[Review] Final Fantasy XIII

Few games can boast as big a brand as Final Fantasy. With countless releases and re-release across a wealth of formats, Square-Enix's RPG series is one the biggest, and is regarded by a legion of fans as the best. Final Fantasy XIII represents the series' first outing in HD, as well as its first appearance on a Microsoft console. It's clear that rather than simply improve on its predecessor, Square-Enix opted to give the game a major overhaul. Unfortunately, in spite of all the improvements, Final Fantasy XIII feels like it takes one step backwards for every two steps forward.

The biggest change to the game's formula sees the introduction of a new combat system combining the open-world battles of XII with the ATB system found in several earlier games. All enemies appear on the field with your party. Should you run into an enemy, a battle event will trigger and the fight will begin. Each of your three characters has a meter that fills over time. The meter is split into segments which can each be used to activate an ability. Every ability has a cost and requires that many segments to use, meaning that you can stack a host of weak attacks together or try to execute a stronger one. Getting this balance right is one of the key skills you'll have to master in order to survive on Cocoon.

Another major addition to the game's mechanics is the new paradigm system. Each character has access to various roles and, through completion of chapters within the game, can gain access to all six eventually. Each role offers a handful of abilities as well as a bonus to the party as a whole. By defeating enemies the party earns Crystarium points which can be spent in a leveling device by the same name. Similar to the sphere grid found in Final Fantasy X, the Crystarium has the character on a path littered with stat upgrades and new abilities. By spending points that have been amassed, your character can move along the path earning any upgrades that he, or she, passes over. As the game progresses so does the Crystarium, offering up larger stat increases and more powerful abilities.

During combat characters can switch between their various roles via the paradigm shift command, allowing them access to new moves. Interestingly, abilities can only be used when the character is in the correct role but stat increases apply regardless so the key to a strong character is to develop all of their respective roles. Whilst adopting an all out attack may let you defeat some basic enemies, learning to shift is what will determines your party's success when you encounter tougher foes. All in all it's a system that works well, giving each of your party members access to a host of varied abilities, meaning that the death of your medic may not be the end.

As previously mentioned, parties consist of three characters; a leader and two members. During open play as well as fights you'll control the leader whilst the computer handles your two comrades. Generally speaking the computer does a fine job of handling their tasks; it will always seek to exploit enemy weaknesses, once you uncover them. Unfortunately you have no control whatsoever over the computer's actions and can often be at its mercy. The gambit system found in Final Fantasy XII has been dropped so whether your team-mate uses a particular ability is down to luck. Given how some enemy (particularly boss) battles can hinge on one ability, the exclusion of any control or scripting device can be very frustrating at times.

Another of the main additions to the game’s mechanics is the chain and stagger system. As you attack an enemy its chain gauge will fill. The more you attack said enemy the more damage each attack will do. By filling the gauge the enemy will enter a temporary weakened state known as stagger. During this period your attack damage is greatly increased. Your party even have certain abilities that will only trigger when an enemy is staggered. Getting your foes into this weakened state represents the best strategy to deal with most enemies and for some it’s the only method of attack.  By sneaking up on enemies you can initiate pre-emptive strikes. These will push each enemy’s chain gauge to near the point of stagger and your party will begin with full ATB gauges. Learning to sneak up on enemies can make the toughest of battles simple.

But despite all the new elements, several aspects of the game hold true to previous titles. Summons return, this time in the form of personal Eidolons. The Eidolon battles are some of the best in the game, challenging the player to devise new strategies. To defeat, and claim, an Eidolon certain tasks must be completed. Each Eidolon responds to different actions so finding out which your current target is represents half the battle. Once defeated, their incredible power can then be harnessed by your party during combat. When initially summoned Eidolons attack in tandem with the member they’re bonded to.

However, even summons are not totally unchanged. Each summon has its own Gestault mode where by the Eidolon transforms into another entity. It’s during this mode that attacks are handled via button combinations as opposed to simply selecting them from a list. It’s such a shame then that soon after their appearance Eidolons are rendered next to useless. Given the game’s rapid level increase, particularly during latter chapters, as well as the absence of any levelling system for your gargantuan friends, their stats soon become mediocre.

The other reason why you’ll never need to rely on summons is that the battles you face rarely required them. With so many changes to the game since the previous Final Fantasy, even veterans will likely spend a short while coming to grips with everyone. But once you do learn to juggle between paradigms the game doesn’t feel like that much of a challenge. There’s the odd encounter that will test your powers of multi-tasking but the vast majority of battles hinge on your ability to out damage your enemies. The result of all Square-Enix’s various changes to the battle system is one that’s fast, hectic and enjoyable to play but without any discernable difficulty, any achievement felt from winning a battle is soon lost.

The game also isn’t helped by what can only be described as extremely linear level design. The vast majority of your time will be spent running down single pathways with the occasional, and very short, offshoot. It’s not until you reach last portion of the game that it begins to expand into the wide, open fields the series is famed for. Of course they only serve to illustrate how lacking the previous levels were.

Unfortunately the linearity also extends to the game’s missions too. Gone are the various side-quests, instead replaced by a host of missions similar in nature to Final Fantasy XII’s marks. The only other task outside of the main plot is Chocobo digging in which you simply ride atop a Chocobo whilst looking for buried loot. All the great work done in creating a battle system that’s fun and entertaining is lost on account of the game’s lack of freedom.

Having said that, the game’s plot is what creates such an element of restriction and haste. Set on the worlds of Pulse and Cocoon, Final Fantasy XIII tells the tale of a group of individuals determined to fight their own fate. On both worlds reside god-like beings known as the fal’Cie. Over a thousand years prior to the start of the game a huge battle took place between the fal’Cie of Pulse and those of Cocoon. It came to be known as the War of Transgressions. Even though Cocoon prevailed, its people still lived in fear of another Pulse invasion. Over time the people of Cocoon began to fear anything that had been in contact with the world of Pulse; anyone found to have been in contact was purged.

Through the search for a young girl by the name of Serah, six hapless individuals are brought into contact with a Pulse fal’Cie and become its servants; refered to as L’Cie.  The purpose of L’Cie is to fulfil a focus, or goal, given to them by their masters. Failure to do so results in the L’Cie becoming a twisted abomination known as the Cie’th. Forced to take on a task that they have no idea how to complete, as well as facing the combined forces of Cocoon that are determined to see them purged, our group of heroes face insurmountable odds as they fight against their very fates.

In a manner that’s the typical of the series, Final Fantasy XIII’s plot can only be described as epic. With a cast of characters, some of which you’ll love whilst others you’ll hate, and a plot that never quite lets you in on the secret until the closing chapters, the story of Lightning and company ticks all the boxes. There’s still the occasional cringe-worthy moment that has become the staple for some many

Japanese RPG games over the years but it never detracts from the plot’s overall effect. Come the game’s conclusion you may even start to like the character’s you previously hated! Far more emphasis has been placed on the development of each of the game’s main characters and it’s this that gives the story its staying power. Again, in typical fashion, the lead character of Lightning is the tough but quiet type. However as the game progresses, her role changes on a number of occasions and more of her emotions seep out, along with her hidden past.

It’s clear from the off that each of your party members has his or her own flaw and watching how they deal with, as well as overcome, these flaws is what really showcases their development. Even with an introduction that is far longer than it should have been the pacing feels just right, offering a perfect mix of combat as well as plot and character development. Should you return to the game at a later date a brief summation of the previous events is given so you’re never left out of the loop.

The story itself is told almost exclusively through cut scenes, both in-engine as well as pre-rendered and they are stunning to behold. Even those in-engine have a sharpness and clarity to them that I’ve seen in few games this generation. Whilst the textures can be a little flat at times, the character models are fantastic and even the most minute details are visible. Naturally the pre-rendered scenes look even better but even by current standards, they look fantastic. Even with the game’s undertones of struggle and despair, the art design still utilises a varied colour palette that really showcases the pre-rendered visuals.

Enemies are also really varied, with well over one hundred unique designs. Even enemies belong to the same family, such as imps, have obvious differences so it’s easy to differentiate between them. Even the attack animations have an impressive level of detail and flexibility to them. There’s nothing quite like the first time your commando launches an enemy into the air, only to follow after them before unleashing a volley of vicious attacks whilst your ravager is filling the skies with thunder.

Despite the reduction in side quests, the game still boasts a mammoth amount of content. Typical completion times will range from 30 to 40 hours. Add on another 10 or 20 to complete the various missions, along with the levelling needed to defeat some of the tougher marks. As with any re-building process mistakes are bound to be made and there’s no shortage of them to be found within Final Fantasy XIII, however there’s more than enough positives. The various elements come together well to create a great JRPG experience that’s as good as any you’ll find on the market today.

Claimed by Square-Enix to be the evolution of gaming, Final Fantasy XIII is far in a way different to its predecessors. However with many of the changes working against the game rather than for it, it feels like two steps forward and one step back. There’s still clear progression and combined with a plot that as epic in scale as the series demands, Final Fantasy XIII has plenty to offer but series veterans may dislike this stage of the evolution cycle.