How do you save a world... that doesn't want you in it?
That's right. You read that title correctly. "Game Reviews." Plural.I've done them before, and I'm going to continue doing them. The last review I did was on Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii, and before that Final Fantasy X. This time, I'm doing a review of Square Enix's latest magnum opus, now available for the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. I have not completed the game yet, but I have made progress on Disc 3 and I feel I can make a fair enough evaluation given all the hours I have put into the game so far.
I will not abandon my standard format, but I'm going to go a little out-of-order for the sake of priority.
Story: 9/10
It's almost like FFX, but on a broader scale. Your 6 protagonists are not very dynamic characters, but like the other games, you come to want to identify with each of them.
This marks one of the first times in Final Fantasy history that the main protagonist is female. Her name is Lightning, and it's a fitting moniker; her sharpness of character and gameplay abilities will attest to that. After learning that her younger sister, Serah, was turned into a l'Cie, Lightning vowed to rescue her from her fate.
A l'Cie in this game is a cursed fate; you are branded with a mark somewhere on your body and are given a Focus to complete by your bestower, a Fal'Cie. You gain the ability to use magic and summon Eidolons. However, fail to complete your Focus and you become a monster. Complete your Focus and gain eternal life in a crystallized state. Because of their magical abilities and an applied stigma by Cocoon's government, the Sanctum, l'Cie are feared beings and regarded as demons.
The very nature of this idea is what drives the story forward and intertwines the fate of your motley crew.
Serah's fiancé, Snow, is also aware of her captivity, but there is some bad blood between him and Lightning. This dynamic makes for some interesting conversations.
Tagging along with Lightning on a one-way ticket to Pulse (the perceived realm of 'hell', but I won't spoil anything) is Sazh, a former pilot who carries a chocobo chick in his afro. He seems to be the comic relief, but you can definitely identify with him as the pessimist.
The three of them eventually run into Hope, a young boy. He becomes intertwined in the whole mess when he witnesses Snow unwillingly letting his mother fall to her death. He blames Snow for this, and embarks on a quest for vengeance with the support of his new gal pal Vanille.
Vanille is the uppity, all-too-cheerful type. You cannot help but absolutely adore her, though. Her role in the situation is also a huge spoiler, so I will not divulge it here.
Finally, there is Fang. Fang accompanied Vanille to the floating world of Cocoon, and now that they are separated, she is seeking Vanille out.
Early in the game, Lightning and her companions are all branded as l'Cie after challenging the Fal'Cie Anima, the one responsible for cursing Serah (who only moments before fulfilled her Focus). From there on out, the plot thickens, thins, twists, turns, and all the while will keep you on your next objective.
Gameplay: 9/10
If you like going in straight lines, you'll love this game. The unfortunate thing about the plot is even after you've reached Disc 3, you only get a glimpse of free-roaming bliss; until then, you remain on a very linear exploration path. This means that you only get one shot to find all the treasures in your current area. However, there are ample opportunities to powerlevel, and thankfully battling is enjoyable.
Final Fantasy XIII retains an active battle system similar to previous titles, but this time is a whole new innovation in party management. Your party leader (the only one you control in battle) has something called an ATB gauge. (the long, left-hand bar in the picture above) Each slot holds an ability, which is queued up. As soon as a target is selected, you automatically perform the commands you have entered. The great thing about this is the Auto-Battle command that is the default first selection; you don't have to manually select abilities to queue up each time. This leads to the next great innovation (and yes, there's quite a few of them in battling alone); the AI. When you have determined enemy weaknesses, your AI-controlled party members will automatically adjust their abilities to exploit them and grant you helpful status changes. Healing is also done in the best priority.
Attacking isn't just about doing damage, either. An important factor in battling is the Chain Gauge, a yellow meter above your target's HP bar. The more hits you land, the higher the gauge rises, with magic-users increasing and standard attacks maintaining the chain. (The gauge decreases after each hit.) Once this gauge reaches maximum, your enemy will enter a Stagger, and may not counterattack at all until this state is over. It's the best time to start pummeling on the damage, and this can usually be done with Paradigm Shift.
Each character in your party has assigned Roles, which are granted a limited number of abilities at a time. For instance, Commandos deal high attack damage, while Ravagers do the spellcasting. Sentinels draw enemy attacks and defend, and Medics are pretty much exactly what you think they would be. Putting a particular set of roles together is called a Paradigm, and has a particular use in battle. Paradigms can be changed on the fly in the middle of battle, called a Paradigm Shift, simply by pressing LB/L1 and choosing one from the deck you created beforehand. Learning to Paradigm Shift effectively will help you exploit enemy weaknesses and end battles quicker.
What is also unusual about this game is that you can go all-out on a near-suicidal finishing strike; your party automatically returns to full health after each battle. One less thing to worry about.
Almost like the Sphere Grid of FFX, you develop your characters by expending gained CP in each character's individual Crystarium. These unlock new abilities for each role and increase each character's attributes. This is easier for the three primary roles each character has, and more expensive for the secondary ones. It is an intuitive party management system and adds greatly to the game's overall ingenuity and challenge.
Sound: 10/10
You will hear neither hide nor hair (I know, that doesn't make any sense. Shut up.) of your favorite composer, Nobuo Uematsu, in this game. In his stead is Masashi Hamauzu, who did an excellent job with the music. Some of it is actually relaxing; at other times, it's almost as epic as "One-Winged Angel". The battle theme isn't at all grating, and is actually very enjoyable to listen to.
Graphics: 9/10
What can I say? The game obviously makes full use of each system's capabilities, and all environments and characters are rendered with alarming precision. All of it is incredibly beautiful, and I've come to expect no less from the Final Fantasy series.
Overall: 8/10
After having played VII and X, everything just seems to pale in comparison, even on the next-generation systems. Most unfortunately, this one I can't make an exception for. However, because of my first sentence, I claim an unfair bias. If you're looking for a solid RPG and you've got a lot of time on your hands, I have to recommend that you do not pass this up. Final Fantasy XIII is loaded with gorgeous visuals, epic battling gameplay, and a story that will draw you in faster (and makes a hell of a lot more sense) than any Stephenie Meyer novel. I'm on Disc 3, and I know that I still have a long way to go before I milk this title for all it's worth.
If you're already a Final Fantasy fan like me, though, I can safely say it's a great next step in the series.
No, I take that back. It's a giant leap forward in the right direction.
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