Wait everybody told me this game sucks why did it actually rock, this shit was awesome.
Obviously there's a good bit of negatives, for example the combat, but I never really cared for FF combat in the first place so this wasn't really unexpected, helps that for the most part it really isn't a slog outside of a few sequences (mostly Lightning and Hope hallway lmao). The story itself is also kinda whatever and REALLY likes to throw a ton of fantasy jargon at you which makes it a lot more confusing than it actually is. But also this is very much a game where the story is second to the main cast so I don't mind this point all that much.
Now lemme just get the best point out of the way, these characters are fucking awesome. I LOVE SNOW, the fact that he's ALWAYS playing the hero, being the positive presence in the party while also being the most childish mf in existence, such a fantastic character, also has a great dynamic with basically every character in the game which helps a lot. And he has a fucking motorcycle, that's the coolest shit ever. Sazh kinda goes without saying, I'd be surprised if anyone playing this game didn't adore him by the end. His dialogue's extremely fun and he has some of the best moments in the game, also he's a dad, we love dads. Sick car btw. Despite the constant moaning, Vanille is also really good, I mostly like her due to how great her dynamics with other characters are (especially Sazh that was REALLY good), and that's perfectly fine, dynamics usually make characters to begin with. Even Hope who I was really iffy on ended up to be great, yeah he's annoying at the beginning of the game but he gets a huge glow up past a certain point in the story, his development is fantastic and his dynamic with Snow is even better with him taking after Snow in a lot of ways. The cast just feels like a big family by the end of the game and that's great, especially when EVERYONE in the party has their own motives and aren't just following the MC because they're friends, it's a pitfall a lot of games tend to fall into and I'm extremely glad this game didn't do that. My only gripes are Lightning and Fang feeling super under baked, Lightning's case is especially unfortunate considering she's the main character and I tend to enjoy female characters being hardasses (Zero Drakengard 3 my beloved) but Lightning & Fang really don't get much meaningful dialogue and that's sad considering just how good the rest of the cast is.
It doesn't need to be said but this game is BEAUTIFUL, the pre-rendered cutscenes look incredible and still look better than basically anything today, which is insane. There's also just so many phenomenal setpieces like the entire Sazh and Vanille sequence in chapter 8, that shit was magical, it's such a great sequence that'll definitely sit with me for a while. The entirely of chapter 7 is also fantastic, y'know the one where Snow saves the day by pulling up with his sick ass motorcycle and takes out like 50 soldiers with it, awesome sequence. I especially adore Snow and Hope during this sequence and how Snow constantly trying to play the hero completely backfires on him as he's just saying the worst things possible to Hope, it's a fantastic character moment for both of them and another great sequence that'll sit with me for a long time. FF13 has a LOT of good shit like this and I love it for dat, awesome game despite the obvious flaws.
Snow is badass/10
Obviously there's a good bit of negatives, for example the combat, but I never really cared for FF combat in the first place so this wasn't really unexpected, helps that for the most part it really isn't a slog outside of a few sequences (mostly Lightning and Hope hallway lmao). The story itself is also kinda whatever and REALLY likes to throw a ton of fantasy jargon at you which makes it a lot more confusing than it actually is. But also this is very much a game where the story is second to the main cast so I don't mind this point all that much.
Now lemme just get the best point out of the way, these characters are fucking awesome. I LOVE SNOW, the fact that he's ALWAYS playing the hero, being the positive presence in the party while also being the most childish mf in existence, such a fantastic character, also has a great dynamic with basically every character in the game which helps a lot. And he has a fucking motorcycle, that's the coolest shit ever. Sazh kinda goes without saying, I'd be surprised if anyone playing this game didn't adore him by the end. His dialogue's extremely fun and he has some of the best moments in the game, also he's a dad, we love dads. Sick car btw. Despite the constant moaning, Vanille is also really good, I mostly like her due to how great her dynamics with other characters are (especially Sazh that was REALLY good), and that's perfectly fine, dynamics usually make characters to begin with. Even Hope who I was really iffy on ended up to be great, yeah he's annoying at the beginning of the game but he gets a huge glow up past a certain point in the story, his development is fantastic and his dynamic with Snow is even better with him taking after Snow in a lot of ways. The cast just feels like a big family by the end of the game and that's great, especially when EVERYONE in the party has their own motives and aren't just following the MC because they're friends, it's a pitfall a lot of games tend to fall into and I'm extremely glad this game didn't do that. My only gripes are Lightning and Fang feeling super under baked, Lightning's case is especially unfortunate considering she's the main character and I tend to enjoy female characters being hardasses (Zero Drakengard 3 my beloved) but Lightning & Fang really don't get much meaningful dialogue and that's sad considering just how good the rest of the cast is.
It doesn't need to be said but this game is BEAUTIFUL, the pre-rendered cutscenes look incredible and still look better than basically anything today, which is insane. There's also just so many phenomenal setpieces like the entire Sazh and Vanille sequence in chapter 8, that shit was magical, it's such a great sequence that'll definitely sit with me for a while. The entirely of chapter 7 is also fantastic, y'know the one where Snow saves the day by pulling up with his sick ass motorcycle and takes out like 50 soldiers with it, awesome sequence. I especially adore Snow and Hope during this sequence and how Snow constantly trying to play the hero completely backfires on him as he's just saying the worst things possible to Hope, it's a fantastic character moment for both of them and another great sequence that'll sit with me for a long time. FF13 has a LOT of good shit like this and I love it for dat, awesome game despite the obvious flaws.
Snow is badass/10