The game is largely driven by the personalities of the six main party members – their goals, mindsets, and personal revelations. The narrative makes a number of small missteps, but they all tie back to one larger issue: the characters. The only key area where FF XIII betrays fans – and this is heartbreaking for me to admit – is the story. The ability to tweak and customize your party doesn’t really become possible until chapter 11 (of 13), which is also the only section of the game where I found a few hours of grinding necessary to progress. You choose how each character progresses in his or her available roles, though the full Crystarium doesn’t really open up until relatively late – mainly because the plot dictates your party composition for the majority of the game. The process of leveling up your characters, called the Crystarium, is a great hybrid of the sphere grid from Final Fantasy X and the job system from Final Fantasy V. The battles aren’t the only reason you should play FF XIII. None of these things are necessarily bad, but they are certainly drastic deviations from Final Fantasy’s established traditions. It’s game over if your party leader is knocked out (regardless of how much health your other allies have), and the summons’ ability to turn into drivable racecars and motorcycles is bizarre. Many of the series’ conventions are either highly modified or simply thrown out the window there are no sidequests to undertake until about 30 hours into the adventure, no towns to explore (all of your shopping is done from save points), and no revisiting old areas via airship. It may be an excellent RPG, but Final Fantasy XIII’s right to bear the Final Fantasy name could be called into question. Plus, it frees your attention to marvel at the breathtaking graphics and visual effects. After just a couple hours, I abandoned my stubborn tendency to manually enter commands for my party leader it slows down the frenetic pace, and the auto-battle command is more than adequate. It’s fun, easy to use, and a refreshing departure from the RPG norm. The idea seems simple at first, but the game gradually builds the complexity until you feel like a strategic powerhouse, creating and exploiting weaknesses by switching your paradigms every few seconds. After you get burned by the same robot’s super-attack, you may want to spend a few seconds in an all-medic paradigm to recover your HP before going back on the offensive. You may have to bombard a well-armored robotic juggernaut with electrical spells until its defenses are down, and then quickly swap to a paradigm focused on physical attacks to do some real damage. However, the tides turn often, and you’ll need to switch your paradigms mid-battle to adapt. A character in the sentinel role will soak up damage and attract enemy attention, allowing the other two to perform duties like debuffing or casting offensive spells. You will only have direct control over the party leader, while the other two members behave according to their assigned roles. The mechanic revolves around the concept of paradigms, which are arrangements of characters with specific jobs and abilities. The result is a kinetic, fast-paced system that stands out as my favorite in the series. Square Enix has overhauled the concept of battle, focusing more on guiding the tactical flow of the fight rather than each character’s specific actions on a turn-by-turn basis. Since this series has long relied on a series of simple commands – like attack, magic, and item – to govern enemy encounters, I am surprised to report that combat is the greatest triumph of FF XIII. FF XIII is not the Game Whose Coming Was Foretold, but every aspect of the gameplay is precision-tuned to deliver the most technically impressive title in Final Fantasy history. It has systems, just like any mortal RPG – battle systems, leveling systems, and upgrade systems are all here, and they are exceptional. It doesn’t have any mystical powers or curative properties. Once you begin playing, the fog of mythology surrounding the title quickly lifts, and you realize that Final Fantasy XIII is just a role-playing game. It became a symbol – a promise for the future of gaming. With all of the emotions and expectations it carried before it was even a playable game, Final Fantasy XIII became more than just the next entry in this storied franchise. When it went multiplatform at E3 2008, the announcement was considered the biggest coup of the show, literally bringing some ardent fans to tears. A piece of heavy artillery in the constant console war, it was initially cited by many as the game to single-handedly justify a PS3 purchase. Final Fantasy XIII has ascended to a nearly religious significance in the eyes of many gamers.
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