An imperfect but visually and sonically beautiful with believable human drama at its core.
Simply put, the game looks stunning. The cutscenes are beautifully crafted and the music is orchestrated perfectly for each moment. Whether it be a touching moment or a piece of incredible violence, each cutscene is amazing to watch. Whilst exploring the world, each blade of grass, mechanical enemy or icy landscape shows off the full extent of the system it is played on.
The heroine, Lightning is a great addition to the Final Fantasy leads. She is strong, able and someone you would not want to cross. Her own story and how it interlinks with the other characters is wonderful to watch. Fang and Sazh are also believable characters that flow well with the story. Without a doubt, there are some characters that can get genuinely annoying. Vanille is a bundle of pink energy that can grate quite easily, Hope can come across as a bit of a whiner (although I feel he is excused) and Snow can be a bit tiresome with his hero act. However, Hope's personal journey throughout the game and his interactions with Snow make the human drama that unfolds all the more compelling.
To progress the story, the player must move the lead character from A to B. more often that not it will be a linear path. To some the game feels "streamlined" to others it is "dull". For me, it was a bit of both. To progress the characters, a system called the Crystarium is used. It is a bit like the Sphere Grid but the only choice you get to make is where to put your points (that you win from battle) in the beginning. It is a bit pointless and I feel the developers missed a trick there.
The battle system is simply first class, no doubt about it. The player can have three characters in the party at any one time. Each character can be assigned a role out of a possible six, with certain characters fulfilling a role better than another. By combining roles, characters can use a Paradigm Shift that changes the specialities of battle depending on what is required for the situation. It is difficult to explain but I found it innovative, exciting and a blast to play.
Like in other Final Fantasy reviews I would normally talk about the side quests. However, there are not that many on offer in this game until the game opens up later on.
In conclusion, I had a great time playing this game but not sure whether I would play it again.