What can be said about a new Final Fantasy that has been said already. Gorgeous visuals, and engaging storyline, the ability to immerse the gamer into the world. Well Final Fantasy takes all of these elements a step further. The visuals are stunning, the story is one that will have your full attention throughout the experience, and the characters are the icing on the cake.
Each character is treated as the star of the game, the the main star is lightening you almost feel as though you have close ties to Snow, Hope, Szah, even the sometimes corny Vanille. I for one didnt have a problem with Vanille but many may grow tired of her continuous happy go lucky "everything is going to be alright" rants. Each character feels special.
The story is above par but we have come to expect this from the Final Fantasy franchise. I will not go in depth about the storyline in order to avoid spoilers but i will say the moral of the story is the idea of "will you risk your life and help those who have turned their back on you". A very interesting concept so when you get this game if you dont already have it (shame on you) i hope you get the popcorn ready because it will be an emotional and exciting roller coaster.
The battles are fun. For those who have the game or have not yet gotten the game, the first 30-45 minutes of the game is just a tutorial. I know it seems very easy and while i was playing i couldnt believe that square would make a combat system that was so easy, but rest assured after the beginning tutorial you are given the full fledged battle experience. It was actually very smart for square to do it this way because as you will find out there is a lot to the battle system in FF13 and the developers decide to teach the combat system in small doses so here is the disclaimer once again *the combat system seems easy in the beginning but once you get out of the beginning tutorial at about 45 minutes into the game the combat becomes very engrossing*
Now this game would have gotten a 10 from me but there is one gripe from the people who have played this game. This game can be thought of as a linear experience. I have no problem with this but in order to be fair with the rating system i decided to knock it down to a 9.5. There are a number of corridor like areas where they lead you to the next area that you need to be in. Although there are a number of Linear sequences in the game this takes nothing away from the overall atmosphere, story and beauty of the game.
Final Fantasy 13 is a must for any RPG fan. With an amazing story, beautiful (eye orgasmic lol) visuals, a robust fighting system, and amazing and entertaining characters this game belongs in your collection. So do yourselves a favor if it already is not in your gaming collection go to your nearest gamestore and get it!!!!
Jason signing out =)
