Retro Review: Final Fantasy XIII

Player(s): 1
Platforms: PC (via Steam), Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

Final Fantasy XIII, while receiving critical praise, ended up getting very polarized ratings from fans of the franchise. The more open nature of Final Fantasy XI and XII made some dislike the more linear style of FFXIII. Read on to figure out what my thoughts are, and why.

Lightning and Sazh mean business!

There is one thing you will notice from the moment you start up FFXIII: it’s absolutely beautiful. Even now, a gaming generation later, I found the game to be one of the most gorgeous experiences I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying. This isn’t just high polygon count either. In fact, taking a closer look, you might notice where they took some shortcuts to make everything run smoother. The thing that makes the game so gorgeous is clever lighting, clever use of particle effects and an absolutely stunning artistic direction. All the creatures, characters and environments have so much love put into them that they end up being exceptional. I especially loved the very fun takes on so many classic monsters and summons.

It’s too bad the music in the game couldn’t be as stunning as the graphics. Besides a couple of really well-composed tracks, the music is too subtle and oftentimes extremely forgettable. The voice acting for the main characters is mostly decent. Not great, but not mediocre either. It’s somewhere in between. The rest of the voice acting in the game is mediocre at worst, which overall is pretty solid considering how terrible voice dubs in Japanese games tend to be. Aurally speaking, the experience isn’t something to write home about, but at least it isn’t horrible. One thing I really did appreciate was the lip sync. I might have been going crazy, but it looked to me like all the lip movements were re-done to match with the English voices, which really helps to create a more immersive experience. It may seem like a minor thing, but it was something I appreciated deeply.

It wouldn't be Final Fantasy without some kind of Behemoth.

Being an ambitious project and the start of this brand new mythos that Square Enix wanted to launch meant that there was a lot of world building that needed to be done. This reflects in the very linear first 15 hours or so of the game. You spend most of the time going from point A to point B, advancing the story and battling monsters along the way. A lot of character development and world building is done, in a very effective way, since everything is in a controlled environment. Throughout the game, you’ll experience flashback sequences that will give some background as to each party member’s motive, and their relation to each other. People looking for a little more freedom of exploration will be disappointed in that.

Still, the really strong story more than makes up for that. You start off the game playing as Lightning, a person who is trying to rescue her sister who has turned to crystal due to her being forced to serve the ‘gods’ of the world. At first it’ll seem a bit complicated and overwhelming, something you aren’t alone in. This is one of the main reasons why the game spends so much time establishing the setting. Each of the 6 main characters starts off as a problem child in some way, and slowly develops into a likeable and heroic person by the end. This is multiplied by the fact that each character has some kind of huge inner demon he/she needs to overcome. That sense of success by the end, when each person has overcome that demon and become a better person for it, is what makes the story in this game one of the best in the franchise for me. I hated most of the characters at the beginning, but ended up appreciating each one of them by the end. The background story, while nothing unique, is interesting enough to help move everything along, but when it really boils down to it the main characters are what really make the story so magnificent. Each party member has a deep and compelling story that is unraveled over the course of the adventure.

So many ice crystals. I wonder what that could mean...

Once you get past about the first 15 hours, you’re presented with a far more open-ended game. You’re given a huge environment to explore, with a ton of side quests and lots of fun challenges to overcome. Most of this revolves around hunting certain monsters, similar to what was in Final Fantasy XII. The variety comes in the way you need to get to some of the monsters and some of the interesting gimmicks to the fights. Even with casual exploration, I ended up spending almost 15 hours in this section of the game before finally beating it. So don’t fret, there is plenty of exploration and freedom, it merely doesn’t come until about halfway through the game. Interestingly, you could rush through the story at that point and finish in a few hours, so from a story perspective it’s near the end. I refer to it as the halfway point though, because of the amount of time I spent from that point on. These areas are lush though, with a bunch of interesting lore and lots of combat opportunities. FFXIII is so dense with story that there is an encyclopedia you can view with information on various aspects of the universe, with entries unlocking as you progress. The core of the story, which revolves around the main characters, doesn’t require consumption of any of this extra info. It merely serves as a good way to expand on elements that aren’t integral to the party’s journey.

The combat is another polarizing point among franchise fans. FFXI was an MMO and played as such. FFXII felt like a conversion of the MMO-style combat from FFXI, optimized better for a single-player adventure. FFXIII, on the other hand, goes back to its roots, properly bringing back the ATB (Active Time Battle) system. This is a combination of real-time and turn-based combat. The combat at the core is turn based, where you choose attacks and take turns hitting each other based on turn priority. The only thing is that the game doesn’t wait for you to take your turn. Instead, a gauge fills up over time, enabling you to do attacks based on how full the gauge is. While you don’t see the enemy’s gauge, they also have one, which allows them to continuously hit you if you take too long to decide on your move. The combat becomes fast-paced and frenetic as a result, which is not the case for a standard turn-based system.

One of the flashback sequences meant to give context.

In order to make sure the player has proper control over combat, considering the fast paced nature of the new ATB, the Paradigm system is introduced. Instead of controlling all characters, you control the person who is first in your party. Your party members use abilities and spells automatically according to the roles you assign them and what they have unlocked, while the lead character gives you full freedom of control. There’s a lot of room for strategy, allowing for some fun party combos. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that the system is somewhat broken. Once you figure out how to abuse the Paradigm system, the game ends up becoming an absolute cinch. Until then, the game ends up being a really tough challenge. There isn’t really anything in-between. It’s a really cool system that feels like the best and most natural evolution of the old ATB system, but unfortunately isn’t balanced very well and ends up being pointless once you figure out how to use it best. There are still some interesting fights you’ll encounter as you progress that will require some creativity, but most of the battles can be solved using the same Paradigm combos, and will start to feel like a chore as a result. I’ve noticed that some people had some trouble grasping how the system works, something I never had an issue with. My only recommendation is that you pay attention to the tutorials, which give you all the information you need.

As characters level up, you can choose to progress their stats and abilities within each class individually, tailoring them for the role you want. Each party member has something they specialize in, but you can increase stats as you see fit based on the Crystarium choices you make. Think of something similar to the Sphere Grid from FFX.

All sorts of summons from the franchise make an appearance in some form.

There’s no denying that Final Fantasy XIII has its share of flaws. A linear first half of the game can get boring for some players. A combat system that offers no middle ground of difficulty can be frustrating to those who aren’t able to wrap their mind around the system. External world building being handled through codex that are read rather than witnessed through gameplay can make some players feel unsatisfied if they aren’t willing to read. The fantastic characters, gorgeous game and large amount of side content makes this game at least worth a try if you’re looking for a fun JRPG to play. I had a blast spending around 70 hours with the game, shooting for the platinum trophy, and didn’t regret one minute of it.

- Teepu

NOTE: My experience is based solely on the PS3 version of the game. The 360 and PC versions contain the same content. The PS3 version runs a little better than the 360 version (it’s ever so slight) while the PC version runs at 1080p and 60fps. While the looks might be slightly different, the game is the same, so choose whichever platform you’re most comfortable with.

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Graphics: PERFECT
Sound: GOOD
Gameplay: GREAT
Value: AMAZING

OVERALL: GREAT

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