(Late) Final Fantasy XIII Review

I’m normally not a big game reviewer, but after spending 120+ hours (and counting) on Final Fantasy XIII, I thought it was worth taking the time to discuss. There seems to be an amazing array of mixed reviews and feelings out there about FFXIII. In fact, I feel like I’m in the minority being a long time fan of the series who actually liked the game.

Rather than hesitate, let’s jump right into some of the complaints people have with the game. Some of them I totally understand, others I just can’t at all. The issues with the game seem to include (but are not limited to): too linear, lack of towns and stores, lack of exploration, poor story and delivery, and even the music. Hopefully I’ll address all of these as I go on.


Graphics
This seems to be for the most part agreed on as one of the game’s strong points. The colors, environment and character design are simply beautiful.

Story
FFXIII’s story has garnered a lot of criticism for a lack of substance and being overly complicated or confusing. Without spoiling anything, I’ll agree that the story wasn’t amazing, but I didn’t think it was terrible either. I really liked the characters and the worlds they travel through. I will say that the story is very deep and complicated. If you want to have a full understanding of everything, you’re really going to have to read most of the files and take the time to get the most out of it. I did this, and didn’t mind, but I can understand that some players are not into stopping to do this, and to them, the story lacked.


Gameplay
Perhaps one of the most criticized elements of the game, I’ve read reviews with complaints that it’s too overly complicated and others that state that it’s way too easy. I thought if anything it leaned toward easy, but for me that was a blessing after struggling with FF 12’s tedious gambit system. After getting the hang of FFXIII’s Paradigm system, I thought it was quick and fun to play, with enough of a challenge at times to keep from becoming too easy – especially if you take advantage of all of the side quests outside of the main storyline – some of these can be extremely challenging. Some of the bosses were tough as well. So overall, I found it to be fun, with enough strategy to stay fresh, and more than enough challenges for those who search them out.

Music
Going into FFXIII, I wasn’t expecting much without longtime composer Nobuo Uematsu, who has done such amazing work over the years. But I must admit that I fell in love with the score. Masashi Hamauzu did an amazing job. I’m actually shocked at many of the criticisms I’ve read about the soundtrack and can’t help but wonder if Hamauzu didn’t have a chance with those fans because he isn’t Uematsu, or if they were just so turned off and angry with FFXIII being so different that things such as the music didn’t have a chance with them. Sure, it doesn’t sound like the old Final Fantasy music. But each FF is a new world with new characters and a new story. I understand nostalgia, but why should it have to be so similar? I thought the music was amazing, beautiful and very fitting for the environments. It’s all about opinions. Some thought the soundtrack had no emotion – I thought the opposite.

Negatives
While I really didn’t mind, the story can definitely be hard to follow, especially if you don’t take the time to do all the reading.
It’s definitely linear. I understand the complaints on this one, but I personally didn’t mind it, as I’ll explain below.
My only real complaints are minor:
I would have liked a fixed map (one that did not rotate with you), as I found it easy to get turned in the wrong direction and hard to look for landmarks.
A dedicated button to bring up the map would have been nice. (The Resident Evil games have spoiled me.)
I thought that although the game provides countless hours of fun and replay value for all of the missions, the story was a little short. I felt like I was only just getting to know the characters when it ended.

Positives
The smooth battle system is easy overall and not tedious, with enough challenge for those who seek it out.
The presentation (especially in regard to graphics and music) is incredible.
Great value – even paying full price for the game when it came out, I feel like I’ve gotten more for my $60 than I have in a long time – I’m almost done completing everything at a little over 120 hours.


In conclusion, I feel that I’ve grown up with the series, and the series has grown up with me. Some feel that Square Enix is trying to please the casual fans with a linear game, but for someone who’s grown up now and doesn’t have nearly as much time to play games, I loved the fast pace, lack of random encounters, and rarely having to do anything over. As much as I love the old games, I don’t miss finally beating a boss, only to get killed before reaching the next save point. I do think that many times series have to evolve to survive (love it or hate it, Resident Evil 4 is the perfect example). While I would like to see some of the old elements (such as towns, more open areas, a bit less linear paths) from previous entries in the series, I thought that FFXIII was a refreshing update to the series and highly recommend it.