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First Impressions: Final Fantasy XIII
- By Douglas Shepard (Editor in Chief, RarityGuide.com)
- Published 01/17/2010
- Modern Games
- Unrated
First Impressions: Final Fantasy XIII
Sometimes, being in the right place at the right time is worth more than one could imagine. While there are definitely a few stories I could share on that account I will not. Suffice to say; last night I was given a chance to try Final Fantasy XIII. While rushed, it was something I knew I should not pass up. Now, I need to share some details about this game.
The game launched me right into combat with a very different style interface but keeping the traditional Final Fantasy Style Command Menu. You “control” a squad of three people, Lightning, Fang and one other. The actual input of commands threw me briefly, as I immediately expected something along the lines of Kingdom Hearts, where one actually moves the character and must get them within striking range to successfully execute an attack, but instead found it closer to some of the MMO style command inputs, with queuing of commands. This was not a bad way to do the battle system, as it offered something of a hybrid between online commands and more traditional turn-based menu selection. All party members were clearly listed on the right side of the screen, showing their present HP as well as TP, the world’s equivalent of MP. It only took a little practice before I was pretty much back into the groove of how battle works in Final Fantasy. At the end of the battle, you are rated on how you did based on various criteria I was not quite able to understand.
My character was let loose to run around a bit, giving me a chance to look at the world around her a little. What I saw did not disappoint for the present generation, especially for the Playstation 3. The in-game graphics were on par with the cinematic sequences of many games that had played previously. The world around me showed an air-borne city, with a few visible enemies. This is something different as well, it has been a while since I saw that format of encounter system, where contact with an enemy leads to a party of them showing. Seeing only a simple path forward, I opt to battle once more, this time wanting to try out the summon system and the Paradigm Shift battle system.
The Paradigm Shift system proved to be very easy to use. By hitting “L1” it brought up a menu of 5 different Paradigms that I could choose, explaining the impact it would have on the behaviors of each character. As my party was a little worse for wear, I changed to the Support Style to bolster the party’s health a bit. When a party member went down, it was very simple to access the item menu and use an old favorite, Phoenix Down to revive them. After a minute of letting the party run itself, I decide it is time to take a more active role in control. Restoring everyone quickly with an Elixir, I hunt down the spells and summons. I find Esuna and Cure while in my present Paradigm, so a quick shift to something more aggressive is in order. Only moments later I am looking at Quake, Libra, Ruin, and the option to Summon. Accessing summon I find another classic, Odin. Choosing to summon the All-Father, I see a brief sequence where Odin is called by the lead character. Now it is just the Summoner with her Eidolon. The battle commands have changed as well. I see directional input in addition to a particular button and a gauge that seems to be slowly going down. After an attack or two, the final option looks good. The character then joined with the Eidolon for one powerful strike. Needless to say, this delivers on numerous things I had hear about where the summons become more interactive.
Taking a look back, I sincerely wish I had a little more time to stay. A trailer had to go unwatched and there could have been one more battle. What time I did have with the game though felt well spent. Getting a brief taste of it sparked my interest in the game more than most of what I had read about the game. While an avid fan of the series, Final Fantasy X-2, XI and XII all put me off the more recent entries, with only Dissida: Final Fantasy offering something worthwhile. This one seems to offer something closer to what I would expect of this long-running series. Needless to say, there is more hope for this new Final Fantasy in my mind than its predecessor.
Sometimes, being in the right place at the right time is worth more than one could imagine. While there are definitely a few stories I could share on that account I will not. Suffice to say; last night I was given a chance to try Final Fantasy XIII. While rushed, it was something I knew I should not pass up. Now, I need to share some details about this game.
The game launched me right into combat with a very different style interface but keeping the traditional Final Fantasy Style Command Menu. You “control” a squad of three people, Lightning, Fang and one other. The actual input of commands threw me briefly, as I immediately expected something along the lines of Kingdom Hearts, where one actually moves the character and must get them within striking range to successfully execute an attack, but instead found it closer to some of the MMO style command inputs, with queuing of commands. This was not a bad way to do the battle system, as it offered something of a hybrid between online commands and more traditional turn-based menu selection. All party members were clearly listed on the right side of the screen, showing their present HP as well as TP, the world’s equivalent of MP. It only took a little practice before I was pretty much back into the groove of how battle works in Final Fantasy. At the end of the battle, you are rated on how you did based on various criteria I was not quite able to understand.
My character was let loose to run around a bit, giving me a chance to look at the world around her a little. What I saw did not disappoint for the present generation, especially for the Playstation 3. The in-game graphics were on par with the cinematic sequences of many games that had played previously. The world around me showed an air-borne city, with a few visible enemies. This is something different as well, it has been a while since I saw that format of encounter system, where contact with an enemy leads to a party of them showing. Seeing only a simple path forward, I opt to battle once more, this time wanting to try out the summon system and the Paradigm Shift battle system.
The Paradigm Shift system proved to be very easy to use. By hitting “L1” it brought up a menu of 5 different Paradigms that I could choose, explaining the impact it would have on the behaviors of each character. As my party was a little worse for wear, I changed to the Support Style to bolster the party’s health a bit. When a party member went down, it was very simple to access the item menu and use an old favorite, Phoenix Down to revive them. After a minute of letting the party run itself, I decide it is time to take a more active role in control. Restoring everyone quickly with an Elixir, I hunt down the spells and summons. I find Esuna and Cure while in my present Paradigm, so a quick shift to something more aggressive is in order. Only moments later I am looking at Quake, Libra, Ruin, and the option to Summon. Accessing summon I find another classic, Odin. Choosing to summon the All-Father, I see a brief sequence where Odin is called by the lead character. Now it is just the Summoner with her Eidolon. The battle commands have changed as well. I see directional input in addition to a particular button and a gauge that seems to be slowly going down. After an attack or two, the final option looks good. The character then joined with the Eidolon for one powerful strike. Needless to say, this delivers on numerous things I had hear about where the summons become more interactive.
Taking a look back, I sincerely wish I had a little more time to stay. A trailer had to go unwatched and there could have been one more battle. What time I did have with the game though felt well spent. Getting a brief taste of it sparked my interest in the game more than most of what I had read about the game. While an avid fan of the series, Final Fantasy X-2, XI and XII all put me off the more recent entries, with only Dissida: Final Fantasy offering something worthwhile. This one seems to offer something closer to what I would expect of this long-running series. Needless to say, there is more hope for this new Final Fantasy in my mind than its predecessor.
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