By Matt Kiernan
The latest installment in the Final Fantasy video game series provides gamers with an all new gameplay system, amazing graphics and an intriguing storyline that aims to make players feel connected to the characters they’re in control of.
The game’s setting takes place in the paradisaical city of Cocoon, years after the city was in a war with the underground race of Pulse. Now, the people of Cocoon live in fear of the Pulse, being told not to come in contact with them or else face the consequence of exile. The main characters are part of a rebel group, fighting against the government that forces its people into exile after coming in contact with the Pulse.
The game has a much wider storyline than is common with all of the other Final Fantasy games, revealing character motives and pasts along the way. Humor is used here and there in the game, but for the most part the game takes a serious tone by making characters emotionally vulnerable.
Beautiful graphics, the Final Fantasy series’ bread and butter, once again holds up to past games by using highly descriptive scenery shots, fast-paced action and ability to convey the facial emotions of characters. This is perhaps the game’s strongest suit.
While the cinematic scenes in the game are great, the beginning may seem a little slow to take off, mostly because of the too-easy-to-handle battle system.
In the previous Final Fantasy games, players were always able to control all of the characters in their party, allowing them to chose which spells and actions they would take in battle. Final Fantasy XIII scraps all of the conventional gameplay by having players only take control of one character, and designate the jobs of other characters during battles.
This isn’t to say battles are easy throughout the game. After the first few areas, the difficulty begins to pick up and players are forced to be more tactical in their battles, providing a challenge that’s different from all previous games.
There is no designated main character in the game, a first in the series, making all of the characters in the player’s party equally important to the storyline. All of the characters are given their fair share of story time, with the producers making sure not to give one character more of the spotlight than another.
Personally being a little less than a third through the game, it’s safe to say that there are no towns or regular sets of armor to purchase throughout the game, instead you can only buy weapons and accessories or find them on adventures. This is a major drawback to the game, considering it leaves out possible side quests, explorations and breaks between new areas.
Adventures are for the most part straightforward paths, with only minor side roads to take to find items. Players walk a straight line between destinations and are forced to fight the monsters they see along the way.
In opposition to all other Final Fantasy games, the leveling system is gotten rid of for a system that enforces points that are determined by the difficulty and how fast a player wins a battle. These points are used to learn new abilities that fall under spells and melee fighting, which allows a player to determine which areas they would want the character to improve upon.
While battles and gameplay may seem repetitive at times, Final Fantasy XIII is like a movie that unfolds its depth with each succeeding scene, making it a game that is challenging and rewarding for every battle that is won.
