strifehart
Blue Mage
INTRO: OK, so I know there’s been a lot of reviews on this game already. But I feel like a lot of those reviews are a bit harsh and fail to recognize (and delve into) what went right in this production (and what went wrong). So, without further ado, here’s my analysis.
WHAT WENT RIGHT:
PLOT: The plot of this installment was absolutely fantastic in my opinion. Not only did it have the classic FF elements (save the world, crystals, etc.) but it also incorporated some of the most fantastic dramatic elements I have seen in a FF game.
Revenge: Hope’s desire to avenge his mother’s death by killing Snow was an amazing plot point. I absolutely loved it. It was believable and honest.
Destiny: Each character struggles with their own reasons for and against fulfilling their focus. Once again, the delivery and development of this theme was fantastic.
An End that is Ruin from the Start: Very similar to FFX, the end of the quest is destined to be disaster. Either they turn into Cie’th or destroy the world. No one wins. And each character struggles with this seemingly futile/pointless choice.
Love: On different levels, too. The love of a father for his son, the love of a sister, the dedication of a family member (Fang/Vanille) and a fiancé for his loved one. Now, typically this wouldn’t be a ‘pro’ considering it’s more or less a basic requirement for a FF game, but in this case, I liked how downplayed this theme was. Although specific cases were driving forces for certain characters, it wasn’t shoved into your face (like in FFVIII or FFX for example). The reason why this was a ‘pro’ for this game, was because the had just the right amount of love (like FFIX or FFVII).
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: A lot of this overlaps with the PLOT section, so I’ll keep it short.
Hope: One of my favorite characters because his desire for revenge was perfectly orchestrated. I sincerely believed that he wanted revenge and identified with his anger. Part of this was related to Snow’s development as an arrogant, senselessly positive character. Not that that wasn’t unfounded. After Hope and Snow reconcile, I started to enjoy Snow’s character. Behind his drive to recover Serah, Snow struggles with undeniable despair. That’s what I liked about him. His exterior is simply a way to hide his own pain.
Fang/Vanille: When you discover the truth behind their past, and finally make it down to Gran Pulse, you realize how terrible their fate/story really is. Not only were they chosen to destroy Cocoon the first time around (a daunting task), but then to be frozen in crystal for centuries, only to return and find that all your loved ones have died. And I wish this particular aspect was expanded upon. I mean, imagine thinking that you’re going to save your people by destroying Cocoon, only to find that you didn’t exactly finish and now everyone on Gran Pulse is dead. I nearly cried when I reached Oerba. And that brings me to my next point.
MUSIC:
Oerba’s Theme: My god this was fantastic. I remember walking through Oerba and feeling my heart just break as I examined different items around the town. The empty beds, the abandoned toys, the destroyed generators and windmills. The music in this section just made the whole image come to life.
Leona Lewis’ My Hands: I put this in the ‘pro’s because I was sincerely afraid of how SE would handle this. I remember how huge their marketing campaign was, and how they kept talking about using her song. It freaked me out. But then when I played the game, I was pleasantly surprised to find the song was only implemented in the final sequence. Not only that, but it was so artistically done and hand meaning behind it (when you see Fang and Vanille at the end it makes so much metaphorical sense)
BATTLE SYSTEM:
Thank GOD this worked. It made the corridor exploration bearable. Not only did it incorporate the classic FF elements we love (jobs, magic, customization) but it did so in a fresh, innovative way. The stagger system was well conceived, as was the equipment upgrade system. I was initially skeptical about paradigms but by the end, I thought it was fantastic.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
Finishing the game was good and all, but it left something to be desired. Luckily the achievements filled the void. Typically I don’t bother playing games to get all the trophies/achievements, but in this case, the rewards were worth it. I’m not sure how it worked on XBOX, but on the PS3, certain achievements gave you themes for the backgrounds of your PS3 homescreen (themes). Continuing to play the game, finishing the missions and fully upgrading everything suddenly became worth it, so kudos to SE for thinking outside the box when trying to get people to do all the extra content. You could argue that good minigames wouldn’t need a substantial reward to entice the player into playing them, but I enjoyed earning the trophies regardless.
[FONT="]CONCLUSION: I’m going to go ahead and post another article with all the things that I think SE could have done better with this game. At the end of that article I’m going to post a short section titled “What was SE thinking” to try and analyze the drive and goals SE may/must have had in making this game.[/FONT]
WHAT WENT RIGHT:
PLOT: The plot of this installment was absolutely fantastic in my opinion. Not only did it have the classic FF elements (save the world, crystals, etc.) but it also incorporated some of the most fantastic dramatic elements I have seen in a FF game.
Revenge: Hope’s desire to avenge his mother’s death by killing Snow was an amazing plot point. I absolutely loved it. It was believable and honest.
Destiny: Each character struggles with their own reasons for and against fulfilling their focus. Once again, the delivery and development of this theme was fantastic.
An End that is Ruin from the Start: Very similar to FFX, the end of the quest is destined to be disaster. Either they turn into Cie’th or destroy the world. No one wins. And each character struggles with this seemingly futile/pointless choice.
Love: On different levels, too. The love of a father for his son, the love of a sister, the dedication of a family member (Fang/Vanille) and a fiancé for his loved one. Now, typically this wouldn’t be a ‘pro’ considering it’s more or less a basic requirement for a FF game, but in this case, I liked how downplayed this theme was. Although specific cases were driving forces for certain characters, it wasn’t shoved into your face (like in FFVIII or FFX for example). The reason why this was a ‘pro’ for this game, was because the had just the right amount of love (like FFIX or FFVII).
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: A lot of this overlaps with the PLOT section, so I’ll keep it short.
Hope: One of my favorite characters because his desire for revenge was perfectly orchestrated. I sincerely believed that he wanted revenge and identified with his anger. Part of this was related to Snow’s development as an arrogant, senselessly positive character. Not that that wasn’t unfounded. After Hope and Snow reconcile, I started to enjoy Snow’s character. Behind his drive to recover Serah, Snow struggles with undeniable despair. That’s what I liked about him. His exterior is simply a way to hide his own pain.
Fang/Vanille: When you discover the truth behind their past, and finally make it down to Gran Pulse, you realize how terrible their fate/story really is. Not only were they chosen to destroy Cocoon the first time around (a daunting task), but then to be frozen in crystal for centuries, only to return and find that all your loved ones have died. And I wish this particular aspect was expanded upon. I mean, imagine thinking that you’re going to save your people by destroying Cocoon, only to find that you didn’t exactly finish and now everyone on Gran Pulse is dead. I nearly cried when I reached Oerba. And that brings me to my next point.
MUSIC:
Oerba’s Theme: My god this was fantastic. I remember walking through Oerba and feeling my heart just break as I examined different items around the town. The empty beds, the abandoned toys, the destroyed generators and windmills. The music in this section just made the whole image come to life.
Leona Lewis’ My Hands: I put this in the ‘pro’s because I was sincerely afraid of how SE would handle this. I remember how huge their marketing campaign was, and how they kept talking about using her song. It freaked me out. But then when I played the game, I was pleasantly surprised to find the song was only implemented in the final sequence. Not only that, but it was so artistically done and hand meaning behind it (when you see Fang and Vanille at the end it makes so much metaphorical sense)
BATTLE SYSTEM:
Thank GOD this worked. It made the corridor exploration bearable. Not only did it incorporate the classic FF elements we love (jobs, magic, customization) but it did so in a fresh, innovative way. The stagger system was well conceived, as was the equipment upgrade system. I was initially skeptical about paradigms but by the end, I thought it was fantastic.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
Finishing the game was good and all, but it left something to be desired. Luckily the achievements filled the void. Typically I don’t bother playing games to get all the trophies/achievements, but in this case, the rewards were worth it. I’m not sure how it worked on XBOX, but on the PS3, certain achievements gave you themes for the backgrounds of your PS3 homescreen (themes). Continuing to play the game, finishing the missions and fully upgrading everything suddenly became worth it, so kudos to SE for thinking outside the box when trying to get people to do all the extra content. You could argue that good minigames wouldn’t need a substantial reward to entice the player into playing them, but I enjoyed earning the trophies regardless.
[FONT="]CONCLUSION: I’m going to go ahead and post another article with all the things that I think SE could have done better with this game. At the end of that article I’m going to post a short section titled “What was SE thinking” to try and analyze the drive and goals SE may/must have had in making this game.[/FONT]
