Final Fantasy XIII Import Impression

The most recent Final Fantasy release has felt like a long time coming, with layer upon layer of hype building to the December 17th release in Japan.  Between the hype and the esteemed lineage of the series the obvious question is does the game live up to both?  That’s a dumb question – anyway, here are my thoughts:

STRAIGHT AS AN ARROW

One of the main differences with the game and most Final Fantasies or RPGs in general is a striking linearity early on.  Many maps from the game are essentially a straight line.  While mildly disappointed at first, I found that this kept me motivated to progress in the story.  When games become too open, I generally dick around a lot.  While a balance may be optimal I think this is the creators’ way of pushing the player forward to become more involved with the story.

The game does open up at about the 20 hour mark in which hunts become available.  Hunts will have you running all over Gran Pulse, an enormous plain-lands similar to the Calm Lands in Final Fantasy X, but with way more monsters.  There are an insane number of hunts to tackle and they can be quite difficult.

The greatest freedom allowed to the player comes in the form of character customization.  Again, at about the 20 hour mark, every character will have access to all 6 roles of the Crystarium system.  To explain this simply, imagine that you’re playing Final Fantasy X and every character starts in the middle of each other character’s sphere grid.

This system requires some thought, however, since it’s better to be an expert at a few roles than a master of none.  While the player only controls their party leader, allies must be maintained just as meticulously.  Depending on how far you are in the story, there is a cap as to how far you can progress along the grid.  This leaves the player the option of developing other roles, or saving up their CP for when the next level is unlocked.

Another aspect of the game which allows for some variance is the weapon/accessory system.  I think this may be one of the more unique and fun elements of the game.  Basically there are two types of items you can fuse to your equipment.  One attaches an EXP bonus, the other grants substantial EXP.  By maximizing the EXP bonus on the item early on, you can really pile on the EXP and get a bunch of levels.  The bonus usually only lasts one level unless the amount of EXP carries over into the next level then the bonus just goes down slightly.  It sounds complicated but once you master it the system is a lot of fun.

MAGIK TACTICS

One thing I am surprised no one has really discussed is the difficulty level in the game.  Final Fantasy XIII reminds me a bit of a MegaTen game in that battles can be long, intense, and a single mistake can result in a game over.  Also, the Optima change system, which allows you to essentially change roles mid-battle is eerily similar to switching personae in the Persona series only you create formations.  A formation tells your allies what role to assume when the leader changes his or her role.

Certain roles and formations are more effective at certain times in battle.  For instance, after the party receives a devastating strike from some manner of behemoth (there are about 30 varieties), you would want to switch your team to a more defensive formation.  This would entail healing, boosting (or enhancing as the game calls it) and maybe even tanking (that’s the defender’s job).

Likewise when the enemy is vulnerable (or close to “breaking”), this is when an all-out offensive formation is necessary.  This entails physical offense (attacker) and magical offense (blaster).  While this formula may sound elementary and easy to follow, any deviance can be dangerous.

A player may chose to spend more time in an offensive formation to try and end the battle as quick as possible, resulting in better loot.  This is a gamble and depending on your party’s abilities, you may end up some gunk stuck to the bottom of a behemoth paw.

The only element that somewhat takes away from this is an “auto-battle” option for your party leader.  This would make your leader use whatever ability is best for the situation.  I suppose this is good since battles are in active-time, but it essentially turns your leader into one of your allies, following the game’s AI.  You don’t even need to know what elements enemies are weak to since auto-battle just auto-exploits them.

SOME MISCELLANEOUS GRIPES

No game is perfect and I certainly don’t want you to believe I think Final Fantasy XIII is.  There are some aspects of the game that disappoint me:

• You cannot steal from enemies.
• Money is only found in chests or from selling items.
• The only items worth selling are weapons/accessories that have been leveled up
• Only the party leader can summon, meaning if you settle on a leader, you will only ever see the same summon.
• NO MOOGLES
• NO LIMIT BREAKS

STORY

The Final Fantasy series is known for very dramatic, at times complex stories.  Without getting into too much detail I will try to explain some things that work in the story and some that don’t:

All six party members will be available to the player fairly early on, although you will switch between different parties frequently.  I found that it felt a little rushed how quickly everyone was unlocked.  I prefer when characters are added as you progress in the story since this offers more focused character development.

An aspect of story that Square Enix succeeds in with just about every title is creating a world.  This may sound like a necessity for any game, but the attention to detail and minor elements is what sets their games apart.  They truly create a culture for their games, one with unique terms, taboos, religions, governments, and so on.  These fabricated elements which also appear in Final Fantasy XIII somehow straddle the unbelievable and familiar, a balance which I found quite impressive.

Another common element Square wields in their bag of tricks is tugging at the old heart strings.  There are quite a few times in the story where you’ll really feel for the characters, even enemies.  I think this is a sign of a successful and well-planned story.

CONCLUSIONS

Being open-minded will help enjoy Final Fantasy XIII.  If you’re straining to find every aspect you consider uniquely “Final Fantasy” or uniquely “RPG,” than you’re probably going to be disappointed.

If you can get past that and experience the game as something different and progressive then you will discover a truly fun, beautiful game come March 9th.

*** Special thanks to Foxes who helped me immensely and ultimately convinced me to import this sucka.

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