Final Fantasy XIII: The First Few Hours
March 10th, 2010 by Samodean
I’ve completed the first 5 hours of gameplay in Final Fantasy XIII. I’ve made it to the crystalized lake and fought the first “real” boss there.
So far: Much better than anticipated.
Some of the early reviews I read didn’t fill me with hope, but at this early stage, I’m really enjoying the game.
I’m into the story. FF13 eschews the traditional Final Fantasy method of starting out small, performing mindless tasks before they even let you THINK about the story. No, FF13 drops you right in the middle of it, literally. The characters are just there, with no backstory or explanation. Things are happening and you’re not really sure. They talk about it, but it doesn’t really make sense. Fal’cie, l’cie, cie’th; there’s so much random punctuation flying around in the first few hours, they’re two apostrophes shy of their own dialect of Klingon.
It’s all very confusing, until you realize that’s how they intended it. The story unfolds much like the TV series Lost. You’re presented with a situation that makes JUST enough sense for you to stick around, and they slowly expand upon it. The characters’ backstories and how they all ended up in the same place at the same time is revealed through flashbacks. I’ll need to check the credits to see if Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof were given writing credits. It makes sense though. It breaks the traditional Final Fantasy mold of “The world is about to end and a dragon is going to burn the town to the ground, but let me tell you about my baby sister.”
Also, I don’t know if it’s the animation, the voice acting, the music or a combination, but even at this early stage, there have been some emotional moments. Even when you know what’s coming, you can’t help but empathize with the characters. Their reactions feel so realistic, it really drives the point home.
The characters are a mixed bag at this point. The main heroine, Lightning, is overly mysterious by design. We’ll see where she goes. It boils down to 3 things:
1. Sazh is frakking AWESOME and I want a baby chocobo.
2. Snow is a powerhouse in combat.
3. I like Vanille’s character a little more than I was expecting to, but her voice acting is so inconsistent that I wince every time she opens her mouth.
I’m liking FF13‘s version of character advancement, The Crystarium. It functions similar to the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X, though it finds the perfect balance between flexibility and uniqueness. Each character has a set of Roles to choose from, ranging from the damage-dealing Commando and Ravager to the defensive Sentinel and Medic, with a couple support Roles that I haven’t had a chance to try yet. You can choose which Roles to spend your points in, allowing you to customize each character however you wish. This allows the player to set up Paradigms, pre-set Role lineups that can be switched on the fly.
For example, when you first gain access to the system, your party consists of Lightning, Snow and Vanille.
My default Paradigm is “Relentless Assault” which allows me to control Lightning as the physical powerhouse Commando, while the other two back me up with their magic-attacking Ravager.
For swarms, I switch to “Delta Attack” which changes Snow to a Sentinel and allows him to tank the enemies while Lightning and Vanille take them down.
Finally, for serious encounters, I use “Solidarity” which makes Vanille a Medic. It’s low on damage, but high on survivability.
Battle is fast and fun. In many fights, you’ll find yourself constantly switching Paradigms on the fly, balancing damage and defense. Since Paradigms can only be set outside of battle, it offers a degree of strategy, forcing you to have the correct set of characters, Roles and Paradigms going into a situation.
Each character is unique in their Roles, as well. Vanille’s Ravager style is a traditional mage, while Snow uses elemental melee attacks. Moreso, Snow’s attacks are Ice-based, while Sajh’s are Fire. Group dynamics look to be pretty fun as the game progresses.
Another fantastic bit of design: the AI. You only control the party’s leader, while your other two members are AI. They will focus on whichever enemy you’re targeting, which is handy. They know when to use their skills. Vanille’s Medic never let a single person die, but never cast unnecessary healing spells, either. Even cooler, if you reveal a weakness with the “Libra” ability, your party members will exploit it with elemental attacks, if they have them. It’s a good thing the AI is so good, because battles move at a pace never before seen in the series.
I like it.
Yes, it’s only been a few hours, but after comparing what I expected to what I’ve experienced, I’m more than pleased. I can’t wait to see what the next 30, 40 or 50 hours have in store for me.
