An Amazing Experience Marred by an Intentionally-Slow and Linear First-Half
Disclaimer: I played with HD Texture and Cutscene mods + Tweaked settings via Nvidia Profile Inspector + Reshade so I cannot comment on the performance. Only issue I had was 4 crashes through my 100+-hour playthrough
Final Fantasy XIII is an overall amazing game with an amazingly-written and grounded cast of characters. However, the first few chapters are slow by design and it definitely hampers the fun-factor of the game. It is also by far the least Final Fantasy-feeling game that I have played. Lack of towns/NPCs, an extremely-linear level design, auto-battle mechanic in combat, plot takes a backseat in exchange of developing the characters, etc. but In an era of open-world games, Final Fantasy XIII definitely stands out and feels refreshing in 2023. It is one of those games that unfortunately "gets better in xx chapters" but depending on your level of investment with the party and the world it portrays, it might give you a reason to play through the slog and have a surprisingly fun experience like it did for me.
Pros:
+ Interesting Lore and World-building. Datalog is fun to read through
+ Amazing character writing for the main party
+ Gorgeous Level Design and Animations
+ Fun and Complex Battle Mechanics by the end of the game
Cons:
- Horrible villains and underdeveloped side-characters
- Didn't care for the plot most of the time
- Extremely slow pacing in the first half of the game
- Voice audio can be low at times
- Combat takes a long time until it gets really fun and complex
- side-quests and crafting are extremely grindy and may require looking-up a guide to properly utilize it
- Personal Gripe: Vanille's constant moaning
Amidst all the cons listed above, the characters and the late-game combat are what really made me invested enough to go through all that and it paid off well. By the time I rolled credits, I am in love with Final Fantasy XIII and glad I gave it the second chance it deserves.
116 hours and 100% Achievement later, I give Final Fantasy XIII a 3.5/5
Disclaimer: I played with HD Texture and Cutscene mods + Tweaked settings via Nvidia Profile Inspector + Reshade so I cannot comment on the performance. Only issue I had was 4 crashes through my 100+-hour playthrough
Final Fantasy XIII is an overall amazing game with an amazingly-written and grounded cast of characters. However, the first few chapters are slow by design and it definitely hampers the fun-factor of the game. It is also by far the least Final Fantasy-feeling game that I have played. Lack of towns/NPCs, an extremely-linear level design, auto-battle mechanic in combat, plot takes a backseat in exchange of developing the characters, etc. but In an era of open-world games, Final Fantasy XIII definitely stands out and feels refreshing in 2023. It is one of those games that unfortunately "gets better in xx chapters" but depending on your level of investment with the party and the world it portrays, it might give you a reason to play through the slog and have a surprisingly fun experience like it did for me.
Pros:
+ Interesting Lore and World-building. Datalog is fun to read through
+ Amazing character writing for the main party
+ Gorgeous Level Design and Animations
+ Fun and Complex Battle Mechanics by the end of the game
Cons:
- Horrible villains and underdeveloped side-characters
- Didn't care for the plot most of the time
- Extremely slow pacing in the first half of the game
- Voice audio can be low at times
- Combat takes a long time until it gets really fun and complex
- side-quests and crafting are extremely grindy and may require looking-up a guide to properly utilize it
- Personal Gripe: Vanille's constant moaning
Amidst all the cons listed above, the characters and the late-game combat are what really made me invested enough to go through all that and it paid off well. By the time I rolled credits, I am in love with Final Fantasy XIII and glad I gave it the second chance it deserves.
116 hours and 100% Achievement later, I give Final Fantasy XIII a 3.5/5
2 Comments
Once I got used to it's linearity and gave up on exploration, I had a really fun time with it.
Spinnerweb
6 months ago
Also, lmao at Vanille's constant moaning. I know where I'd rather have her be constantly moaning haha wink wink nudge nudge.