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Showing reviews 1-5 of 98
 "The Best of the Worlds" An honest breakdown by someone who has actually finished the game March 13, 2010
Sam W. Schirmer (Collierville, TN USA)
26 out of 32 found this review helpful
The title may be a little deceptive by making one think that this installment is better than 7 or 10. But what made those games great? Both offered amazing stories with twists and turns that made the player fall in love almost literally with the characters. Final Fantasy 13 has a strong story, not at that level of course, but the player finds themselves caught by the passion these characters have. Story aside, the battle system is without a doubt the best that has ever been introduced by Final Fantasy.
Making its return is the highly popular sphere grid from Final Fantasy 10 where players spend experience points to raise a certain attribute. And also introduced (sort of) is the role system where characters set a series of roles for their players. The difference is that the characters can only use the abilities of a role as long as they are assigned that role. For example the "Ravager" role, in past games the "Black Mage", holds the fire spell, however that spell cannot be used if the character is assigned to the "Medic" (White Mage) role. Later on in the game you gain the ability to change your characters to whatever role you wish.
Several reviews have stated that this game is very linear. That is a flat falsehood. These reviews were written by people who had not even gotten halfway through which is about the point where it opens up in every game. There are also various side quests which borrows from the "hunting marks" portion of Final Fantasy 12.
Visual and audio have never been better. After the first 30 seconds of the game it is clear that these are best graphics that have ever been used in a video game before. The voice acting has come miles from previous games. There is so much more passion in their words making it seem very believable and realistic.
The reason that this role is titled the best of the worlds is because this chapter was created by combining the best of all the games and adding in a little new. For example, the sphere grid from FFX (now called the Crystarium) and the gunblade (Squall's weapon from FFVIII). To say the least this game was well worth the wait and is one of the best Final Fantasy games of all time.
Fun, fresh, gorgeous March 14, 2010
Poof (Boston, MA)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
Let's get right to it. This game is brilliant.
Naysayers will go on about how it breaks with series tradition by being linear and having no towns and no level grinding. It is undeniably true that FF13 breaks away from many conventions of its predecessors, and this is, in part, what makes it so fantastic. Anyone who has played all or most of the FF games should know by now that this is a series that aims to (and MUST) reinvent itself constantly. Final Fantasy is such a strong franchise not because they have made 13 identical installments, but because each iteration creates its own unique identity. IF YOU WANT TO PLAY VII AGAIN...GO PLAY VII AGAIN.
I don't necessarily feel the need to comment on the technical details of gameplay and systems. These topics have been discussed ad nauseum and by now you know the deal. You control 1 character, you switch jobs (paradigms) on the fly, the game's linear, there are no towns or shops, etc. What I want to confirm is that this game possesses that intangible magic that I have come to love about the FF games. On a granular level it doesn't match up with past installments, but in the big picture (the execution, presentation, plot, character development, the look and feel) it is quintessential Final Fantasy.
The world and characters are wonderfully conceived and amazingly rendered. This game runs at 1080p (on the ps3 anyway) and it is obvious. Having played games like Uncharted 2, Metal Gear 4, and heavy rain (some of the most graphically impressive games i've ever seen) I would easily rank FF13 among the most beautiful looking games to date. If you have a nice HD screen you will be pausing to just take in the view. The technical prowess is supported by elegant and refined art direction, which expertly walks the line between fantasy and sci-fi. Even the interface and menus are cleanly designed to be functional and stylish. Quick load times, and no HDD install. awesome.
The cast is excellent as well, despite being very focussed. There is no 'main' character, and each individual is given due attention and development. They interact with each other naturally and dynamically, and you really get a sense that each has a purpose. no one is just along for the ride (cait sith...)
The point is, do not expect FF13 to mimic earlier entries in the series. If you are very picky about your rpgs and what types of features and systems they must include, then sure, take a look at what FF13 has to offer before deciding to buy. However if you are a fan of the series as a whole and open to the new experience that awaits, know that this game is fun, fresh, and imaginative, and it undoubtedly belongs in your collection.
Not your father's Final Fantasy March 12, 2010
B Mills (MA)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
-NO SPOILERS-
First things first, before you play this game at all you have to do one thing: go to settings and change the default from "auto-battle" to "abilities". This is really necessary if you want to feel like your playing the game, not that the game is playing you. You still have the ability to choose auto-battle, which can be a decent option if you want to save yourself the annoyance of pushing x needlessly in easier battles, and unfortunately your battle options are limited enough in the beginning, when your learning the battle system, that you will get bad habits and won't enjoy the game later on, because, when do right the battle system is IMMENSELY FUN!
Sometimes auto-battle and picking your actions will result in the same choices, but the key to battles is TIMING, and after some experience you will get a feel for the how quickly the action bar will refill, and once you learn that you can click through the selections of, which action, which target, etc, in a rhythmic pattern to get the exact right timing. The feeling of attacking your enemy exactly when he's about to strike and and interrupting him, or using an area affect RIGHT when the enemy pulls back into the crowd, never fails to satisfy. But if you just click though your options as quickly as possible, you will miss of waste your attacks and take allot more damage. There's allot more going on in these battles then pretty animations (though they are gorgeous)
Now, I am no where near the end of this massive game, but I waited until I was far enough into the game until I had decided weather I was sold on the games unique aspects, or not. As it says in the title of this review this is NOT your fathers (or mother's, lets be fair) final fantasy. There's no towns, though there is shopping, this I didn't think would bother me because the part I always hate about jrpg's is wondering around aimlessly in town x... and the game is linear especially in the beginning. I'll be honest with you, at first this feels, weird, and it certainly took me a while to get comfortable with it. But something happened around hour three for me; I started to get immersed in the story.
They did a great job not giving you any idea what the heck is going on, which for me causes an insatiable desire to play further, and then suddenly you completely engrossed in tis story, you've nailed down the combat and suddenly you no longer even notice how different it is, until you realize, that actually the way in which they allowed the game to unfold was a perfect way to introduce the characters to you. This isn't the main character driven story of games like FF7, and as a result it would be hard to create a player attachment to this motley crew in any other way. I'm not saying that you'll love this though, if you want the main character focuses story and traditional game-play with no exceptions, don't bother. But if your main draw to these games is story, and really feeling like your guiding an epic tale towards its ending while mastering a new and unique battle system (which has always been my thing) then you will like this game.
Great story or not, it can take it a little bit out of your hands with the CG, and I wish i had a little bit more control over EVERY character in my party, so I give it a fun factor of 4, but it must be recognized that visually this game is ridiculous, CG AND in game will blow you away, and the audio is absolutely top notch, one of the best IMO, so I bumped it up to 5... however if you don't have a HD TV or surround sound, this won't have mcuh effect on you will it?
So, great game, not traditional, but I have been much more sold on this new approach then some other's out there, so if you anything like me, I would definitely give it a try or you'll be missing out on a great story (one of the better FF stories IMO, much better than 10) and addictive game.
Final fantasy with real world characters March 14, 2010
Kelvin: son, gamer, movie geek (Manila, Philippines)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
First of all I am the son of this amazon account's owner. Anyway, I think this is a great game so far. I have played some of the older final fantasy games and I love RPG games alot.. Yes, I Admit that this final fantasy is reallly different than the other games in this series. But that is what makes this game great. Square Enix has a good reputation for really freshening up their games in terms of visual greatness all the way to the story and the characters. For me the emotions and voice acting in this game plays more on real people's emotions like love, pain, and the most humanistic type of reactions to the things that are thrown at them. I love the fact that even if this is a sci fi fantasy franchise, square wanted you as a gamer to really be able to relate to the characters. This is a really great way to make you feel the events in the game. Since you can relate to the characters, you can react to the things that happen to them with a very human reaction. For instance during the fight scenes, you feel what the characters feel when they fight. You're awed by the visuals as a gamer but you feel the tension of whether you are going to make it out alive. Or even when they feel sad or happy you can really feel the emotions. You have a lot if sympathy when a charcter gets hurt. This is the essence of video games that are story driven. It is not about action alone, it is about tapping into your emotions as a human being. This game is for gamers who wants to see a different take on the final fantasy franchise. Also, it is for gamers who loves games as mch as movies because it is almost like an interactive movie. That is probably part of its appeal for me. To me, it is one of the most wonderful games that I played this year.
Lovin' it! March 11, 2010
anonymous
13 out of 20 found this review helpful
I was worried about this installment. The series seemed to be losing steam since VIII (well, for me anyway, and I've played since the very first one.) I quit XII about 20 hours in out of boredom. I made it to the end of X, but found out I wasn't strong enough and had to backtrack to "unlock" stuff, and quit because the combat system was like nails on a chalkboard to me. So, I pre-ordered and canceled the order several times before I stuck it out on this one (I had just got burnt on pre-ordering Demon's Souls and White Knight Chronicles, so I was extra cautious here.) Well, I've played several hours into it, and here's the verdict: It's great!
Many of the complaints from the previous titles seem to have been minimized, or have simply vanished. The combat system is fast paced. You have some control, but mot all. The AI does a fine enough job picking jobs. Is it perfect and going to make everyone happy? Probably not. But I like it. Most of he characters are likable too. Your main character isn't a whiny brat (though they have one in the mix, but fortunately his dialog is minimal compared to others.) You also get the obligatory aggressively cheerful girl in the group too.
Story, visuals and sound are where this game (and most of the series) really shines. Graphics are very cinematic, and the sound's there to match. The story is outstanding! I've been hooked since the beginning. A major complaint that many seem to be having is this idea of "linearity." I'm sorry, but all the Final Fantasy games have been linear. Until you reach a certain stage of the game, you follow the path of "Got from point A to point B to point C" and you cant' stray from it. If you do, you get smacked down by monsters that are way too powerful. The only difference is that most of the previous titles had hours of running around said points leveling and making money to upgrade your stuff. Once you're strong enough, you completed your task for 10 minutes of story. Lather rinse and repeat. Well, this game took out the repetition. You get lots of story, separated by some button mashing. For me, this change is rather refreshing.
The only complaints I have are rather minor. Hope needs to be repeatedly punched in the stomach. And the voice acting is a bit overdone sometimes. There have been several instances where silence would have been perfectly fine, but they decided to fill in the silence with random grunts, gasps, giggles and other strange noises (mostly from the kids.) Over all, it sounds almost pornographic. Facial expressions would have done just fine.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 98
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