Final Fantasy XIII hands on

As pioneers in the role-playing genre; Squaresoft and Enix had no competition, other than themselves that is. So on the date of April 1st, 2003 Squaresoft merged with Enix to create a company that would demand authority and be recognized as a juggernaut in the gaming industry. With titles like Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Trigger, and the ever famous Final Fantasy series–one of which I will be covering in this review, are just a few pieces of the long history that Square Enix has paved it’s way into nearly every rpg fan’s heart. The next big installment of the the Final Fantasy series happens to be Final Fantasy XIII. And thanks to the monopolized grip of Microsoft, FFXIII has graced it’s way onto the XBOX-360 console. Robbery you say?-For all you PlayStation fan-boys out there. I suppose, but we still get to eat your forbidden fruit and we will enjoy it with every savory bite.

You’ll come to find out that presentation is key in this particular installment. Not to say that the game-play doesn’t shine, but you’ll definitely notice the grand scale you’re dropped into when you start this game from the very beginning. With liquid flow and seamless acrobatics, it makes Cirque Du Soleil look like child’s play, then again it is just a video game of course. Is it too much though? Did they truly take it to far? To the point where you have to ask yourself, “WTF is going on?” From the beginning-yes, yes you will. It will confuse the ever-loving sh*t out of you, but that’s not to say they don’t explain themselves along the way and by the end of the first disc, you should have no problem comprehending the rest of the game and the story that this one provides.-Oh and by the way there are 3 discs for the 360 version.-To better understand the game just open up the main menu and go down to the Data log. There you’ll see information on your characters, the world around you, and all the nooks and crannies that I should have read up on before I started to plow through the game. Trust me when I say this, “READ THE DATA LOG.”

Unlike previous Final Fantasy games this one happens to be very linear. You don’t have that exploration feeling when you’re traversing through the world of Cocoon; although you can back-track through some parts of the game and I stress that fact, it still feels like you’re being pushed along the way. You don’t have a choice where you’re next venture will be and unfortunately it’s laid out for you every step of the way. As much as it pains me to say, that also isn’t the only problem I have with the game. The dialog and the acting, is an absolute nightmare. I cannot begin to tell you how lame the characters act through the numerous cut-scenes and cinematic-scenes that this movie…oops sorry…game has in store. It is at its worst when parts of the story hit their climax and all you can do is just shake your head, it’s like a really bad teen movie. The only two characters out of the six that shine are Vanille and Sazh. And even still the fact that Sazh has a baby chocobo that lives in his afro; that he talks to, ya…I’m not joking–really creeps me out.

It’s not all bad though, and you’ll realize that in the battle scenarios. It may seem dumbed down for some, but I happen to be a fan of the new battle system. For instance, instead of commanding your entire team you only command the party leader. The only downside is that if the party leader is knocked out so is the rest of the party. On the other hand if another party-member is knocked out you can just go to the items tab and use a phoenix down to revive them. Using items too have become simplified, so if you happen to need to use a potion to restore health it works for the entire party instead of the individual. And when targeting a party-member with an antidote to cure poison, the cursor goes straight to the member that needs to be cured instead of having to scroll.

Also executing moves happens to be a  breeze, because in FFXIII you get to queue your skills debating on how large your ATB(Active Time Battle) gauge is. So say you have 3 slots in your ATB gauge you can either execute 3 small attacks or 1 small attack and 1 medium attack. Press A to select a target and the rest of the time you can judge what your next set of moves will be. There is an auto-battle tab that pre-selects attacks, but I urge you to experiment on your own. And don’t worry about the rest of your party, because they happen to have a pretty good A.I. level, helping you and the rest of your team in the right way.

Another great aspect of this game is the paradigms which allow you to choose which three categories your party members use when engaging enemies, thus allowing you to create different paradigms on your own according to each character. All if which can also be changed in-game to suit your needs. Each of your 6 characters can specialize in 3 of those 6 different categories, unlocking all six as you progress through the game. For instance: Lightning, our main character specializes in Commando-boosts physical attacks and non elemental magic, Ravager-boosts chain gauges and uses elemental magic, and Medic-using abilities to cure the party and boost health. The other categories are Sentinel-boosts defense and keeps enemies from attacking weaker party members, Saboteur-casts debilitating spells to hinder your foe, and Synergist-casts spells to help your party in defense and offense.

So in a nut-shell is the game flawed? Did Square-Enix knock another one out of the park with their all-star player Final Fantasy? Yes and no. For a die-hard fan you might feel disappointed and you’ll definitely notice the difference, but you’ll probably still love the game none the less. For someone just starting out on the Final Fantasy franchise with FXIII, where the hell have you been?