Final Fantasy XIII

10 Review to this product

• 

  Sam W. Schirmer
  March 13th, 2010 on 4:41 pm

  Rating

  The title may be a little deceptive by making one think that this installment is better than 7 or 10. But what made those games great? Both offered amazing stories with twists and turns that made the player fall in love almost literally with the characters. Final Fantasy 13 has a strong story, not at that level of course, but the player finds themselves caught by the passion these characters have. Story aside, the battle system is without a doubt the best that has ever been introduced by Final Fantasy.

  Making its return is the highly popular sphere grid from Final Fantasy 10 where players spend experience points to raise a certain attribute. And also introduced (sort of) is the role system where characters set a series of roles for their players. The difference is that the characters can only use the abilities of a role as long as they are assigned that role. For example the “Ravager” role, in past games the “Black Mage”, holds the fire spell, however that spell cannot be used if the character is assigned to the “Medic” (White Mage) role. Later on in the game you gain the ability to change your characters to whatever role you wish.

  Several reviews have stated that this game is very linear. That is a flat falsehood. These reviews were written by people who had not even gotten halfway through which is about the point where it opens up in every game. There are also various side quests which borrows from the “hunting marks” portion of Final Fantasy 12.

  Visual and audio have never been better. After the first 30 seconds of the game it is clear that these are best graphics that have ever been used in a video game before. The voice acting has come miles from previous games. There is so much more passion in their words making it seem very believable and realistic.

  The reason that this role is titled the best of the worlds is because this chapter was created by combining the best of all the games and adding in a little new. For example, the sphere grid from FFX (now called the Crystarium) and the gunblade (Squall’s weapon from FFVIII). To say the least this game was well worth the wait and is one of the best Final Fantasy games of all time.
• 

  D. Widagdo
  March 14th, 2010 on 10:14 am

  Rating

  I am currently on chapter 10 of the game, and so far it has been a blast to play. The game is clearly tweaked for new generation of players and heavily emphasized on ease and fast pace narrative and action. Not so much of exploration and wandering aimlessly in the world, and not a sandbox type of game either where you rack up quests to complete. The game is designed like a very long action movie, it branches out to different character’s story and switch up your party members accordingly. It still feels like an rpg to a degree, but not like your old typical traditional japanese RPG formula. Overall the changes are great, the game is designed with the general public in mind, not so much for the hardcore rpg enthusiasts. I have to say I love all the changes, it makes the game very easy to get into, and you focus more on the storyline and the characters instead of the “wander aimlessly trying to find what to do next”.

  Graphic: one of the best so far, great visual, and SE did an amazing job in spacing the cutscene, it is never too much or too little.

  Gameplay: it is easy enough to pick up, and hard to master. The good thing is that if you know what set up to use, it makes “random battle” pretty fast. I love that they cap your levels according the storyline, no more level grinding. The AI is pretty good at working together and doing what they are suppose to do. You can still do some customization but not having to micromanage everything which is great change.

  Storyline: it’s good but not amazing, the game has story summarization so you can read it at your own leisure. Overall it is fast paced. The dialogue and voice acting is somewhat uneven, good with some characters and corny for others. Yes it is somewhat linear, but you don’t really feel it, it gives you more clear focus on what to do and where to go and keep you in the right track. The linearity never bothers me at all, actually it is a blessing. This game is designed for adults who want to play the game and enjoy the story and not wandering aimlessly trying to solve puzzles or quests or “exploring”. It keeps everything in tight rein and just take you along for the amazing ride. At times it does feel like you are watching a summer blockbuster movies.
• 

  Poof
  March 14th, 2010 on 2:19 pm

  Rating

  Let’s get right to it. This game is brilliant.
  
  Naysayers will go on about how it breaks with series tradition by being linear and having no towns and no level grinding. It is undeniably true that FF13 breaks away from many conventions of its predecessors, and this is, in part, what makes it so fantastic. Anyone who has played all or most of the FF games should know by now that this is a series that aims to (and MUST) reinvent itself constantly. Final Fantasy is such a strong franchise not because they have made 13 identical installments, but because each iteration creates its own unique identity. IF YOU WANT TO PLAY VII AGAIN…GO PLAY VII AGAIN.

  I don’t necessarily feel the need to comment on the technical details of gameplay and systems. These topics have been discussed ad nauseum and by now you know the deal. You control 1 character, you switch jobs (paradigms) on the fly, the game’s linear, there are no towns or shops, etc. What I want to confirm is that this game possesses that intangible magic that I have come to love about the FF games. On a granular level it doesn’t match up with past installments, but in the big picture (the execution, presentation, plot, character development, the look and feel) it is quintessential Final Fantasy.

  The world and characters are wonderfully conceived and amazingly rendered. This game runs at 1080p (on the ps3 anyway) which is a combination of upscaled native 720 in-engine, and full HD 1080 video. Having played games like Uncharted 2, Metal Gear 4, and heavy rain (some of the most graphically impressive games i’ve ever seen) I would easily rank FF13 among the most beautiful looking games to date. If you have a nice HD screen you will be pausing to just take in the view. The technical prowess is supported by elegant and refined art direction, which expertly walks the line between fantasy and sci-fi. Even the interface and menus are cleanly designed to be functional and stylish. Quick load times, and no HDD install. awesome.

  The cast is excellent as well, despite being very focussed. There is no ‘main’ character, and each individual is given due attention and development. They interact with each other naturally and dynamically, and you really get a sense that each has a purpose. no one is just along for the ride (cait sith…)

  The point is, do not expect FF13 to mimic earlier entries in the series. If you are very picky about your rpgs and what types of features and systems they must include, then sure, take a look at what FF13 has to offer before deciding to buy. However if you are a fan of the series as a whole and open to the new experience that awaits, know that this game is fun, fresh, and imaginative, and it undoubtedly belongs in your collection.
• 

  Baha Amro
  March 15th, 2010 on 11:40 pm

  Rating

  I have played all the Final fantasy games ever released on every console and I have been waiting for this game to be released like.. forever! I must say I love it even though it is different from previous games.
  
  People are complaining and they have the right, but change is good sometimes, doing the shops in the save menu, this is like Final Fantasy VII:Crisis Core and that wasn’t bad either. We do not need towns people, we are living a story. Why not accept the change?
  
  Look at the graphics, the animation, the music and the characters. What else do you want? This game is the reason I bought a PS3 in the beginning. I heard it was gonna be a PS3 exclusive. Then they released it to the XBOX which was disappointing, but the PS3 version is much better, I guess that’s a win for me.

  Characters: Tetsuo Nomura has always been a genius. The characters are lovable and the costumes is just perfect.
  
  Music: Great theme song and great OST.
  
  Battle system: New and different since you only control Lightening character, but fun.
  
  Story: Interesting and needs a lot of attention to get its specific details and purpose.
  
  Overall: The game is worth every penny and bravo for Square Enix.
  
• 

  Cloud
  March 27th, 2010 on 2:01 am

  Rating

  Ever since the release of Final Fantasy X, each game in the series has been fairly controversial among the community from the online MMO of 11 to the “Final Fantasy by way of Charlie’s Angels” sequel to Final Fantasy X and the complete gameplay overhaul that 12 brought, I haven’t played a completely awful Final Fantasy in years yet the general opinion of each tends to be very divisive. What once was disappointing turns out to be the most underrated (8 and 9) yet what was the most influential turns out to be the worst (7 though I personally don’t think so) so now we come down to 13, a game long gestating in development, first on a next-gen hardware and one that had an oddly controversial multiplatform announcement instead of a PS3 exclusive, Final Fantasy XIII is finally released. Has the wait been worth it? Again like prior entries, that depends on your tastes since this isn’t one of those unbridled masterpieces that everyone’s going to love and only select few will be against as evidenced by the reviews on the site but personally I’m having a great time playing, flaws and all.

  Story: In the city of Cocoon, the citizens live in fear of the “l’Cie”, people that have have been touched by powerful beings known as “fal’Cie”, ones that have a task or “Focus” to accomplish with certain rules in place for how to accomplish it. But these people are usually seen as enemies and are hunted down and exterminated so when a group of people become branded by the fal’Cie, it becomes a race to outrun the forces that are after them as well as figure out what exactly their task is. One of the best things about 13′s story is that unlike 7 and 8 where the main character felt like it was “their” story, this feels more like an ensemble where everyone pulls their own weight in the story and develop and in fact, even some characters outright hate each other at first. The bone of contention online it seems is the linearity, as if these games weren’t linear before but here it feels more pronounced. But the upside is that every time you pick up the controller you make progress in the story, constantly moving and not spending 3 hours just to make sure you’re not steamrolled when a new area comes along.

  Graphics: I’ll say that Uncharted 2′s graphics definately impress but they never consistently stunned me. Sure it was all animated well but I’d see the jungle stage or the last level and I’d be floored but then other times I’d feel like “eh, looks good enough” before it floored me again, same thing with God of War 3 recently. Final Fantasy XIII, especially on a PS3, is a powerhouse. From vistas and landscapes to character modelling and detail to just the overall crispness of it all, this is one smooth and vibrant looking game. Especially considering the small load times and lack of game data on your hard drive and the fact that all this streams off the disc without barely a hitch is mighty impressive. On an Xbox 360, things look well enough but the smaller resolution, aliasing issues and lack of texture detail tends to pop up but usually you’d have to see both running side by side otherwise you wouldn’t notice.

  Sound/Music: Like 12 before it, this soundtrack was not done by Nobuo Uematsu but a new composer, in this case it’s Masasha Hamauzu, known for his dual work on Final Fantasy X, Unlimited Saga, Dirge of Cerberus and Saga Frontier 2. The soundtrack here is definately way different than before with a slight electronica/trance vibe at times to the music, the epic orchestral themes and even occasionally, a vocal theme. Missing in action is the classic Prelude (“Crystal”) Theme, in place is a nice crescendo that builds in volume to the catchy battle theme and a Chocobo theme with lyrics? Yep though nothing replaces Odeka or Ukele de Chocobo. The voice acting has also improved and there’s not a lot of characters that’ll make you cringe though it was strange there’s no dual language option considering Square actually hearing about the love people have for subtitles/Japanese audio but oh well.

  Gameplay: Oh boy, this is going to be hard. Trying to explain half of what 13 does different will be tricky but here goes. You control one character at a time with the other 2 being AI and replacing MP are ATB bars, bars that actions will use up so the more powerful the attack, the more bars it needs to use (Attack might be 1 bar whereas Blitz, an area of attack ability, requires 2) so as long as you have the bars filled up, you can use what you want which makes battles very straightforward and you no longer have to spend so much time using Ethers and Elixirs just to cure again. Another big chance is the Paradigms, essentially these function similar to Jobs from the previous game though certain characters will have a better affinity for one job over another. For instance, Lightning makes a really good Commando and Medic though she might be terrible at Synergist. Oh yeah, guess I got to explain those ones. Here’s how it breaks down: Commando = melee, Medic = white mage/priest/healer, Ravager = black mage, Saboteur = enemy debuffer (DeShell, DeProtect etc), Synergist = party buffer such as Protect and Shell whereas Sentinels are basically the guards of the group, taking damage in place of another team or to provoke an enemy to attack them exclusively. A Paradigm Shift occurs when you switch roles for the members so you can have an all-out team of melee users to dish damage but since there’s no healer, it prompts a shift to a group with one or two (or all, even) Medics, to get your team back on your feet and back again. It’s remarkably intuitive and pretty soon you’ll be switching paradigms on the fly because you know what to do and not just do whatever and hope it works.

  Another change…sort of, is how your summons worked, named “Eidolons” a la Final Fantasy IX (by the way, if you think it’s pronounced “eye-doh-lawn”, be prepared for a rude awakening like I was). They can be summoned into battle if your TP is at max and attacks alongside you but they can also go into Gestalt mode where they for lack of a better term, go into Transformers mode, and you control what attacks they use akin to 10 but the tricky part is your TP doesn’t refill every battle like your HP does so you have to save your summons for when you absolutely must need them. TP, or “technique points” is how you do specific abilities that are independent of a class ability so for example a Ravager might be able to have Fire and Water as abilities but the “Libra” technique, Scan in other words, is a technique. By the way, Libra everything you see since the AI adopts that information into its programming so to speak so whereas before they used whatever attack they felt like, if the AI “knows” that an enemy is weak against fire, they’re more often than not to always use fire. Another awesome change is the retry. Picture this: you need to level up to take down a boss but while in grinding mode, you die by a generic enemy encounter and a good hour has been wasted prompting a far restart. Not so here, here you can taken back to just before the encounter so if you got demolished, just hit Retry, spawn outside that enemy, go into your menu and reconfigure your party to what you feel is a better course of action which ties into the storyline’s progress as well; there’s not as much brick walls where you feel like “screw it, I’ll beat him tomorrow”.

  Now as far as negatives out of the way, well there is the fact that the game is noticeably linear. In prior entries, generally you moved to a specific area but the illusion of freedom was always present, meaning you couldn’t actually go that way because of the story, world layout or simply because the enemies got too powerful but here you will notice how restricted your movements are and it’s not until a good 20 hours into it that it opens up and the game says “okay, run free little birdy”. Also, though this is just personal preference but the game re-introduces the Sphere Grid by way of the Crystarium, a more spiffier looking version of the Grid. Doing battles nets you CP or crystal points which you spend on the grid to advance a specific stat such as “Strength +3″ or “HP+20″ and while it’s cool they did away with requiring a specific sphere to activate a node this time (ever run out of Ability Spheres in 10 and weren’t going to level up until you found one? none of that here) but I kind of like the old Level 23 type setup where if an enemy got too hard, I got a good idea on how much levelling is required and though there isn’t much need for grinding, it does suck that I can’t level up a specific skill when I do need to upgrade it. But that’s me.

  Phew, that’s a lot of talk. But really this game has been in long development cycles, massive amounts of hype, fair bit of controversy concerning the linearity, the weird disdain for it being on Xbox 360 or the inclusion of Leona Lewis but honestly as a game, this one is extremely fun. Unlike 12 which was a fun game though not a terrific story, 13 tells a great tale while being insanely fun to play and that’s kind of rare for the series. Doesn’t matter what system, you’ve got to give Final Fantasy XIII a try since the love-or-hate nature people have with it reinforce the idea that you might be in love with it though everyone else isn’t.
• 

  Stephen Pruett-jones
  March 27th, 2010 on 12:51 pm

  Rating

  I had known about this game since the summer, and i could not stop reading about it. and the day i finally got it, i was blown over by how much fun this game is. The combat system is alot of fun, the graphics are breathtaking, the characters are intriguing and interesting, (except Hope). I am not trying to rush thru this game, im trying to soak in all the fun from it i can get.

  in the start, your on this train with Lightning and Sazh, and some serious shiz goes down. All thru the level of the Hanging edge, your thinking “what is everybodys purpose to be here? what are they doing?” and it makes you want to keep playing to find out. and from then on, the game just keeps on building. throughout the first level, things are slow and repetitive, but after that, when the powers of a l’cie are yours to command, the game gets heated up and everything becomes explained over time.

  The way the combat works is you have a guage (ATB) and you need to wait for it to charge, and while its charging, you can either choose auto battle or make your own chain. some specific moves that may have a different effect may take up more than one segment of the guage. once the game proceeds, you get more atb guage segments and learn new moves with the Crystarium.

  This game has many aspects, and i could list them all and go on for hours on end. but ill say the best.

  For exploration, the first half of the game is quite linear, but dont let that ruin your enjoyment. I found it still very fun. there are sometimes little snippits of places you can go to get an extra fight or 2 or a treasure chest. But then with the arrival of Gran pulse, you just feel as if all the time in the world isnt enough to fully experience everything, like the Yascham Massif, Archilyte Steppe, and much much more. And with Gran Pulse, thats when its actually easy to skip fights if you need to. i try to never, because i need to train my guys up.

  For Equipment and training, i think its overall easy and un frustrating. But once you are allowed to upgrade your weapons, you feel as if you never want to change that certain weapon. Thats how i feel, and getting Gil in this game is not as easy as the rest. but once u learn raise for a medic, you dont really need pheonix downs or potions. For training, the Crystarium expands every time you beat a Major Boss. there are six roles for you to learn, Ravager, Commando, Synergist, Saboteur, Medic, and Sentinel. about 20 hours into the game, all 6 of these classes become available to all 6 characters. and every fight, you get crystogen points which is used to navigate thru the Crystarium.

  For story, there is not much to say. ITS AMAZING, HEART WRENCHING, EMOTIONAL, BEUATIFUL, ENGAGING, AND INTERESTING. you will want to find out the end every second you play it. its that awesome. i dont want to ruin it for you, because the only way to truly enjoy it is to experience it urself.

  Graphics, same with story. Beuatiful and amazing, engaging, and interesting. you feel as if the normal gameplay is just as amazing as the cgi cutscenes, which are also breathtaking

  As much as i hate to admit it there are some cons in this game, but if you think past them and fully embrace the scope and beauty of the game, you will not even notice them.
  
  1. Character Hope is annoying, sometimes whiny, and more or less weak. i never really use him. i stick with Fang, Lightning, and Snow, and use the rest if i feel fun.
  
  2. Sometimes, the game can b very difficult, and some frustration pops up.
  
  3. 2 or 3 pieces of the music dont seem as enjoyable as the rest of the sagas, but there are still alot of amazing compositions.
  
  4. during the un important cutscenes, the character is talking and doing a minor motion, but then stops doing it and is standing rigid while still talking and that may b a bit of a bummer in some cases.
  
  BUT DONT LET THESE CONS FOOL YOU. THE GAME IS WORTH EVERY PENNY, AND (…) IS CHEAP IN MY OPINION FOR THIS MASTERPIECE!!!

  get it.
• 

  Kenny Montenegro
  March 31st, 2010 on 2:22 am

  Rating

  FINAL FANTASY XIII Review:

  FINAL FANTASY XIII: AMAZING, WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL, THE BEST !
  
  It has wonderful and fantastic worlds and societies, an amazing and complex story, beautiful and gorgeous cut-scenes, cute, awesomely detailed characters, JUST PERFECT!

  FINAL FANTASY XIII is equal or much better than FINAL FANTASY VII, The cut-scenes are spectacular and the characters are super detailed and involving, the story is marvelous and perfect, everything is perfect, I love it.
  
  Some people criticize this game because is ‘too linear’ but this is the only way to tell the amazing story of the characters and the society of FFXIII. Others say this genre needs to stop recycling the same tale of old JRPGs and make new games with new ideas, but they also say that FFXIII has left the main features of a FF game off. In other words, they want CHANGE and NEW IDEAS… but if Square-Enix changes the Battle system or makes a more linear game and new completely different worlds… then, they DON’T LIKE IT and now they want a FF game like the old classics.
  
  I don’t understand…. first they say one thing but then they want another.

  FINAL FANTASY XIII is one of the best in the series, the cinematic, the ‘heroes’ the linear thing, the story, the worlds, everything is perfect! I love it and will love it forever, excellent work from Square-Enix, really… BEAUTIFUL.

  I give 10 out of 10 for FINAL FANTASY XIII.
• 

  H. Ryu
  March 31st, 2010 on 8:27 pm

  Rating

  I’ve played every Final Fantasy title from FFVI on, and I have to say, this is probably my favorite title of the series.

  The graphics, it must be said, are simply amazing. When Square stated they wanted an engine that rivals the visuals of Advent Children, they weren’t joking. The first time you unleash Lightning’s Army of One ability, your jaw will simply drop, despite the fact that you’ve probably spent a good 30+ hours being amazed by the graphics already. On the PS3, 1080p is stunning, and the cutscenes are beautiful and plentiful. Prior to this, I thought Mass Effect 2 had set the bar for gaming visuals, but FFXIII makes Mass Effect 2 look obsolete.

  In terms of combat, I find that XIII really combines the best of FFX-2 and FFXII. FFX-2, despite being much maligned by fans of the series, has the most interesting battle mechanism of all the Active Time Battle-based Final Fantasy titles. FFX-2 and FFXIII battle sequences look very similar. The difference, of course, is that instead of dress spheres that you then have to micromanage, now you have pretty much what amounts to preprogrammed gambits (as in XII). The advantages are obvious. I think XII made buffing and debuffing quite painless by allowing you to set them as gambits, and this is important because in previous titles, honestly, it is a simple pain to buff and debuff during mob battles.

  You will have to use every one of the six classes effectively, even at the very end of the game. Can you say that about any of the FF titles in the last 15 years (other than IX, of course)? I can’t. Usually you spam the best ability for all it’s worth. For instance, once Yuna learned Holy and Tidus learned Quick Hit in FFX and your stats get high enough, combat became ridiculously easy. VII is all about the Knights of the Round spamming. Sure, XIII suffers from a bit of that, too. The Death spell is a bit overpowered, and Sazh’s Blitz is simply unfair. But even with these, forget to use your Sentinel and Synergists, and you’ll be dying more often than you should.

  Which brings me to my next point. In terms of the frequency of Game Over screens, this is the hardest FF game of the 3D era, there’s no question about it. Maybe that’s not saying much, but you can get more emotionally (and physically) involved in the combat than ever before. You’ll really be working for that Stagger, making split second decisions as to whether to go for that one extra turn of attacks or to heal/buff/debuff, whether to try Thaumatology or Diversity, whether to interrupt the current chain of commands or to wait. All these things matter. In what other FF title does that one split second decision matter this much?

  As for not controlling the other party members, that’s such a minor point in my mind. Other than not using the best attack spells from time to time, it really feels like the AI is well programmed and does not hinder your abilities much. In any case, if you had to control all three characters, this system would just lose its urgency and excitement because you wouldn’t be able to make the overall strategical decisions quite as much. Considering how fast and hard some of the enemies hit, having to do everyone’s healing while dishing out magic and working on renewing buffs would be really annoying to say the least.

  I know everyone complains about the game’s linearity (it’s like X except no backtracking), but this game is really, really well paced, and a lot of that has to do. You can’t get overly powerful because there are limits to what you are able to accomplish at any given point. Yes, I know, FFX had Key Spheres, but you could easily find Lvl 3 and 4 Key Spheres if you knew where to get them. Maybe RPG should stress the role playing aspect by letting you explore around before deciding to go ahead with the story. But I don’t see anything that’s truly realistic about being able to kill the hardest bosses in the story line with zero difficulty either, so I think it’s a trade-off.

  I finished the game at about 55 hours and the final two chapters were the best ending 10 hours of any Final Fantasy game ever. Usually, this is often a very boring portion of the game, and 55 hours is long enough to get leveled beyond decency in most other FF games. Not so in FFXIII. I still dreaded facing certain enemies, and the end boss of Chapter 12, rarely have I celebrated so much at beating a story line boss in FF.

  I’ve compared this game a lot to FFX, which was previously my favorite title in the series, but not anymore. I think that it is true that at times, FFXIII does not feel like your average FF game. I mean, the only returning musical theme is the Chocobo theme, there are no towns and inns, and just about everything feels different from before. But once you dig deeper, you see elements of your favorite FF games from the past, only they have been distilled and refined into something that’s more approachable. But approachable doesn’t mean dumbed down. No, in this case, it means that combat is evolving, staying engaging and diverse until the very end. When you think about it, this is the only title other than FFIX that has achieved this, and FFIX did so with a very rigid character class system. Grinding for two hours won’t change much in this game, only give you a bit more wiggle room. I find that to be absolutely brilliant.

  This review is likely to ramble on and on, but I feel that this game needs to be defended a bit, considering people are quick to dismiss it for what it should be, instead of trying to judge it for what it is and what it is trying to do. I have a feeling that once the dust settles, people will enjoy this game more. I know that my first playthrough of this game was the most fun I’ve ever had in the first playthrough of a FF game, and ultimately, I think that’s what the game should be judged by. I know I’ve logged more hours into FFVII than any other game, but I didn’t have too much fun sometimes in FFVII. This isn’t an issue with FFXIII.

  Play this game with no prejudice or inflated expectations, and you’ll see the title for what it is, yet another worthy FF title.
• 

  J. Cassella
  April 3rd, 2010 on 7:13 am

  Rating

  First let me just say two things: 1.) I have never played a Final Fantasy game before 2.) I love this game (I am currently at Chapter 8).

  Personally I am disappointed when I hear people deride this game because it really is wonderful. I will not elaborate to greatly on game mechanics because so many others already have. But there is no doubt that this game is a work of art; not because of any one feature but because of what it is in totality – a truly first rate engrossing experience.

  I certainly understand how those who have played many of the preceding Final Fantasy games might be disappointed with this game since it seems to have deviated from the earlier versions quite a bit, at least from what I have read. But, while accepting that disappointment, it also seems it is being taken a bit far. After all, this game is obviously not those other games. Certainly deducting points because it isn’t as much to fun to someone based on their experience with previous iterations is justified; but to give this game a one or even a two? There is no why this game is a one or a two – no way.

  The graphics are first rate beyond a doubt. The game play mechanic is both innovative and challenging, requiring players to experiment with their own strengths and those of their party members while simultaneously trying to ascertain the weaknesses of their opponents. As a result, the combat experience can be extraordinarily rich and varied requiring thought and attentiveness if one wishes to prevail against their opponents. This is particularly true as the game progresses beyond the first couple of chapters as party members change and new equipment, accessories, and buffs become available.

  Which brings me to a more specific point: People criticizing the “auto function” need only look one level down in the queue to realize YOU DO NOT HAVE TO USE THE AUTO FUNCTION! So why are you complaining about it? If you don’t want to use it then don’t! Now let’s turn the microscope around: What does it say about someone who complains and suffers through something all the while knowing there is an alternative sitting right in front them? I guess if you’re 6 we call it whining, if you’re older we call it masochism.

  The pacing of the game is wonderful. You encounter challenging fights as the game progresses with cut scenes placed perfectly, not only to provide respite from battle but also to provide exposition regarding character and plot development. It is seamless and it is expertly crafted. Even the integration of the tutorial system (which can be skipped if one chooses) is wonderfully timed instead of just being dumped in one lump at the beginning of the game.

  There is a lot of subtlety going on is this game as well. In fact, in playing the game it has become clear there is a great deal of spirituality imbedded in the story. I initially noticed this when Lightening was fighting her Eidolon early in the game. As I was engaged in combat I noticed the Eidolon would bow to the player. At first I didn’t understand what it was doing. But after defeating it, which took quite some time by the way, I read the Eidolon’s background information. It was prostrating itself before me in acknowledgement of my healing of my comrade. Here we had a protagonist, battling what is essentially their superego, that superego in turn acknowledging the player’s compassion (healing their comrade) by prostrating itself in battle so the opponent could freely inflict damage. There are so many layers to this act that I could probably write a PhD. about it. What depth of thought; what spirituality. But it seems most miss the depth and power of such a simple and subtle act. I mean, after all, no one’s head exploded!

  Even the main story line is heavily spiritual with characters being torn from their accepted version of reality only to find out that things are very different then they had thought. What they felt defined them as people, made them who they were, defined their very existence was, in fact, an illusion. While I have not finished the game, you get the strong sense that being branded a L’Cie may in fact be a blessing, not a curse. Don’t know yet, but I am certainly going to find out.

  Also, while reading the reviews I have noticed that the idea of what an RPG is supposed to be comes up a lot. While I have not played previous Final Fantasy games I have played other RPG’s like Mass Effect I & II, Fallout III and I am currently playing Demon Souls. In all cases these games vary, most of all Demon Souls, and yet it was given “Game of the Year” honors by Gamespot. Is Demon Souls an RPG in the typical sense? No way. But it was appreciated for what it was, not what someone thought it should be. Being open ended certainly has its place, but running around pursuing small side quests and other minutia does not make a game great, it may make it long, it MAY even HELP make it great, but the two are not necessarily coincidental. I would truly hate to see us impose such predetermined uniformity on game development. Such condemnation, based strictly on a supposed deviation from a preconceived idea about what games are suppose to be, will benefit no one. Allowing the industry to develop and innovate, however, will provide a far richer and diverse gaming experience.

  In closing this game, as a video game, not as a label or a preconceived idea, is without a doubt one of the most complete, fun, and compelling experiences I have had as a gamer. And I would like to thank those who put 5 years of their lives into making that experience possible.
• 

  Sylvia B. Taylor
  May 18th, 2010 on 2:58 am

  Rating

  Wow!! Where do I begin. This game, in my opinion, is one of the most beautifully rendered and exciting FF games I’ve ever played. I’ve played all but FF VII and FF VIII. I just started Chapter 13 and cannot understand why so many people are disappointed. Some of the monsters were a bit challenging for me, but other than that, I could find nothing to complain about. I think a player has to be open to something new and fresh and this game has it all. My all-time favorite would be FF X, but this one ranks a very close second. I feel sorry for those folks that didn’t give FF XIII the chance that it deserves and quit the game before getting into the “soul” of the game. I can only hope Square Enix sees fit to give us FF XIII lovers plenty of add-ons and downloads.

  I get such a kick out of watching Fang and Lighting launch those big guys into the air and beat the crap out of them…in the air. Every time I get these huge monsters staggered, I just have to smile because I know what’s coming. This game, I think, takes some time to learn. Sometimes it gets frustrating figuring out how to increase the money in order to upgrade weapons, etc., but I eventually figure out what I can and cannot sell/buy. It just takes time and patience. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a great game and can’t wait till we get the next one.

  I buy EVERYTHING at Amazon.com, have been with them since it’s inception and am very happy with this online retailer.