game have their own sad and emotional moments, for each characters.
The characterisation for the main characters are well implemented, especially Lightning, Snow, Sazh, and Hope. However, there are certain problems. First of all, the too much focus given to the main characters until there is nothing much to explain about the supporting characters. Even though I am intrigued with the playable characters fates and personalities, but I can't help wondering what happen to the supporting characters, whether they are dead or alive. This especially applies to the ending, where it can be said that you know nothing about the supporting characters in the ending.
I can only surmise that the the Japanese release of Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 will have a new epilogue for that game, which I may be getting my hands on it. However, I expect the same fair treatment for the PS3 version and the Xbox 360 version for US as DLC or something. Or better yet, Final Fantasy XIII: International Edition which contains the new epilogue and extra content for PS3 and Xbox 360 as well.
Perhaps Final Fantasy fans will think this game has the worst Final Fantasy story of all Final Fantasy games, but I find the story is much better than Final Fantasy XII. However, everyone has their own story preferences, so I leave to you and players to judge yourself how good or bad the story is. To me, good characterisation for the main characters, but mediocre story.
Gameplay
Like any other FF games, you will encounter enemies while traveling. However, you can see them instead of random encounter. You can choose to battle them or avoid them. However, defeating them is crucial to gain CP.
The Crystarium System is a similar system like License Board from FFXII and Sphere Grid from FFX. However, it is much more simpler and less frustrating.
Crystogen Points (CP) are used to increase your stats you gonna need a certain amount to increase your stats or learn new ability. For example, to learn the ability Fire, you need to spend 300 CP in order to learn it. For example 2: To get a HP: +50 upgrade, you need to spend 500 CP to get the increment. You can only advance to certain Stages in certain chapters, so it would be best if you max out your Role stats and abilities as much as possible before proceeding to the next chapter.
Each character have their own set of Roles, and will set up different battle formation by the name of Paradigm.
There are 6 Roles. Commando, Ravager, Sentinel, Medic, Saboteur, and Synergist. Each role have their own specific abilities and are restricted to those abilities. For example, Ravager can't use the Attack command, whereas Commando can't use any of Ravager's abilities. Here are the list down:
Commando - Specialises in physical attacks and non elemental magic.
Ravager - Specialises in elemental magic like Fire and Thunder.
Sentinel - Specialises in defense and drawing enemy attacks while defending. Also can counterattack with the right ability.
Medic - Specialises in healing magics like Cure, Raise and Esuna.
Saboteur - Specialises in inflicting status ailments and debuffs on enemies.
Synergist - Specialises in enhancing party member's stats with Protect, Shell, Haste, etc.
With a party member of three different or same roles, it will set up a battle formation called Paradigm. Each Paradigm is unique, and there is a mixture of it. For example, with the setup of Lightning's Role as Commando, Snow's Role as Ravager and Hope's Role as Ravager, the Paradigm is named Relentless Assault. You should try and mix in Roles to create different Paradigms to overcome your enemies and defeating tough bosses. You can either customise your own Paradigms, or you can generate a Paradigm automatically by balanced, offensive, or defensive setups. You can set up to 6 Paradigms.
Each character have only 3 Roles. However, as you progress further into the game, each character can access to all 6 Roles, but the 3 Roles besides the default ones for each character will cost more CP.
During battle, you can shift your Paradigms anytime. This is called Paradigm Shift. This is crucial to suit the conditions during battle, like when your characters are in low HP after a powerful attack by a boss. Master it to overcome your enemies.
You can deal more damage to Staggered enemies. The higher the Stagger Gauge, the more damage dealt.
When fighting in a battle, you can only control the party leader, and the rest of the party will be controlled by A.I.. If the party leader is KO'ed, then Game Over. You can Retry as many times if you have been defeated. However, keep noted that sometimes your stats is enough to defeat the boss, or you have set up the wrong Paradigms.
Each enemy has their own Stagger Point. If you have chained your attacks enough to break your enemy's chain gauge, the enemy will be in Stagger mode, where you can deal more damage to it. This applies to regular enemies and bosses. If you keep attacking during your enemy's Stagger mode, the damage dealt will be increasing until the Stagger Point decreases to zero. Keep in mind that each enemy have different Stagger Points. Commando abilities build the Stagger gauge slower, while Ravager build the Stagger gauge fastest. Using appropriate Paradigms like Relentless Assault and Tri-Disaster can break enemy's chain gauge faster than usual.
Meet Odin, Lightning's Eidolon.
Each character have their own summons in the games called Eidolons. You can summon them by spending TP (Technical Points). However, only the party leader can summon. Each summon is unique. For example, Lightning's Odin specialises in Thunder magic and physical attacks, with his Zantetsuken can be instant kill to enemies. Each Eidolon have their own Gestalt Mode (vehicle mode), which is used to execute special attacks and their own ultimate attacks. When you summon an Eidolon, the party leader will be fighting the enemies with his/her Eidolon, with the rest of party dismissed for that battle. The Eidolons can only stay in a certain period of time, and you can build up the Gestalt Gauge by chaining attacks to Eidolon to execute more moves during Gestalt Mode.
Each character have their own unique weapons. They can use the same accessories, but not weapons. You can either upgrade your weapons bu using enemies' loots, which offers EXP. Each weapon have their own levels, and requires certain amount of EXP to level up. The higher the level of a weapon, the stronger it is. This applies to accessories as well.
Not only until Chapter 11 that the game starts to feel more open than usual.
The progressing of this game is extremely linear by nature. You just have to run/walk to certain destinations (pointed in your mini map), watch a scene, proceed again, fight a boss, end of the chapter. This applies to Chapter 1 to 10, and 12 to 13. There are little to none puzzles in this games, and technically, there is no backtracking until Chapter 11. There are no towns in this game and no mini games as well.
I love the battle system, yet the linear progression can kill the mood of playing the game. There isn't much challenge to proceed in each chapters, except tough bosses and enemies. By advancing sufficiently in your Crystarium in each character's roles, the battles are much more doable. In short, you need to grind your stats and abilities to proceed in each chapter. Nothing more, except running to the destinations.
Graphics
Spectacular graphics. Beautiful environments and well made characters.
As one could expect from a Final Fantasy game. Beautiful visuals complementing the characters, monsters, and environments. So far, this would be the best looking Final Fantasy game, yet.
I have no complains here, except that monsters should have more variety instead of palette swap of each other. Feels more original, to me.
To be continued...
Storyline
From left to right: Sazh (the afro guy), Vanille (the red haired, bubbly girl), Snow (the self proclaimed Hero), Lightning (the hot strawberry blonde haired girl), Hope (the silver young boy), and Fang (the sexy black haired woman).
Small story summary taken from Wikipedia:
I will be honest. I love the story, yet I didn't like it much. The story may appeal to some people, or may not. Too tragic, weak storyline filled with weird and hard to understand terms, lack of memorable villains, etc. and However, I find that this game have their own sad and emotional moments, for each characters.
The characterisation for the main characters are well implemented, especially Lightning, Snow, Sazh, and Hope. However, there are certain problems. First of all, the too much focus given to the main characters until there is nothing much to explain about the supporting characters. Even though I am intrigued with the playable characters fates and personalities, but I can't help wondering what happen to the supporting characters, whether they are dead or alive. This especially applies to the ending, where it can be said that you know nothing about the supporting characters in the ending.
I can only surmise that the the Japanese release of Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 will have a new epilogue for that game, which I may be getting my hands on it. However, I expect the same fair treatment for the PS3 version and the Xbox 360 version for US as DLC or something. Or better yet, Final Fantasy XIII: International Edition which contains the new epilogue and extra content for PS3 and Xbox 360 as well.
Perhaps Final Fantasy fans will think this game has the worst Final Fantasy story of all Final Fantasy games, but I find the story is much better than Final Fantasy XII. However, everyone has their own story preferences, so I leave to you and players to judge yourself how good or bad the story is. To me, good characterisation for the main characters, but mediocre story.
Gameplay
Like any other FF games, you will encounter enemies while traveling. However, you can see them instead of random encounter. You can choose to battle them or avoid them. However, defeating them is crucial to gain CP.
The Crystarium System is a similar system like License Board from FFXII and Sphere Grid from FFX. However, it is much more simpler and less frustrating.
Crystogen Points (CP) are used to increase your stats you gonna need a certain amount to increase your stats or learn new ability. For example, to learn the ability Fire, you need to spend 300 CP in order to learn it. For example 2: To get a HP: +50 upgrade, you need to spend 500 CP to get the increment. You can only advance to certain Stages in certain chapters, so it would be best if you max out your Role stats and abilities as much as possible before proceeding to the next chapter.
Each character have their own set of Roles, and will set up different battle formation by the name of Paradigm.
There are 6 Roles. Commando, Ravager, Sentinel, Medic, Saboteur, and Synergist. Each role have their own specific abilities and are restricted to those abilities. For example, Ravager can't use the Attack command, whereas Commando can't use any of Ravager's abilities. Here are the list down:
Commando - Specialises in physical attacks and non elemental magic.
Ravager - Specialises in elemental magic like Fire and Thunder.
Sentinel - Specialises in defense and drawing enemy attacks while defending. Also can counterattack with the right ability.
Medic - Specialises in healing magics like Cure, Raise and Esuna.
Saboteur - Specialises in inflicting status ailments and debuffs on enemies.
Synergist - Specialises in enhancing party member's stats with Protect, Shell, Haste, etc.
With a party member of three different or same roles, it will set up a battle formation called Paradigm. Each Paradigm is unique, and there is a mixture of it. For example, with the setup of Lightning's Role as Commando, Snow's Role as Ravager and Hope's Role as Ravager, the Paradigm is named Relentless Assault. You should try and mix in Roles to create different Paradigms to overcome your enemies and defeating tough bosses. You can either customise your own Paradigms, or you can generate a Paradigm automatically by balanced, offensive, or defensive setups. You can set up to 6 Paradigms.
Each character have only 3 Roles. However, as you progress further into the game, each character can access to all 6 Roles, but the 3 Roles besides the default ones for each character will cost more CP.
During battle, you can shift your Paradigms anytime. This is called Paradigm Shift. This is crucial to suit the conditions during battle, like when your characters are in low HP after a powerful attack by a boss. Master it to overcome your enemies.
You can deal more damage to Staggered enemies. The higher the Stagger Gauge, the more damage dealt.
When fighting in a battle, you can only control the party leader, and the rest of the party will be controlled by A.I.. If the party leader is KO'ed, then Game Over. You can Retry as many times if you have been defeated. However, keep noted that sometimes your stats is enough to defeat the boss, or you have set up the wrong Paradigms.
Each enemy has their own Stagger Point. If you have chained your attacks enough to break your enemy's chain gauge, the enemy will be in Stagger mode, where you can deal more damage to it. This applies to regular enemies and bosses. If you keep attacking during your enemy's Stagger mode, the damage dealt will be increasing until the Stagger Point decreases to zero. Keep in mind that each enemy have different Stagger Points. Commando abilities build the Stagger gauge slower, while Ravager build the Stagger gauge fastest. Using appropriate Paradigms like Relentless Assault and Tri-Disaster can break enemy's chain gauge faster than usual.
Meet Odin, Lightning's Eidolon.
Each character have their own summons in the games called Eidolons. You can summon them by spending TP (Technical Points). However, only the party leader can summon. Each summon is unique. For example, Lightning's Odin specialises in Thunder magic and physical attacks, with his Zantetsuken can be instant kill to enemies. Each Eidolon have their own Gestalt Mode (vehicle mode), which is used to execute special attacks and their own ultimate attacks. When you summon an Eidolon, the party leader will be fighting the enemies with his/her Eidolon, with the rest of party dismissed for that battle. The Eidolons can only stay in a certain period of time, and you can build up the Gestalt Gauge by chaining attacks to Eidolon to execute more moves during Gestalt Mode.
Each character have their own unique weapons. They can use the same accessories, but not weapons. You can either upgrade your weapons bu using enemies' loots, which offers EXP. Each weapon have their own levels, and requires certain amount of EXP to level up. The higher the level of a weapon, the stronger it is. This applies to accessories as well.
Not only until Chapter 11 that the game starts to feel more open than usual.
The progressing of this game is extremely linear by nature. You just have to run/walk to certain destinations (pointed in your mini map), watch a scene, proceed again, fight a boss, end of the chapter. This applies to Chapter 1 to 10, and 12 to 13. There are little to none puzzles in this games, and technically, there is no backtracking until Chapter 11. There are no towns in this game and no mini games as well.
I love the battle system, yet the linear progression can kill the mood of playing the game. There isn't much challenge to proceed in each chapters, except tough bosses and enemies. By advancing sufficiently in your Crystarium in each character's roles, the battles are much more doable. In short, you need to grind your stats and abilities to proceed in each chapter. Nothing more, except running to the destinations.
Graphics
Spectacular graphics. Beautiful environments and well made characters.
As one could expect from a Final Fantasy game. Beautiful visuals complementing the characters, monsters, and environments. So far, this would be the best looking Final Fantasy game, yet.
I have no complains here, except that monsters should have more variety instead of palette swap of each other. Feels more original, to me.
To be continued...
It's not everyday you can get two hot chicks that can transform to a bike.
