Final Fantasy XIII - 5: Finger on the Pulse

"So, Bard, what happened to those more frequent updates," you ask? Well, the holidays, I was away for a few weeks, and I got a kitten... who is adorable, but also a major distraction. In fact, she just climbed up my back and is now reading over my shoulder. Cute? Yes. Cuddly? Yes. Major distraction? Most definitely. I don't really have an excuse though, so... onward!

My kitten also seems to like sitting perched on my arm... like a falcon. Perhaps I can train her to hunt?

When last we left off, the L'Cie had reunited on the ship Palamecia, and found that the Primarch Dysley was no-less than the master Fal'Cie, Barthandalus. Bart clues the party in to the fact that they are being manipulated by the Fal'Cie, and that their true focus is to destroy Cocoon. The party fights Bart three times in the game, which is odd, since he is supposedly guiding them towards their destiny, so what purpose does it serve for him to defeat the L'Cie? Somehow this didn't really bother me the first time I played the game. As best I can tell, Bart is training and/or testing them to make sure they are strong enough to achieve their ultimate task. This is a little lame, but I think it's okay to give this one to FF13 on account of it's being an RPG, and it making for some exciting battles against Barthandalus. It is somewhat implied that other L'Cie in the past had attempted the same mission and failed, perhaps being judged not strong enough by Barthandalus.

Snow on the Ark.

After defeating Barthandalus, the L'Cie find themselves transported to what they call an "Ark". It has presumably been lifted from Pulse, and hidden on Cocoon by the Sanctum. The purpose of the Arks is to train L'Cie to find their full potential. It seems that Barthandalus sent them there to grow in power. On the Ark, the party runs in to an old friend, Cid Raines, the leader of the Calvary, who helped them get aboard the Palamecia. However, the reunion turns out to be no fun, as Cid reveals he has been turned into a L'Cie by Barthandalus. It is his focus to lead the party to the destruction of Cocoon. He has decided though, to rebel and instead attacks! He hopes he can instead stop the Pulse L'Cie (which is the PC party, if you're having trouble following along.) The battle that follows was even more frustrating than Bart and his 'Destrudo" attack, as Cid tends to use an attack combo that is almost always an instant kill. These were basically the two hardest bosses in the game for me, and having them one dungeon apart was... ugh... not fun.

Cid Mighty-Morphs in order to trounce me severely. This isn't my pic, it's from a Japanese version. Source.

I think the plot gets a little confusing at this point, as Cid turns to crystal after the battle. The prevailing wisdom in the game world is that L'Cie turn to crystal after completing their focus, but Cid has decided to work AGAINST his. Since this is my second play through, I kind of see what's going on. I think Cid, by force of will, has created his own focus. He implies something along those lines in dialogue after he is defeated. The first time I played through though, I really didn't get what was going on with Cid. It's also worth mentioning that characters named "Cid" have a long history in Final Fantasy (all the way back to FF2), and they are usually responsible for getting the party an airship (also his job in FF2). Although there is no airship in FF13 (to it's detriment, I believe) Cid does lead an air unit and commands a ship that the party utilizes, so the tradition is upheld.

Today's filler-screenshot, Sazh with Pulsian sheep!

After making their way through the Fifth Ark, the L'Cie find themselves on the surface of the planet below, Gran Pulse. This is also revealed to be the home of two of the main characters, Fang and Vanille. I don't remember it clearly, but if I recall the party finds a ship set-up to launch through a portal which takes them to Pulse. The world of Pulse is teeming with wildlife, and its skies are no exception, as a flying serpentine creature causes the ship to crash land.

It's this point in the game where it purportedly "opens-up". My first play-through I was sorely dissapointed, as I expected an over-world to explore, complete with towns and dungeons to be discovered, as the Final Fantasy series has been known for. So, when I found out Pulse was just a collection of large grassland screens with the most to be discovered being new monsters, I was pretty disappointed. This time around, knowing not to expect towns and hidden levels, I appreciated a bit more that Gran Pulse is HUGE (at least compared to the rest of the game) and there are interesting things, like new items, to be discovered. 

Fang stands on the grasslands of Pulse. Cocoon hangs in the sky, and a massive adamantoise turtle lumbers by in the background.

Pulse continues two trends in the game, that is having highly detailed and colorful scenery, as well as the player not being able to interact with most of it. The artists created a massive LOOKING world, but in comparison to other RPGs it feels tiny, because of that simple fact, very little of it can be interacted with. Even NPC's that can be spoken with are few and far between.

Looking over a canyon into the Pulsian wilderness. The attention to detail is remarkable, as the player can often see into the distance into places they can later visit.

One thing I want to complement FF13 on is that the attention to visual detail is very impressive. Even down to the fact that the brands on the player characters change as the story progresses. Fang reveals that the brands change over time as a L'Cie comes closer to becoming a Cieth. A Pulse brand gains arrows, and a closed eye. When this eye opens, it's over, as the L'Cie becomes a mindless Cieth.

Somebody was kind enough to put together this example of the Pulse brand development, and it somehow ended up on a Star Wars site. Source.

The biggest introduction in Pulse is FF13's side quests. Like much of the game, these are a bit over-hyped, because however many of them there are, they all take the same form. Similiar to FF12's hunts, the player gets a mark, then must find and defeat it to complete the mission. In what felt like a somewhat forced explanation to me, Cieth who do not complete their focus and are not killed eventually become "Cieth Stones". These are monoliths that can be interacted with, in order for another to complete the focus.

Fang examines a Cieth Stone.

When examining a stone, the player gets an information screen, and has the option to accept the mission.

The mission information screen.

These hunts are generally entertaining, requiring varying strategies to defeat interesting foes. I keep repeating this statement, but once again I think the feature under delivers, because there is a major lack of variety. I think there are 60 hunts. If there were 30, plus a couple other side quest options, I'd feel a little better about it.

I did perhaps 10 hunts this playthrough. In my first playthough, I completed them all. Most were entertaining, but by the end I had a seriously sour taste in my mouth. Granted, this could be because I completed them in a marathon fashion, but I place blame on a certain group of Cieth the game calls the "Undying". Fighting these guys is just... a major pain in the ass. Take my complaints about Barthandulus and Cid Raines, then multiply by ten.

To add to the frustration, there are two Pulse Fal'Cie that the player sees at times. One is Bismarck, an aquatic creature, and Titan, a ridiculously massive humanoid that can be seen walking Pulse. The game, at least to me, seemed to be leading towards battles with these two beasts. However, once again, not to be, the hunts only lead to more pallet swaps and the soul crushing Undying.

Titan dominates Gran Pulse's horizon. Source.

It's a continuing theme, FF13 takes good ideas and just somehow manages to muck it all up. I find it somehow fascinating, because I really think it's rare that a highly anticipated, big budget game just misses mark after mark like this game does.

Our L'Cie have made it to the surface of Pulse, the supposed hell on earth. What awaits them there? Will the destiny of their focus end up in Cocoon's destruction? Or will they be able to defy their destiny, and be Cocoon's salvation? To find out, come back soon... to This Bard's Tales!   

Final Fantasy XIII - 4: Flying the Unfriendly Skies, Upgrades and Kiosks

Dear Esteemed Readership,

I am aware that at the time of this writing, you somewhat do not exist. This is okay, I'm taking the approach that if I "build it", you will come, and thus I am addressing you anyway. I plan to update this blog at least once a week, on Mondays. I moved once again recently though, so that threw more than a bit of a monkey wrench into my update schedule. That all aside, let's get this show back on the road!

When last I left you, the l'Cie were planning an attempt to rescue Sazh and Vanille, who were being held captive on the Palamecia. The remaining l'Cie were aboard the Lindblum, and planning an attack to rescue their friends. Continuing a self-referential trend in the series, these two ship's names are taken from cities in earlier games.

The ship Lindblum, controlled by the "Calvary" unit of the army. These are the "good guys", a portion of the army that has turned rebel and seeks to overthrow the Fal'Cie. From The Final Fantasy Wiki.

The city of Lindblum, Final Fantasy 9. This city is headed by Cid, and is also an ally of the main characters. From The Final Fantasy Wiki.

The Palamecia in Final Fantasy 13, the flagship of the Sanctum, the "bad guys". I've read that it is a converted Fal'Cie, and as such, the underside of the ship vaguely resembles a face. I'm curious about this, but haven't been able to find any suitable images to see it. From https://www.pinterest.com/pin/363947213608190362/.

Final Fantasy 2's Palamecia castle, in glorious 8-bit. The castle is high in the mountains, and is only accessible through the demon-infested world of Pandemonium. From The Final Fantasy Wiki.

The Palamecia is large, and offers some decent choices as far as paths. The extra options are appreciated, but the combats can certainly get a bit tedious. Well, hell, we already know the game isn't perfect. Much of the "dungeon" takes place outside the ship, with the characters over open air. This overall looks very cool.

Lightning traverses the underside of the Palamecia.

Last post I talked a little bit about Colonel Jihl Nabaat, the PSICOM officer who studied Dajh, then captured Sazh and Vanille. As Lightning and her crew make it further into the heart of the Palamecia, she begins to panic, humorously going through a series of color-coded alerts. By the end, she can hardly remember what each color means, the system is so complex.

I think Jihl is a missed opportunity, her character is a bit of a mad-scientist, and could have been a neat recurring villain in the game, but instead she is quickly snuffed-out without even a battle. The two other similar villains, Cid Raines and Yaag Rosch, I found much less compelling, yet they make many more appearances throughout the game.

"Step up to Purple Alert." "Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb."

While Lightning, Snow, Hope and Fang search for the captives, Sazh and Vanille escape. I honestly can't remember how this happens, but for a time you control Sazh and Vanille until they reunite with the full group.

The engine of the Palamecia reminds me of the core of a certain other flying vessel.

Recently I showed the treasure spheres, which act as the treasure chests of Final Fantasy 13. The replacement for shops and inns is an interface set-up, or a kiosk, or... whatever you want to call it. They are interspersed generously throughout the game. Here the player can save their game, access shops, and upgrade their equipment. The justification for the kiosk shopping as opposed to your typical rpg brick-'n-morter shops is that the society of Cocoon does the majority of its shopping online. Sure this is convenient, but having all the same equipment available at every kiosk, and removing the typical rpg towns from the picture really takes a lot away from the atmosphere of the game.

The instant-access, save-'n-shop kiosk.

The upgrading system is complex, although it probably appears more complex than it is, as it boils down to something simple. You get organic components and mechanical components. First you use bio components to build up a bonus, then you use your mechanical parts to take advantage of them. There are a lot of components! Finding out the differences between these components would take a lot of trial and error work, if there even are that many differences. Overall the upgrade system can be kind of fun, but I think it promises a lot more than it delivers.   

Bart is pretty badass. This is the enemy information screen. The ? marks are automatically filled in as you fight. For example, if your character casts "fire", then the slot for fire will fill in with the result, such as weak, resistant, or immune.

Continuing on with the story, once the party reunites, they make their way to the bridge of the Palamecia to confront the human primarch, Galenth Dysley. In an exciting and unexpected development (no sarcasm intended), it turns out Dysley is actually a Fal'Cie, Barthandalus! Instead of Eden giving him orders, as is assumed by the populace, Dysley actually gives the orders to Eden, he is the true mastermind.

The live combat screen with the party fighting Bart.

The battle with Barthandalus was challenging and exciting... except for one little thing... he's got this move called Destrudo. Without any intervention, it will one hit kill your party leader. If I haven't mentioned it already, if your party leader is defeated, you automatically lose. I guess this was some kind of balancing mechanic, but I hate it, because certain attacks will just come down to the luck of the draw as to whether an ally goes down, or instead... you lose. 

If I recall correctly, ol' Bart man is charging Destrudo in this pic.

So, I tried using the Sentinal role to mitigate the damage from the Destrudo attack, because I was thinking within the mechanics as the game presents them. I died many, many, many times. Finally I got sick of it and looked up tips online. It turns out you have to ATTACK while Bart is charging Destrudo, after you do a certain amount of damage he will be stunned, and the final attack will do less damage. I don't particularly like how this is handled, because again, it's trial and error with a mechanic that I don't find intuitive at all. It wouldn't be so aggravating if it weren't for two things: first, if you use the wrong tactic, it's instant death, and second, that he doesn't start using the attack until probably about 5 minutes into the battle. 5 minutes may not seem like much, but it's an eternity when you are doing the same repetitive battle. So, it's trial and error, and you have to slog through defeating his 4 lesser parts before you get to try again. Lame. Once I knew the trick, it was relatively simple to defeat him, but honestly, I don't think anyone likes this type of gameplay.

Before fighting Barthandalus, he lays out the plot for the l'Cie. This is good stuff, it turns your expectations on their head a bit. There is a decent summary at The Final Fantasy Wiki, so I'm just going to reproduce that here: "The other members of the party stage a rescue mission and reunite with Vanille and Sazh before they confront Galenth Dysley, the Sanctum's Primarch. Dysley reveals himself as the Cocoon fal'Cie ruler Barthandelus. He tells them that their Focus is to transform into the beast Ragnarok and slay the sleeping fal'Cie Orphan, who keeps Cocoon afloat above Pulse. Slaying the fal'Cie Orphan will result in the destruction of Cocoon. The party escapes and learns from Cid that the fal'Cie believe that Cocoon's destruction will summon the Maker, the creator of the worlds. The fal'Cie cannot harm Orphan themselves. Vanille and Fang reveal to the party that they were involved in the War of Transgression centuries prior, and that their Focus then had been the same: to transform into Ragnarok and attempt to destroy Orphan."

Uh-Oh! Many people didn't like FF13's story, or found it confusing. I do find it a bit confusing at times, but overall, I like it, it's intriguing stuff.

In summary, it's good to be back! I'm still working out the pace and format for this blog, at the moment I'm leaning towards shorter and more frequent posts. I'm taking some inspiration from Inconsolable Nung, where I enjoy the short witty posts. You can consume a few if you have the time, or just jump in for a quicky. 

Come back soon for the continuation, here at... This Bard's Tales!       

  

Final Fantasy XIII - 3: Eidolons and Brynhildr

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.

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.

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'.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!