Final Fantasy 13 may not be the best game in the series, but is worth checking out.
Recently I pulled the game off the shelf, and started playing again – I am pleased to say that I am enjoying it, and I am really determined to reach the end of the game as Final Fantasy 13 has an intriguing story driven campaign, and I want to know how it is all going to end.
FF13 has the look and feel of a true AAA title. Production values are high, and it shows. The frame rate rarely shutters as you move through each environment where it is evident that an immense amount of painstaking of detail was inscribed. In addition to this the graphics are crisp, character design is fantastic, and the soundtrack and voice work are excellent (though Vanille is a little annoying at times).
FF13 does not only look, feel, and sound good, it is also fun to play – and that is what really matters. Combat in FF13 is lots of fun. Battles are in real time, and although you have no control over your characters movement during battle, you select the kinds of attacks you are going to use as your battle gauge fills. You also have other members in your party which are driven by the computer, and will do exactly what they are told to do. Depending on the type of Paradigm you have selected. You can have up to 6 different Paradigms for your party, all of which are customizable. A Paradigm allows you to assign one character to be a medic, while the other is a Ravager (uses magic), and the other a commando. Paradigms can be selected by the quick push of a button, and are the real strategy to the game.
During your progress through the game, you will be introduced to six different characters – each playable, and with their own unique abilities. FF13 is divided into 13 Chapters. Most chapters contain a very linear area for you to progress through. As you progress through an area, you will see enemies and can choose to run past them, or stay and fight. In most cases you will want to fight as many of the enemies you encounter as you can – since this is how you get rewards, and can make your characters stronger; and believe me – you will need strong characters as you progress through this game. FF13 allows you to teach your characters new skills, or give them better attributes as often as you like (as long as you have enough points to obtain those attributes). In addition to having the ability to level up your character (as in most great RPG's ), you can buy or sell goods. This can be done as you reach a checkpoint, where you can also save your progress.
In ff13 you will be challenged, and if you are like me you will have to go online to look at a walkthrough just to figure out how to get past a troublesome foe. In my opinion, the difficulty in this game is just right – at times it can be brutal and punishing, but not to the point it is overwhelming. One nice thing about it is that if you die in battle, you can select retry, and will spawn back in front of the enemy that just beat you – so you will not have to backtrack any.
In short, there are many great things about ff13, but it is not without its flaws. First, as a role playing title, you would expect the world of ff 13 to be very open, but on the contrary it is very linear with very few side quests – in fact, there are no side quests until you reach chapter 11 (of which I found little satisfaction to my completion of these quests other than the fact it gave me more experience points). It is this same chapter where the environment does open up quite a bit, and you decide which direction you want to go. I also missed being able to go to a village and trade with a local vendor, and instead only having the option of doing that at a checkpoint. Upgrading of weapons was also confusing for me at this point. Aside from this ff13 is a still a lot of fun to play, and makes for a worthy addition to any RPG fan's collection.