Final Fantasy XIII – The MMOMFG Review

Posted by Jeremy On March - 15 - 2010

Final Fantasy XIII

Roughly 58 hours, a shade of white paler (if possible), and a poor excuse for a fine woodsman’s beard later, I stepped out of my quaint little man cave upon completing the marathon that is Final Fantasy XIII. This was my first dance with a FF title and it was simultaneously the most gorgeous, engrossing, and challenging experience in all my time playing games.

I can’t really explain my aversion to the FF franchise up to this point, but I imagine it is similar to what I first felt when I picked up a copy of anything my now homeboy Shakespeare had his grubby little hands on. It seems daunting so you look past it, not knowing that you are missing out on one of the greatest literary influences of all time. Then you realize that ol’ Billy S. was just one of the bro’s, slinging beers and putting words to paper, and if you took the time to figure out what he was saying you might just have your entire world view flipped on its head. While FFXIII didn’t quite have that impact of semi-enlightenment, it certainly opened up my eyes and allowed for a much deeper appreciation for a style of gaming that had been lost to me prior to the beginning of this week.

What’s Good

I wanna hold your hand - I can all but guarantee that FF veterans will be irked beyond reconciliation about how slow going the first portion of FFXIII is. Even a beginner like me became quickly frustrated with the numerous tutorials. So why is this good you ask? As you progress through the game into the latter portion you will begin to understand how crucial it is that you fully grasp the dynamics of game play; and the tutorials, cumbersome as they may be, offer a great guide to prepare even the most noobile of FF goers for success. Experienced fans of the franchise will be glad to know that you can easily skip the tutorials as you see fit, but those getting their FF cherry popped should take full advantage of what the tutorials have to offer, it will be crucial to your survival and sanity later in the game.

I could get used to this - One of my biggest deterrents to the FF series has always been fear of how confusing and daunting the battle menu’s seemed to be, especially for a non-polished RPGer like myself. The combat system in FFXIII could not be farther away from that sentiment. The tutorials needless to say helped in this respect, but the maneuverability of the menu and combat system felt natural almost from the get go. There was a bit of a learning curve, especially when incorporating Paradigms into your arsenal, but the slow nature of the first part of the game coupled with the tutorials ease you into a comfort zone that will hopefully allow for success as the game progresses.

The familiarity with the combat system is crucial not only in succeeding, but also in allowing you to take full advantage of all that the game has to offer. When you have full mastery over the combat system you will be able to dispose of enemies more efficiently, which will allow you to rack up tactical points. TP can be used for any number of things, from gaining specs on a newly encountered enemy to wiping your arse and eventually allowing you to summon your controlled characters, Eidolon, one of the most powerful attacks at your disposal. Come to think of it, you’ll probably need some extra TP (the real kind) when you see how gnarly some of the Eidolon’s are.

Hope finally grows a sac – Another frustrating, yet oh so good element is the way character’s develop right before your eyes. I say frustrating in the sense that it really pulled at my emotions the way many of the characters were fleshed out. There is a lot of tension between several of the characters, and the way their drama is drawn out, coinciding with the inability of many to articulate what is wrong, can really pull at one’s emotions. While some of the characters seem like whiny schoolgirls (Vanille, Hope) and others (Snow) like over zealous pricks, their archetypes serve a far greater purpose. The cliché exterior allows for some of the best and emotionally grabbing character growth I have seen in a game in a really long time. Not to give anything away, but at times the tension between Hope and Snow is almost unbearable. It is drawn out in a way so that first it tugs your emotional chain and then reaches a point where Hope has no choice but to grow a sac. When the tension finally overflows and Hope breaks free from his shell, you have a much deeper appreciation for the character he is meant to be. A similar circumstance befalls all other characters at some point in the story and as a result you, the player, can really invest some emotion in the struggle, something that is lost on many games and a trait that is highly appreciated in FF.

Are your eyes bleeding yet? - …then you probably still have another 20 hours of game play. Nothing too much to detail here other than you will be glad to know that it will take more than a couple of comfortable sittings to complete this epic. A word of advice as well: don’t be too hasty in trying to complete the game. Squeezing it into less than a week of game play is not as fun as it sounds; and with little replay value, you will want to take your time in carrying out your quest.

Not just a game, an experience - You have to experience it for yourself, and there really is no other way to explain it. The world of FF is every bit as enthralling as I imagined it would be. The cut scenes were something straight out of your favorite nudey magazine, not in terms of content obviously, but every bit as stimulating. The many unique creatures and settings you will encounter are some of the strangest and creative you will ever stumble upon. Including a Bresham Bass, whose poor genetic make up consists of part frog, part bass, and a pinch of steroidal cricket. I have never been a part of a game where I completely lost myself in the sheer scale of its universe, but Final Fantasy tickles something in the imagination that is not easily found or reached and certainly not easily forgotten.

What’s Bad

From casual to hardcore before you can say “Paradigm” - Despite FFXIII being one of the most beautifully coded games I have ever experienced, it is also perhaps the most unbalanced, and at times frustrating. The first half of the game is quite literally a cakewalk in comparison to the game’s loftier second half. At times, you will need the mental fortitude of a Boss, just like Mr. Hero himself, Snow. Other times, you may find yourself screaming in aggravation and hurling your remote in a mature, un-childlike and, most importantly, respectable manner. It is quite literally one of the quickest 180’s I have ever seen a game take. You hastily go from dominating everything in your path to completely having your balls busted by any number of Fal’Cie and their allies. No one ever said being a hero would be easy, but that’s not to say there can’t be a sense of balance. Be prepared to have your patience tested; maybe not so much for you FF veterans, but certainly for those of you who decided to get your feet wet with this newest addition to the franchise.

Just follow the turquoise lit road - By now, you have most certainly heard complaints about the linear game play forsaking FFXIII. With anywhere between 50-60 hours of game play and plenty of foes to keep even the most linear of games interesting, I originally had this as a good point taking in consideration my fear of world maps. Looking at it retrospectively though, I realized this is perhaps one of the game’s greatest weaknesses. Throughout the game you gain a deep connection with the characters and their struggle, whether it be emotionally or just on the surface, you have some connection with their plight. With the amount of time you spend with them, you would be hard pressed not to have any sense of connection with at least one of the protagonists. What’s not so fleshed out however, is the appreciation for the world you are trying to save which is severely hindered by the linear game play. Because the lack of world exploration the story takes on a strangely one-dimensional feeling, one in which you know WHY you are fighting but you can’t fully understand and appreciate WHAT you are fighting for.

The game play does start to open up somewhat in the last quarter or so of the game, but after walking along a fairly linear path for thirty some odd hours the feeling is overwhelmingly one that you just want to truck on through. Don’t be too hasty in leaving the great plains of Grand Pulse, however. This little lull in game play and story affords a great opportunity to fine tune your battle skills and really rack up CP to put towards leveling up, which you can bet your Paradigm shifting ass you will need if you don’t want to end up a chump Cie’th.

That’ll do Coccoon, that’ll do - This is probably just being finicky on my part, but one of the things I look for when buying games, and one of the things FF XIII lacks, is replay value. I hate spending sixty bucks only to play a game through once then never touch it again. While Final Fantasy is slightly more appealing due to its lengthy game play, it still offers little, if any, in the way of replay value. This is an unfortunate side affect of the linear style, but all-in-all, I still think one 60-hour romp would be plenty for me.

How do I do that again? - I am a huge advocate for every game having an autosave feature, and FF fell short in this respect. It’s more a matter of convenience really, but at the same time I would rather be focusing on the game, not on whether or not I saved the game before turning it off. There are plenty of save stations and prompts giving you the option to save, but again it’s just a matter of convenience when you don’t have to worry about it.

Worth Remembering:

If there are any questions whether or not a game can be considered art, look no further. FFXIII is far and away the most beautifully stylized and detailed game I have ever encountered. Not just when considering the adrenaline pounding and often heart felt cut scenes either, the game play was every bit as beautiful. The scale and magnitude of the world that is painted in HD pixilated glory is one that will not easily be forgotten or topped.

Worth Forgetting:

One of the only technical issues I noticed, or that really made me scratch my head, was sound issues. At times, beautiful as it is in its own regard, the musical score playing in the background can drown out dialogue during game play. To be sure not to miss out, you might want to go ahead and turn on captions. It’s always nice to hear your party complain and voice their opinions.

All things considered, Final Fantasy XIII is a must buy for any avid gaming fan. It is a game you should not go into lighthearted, however. It will test your patience, and mental fortitude at times (particularly for first timers). But if you like a good challenge, sexy pixels, and full control over epic battles, this is a great game for you. If you are on the fence about the game, I’d say you might want to skip out or put it on your GameFly queue list, because with anywhere between 40-60 hours of game play and a second half that will put you through your trials, you had better be in it to win it or you will be out 60 bones.

*Final Fantasy XIII was purchased for review on the PlayStation 3 console