Final Fantasy XIII. Part 1 : Overview

 
So where do I start?

Final Fantasy is a game of extremes, but also compromises. It is a bastion of JRPG conventions, yet a willing executioner of its most highly-regarded traditions. It is chock full of flair, but also conservatism. An amalgamation of brilliance, interspersed with unmissable flaws. It is, in essence, a conflict of loyalty, progressiveness, and dare I say it, Japan VS North America.

The game has been gracing storefronts since December 17th 2009 (Japanese) and March 9th 2010 (English version), and to date has sold nearly 3 million units in less than 3 months of sales. Square Enix have said that it is the fastest selling Final Fantasy in its history. But does commercial success translate to critical acclaim?

This is where the picture gets slightly murkier.



 On the surface, if you are new to the universe (or should I say, multi-verse) of Final Fantasy, this game is a thoroughly amazing advertisement for the creativity, innovation and genius of game developers, particularly the team behind this iteration; Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshitaka Amano, Yoshinori Kitase, Motomu Toriyama, Toshiro Tsuchida and others.

Yet if you are a long-time follower of the series (as I am, since the days of FF7, 13 years ago), then this game could end up being a shock. A real big shock. In fact, it could be traumatic. JRPGs, should they follow the lead established by FFXIII, will never be the same again. But enough philosophical dithering. What of the game itself?

Final Fantasy XIII is set in the world of Pulse, and the massive twin world that floats above it, known as Cocoon. Cocoon is in essence a floating planet that is above Pulse's surface, and was created and maintained by the game universe's most powerful entities, the fal'Cie (pronounced fal-see). Humans that live on Cocoon are watched over by Cocoon's fal'Cie creators, and administered by a human government called the Sanctum. They live in constant fear of anything related to the world below, Pulse, due to transgressions committed by Pulse's fal'Cie and armies in years gone by.

Into this setting comes our protagonist, a strong-willed and battle hardened former sergeant of the Sanctum Guardian Corps, Lightning. She is joined on her journey by 5 other protagonists - Snow, a small-time rebellion leader of the group called NORA; Hope, a teenage boy driven by grief and despair, Vanille, a red-head with nary a care in the world; Sazh, a man with a quirky personality and wit; and Fang, a woman with mysterious motivations of her own. Another major, but non-playable, character, is Lightning's sister, Serah, who is engaged to Snow, creating  another set of complications.

They are all joined together after being branded / cursed l'Cie (luh-see) by Pulse fal'Cie, meaning that they have to accomplish a 'Focus' or mission assigned to them by that particular fal'Cie, or risk a fate worse than they could ever imagine.

(L-R, Front) Fang, Serah, Hope

(L-R, Rear) Lightning, Sazh, Snow, Vanille

The first thing that anyone and everyone needs to know about FFXIII, is this : this game is incredibly linear. It is the one thing more than anything else that has nerdrage (that's an actual word) on fan forums boiling over to previously unimaginable levels, coupled with the loss of other JRPG staples, such as towns, a world map, mana points (MP) and traditional levelling up mechanics (EXP, AP).

You level up in this game by defeating enemies and gaining CP (Crystogen Points) which are spent on activating nodes in Crystarium that correspond to attributes or skills. It is very similar to FFX's Sphere Board, although it does not have as much freedom. There are no shops as such, as many things are done through Save Points, such as purchasing new weapons & items, selling unwanted items, and weapon upgrading. Items you collect as battle drops (loot) can be used to upgrade your weapons, which gain RPG-esque characteristics and can be leveled up.

The loss of so many traditional JRPG elements renders Final Fantasy XIII as a radical departure from the series, yet what it excels at enhances its claims as a true guardian of the Final Fantasy name. It is indeed, a game of extremes and compromises.

And what does it excel at? The magnificent execution of its Battle System.

Part 2 : Battle System (coming soon)

I think it's fair to say...

... that I am in love.

And with more than one girl at a time.

Lightning

Serah

Vanille

Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshitaka Amano, what are you trying to do to me?!

A more in-depth look at Final Fantasy XIII will follow.. Once I get all these rather interesting fantasies out of the way.

Contradictory inanities.

The library is quite a strange place.

For starters, it's not really called a library. So you can talk your head off in here. No one really gives a toss if your handphone goes off. And the PCs here, at a glance, seem to run entirely in a Facebook-controlled universe. Surreal. A quick glance through it all confirms that you have indeed, left Kansas.

I'm sure all the parents of these students would feel such pride at what their 2,000 dollar semester fees are being used up on. All that Internet bandwidth just to see if Davina really did hook up with Joey last night? Oh no he dee'ent. *insert exaggerated hand motion here* I SO can't see why anyone likes that tramp Tina! Look at her pics! She's barely got anything on! *insert hair flick here, even though no one is watching*

But I digress. I suppose I'm being far too general and mean. Then again, such a paradox could only occur here in this university, in this country. Although I would wager this probably happens far more in North America, the land of opportunity, freedom, and getting your balls electrocuted for having a beard and dark skin, and a name rednecks can't pronounce properly. Unless you're in Canada.

Dysfunctional dystopia (hah, see what I did there?)  that this place is though, it is still a 'home' of sorts, since I spend the majority of my day in this particular corner of the Earth. Although when I say corner, I should probably explain that it's a particularly dark and damp one. As much as I bitch about it (and will probably continue to do so through this avenue), I sort of like it here. The food isn't bad, some of the student populace are quite agreeable company, and the chicks are not too shabby looking.

Although having said that, there are still one too many girls that somehow think they're 'all that', and dress/act accordingly.

Ladies, here's a tip. Yes, Bialystock and Bloom would sing, if you've got it, flaunt it. But in real life, a guy doesn't want a girl to go over the top. When you're beautiful, be it on the inside or outside, don't ham it up. Because any guy worth his salt, will be able to recognise it, without you having to advertise it like beauty products during the 8 o'clock news.

This is one hell of a library.

Daftness and Insecurity.

It's thoroughly ridiculous to think about it. But I can't help myself. Can you?

Could we end up together? After all that's happened?

Perhaps I am just asking too much of current circumstances. Maybe current circumstances themselves are not fully understood either. Maybe you'll leave. Maybe you'll disappear. Or maybe, in a far likelier outcome, I'll do something stupid to put an end to it all.

You have always been so kind to me. Even in times of anger, the gentleness of your voice never wavered. The concern has never left. Bitterness, which is well deserved on my part, has never seemingly reared its head. And through all that has happened, you have continued to love me. To care about me. To show me what I once taught you. To embrace love in all its glory, and its pain.

You are an amazing human being. A testament to the strength of the human soul. The manifestation of  the ideal of companionship. The pictorial definition of a soulmate. Forgiving, selfless, dedicated and honest.I am privileged and honoured to have you in my life.

I love you.

Space Filler.

Here I am in a class called eMarketing.

The lecturer is cool and pretty laidback. He basically just talks for 15 minutes, and then let's us do whatever we want for the entire two hours. Last week I sat here talking about EVE Online with a classmate and had various discussions regarding Mods for Sins Of A Solar Empire, based on both Star Trek and Star Wars.

What you'll notice is that I have a certain affinity for space. Space in general, and science fiction in particular (which more often than not, happens in Space). As I write this though, the PC is currently the only outlet for me to fulfill my space addiction. Be it through documentaries (James May : On The Moon, The NASA Missions : Why We Left Earth, History Channel : The Universe), movies, and video games (Sins of A Solar Empire, Galactic Civilisations II).

This has been more evident since I suffered the misfortune of having all 4 of my gaming consoles cease to exist within the span of a few months. The PS3 packed it in with a YLOD (yellow light of death), the Xbox360 RROD'ed (Red Ring of Death), the PS2 died after 8 years of service, and the PSP got stolen after a house break-in. A total outlay of 900 US dollars would be required to get everything back, which is as unlikely as having Scarlett Johansson pull up at my house and asking me if I would marry her and give her babies.

Why space? Because, as canned as it might sound, and as hackneyed it will indeed seem, it is indeed the final frontier. The last great bastion of the Unknown which mankind is yet to comprehend, let alone conquer. There is something deeply seductive about the idea of leaving this ball of rock 93 million miles from the Sun, and going out into the infinite blackness of eternity. If only for the view.

The only way I would conceivably be able to do so, is through the wonderful medium of gaming, which has provided me with countless hours of space escapism, as I battle the Borg, destory the Empire, slay Helghast warriors, or just fly around as an interstellar trader.

Then again, perhaps space is just an outlet for me to forget the mundane realities of Earth, and the harsh practicality of having to deal with life. However, going into space for mankind, as a whole, has made us view life in an entirely new context, and has changed how the world sees itself, in relation to the rest of the universe. But there are pitfalls to that, aren't there? Because our first few steps into space have shown us that Earth is basically a tiny subatomic particle floating around a speck of dust (the sun), in an ocean trillions of times larger than the pacific. As James May said, it's not that we're small, or insignifcant; it could very well be that we don't matter at all.

Maybe that's why so few of us share this deep fascination, nay, love, of space and the adventure that it would undoubtedly turn out to be. Because we choose to ignore the possibility that we are nothing in the cosmic scale of things. Maybe Bruce was right, when he said that we are merely God's playthings, and that God is a kid with a magnifiying glass, and we're all merely ants to be burnt to death. Or even worse, the bacteria on the ants themselves.

Me? I don't care that we don't matter in the giant scheme of cosmic happenings. I just want my videogames back.

A tribute to legal insanity.

Curiously enough, this isn't my first blog. Nor, in all fairness, will it end up being my last one either. There are phases when I wish to share my thoughts with the rest of the world. And then there are times when I withdraw into my sanctuary of deep thought, and tell the rest of the world to fuck off.

So here we are then. :)

What has inspired me to suddenly return to the blogsphere, after previous stalled attempts at pontificating the value of spreading the inane ramblings of a sub-psychotic journeyman of life? Perhaps it is rooted in a desire to be heard, no matter how irrelevant these musings are, or how pointless these speculations might be.

I must be crazy, after all. Considering that, after all is said and done, I just happen to like the idea of having my name in lights.