Final Fantasy XIII

Blog Post: The Heroes Never Die

Lanser747 — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:45:00 GMT

Final Fantasy XIII is a powerhouse of excellence that works on almost every level and is my personal favorite for the entire series with a stellar story,combat,graphics,and sound. This game has a huge change to the series by being largely linear through the story. The game has few weak points and they do show but not often.

Story [Spoiler Alarm Activated]

The story follow the adventure of 6 people[Their names in best to worst fashion[Lightning,Fang,Snow,Hope,Sazh,and Vanille]]. It is my personal favorite among video games. After being branded a L,cie, A human with the the ability to cast magic but must complete a task within a time limit or be turned into a monster and if they do they are turned into a crystal statue. The characters are believable and succeed in their roles. The game has few sidecharacters but they are great. The story move slowly to start but it picks up around the end and it works the best there. The games ending is a bit strange but is awesome in the last moments.My only problem with the story is that the characters never really develop

Gameplay

The game's combat revolves around a fast quickly changing battlefield. Like previous battle systems you use three characters that have ATB Gauges that fill up over time and empty when use actions this is simple at first when you only have 2 abilities but gets complicated when you introduce paradigms' A class system that lets you change your classes in battle on the fly. Need to heal? Shift to a bunch of medics. Need to deal some damage? Shift to some ravagers and commandos. Even Though there are only six classes you can use them to great extent by shifting constantly. The other major addition to the battle system is the stagger meter, When hit with attacks the enemies stagger meter fills and you do more damage as it builds up and once it is full you stagger the enemy,causing hits to stun and deal large amounts of damage. The exploration has been reduced a large amount due to the fact that this is a linear game but you do get to do some exploring around chapter nine which is a great break from the main story and there are some sidequests in the form of monster hunting around the same time,There isn't much else though.

Graphics

This games graphics stand out amongst all other games and is one of the most beautiful games ever made.The character models are great and the world is fantastic.

Sound

One of the greatest soundtracks in games. The excellent voice acting [With the exception of Vanille] makes the characters great.

The End

I admit that Final Fantasy has always been my favorite series but this game stands out among them in a different way then others do. If you are looking for a RPG and your not sure, Give this game a try.

Blog Post: Final Fantasy XIII's review game

Daigo Matsuoka — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:50:00 GMT

Final Fantasy XIII is amazing game because the characters and the battle system are great, stunning visuals, the story is fantastic, and great art style. The Gameplay: the player directly controls the on screen character through a third-person perspective to interact with people, objects, and enemies throughout the game. The music is beautiful song I ever heard that song. The graphics looks incredible. The problem is Final Fantasy XIII is not open world.

Blog Post: Final Fantasy XIII XBOX 360 Review

Josh — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:14:00 GMT

Okay, first thing's first: This game is BEAUTIFUL. Like Joe said, it stands among the best looking games of all time. Also, this does have really good voice acting. The characters sound like actual beings, not just stiff things that talk. But, there is a catch; the story. Now, don't get me wrong, I found nothing faulty with the story, its just kinda hard to follow. For example, you're a la'cie(I hope that's how it's spelled!). However, many times during the gameplay, I had no clue which side I was on anymore. All in all, it's a good game, but one that just manages to step in the shadow of some of the other great FF games.

Blog Post: Finaly Fantasy 13 review

brainraider1 — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:55:00 GMT

The first thing I would like to note about Final Fantasy 13 is that the graphics are amazing. Whenever you see a custcene in this game it looks like a crystal clear movie. The in game graphics are also at the same level of the cutscenes in the game.

There are so many enimes in the game that fight differently so the enemy combat is varied. Also unlike most Finally Fantasy games this game is not turn based it is real time based. Which means the enemies can attack whenever and you can get off a few attacks before the enemy attacks you. This is my favorite type of combat in a Final Fantasy game because one thing about the Final Fantasy series that annoyed me is that you have to wait your turn in order to attack. In this final fantasy you control only one character but you make a battle formation in which the other characters are controlled by the computer but you set the battle mode that they will use. The battle modes are commando, ravenger, synergist,medic, and sentinel. The only thing that annoys me is that if the main character you are using dies then the game is over and your teamates can't revive you. However you can revive your teamates and after every battle you are healed automatically. The good thing about this is that you only have to use potions and healing techniques in battle instead of wasting energy and time after a battle.

The characters are Lighting, Snow Sazzh, Fang, Hope, Vanille, and Serah. Lighting is the main character with the pink hair that you control from the begining of the game and will most likely use the most. Each character can eventually use the same classes as every other character but some characters are better suited towards certain classes. Like lighting is the best suited for Commando class and Snow is the best suited for the Sentinel class. Each character has an Edolon which is their own special summon in the game.

This game does involve an intense amount of strategy like every other Final Fantasy game. But you set you're battle formation before the battle however you do have the ability to switch battle formations in the middle of the battle which you will have to do many times in order to defeat the bosses in the game. There are many times you will need to switch your strategy back in forth you will even have to do this against regular enemies fortunately this is real easy to do and you will have the hang of this in no time.

My favorite thing about this game is how long it is. After certain boss battles I thought I beat the game but then it turns out that I did not beat the game and there was a lot more that I had to do.

Final Fantasy is a great game but a few minor things annoyed me. Like Snow constantly saying that he is a hero at the begining of the game. Hope whinning and being a baby throughout the begining of the game but I have to admit that he somewhat makes up for it. Sazzah however is a pretty fun guy he is the comic relief of the group. Vanille is the nicest character out of all of them and I enjoy playing as her character. Fang has one of the coolest Edolons in the game. Lighting is by far my favorite character I love using her in Commando mode because I feel a rush like I am unstoppable whenever I use her. Another great thing about this game are the Edolons because each Edolon is unique has its own elment and has its own special powers.

I have to give this game a 9 out of 10 because the game play is great, the graphics are crystal clear, and the story is really confusing at times but I do enjoy certain parts of the story elements with in the game. I also like all of the main cast of characters ifor different reasons my favorite character being lighting. The only bad things I can say about the game is that Snow can be a little too cocky, the story gets extremely confusing at certain points in the game, and Hope is sometimes useless and whiny.

Blog Post: I liked it, but I can see why a lot of people did not...

Michael — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 05:29:00 GMT

I am looking forward to Final Fantasy XIII-2, and a solid predecessor is a large reason why...

Final Fantasy XIII, much like, at least IMHO, Final Fantasy X-2, is not a Final Fantasy for everyone.

In fact, it's probably an attempt to introduce the Final Fantasy paradigm to a whole new legion of fans.

Unlike X-2, where you could see they were trying to introduce the game to not only females but fan-service fanatics, XIII appears to try to introduce the franchise to a mainstream entertainment audience.

The thing is, the learning curve is a bit steep, especially once the Crystarium comes into play (and for those who don't like the Crystarium, you probably didn't like the License Board in XII or the Sphere Grid in X).

I can definitely see the problems people have with the game:

1) The fights can be balls-hard. Yes, they can be. Most meaningful monsters (and all bosses) MUST be Staggered to defeat them. That's frustrating for a player who is having a lot of trouble. (Hell, I had so much trouble keeping the Oerba Barthandelus fight in check that they actually hit the hard time limit on the fight and I was Doomed, being given only three more minutes to win -- and I did, JUST.... BARELY.

2) The linear nature of the game. The entire first 15 hours, before you hit the only real open area of the game, are essentially a tunnel (and a tutorial!) you walk the various parties through. I am a grinder, and I love to grind and over-level my characters to make boss fights easier.

That said, you pick your spots here. Most of the time, you're actually grinding your WEAPONS more than your characters, and that usually takes gil -- and THAT usually takes a certain type of mob.

The thing is that the linear nature of the game until near the end of the main gameplay is one manifestation of the belief I have that they try to take Final Fantasy and bring it to yet another new generation of players. Whether it works or not, Your Mileage May Vary...

3) Vanille. Basically everything about her.

Look, I like a leggy babe -- even a character -- quite a bit.

Hence, I took after her and basically crowned myself the President and Charter Member of the Leggy Vanille Fan Club.

I liked Vanille. I felt the orgasm while she was activating the Final Gestalt move on her Eidolon was more than a little cheesy, but she was Little Miss Fan Service. No more or less.

It was _Sazh_ I couldn't stand. Never got his vibe, and then there's one point in the story which makes zero sense at all (hint: it's right about at the time he truly realizes Vanille's role in all this...).

4) Hope. Hope was a great storyline advancement -- he is a large degree of what ties the story together, at least early on. First loss, then pain, then revenge, then dedication. It makes sense, even if a lot of flamers get a bit of Shinji Ikari about it all.

5) The battle system itself. Basically stack commands, and the AI effectively "learns" weaknesses for you if you don't Libra the monster. The thing is, you're almost trying to keep up, in most cases, with the Paradigms you need, especially on harder monsters and on bosses.

He hits a big move to down most everybody? Switch to your healing paradigm.

Just Staggered? Go all out with offense...

So why doesn't this get a 10?

1) Sazh is annoying.

2) Maxing everything out post-game gets even more of a grind than usual, with fewer and fewer options as you go.

3) Gil is very hard to come by, making weapon advancement terribly difficult. (Though largely unnecessary, minus completionists.)

4) The learning curve can be a bit steep. Trying to win this game without a Retry or a Game Over is almost impossible.

Why does it get a 9??

1) Very aesthetically beautiful.

2) A decent take on the FFXI idea of choosing when and under what conditions you would do battle in. It's even more important, when you finally get in the open, to pick and choose your battles. Some will help you advance, and some will stomp you into the ground.

3) Storyline is strong here.

4) Don't like how a battle is going? Retry it!

PS: My favorite team? Three leggy babes. Vanille (Fan Service Leggy), Lightning (Tough Leggy), and Fang ("Hard" Leggy). The Rockette Offense.

Forum Post: Re: Best Character in game?

Nidav3 — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 02:29:00 GMT

They were all Garbage.

Blog Post: Awesome

chriswhodat — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:06:00 GMT

I have been putting off getting this game for a long time now. I finally picked it up yesterday along with Uncharted 2. Well I can't seem to take Final Fantasy out of my PS3 because i'm so hooked on this game. I have not even played a Final Fantasy game since NES/SNES days. I strongly think everyone should by this game!

Wiki: Final Fantasy XIII Guides

Anonymous — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 01:18:00 GMT

Guides for Final Fantasy XIII

Wiki Page: Boss of chapter 9 guide

latersk8r — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 20:18:00 GMT

I think its the the old man that turns into the beast with upside down heads. Anyway first get rid of the heads by setting a paridigm med/com/com or com/com/com then heal when necessary. Then when all the heads are gone use relentless assault and heal when needed then when he does destructo do relentless assault on him and you will hear him grunt that means he will cause 100-300 damage only then rinse and repeat 2nd step and you will be done in no time. click the link for a video of it. [View:http://www.gameinformer.com/themes/generic/utility/www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-L6OZHRAA]

Blog Post: Great story

Austin Blake — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:47:00 GMT

I love games that are all about the story and FF13 just keeps the series alive with another great in-depth story. I don't really care what the battles are like in the Final Fantasy games like so many other people, I just care about what happens to the characters.

Blog Post: exceptional rpg with breathtaking visuals

Daniel Quiroz — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:34:00 GMT

Im a big fan of rpgs especially the Final Fantasy series and when I got FF XIII I thought it would have the usual stuff with some editions well some parts of the game thats true but as for rest I was very suprised. I'll start with the story as it deals with six people as they become cursed by some deity and have to defeat a powerful monster before they become monsters themselves yeah not the best way to describe it but thats what it is but the story deals more with the characters and their personnel goals and struggles as they go through this part of their lives. The gameplay in FFXIII is unlike any other FF gam you still get into battles and choose commands like attack, magic, run this game uses something that runs a little more smoothly now that you only control the party leader and with the paradigm system. The paradigm system lets you change your party's current classes to better suit the flow of battle, for example your fighter could switch to a spell caster or your healer could switch to a blocker. It takes some getting used to but when you figure it all out it'll be as easy as cutting a cake with the gunblade. Like in FF XII there are no random battles you see the enemy but when you fight you go to a different area for fighting like the old FF games. The visuals in FF XIII has to be one of the best I've ever seen in a video game, the cutscenes are just stunning as everything has been crafted to the smallest detail right down to every characters lock of hair and even on their clothing has a large amount of detail. The cutscenes and the game itself are so alike visually that the transition to the cutscenes is just smooth like as if your playing the game. I like the fact weapons and equipment can be upgraded and dismantled because now this adds a whole new layer of customization of your party. Leveling up in the game has also been changed, instead of getting exp you get crystarium points which you use to level up your party and their job classes in something that looks similar to the sphere grid in FF X but you you only start with the classes the game gives and you only get everything as you play through. The things that I dont like about this game is that if your leader dies even if other members are still alive its game over just like that and you can't go back previous stages of the game, you only go down on straight path that the game laid for you. but these are only minor complaints and dont take away the quality of the game its definate must buy in my book but if your unsure rent it and see what you think about it.

Blog Post: I've recommended this game to everyone I know...

Sierra — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:35:00 GMT

Let me start off by saying I have never truly gotten into one of the Final Fantasy games, until this one. The storyline was a bit confusing at first until I took the time to read through my whole datalog, then everything started to make sense. The storyline is unique and at every cut scene I'm always anxious to learn more and to see what going to happen next. Part of the reason I like the storyline so much is that a lot of it is told in flashbacks by all of the characters. Everything isn't laid out to you once you begin the game, you have to find out what caused this and why this is happening as the game progresses.

Another thing I love about the game is the fighting and leveling system. I like being able to switch battle strategies by pressing about 2 buttons. In the middle of a battle if I need to go from having 3 tanks, to 1 tank, a buffer, and a healer, it can easily be done. The Chrystarium(Not sure if I spelled that right or not haha) is the system they use for distributing the points you gain as you fight and level. Its really sumple to understand and as you go through the game, each character gains more "branches" to the Chrystarium, giving them more abilities.

All in all, I find the game very good. Are there minor thing I would change perhaps? Yeah probably, but they're more related to personal preference. If you like RPGs, definitely buy this game, it will give you hours of great storyline, interesting characters, and beautiful scenery.

Blog Post: Game Over... continue? Final Fantasy XIII

Game Over... continue? — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:10:00 GMT

I love role playing games. My favorite game of all time may well be Dragon Warrior on the Nintendo. It was a completely new experience for me at such a young age... I was totally obsessed with it. In a roundabout way, it's the reason I'm such a gamer today. Then Final Fantasy came along and took the genre to the next level. The Final Fantasy franchise is known the world over as the quintessential Japanese role playing game. Over the last few incarnations, legendary developer Square Enix has taken some risks with their marquis franchise... some that were embraced by it's rabid fan base, and others that were almost violently opposed. With Final Fantasy XIII, they've leapt even further from their tried and tested methods, again trying to reinvent the genre that they have defined for 30 years.

For me, what truly makes the RPG experience is the story. The narrative of FFXIII, much like previous titles in the series, is a convoluted mess that somehow manages to come together brilliantly in the end. Upon (or inside depending on your point of view) the moon of Cocoon the government has ordered a purge of undesirables. Anyone who may have had direct contact with beings from Pulse, the cursed planet below, must be deported. Our bad tempered heroine, with the equally bad moniker of Lightning, has set out to save her sister Serah as the purges begin. Poor Serah has become a l'Cie after coming into contact with a fal'Cie from Pulse.

Um... huh? Howzat? A l'Cie? Yeah, I like to make up words too. For the first portion of the game terms like these are tossed around like you have some frame of reference. To say it's confusing is to say water is wet. But I'll endeavor to explain... fal'Cie are giant demigods that were created by the Maker, and have an unknown connection to both Cocoon and Gran Pulse. They are huge in stature; powerful in magic. They also have the ability to enthrall humans to serve them. Those unfortunate buggers are known as l'Cie and have been 'branded' with a mark to show that they serve the will of the fal'Cie. L'Cie are given a 'Focus,' or task they must complete for their fal'Cie masters. If, however, they fail to complete their Focus, the victim will turn into a monstrous, mindless husk called a Cie'th. But if they do achieve their Focus they transform into crystal, an eternal tribute to their success. In either case though, they are not long for this world. So let's recap: Fal'Cie (demigods) control l'Cie (slaves) who must do their bidding lest they turn into Cie'th (monsters). Savvy?

Anyhoo, once you've got the terms down and how they relate to one another, then the story makes a lot more sense. Serah has received the Mark of the l'Cie, so Lightning, along with Serah's fiance Snow, set out to help her complete her Focus so she doesn't turn into a terrible monster. As the story progresses Lightning adds to her crew, sometimes by accident, sometimes by fate. Sazh is on the train when Lightning first begins her rescue mission. Hope joins the party after his mother dies trying to help Snow's revolutionaries. Vanille and Fang, whose past is a mystery, stumble onto the team as well.

The plot takes some come clever twists and turns, but does take an age to get going. It's full of heavily cliched dialogue, and some classic "Final Fantasy" moments. FFXIII got bashed in quite a few reviews about the story, but I rather liked it. I don't think it's as good as FFX or FFVII or even Lost Odyssey, but if you can stick with it through the slow and confusing beginning, you'll be handsomely rewarded with a classic "Final Fantasy" tear-jerker ending.

One thing I particularly liked was that in the menu you can check out 'recaps' which makes things so much more clear. And, when loading from a saved game, it catches you up with that on the loading screen. As you progress through the game there are a series of flashbacks about the "Thirteen Days" prior to Lightning's assault on the train at the beginning of the game. These scenes aren't in order, and deal with all the characters. As more little pieces of the puzzle fall into place and the story slowly takes shape and you realize that there has been a common connection between the party members all along... and the magnitude of the mess they find themselves in is much worse than they realize. I won't spoil it for you, but I had the "Ohhhhhh, now I see!" reaction more than once.

Gone are the days of turn-based combat (and I'll be honest here, I miss those days!). Success in FF games has always been defined by figuring out the best strategy to use against a given foe... to expose their weaknesses and emphasize your strengths. The core gameplay in FFXIII revolves around switching back and forth between 'Paradigms' to best take our your enemies. Paradigms are essentially varying formations of the roles you can assign to your party members. There are six different roles, with some characters being more adept at certain roles than others. For example, Lightning makes an excellent Commando and Ravager (dealing physical and magic attacks respectively) but is also a decent Medic (white mage healer). That said, she's rubbish as a Synergist (buffs such as Shell or Haste) or Saboteur (offensive buffs, like Slow of Poison). Other characters are better suited for these tactics. Then there is the Sentinel, who basically serves as your Tank/Sponge, soaking up all the enemy attacks. Sentinels aren't important early on, but the last third of the game is pretty much impossible without employing good use of your Sentinels. You'll only control one player, the party leader, and the others will do what makes the most sense in the situation depending on their assigned roles. The skill comes in when figuring out how to comprise your team so that you can make use of all the roles without sacrificing too much, and learning when to switch between these strategies as the need arises.

For example, the Paradigm 'Relentless Assualt' is made up of two Ravagers and a Commando. Obviously this is highly offensive, attack fast and early. Switch to 'Diversity' by sacrificing one of the Ravagers to become a Medic (giving you a Medic, Commando and Ravager) when you start taking damage. If you fall too far behind, you can then go with 'Combat Clinic' which is a Sentinel who soaks up all the enemy attacks while the other two characters healing as Medics. But as the game progresses and becomes much more difficult you need to make use of some other tactics. Towards the end I started every battle with 'Evened Odds' which employed Saboteur to Slow the enemy and hopefully lower their defense, a Synergist to buff our party, and a Medic to keep them alive long enough for them to do it! And that's just a few examples, there are plenty of others!

Then there are the famous Final Fantasy "Summons" where your character calls forth, in a flashing display of graphical superiority, a massive creature or god to deal a devastating blow to your foes. In FFXIII they are known as Eidolons, with one unique to each character. They must first be bested before they will battle along side you. To be honest, I only ever used my Eidolons in case of dire emergency, or if I was bored and wanted to watch the cool graphics. Personally, I didn't think they were anywhere near as effective as they have been in the past, although they look frickin' amazing!

Speaking of graphics, Final Fantasy games are known for their amazing graphics, specifically the cutscenes. In FFXIII everything looks simply fantastic. The environments are stunning. The animations, while repetitive, are also brilliant. It runs smoothly the whole time. As for the pre-rendered cutscenes, there are only a few titles than can compare... they are amazing, but almost too hectic. The super-fast anime style makes it hard to really tell what's going on. It all happens so fast... it makes it difficult to appreciate the brilliance of the animation!

The soundtrack is also great. The dialogue and voice acting isn't bad either, although it is written with the classic FF template... in other words you'll be rolling your eyes a lot at the cheesiness these people spout! The score is quite well done, and still very obviously "Final Fantasy." But I have to say that, just like every other FF game, the battle music does get a little old. After a while, my girlfriend would be muttering constantly "How can you STAND that music over and over and over!?!"

So where does FFXIII fall short? Probably the most commonly heard complaint is how surprisingly linear the game is... there really isn't much to do in the way of exploring. Each level has a pretty straightforward path to follow, without much deviation. You can tell just by looking at the map! This was surprising, considering that the FF franchise is synonymous with wide open worlds full of secrets. It's weird, but I think the biggest reason this upset so many ardent followers is because it's just so obvious. It's not until about 20 hours into the story that you finally reach an area that is truly open world, but even then some areas aren't accessible and others are way above your paygrade... as in the monsters found therein will kill your party with one hit!

But for me, my biggest complaint was the structure and accessibility of the 'Hunt Missions.' I loved this stuff in FFXII! These optional "super-monsters" are scattered throughout the game, and offer some real challenge. But in FFXIII almost all of these missions are only available after the credits role! What... the... hell!?! Once you have beaten the game you can go back to the last save point before the final battle and warp back into the main world to pursue these other missions. Um, seriously? I'll pour countless hours into a game like this, but when I am done with the final, penultimate battle... I'm spent! I'm not going to go back do more! The irony is that I could have spent another 20 hours hunting rare and dangerous monsters before the final encounter but afterward I can't be bothered!

Another annoyance is the fact that stores aren't located in villages anymore. In fact, there aren't really any villages to speak of... everything is accessed from the Save Stations. Um, really? That's pretty lame... I miss the joy of finding that oasis of tranquility, free of monsters, where you take a break from your questing, kick off your shoes and put your feet up. I always loved perusing the wares in a new store, comparing what was on offer to what I currently had and selling off the spoils from my conquests. It was an integral part of the RPG experience, and it's noticeably missing... which is a shame.

I've also heard people complain about the upgrading system, which has been revamped as well. When you gain experience in FFXIII you can 'spend' those points in the new 'Crystarium.' Basically each role has it's own branch of a crystal to unlock everything from hit points and magic to new accessory slots and spells, all the while opening new nodes. But be wary, the higher the level the more the upgrade costs. By the time you get to the final ring of the Crystarium, each node costs about 60000 CP each! I didn't even max out one by the time I had finished the main story... but oh well. It works pretty well, even if it's really just a visualization of menus we've been using for ages now. Oh, and it's actually quite beautiful, if I may say so...

Along a similar vein, the process of upgrading your weapons has been augmented as well. Weapons and accessories are upgraded by using 'Components.' These are either purchased in stores or taken from fallen enemies. Each character has their own specific 'type' of weapon (although accessories are interchangeable). Lightning has a gunblade, Sazh carries dual pistols, and Hope has a... um, boomerang (psssht! *snicker*).

The trick lies in finding what components will yield the most experience versus which ones have the greatest multiplying effect. It's very confusing, and needlessly complicated... some components rapidly upgrade your multiplier, meaning you'll get up to x3.0 total experience when you apply other components. You want to use those components with the highest experience while the multiplier is maxed because those components will lower the multiplier and you'll have to use more of the other type to get the multiplier back up. Whew... yeah, it's actually really annoying. You can find out online about what stuff works best, otherwise it takes a lot of trial and error. While it's a clever idea, it's far too time consuming and confusing. I would have been much happier with classical looting and a bunch of different kinds of weapons...

Final Fantasy XIII isn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination... but it is different, a noticeable and sizable departure from what we have come to expect from this venerated franchise. I understand the desire to break the mold and try new things; to keep things from getting stale and predictable. If anything Square Enix went too far outside their comfort zone. They tried to do too much, and the end result is a pretty good game with stunning graphics and a clever plot, but is ultimately held back by some drastic design changes and pacing problems. But I sincerely hope that when Square Enix are hard at work on the next installment (and you know they are;^) they listen to their fans about what worked and, more importantly, what didn't. Sadly, if they had stuck with just a few more of the hallmarks that endeared the series to so many, FFXIII might have been better received... and not left so many of us disappointed this time out...

Score Factors

CONCEPT/STORY 48/50

GRAPHICS 52/50

DESIGN 35/50

GAMEPLAY 42/50

SOUND 48/50

REPLAY VALUE 26/50

ATMOSPHERE 46/50

ENTERTAINMENT 44/50

341/400 = 85.3% =

FINAL SCORE of 85.3

Final Word

*Sighs*... I want to give Final Fantasy XIII a better score, I really do. Were I to toss a score out off the top of my head, it would probably be an A-/B+, but because of my empirical scoring system FFXIII loses some serious points in some categories (Replay value: I honestly don't know when I'll ever play it again... as it was I put in over 60 hours and didn't do any of the hunt missions, and Design: the linearity complaints and the inaccessible hunt missions really annoyed me, but that's the developers fault). As a result the overall score suffers. If you like RPG's and don't mind something a bit different I'd still highly recommend it despite those issues... but you can tell upon playing it why it pissed off the purists so much, and was ultimately a disappointment to me. As it stands, as good a game as FFXIII was, it probably could (and should) have been better.

Cheers,

P.S. Want to read other reviews? Go to Game Over... continue?!

Blog Post: Final Fantasy 13 good, but still a let down

Elfstrum — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:39:00 GMT

Let me start this off with stating that I am really a big final fantasy fan. I shed a tear at Aerith'sdeath in Final Fantasy VII and have purchase Advent Children 3 different times. But, FFXIII doesn't live up to legend of Final Fantasy.

The story is linear and you seems to just run from one corridor to the next. But I don't think this really is a problem. So many RPGs have the illusion of freedom without real freedom. So if I am just forced to move only forward I don't mind that much. But the world created seems so full of life that I wish I would have had more freedom to explore the cities and interact with more NPCs.

The story-line is weirder than most with mechanical gods and people turning to crystals.

A good and bad thing are the battles and battle-system. In more battles their is a chance of death. You can't just mash X defeat the baddies. This is fun and challenging but level caps add another and perhaps unnecessarylevel of toughness. The thing with most RPGs is that if you take a direct route in a dungeon to the boos, it will be a challenge. If you can't defeat the boss, simply run around fighting more monsters in the dungeon and level up a little and boss is easier. This is not the case in FF13. Just about every stage has low level cap. So I max my level cap halfway through the stage and then I just have to repeatedly fight the boss until I manage to kill it. This can be very frustrating.

A great thing they did with the characters is how for about half the story the team is split-up. Two or three characters together with different targets. This is a great way to use all the characters. Too often in RPGs some character just don't get used, whether they are not as good or just not as cool.

Overall this is fun challenging RPG, but it does not live up to the final fantasy name nor is it going to user in a new generation of J-RPGs. But still is a worthy purchase.

Blog Post: A great RPG that doesn't live up to its incredibly high expectations

Luke — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 15:19:00 GMT

When Final Fantasy XIII was first revealed, fans of the series were hoping it would correct many of the problems they saw in Final Fantasy XII. Many complained that Final Fantasy XII was too complex and its large world was unnecessarily big. Well, Final Fantasy XIII does aim to fix these complaints, and in doing so, delivers a great, but disappointing RPG.

Final Fantasy XIII is extremely linear. Unlike XII, you move from area to area without the options of side quests or deviating from the straight line on your map. Side quests do open up very late in the game (Chapter 11 of 13), but to me, felt more like a chore than a fun change of pace. You’re party is determined by in game events until about the same time side quests open up, and not all abilities are available until Chapter 11 as well. What drives the game from the very beginning is the story. Sadly, the story just isn’t paced well enough or makes enough sense to make me want to keep moving forward at times. I felt like the climax of the game happened about halfway through, and then you were left with little to no story for majority of the rest of the game. The characters are also shallow and melodramatic, making it hard to fall in love with what makes up most of this game.

However, there are many redeeming qualities of this game that make it more than worthwhile. The battle system, utilizing Paradigms, or combinations of different jobs, is both easy to understand and program, but deep enough to allow for a lot of strategy. It makes you feel less like you’re inputting commands, and more like you’re affecting the flow of battle. When it fully opens up near the end of the game, it truly clicks and feels great. It is by far the best battle system of the series. Boss battles are also a high point, and make great use of the Paradigm system. They require an insane amount of strategy. You have to analyze their weaknesses and move set in order to determine an effective tactic. Although difficult, they were the highlight of the experience.

The Crystarium is also an interesting new addition. Instead of your standard leveling up, you gain CP points that can be used to open up new abilities in a system similar to Final Fantasy X’s Sphere Grid. This is far more interesting than your standard leveling up, as you decide what abilities and jobs can be available for your character. The only down side is you don’t have access to the entire thing until very late in the game.

Final Fantasy XIII is not perfect. Its streamlined feel and dependence on a weak story and shallow characters leave a lot to be had in this game, but its incredibly deep and engaging battle system keep the game fresh and moving. It doesn’t live up to the expectations of fans of the series, but it does offer one of the best RPG experiences on the Playstation 3.

Blog Post: Final Fantasy 13 delivers a long lasting experience

LASEDX6 — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:22:00 GMT

This is a late review but I'm new to Gameinformer.com

The wait for Final Fantasy 13 is over and Square Enix delivered as promise.It is by far the greatest RPG to ever live.It is so simple that a 8 year old can play it.The graphics are amazing,The story is very dramatic and revolves like an anime,their are so many strategys,and it makes me happy to see that this game has a challenge.To some people they might think of it as boring and has a stupid story but those are people who rather hate anime or don't like it cause it has no blood.I mean seriously this game has it all:good story,a challenge,good graphics,simple gameplay,HOT GIRLS,and everything.So if I were you I would try it and then thank me for giving you a good game to checkout.So what you waiting for!Go get it,rent it,or get a friend to let you borrow it.Just get your lazy*** up and go get it!

Blog Post: First nex gen fantasy

Gamecrow — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 06:26:00 GMT

This game is not that bad.I know all the emo gay stuff in the game........ you can go past that. There also some slow game play but it's quite good. One thing for sure the game is long but thats rpg's for ya. But this is a must buy with great graphics and fun story and great ending. This game is a mulit so on the 360 vers theres 3 discs so get on the ps3 if you wanna.

File: Spoiled! Final Fantasy XIII

Tim Turi — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:13:00 GMT

We completely ruin the absurd ending of this highly anticipated JRPG.

Wiki Page: Final Fantasy XIII

MASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER JOHN SPARTAN -117 — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 03:49:00 GMT

Fang gamerpic

Get the Treasure Hunter achievement.

Snow gamerpic

Get the L'Cie Paragon achievement to have it unlocked in the extras menu.

Final Fantasy XIII Combat Tip

Battle

This is confirmed to work with at least two commands in the game, but may work with others.
For Lightning's 'Army Of One' which is a Ravager command, as such is great for raising stagger gauge, but does little damage. When using the command, watch for the text appearing on screen to signify the start of the combo.
When this happens, quickly switch to a paradigm where Lightning is in the Commando role. This will not interrupt the combo, and will increase the attack power, for me, the increase is from around 2000 per hit, to around 16000 per hit.

This same strategy works with Vanilles 'Death' move, which, when equipped with a Genji glove can cause up to 999,999 damage to a staggered enemy.

Hope gamer pic

Complete the game then get it at the extras in the main menu.

Lightning gamer pic

Get the Super Star achievement.

Easy way to beat Eidolons Shiva Sisters and Odin

The Eidolons are probably one of the hardest opponents you'll come across, but the good news is, if you beat them, they'll join you as FF13's new summons. Here's how to beat the first two you'll come across.

*note* Each Eidolon fight is set to a certain amount of time portrayed above the character's head. You MUST complete the challenge in that time or you'll have to retry.

Shiva Sisters:

To beat the Shiva sisters, you should have the role "Sentinel" by now. When the Shiva sister leaves herself open, strike while you can. This won't raise her gestalt gauge much, but it will help a little at least.

Then, when you see her throw her hands out and her weapon spins above her head, active Sentinel now. Then, right when she goes to strike, use Guard (or whatever the ability is) to defend from her attack. This will cause the gauge to rise VERY noticeably. Continue this process with good timing, and you'll have the sisters as a your first summon.

Don't worry about the other sister watching the battle. She won't strike, but she will continuously heal you so you can't lose unless you fail to fill the gauge.

*note* Only Snow can summon the sisters, as each character has one summon specific to them.

Odin:

Odin was much easier than the Shiva sisters. All you have to do is make sure you have a paradigm with "Commando" and "Ravager", as he's weak against magic, which the Ravager uses. It wouldn't hurt to occasionally active a paradigm with "Medic" in it, but always make sure you switch back to Ravager as soon as necessary.

In this particular fight, it's okay to attack head on with the Commando, mostly due to your Ravager inflicting great damage with their magical attacks. Synchronize your attacks witht the Ravager just right, and you will claim victory of this Eidolon in just a few minutes at most.

*note* Odin can only be summoned by Lightning.

Quick access to weaknesses in battle

If you have a hard time inflicting physical damage on an enemy, chances are it's weakened by elemental attacks. Thus, be sure you have a Ravager on the field for one.

Now, to easily access an enemy's elemental weakness in-battle, all you have to do is press RB, and the screen revealing information on the currently targeted opponent will appear. This is most helpful in fights like the one against the mini-boss at the start of Disc 2.

*note* You'll need to use the techniqe "Libra" in order to uncover the aforementioned information.

Fast Full ATB

In battle

While in battle you can get a quick full ATB bar by switching paradigms. You may utilize this for a quick combo while switching to a healing or support paradigm. But remember, it only works on the first switch. Don't keep switching hoping for full ATB gauges.

Sazh Gamer Pic

Get the Lore master achievement to unlock the pic in the extras in the main menu.

Achievements

*** 35 Achievements for 1000G ***

Treasure Hunter - Held every weapon and accessory - 80G

Loremaster - Discerned the full attributes of 100 enemies - 80G

Limit Breaker - Dealt 100,000+ damage with a single attack - 30G

Adamant Will - Felled a heavyweight of the lowerworld wilds - 30G

Master's Seal - Fully developed all characters - 30G

Commando's Seal - Mastered the Commando role - 15G

Ravager's Seal - Mastered the Ravanger role - 15G

Sentinel's Seal - Mastered the Sentinel role - 15G

Saboteur's Seal - Mastered the Saboteur's role - 15G

Synergist's Seal - Mastered the Synergist role - 15G

Medic's Seal - Mastered the Medic role - 15G

*** Secret Achievements ***

Instrument of Change - Witnessed the dawn of a new crystal legend - 95G

L'Cie Paragon - Earned a 5-star ranking for all Cie'th Stone missions - 80G

Superstar - Earned a 5-star ranking in the battle to determine the world's fate - 80G

Instrument of Faith - Defied destiny's charge and embarked on a different path - 30G

Dorgann's Trophy - Completed all high-level Cie'th Stone missions - 30G

Galuf's Grail - Completed all Cie'th Stone missions - 30G

Exorcist - Triumphed over undying lowerworld souls in seven fierce battles - 30G

Floraphobe - Toppled a green terror and cut an oversized succulent down to size - 30G

Natural Selector - Passed Titan's trails - 30G

Instrument of Fate - Took the first steps toward challenging an unjust fate - 15G

Instrument of Dissent - Survived the Purge to confront a greater peril - 15G

Instrument of Tragedy - Strode into danger's den and paid the consequences - 15G

Instrument of Flight - Slipped through the net and lived to fight the day - 15G

Instrument of Vengeance - Resolved to be more than a victim of circumstance - 15G

Instrument of Survival - Evaded pursuers, through memories of the past gave chase - 15G

Instrument of Rebellion - Made plans to infiltrate enemy-occupied territory - 15G

Instrument of Shame - Carried the burden of guilt to the end of the line - 15G

Instrument of Wrath - Took the fight to the enemy's door - 15G

Instrument of Truth - Recognized the true threat to the world's fate - 15G

Instrument of Hope - Traveled to the world below, seeking a way to alternate fate - 15G

Pulsian Pioneer - Took over 10,000 steps on the lowerworld surface - 15G

Gysahl Wreath - Discovered buried treasure with a little help from a chocobo - 15G

Kelger's Cup - Completed all low-level Cie'th Stone Missions - 15G

Xezat's Chalice - Completed all mid-level Cie'th Stone missions - 15G

Achievement Hints

Limit Breaker - Dealt 100,000+ damage with a single attack - 30G

* You have to equip the Genji Gauntlet which allows you to break the damage limit of 99,999 *

Commando's Seal - Mastered the Commando Role - 15G

* You have to upgrade Commando to Role Level 5 (Everything filled); This goes for the other Mastered achievements *

Pefect Defenses

To get the perfect defense for physical damage only 2 people get the ability Hope and Fang

Hope: you need the weapon that gives him no magic at all then fully upgrade the power gloves to the kaiser knuckles
x4

Fang: give her the dragoons lance and the four kaiser knuckles

The perfect magical defense can only be obtained by 2 people Snow and Fang again

Snow: give him the weapon that gives him no strength at all and fully upgrade 4 sorcerers marks to magisteel crests

Fang: give her the shamanic spear and the four magisteel crests

CP Farming guide (Post Game)

Items Needed: Growth Eggs (only recomended)

Locale: Taijins Tower Second and Third Teir (All Teirs must be connected for this to work properly. This can be done at the Apex.)

If you are up to it you should fight the mobs out side that are en-route to the tower. Its a nice bump in CP

Once inside the tower go the the Second Teir. Go the the first opening on your left and clear the mobs in all of the rooms. Once that is done go out the way you came in (pretend you are going to the elevator) but instead of turning to the elevator make a left. There is another opening with a mob of five inside that you should kill. Go up the stairs at which time you will be faced with two choices.

A: Go BACK downstairs to see if the add of five has respawned. If so kill them again for an extra 16000 CP (8000 w/o Growth Egg). Once done go back upstairs and kill the other two sets of adds.

B: Just continue and kill the two sets of adds.

Keep in mind that the mob of five doesnt always respawn and that regardless of what you do you should always kill the two sets of mobs upstairs (that is the third teir and that is why all the teirs need to be attached to each other).

after killing those mobs go back downstairs and clear all of the Second Teir again. Once you are finished take the elevator back down to the Ground Teir and then back up to the Second Teir. Rinse and repeat.

CP gained (with Growth Egg) -> 118800
CP gained (w/o Growth Egg) -> 59400
CP gained (Growth Egg and extra mob) -> 134800
CP gained (w/o Growth Egg or extra mob -> 75400

Obtain BOTH treasure spheres in Eden

Leviathan Plaza

For those of you (myself included) whom previously fell for the "fact" that incorrectly states only ONE treasure sphere in the Leviathan Plaza in Eden is obtainable, the truth is...they BOTH are, but only under one condition:

The towering Adamantortoise MUST be defeated for this to work. Simply position Vanille as your party leader and make sure you have her "Death" ability (unless you'd rather fight like no tomorrow with VERY slim chances of winning). Now, enter the battle and summon Hecatoncheir. This will, as stated by many, in fact make it fall to the ground. Once it's down, inflict a few status ailments on it (or at least "Imperil") and then go for it with "Death" until it succumbs. Don't worry about staggering it, because I found out it's NOT necessary to achieve this. If all goes well, the Adamantortoise could very well stumble within the first three attempts (the very first time, I got it in one shot!XD)

Now, after it's defeated, run over onto the glass bottom and you can obtain both treasure spheres, since the Adamantortoise that would have shattered the glass (thus preventing access to the second sphere) is no longer there.

*Note* If you fail to do this and try to obtain the treasure spheres, you will only get one and the other will be removed by said enemy.

Easy CP and Weapon Grinding

Leviathan Plaza - Eden

Firstly, this is better tried once the final boss has been defeated.

Pick Vanille as your party leader with Fang and Hope at your side. Equip Vanille with Debuff enhancing equipment (Belladonna Wand is a must!) Make sure Vanille has the Death ability unlocked before attempting this.
Select your default Paradigm as Espionage (SAB+SAB+SYN) with Vanille and Fang as Saboteurs and be sure to have a TP of 3 or more.
Now find the Adamantoise walking around (this shouldn't take too long) and commence battle. Immediately initiate Vanille's Eidolon, doing so will knock this mighty creature to its knees. Immediately after the Eidolon is summoned activate Gestalt mode and hit it with Gaian Salvo (Y Button).
Once the cutscene is over, enter in to the abilities menu and continuously cast Death until the creature succumbs.
This may take a few tries but eventually you will be successful and for a few minutes work you will be rewarded with 40,000 CP and if you are lucky a Platinum Ingot worth 150,000 GIL. Now, fight the enemies around this area to build your TP back to 3 and save your game. Quit your game and reload your save file and hey presto - another Adamantoise has appeared for you to slaughter. Repeat this process as much as possible to improve your characters and to really make the most of the CP points offered, equip one character with the "Growth Egg" to receive a whopping 80,000 CP points a kill!
A rare drop for this creature is a Trapezohedron which is a component used to create ultimate weapons for all characters. In the R&D shop these cost a staggering 2,000,000 GIL, and seeing as you need 6 of these for the Treasure Hunter achievement, you may want to pay attention to my next tip!

Once you have obtained a Trapezohedron DO NOT USE IT! - yet. Instead of using this to create an ultimate weapon for your favourite Commando, you will benefit greatly to use this on a weapon for Vanille or Fang. The reason behind this is simple - grind one of their weapons to level 100 (Kain's Lance or Nirvana) and dismantle. I know this sounds crazy but for your 1,500,000 GIL investment into creating this full upgraded weapon, you will be rewarded with 3 Trapezohedrons! with a value of 6,000,000 GIL - more than trebling your original investment.
As an added bonus you will also receive some other components worth 216,000 GIL - NICE!

Cp Farming (Advanced)

Archylte Steppe – Northern Highplain

First of all you need a reasonable amount of strength and magic, then as you are about to leave the Archylte Ateppe you should see two monsters having a little fight approach these two monster and attack you will always get a pre-emptive strike then quickly kill the behemoth king and the the big dog thing if you have reasonable strength this fight should only take 10-15 seconds. Afterwards you will receive 6,600 cp points then run back to the nearby save point (maybe a bit further beyond the save point) then run back and fight again for a quick way to gain cp.

If you own the growth egg obtained after completing mission 55 then you will gain double Cp and receive 13,200 Cp points.

Hope this helps you all struggling for Cp.

Make your character dizzy

Whenever you have control of your character outside of battle, move the analog stick left and right quickly. Do this enough (6 or so times) and your character will come to an abrupt stop and emote -- expressing anger or fatigue.

Eidolon Battles

Eidolon: SHIVA
Character: SNOW
Chapter: 03
Strategy: In order to impress Shiva, switch the Paradigm Shift to Sentinel. Have Snow use Steel Guard all the time and wait for the Gestalt Meter to fill up. Don’t worry about your health because Striria (Sister of Nix) will heal you.

Eidolon - ODIN
Character: LIGHTNING
Chapter: 04
Strategy: This is one of the hardest fights you will encounter so far as Odin is fast and deadly. Before entering the battle, make sure that you changed your Battle Speed under Settings to Slow. The key to fill up the Gestalt Meter fast is when Odin sees a lot of healing and chaining up your attacks. Start off with Hope casting Protect and Shell then change the Paradigm Shift to Dual Casting allowing both Lightning and Hope cast magics. When you see one of your characters HP is low, switch to Yin & Yang Paradigm to allow Hope heal Lightning while she’s still attacking with a magic.

Eidolon: BRYNHILDR
Character: SAHZ
Chapter: 08
Strategy: Start off by having the characters switch their Paradigm to Saboteur and Synergiest. Have either of the two cast Vigilance and Haste. If the HP runs low on either of the characters, change the Paradigm to War & Peace to have one of the characters use Cura or Cure. The main key to this battle is to chain up the Chain Gauge. Do it by always focusing on Dual Casting Paradigm to have both characters attack with magic (Ravager).

Eidolan: BAHAMUT
Character: Fang
Chapter: 10
Strategy: Making a pact with Bahamut is a very challenging one as it attacks rampantly. Focus on the health of your party. I suggest to have someone in your party cast Shell and Protect to lessen the damage that you get from Bahamut. Start off by debuffing Bahamut. Have one of your party be a Sentinel (preferably Fang) and the two becomes a Ravager. Keep on attacking Bahamut until the Gestalt Gault fills up

Eidolon: ALEXANDER
Character: Hope
Chapter: 11
Strategy: Make sure Hope has a lot of HP by this time as he will be the Party leader. Start off the battle with Alexander by shifting to Delta Attack Paradigm. Have Fang be the Sentinel while Hope and Lightning do the attack. When you see the party’s HP drop significantly, switch to Combat Clinic Paradigm to do the healing. Keep on doing it this until the Gestalt Meter fills up.

Eidolon: HECATONCHEIR
Character: Vanille
Chapter: 11
Strategy: With only Vanille and Fang fighting this Eidolon Battle, it can be tough. Start off the fight by having Vanille be the Ravanger and Fang be the Sentinel. Keep attacking Hecatoncheir with Vanille’s Magic and watch his Chain Gauge goes up. When the HP runs low, change to a Medic Paradigm and have Vanille heal and switch back to the first strategy. Keep on doing this and the Gestalt Meter will go up

Enemy Circle

Enemy Circle

Once Snow is instructed to take Hope's father into the back room, an enemy assault takes place. You are in the circular portion of Hope's house, and there are enemies to your left and right. The safe door containing Hope's father and Snow is in front of you. DO NOT ENTER IT!! Instead, defeat the enemies on your right, then your left, save, upgrade and take care of whatever else is necessary. Once both squads of enemies are dead, head to the right along the longest hallway. Once you reach the end and take the left corner, the original left group of enemies will re-spawn. This is a continuous cycle (I am doing it right now, and have been for an hour). Keep Lightning and Fang as Commandos and Hope as a Ravager. If you get 5 star ratings on the enemy groups, you often receive Incentive Credits (sold for 2,500 gil a piece). This makes for a great way to make fast money, as well as level up character's paradigm roles and weapons/accessories.

CP Farming

Entry Location:
nautilus park

When playing as Sazh and Vanille after being attacked by those PSICOM soldiers, fight everyone but don't go past the save that leads to the mission marker. There will be 5 or 6 little blue enemies fight them and you will get 650 CP's, then run back to the little blue enemy next to a item container, fight him and then go back to the 6 enemies at the top and repeat.

Forum Post: Final Fantasy XIII

blank92 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:54:00 GMT

i agree with some points. But there are a few errors in analysis.

1) Towns~its pretty difficult to be a fugitive and just wander into a town expecting to talk to people and such. THEY ALL WANT YOU DEAD, as you see in Palum Polum.

2) Minigames~i love minigames, and ff13 has plenty (bhakti, cie'th stones, Scrap processing, Chocobo digging). They all may not be the classic, mainstream minigames that the older versions had, but they are there.

3)Equipment~once you get transformational catalysts and 4 accessory slots, you can start talking about equipment, they can level up, change forms(twice for each weapon, making there a total of 144 weapons and 100+ different accesories), and combine for killer synthesized abilities(vamp strike, auto-haste, auto-stagger)

4) Automatic HP restore~late in the game of many final fantasy titles after EVERY fight, unless you were a god, you had to heal up, or you wouldnt survive the next fight, or you wouldnt survive the suprising boss fight in the next map. Enix fixes this time consuming problem with auto-restore.

Think before you bash a great game. It's storyline (because the are ticking time-bombs set to go off in a few weeks or so) dictates liniarity, towns, and minigames. They have to make the storyline move in order to keep up with the other titles, many games that were amazing earlier on, if remade, would not sell on this market simply because they cannot hold your attention. This game is a step in the right direction for final fantasy and I believe that FFXIII Versus (based on what i've heard) is supposed to take the good in FFXIII and the worldlyness of past titles, and combine them.