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Showing reviews 1-5 of 576
 A lot better than I expected + an ADD point of view. September 9, 2010
Thomas C. Wilson (Arlington, VA United States)
I originally had no intention of getting FFXIII.
I had heard all of the standard complaints, and I though I knew that I wouldn't like it because of the "Corridor" issue. I thought I would hate being set on a straight path, with no real storyline choices. That I would get sick of running straight forwards for so long.
I thought all of that, and I was wrong. I attended the "DISTANT WORLDS: Music from Final Fantasy" concert this past summer, and the people I was with all highly recommended this game to me.
I thought about it, and I realized something: Every RPG (normal or derivative) that I've enjoyed in the past couple of years has been just as linear. "The World Ends With You" and "Infinite Space" were both incredibly linear storylines that could be very corridor-like at times, but I absolutely adored them.
So I played it, and I beat the storyline.
Wait, I beat the storyline already?
This is somewhat odd for me, especially where Final Fantasy games are concerned. One of the hallmarks of the series, to me, has always been the fact that you beat the second-to-last story-related boss, then you spend hour after hour doing side-quests and leveling up before going to face the final story boss.
This presents somewhat of a problem to me, as someone with a very active ADD issue. I tend to get bored quickly with things that I don't feel are moving very fast, and I tend to lose interest well before completing the side-quests and going after the boss.
For example, I've played every non-multiplayer Final Fantasy game except 9, 1, and 2 (Japanese versions). I have beaten three of them, now. In every single one, I'll get to that area before the final boss, spend some time grinding and trying to do the side-quests, then just lose interest. I beat X and XII, but only after they sat on my game-shelf for at least a year or two since I started playing them. I beat XII the day after I got XIII in July, after buying it soon after it came out. By this point of course, the storyline I'm supposed to be immersed in is barely a hazy memory in the rather cramped space my mind reserves for video game plots. The final story boss, which is supposed to be the capper on the epic adventure my characters have been on, has no more value to me then any other enemy, just with a pretty CGI before and after. Two years (at least!) after beginning the story, I no longer have any real connection to either the enemy, or my characters, with any memory of character growth and depth also faded.
In short, beating the games becomes a physical accomplishment of applied focus, not an emotional climax. Yes, I am aware that sounds dirty. It's not.
The fact that the party doesn't even gain the ability to DO most of the side-quests successfully until after the story ends is somewhat refreshing for me. Even though I'll admit that the cast and story of XIII wasn't the most engaging to me (that honor is still held by FF3[US, 6 in Japan]), the fact that I could see it from beginning to end without the massive breaks in the middle of the story increased my enjoyment of the game significantly.
Further, the lack of minigames was also a blessing, removing one of the main distractions to my completing the story from previous games. I enjoyed Blitzball, yes, but I also realized that it didn't provide me anymore satisfaction than I might derive from a Sudoku puzzle.
I play the Final Fantasy games for the Story. That's what I enjoy about the series. While this certainly wasn't the best for that, it's presentation and short times between story events made this more enjoyable for me than it might have otherwise been.
Also, I found the battle system in this game a blessing. I tend to lose focus easily (ADD remember?), so knowing that my companion characters will continue to act even if I forget I'm in a fight (embarrassing, yes, but it has happened) is kind of nice. I know that even if I had managed to get my characters to a high enough level in XII, I would never have beaten the more difficult side-quest bosses, because micro-managing all three characters at once; which I sometimes found was made worse by the gambit system, not better; was extraordinarily difficult for me, such that even some of the supposedly less difficult battles were a struggle for survival. In other words, if the game isn't turn-based in the FFX sense, I'm going to have trouble managing my party in battle unless something else picks up the slack. The gambit system gave me problems that I did not encounter (for the most part) with the paradigm system.
The Girlfriend Review September 9, 2010
Celeste (Louisiana)
TIME TO BEAT: Over 70 hours
Sometimes, being a good girlfriend means sitting on the couch and watching him play a game or playing a game together. I'm a moderate gamer; the new controls are generally more complicated than I'm willing to commit to. He is a hard core gamer. Some games are easier to watch than others, and some are easier to play. This review is not for the hard core gamer. This review is for the girlfriend (or boyfriend, who am I to judge?) that sits on the couch and watches.
So, let me get the fact that this game is totally gorgeous out of the way. I mean, really, it's just beautiful. The backgrounds, the characters, the enemies and villains, even the chocobos are beautiful. But, with games as with life, looks aren't everything.
Once your team is assembled, the game pay consists of six characters with three playing at a time. (Side note: HELLO! SQUARE ENIX....I'm sitting here, I'm watching. Would it have been that hard to make those other two characters playable so I could PLAY and not just watch??) As is the case with all RPG type games, there is always at least one character that is just a tad annoying. One of the great things about this game is that it almost doesn't matter. All of your players gain experience points, no matter who you use in battle. So, you don't have to alternate players out just to try to keep everyone on equal footing level wise. For us, this meant that we hardly ever played Hope. Also, there were plenty of save points, which is great. So many games act like save points cost a fortune.
So now the negatives....
When watching a game, I like a good mix of game play and cut scenes. With this game, it seemed like it was feast or famine. Sometimes, the cut scenes seemed to last forever and happen almost too frequently. Other times, hours of game play would go on without a cut scene. Sometimes it would seem like such a long time, that I would forget what was going on. I think my occasional naps between cut scenes didn't help with my understanding of the game any. I found that at times the story was somewhat complicated, but I guess it was just me because Mike was able to follow it just fine. Of course, he was playing the game, not just watching it. (Thanks again, Square Enix. Dual player, not that hard.)
Overall, it was a beautiful and fun game with a great, albeit complicated, story. I think the ending was good, but I'm not really sure. After we beat what we assumed was the final boss, about 2 minutes into the end story...beep beep beep and the PS3 goes dead. *sigh* If you're wondering, it was NOT fun enough for us to play again, just to watch those last few cut scenes.
 Some flaws but overall a great game September 8, 2010
Lee Chang (Sacramento, CA United States)
I understand some of the flaws of the game such as Linearity and cheesy lines by some of the characters. Those things bother me too but at the end of the day, I look at how much time I spend on the game and do I keep going back for more. The answer is yes, I have spend more time on this game then any other games in years and I just love playing it. Top notch graphics and music. This is just a very enjoyable game.
I think it's a great game September 6, 2010
Mercedes (Colorado, USA)
After not gaming for several years I'm getting back into it. And this game is the main reason why. I fell in love with Final Fantasy VII, and most of the following games. I've read the other reviews on this game and I guess I'm looking at this differently. I really like this game. The graphics are just amazing. The soundtrack is pretty darn good too. I love the characters, all but Hope (he's a whining little pain). The game flow is pretty good, there are a lot of cut scenes and they pulled me into the game. There are lots of battles and I had some trouble getting the hang of it as it's not really turn based anymore. I do miss that. I don't care for the fact that I can't control the other characters; only the main character can be controlled. However, despite these flaws I was unable to turn the game off; it was that great for me. I recommend any rpg lover or Final Fantasy lover add this to their collection.
Even though it lacked...I give it 5 Stars September 6, 2010
Wendell Albin
Gameplay: The first thing that makes a video game is obviously gameplay. I was able to enjoy 80 hours of Final Fantasy XIII before I got fed up with it. The reason being; was because there was lots to unlock and several things to do even upon passing the video game. The biggest disappointment (statistically) is the way battles are fought. If the party leader should K.O during a battle, then it's a game over. One other thing I found to be another flaw was the summoning system; each character has their own assigned Eidolon. This means, you may just have to use your least favorite character , just to summon your favorite Eidolon. There are several other gameplay aspects that may disappoint, but there are also several things that make up for it. I still stand by the side of FFXIII due to it's amazing story and characters. You just have to bare with getting through a bunch of chapters with the hardship of fighting with just 2 characters for the most part of the game. THERE IS A LOT OF CHARACTER SWITCHING! Which you have no control over till the end of the game.
Graphics: The graphics in this game are by far beautiful! If you don't have an HDTV or any form of HD access, you won't reap the full benefit of playing Final Fantasy XIII. Graphics of this game are what fill a hole in it's many flaws. This game is almost HD to it's fullest extent.
Storyline: This is the main reason I had purchased Final Fantasy XIII (thus why I've purchased any Final Fantasy.)It's one of the more mellow stories told in the FF series, also it's something very different. Each character is somehow connected. I loved the storyline- it was well built and given the best characters ever. I really enjoyed it; I'm sure several others out there will.
Overall: I give this game a 5, because it's one of my favorite Final Fantasy's since 7. Even though it's flawed in many ways; there are things I just love about this game. I forgot to mention how great the music is in this game. The only disappointment is it's gameplay, which I didn't mind much- but give it a shot! I bought it when it first came out at it's introductory price; I would say the price it's at now is well worth it.
Enjoy!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 576
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