Final Fantasy XIII
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Description: | |||
In a world overseen by the floating metropolis of Cocoon, six humans are enlisted to serve one of the godlike creatures known as the fal'Cie. Hunted by the forces of Cocoon, the cursed heroes make their way across the edges of civilization and into the untamed lands of Pulse. As it goes in most Final Fantasy titles, their long journey is strewn with hostile encounters and personal revelations. | |||
Review: |
Final Fantasy changes. It might look like a stagnant series, with each game starring glamorous young heroes distinguished only by their improbable hairstyles and penchants for melodrama. Yet every Final Fantasy also tries new things, usually altering just enough in gameplay and storytelling to alienate some longtime fans. And that's kept the series remarkably fresh for something with over a dozen proper entries. Final Fantasy XIII is an experiment in some ways and a throwback in others, streamlining combat while indulging in the glitzy theatrics that made Final Fantasy what it is today. It's also a test of just how much bland introduction a player can take. Final Fantasy XIII borrows a common sight from the anime/RPG milieu: a massive city called Cocoon floats above a savage wilderness called Pulse, and both lands are governed by powerful beings called fal'Cie (get it?). These seemingly callous deities mark humans as their servants, branding them as l'Cie and putting them to use in dangerous and vaguely understood wars. When a fragile young woman named Serah is marked as a l'Cie and dragged off to Cocoon, her sister Lightning chases after her, with largely unwanted help from Serah's moronic fiancé Snow and his band of rebels. Snow and Lightning soon become l'Cie themselves, as do others connected to them: the muffiny-haired pilot Sazh is searching for his Cocoon-abducted son, the gloomy kid Hope's mother died fighting beside Snow, and the relentlessly upbeat Vanille is apparently just tagging along. And then there's Fang, a dedicated spearfighter who shares Vanille's strange background and Australian accent. Every Final Fantasy needs some time to get going. The first few hours typically see the player fighting some tutorial-heavy battles, meeting the lead characters, and learning about the world around them. There is a point, however, where the storyline kicks into gear, a full party is assembled, and the game gives the chance to explore and customize freely. In most Final Fantasies, this point comes around the three-hour mark. Final Fantasy XIII takes 15 hours to get interesting. Fifteen. During this astoundingly long setup, the characters trek through the outskirts of their civilized world with the Cocoon military pressing close behind. The group splits into pairs: Hope follows the determined Lightning, Sazh learns to tolerate Vanille's insipid ways, and Snow and Fang work for a shadowy benefactor. They resolve some predictable conflicts, have a few minor breakthroughs, and generally don't do much more than establish the world and narrate flashbacks to happier times. Meanwhile, the Cocoon forces remain a vague threat, driven to keep the peace by exterminating anyone infected by the land of Pulse. It'd be easier to endure Final Fantasy XIII's dismal crawl of a plot if the battle system picked up sooner. The game pares down the menu-driven system of a typical Final Fantasy, letting players control only the party's leader through commands. The other two members run on automatic during battle, and the entire group is governed by the “Paradigm Shift” system. Teams are formed with each character in a designated role: Commandos and Ravagers attack, Medics heal, Synergists and Saboteurs cast weakening or strengthening magic, and so on. It seems needlessly cumbersome at first: instead of picking battle directions from one large menu system, players have to switch between Paradigms if they want to do something as simple as healing before attacking. The game's pacing bogs down even further with its limited scope. Devoid of towns to visit, the game's first dozen or so stages are linear treks through hallways, jungles, canyons, junkyards, ice fields, and other gorgeous areas that offer minimal exploration. There are no shops beyond a network of save points, and rarely do the characters encounter any normal citizens. The enemies are repetitive, though at least they're easy to see and avoid. Final Fantasy XIII even overhauls the traditional RPG approach to upgrading weapons and gaining levels. Arms and accessories can be enhanced with various items grabbed from dead enemies, and it's a fairly straightforward process. Stranger is the Crystarium system, which guides character development around a circular map reminiscent of Final Fantasy X's Sphere Grid. Every Final Fantasy XIII party member gets a different crystal chain for each of his or her combat roles, and spending experience points unlocks one stat boost or ability after another. That's Final Fantasy XIII for its first dozen or so hours: a lengthy slog through simplistic battles and a cast of half-boring characters. It's easy to set the game aside by this point, and many will surely do that at the thought of fighting another routine two-character battle or hearing Vanille squeak her way through comedy relief. Even the characters improve. Lightning becomes a more appealing lead, Vanille explains why she acts like such a twit, Sazh and Fang get considerably more exposure, and even Hope and Snow become tolerable. There is indeed an ambitious plot behind Final Fantasy XIII, and while it's carried off with overblown rage-against-the-gods speech and bizarre psychic-science concepts, it's not without its moments. The reckless grandeur of it all can be great fun, whether it's in airship fleets whirling through spiked cities, Lightning flipping through the air as she unloads on a Cocoon monstrosity, or the rough camaraderie of a group of misfits cursed by demigods. Final Fantasy XIII even treads a few places most games gloss over, bringing its main characters together with convincing little details and the occasional stroke of subtlety. The game sometimes loses itself in its own invented terms, though there's a directory of plot points and explanations of how the fal'Cie turn humans into l'Cie who become Cie'th if they don't complete their Focus, only Pulse l'Cie are considered enemies of Cocoon l'Cie because the Sanctum says so. Everyone got that? Final Fantasy XIII doesn't fit properly among its predecessors. Its concept of revolutionaries shattering a gray, controlled society is straight out of Final Fantasy VII, and the glossy, colorful look and Tetsuya Nomura character designs come from the same playbook that drove Final Fantasy X. Yet the game's lack of traditional battle systems puts it far from previous Final Fantasies. Indeed, fans of the relatively dignified Final Fantasy XII may find its successor a juvenile, neon nightmare, lacking in restraint and cohesion. If Final Fantasy VIII is all about high school and Final Fantasy X is spring break, Final Fantasy XIII is an overlong post-college trip through a day-glow future Europe where you're forced to walk everywhere. Despite the narrow window between the game's Japanese and English releases, Square didn't cut corners on the voice acting. Directed by Jack Fletcher, the dub shows strong performances, with Reno Wilson's Sazh stealing many scenes, and even the more annoying characters (that'd be Hope and Snow) are acted as well as they ever could be. The only major oddity is Georgia van Cuylenburg, who can't seem to decide how much of an Aussie accent Vanille should have. As for the dialogue itself, it finds the translators making the most of a frequently nonsensical drama where a line like "Moms are tough" is meant to carry pathos. It's a shame that Final Fantasy XIII's script never allows for the wonderful mock-Shakespeare tone of Final Fantasy XII, but the game stays on par with a good anime dub: convincing, well-synced, and only ridiculous when the underlying story can't help it. There's an enjoyable RPG deep inside Final Fantasy XIII, hiding behind a sluggish opening act that tests the player's patience. A smooth battle system and some engaging characters save the game from failure, though it's far too hokey and badly paced to stand anywhere near the best of the series. Final Fantasy XIII's good side eventually wins out, even if the struggle takes away too much and gives too little in return. |
Grade: | Production Info: | |||
Overall : B Graphics : A Sound/Music : B+ Gameplay : B- Presentation : A- + Fluid battles, amazing visuals, and an eventually satisfying story− There's no excuse for the tedious, hours-long prelude |
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