Final Fantasy XIII – 8.5/10

So I’ve been a little late getting this review. Yeah, well I’m nearing the last week of undergraduate classes so I’ve been busy. So, on with the review…

Final Fantasy XIII takes place in a world called “Cocoon”, where people live every day under the watchful eye of the “Fal’Cie” (think Greek’s deities, or the people’s “keepers”). Cocoon is somewhat of a paradise, with every aspect of people’s live taken care. This world is encased in a shell, hovering above the unknown land of Pulse, where wild creatures roam and uncivilized tribes want war with the peaceful land of Cocoon. The story itself is very interesting, with good characters and a focused narrative. The gameplay itself is solid, but doesn’t bring anything new to the JRPG table, other than its unique and fun battle system.

Some could say FFXIII is a striped-down RPG, and while I acknowledge some criticisms of that to be perfectly true, that doesn’t make the game “bad” or less fun than any of the previous installments. Yes, towns are gone. Yes, customizable characters are gone (at least for the first half of the game), yes NPCs that you can talk to are gone (for the most part), but FFXIII is a game with a mission: to drag you into its world and not let go. It doesn’t have staples of the genre, but it certainly has staples of Final Fantasy: an engrossing storyline, larger than life characters, an epic mission, a plot to destroy and save the world. It’s all here. And while it seems a little empty where all the other characteristics are missing, FFXIII is a very streamlined experience. You never get bored wandering from town to town, the story is focused and there is always something new and exciting going on, and the characters are fun and entertaining. While it lacks the depths of previous Final Fantasies it makes up for it by having a focused and rich narrative. That said, the game is very linear, Lightning (the main heroine) mainly has the option to stray off the pre-definied path, and you’ll be in for “hallway after hallway”, or so to say. For all this back and forth, I still had fun, and its certainly a good RPG…

An example of flashy and fun combat.

True, it doesn’t change the rules of JRPG, certainly not RPGs in general. It could even be said FFXIII isn’t an RPG at all, but an interactive movie with a battle system. All these are valid criticisms. But that doesn’t mean FFXIII isn’t fun, and it definitely makes strides forwards in storytelling. FFXIII doesn’t bring a lot new to the table, but it does solidify game’s as viable storytelling mediums. That being said, the game isn’t just one long movie, there is plenty to do…eventually, and the game itself is fun to play, thanks to its unique battle system, which luckily doesn’t get boring 40 hours in.

The production values for FFXIII are certainly high, being beautiful scene after scene, and transitioning seamlessly to “cutscenes” (which look just like the game itself). The music, while not composed by Nobou Uematsu this time (Masashi Hamauzu takes on the duty , is very good. And while not the best in the series, it definitely has its moments. The characters are fun and endearing, the story elements are all there, and the gameplay is solid and fun.

The RPG elements it does have it does well. The “level up” system has been streamlined into a hybrid of FFXII gambits and  FFX sphere grid. Battles are quick, dynamic and fun, and can even be challenging at some points. The “Paradigm system” is a unique twist on RPG battles that allows you to assign “Roles” to your characters which act accordingly. For example, having a medic in your party, they will heal you whenever you loose HP. A “Ravager” (think mage) will dish out the most damage per second with magic he or she can, while a “Commando” will physically attack. The player can switch roles on the fly, and after battle can upgrade each character roles by investing Cyrstarium Points, similar to “leveling up”. This allows characters to learn new skills and gain more stat points (like more hit points, magic points, defense, strength, ect). Each character starts with only 3 roles but eventually is able to learn and upgrade all six (Ravager, Commando, Medic, Sentinel, saboteur, and Synergist).

Although somewhat lacking in traditional RPG fare, FFXIII’s storytelling is leaps and bounds above other similar JRPGs, and while it doesn’t offer the best RPG experience, it has its moments and is definitely fun to watch and play.

PROS:

+ Great Battle System

+Great Storyline/Storytelling

+Memorable main cast

CONS:

-Lacking traditional RPG staples (towns, NPCs, etc)

-Very linear

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