Our "heroes", if they can be called that as supposed enemies of Cocoon, struggle to find a purpose, and their sense of selves, in their new l'Cie bodies. Snow is as confident as ever that their focus is to save Cocoon. Lightning and Hope head for the Sanctum to take down the Fal'Cie Eden. Sazh just seems to want to get away, as does Vanille. Fang is a mysterious newcomer, whose sole motivation seems to be to protect Vanille from becoming a Cieth.
Sometime after about 20 total hours, I began to feel like Final Fantasy 13 started to find its groove, and I've warmed up to it a bit. The dungeons have started to open up, allowing for some meaningful path choices, like whether to skip battles or get treasure spheres, etc. This is a LONG time to feel like the game finds itself, of course. I think its been made clear by reviewers that the game would have been better off if the early dungeons were less linear, and the combat roles and crystarium opened up sooner.
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| Speaking of treasure spheres... these are FF13's equivalent of treasure chests. |
To summarize, from the point the characters are branded up until it starts to open up a bit, the party splits up, and randomly re-finds each other. It's rather annoying, as you set up your equipment and paradigms, only to have your party switch on you and everything re-set. The game's pattern of path, 2-3 combats, then cut-scene has continued, however, as the dungeons become larger, the interruptions become mercifully less frequent. Also, the cut-scenes are more bearable now that I "know" the characters a little bit more. They're still melodramatic, but after the characters have been developed, this is more acceptable as a viewer. In the beginning of the game, I don't think you really care that much, because you don't know the characters or the background. It's possible to actually connect emotionally later on in the game.
For example, there is a heartfelt moment with Sazh and his son, Dajh. Dajh has been branded as a Cocoon l'Cie, and it is revealed later on that it was his focus to the find the main characters, as he turns to crystal upon reuniting with Sazh. Sazh finds out that, in a way, Vanille is responsible for Dajh becoming a l'Cie. Sazh almost commits suicide, seeing no course of action, however... his Eidolon intervenes. Which brings me to my next point... Eidolons.
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| Dajh! Noo! |
The summoned monsters in this game are called "Eidolons". They combine aspects of many previous games. When first summoned, the creature fights alongside the summoner, much like FF10. Then, the player may enter "Gestalt mode" wherein the Eidolon... umm... becomes a vehicle and the character rides in it to attack. Yes, this is quite ridiculous, as Shiva turns into a motorcycle, Sazh's Eidolon turns into a car transformer style, etc. The good news is it does create an interesting battle dynamic, wherein summoning allows for a three-tier strike: fighting alongside the summoner, Gestalt attacks, and then finally the summon's signature attack (Zantetsuken for Odin, Diamond Dust for Shiva, etc.). The vehicle thing is somewhat explainable as the Eidolons are supposedly related to the Fal'Cie, and they both seem be whole or in part mechanical... whateva'.
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| Sazh goes all NASCAR on that ass. Gestalt means something along the lines of being a whole of multiple parts... makes sense here. It was called "Driving Mode" in the Japanese version, so yeah, that would have been pretty lame in English speaking countries. As noted on the Final Fantasy Wiki, the above battle isn't actually possible in the game, as Sazh doesn't get his Eidolon until leaving Nautilus, the location depicted above. Must be a pre-release shot? |
The Eidolons are great once you get them, the part that sucks is... getting them. The back-story is that they are a gift to l'Cie who find themselves in doubt or emotionally distrought. The thing is they take a "tough love" approach to motivation, as the first thing they do is attempt to beat their l'Cie to a pulp. The Eidolon battles are different than regular ones, wherein by doing certain actions (such as buffing or defending) you cause a gauge to fill. Once the gauge is full, you may win the battle by pressing a button. These battles are TOUGH though! The Eidolons attack so fast it's like you blink and your dead... I'd had very little trouble in battles until I faced Odin, at which point I think I died some five times? I appreciate challenge, but not when it blindsides you. This was an issue with two other bosses as well, both which had attacks that amount to an almost instant death, but I'll get to that later.
Up to where I am now, I've recieved four of the six Eidolons. I have Shiva, Odin, Brynhildr, and Bahamut. Sazh's Eidolon Brynhildr is the only one that doesn't make an appearance in numerous games, so let's take a look at her.
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| Brynhildr is a knight of flame. She can fight in heels, making woman around the world extremely jealous. |
According to The Final Fantasy Wiki: Brynhildr is a Shieldmaiden and a Valkyrie in Norse mythology. In the Völsunga saga, she was sent by Odin
to decide a fight between two kings, but was punished by the god after
helping the one he least-favored. He then banished her to the top of mount Hindarfjall in the Alps. She was forced to sleep within a ring of fire until a man rescued and married her.
Brynhildr Eidolon's finishing attack, Múspell Flame, refers to Múspellsheimr. Múspellsheimr is the realm of fire and home to the Fire Giants in Norse mythology.
Let's get back to some story, shall we? Thankfully the whole revenge story arc, with Hope blaming Snow for his mother's death and planning to kill him, has resolved itself. It was super melodramatic, and it just doesn't seem like anyone would act the way Hope does, really. Snow, Lightning, Hope, and Fang all rendezvous at Hope's house in Palumpolum (A reference to two characters in FF4), Snow saves Hope's life, and now everyone is one big happy Pulse l'Cie family, and Hope is far less annoying.
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| Here's Mopey Hopey in the umm... I'll fill in the location later... with a behemoth in the background. |
Sazh and Vanille make their way to Nautilus, a Fal'Cie built theme park. The Final Fantasy series has a history of having an assortment of mini-games, as was shown in FF10 and 10-2. The Nautilus theme park is reminiscent of the Gold Saucer in FF7, and the game finally gets to show it's stuff with an assortment of fun mini-games. Oh wait... no it doesn't! FF13 does no such thing, fully under-delivering in my opinion. It's a theme park... and you can't go on any rides, do any games, or anything of the sort! Way to go Squenix... supposedly a lot of content was cut from this game... "enough to fill an entire other game." Well, they should have left some of it in! There is one mini-game, which involves chasing Sazh's chocobo chick around, it's vaguely pointless, and completely asinine. Nautilus concludes with Sazh reuniting, momentarily, with his son Dajh, as I described above.
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| Sazh in front of Nautilus's clock tower. |
Colonel Jihl Nabaat apprehends Sazh and Vanille in Nautilus, having used Dajh's l'Cie powers to locate them. They are taken aboard the Sanctum's flagship, and an announcement as such is made, hoping to draw the other Pulse l'Cie in. The play works, as the other four l'Cie mount a rescue attempt.
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| Jihl is one of the more intriguing villains in the game. It doesn't hurt that she's cute too. It's not just about the boobs... I swear. |
That's where I'll stop for now, as I think this post is getting long enough. On a side note, I'm no longer going to keep track of my play times, as I don't think it's worth the extra bookkeeping. It probably won't surprise you that part of me doesn't want to know how much time I actually put in to these games either! =)
Hope, Lightning, Snow, and Fang have all come together onboard the combat vessel known as the Lindblum, a vessel held by the Sanctum's Cavalry, who have turned rebel. However, Sazh and Vanille are now in custody. They prepare to mount a rescue effort, but will such a small group be able to succeed in infiltrating the Sanctum flagship the Palamecia? To find out, come back soon... for This Bard's Tales!
