Final Fantasy has been a favorite to many long standing RPG fans even though it has followed the same general formula throughout the years. Final Fantasy XIII does what it can to bring in the newer generation of gamers who are emerging by straying from the traditional path of previous Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy XIII has brought a lot of controversy due to its linear play style for the first 20 or so hours of the game. This however does not take away from the brilliant presentation and the crisp looking graphics.
When you first start the game you are treated to an awe inspiring cut scene with Lighting and Sazh running from the authorities. Shortly after you are thrown into the mix and the story begins progressing rapidly. The story is tough to understand at times and unless you spend some time reading journals summaries located in the menu, you will be left in the dark for a lot of the game and will have a hard time understanding certain conversations that the characters have. This can be annoying and tiring at times to have to stop the action in order to read a few paragraphs, but it is nothing that hurts the overall experience.
The Battle System Is Extremely Fun
The graphics are some of the best displayed on either console. In game character models look like they could be part of a cut scene from other games and the FMVs look outstanding and will even move the story along at times. There is an amazing FMV towards the end where all the different characters are attacking with their different summons and creates a feeling of awe during the scene. Voice acting is on par with the graphics and help with the overall story telling. Emotion is presented well through the voice acting even though some lines are rather cliché.
Final Fantasy XIII has a wealth of character development for any Final Fantasy junkie. The Crystarium System is a take on the old sphere grid from Final Fantasy X. When you win a battle, you are awarded crystarium points (cp) and use the cp to move around a grid that will give you Strength, HP, Magic, Abilities and other goodies. Maxing out the Crystarium will take a while especially with each character having multiple roles to fill; a gamer could be looking at over 70+ hours to finish the crystarium system. Weapons are also upgradeable and, with plenty of weapons to upgrade to the ultimate form, can take an additional 20 hours to complete.
The Crystarium Will Take Gamers A Lonnnnggg Time To Fill
The battle system is what makes Final Fantasy XIII so much fun to play. Each character has many roles as said before. A few to name would be Commando, Medic, and Ravager. Each role has a specific function such as the medic healing and the commando dealing physical damage. You can switch between roles at any time during the battle and will do so quite often in order to stay ahead of your enemies. The ravager is meant to build up a stagger gauge, that when full, will result in each hit being a critical. Overall the battle system is challenging and will keep gamers hooked with the amount of strategy involved and the ever changing enemies that you must adapt to.
The Xbox 360 version comes on 3 DVDs while the PS3 version comes on 1 Blu-Ray. The PS3 version does have the better FMVs and audio as there is no need for compression on the Blu-Ray format while the DVD format required compressed audio and FMVs to fit onto the 3 discs. Textures and resolution are also noticeably different with the edge going to the PS3. If you are looking for FMVs that are in true 1080p then pick up the PS3 version.
Much is to be said about the linear style of Final Fantasy XIII. The game does open up eventually around 20 hours in and when it does open up it presents massive world to explore. During the linear style you will walk through towns, but it is still a straight path to the end so you don’t technically explore towns. Many are upset due to the linear style, but it is in no way game breaking and actually helps the presentation at times. It’s worth going through the linear parts to get to the open world where there is plenty to do.
Final Fantasy XIII shows a new take on an old franchise. Whether it be through the new battle system or the different style of presentation with the linear beginning, Final Fantasy XIII gives a new experience to new and old gamers alike who are looking for a top notch RPG experience in a generation of games that is lacking in that department.
