Final Fantasy XIII – Review – Xbox 360

Starting in 1987, nearly 20 games and over 10 consoles, Final Fantasy has been formidable opponent for any other game. The 13th numbered installment comes to the Xbox, PC, and PS3 this March.

Story: The first cutscene of the game starts you off in train wondering what’s going on. The developers let you know you are about to start something amazing when you see the breathtaking scenery and awesome visuals. You start off fighting against something you know nothing about but you quickly learn what it is later on. You learn you are in a world called “Cacoon”.  The enemies are the L’Cie who are controlled by Fal’cie by means of what is called their “focus”. Each L’cie is given a task to complete in a limited time frame or they suffer major consequences from failing it. The story itself is great and leaves you wanting to know what happens next.

Gameplay: The game went from its normally turn-based RPG style to a difficult free-style action game in FFXII. This game is a tweaked version of that. The game gives you tutorials at the beginning or when you gain a new ability. Each battle is prompted by running into an enemy, which is on screen, unlike in past games. During each fight you have a menu, letting you choose what action you want to do. There is a charge bar, that you cannot do that action before it is full. You have the choice of Auto Battle or manually input commands. You can also use items and change what type of battle stance you want. At the end of the battles, you get a screen that rates your battle, giving you a star rating up to 5. It also shows how much experience you have gained, in the form of CP and TP, (Crystogen and technical points) CP can be used to level up your fighter.  You level up using a system called the “Crystarium” you use the experience points (Crystogen points) you earned inside a battle to level up tiers of abilities. These include Health Points, Strength, Magic, and unique abilities tied to that tier. As the levels increase so does the amount CP required to level up. TP allows you to use an “Eidolon”” or technique during fights. First technique you learn is Libra, which reads the weaknesses of your enemy.  An Eidolon is much like the Aeion of FF10. The one major flaw within in this game is that it is very linear you walk and fight on paths that take you from cutscene to cutscene. Enemies appear along the way and you feel as if you are being guided through the story. The only thing that spices it up is the amazing boss battles and an area in the game that can be found later in the game.

Sounds/Graphics: Honestly, this game rocks! The graphics during fights and even in the open world are amazing. Most of the characters have been rehashed over and over again, bringing the models from 10 on, just changing their name and voice.  The soundtrack really goes with the mood of the characters or situation at hand.  All of the graphics and sounds seem smooth without many problems. You notice the peak of the visuals when you get to chapter 11. The cutscenes leave something to be desired most are amazing but some can appear a bit blocky but this has to do with the size of the discs they are limited to on the Xbox 360 and those problems do not affect the story.

Overall: This is a great return to the Final Fantasy franchise and brings back the gameplay fans have enjoyed in the past. The story is great and leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat multiple times. The game takes about 20-30 hours depending on how well you play. The vast landscapes and length of this game is well worth the $60.

Pros

• Awesome storyline
• Wonderful scenery
• Good music

Cons

• 3 disks long for Xbox  360 version
• Same character models throughout the game

Score: 9 out of 10

A Copy of this game was provided to us for Review purposes from the publisher.

Popularity: 5% [?]