Kenoid

User Score
8.0

Presentation - 9.5
Gameplay - 6.5
Value - 7.5

*I am trying to review this without revealing any backstory to prevent spoilers*

Even as Final Fantasy XIII is a stand-alone title, not a direct sequel, it does not fair so well amomgst its older counterparts.

CHARACTERS

The characters and story background are nothing we haven't seen before, only appealing to RPG players. The gameplay is a bit linear than previous titles which had its own course of storyline elements. Only those new to the franchise will welcome its so called "new" playability and its timeless graphical interface.

STORY

The story is bascially the same with any sci-fi quests that anyone comes to know: Mystical beings called Fal'Cie can mark humans, turning them into magic-using l'Cie, who are imbued with a quest to fulfill. Fail to fulfill it, and the l'Cie turn into the zombie-like Cie'th, but if they succeed the l'Cie are turned into statues of pure crystal. The players stuck in this mess are the main characters that you will encounter.

GAMEPLAY

The player only has active control of one character at a time. The other two members of the party are controlled by AI; however, the player can guide what the non-active characters are doing by means of the Paradigm Shift system. In this system, the player can set certain roles for each character—focusing on defense or healing, for example—and can switch them on the fly respond to different battle conditions. Combat is fast-paced, frequently against many enemies at once, so adapting tactics to the situation is important. The system for leveling up abilities is customizable, too, allowing you to focus on improving abilities for specific combat roles.

In addition, your characters are healed completely after each battle, eliminating the need to worry about healing items or making it to the next save point. Even your party does fall in battle, you can simply use the retry option, which puts you back to just before the battle began, with no major losses. These changes remove a lot of the tension and excitement that make RPGs fun.

CONCLUSION

Although Final Fantasy XIII hasn't been a good game for me and the gaming community, it is good that Square Enix explores these kinds of new frontier as to reach out to many players likings, so that the next few iterations of the Final Fantasy franchise will turn many gamers to prefer this genre of gaming.