FFXIII impression/ "mini" review

 

Wow. Let me first say, that I was a little let down by people saying, "oh, this game isn't too good because blah blah blah" before the game even came out. But when I popped this baby in my PS3 this morning, let me just say I was blown away.

When I purchased FFXII on October 31, 2006, I thought the game was pretty decent... but overall, it did not feel like a Final Fantasy. Yes, it was a good game, but I just didn't get really into it as for I got bored about half way through the game due to it being tedious and slow paced in my opinion.

But now FFXIII takes that extra step that XII did not, or rather could not, take because of its capabilities the PS3 has this generation.

I didn’t really believe people saying the graphics were amazing outside of cut scenes, but oh my god.  They’re beautiful. I was crying tears of joy. For those who don’t know already, I’m a graphics-whore where if a game doesn’t look good for its time, it really bugs me the entire play through since I know the game makers could have done better.

The soundtrack is refreshing and it reminds me of music from FFX.  Usually when I play games, after hearing a song a few times, I mute the television out of irritation and I have not come across this problem yet.  After going into a battle, the music continues from where it was and is not obnoxious.  But before I talk more about music, I have to wait a little bit longer to hear more tracks and see if I mute the TV by then. ;)  Overall, it’s much like FFX’s music, which I personally loved; but it tricked me a few times already with the tune, making believing it was a song from X rather than something completely original.

As for the battle system… it’s nice, but a little confusing and overwhelming at first, but you can get a real feel for it after an hour of playing.  This time I feel like they mixed components from X and XII.  There are no random encounters (thank god because sometimes they scare me when I have no health); and at the end of each battle you’re replenished with full health and some technical points based upon your performance.

You definitely need time management skills in battle… It’s active time, so you have to always be on your feet and have a back-up plan just in case.  Paradigms are the heart of battle.  You must change to a different paradigm to change your characters into another role.  Some fights you may have to change the paradigm multiple times and adjust your strategy in the heat of the moment.

One thing that some people may not like is that you only control your party leader… Much like Persona 3, if your party leader dies, it’s game over.  On the plus side, it asks if you would like to retry immediately, you may do so.  If you’re like me and you don’t save a lot when you really get into a game and DIE, this relieves anger and a broken controller. ;)

The crystalis is like a leveling system with a combination between X and XII. You get CP after battle which will help you unlock new moves and character attributes (XII), but you end up spending those points on a grid (X) of the six different roles your characters can take on. It’s not too complicated, but you must consider the paradigms when you choose where to make your characters stronger in.

And the characters… I think almost everybody is adorable in their own way. Sazh is a funny guy with a baby chocobo living in his hair.  Between him and Snow, they actually feel more realistic in the way they can bring up the party. Snow is a big mouth, but that’s a part of what makes him charming.  Plus, he pulls of facial hair well.

I predict Venille will make the players want to strangle her, but I don’t have much hate for her. Usually I dislike this type of character, but she’s very cute and positive.  If only she didn’t make so many baby noises, I think she might be my favorite.

Lightning is very tough. What I want to see the most from her is a love story, but I’m not very sure.  If you get to see her let her guard down, I think my heart will melt and I will be satisfied.  I would love to see her and Snow together, alas Snow loves Serah who is also a sweetie.

I’m only in chapter 4 right now, so I haven’t gotten to see a lot of Fang.  I believe she will be another strong female character, but will have a sharper tongue than Lightning.

And lastly… Hope. I seriously want to kill Hope. He’s acting like a whiney, little bitch.  But I do understand he’s the way he is due to storyline and showing the struggles some people go through. I think I don’t like him much is that I probably subconsciously see myself the most in him. This time, I will refrain bringing up another Persona reference.

Anyway, I should stop typing this, as for you’re probably bored reading my “first impression”/mini review.  I’m sure to add to this once I get farther in the game.

Thank you for your patience and reading. :)