Oh wow. Final Fantasy XIII impressions.

Don't expect to see me around much for the next few days. Basically, I got Final Fantasy XIII, and I just can't put it down. :P There goes 95% of my free time.

 

So, let's get to a quick overview. Final Fantasy XIII is an amazing game, so long as you don't jump into it expecting the same old experience from the PS1 days. The combat system is completely retuned and quite impressive. For starters, you only control one character (whichever one is your leader). The other characters in the battle are run by AI. The ATB (active time battle) bar on the bottom of the screen will fill up over time, during which you have time to input your commands. Each action takes up a certain amount of the ATB bar (simple attacks and magic will only take up one segment, while higher-level magic and special attacks can take two or more), and once you select your actions, you wait for the ATB ar to fill, then your character will execute the commands. If you don't want to wait, you can press a button to stop filling the ATB bar and execute any commands that were already charged; useful for quickly dispatching weakened enemies and tacking on more chain bonuses. Speaking of which, there's a new chain system. As your characters attack an enemy, a bar in the corner of the screen slowly fills up. As it fills, your attacks will deal more and more damage. Once it is completely filled, your enemy enters the "staggered" stage, where your attacks will deal massive damage and interrupt any actions your enemy is taking.

Each character has access to a few "classes" (characters gain up to three different classes, until later in the game, when they can use all six). Here they are:

 

The "Commando" class is a physical-based class, with lots of powerful, close-range attacks and some non-elemental magic. Their main job is to tack on a lot of damage. In addition, when a Commando hits an enemy, the rate at which the stagger bar decreases will slow down, allowing you more time to build it up.

 

"Ravagers" are the magic-based class. They have a wide variety of simple and powerful elemental spells to use. Their attacks will rapidly fill an enemy's stagger gauge. However, the gauge decreases quite quickly, so you can make a team that includes at least one Ravager and one Commando to build the gauge quickly and keep it from diminishing.

 

"Sentinels" are the defensive-based class. Their defensive skills are top-notch, and they have the ability to guard and evade enemy attacks, making them difficult to kill. They can also draw enemy attacks away from other party members, giving them time to heal, attack, or otherwise. However, Sentinels are quite limited offensively. The only attack they have is a technique that defends and then counterattacks after you are hit. They are extremely useful for protecting allies that can't defend themselves.

 

"Medic" is the second defensive class. As the name implies, they use a variety of healing spells to restore the party's HP and cure any status ailments. Like Sentinels, they are offensively limited, so they should be switched to a different class once they are finished healing.

 

"Synergists" are the first support class. They have no attacks, but they can use a variety of spells to buff and protect allies. Like the Medics, they are best switched out after the team is buffed.

 

"Saboteurs" are the second support class, and the last. Pretty much the opposite of Synergists, they use spells to deal minor damage to enemies while lowering their stats and inflicting status ailments. Again, switch their class once their job is done.

 

So, how do you employ these classes? You set up "Paradigms". Paradigms are loadouts that identify which class your characters will use. They can be set up before battle, and switched around freely while in battle. You can set six loadouts, of whichever combination your characters have access to. There are far more than six possibilities (I think for each three-character team, there are 216 possible Paradigms), so you want to think strategically; a nice offensive Paradigm would be two Ravagers and a Commando; the Ravagers would quickly build the enemy's stagger gauge, while the Commando would keep it from decreasing. Defensive-wise, a Sentinel and two Medics work nicely when you're in trouble. The Medics will quickly and effectively heal your party, while the Sentinel will draw enemy attacks away from them.

 

Anyway, that's enough about the battle system. Now for my favorite part: characters! There are six main characters: Lightning, Sazh, Snow, Vanille, Hope, and Fang, appearing in that order. Lightning, the "main main" character, is pure awesomeness. Calm, collected, and tough. Snow and Sazh are pretty nice. Vanille is kinda weird; I absolutely despised her at first, but as the game progressed, I warmed up to her verry quickly. I hated Hope, too, but this time, I didn't change my opinion at all. Fang is pretty similar to Lightning, and almost as awesome.

 

Alright, I've yapped on long enough. Here's your picture(s), see you all soon. :)