The much anticipated 13th installment to the Final Fantasy franchise has finally arrived. Square-Enix uses their popular role-playing game (RPG) template and, while restoring it to earlier games like Final Fantasy X, it keeps elements of their newer games and adds a few touches of its own. Just to clarify to any newcomers, the Final Fantasy games are each an independent story, meaning one can pick up any game in the franchise and not have to worry about continuity. XIII’s story is about fighting fate. The main characters were unwillingly bestowed their destiny through a series of visions and it’s up to them to either accept their fate and fulfill it or fight against it and accept the possible consequences that come along with it. The characters have depth and develop over time, which is a pleasant departure from the “Once a Mary-Sue, always a Mary-Sue” approach to RPG characters.
Final Fantasy games fall into the category of turn based games. This means whenever you face an enemy, you each have to take turns to attack. Thankfully though, turns are determined with the Active Time Battle (ATB) system, where you have to wait until your time gauge fills up in order to make any commands. This keeps the action flowing, leading the player to make strategic decisions about what kind of attacks to use and when to use them. However, after each battle, your health is replenished completely, so mistakes are not fatal. The main difference in XIII comes in the way you command the characters in your group. You only have control over the main character, but you can assign general roles to your other party members, which in turn will determine the way they act. The lack of control may turn off several players, but in the end the amount of strategy needed to succeed in battle has increased.
The leveling system tends to do away with actual character levels. Each character can perform a multitude of different roles, but you can’t always rely on one person doing the exact same role in battle, so you’ll have to mix it up and level accordingly. What’s pleasing about this latest incarnation is that it’s very easy to accumulate experience points to level up. In a Mass Effect style turn, points accumulate for every character and not just the person who fought the battle.
Even though the game has tons of high spots, when you break it down, it’s just too linear. The game doesn’t really open up until later and when it happens, it kind of leaves you staggered and wondering what to do next. Also, due to it being too straightforward, there are no cities or main hubs you can relax in, talk to citizens or buy weapons. All of your shops are located inside of the save points that you encounter. Even though it might seem convenient, it also takes away from the RPG experience. Finally, there’s pretty much no reason to ever buy new weapons due to the bountiful loot you will encounter and the insane level of experience you can drop on leveling your existing weapons.
If the recent Final Fantasy games (X-2, XI & XII) have turned you off the franchise, then XIII will probably have the ability to turn you back on. The game’s memorable cast of characters, somewhat clichéd, but also engaging, storyline, strategic battles, and user friendly interface will make this a memorable title throughout 2010.