Just the sum of its parts...
The following review was written by fluent Japanese-speaking veteran games journalist Ryan Winterhalter. So firstly, if you're thinking of importing a copy, in his words, here's what you need to consider:
We remember the first time we had doubts that Final Fantasy XIII was not going to live up to its heritage. Speaking with a Square Enix artist who was proudly showing off her portfolio, we asked her if she was just as proud of her work on FFXIII. “Of course,” she said. So we asked what she’d been working on that day. She paused, “A rock. I’ve been working on a single rock that appears in only one scene, for three seconds, for the past three days.”
Before we could ask whether this was standard operating procedure, another Square Enix employee chimed in, “That’s how that team works, everybody spends a lot of their days polishing rocks.”
This is what Final Fantasy XIII, as a whole, feels like – a bunch of highly polished rocks. Individual aspects of the game are as deep and finely tuned as any other JRPG. However, without an equally refined structure to frame those deep mechanics, the game collapses into a very sharp and precise pile of rubble.
The game’s story highlights this problem. While individual aspects work well and give motivation to keep playing, other aspects fall flat. The heroes of the story, from the serious protagonist, Lightning, to the loveable yet dumb male lead, Snow, are entertaining to watch and to play as. At the same time, the game fails to provide worthy foils for these characters. The enemies of the game are unsuccessful in invoking any of the strong emotions that previous antagonists in the Final Fantasy canon, like Kefka or Sephiroth, have.
The one area of the game that does not suffer from this unfortunate dichotomy is the combat system, which builds upon the work laid down in more recent entries to the series. At the heart of this system is the familiar-sounding active time battle (ATB). The ATB system has played a role in every main line Final Fantasy game since the fourth instalment, save Final Fantasy X. However, the familiar name belies a radical departure from the traditions of the series.
Each character has an ATB meter that fills with time. It is divided into a number of sections depending on how far that character has levelled up. Players queue up actions before the meter is full, and each action will require a certain number of full ATB sections to carry out. For example, attack and simple magic spells like Cure cost one section, whereas more powerful spells like Esuna or Raise require two or more sections. The power of magic is balanced out by its ATB cost. There is no MP to worry about.
The game’s battle mechanics are heavily influenced by Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy X-2. Similar to FFXII, players only control one character at a time. However, instead of manually programming party member AI, players can select the partner’s class or ‘optima’ (to be called ‘paradigm’ in the English localised versions) in the middle of a fight. The player character’s optima can also be changed on the fly. This changing of class mid-battle, as well as the fast-paced nature of the combat, is borrowed directly from FFX-2.
Switching optima takes only a few seconds and success in battle depends on optima changing in order to keep enemies under a constant assault of attacks. By switching optima and attacking in turn (as opposed to simultaneously) with AI party members, it’s possible to combo attacks and even air juggle enemies. The higher the combo, the more the ‘break’ meter on the targeted enemy will rise. Once the meter is filled, the enemy ‘breaks’ and will take extra damage for a period of time. Certain enemies will also change their appearance, attacks and behaviours once broken.
Once the battle is over, the player’s performance in battle is rated from one to five stars. This feedback is essential, because after the first few hours of the game, unless the player has learned how to get five stars consistently, the game over screen will become an unwelcome and common sight. Thankfully, players are no longer deposited back at their last save when they die. Instead, they find themselves where they were just before the battle. Even after losing a boss fight, the game offers access to the character customisation screens before tackling it again. Combined with the fact that player health is restored after every battle, this may give the impression that the game is easy. However, FFXIII uses its kindness in these areas to buy patience from the player in order to punish them severely at the first misstep in battle. It’s a trade-off that should satisfy those who enjoy more challenging games without frustrating those who loathe treading through the same territory again and again, only to fail.
Success in battle will also refill valuable Tech Points (TP). TP are used for more powerful or frequently used spells like Quake or Libra. They can also call forth Eidolons, FFXIII’s version of the traditional Final Fantasy summon spells. Each character earns their own Eidolon during the course of the game. Once obtained, they can be called upon and replace the AI partners in the party. The summons in FFXIII also have one ability that their predecessors lacked. At any time, the player can hit the //S// button and enter ‘drive mode’ where the Eidolon will transform into a vehicle, or some other machine or structure. Once transformed, players can command the Eidolon and its driver to attack the enemy for a short period of time.
In previous Final Fantasy games, the summoned monsters and their over-the-top animations displayed the best visuals of each game. That’s not quite true in FFXIII. While the summons do look amazing, the art design and animation is so detailed and intricate that, for once, summons will probably be overlooked in forum discussions about the best eye candy in the game. Everything, from the way the characters animate to their intricate costumes, is a joy to behold.
Ironically, it’s the same attention to detail in the game’s environments that works to its detriment. Each area of the game features exquisitely detailed architecture and structural design. However, this fidelity just highlights the fact that the places the characters of FFXIII inhabit are merely contrived, linear Skinner Boxes for players to navigate. At one point in the game, two of the main characters visit a theme park. It’s obvious that each shrub and wall in the place has been designed with great care, but it doesn't feel like a real place. Playing the game is like navigating characters through a movie set – the store fronts and street signs are all there, but there’s nothing behind them. When contrasted with the Gold Saucer theme park from Final Fantasy VII, with its mini-games, the area feels even more flat and lifeless.
Ultimately, the rest of the game suffers from similar problems. The characters are engaging and interesting, but the scenarios they’re placed in fail to engage the player. The environments are beautiful and detailed, but this art feels like little more than wallpaper thrown over a tunnel that players walk through. It’s clear that Square Enix has some of the most talented artists and designers in the industry working for it. Where this game stumbles, where other Final Fantasy games succeeded, was in taking the talents of these people and synthesising them into a single whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
Final Verdict
A game that never comes together properly. However, the certain individual aspects of the game and its battle system are of such high quality that it’s still engaging and fun to play... most of the time. 7.9/10
Source: Now Gamer
The following review was written by fluent Japanese-speaking veteran games journalist Ryan Winterhalter. So firstly, if you're thinking of importing a copy, in his words, here's what you need to consider:
We remember the first time we had doubts that Final Fantasy XIII was not going to live up to its heritage. Speaking with a Square Enix artist who was proudly showing off her portfolio, we asked her if she was just as proud of her work on FFXIII. “Of course,” she said. So we asked what she’d been working on that day. She paused, “A rock. I’ve been working on a single rock that appears in only one scene, for three seconds, for the past three days.”
Before we could ask whether this was standard operating procedure, another Square Enix employee chimed in, “That’s how that team works, everybody spends a lot of their days polishing rocks.”
This is what Final Fantasy XIII, as a whole, feels like – a bunch of highly polished rocks. Individual aspects of the game are as deep and finely tuned as any other JRPG. However, without an equally refined structure to frame those deep mechanics, the game collapses into a very sharp and precise pile of rubble.
The game’s story highlights this problem. While individual aspects work well and give motivation to keep playing, other aspects fall flat. The heroes of the story, from the serious protagonist, Lightning, to the loveable yet dumb male lead, Snow, are entertaining to watch and to play as. At the same time, the game fails to provide worthy foils for these characters. The enemies of the game are unsuccessful in invoking any of the strong emotions that previous antagonists in the Final Fantasy canon, like Kefka or Sephiroth, have.
The one area of the game that does not suffer from this unfortunate dichotomy is the combat system, which builds upon the work laid down in more recent entries to the series. At the heart of this system is the familiar-sounding active time battle (ATB). The ATB system has played a role in every main line Final Fantasy game since the fourth instalment, save Final Fantasy X. However, the familiar name belies a radical departure from the traditions of the series.
Each character has an ATB meter that fills with time. It is divided into a number of sections depending on how far that character has levelled up. Players queue up actions before the meter is full, and each action will require a certain number of full ATB sections to carry out. For example, attack and simple magic spells like Cure cost one section, whereas more powerful spells like Esuna or Raise require two or more sections. The power of magic is balanced out by its ATB cost. There is no MP to worry about.
The game’s battle mechanics are heavily influenced by Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy X-2. Similar to FFXII, players only control one character at a time. However, instead of manually programming party member AI, players can select the partner’s class or ‘optima’ (to be called ‘paradigm’ in the English localised versions) in the middle of a fight. The player character’s optima can also be changed on the fly. This changing of class mid-battle, as well as the fast-paced nature of the combat, is borrowed directly from FFX-2.
Switching optima takes only a few seconds and success in battle depends on optima changing in order to keep enemies under a constant assault of attacks. By switching optima and attacking in turn (as opposed to simultaneously) with AI party members, it’s possible to combo attacks and even air juggle enemies. The higher the combo, the more the ‘break’ meter on the targeted enemy will rise. Once the meter is filled, the enemy ‘breaks’ and will take extra damage for a period of time. Certain enemies will also change their appearance, attacks and behaviours once broken.
Once the battle is over, the player’s performance in battle is rated from one to five stars. This feedback is essential, because after the first few hours of the game, unless the player has learned how to get five stars consistently, the game over screen will become an unwelcome and common sight. Thankfully, players are no longer deposited back at their last save when they die. Instead, they find themselves where they were just before the battle. Even after losing a boss fight, the game offers access to the character customisation screens before tackling it again. Combined with the fact that player health is restored after every battle, this may give the impression that the game is easy. However, FFXIII uses its kindness in these areas to buy patience from the player in order to punish them severely at the first misstep in battle. It’s a trade-off that should satisfy those who enjoy more challenging games without frustrating those who loathe treading through the same territory again and again, only to fail.
Success in battle will also refill valuable Tech Points (TP). TP are used for more powerful or frequently used spells like Quake or Libra. They can also call forth Eidolons, FFXIII’s version of the traditional Final Fantasy summon spells. Each character earns their own Eidolon during the course of the game. Once obtained, they can be called upon and replace the AI partners in the party. The summons in FFXIII also have one ability that their predecessors lacked. At any time, the player can hit the //S// button and enter ‘drive mode’ where the Eidolon will transform into a vehicle, or some other machine or structure. Once transformed, players can command the Eidolon and its driver to attack the enemy for a short period of time.
In previous Final Fantasy games, the summoned monsters and their over-the-top animations displayed the best visuals of each game. That’s not quite true in FFXIII. While the summons do look amazing, the art design and animation is so detailed and intricate that, for once, summons will probably be overlooked in forum discussions about the best eye candy in the game. Everything, from the way the characters animate to their intricate costumes, is a joy to behold.
Ironically, it’s the same attention to detail in the game’s environments that works to its detriment. Each area of the game features exquisitely detailed architecture and structural design. However, this fidelity just highlights the fact that the places the characters of FFXIII inhabit are merely contrived, linear Skinner Boxes for players to navigate. At one point in the game, two of the main characters visit a theme park. It’s obvious that each shrub and wall in the place has been designed with great care, but it doesn't feel like a real place. Playing the game is like navigating characters through a movie set – the store fronts and street signs are all there, but there’s nothing behind them. When contrasted with the Gold Saucer theme park from Final Fantasy VII, with its mini-games, the area feels even more flat and lifeless.
Ultimately, the rest of the game suffers from similar problems. The characters are engaging and interesting, but the scenarios they’re placed in fail to engage the player. The environments are beautiful and detailed, but this art feels like little more than wallpaper thrown over a tunnel that players walk through. It’s clear that Square Enix has some of the most talented artists and designers in the industry working for it. Where this game stumbles, where other Final Fantasy games succeeded, was in taking the talents of these people and synthesising them into a single whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
Final Verdict
A game that never comes together properly. However, the certain individual aspects of the game and its battle system are of such high quality that it’s still engaging and fun to play... most of the time. 7.9/10
Source: Now Gamer
*BASH BASH BASH*
and for two, I really want to play the game for myself and judge it for myself. I just don't see why it's absolutely necessary to judge the game based off of other people's reviews on it. I mean for all you know, you may end up loving it and right now you've read bad stuff about it and so you automatically think you'll hate it (and no Tsuki I'm not referring to YOU. xD I'm referring to anybody who's complained about it without playing it really...) So honestly, why not give it a chance? You may end up loving it. I just don't let people who give bad reviews ruin something for me, is all.
