Yes, I know it’s been out a while. But It’s also been a while since I reviewed anything. And I mention Final Fantasy often enough, I’ve made no attempt to hide the fact that I am a huge fan of the franchise (with the obvious exceptions of X-2 and the first CGI movie “The Spirits Within”. Don’t even get me started on those.)

So, why FFXIII?? Well, The Girlfriend has a PS3 and very kindly bought me a second hand copy. So I was finally able to play the game, 18 months after its release date. My experiences with the previous FF games I’d played (VII, VIII, IX, X and XII) had instilled in me an idea of what to expect from a new one – that balance between the familiar and the groundbreakingly new. Sometimes the new features take a bit of getting used to, but I’ve yet to be disappointed by any of the FF titles apart from X-2 which was a sequel and therefore, in my opinion, not a true FF title. So I had high hopes when I slotted the disc in for the very first time.

Final Fantasy XIII

Publisher: Square
Released: March 2010

First impressions? Well, The cut scenes are fabulous as always and the graphics are understandably the best ones yet. I was quite surprised when I noticed Leona Lewis’ name pop up in the opening credits. Whilst it cannot be denied that Ms. Lewis has an amazing voice, it felt out of place and I personally felt a bit let down that Square felt the need to add such a big name to the soundtrack. It’s not like FF games have difficulty flying off shelves now, is it? (Incidentally, this would be the first Final Fantasy game with which the genius Nobuo Uematsu had no involvement. I was apprehensive but decided to let my ears be the judge.)

The opening sequence features a train (now where have I seen that before in the Final Fantasy series?? Hmmm… I wonder) and we get our first glimpse of the characters. Among the passengers is the main character, Lightning. Although she’s a girl, there’s more than a hint of Cloud Strife about her. She kicks off and destroys a bunch of people which is pretty cool. We also meet Sazh Katzroy, the token ‘cool black guy’ with a soft spot for tiny yellow birds (chocobos, as any hardcore FF fan will tell you). He has a baby one living in his afro which would be quite gross if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s so bloody cute. Add some tasty guns and a Samuel L. Jackson-esque voice actor into the mix, and it’s difficult not to like Sazh.

Gradually we are introduced to the full cast of six playable characters, about whom I have divided opinions. We have Snow Villiers, the leader of a resistance movement, whose heart appears to be as big as his ego (although only just). Being a resistance leader would immediately throw up comparisons to Barret from FF7, although whereas Barret fights for personal reasons Snow appears for the most part to be fighting simply so that he can be seen as a ‘hero’. But I feel Snow actually has more in common with FF8′s Seifer, in the sense that there’s always the suggestion that he could easily turn villain. Think Seifer with the fist-fighting skills of Zell. Snow is maybe my favourite character in the whole game.

But I did say my opinions were divided. While the amount of hard work that has obviously gone into developing the characters is well evident, not all of it has paid off. Vanille, for example, is annoying as fuck. For the most part, she’s just way too cheerful. Like makes-you-want-to-scramble-her-face-with-an-electric-egg-whisk-cheerful.

Hope also starts out being a pretty lame character, but I like how his story unravels and he develops from somewhat of a wuss into a tough young fighter seeking revenge on Snow who he blames for the death of his mother. Looks-wise, though, he still reminds me of a pre-pubescent Tidus.

Rounding up the party is Vanille’s sister Fang, whose Australian accent feels a bit out of place, but her fighting skills make her an asset to the party.

The storyline in a nutshell: Basically, there are two worlds called “Pulse” and “Cocoon”. The citizens of Pulse and Cocoon do not like each other. To say they don’t trust each other is an understatement – Cocoon’s government has a policy of “purging” anyone who is from Pulse, has been to Pulse, or has even brushed past someone in the street who has been there. By ‘purging’, they mean ‘killing’. Sazh and Lightning are two such citizens about to be purged before Lightning breaks free from the train and destroys all the guards. At the same time, a rebel faction called “Operation N.O.R.A.”, led by Snow, fights back against the Cocoon government and the six characters’ paths eventually cross. Pulse and Cocoon are sort of run by these god-like creatures called the “Fal’Cie”, who force anyone who comes into contact with them to become their slaves (or “l’Cie”). The l’Cie have to perform a task (called a “focus”), otherwise they turn into mindless zombie-like creatures called “Cie’th”. The party stumbles upon a Fal’Cie and they all become l’Cie, and they must then figure out their focus in order to avoid becoming Cie’th.

Pretty confusing stuff. So confusing, in fact, that the player is given a feature called the “Datalog”, which can be accessed via the menu and displays a running summary of the storyline events as the game progresses. After cutscenes, players are often greeted by the message “Datalog Updated”, so just in case you couldn’t understand what was just happening in the last cutscene, it is all written down for you. The datalog also contains useful information such as an explanation of the battle system and bios of the characters you meet along the way, and also a bestiary where players can view information on enemies they’ve defeated. So much information, in fact, that the Datalog effectively rules out any need for a strategy guide. A genius marketing ploy. But it does make you wonder… how good can a game be if it needs a “datalog” to explain its own storyline?? It’s kind of reminiscent of the blackboard scene in Back To The Future 2.

The most common criticism I’ve heard of FFXIII is that of its linear-style of gameplay. This has been well documented as one of the game’s fundamental flaws and has been banded around discussion boards since the game’s release, with some critics even going as far as to say that Square have ruined the game by removing the sense of free-roaming and exploration that is the true nature of the Final Fantasy series. I too was doubtful, but decided to reserve judgment until I’d given it a chance. After all, the Resident Evil titles (to name but one franchise) are all pretty linear, and they made great games.

So, just how linear is it? Well, very. You literally run down corridors fighting enemies then watching cutscenes, and occasionally stopping to tweak your battle get-up. That’s right, for the most part you are confined to paths in which the only way to go is onward to your next destination. What gets me is that the scenery is some of the best in a Final Fantasy game. Stunning 3D backdrops to a game which, ironically, feels very one-dimensional.

This would be even a little bearable if the player was given some form of occasional distraction such as a new town or village to explore; however, even the cities of FFXIII are made up of sets of paths leading from A to B. Even the odd shop would be a welcome addition, but they’ve done away with them as well. Instead, the player purchases items from save points by first selecting “shop”, then choosing from a list of shops. Sort of like buying online. Even small details such as treasure chests are now replaced by treasure ‘spheres’, orbs (normally guarded by enemies) which oscillate in mid air. Which is all well and good, it’s just that there’s no need for it.

Now, let’s talk about maybe the most important aspect of a Final Fantasy game: The battle system.

Shortly after finding myself in my very first fight of FFVIII, the command window popped up in the bottom left-hand corner as I’d expected it to.

What I had not expected, however, was the top option on the list. I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. I think the exact words that went through my brain were “What the fuck is this??” It said:

“Auto-Battle”.

Yes, the game now chooses your precise commands. You choose “Auto-Battle” and the game chooses a series of actions based on your current situation. You don’t have to choose this option; you can manually input commands. In fact, to begin with I chose to do this instead.
“I think I’ll make my own choices, thank you very much!” I stubbornly remember thinking to myself.  But quickly I realised that all this did was slow me down in the heat of a battle, and the battles seem to be designed around speed (in fact, you get reward points after each battle based on how quickly you kill the enemies). So reluctantly, I started to use Auto-Battle and resigned myself to simply button-mashing my way through the first few chapters.

Luckily, Auto-Battle almost always chose the option I would have gone with anyway. But again it was another trade-off; taking a little more freedom away from the player in exchange for a much faster-paced battle mechanic.

The initial reduced sense of freedom eventually gives way to a more overall intense battle experience which is far more challenging than in most of the predecessors. The enemies are once again on-screen as in FF12, meaning a much smoother transition between gameplay and battles. The player now controls one character as opposed to the entire party. Fallen colleagues can be resurrected as in previous games by using magic or a Phoenix Down, but if your party leader snuffs it, it’s game over.

You can control the actions of your teammates to a certain extent by using “Paradigms”, preset roles each with their own abilities which act kind of like a scaled-down version of FF12′s Gambit system. You can change paradigms mid-battle and you can expect to be doing this a hell of a lot, particularly in boss fights. Each enemy has a “chain gauge”, and your goal is to fill this as quickly as possible by delivering rapid successions of hits. Fill it and your foe becomes “staggered” making them more susceptible to damage.

Also missing is a “Limit Break” or “Overdrive” system, meaning that the characters do not possess any individual “special” attacks. Instead, abilities are now role-dependant so the only real difference between characters is that they learn abilities in a slightly different order. Instead, each character will at some point gain the use of an Eidolon (which FF9 players will tell you means a Summon spell).

Heck, the summon spells are maybe the best feature of the entire game. Choose the Summon command and you will be joined in battle by your character’s Eidolon, who will first aid you in regular battle as an NPC before a press of the Square button activates “Gestalt Mode”, in which the Eidolon transforms into a piece of devastating apparatus – Lightning’s Eidolon, Odin, for example, transforms into a horse which she then mounts, and Snow’s Eidolon is a pair of sisters who transform into a motorcycle that he can ride. Gestalt mode allows the player to input a series of commands to cut down enemies before delivering a final attack, and the animations are spectacular.

On the whole, Square took a huge gamble with many aspects of FFXIII and in my opinion, just enough of it has paid off. The battle system is innovative, action-packed and challenging and the storyline manages to hook you in even if you are having trouble fully understanding what is going on. I would have liked a little more freedom to explore the world, and there are probably a few other niggly things I’d maybe change, but for me the main flaw of FFXIII is that there were times when it did not feel like I was playing a Final Fantasy game, and that’s the biggest sin this edition is guilty of. Going forward, I think a step back to the roots of the FF series would be a breath of fresh air, possibly along the same lines as FF9. However it is still an entertaining adventure and I said earlier that I’d never been disappointed by a Final Fantasy game. That still rings true, even if I have to concede that it’s not the best one I’ve ever played. I’d give it 8/10.