Final Fantasy XIII (Sony Playstation 3, 2010)

FFXIII is different than any other RPG you've played before, so I hope you like it. Quite possibly the most anticipated Role Playing Game of this quadrennium. For those looking for a nutshell, the game is essentially FFX's style meets FFXII's gameplay meets innovative battle system.

FF XIII is like The Bouncer, the launch title for the PS2:

A bit of running and fighting and then a short cutscene.
Some more running and then another cutscene.

Story
The story, like most JRPGs, pits you and your group of characters against the tyranny of an all-powerful being to prevent the end of the world. You've seen it, I've seen it, it's happened before. Despite the very obvious cliche, Final Fantasy XIII has thrown in just enough emotion to make this task even more enjoyable.

Battle System
Square Enix seems to staying away from taking turns in battle in any future Final Fantasy. XIII builds off of what XII did with a few changes. You can't run around but the game does a great job of keeping the movements realistic except for the occasional floating in air while you juggle an opponent. You only control one character, and it's chosen for you for the first half of the game. If your lead character dies, that's it, the game is over. You don't get to wait for your partners to revive you. Fear not, as Square Enix must think this is our first time playing a game and allows you the option of retrying or loading your last save. Retrying puts you just before the battle you lost. There are options to have some control over the others that really make the game shine. Enter Paradigm Shifts. There are a multitude of jobs a character can be: commando, ravager, medic, saboteur, synergist, and sentinel. Essentially, Square went back to the classic roots of the Final Fantasy job system. Prior to a battle you can assign six different varieties of those six roles in your party. Throughout battle, you will be making Paradigm Shifts, quite often depending on the situation. If you need to heal; a medic, synergist and sentinel can be useful. The sentinel can attract all enemies by use of provoke and then use the sentinel's outstanding defense to withstand all blows. The synergist can cast status boosters like haste and protect while the medic heals everyone. Combinations like this take some thought and each and every role has its strengths and weaknesses.

Music
Beautifully written music in most of the game, but not too many memorable pieces of music. The music does fit the event though, battle is tense while other parts are soothing.

Controls
Like any typical RPG, it has a third party camera that you can control in a 360 degree swivel which is quite useful so you don't miss anything. Sometimes it's annoying.

XIII is definitely one of my favorite RPGs and in the top tier of Final Fantasy games. The characters are fun, the visuals are superb, the soundtrack is perfect for the game, and the battle system rocks. The linearity aspect takes some getting used to after playing in XII's wide open world but you will get used to it even if it's not your thing. I can't recommend this game any more than that. Being linear is a major killer for some gamers, but trust me – don't let that turn you away. Final Fantasy XIII is the killer game we have all been waiting for.

FF XIII makes up for the mistakes of XI and XII that Square made, but it doesn't seemed to have that flare that the classics had like VII,VIII and X that made us keep playing for wanting more of those stories.

SUMMARY REVIEW OF GAMEPLAY

FF XIII brings back all of the "retro elements" that made the previous final fantasy video games great with the ATB System, but changes it just enough where it feels like something "new". When compared to the previous title of FF XII the game has taken a step back with live combat. The combat system is still high speed, but the systems reminds you more of a "Traditional RPG" in comparison to an "Action RPG". The advantages of the ATB System is that it represents a more "set action scene" where your special attacks (magic, summons, techniques) can actually look "impressive".

By far FFXII special attacks lacked the "luster" and "excitement" of actually executing. The battle based components do only allow you to control "one character" at a time. This is potentially disappointing, but the paradigm system is reminiscent of the pre-arranged sequences you could set for FF XII; however, it is less involving. In FF XII you actually could "switch" between characters and even control an individual action if you want. This is not present in FF XIII and is probably the only disappointment of the entire combat/gameplay system. Another interesting component is the fact your HP fills up after the battle, and there is no MP. It all derives off of your ATB system, and the roles you pick designate what actions your party member is sentence to perform (I.E. a medic will never really attack only heal). So this strategy does force you to actually use some planning despite the HP restore and unlimited heal abilities. In some instances, not employing a Paradigm will actually have you get killed (repeatedly) until you learn (you can't always over power something). So the difficulty level has most definitely been raised despite the compensation of HP and MP elimination. Monsters also come in packs of 8 sometimes (like in early FF Titles) so be prepared for what feel like a "jump"

Music is great, and keeps the mode well.

The characters are also very enjoyable, and are meant to feel more like people you can relate to. The story (although not necessarily original) is intriguing with the new La'Cie component. Overall, the game is a great buy with minor drawbacks that do not effect the game play tremendously. Overall, a 9 out of 10

Really loving this game. Just finished FF XIII and moved onto this, and I'm really loving the story and combat system.

I love how "old-school" this game is, in the aspect that it's not trying to focus on making the unecessary "realism" in parts that gamers wouldn't care about, and instead, focusing on -what matters-. It's very visually stunning and very "next gen", while still holding onto those "video game" type movements. Example: Kazuma won't "realistically" stop or slam into a wall when running at it. He'll just keep walking into it. The combat system, gameplay, and story are NOTHING like GTA, so don't even listen to anyone who says it's "GTA in Japan" for even a moment. Disregard that thought, and don't even let it be a fleeting memory, as it is nothing, and I repeat nothing like Grand Theft Auto.

This game is emotional in the "right" way, the main character is very easy to relate to without burdening you, and the action and gameplay is very "zelda" like, mixed with some rpg elements

This game is very reminiscent of Shenmue. Kazuma is a very level headed main character, seemingly very chill with a distant look in his eyes, as if he is calm, yet still thinking of something that burdens him. He is taking care of many people, running an orphanage, and is a very easy to relate to. Kazuma always has this soft look in his eyes and seems like he went through a lot in his life but is still there for others, and doesn't want others to feel the same pain he went through. I really recommend this game, and the combat system is something that gets very technical later on. Like knock someone down, and then stand over them, press circle to stand them up (turned around) and smash their backs up. I wish this game would be more successful in America, but it got overshadowed by FFXIII and God of War 3...but maybe there is still time for people to give this game a chance, so that we can see Yakuza 4.

Music: The music for the game fits the scenes perfectly. Sentimental music isn't cheap, standard, or knock off. It's very unique to whatever is going on. "Exploring the city" music really gets you into the "get down to business" mood, and the fight music really pumps you up. I just love this game's soundtrack in every way

The voice acting for this game is perfect and spot on. I hate when people complain about how it's a game where you have to read sub-titles. I'm GLAD it's like that, because I'd rather have perfect voice acting than silly, horrendous/laughable American voice acting. (Come on, you've probably seen a few dubbed animes, and thought "wow, I can't believe they put that voice on that character")

I really recommend getting this game, even if you never played the first 2.

I have been a fan of the FF series for a long time, and I wanted to see how they continued with the hi-def abilities of the PS3. Now, the gameplay is a little different from previous games, but it does not disappoint. To start, don't expect to be wandering around an open world looking to find the next mission or battle, because the entire game is a set path that guides you on your way. Although this was a little bit of a bummer, they made up for this with extremely vibrant backgrounds and details of the worlds you travel through. There was never once a point at which I thought, "wow this is getting really boring." The battles are pretty much the same, you select your attacks and targets, switch what kind of attack style your team will perform with, etc. What I really like is how they almost did away with a level system, but continually added more features for fighting through the first half of the game, so you got to build on your original abilities and add more skills as your opponents get stronger and more difficult. Somewhat like the level system, but more equalized. Another part I enjoyed was playing as several characters, as the story line switches off between the different character's motives and goals. I would say one of the major downsides to this game, however, is the fact that nearly a third of the time spend on the game is watching cut scenes or 2-5 min videos. They look beautiful and entertain for a while, but if I wanted to watch an anime movie, I would have bought one in stead of this game. So if you get bored easily watching cut scenes, this game might not be for you. If you can live with it, or just don't care about the story and skip the vids, then you should be fine. That's about all there is to the game, great story that's different from other FF games, but still as crazy and action packed as it has ever been. One final note that I couldn't help but adding in, if you listen carefully during cut scenes, it almost sounds like the characters are having sex. They make random gasps and moans while looking around. If I weren't looking at the screen and didn't know any better, I'd say I was listening to a hentai porno hahaha I mean it's not distracting or anything, I'd be in awe at some of the places they visit in the story, too, but come on, the Square Enix crew could have chosen better voices and expressions to fit the scenarios.... Well, that's all for now. Great game overall I'd say if you can get it for under 20~25 bucks

To be honest, after FF12 I was starting to get tired of Final Fantasy games. I felt like the battle system was getting stale and the story line was unimpressive. However, I feel that FF13 completely turned my opinion of the franchise. This game makes me hope that they continue to produce more Final Fantasy games.

The battle system is the most impressive improvement, in my opinion. Instead of focusing on individual commands, it's more important for the player to control the different classes during the battle. In that way, the system is easy to learn, but still maintains a complexity that makes you feel like you are improving every battle. Only during long segments of having the same group of characters will you start to feel like the battles are repetitive (which has only happened to me a handful of times).

The storyline is everything that Final Fantasy is known for. The characters are much more in depth then most games, and the plot keeps you interested the entire time. My favorite part of the story is that they never leave you in a town to waste time. Although many people complain about how linear the game is, the lack of town visits make the story seem to move much quicker and seems much more action-filled then previous games. The mobile store/save/upgrade station seems much more efficient and allows the game to be more fluent.

Another great part is that there really is no need to train your characters, as if you fight all the monsters on the main line, you will always be strong enough to continue the plot (Note that I am only halfway through the game, it might get tougher). I personally like this style because it makes every battle seem like part of your mission, rather than random killing. Also, the monsters don't drop money(a leading criticism of Final Fantasy games).

My only complaint is the lack of customization of your characters. Although there is a system similar to the sphere grid of FF10, you usually end up upgrading nearly, if not all, of the available upgrades before the plot line progresses enough to give you more options. You still get to choose the order, but true character customization remains out of reach with this game. Even though I love customization, I didn't even care about this disability once I started getting into the meat of the game.

And did I mention it's beautiful? The graphics of the game are breathtaking, and the cut scenes are nearly unbelievable. You are going to want HD for this one.

Overall, if you like Final Fantasy you will like this game. And if you don't like Final Fantasy, this might be a good one to start. The monsters don't drop money, the battles are fluent, and the plot will drag you in.