Final Fantasy XIII Review: Imported For Your Benefit

“Final Fantasy XIII” was released just before the Christmas holiday in Japan, and I was lucky enough to obtain a copy from The Land of the Rising Sun.  The new installment takes a modernistic approach on it’s story telling, focusing more on more and the main story, and less on multiple side quests.  Set between a small hovering moon pandemic with futuristic originality, and an abandoned planet, “Final Fantasy XIII” is stoked with drama and an underlying theme of fighting against your fate.  In this installment, the directors hope to move you through what could be one of the most action packed filled “Final Fantasy” games in a long time. 

Story

“Final Fantasy XIII” spans three games that are un-related to each other.  However, Square Enix has confirmed that they all occur within the same Universe.   For this installment, the game focuses on a band of six heroes marked by the Crystals for a vague mission which they believe would spell the end of Coocoon.  If they fail, they are set to turn into walking mindless demons.  If they succeed their future isn’t any brighter, as they can each expect to eternally exist as a Crystal.  Our heroes decide that it is only fair to save Coocoon and look into what is the real cause of the possible destruction of their home.  All fingers point to the Crystals themselves but nothing is what it seems, as you race through Coocoon and later down to the planet Pulse seeking answers, solace, and the strength protect the inhabitants of your home. 

Those who inhabit Coocoon, enjoy a futuristic and comfortable life.  They are guarded by the soldiers of Sanctum and PSI-COM forces, ruled by a shady individual, later known as Orphan.  At the start of the game, the love interest and wife to be of one of the main characters, Snow, is cursed by the Fal’cie.  The Fal’cie are essentially the Crystals.  Snow, and the sister of his future wife (Lightning), set about to save Coocoon with perhaps the wrong ideas in mind.  Once cursed by a Fal’cie, characters inherit the ability to summon Eidelons – mystical beings that can aide them in their quests.  Those marked by Crystals with missions are known as the L’Cie.  It turns out that this is also a running theme in all the other ”Final Fantasy XIII” games, so you can look forward to learning more about this concept in the other titles.   Eidelons are actually a returning theme for summons since they were used in “Final Fantasy IX.”

The Eidelons are activated during moments of strong emotional stress and the L’Cie must confront them – failure not being an option.  Each of the characters situation, the loss of a loved one, dealing with authority, and other situations, make way for activating each of the summons throughout the game. While you go about the business of dealing with each of their unique situations, your characters will have to escape the clutches of Coocon first so that they can undergo the necessary growth throughout Pulse to confront the true mastermind behind the possible destruction of their home.  

The drama really centers, and begins, around the relationship between Snow’s love interest.  Labeled as a L’Cie, she is destined to turn into a Crystal or a walking demon depending on the results of her mission.   

As you start the game, events have already unfolded that resulted in Lightnings sister turning into a Crystal, which means that she did what she was supposed to do.  Snow, Lightning  and Sazh set out to rescue her.  Hope, Vanilla, and Fang get tied up in the events of the rescue and they are all cursed by a Crystal.  At this point, their main task is un-clear but they have a vision of a what they believe is Ragnorak; the end of Man.  They are immediately branded as L’Cie by Sanctum and the PSI-COM forces, which forces them to escape Coocoon. 

When “Final Fantasy XII” was released in the States, a lot of gamers complained about the international plot twists, political intrigue, espionage, and sabotage that were central to the game.  From a personal stand point, it was refreshing:  That environment made it possible to have back-stabbing politics, politicians, power hungry brothers, evil scientists, rogue pirates, dead princes, widowed princesses and would be heroes all wrapped into one.  One could also argue that there was too much going in “Final Fantasy XII.”  

This installment takes the opposite perspective and in some cases is down right simplistic and thin. Even after you complete the game, you’re left with that “… this is just the beginning” taste in your mouth.  Strangely though, I found that the game was long enough and I was happy that I didn’t have to do an insane amounts of back tracking and NPC side quests.  That’s an interesting point given that most RPGs, for several years included this element strongly.  Even though the environment gives the obvious explanation as to why there is a lack of NPC interaction on the abandoned planet Pulse, you can’t help but feel a little bit cheated. 

Contrary to popular belief, there are a limited number of towns to explore while on Coocoon.  The towns in Coocoon are not there as hubs to hold various other side quests but really just exist as gates to other chapters and some of the most amazing CG Cut Scenes this side of the Western hemisphere.  I came across one Chocobo event but later found out that it was directly related to the natural progression of the story.  Your side quest adventure exist in the mission modes which you come across during the second half of the game on Pulse. 

Side Quests?

The missions basically work like the monster hunting game from “Final Fantasy XII.” This version is easier to deal with as there are no guild shops to traverse to and from before and after missions.   The monsters that are part of this side quest are unique versions of what you have already seen, and in some cases not seen.  Some elements of the Mission Mode are also tied to the main story, so if you choose to complete all the missions you get to know a little bit more about Pulse, the Fal’cie, and also to access extra items, hidden areas and new monsters. I will say this, the mission mode is not easy and you can easily spend up-teen amounts of hours playing through all 64 missions.  Some missions are hidden initially because they are activated when you have completed others.  The majority of the missions themselves are optional.  Some are also slightly event based, and this is perhaps where game feels a little more commonplace.  Taking on all the missions will allow you to come across familiar faces like Master Tonberry, the Jabotenda (or Giant Cactuar), and gain access to Chocobos.

If Capcom ever made “Monster Hunter” for the PS3, perhaps it would have worked like this in its simplest form.  Approaching each mission requires you to really have a full understanding of the Optima (Paradigm Shift) System.   You need to do some planning in order to complete your missions.  Obtaining top scores in all missions grants you a hidden trophy in the game – definitely not easy.  The missions will also reward you with hidden accessories and rare items that are otherwise impossible to find in the regular game.  The mission modes are great but it doesn’t necessarily replace the type of NPC interaction you know. 

Characters

You will have control of six characters, and interact with others.  Returning names familiar to the series include Sid but like “FF XII,” he is not playable.  Sid will play a role within the military of Coocoon as a General.  He is also a boss, and a very difficult one at that.  For the characters that you do control, Lightning is a Ms. No-Sense type character but has a calm and bravado the rivals a the secret ponds of a hidden mountain.  At the same time she suffers from trust issues and running into situations blindly.    Snow is perhaps one of the more annoying characters I had to put up with in any “Final Fantasy” to date (in Japanese).  He is constantly going on about being a hero and how to do things that heroes do, and that he’s going to be a hero. If I had the ability, or the magic spell, to Silence him, I would.   

His story also revolves around another one of the characters in the game; Hope.  Hope is an emotional trip.  The events in the earlier part of the game have led him to resent, and down right hate Snow; enough to want him dead.  Lightning fosters a friendship with him to curb his attitude but the confrontation between Snow and Hope is unavoidable.  Like Snow, Hope is constantly bickering but it’s the type of bickering a child his age would engage in.  At the same time, he takes on the “Vivi” type role as he is set to become the more powerful of the magicians in the game.  Fang and Vanilla are friends, whose story and plot, are so directly related to the game that I will not divulge any further.  Fang is a no-non-sense brawler and though Snow also fits this role, she trumps him in every aspect.  Vanilla is the hyper up-beat character and a typical comparison for her would be Rikku from “FF X.” 

Last, but not least, is Sazh (forgive the Spelling, it may change over time).  Sazh is with Lightning to help rescue her sister but at the same time he is going along with her for his own reasons.  He comes off as a clown and fills in the role for comic relief but he is much deeper, and smarter, than he would have you believe.  He is a scientist, pilot, and an engineer after all.  He provides an additional calm to the group that is only rivaled by his out-of-tune bounce during battles.  At first, I wasn’t impressed with this character and a lot of the videos of him online did not put him the best of lights.  When you get to know about his situation, you’re attitude will change towards him.  Hope also has the same redeeming quality sleeping within him but it took too long for him to come to terms with himself. 

Like every game in the series, Square Enix did what it did best with the characters – creating individual, unique characters, with unique backgrounds, banding them together for a common purpose that doesn’t just benefit themselves.  At the end the day though it’s whether or not you can relate to any of these characters.  From a personal standpoint, you want to love the lead character Lightning but at the same time, the younger gamers might be hard pressed to appreciate the lead role being handed to a female character.  I would hope that this is not the case.  I find this approach to be refreshing, considering that the first 10 installments in the “Final Fantasy” series had male characters in the front.  Ever since “Final Fantasy X-2,” things have taken a different path with the exception of the Massive Online RPG installment in the series; “Final Fantasy XI.”  Additionally, you can look forward to seeing Noctis take the lead role in “Final Fantasy XIII Versus.”

Paradigm’s “Nifty” Shifting

I saved the battle system for last because it is by far, the thing I like most about this game.   Enter the ‘Optima’, or Paradigm Shift, System.  In “Final Fantasy X,” some of you may remember the ability to shift characters in and out of battle.  This game takes a different approach by giving you the ability to shift roles during battle.  You can choose from six available roles – Healer, Blaster (Magician), Attacker, Jammer (focuses on status offensive effect spells), Defender (focuses on defensive tactics),  and Enhancer (focuses on defensive status effects). 

Roles open up to characters as you progress through the  game and eventually, all roles will be available to all characters.  Keeping that in mind, one shift could have a healer, a blaster, and an enhancer from the available roles that you have unlocked for each character.  So, at one point you could be focusing on enhancing your party, while attacking your enemies, and then shift to another set of roles, that focuses your entire party on attacking. 

Harder battles, especially the later mission battles, will teach you to adopt this method through pain.  Did I mention that this game is hard?  I’ve died more in this Final Fantasy compared to any other.  Some roles are obviously better suited for specific characters – Fang and Snow are power houses so using them frequently as attackers is a great idea.  Hope and Vanilla are great magicians, and, Sazh and Lightning are the more dynamic of the bunch.  You wont be able to swap characters for the first part of the game since the characters you are controlling are directly related to the events in the earlier chapters. 

During battle, since you don’t have control of your other members, they react accordingly to your current skirmish.  Sometimes this works with you but sometimes it works against you.  Performing the Libra (Scan) spell on enemies will help them focus on specific spells, or attacks. It took me a while to realize that the game was really trying to say was ”you need, assess, act accordingly, or die.”  When you do die, you won’t have to reload an entire save point like before. The game works a little like “BioShock,” giving you the option to restart from a point near to where your last game expired.   I always hated having to reload entire save points in RPGs and this solution solves that problem.

You can take full advantage of your enemies using the pre-emptive strike system.  Since all enemies are walking around for you to see, you can sneak up on them to get a first strike.  Pre-emptive attacks become important for harder enemies because it allows you to take advantage of their break limit sooner.  The pre-emptive strikes puts the enemies at the tipping point of their break limit, which gives you the ability to inflict larger amounts of pain by pushing them pass this limit.  Each enemy has a break limit gauge below their life bars and to do higher damage, you need to max their break limit gauge.  There is no pattern for increasing the break limit gauge. The gauge might fill faster for one enemy if you use fire based spells and attacks, but that technique wouldn’t work another.   

You can sneak up on enemies by moving up on them slowly away from their point of vision, or you can use Smoke.  Smoke is a pre-battle element in the game which is extremely useful.  While you are walking about you can apply them to your party on the fly.  Some give your team specific defensive, or offensive enhancer spells automatically.  Others give you the ability to sneak up on enemies from the front. These are especially useful when you know you have to face a stronger foe.  There are some enemies though, especially the robots, that are immune to smoke effects.  You also have a limited amount of time to get into battle before any applied smoke wears off.

Crystal Crystarium

The damage you inflict comes at the cost of Attack Points.  MP is not used in this game since that was replaced by AP.  A simple attack will cost 1 AP but stronger one will cost 2 or more. AP doesn’t expire … but instead, it is directly related to the ATB bar.  You could essentially spam magic spells when you get stronger in the game.  New to the mix is TP, or Tactical Points.  These are reserved for level 5 or higher spells that include summoning, and other non-common attacks.  The growth of your spells are based on how much CP (Crystal points) you collect and add to your Crystal. 

You earn CP after each battle, whether the battle is random, mission or boss based.  Spells, attacks, and attributes increases all require specific amounts of CP. The higher spells require larger amounts and the growth of your Crystal is based on where you are in the story.  So, as you play through the game you cannot stay in the first level, and garner enough CP to learn a Level 6 spell because the higher levels in the Crystarium are locked.   This system is a lot like the system in “Final Fantasy X” and somewhat simillar to “Final Fantasy XII.”  Each characters Crystal levels up differently and not everyone will learn the same set of spells.  Standard level one spells and attacks are a must for everyone but only certain characters will learn certain skills.   There are also higher level special attacks that each character can learn, and these look like Limit Breaks but come at the entire cost of a fully charge ATB Bar, regardless of how many AP slots you have acquired.

Fighting in this game is action packed and as you progress further within the Crystals, things really heat up.  The battles are reminiscent of other action Japanese RPGs that you may have played.  One that always seems to come to mind is “.Hack.”  In some cases even the enemies look like they were taken straight from the world of “.Hack.”  During battles, I noticed that the developers also took the opportunity to include multiple battle themes, even for the smaller fights, as soundtracks.  At times the current background music would just keep playing – something that I had always personally wished for in the series.  It’s minor but gives each battle a unique feel.   

One other element of the battle worth mentioning is the Ranking system. You are ranked on each battle and while I thought that there was more to this originally, it really just boils down to how efficient you are at dispatching your foes.  Since the focus of this game is action, and speed, you are given a specific amount of time to destroy an enemy.  The time allotted for you to take down an enemy is based on your current stats.  Keep in mind your characters don’t level up, but your spells, weapons, and accessories do.  If you defeat the enemy well below (and I mean more than 10%) the target time, you are awarded 5 stars.  The more stars you get, then faster your TP gauge refills.

I like the paradigm shift system, and like “FF XII,” the battles are not boring anymore.  You can play old fashioned if you wanted to by setting the ATB system to “Wait Mode” but what’s the fun in that?  Hopefully, Square Enix will one day give us the ability to use all members at the same time during battle.  The three man approach is tried and true but I personally want to lay the hurt with my entire squad. Given the current gaming systems I don’t see why this is not possible.  Additionally, mentioning “FF XII,” I had loved the gambit system and the ability customize your characters behavior based on how the enemy was reacting to you, or how you were reacting to the enemy. This was a great system, and would have been a great addition to the Paradigm Shift system; making the entire battle experience much deeper. 

To Mold Me is to Know Me

While the “molding” portion of the game is up for translation in west, the mold shop, accessible through all the save points in the game, give you the ability to apply items dropped by enemies to weapons and accessories.  Doing so gives each item experience points.  You can purchase shop specific enhancements for your weapons and accessories that will also boost their levels.  Each accessory and weapon in the game can be leveled up.  Some go further than others in tier counts; for example, if you max out the Ribbon in the game and apply Dark Matter to it (a very expensive item) you can turn it into a Super Ribbon.  The possibilities are not endless because not all items can go to higher tiers.  Weapons can go up to tier three – giving you the chance to level them up to Level 99.  You can spend a serious amount of time molding, and breaking, weapons and accessories.  For trophy hunters, there is a trophy for collecting all items within the game and probably be the most time consuming of all trophies.   

Final Fantasies

Did it live up to that first footage? While it’s obvious some elements of that trailer has changed, most of what we saw was delivered.  You knew that the fighting was going to take on an action type pace from that trailer and this system delivers.  As for the story, I dont’ feel the same way.  In some cases it comes across like an over the top teen based melodrama, linear, and thin.  The characters, though annoying first, you somehow get to appreciate later in the game and you do get a chance to learn more about them as your progress.  The presentation for this game is top notch and Square Enix does what it does best in the CG, and in game graphics, department.  However, there were times I felt like the CG cut scenes were not even necessary as the in-game cut scenes themselves were more than satisfactory.  The boss battles are amazing and are only cut short by the fact that you play them several times over.    It comes across as short because you spend the majority of your time on Coocoon, and a short time on Pulse; where you get more control of your characters.  It is obvious where perhaps the extra content was left out.

The strongest element of “Final Fantasy XIII” was the battle system.  At the same time it felt like Square Enix took a step back to simplify the battle system perhaps for a wider audience.  Excluding the level of control that the Gambit system gave you in “Final Fantasy XII,” the paradigm system, though cool, is anything but deep.  With this installment, it just feels like its only a taste of things to come.

Rating:
 
“Final Fantasy XIII” was developed and published by Square Enix and released on December 17th 2009, in Japan for the PlayStation 3. It will be released in the United States on March 9th, 2010 for both the Xbox 360 and PS3. This review is based on the import PlayStation 3 version of the game.

Related Posts:

• January 28, 2009 -- FF XIII Trailer Out – Battle System Real Time??
• January 22, 2012 -- Import Review – Final Fantasy XIII-2
• September 28, 2009 -- Crystal Defenders Review: A Frustrating Trip Down Memory Lane
• June 7, 2009 -- E3 ’09: Final Fantasy XIII US Revealed
• April 15, 2009 -- Ten Minutes In Heaven … A.K.A. Final Fantasy XIII