Initial Impressions of Final Fantasy XIII

It's been three days now since the North American release of Final Fantasy XIII (hereafter refered to as FFXIII), and plenty of gamers are spending their days fighting through monsters and level-building, trying to push the plot and characters one step further.

Others, however, have not bought the game yet, and are reserving the final decision depending on what reviews say. Is the game worth it? Is it utter crap? Is it worth the money that you're going to pay for this game?

I'll grant you, I have not yet played through much of the game, and as such, this article consists only of my opinions formed through the little that I have played. It may seem strange to be reviewing a game that I haven't played all of yet (how can I really know if the story's any good?), but for some people, the introduction is everything. It can make or break a game experience. Whether the early part of the game bores you to death or excites you often makes the difference between continuing to play it and hoping that you can trade the game in for some store credit.

Personally, I'm loving this game. It has a lot going for it, and when I can say that after only playing 5 hours of it, that means that what it has going for it is obvious right from the get-go!

The first thing you'll notice, as with any new game, are the graphics. Which are stunning, by the way. The same graphics style shown in Final Fantasy XII is still present, the realism of movement and of shape, the fluid way that everything flows. Unlike a lot of earlier games in the series, the difference between the overworld and cutscenes is blurred almost to the point of nonexistance when it comes to graphics, which full on FMVs being only of slightly better quality than what you see everywhere else.

For those of us who remember the vast differences in such games as Final Fantasy VII, for example, this is a wonderful and impressive thing.

The character concepts seemed to have improved since earlier games too. We have a female protagonist this time, as well as the first playable character of colour since FFVII's Barret, which is pleasant all around. Previous games such as FFX and FFXII tried to make the main protagonish a sort of blank slate character, and everyman (or rather, everyboy) that every player should be able to relate to. This unfortunately resulted in main characters who seemed of only marginal importance to the plot, were whiny and inexperienced, and yet to whom every other character deferred when it came to questions of leadership.

Not so in FFXII. The lead, Lightning, is an experienced fighter. She has skill, she has attitude, and most of all, she's not a blank slate! There is a sort of blank slate character around in the form of Hope, and I'm pleasantly surprised that the game designers did not try to have the entire game revolve around him. It would have been so easy to fall back on that, after all. But no, we have a competant cast of characters, who have backstories, personalities, and purposes, even though sometimes we can't tell what those purposes are.

The battle system is an interesting combination of the old-style ATB turn-based system and FFXII's overworld enemies setup. Enemies appear on the overworld map, meaning that the battles are expected (and sometimes avoidable), but we have a more familiar (at least to old-school gamers) battle screen and system to navigate.

But wait, there's more! (Isn't there always?) Rather than taking things so far back that you've got the old lineup of bad guys versus good guys, all of them just standing there and waiting for their turn to attack, the battle consists of a lot more independant movement, attacks based on location and range, which means that you're constantly having to pay attention to the battle. It avoids the button-mashing sort of level-building that used to be done, which, depending on your preferred style, is either a blessing or a curse. Me, I don't mind the old button-mashing style. But this new system is both familiar and innovative, combining the best of both worlds to give you a good experience.

A game's battle system is a make-or-break deal for some. Considering that in most RPGs, you spend at least half the game time actually in battles, a bad system can ruin the majority of the game. I'm happy to see a battle system that works well, looks good, keeps the player involved, and yet is familiar enough to fall into easily without having to spend the first few hours uncomfortably pausing and flipping through instructions books to figure out what should be done.

The plot also seems like an interesting one, and it unfolds smoothly. You're given initial hints as to what's happening in a realistic way, without having all the characters take a step back for Exposition Time. This may leave you a little confused at first (fal'Cie? l'Cie? Huh?), but all is revealed in such a way that it feels real as well as being thorough, or at least as thorough as you need it to be for the time being. A little bit of mystery to push the player onwards isn't a bad thing... provided it's done right and well, of course.

In short, my initial impressions of this game are fantastic ones. Even after only 5 hours of gameplay (and believe me, it did not feel like 5 hours), I can say with almost complete certainty that this is a game that I'm going to enjoy, keep enjoying, and be glad I spent money on. A must-have for all fans of the series, those who like to keep up with the latest games, and those who are just hankering for a good story instead of another shoot-em-up or sports game.