My Review- Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
Final Fantasy XIII is the latest (XIV doesn’t count) entry in the venerable franchise, and is a polarizing game among longtime series fans. Many love it, others despise it. And indeed, FFXIII seems a very different game, at least initially, from its famed predecessors. Haters will hate, but does this game deserve the derision it gets from many gamers? Let us see.
STORY
Despite the many cosmetic changes and extraneous details, the story is classic Final Fantasy at its core. FFXIII’s story explores the relationship between two worlds- Cocoon, a massive city-world contained within a giant sphere, and Pulse, the even larger world that Cocoon floats over. Ages ago a war was fought between the two worlds, and ever since the two have lived in mutual fear of each other. The people of Cocoon are protected from Pulse by magical beings called Fal’cie, and ruled over by the Sanctum, who uses fear of Pulse to control the populace. When a Fal’cie of Pulse origin is found inside Cocoon, the Sanctum begins a ‘Purge’ of all who could possible be tainted by Pulse. This brings together an improbable crew of heroes who are branded as ‘L’cie’- servants to a Fal’cie- by the Pulsian entity, and are on the run from their own government that now seeks to the destroy them. The six heroes all have different reasons for fighting, but fight they must, to change their fates and protect their homeland.
The story of FFXIII is interesting, and compelling enough to take you through the game, but it isn’t without its flaws. The biggest problem is the story’s pacing. Specifically, the game relies far too heavily upon it’s datalog to explain the details and history of the world, stuff which should have been woven into the narrative. A lot of important details aren’t revealed until late in the game, making the early hours extremely confusing. Another problem is that only half the cast is likeable or feels like a multifaceted character. The main protagonist, Lightning, for example, feels like a female rehash of old FF heroes such as Squall, but comes across as a bitchy ice queen for a good chunk of the game- only unlike Squall or Cloud, her angst feels artificial and unnecessary. The prerequisite annoying female, Vanille, also has such a small bearing on the story that you wonder why she’s even there. However, some of the other characters have genuine growth and feel much more realistic. In particular, I found Sahz’s quest to protect his son very moving and relatable, and Hope’s misguided quest to kill another protagonist- Snow- to avenge his mother’s death was at least interesting. The final flaw with the story is the dialogue, which is usually suitable but often becomes overly flowery. Often, characters will lose an opportunity to say something relevant or profound in the story because their too busy talking about ‘being heroes’ or ‘finding inner strength’ or other clichéd melodramatic fare. This dialogue is often at odds with the heavier story moments, and weakens the overall narrative. The story in Final Fantasy XIII has its moments, and the cast is serviceable, but this isn’t the best tale Square has ever told.
GAMEPLAY
One of the biggest complaints lodged against FFXIII is its linearity. While it’s true that most of the areas you traverse are basically linear corridors with the occasional branching path ending in a treasure chest, this doesn’t get in the way of the gameplay. The issue that comes with the linearity has more to do with the story than anything else. Once again, this is a pacing problem- the first ten chapters are basically straight lines peppered with enemies, with a cutscene or three at the end. This can get repetitive, and while there is a massive (and gorgeous) open area to explore in chapter 11, it would have been nice if the game had opened up earlier. By other plot points, you don’t get a lot of gameplay options until late in the game, so the game will still be giving tutorials as late as Chapter 11- you wont be able to choose your party until Chapter 9, or select what class to raise characters in until Chapter 10. The gameplay is in service to the story, and the enjoyment you get from the game will hinge on how much you enjoy the story.
Or at least it would, if not for the one gameplay aspect that FFXIII nailed perfectly- the combat system. Battles in FFXIII are fast paced and relentless. The game uses a faster version of the ATB system from previous Final Fantasies, with a few key differences. The first is that you only control the party leader, with the other members of your party run by the AI. The AI is usually competent about making the right actions in combat, which allows you to focus of the higher level strategy of the battle. Another difference is that your ATB bar is split into segments, which allows you to chain together abilities each turn. There is an auto-battle option which picks a string of techniques for you, which can often be a good thing. FFXIIIs battles are very difficult, and hesitating for a few seconds can leave you dead. The key to surviving battles is the Paradigm system. Basically an evolution of Final Fantasy XII’s Gambit system, you create up to six ‘decks’ of paradigms, assigning one of six roles to each of the three members of your active party. You can switch between them anytime you like in battle, and difficult battles often become manageable when you switch roles. For instance, is that monster truly invulnerable, or are you using enough Saboteur debuffs?
The final piece of FFXIII’s gameplay is the Crystarium level up system. A streamlined version of the Sphere Grid, the Crystarium is split into six sections for each of the roles your character can learn. Your party earns Crystogen Points in battle, which you spend on stat increases and new abilities by moving along the Crystarium. Stat increases affect your character, while techniques and abilities can only be used in certain roles. You are free to build your characters any way you like, and use whatever team you have put together by the end of the game. Unfortunately, the linear nature of the game means that there is no way to grind for CP until later on, which makes upgrades harder to get, as later upgrades can cost upwards of 8000 CP.
While the pacing issues of the story and gameplay go hand in hand, the great combat and leveling systems of FFXIII almost make up for them.
PRESENTATION
There is no denying one fact- FFXIII is a gorgeous game. Taking inspiration from 2005’s CG film, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, the in-game graphics are stunning, with realistic character models and many fantastic landscapes. The caveat is that, once again, the linearity makes many of the early worlds feel artificial, which is disappointing considering they look great. The aforementioned open area is simply beautiful, and a sign of how great FFXIII could have been. The many CG cinemas look great, and the difference between them and the in-game graphics isn’t very jarring.
The music wasn’t composed by Nobuo Uematsu- rather, Masashi Hamauzu, known for his work on FFX and Dirge of Cerberus, worked on the game’s soundtrack. The music in Final Fantasy XIII leaves a strong impression, with many gorgeous piano and string pieces, as well as one of the best Boss Battle themes I’ve ever heard. The normal Battle music is insidiously catchy, and you will be hard pressed to get that song out of your head. There are many vocal pieces, some in places you wouldn’t expect.
The voice work in Final Fantasy XIII is mostly good, with a few notable weak spots. Lightning and Snow sound normal, considering their roles in the story, and Sahz’s voice suits him perfectly, but the thick accent of Fang and Vannile’s high-pitched mewling will grate on the ears. Many of the minor characters sound good, the most notable being the voice of main villain Barthandelus.
CONCLUSION
It’s easy to see where people criticized FFXIII, but it doesn’t deserve the hate it gets at all. I have enjoyed playing it, and will continue to do so. The many new additions it makes work great, and if the pacing and structure had been tweaked just a bit, this could easily have been one of the best entries in the series to date. As it stands, it’s merely a ‘good’ Final Fantasy. With an upcoming sequel announced recently, perhaps the XIII universe will see the minor improvements it needs. Until then, Final Fantasy XIII is a slightly flawed, but fun, gem in the series.
Before you buy FF13 I knew two things about this crush - no world map, dirigible airship and a very linear game play. One of the main reasons I bought a PS3 was for this game, even after learning of the disappointments I still deciding to try it.
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