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Posts tagged ‘vanille’

14
Mar

Now Playing: Final Fantasy XIII 20 Hours In

Instead of another wordy long blog on Final Fantasy XIII now that I’m 20 hours in, I figured I’d post in the following format:

What I love so far:

  • The battle system – I’m not sure what FFXIII game some of the critics are playing but this game is not easy.  I have by far accumulated more Game Over screens in the first 20 hours of this game than I have in all previous Final Fantasy games combined.  Yes the majority of the battles can be completed by spamming ‘X’, especially if you’re in a Commander, Ravager, Medic role.  But to do each fight successfully and in a timely basis, it’s really a lot of fun.  There is constant switching of paradigms and even strategically hitting triangle (to unleash your queued ATB earlier) makes this battle system by far one of the best, if not the best.  I find it advantageous to open up a lot of fights with Synergist buffs and Saboteur debuffs.
  • The variations of ‘Flan’ mobs – Flandragora, Flanitor, Flanborg.  A nice little treat if you grew up playing Final Fantasy games.
  • The soundtrack – I love Final Fantasy music.  So much so that I even attended their Distant Worlds concert last year in San Francisco and plan on going to it this year.  FFXIII has the best soundtrack of any Final Fantasy game by far and really lends to the epicness of the entire game.  Everything feels much more on a grander scale thank to the game’s score.
  • Sazh has a CHOCOFRO!
  • Not having to use potions, tents (or cabins!) in the game.  Each battle is like a mini-strategy game where the goal is to just succeed.  Having to have potions in between fights was always an inconvenience in my opinion and I’m really glad Square Enix did away with that.
  • Item upgrading is really cool.  There is just so much strategy involved with choosing the right weapon, what to upgrade, and how.  Especially with the lack of Gil in the game so far.  There have been a few grinding spots, but it’s not like previous Final Fantasy games.

What I dislike so far:

  • The characters.  I feel like they went a little over the top with the “us against the world” theme.  It’s a little played out in my opinion, though they do a good job with the actual story, it’s annoying hearing every character whine about this and that so far.  This game needs an Auron from Final Fantasy X.  Someone that just never cried.
  • More specifically, Sazh – by far the weakest character in any Final Fantasy game to date.  His story seems to be filler, and it’s almost like he was the token black guy that Square Enix tossed in.  Up until now the majority of his story is played out paired up with Vanille, who is also a somewhat weak character (though her background has meaning to the game, much more so than Sazh).  The one thing that really hurts it is the gap between revisiting their story line and even when you do it’s for a real short duration compared to the other heroes.  You move two screens, watch a couple of cutscenes, and then it’s back to business with Lightning and her crew.

What I hate:

  • The crystarium system is really weak.  It hasn’t gotten better since the first 10 hours, not that I ever expected it to.  It’s just blah.  Considering how great the Sphere Grid was in X and the License system in 12, I’m a little disappointed in what they came up with for 13.  Especially how brilliant the battle system is.
  • Hope – Unlike the characters I dislike, Hope I just hate.  At first I perceived him as a much younger version of Cloud.  But he’s just a big baby and his character development is just horrible.  Wah wah wah.  He’s not the weakest character though because his story develops with a little bit more of a meaning from the get-go, unlike Sazh’s.  If you were to mix Final Fantasy universes, Auron would cut off Hope’s head with his big giant sword.

Overall I find it ironic that I’m complaining more about the story than the gameplay changes Square Enix did with this one.  I personally think every one of the changes that every one else is complaining about are great.  I like the linear gameplay, progression of the storyline, lack of towns and shopping made simple.  I mean did you really enjoy buying your potions from one place in a town then walking across the map to buy a weapon?  Weapon upgrading is so much better.

I’m a little further behind than other people that are playing this game at this time mark.  But I took some time to grind for Chips (that you sell for Gil) and to upgrade my weapons, accessories and characters.  I found a nice little spot where mobs actually regen as you walk back and forth and most of them drop Chips.  So I’ll blog again once I get out to Gran Pulse.

So far the game is more fun than any of the other previous Final Fantasies I’ve played, but the story line so far is probably in the middle of the pack.  Greater than 8, 9 and 12, but certainly less than 4, 6, 7 and 10.  1 doesn’t count, and I don’t think I should bother comparing it to the ones that hardly anyone played since they came out as remakes on PSX and random platforms like GBA.