I can't believe I haven't written this already. So let's get this over with. Final Fantasy 13 is by far one of the most linear game I've ever played. It's still good, but it takes more open mind to enjoy, since it's so different from the previous ones. My drawing first.
http://vividobscura.deviantart.com/art/Shadow-Hearts-Hilde-193039605
The story first, I'll try to be brief and thorough. In FF 13 universe, there are two worlds, Cocoon, the floating futuristic world and Pulse, the savage world below. In each world, there are deities called Fal'Cie who turn humans into their weapons called l'Cie to sabotage the other world. Being l'Cie pretty much means you are screwed, Each l'Cie is given a Focus, which in layman term means worst-mission-ever. The Fal'Cie are not clear about what you should do, so it's basically a stab in the dark. If you are miraculously successful, you turn into crystal. If you fail, you become a monster. Being l'Cie pretty much ruins your day.
The characters are ensembled in cliche fashion, six strangers meet accidentally . But what separates FF 13 from the rest is they don't mingle very well at start. This is not "Squall meets Rinoa and saves the world" type although it somehow leads to the same epic conclusion. FF 13 presentation is superbly done. Each character has different emotional baggage and motive. The simple minded but stubborn Snow simply doesn't mix well with more realistic stern Lightning, maybe she tends to be.. aggressive, so the party is separated most of the time.
kudos for the artist http://banished-shadow.deviantart.com/
This is where the much controversial story comes into play. Instead on focusing on one single journey, FF 13 switches back and forth between chars plus their flashbacks, hence took players' freedom greatly. From storytelling's stand point, it's great since it tells different aspects from different perspectives. No, I'm not saying this because my writing uses the same style, which by the way kinda relieving to see at least FF used it too, makes me warm and fuzzy inside... ehmm, so continue on. To be fair, I think it just barely escapes cliche, the dialogue and the writing has some lost-in-translation problem. It probably suits better in Japanese.
But from the gaming's point, it's suffocatingly linear. So much so, the 2/3 of the game is just a straight march with occasional beaten paths to collect treasures. This is probably my most linear game since Breath of Fire 5 on Ps2, even that has small hubs serving as towns, FF13 has none. Removing all ancient NPC interactions and towns, even if the story goes into town, it's still a one line path. This feels so much like a missed opportunity since the world is so entrancing, you will want to explore it. I know the need to push the story, but it really doesn't hurt to open the world a bit.
Even the chars progression is linear. It uses Crystarium, almost the exact Sphere Grid from FFX. If you are not familiar with it, it's a huge web-like stats and skills paths that let you customize your chars as you see fit, but FF 13 has almost no freedom in it, every stat paths is practically a must, thus making each char almost stuck to their pre-assign roles. This not necessarily a bad thing, because it actually provides players with more deep gameplay. One char has three different roles, the other three are opened later, but not as good as their original specialties. Roles are pretty much simple, commando for attacking, synergist for buff and so on.
The battle is intriguing. First of all, every character is assigned hitherto roles. Each role can only do actions specified to them, i.e a commando has high attack power, but can't heal. If you want to heal, you have to change that char's role into medic, this is called "paradigm shift". You can assign paradigms for your party to benefit any given aspect, but you can only control one char in battle, the other two are controlled by AI. Don't worry the AI is good, probably the best I've seen so far. There is a limit on how may paradigm you can select, six, so you want to prepare for all situation and switch between attacking, buff etc when the situation arise.
Think of it like, bringing six different parties, but the characters remain the same, only their roles are different in a battle and then continuously switch between them. Seems complicated and took the micro management away from players at first, but I can attest that this is the most fluid battle of FF so far, It's almost real time how they move and fight. I approve!
It's safe to say that FF has been known for dishing out probably the most beautiful graph on any generation of consoles, this gen is no different. The world of Cocoon is fully realized down to the details. Form the wardrobe of the passerby, the hovering signs, the view from rainy port, the silver forest, the chocobo theme park and I can go on all day. Which is ironic because those places are so linear, you CAN'T visit them again. Then when the CG kicks in.. Oh Mai Gawd, my eyes melted.
Combining this with a beautiful orchestra and you got one hell of presentation. I know the lack of Uematsu might put some people off, but I think it's okay. The soundtracks are great, one of my favorite so far. There are more than a dozen tracks that blew my mind and they have different feel from more melodramatic approach Uematsu used, but you can tell instantly that this is FF theme. The orchestra instrumental, superb union of piano and violin, the jazz vibe and amazing vocal contribute to one of the best OST 2010 had to offered. It only loses to Nier. and Nier is fricking awesome.
Here's how to do a cutscene right.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFkhGlliiQM
Press the damn link please. If fb had provided me with vid editor, I'd have edited it for your convenient .
Final Fantasy 13 is different. I can understand why most gamers complain about it. It tries to be interactive movie, but it focuses more on the movie part. They need to realize that this is a game, not everyone has the patient to trudge through hallways of dungeons. I like books and movies, yet I do feel it's too linear sometimes. It's not without flaws, there is a bit frame drop when in ch11, despite the great graph, the fingers look blocky and the most annoying is the difference in lip-sync with no Jap dub to chose from.
For ones who already accustom to free semi open world RPG of next gen (Fallout, DA and ME), the linearity might be a problem, but give it time, FF 13 will impressive you. I can't say that this is better than ME2 because ME2 can blend story, gameplay and players' decision into one seamless collection. FF13 is lacking on it. That being said, it's still a great game. 9/10
PS:
Here's a bonus clip for Eidolon fans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYDcdglxlHk&feature=related
Another one for Transformer fans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjDKlZCVB1U&feature=related
The last one for Tron/former fans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx-LTk1hQQs&feature=related
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