Final Fantasy XIII: Summary and Rankings

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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