Original Neverwinter Nights - 1: Original, or Extra Tasty Crispy?

Neverwinter... that legendary city of Faerun, acting as a haven for adventurers on the edge of the Savage Frontier. A new would-be hero approached the palace of Lord Nasher, a former adventurer himself. This young half-elf had dubbed himself the "Knight of Neverwinter", but only time would tell if he could live up to his self appointed title.

The young man, standing tall with pride, his hand on the hilt of his short sword, entered the palace. The regal Nasher, being constantly approached by adventurers, would not be bothered to rise from his seat. "I am Lord Nasher. Welcome to Neverwinter my friend."

Our hero took a long, deep breath, then shouted "I am the Knight of Neverwinter, and I shall liberate this great city!"

Lord Nasher's eyes grew wide momentarily, but his response calm,"Uh, ok... go forth and explore new lands. Good bye." Nasher then turned away to resume a conversation with one of his assistants.

Satisfied with his entrance, our hero nodded, then ventured forth, to adventure!  

Note: To hopefully avoid confusion, I'll refer to the versions of Neverwinter Nights as Original Neverwinter Nights (oNWN), FRUA: Neverwinter Nights (F:NWN), and Forgotten World (FW).

This is not the Neverwinter Nights I'm playing, sorry if I got your hopes up.

While I was playing Final Fantasy 13, it was definitely in the back of my mind that I wanted to continue to intermix Gold Box game posts in with the FF stuff. It's been a while since I'd played any of these games, which always takes a second to reintegrate. I ended up having some technical difficulties with Forgotten World that will probably get ironed out, I'll talk about that in my next post on that game. 

While I play Forgotten World, and F:NWN, whenever I encounter something frustrating, I often think, "Was the original game really like this?" The only thing stopping me from playing the original is that the only version I've seen does not allow the player to save, necessitating a restart every time they open up the game. This "offline" version is available at what is probably the most comprehensive oNWN archive site, at Bladekeep.

Something I realized a little while back is that this offline version assumes the player is a GM, and thus contains debug powers, allowing you to teleport, edit your character, skip combat and all that jazz. It occurred to me that one might be able to "save" by screencapping their character than editing it on the next load. Turns out that is totally possible! (DOSBox save states would probably be even easier, but I'm comfortable with the version I'm using now.) So here I am, now playing no less than THREE iterations of Neverwinter Nights at one time! Given the nature of these games, that is "open world" and with relatively slow character progression, they are going to be games that I play for a long time, playing and posting periodically among my other stuff. I mean, I've put in 20-30 hours each on FW and F:NWN, and have barely scratched the surface of exploring the available areas. That sounds like a compliment, but really it's because at the lower levels you can barely survive anywhere. Obviously I still have hope for them though, because I'm still playing.

Here we go again!

After trying out a Ranger/Mage build in FW I've decided to go back to my original idea, the Cleric/Fighter/Mage. The Ranger overall survived much better, however, the lack of spells made it very hard to win tougher combats without the disabling abilities of the mage. This would all be fine once the build is complete, however, that means building a Ranger to level 10 and a mage to level 11 before your character is all that viable. I'm not willing to wait that long. The issues with the C/F/M are slow progression (Exp. is divided by 3) and low Hit Points (Also divided by three). However, the character is more "viable" as a solo while you're still building levels, in my opinion. As far as I know FW was gracious enough to throw out the humano-centric AD&D level limits, but being an official product, oNWN of course has them. That means my Half-Elf C/F/M will max out at levels 5/8/8 instead of 11/12/11. Bummer, but I weighed the options and decided it was still worth it.

You'll pay 20 gold for my spetum? Gross, man. I hope it's for science and not something sexual.

Oh! You mean this thing.

 

Not surprisingly since this is the official release of the game, I find it plays the smoothest, and seems the most balanced from an encounter and treasure standpoint. Each of the versions has their benefit though: oNWN has pro-polish, FW has online play, and F:NWN allows one person to control a whole party.

So far I've played this version for about 6 hours, I've only gotten my character's feet wet in the wharves. One good thing about these games is that, I'm not sure exactly why, but exploring and grinding in the same 16x16 square area for 6 hours doesn't get all that boring. It's a testament to the Gold Box games that this is true. With a game like this, it's also quite viable to watch let's plays or catch up on Netflix at the same time you're playing, which helps too.

Poor Bill, human trafficking is wrong.

 

There are a few things I've noticed so far about this version of the game. First off, turning undead causes them to flee. Some Gold Box games make them simply disappear, but the disadvantage to that is that you don't get experience for them. I prefer the disappearing for the high level games where the exp. isn't all that important, and the fleeing for the low level games. The "timer" from the original game is also intact. That is, if you take too long to make your move in combat a timer starts ticking down, and you "pass" when it reaches 0. This was in there to keep the game from bogging down during multiplayer, and it's presence here isn't a big deal. The game clock is also similarly not based on the player's moves and resting, which is different than most Gold Box games. FW uses a server clock based on actual time. Since oNWN is "offline" I'm not sure if it uses the player's computer's time, or simply it's own internal timer.

Guisarme, Bill's grandfather. That's all the pole-arm jokes I have... for now! 

As I've been exploring the wharves, I noticed after certain encounters I would get a "complete (number)" message after winning certain combats. I assume this is related to getting a reward from Lord Nasher for "clearing" a block, ala Pool of Radiance. I've found five of these combats, but have yet to get any new messages from Nasher. After trying a few things, such as not leaving the area until I'd won all the combats, and doing them in order, I hadn't made any progress. If you've read my posts on FF13, you know how much I love "trial and error" gameplay, so I decided to look for an FAQ or walkthrough. (For those of you who think that's cheating, I've come to terms with it like this: If I'm stuck on one thing for 1 or 2 hours and can't think of anything else to try, I'll look it up. Life's too short to fiddle too long with suspect game design.) I couldn't find anything specific to this quest unfortunately, but I did find a decent FAQ in an archive!

I made a joke about encountering these guys in F:NWN. They're not nearly as funny as a solo character.

 

For a while now I've been trying to figure out how encounters respawn in FW, which applies here as well. I figured some were keyed to the day/night cycle, and that they respawned by stepping on those squares. However, my science couldn't yield conclusive results. The FAQ spelled it out for me succinctly, different encounters have different requirements to respawn... Derr... why didn't I think of that? So, I figured out that while I'm going to be grinding anyway, I might as well figure out how each encounter works. That being said, I've just started this, and once again... nothing conclusive yet!

Sweat dripping from his brow, and his breath heavy, the Knight of Neverwinter grunted as he removed his trident from the neck of the now dead crocodile. This adventuring thing was a little tougher than he had at first imagined he though, but the challenge only strengthened his resolve to live up to his title. For more of our hero's adventures, come back soon... for This Bard's Tales!

Total Game Time: 5.5 hours 

(Oddly enough, I missed keeping track of my play time. By using decimals instead of minutes, I've made the bookkeeping more manageable, so it's back.)

         

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!