Dec 22, 2009 15:40
Hey folks.
My wonderful sis recently purchased Final Fantasy XIII for me for Xmas, and has granted me permission to start playing it as of yesterday. Of course, I dove right in. I plan on posting a new entry every few days of progress to give some of my impressions and perhaps clear up some misconceptions about the game as well.
I'm only 6 hours in currently, and as I sit downstairs waiting to stir the beef stew, I find myself restless and wanting to go back to my room and play more.
It's that much fun.
Keep in mind though, XIII is VERY different from past Final Fantasy's, despite being a return to form (In my opinion at least). Those of you that know me know that I don't have fond memories of 12. it's one of the few FF's that I've never finished, (1 and 2 join the ranks as well) simple because it bored me. The MMO styled combat bothered me in a single player RPG, and the maps and dungeons, while well designed from a gameplay standpoint, failed to impress me aesthetically. Don't get me started on the characters or story either.
Thus, XIII has been big on my radar since before XII; haven't played a real FF I enjoyed since 10. Yes. I loved 10.
So it's with great feelings of joy and world peace that I say XIII is in many ways the natural evolution of X. Where X had a short main quest however, XIII looks to be massive in length, if you want it to be. X was linear, yes, but it also created a compelling world with a functioning system, and breathtaking locations. The only real drawback to this linearity was the game length, which XIII nicely fixes.
Visually, this game is fucking beautiful. I find myself stopping frequently just to look at things because of how striking it all is. The production values in this are off the charts. Music as well. I have to mention how dynamic it is, and very different for the series, whilst still fitting in. XII felt overly synthesized. XIII has a fair share of classic orchestra pieces combined with blood pumping guitar, violin, and all sorts of instruments. Really digging it so far.
Story-wise, the game has thus far been very compelling. It starts off just like the demo, with some minor additions/changes. Much like VI or VII, the game throws you into the middle of a huge conflict. Clearly a lot has happened before the start of the game, but those details aren't revealed to you right off the bat but rather as the story progresses. Each of the main characters has there own reason for being within the city, and the way they come together as one group makes more sense than I've seen in any RPG in recent years. They all have their own goals, and it is merely through those goals having a common end point that they all wind up stuck together. More interesting is how frequently your party splits up (Reminiscent of VI in that way), only to join up again much later. Right now I'm running with Hope and Lightning, while Vanille and Sazh are taking a different road. Snow is off being captured by the military. I have clear preferences for certain characters, (Lightning and Sazh are my current favs), but I get the feeling that they're all on the way to being developed quite well. Don't get me wrong, the game is extremely melodramatic, like all Final Fantasy's, so if corny dialogue and some cliches here and there really bother you, you'll probably like it about as much as you liked the other FF's; not very much.
Gameplay has just started to open up. This is the fasted ATB system SE has ever crafted. It's so fast in fact, you feel like it's less of an rpg and more of an action game, making each battle a blast, but also a challenge. Because the leveling system is much like Chrono Cross (I.E, there is no leveling system but rather you are able to progress when the game says so), you focus on building your Crystal system (I refuse to look for the correct spelling). This functions exactly like the skill trees in X.
The Optimum/Paradigm shift system is also an awesome addition, but I'll save that for a whole separate post after I get the hang of it.
Thus far though, XIII is a fun, fast, epic adventure 6 hours in. Here's hoping it stays that way.
-Ryo
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