PlayStation 3 Review: Final Fantasy XIII

Perhaps better than any other game franchise, the Final Fantasy franchise excels at world-making.  Each edition of the main series (save X-2) has created a whole new universe with a new set of rules and a new set of problems.  Though each entry into the series is massively different than the one that came before, there is something in the way each of them plays, in the way each of them feels, that tie them together and make each, very definitely, a Final Fantasy title.  With the newest entry into the series, Final Fantasy XIII, that pattern holds.

The story here is relatively typical of the Final Fantasy games – there is a gross evil out there that wants to rule all of humanity and attempts to do so through the use of fear and brutality.  The group of playable characters in the game, led by Lightning and Snow, realize that they are the only ones who can possibly stand up against this brutality, and even though they may not always wish to step into the role of savior, eventually they do.  This review could go into greatly more depth at this point about he l'Cie being created by the fal'Cie and the Sanctum's Purge and the creation of the world of Cocoon and the theories Cocoon's inhabitants have about the lower world, Pulse.  However, we will not do that here.

Examining the story in great depth would not only mean little until you actually play the game, it may just ruin some of the story for you.  As has become tradition in Final Fantasy titles, there are an incredible number of cutscenes and flashbacks, and bits of the story only come out in dribs and drabs.  To try and recreate the narrative in linear fashion in a review destroys reveals and might lead to you getting bored and tuning out from the game, which is something you don't want to do as that will inevitably mean that you'll miss some bit of information you'll actually want.

The biggest problem with FFXIII though is that if you do miss some piece of information, while you may be slightly lost for a little while, it won't change the way you progress through the game.  While all Final Fantasy games have a beginning, middle, and end, this one feels much more linear than most, providing you with very little opportunity to stray from the path of the story the game has laid out.  In fact, early on in the game you'll note as you travel that there is, literally, a very definite path for you to traverse and that even if you want to peak around a corner to see what's there, an invisible wall will stop you.

Article Author: Josh Lasser

Josh Lasser, formerly known as "TV and Film Guy," and complete with a Masters Degree in Critical Studies in said areas, gives his opinions on TV, Film, and Entertainment in general. All of which he does in a shameless attempt to try to get paid to do the exact same thing. …

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