Final Fantasy 13

Now let's start with the review:

 

Final Fantasy, one of the oldest and best videogame series of all time combined with the latest consoles could have been such an easy success and so much more, instead, Squarenix created this horrifying fusion between an actual, real Final Fantasy game and something else witch is not japan, not european, just something that makes no sense at all.

 

While all the gaming industry is focusing and evolving what appears to be the key aspect of future videogames, Interaction and emotiveness (Mass Effect, Bioshock, Heavy Rain, Project Natal and so on) Squarenix had the brilliant idea to go straight into the opposite direction, a game that has no interaction at all and they succeded so well doing it, like never before.

 

I believe in order to judge a game properly you have to compare it with the current videogame scene and with the history of videogames all, so, where can we put FF13? Is it an innovative game? Is it a rock-solid piece of a well defined genre? or is it just a confusional rush of different ideas blended togheter with no sense what so ever? I believe it's the third option and here's the explanation divided in a few parts:

 

Combat System:

Why did Squarenix focus so much in changing that simple and classic turn based system that simply worked so well and made Final Fantasy the saga that we all loved? Am I the only one who believes that it isn't the combat system that makes Final Fantasy so great? Why did we play and loved the previous final fantasies, was it because of the combat system or was it because of the great story telling, the breath taking cut scenes, the fun side games and the challengin enigams?

Well apparently, for Squarenix, the combat system was so important that it got all their attention, so much attention that they forgot to put in enigams and side games. Frankly, FF10's Blizball side game was worth then money more then FF13 all togheter.

 

Exploration:

The game is a railroad and by railroad I don't mean a map that at least gives you the illusion of exploration, I simply mean a railroad, a straight line from start to finish and if someone thinks that at the end of the game you finally get some freedom like it was perfectly planned I believe they simply realized the game was so boring they just tried to fix it somehow throwing you in a green plane like a dog that has been closed up in a cage for a week, that is simply not the way it's ment to be done. Map design is a key aspect in any respectful game, specially in an adventure based game, FF13 has no map design at all, it's either a railroad or a plane.

 

Try to check out Diablo 2 or Dragon Age map design to understand what I'm talking about.

 

History and narrative:

Let's think for a second about the best videogame narratives of the last months... Bioshock 2? Dragon Age? Mass Effect? Heavy Rain? I think everyone agrees on those but we can talk about so many others. FF13 narrative might even be intresting if taken by itself but what if you just finished playing one of the above games and move to FF13? You get so bored by the lack of interaction that you don't even pay attention to the story anymore.

 

How can any narrative compete with another great narrative that even allows you to actually make the story itself and have your actions change the outcoming eventes? It simply can't and that's exactly what Squarenix should have focused in changing, not the combat system. That is simple poor judjment given by a refuse in considering the world of videogames evoling around themselves. Same goes with Metal Gear Solid, a masterpiece, ten years ago, let's try to move forward now.

 

All that remains is a great soundtrack, great cinematic directing and a great, stunning and creative artwork which even as great as it might be it can't do nothing compared to the obsolete, confusonal and boring game that is FF13 as a whole.

 

Squarenix has continued the decaying started with FF12 and continued by The Last Remnant. Might this be the killing blow with FF13? The FF lover in me refuses to believe it but this is the mere truth, for sure, I'm not going to buy FF15 if it will ever come out.

 

Filippo Riello.