Final Fantasy XIII: Summary and Rankings

Source

Final Fantasy XIII
2010

Developer and Publisher: Square Enix
Director: Motomu Toriyama
Producer: Yoshinori Kitase
Programmer: Yoshiki Kashitani
Art Director:  Isamu Kamikokuryo
Composer:  Masashi Hamauzu

Director Toriyama has been at Square since 1996, and is responsible for much of the notable scenes between Aeris and Cloud in FF7. His directorial debut came on FF10-2. According to his wikipedia page, he has some... let's say "interesting" ideas as it pertains to the Final Fantasy series: "Toriyama believes his strength is in directing games that are very story-driven. He also thinks that it becomes very difficult to tell a compelling story when the player is given a huge amount of freedom to explore. According to him, the most important aspect of a Final Fantasy game is the characters. Toriyama has stated that the aim of the linear game design used in the first half of Final Fantasy XIII was to feel like watching a film. This was done to absorb the player into the story and to introduce them to the characters and their battle abilities without becoming distracted or lost. He is interested in using first-person shooter games for inspiration rather than Western role-playing video games, as he believes they give a better sense of tension during battles."

Here's some inspiration for you aspiring RPG designers out there.

Let's take a closer look at these statements. I agree the series is character driven. I think 13 had good characters when you couple the game with the Datalog information, but if you're just reading the dialogue, they seem shallow, underdeveloped. I agree to tell a compelling story the game is going to need to be more linear than say, The Elder Scrolls, but there are plenty of great examples of how to balance story and choice out there, and this is not a good one. I think we all know the potential pitfalls of approaching a game as a film. The previous Final Fantasies toed this line pretty well. 13 was the first time where instead of being like "Oh cool! A cutscene," I was like "Another one? Get on with the game already." I think the craziest thing he says is using first-person shooters for inspiration more than RPGs, for an RPG. No... just, no. The good news is, Toriyama generally redeems himself as director of this game's two sequels.

We know producer Kitase as director of FF10, and he was also director of the fantastic games FF8, FF7 and Chrono Trigger. He was producer on FF10-2.

Source.

Art director Isamu Kamikokuryo is a relatively recent addition to Square, his first project being FF10. He deserves some major props, as the art in FF13 is probably it's greatest asset.

Masashi Hamauzu was apparently hired as a "trainee" by the master, Nobuo Uematsu at Square in 1996. He was one of the composers on FF10. I think he does a most impressive job on FF13. Hamauzu is able to, much as Uematsu could, create excellent tunes in a very wide variety of styles, from classical and opera all the way to jazz and pop.  

I said early on that I wanted to run this game through The CRPG Addict's definition of an RPG and see how it fared. It is, somewhat disappointingly, definitely an RPG by this definition. However, I think it would not do well in the GIMLET system, which well fits with my ideas of what makes a great RPG. I won't bore you with a full on analysis, but by my estimate FF13 would receive about a 28/100, with most points garnered in graphics/sound and inputs. This is totally subjective of course, but non-the-less abysmal for a modern game. FF13 lacks most of those little customizable options and choice that, in my opinion make an RPG fun. I'm down for a good story, but this game's story comes nowhere near making up for it's lack of options, side-quests, and NPC interactions. 

I wanted to do FF13 directly after 10, thinking I might like the game better with new perspective. I knew what to expect this time around, so my likes switched. I enjoyed the later game better than the early, rather than vice-versa the first time around. I was continually disappointed by it's lack of Final Fantasy conventions as I got further in the game the first time, but already knew they weren't happening on round two. However, in the end I liked the game even less the second time around.

Although I've been very negative about this game, I hope I've made it clear it's not 100% garbage. It's about 66% garbage, which with the amount of money, time, and talent that went in to this game, is pretty shameful.

I'd say the development team actually accomplished what they set out to do, from my understanding. They wanted it to look great; traditional "towns" were abandoned because the team couldn't make them look as good as the rest of the game. They wanted fast battles, reminiscent of Cloud's battle with Sephiroth in the Advent Children movie. They wanted hybrid action gameplay, taking inspiration from shooter games. All accomplished. Somebody just needed to stand up in those meetings and say "Dudes, this is all okay, but don't forget our first priority is to make Final Fantasy 13 a GOOD GAME!"

I think you get the point about how I feel about this game, let's get on to the rankings!  

Mechanics - Some have touted FF13's battle system as it's best component, enjoying it's speed and simplicity. I agree this can be nice in simple random battles, but for the most part, I miss the lack of choice and control of my characters. Also, given my love of turn-based games, speed isn't a big bonus for me, and often I found the speed to be overwhelming. Mechanics wise, there isn't much to talk about in FF13 other than combat.

1. Final Fantasy 10

2. Final Fantasy 10-2

3. Final Fantasy 13

Storyline - For a good portion of the game, I think FF13's story is really solid. I especially love when the Primarch is revealed to be a Fal'Cie. However, it can't overcome its simplistic dialogue and fuzzy logic in the end. It's not even close to FF10, but I'm willing to put it over 10-2. 10-2 is just hard to take seriously.

1. Final Fantasy 10

2. Final Fantasy 13

3. Final Fantasy 10-2

Atmosphere - I basically have the same feelings in this category as I did in storyline. 10-2 is just too goofy to really create much in the way of atmosphere, and 13 is crippled by it's dialogue faults.

1. Final Fantasy 10

2. Final Fantasy 13

3. Final Fantasy 10-2 

End Game - 10-2 can keep this category, because it leads up to such a satisfying battle. Given that 10 ends in some of the lamest final battles in the whole series, I would be willing to put 13 above it. However, that would be if the bosses in 13 represented a good challenge, instead its a great displeasure and annoyance to fight them, so I feel comfortable putting 13 at the bottom.

1. Final Fantasy 10-2

2. Final Fantasy 10

3. Final Fantasy 13

Difficulty - 13 tops this category hands down, because the strategies to many of it's battles are just so damn hard to figure out.

1. Final Fantasy 13

2. Final Fantasy 10-2

3. Final Fantasy 10

Balance - This category will remain the reverse of difficulty, because the number of times I was shocked and blindsided in battle by 13 outweighs the same in 10-2.

1. Final Fantasy 10

2. Final Fantasy 10-2

3. Final Fantasy 13

Music - I personally think 13's music is one of it's strong points. It uses a number of themes throughout very well, and also includes a wide variety of styles effectively. "The Promise" is one of my favorites, and I really enjoyed each incarnation of that melody throughout the soundtrack. You can check them out on YouTube. Turns out this video doesn't include the Sunleth Waterscape, which is one of my favs, don't judge me. Others found the addition of lyrics in some of the background music distracting, but I found it pleasant. Barthandelus's operatic theme is also a high point. Altogether, the soundtrack is pretty epic. The other two are decent, but just don't bring it like 13 does.

1. Final Fantasy 13

2. Final Fantasy 10-2

3. Final Fantasy 10

Art - Credit must be given where it's due, and Final Fantasy 13 may be the most beautiful game yet produced. It is stunning (or should I say dazing?) to look at, that cannot be denied.

1. Final Fantasy 13

2. Final Fantasy 10

3. Final Fantasy 10-2

While I think my screenshots are decent, they don't do true justice to how good this game looks.

Best Villain - I think this category has to go to Barthandelus. He is introduced early as the Primarch Dysley, then haunts the characters throughout the story as Fal'Cie. He's the kind of villain players love to hate. He's not quite interesting enough to dethrone Yunalesca, but he's certainly a more exciting villain than Shuyin.

1. Yunalesca (FF10)

2. Barthandelus (FF13)

3. Shuyin (FF 10-2)

Don't step to P-Dizzle unless you ready to get that ass blasted by Destrudo, L'Cieeeeeeeee! Is not the internet grand? Source.

Worst Villain - This one I'm definitely giving to Sweet Tits. Uhh... I mean Jihl Nabaat, sorry. Not because she's a bad villain, but because she's such a missed opportunity. Just as I was thinking, "Wow, this character is very intriguing," splat... she's toast. These worst categories are harder to rank because I'm ranking whose the "most worst." In this case, Jihl is the least offensive.

1. Yu Yevon (FF10)

2. Leblanc (FF10-2)

3. Jihl Nabaat (FF13) 

Jihl in 2D.

Best Ally - This one is easy, Sazh. He is easily the most likable character, and the easiest to relate to. Most importantly, I think he's the only character whose actions and thoughts make any damn sense in this game. He's not as badass as Auron, not as spunky as Rikku, but fits comfortably in the second slot for being a high point in 13's group of otherwise lame-duck characters, I say.

1. Auron (FF10)

2. Sazh Katzroy (FF13)

3. Rikku (FF10-2)

When I searched for "Sazh Katzroy" I was surprised to find "racist" come up in the search options, because despite fears upon seeing his afro, I think he deftly avoids any stereotypes. I think this is one more great thing about the character. Click on the source link for a little more discussion.

Worst Ally - Ladies and gentlemen, I present Hope, the whiny, revenge obsessed child who just may have what it takes to go ALL-THE-WAY in the category of Worst Ally! All joking aside, he's much less annoying once the revenge story arc works itself out, but before that, every time he opens his mouth is an exercise in anger management for the player.

1. Hope Estheim (FF13)

2. Dona (FF10)

3. Beclam (FF10-2)

Best Enemy - The enemy I found most interesting and intriguing was Dahaka. There was a sufficient build up to the battle, and it was always satisfying when I got to defeat one of the powerful Fal'Cie. A contributing factor is that the accompanying dungeon, Taejin's Tower, is also possibly the most creative in the game. As a bonus, that makes 2 of 3 of our Best Enemies come from Zoroastrianism. Point for obscure religions! Yojimbo is too cool, Dahaka and Angra Mainyu are close, but I'm feeling Dahaka in second place.

1. Yojimbo (FF10)

2. Dahaka (FF13)

3. Angra Mainyu (FF10-2)

Worst Enemy - There are at least ten monsters in FF13 that are far more annoying than anything in 10 or 10-2. Since I've got to pick only one, it's a simple choice, Cid Raines, since he gave me the most trouble. His tendency to go Chuck Norris and roundhouse kick the S out of me was a B to say the least. Like I said, numerous monsters in 13 were far worse than the other games, so he goes straight to the top.

1. Cid Raines (FF13)

2. Guado (FF10)

3. Claret Dragon (FF10-2)

Best Mini-Game - Final Fantasy games are usually loaded with side-quests and mini-games, especially since the Playstation debut. However, this one is not. I recall getting a chocobo and doing a treasure hunt in my first playthrough that was really the only full on mini-game, but I didn't do that this play through. That leaves the short sequence where Hope drives a juggernaut in the Vile Peaks that can destroy enemies with it's arms, the deplorable chocobo chick finding mini-game, and repairing Bhakti in Oerba. If the player has Vanille and Sazh in the party, they can pick up old parts and use them to repair Vanille's robot. The robot then gives the player some information about exploring Pulse. I didn't mess around with him much, but this is definitely the best thing FF13 has going as far as mini-games. It could end up being cool, but for now it sits in third place..

1. Blitzball (FF10)

2. Cavern of the Stolen Fayth (FF10-2)

3. Bhakti (FF13)

Hope doing his best juggernaut jockey impression.

Worst Mini-Game - This is hands down the chocobo chick finding in Nautilus. As a player the first time through I expected FF7's Gold Saucer, and I got Hi-Res hide-n-seek. This little "game" is pointless filler, and really lame to boot. So this mini-game is lame, but at least it's only a moments distraction, not soul-crushing hours like lightning dodging.

1. Lightning Dodging (FF10)
2. Spherebreak (FF10-2)

3. Hide-n-Seek (FF13)

Side Quests - Since FF13's side quests are entirely hunt missions, it drops straight to the bottom here.
1. Final Fantasy 10-2
2. Final Fantasy 10
3. Final Fantasy 13

Overall - If you read my posts, you know what's going to happen here. I think I've already said plenty to justify the placement.
1. Final Fantasy 10
2. Final Fantasy 10-2
3. Final Fantasy 13

Average Ranking -
1. Final Fantasy 10 (1.72)
2. Final Fantasy 10-2 (2.1)
3. Final Fantasy 13 (2.16)

In closing, unless you are a dyed-in-the-wool Final Fantasy fan and just have to experience them all, you're safe in skipping this game. If you're not a regular RPG player, I'd be curious to see if you like this game; if it really does have a wider appeal to non-Final Fantasy fans. However, if you're not a regular RPG player, you are most likely not reading my blog, but, if you are, thanks! Come back for more... to This Bard's Tales!

Total Play Time: 61.25 hours 
 

Final Fantasy XIII - 7: Happy to be Fin

The L'Cie have been manipulated by Barthandelus, given almost no choice but to play into his hand. Using the ship he provided, they return to the Sanctum metropolis of Eden.

The L'Cie teleport in to Eden, simultaneously summoning their Eidolons. They arrive in the middle of a motorcycle race. I found this to be a bit of a forced action sequence, but maybe it's just not my thing. I don't get too excited about car chases in movies either. Chaos, of course, soon erupts. When the L'Cie arrive, the Fal'Cie trigger an "invasion" from Pulse. Portals open all over the city, spilling out creatures from the surface of Pulse. I can't remember if I figured it out later on, or if it was sufficiently explained at the time, but these creatures come from Arks that the Sanctum has hidden on Eden in order to incite this battle, not from Pulse itself. Once again, the Cocoon Fal'Cie are using fear to manipulate the populace, which is a major theme in the game.

Chaos erupts at the racetrack in Eden's streets.

The party makes their way through the streets of Eden toward the headquarters of the Fal'Cie, being attacked by both Sanctum and Pulsian foes alike. They had been lured by the threat that the Cavalry would attack and destroy Orphan, however, as they arrive at the center of the Sanctum, these Cavalry soldiers have been turned to Cieth by Barthandelus. They realize that once again, this was a ruse to force the L'Cie themselves to charge towards Orphan. The party arrives at the last dungeon, called "Orphan's Cradle", where the Fal'Cie Eden has been tasked with making paths for them to arrive at Orphan. This area is kind of cool, it has a nice looking background of fast moving objects, making it seem like you're in hyperspace or something like that. It has some potential, but the progression of bosses and monsters, rather than getting pleasantly more challenging, get's increasingly annoying and frustrating.

Examining these manifestations of the Fal'Cie Eden opens up paths in Orphan's Cradle.

The above battle summary screen is from one of the bosses in Orphan's Cradle, and illustrates quite well what I don't like about FF13's battle system. The target time is ~7min, meaning if the player has the right strategy it should take about this long. I obviously didn't, as my battle duration is ~20min. What that tells me is since I didn't pick up on what the designers had in mind for this boss, I had to dance around for 20 minutes. You know what that makes me want to say to them? F* you! F* you designers, and F* your stupid game! Now a 20 minute battle isn't in itself bad if it's interesting. In this case though, due to the supposed "streamlining" of this system, it was basically just repeating the same attack patterns over and over again... for 20 minutes. The only good thing I can say is at least my leader didn't get one hit killed and cause an auto-defeat at the 15 minute mark, as this game sometimes does to you.

The counter argument would be why didn't I stop and use the retry option when I saw it was taking so long? Well, that sort of seems to be how the designers thought they would counter this problem. The thing is, you don't know the target time during the battle, nor do you know how long it's been unless you're watching the clock. In this battle system, if you're glancing at a clock, your inattention might just make you dead as well. So, all I knew was this battle was taking a frickin' long time, and I didn't want to have to do it again. Without knowing the target time, I didn't know if there WAS a better strategy. Then it ends, you look at the summary screen and go "Hey? What the F*!" If it was just one boss in the game that played out like this, it might be forgivable, but it's a number of them, including almost all of the bosses leading up to and including the final boss in Orphan's Cradle. By the end of the game I wasn't excited that I won so much as I was sick of it and just wanted it to be over.

This is The Narthex, an empty area leading to the final boss. I'm not sure what giant robots like the Fal'Cie use these couches for, but it does create a mysterious atmosphere. Narthex apparently comes from the name of an area in some churches.

One Final Fantasy tradition that this game thankfully upholds is that of a series of final bosses, three in this case. The first is Barthandelus, after his defeat he seems to combine with his owl companion, rising as a mother/father, light/dark combined being with Orphan in the middle. There is certainly some interesting symbology (blogger thinks this is a made up word? Hmm... not going to look it up) and mythology going on in this game, if nothing else. (The correct word is probably symbolism... still not going to change it.)

The combined form of Barthandelus, Minerva, and Orphan.

As a player, you've made it this far. You've pushed through to the end through flashes of brilliance, and a lot of frustration, to give this game a chance to finish up on a high note. Then the plot devolves completely into a convoluted S* fest. Bart (or Orphan... or whatever he is now) tortures Fang in order to make her become Ragnarok, and destroy Orphan. She is not powerful enough though, in an apparent repeat of Fang and Vanille's past attempt at doing so. (Later on, it is implied that the two must combine in order to become the full power Ragnarok.) In order to completely dissolve all of Fang's hope, the other party members are turned into Cieth! Just when all hope seems lost... The L'Cie are not Cieth anymore! They come rushing in from outside to save... What? What just happened? The characters explain it off as "Must've been another Fal'Cie ruse." Sazh is, once again, the only one who delivers it straight, saying something like "I don't know what just happened... didn't make a lot of sense... but let's keep fighting!" 

Fighting this combined boss was another exercise in frustration, I couldn't find the right strategy. It turns out he is very vulnerable to certain de-buffs, with poison being the most important one. Maybe it's just my old school experience getting in the way, but when does poison ever work on a final boss? Who is going to think of that? This would be a nice a easter-egg, but in this case using poison may be the only way to defeat this guy. I once again had to resort to looking up hints. The striking thing is I've beaten this game before, but the answers are so unintuitive, I had to look them up despite that. Once I did, the battle was cake. I hate this! It's like each boss has one strategy, and you have to trial and error it until you figure out. That is, bad, bad, bad game design.  

I saw this screen so many times I was compelled to take a screenshot.

You may have also noticed what I think is a giant pink elephant in the room plot wise at this point in the game. From the beginning of the game, the L'Cie fear their focus is to destroy Cocoon. Barthandelus confirms this, and they realize they are being manipulated into doing just that. Destroy Orphan, and destroy Cocoon. The L'Cie want to save Cocoon. So they must not destroy Orphan. So, of course, they charge in guns blazing... and destroy Orphan. They even stop Barthandelus from making Fang destroy Orphan, and immediately follow by doing it themselves. In the end, the day is saved by Fang and Vanille morphing into Ragnarok, then turning into a crystal pillar to save the plummeting Cocoon. This is not logical, no one knows this is even possible. Everything the L'Cie do is based on some flimsy notion of overcoming adversity with sheer will power. It's like the message of the game is shoot first and figure it out later. Snow's reckless "Heroes don't need plans" philosophy turns out to be the one that wins the day. I mean... just F* this game man, F* this game. The storyline was one of the things I was prepared to give as a strength of the game, but it completely falls apart at the end, in my opinion.   

I'm a little surprised at how frustrated and angry this game makes me, but I think it comes from being a long-time, devoted fan. I was a Final Fantasy fan back when the only game available was the first one for the NES. Honestly, I have regarded every other FF as a masterpiece. I'd say I find FF5 to have the most flaws otherwise, but I still thoroughly enjoy that game. Then this highly anticipated game comes out, and it basically blows. It's such a mystery to me how a company that could almost do no wrong completely crapped themselves on this one. For those familiar with Dungeons & Dragons, FF13 reminds me a lot of the fiasco that was 4th edition. The company decided to "streamline" so much, and aim at a wider audience, that the final product strayed so far from series conventions as to alienate long time fans.

FF13 was a big success sales-wise, because people bought it on name alone. The sad part is that the sequels have sold many, many less copies, likely because 13 was so disappointing, and yet they are very good games, in my opinion. I can breathe a little easier now that this one is done, all that is left is the rankings!

Although we leave the L'Cie for now, who have saved Cocoon, and shed their brands, it is not the last we shall see of them. To hear their future, in better times to come, return soon... to This Bard's Tales! 

Final Fantasy XIII - 6: The Friar's Club Zoroast

The Pulse L'Cie find themselves in a rut of lose-lose options on Pulse. Their only chance being the dim hope brought to them by watching Cid Raines defy his focus, and yet still gain release as a crystal. Besides that dim light of hope, their options seem to be to follow their focus, destroy Cocoon, and kill millions, or to ignore their focus and be damned as mindless Cieth.

At this point, the characters seem somewhere between two ideas. Snow, ever optimistic, believes the L'Cie can defy their focus and still win, while Fang lies at the other spectrum, seeming to be motivated by not watching her friends, especially Vanille, become Cieth. The game implies that some time passes as the L'Cie set up a base camp on Pulse and mull over their choices. Eventually, Hope concedes to despair, and is attacked by his Eidolon. Seeing the inherent risk in doing nothing, the group decides to head to Fang and Vanille's hometown, Oerba. The "open-world" portion of Pulse (open only in comparison to the rest of this game, of course) is at this point optional. It is up to the player whether to fully explore Pulse and it's Cieth Stone missions, or to instead advance the plot. The first dungeon is a bit of a throw-away, feeling like a rehash of one of the Cocoon dungeons. After that, it gets a little more interesting though, as the party makes it to Taejin's Tower.

Sazh approaches the broken tower.

The tower is unique in that it incorporates the Cieth Stone missions as a way to open paths up the tower. Also, the players chase an adversary up the tower, a flying Fal'Cie. Unlike Titan and Bismarck, the player is rewarded for their efforts by getting the satisfaction of defeating this Fal'Cie in combat.

Pulse Fal'Cie Dahaka Mighty-Morphs, I kick HIS ass though. Source.

Dahaka takes his name from Azi Dahaka, a three headed dragon from ancient Iranian mythology. Dahaka is one of a few names that Final Fantasy has pulled from a religion that originates in the area, Zoroastrianism. The religion is monotheistic, sharing parallels with modern religions, yet was essentially the pre-Islamic state religion of what is now Iran. The practitioners mostly survive as the Parsis, or Parsees, in India. I'd read up a bit about Zoroastrianism specifically because FF peaked my interest, but just now made the connection between the Parsees and the religion. Nice. Learning is fun, tell your kids.

Here is a picture of Azi Dahaka from a neat little game called Destiny of Spirits I hadn't heard of. It's a free-to-play online strategy game for the Playstation Vita. I just thought it was neat how the stats list the "lore" that the spirit is from. Calling it Babylonian is probably accurate enough, as Dahaka seems to have originated before Zoroastrianism, but was incorporated into the religion. Source.

It was a learning day, and since learning the name origins is part of what this blog is about, there's a few other things I'd like to mention. Like I said, Final Fantasy has pulled a few names from the religion. The most used one is Ahriman, which is another name for Angra Mainu, the adversary (analogous to Satan) of Zoroastrianism. By the way, Zoroastrianism is hard to type a bunch of times. You may remember Angra Mainu from Final Fantasy 10-2. 10-2 also had an appearance from Azi Dahaka, who was the guardian of the final gate, showing up to mete out punishment if the party failed at the musical puzzle.

In opposition to Angra Mainu is Ahura Mazda, the god of Zoroastrianism. Of course, this immediately made me think of the Mazda car company. I wondered about its origins, and upon seeing it was Japanese, surmised that the name was really "Matsuda" and had been changed to something a little more Western sounding. Looking it up on Wikipedia, my thoughts were confirmed, the companies founder is named Matsuda. I was all ready to reveal this, until looking under the "Name" tab, and seeing something to the effect of "The Mazda company is named after Ahura Mazda, the god of wisdom in Zoroastrianism. It also takes it's name from the company founder, Matsuda." I did not see that coming, both theories are correct.

Mazda... official automobile of the god of wisdom.

What was I talking about? A game you say? Final Fantasy 13? Right. Following the climb up Taejin's Tower and the defeat of Dahaka, the L'Cie find themselves finally in Oerba. The village is desolate, uninhabited, and surrounded by a desert like layer of fine crystal dust. In the dialogue, very little attention is given to Fang and Vanille's reaction as they come back to their village and find it full of Cieth instead of humans. (Perhaps they expected as much after 1,000 years?) The Datalog expands on this a little bit, but that leads me to another annoyance with this game. The dialogue is very vague, often times consisting of generic statements like "We can do this if we just keep at it!", "Yeah, where there is a will there is a way!", "Yeah, go team!" If you want to understand what is going on, and in most cases, the motivation of the characters, you need to read the Datalog. This is a wall of text that is updated as the game goes along. It's better than nothing, but is it too much to expect to understand the game, characters, and story from the game itself, without having to read an e-book? Huh FF13, is it?

The remains of a road leading into Oerba.

 

There is a certain thing about the history of Gran Pulse that bothers me. The village of Oerba consists of patchwork buildings, the remains of roads and a large bridge. In other areas of Pulse, the player can see the remains of skyscrapers that look a lot like those you would find on Earth today. As far as I know, it's never explained whether Fang and Vanille were contemporary with this apparently massive civilization, or instead Oerba was ruined before their time, and they lived in the aftermath. I would be content with this remaining a mystery if it weren't for the fact that Fang and Vanille are right there... and just never seem to bring it up. Opinions may differ, but I found this jarring. The writers went through all this trouble to create a massive story and history, yet if the player can't find out about it, what's the point? It could be a marketing ploy now that I think about it. The Final Fantasy games are followed by massive "Ultimania" books in Japan, which contain concept artwork, and expanded information about the history and characters of the game world. As far as I know, they aren't released outside Japan. So, that is one theory for how Squenix constructed this game.

So the characters explore Oerba, finding little of note (unless Sazh and Vanille are in the active party and you find the robot bhakti... more on that when I discuss mini-games) until they make it to the end of the aforementioned ruined bridge. There they find a cryptic inscription about... I think it was about Etro, Lindzei, and Pulse (These are three gods that are part of an interesting mythology, that again one has to read the Datalog to understand in any way.) A quick summary is that Lindzei created Cocoon and its Fal'Cie, while Pulse is the creator of Gran Pulse and its Fal'Cie. Etro is responsible for turning Fang and Vanille to crystal, even though they did not complete their focus originally, that of destroying Cocoon.

Following reading the inscription, they are approached by an apparition of Serah, Lightning's sister and Snow's fiance. She acts a bit oddly though, and the ruse is revealed to be a machination of Barthandelus. The party fights him once again. He also reveals that he has resurrected Cid Raines, and placed him in the role of Primarch, in order to incite his previous command, the rebel Cavalry, to attack Eden and eventually destroy Orphan. It appears here that Barthandelus is, at least in part, able to actually directly control his L'Cie's actions. It isn't explored whether other Fal'Cie can do this. It may be an ability reserved for Cocoon Fal'Cie, or the most powerful of them.

Bart is kind enough to once again supply a ship for the L'Cie. It will be soon be a... ship of fools! Hehehe, sorry.

I hope you enjoyed this venture into the academia of Final Fantasy. Come back soon...
 for This Bard's Tales!

    

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!