Review: ‘Final Fantasy XIII’ two thumbs up

Going into a Final Fantasy game is like transferring yourself to another world – one of kooky magic, zany, off-beat characters, and embarrassingly beautiful visuals, (whether that’s something one prefers or not is up to individual taste). Longtime fans of the series know that each successive installment comes with its own history: no two Final Fantasy games are ever the same, yet they share a common lore and mythos. For me, it was incredibly mind numbing booting up the latest installment in the long running series for the first time– anyone that’s followed the development of this game knows the drama, all five years of it, and has likely been informed that Square Enix has gone to great lengths to really change up the Final Fantasy formula into one that is more stream lined and action oriented, certainly at the cost of other series traditions. For this reviewer, it was a matter of had the development team gone too far, had they crossed the point of no return, where a Final Fantasy game would no longer feel like one? And most importantly, with half a decade spent in the making of this one title, could it possibly live up to the hype? These are ultimately the questions that will surround the debate of this title for the months and years to come.

This is Not Your Father’s Final Fantasy

Let’s just get this simple fact out of the way before I can really solidify my opinions surrounding the game: Final Fantasy XIII makes radical changes to the Final Fantasy formula, completely abandoning long cherished traditions, and when it comes down to it, does it for the better. I would not even know where to begin, so just to throw some things out there: the battle system has been completely redone; it is not a simple turn based affair.  Instead of simply waiting for one’s turn in action, players stock their attacks up instead. Different actions take up a different amount of slots in their action gauge. As their gauge fills up, these attacks are executed. This makes for a very action based battle system, so fast in fact, that many series staples have been completely removed – there is no MP, no leveling (although a Final Fantasy X like “Sphere Grid” system remains, except this time, there are multiple sphere grids per character, per class), no random battles, no game overs, and players are only given the ability to control the party leader.

Say what?! We are not even done yet. The pacing of the narrative has been set up in a manner that completely eliminates other series staples – gone are the artificial towns the series is known for, and with it mini games, side quests, and anything of that sort. Instead, player’s simply move from one huge set piece to another, one major battle to the next, with cut scene expositions in between. (And boy, are there a lot, supposedly nine hours of cut scenes in total!) However, for this reviewer, this was fundamentally necessary, and contributed greatly to other aspects of the game, which will be touched upon momentarily.

What needs to be stressed is that despite all these changes, the game nonetheless exemplified the Final Fantasy experience, successfully redefining it. It’s amazing how Final Fantasy XIII can so easily take away everything I love about the series, and still make me feel just as absorbed and involved as I did in the early PlayStation entries. The lore, the world, that essential “fantasy” feeling, it’s all still there, and in some cases, radically evolved from its not archaic predecessors.

The Most Breathtaking Straight Path You’ve Ever Embarked On

So, as formerly mentioned, Final Fantasy strips down the series two it’s two core elements: the story and the battle system. Let’s tackle the former first, and the design choices surrounding it. As previously noted, the game is structured in regards to its story line, one in which the cast is constantly on the run, finding themselves in situations where their lives are at stake. Without going into any story details whatsoever, the characters are put into predicaments of life or death (or in an unfortunate twist, death or death, as odd as that sounds), and have to cope with what this means to them in terms of their past and future. Each character has their own inner struggle and conflict, and the game does a good job of constantly fleshing out individual back story as the story progresses – one knows very little about the character’s at the beginning (the player is simply thrust into the middle of the conflict, and unlike past titles, most of your party is immediately involved from the get go), but events are slowly explained as time goes by.

Another major focus is the interactivity between the characters: In a breath of fresh air for RPGs in general, the cast does not necessarily like each other, some in fact want to tear their fellow teammates a new one. After all, they were placed into their situations, they did not choose to, which leads to some awkwardly hilarious scenes. It’s all done extremely realistically, compared to previous Final Fantasy titles – yes, the characters find themselves in a completely absurd situation, but they react and behave to the situation as much more than the usual anime archetypes. This is only complemented by fairly enjoyable voice acting, and definitely a step up for Japanese localization standards.

When it comes down to the structure of the story, Square Enix made the right choice. Yes, the level design is for all intents and purposes, literally linear – a line from start to finish. But upon turning off the mini-map, I hardly even noticed. There is only one point in the game where I honestly missed the diversions the series is known for, without giving any details, I was expecting a setup similar to the Gold Saucer in Final Fantasy VII, but it never happened. It is a little disappointing, but it also comes with its benefits.

The linear nature of the game tends to truly highlight the game’s gorgeous graphics. The developers obviously invested a great chunk of time into the presentation and quality of how the world looks, and it’s paid off. Words cannot describe some of the breathtaking set pieces players will get to encounter in Final Fantasy XIII – there were many points in the game where I found myself just standing there and staring at my surroundings, which truly felt alive. Characters animate hilariously well, making for often enjoyable cut scenes purely from an eye candy perspective.   I usually find myself bored with RPG expositions, but I   eagerly anticipated the next big scene in XIII, which is a   good sign considering the entire title follows a strict battle   following story model.

Working Up a Sweat

I’m having a little bit of difficulty conjuring up words that   adequately describe the battling in Final Fantasy XIII; you   simply have to play it to really get a grasp of its diversity and jaw dropping entertainment value. It’s fast, very fast, and players have to constantly adapt to the overall situation of the battle or risk a quick death. This is done via changing their party member’s roles and classes, and is the only method venue in which the party leader can control the other fighters on the team. For example, I found myself starting a fight buffing my characters defenses at the start of the battle, changing classes to have them attack, and changing classes again to have them heal up and use magic, all in a fifteen second time span. Despite only controlling one character, I felt more control over my entire party than in any other previous Final Fantasy title. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the breath of the entire battle system: one has to pay attention to chaining attacks, breaking enemies’ weak points, launching them into the air, using summons, correct spells, buffs, and much more.

If this seems a little overwhelming, don’t be alarmed, the game holds your hand every step of the way. In fact, this is the perfect Final Fantasy to introduce new players to the series. I’d even go far as to say that sometimes the game was a little too slow at introducing the full breath of the battling, as it took multiple hours to really get into the meat of the game. Furthermore, the game could have easily benefited from a harder difficulty option, which increased enemy stats. That’s not to say the game is easy – I’ve found myself having to retry on multiple occasions. And when the game does provide a challenge, it really revolutionizes what turn based RPG’s can do – think Final Fantasy Advent Children style action. To top it all off are some of the craziest enemies, both standard and boss fights the series has seen.

Fresh Breath of Air

There will be (actually have been, check out the internet fan reaction, it’s scary!) many players completely put off by what Final Fantasy XIII sacrifices in order for innovation and a streamlined experience, and there’s not much that can be done about it. My best recommendation is to understand why it’s given up what it has and come into this experience with an open mind – I certainly did and found myself pleasantly surprised. The series has always been known to change the formula up every few entries while keeping other elements intact – for me, Final Fantasy XIII truly embodies that spirit, and for the better. I’ll be having a hard time giving it up anytime soon, to the detriment of my school grades!

The Breakdown

Entertainment: There are times when there is a general feeling like something’s missing, but you quickly forget it all as you’re blasting through the next wave of enemies. Although there’s no new game plus, if you find yourself enjoying the battle system (and you likely will!) there are tons of optional enemy’s to encounter and challenge, and it will take quite some time to tackle them all. I definitely want to see this battle system incorporated in future installments.

Score: B+

Presentation: This is top notch perfection, what you’ve come to expect from Final Fantasy. Incredible CG cut scenes and vistas only augmented by my personal favorite Final Fantasy soundtrack.

Score: A

Overall Score: What can I say, I’m a sucker for the series – and this entry is no different, easily the best RPG of the generation.

Final Score: A-

Reviewer’s Notes:

• Due to time constraints, this reviewer has only played for fifteen hours up to the time of this write up. However, players can look forward to upwards forty hours of content.
• It’s a hefty review, but because I don’t want to bore anyone to death and because I’ve found myself sleep deprived, I tried to cut it short (and failed). Regardless, I did not get to say even half of what I wanted to, so if you have any questions regarding the game, feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to respond.