I initially got this game extremely excited at the prospect of a brand new Final Fantasy, finally coming to the PS3 and XB360 Platform. I played through on my PS3, eagerly awaiting the greatness that every FF game has brought to the table. What I was rewarded with was very disappointing and sub standard from what I am used to and could expect from Square Enix.
The play style, although you can only ever play as one character, was semi-unique and challenging since you almost always have to plan your own actions around what you (think) your other party members will do. Throughout most of the game, you might think, this isn’t an issue at all. Since the players will cast spells according to what is most effective given the enemies’ weaknesses, you might wonder where the problem could arise. Well, I will admit it is due to poor in-game programming. The priorities set for each NPC’s abilities and commands are not editable. To discuss this further, we’ll go back to talking about the previous version of FF.
You may remember the gambit system from FFXII, how customizable it was, and more importantly how you could prioritize events by putting their ability and parameter at the top of the list and the less important items at the bottom. Well the problem in FF XIII comes when you are facing powerful enemies who can deal a lot of damage to you while debuffing as well. The coding in-game ensures that your healer will ALWAYS cure you of status ailments before they will ever cast a heal spell. So if you have a spell that reduces your attack damage, and you’re sitting at 50 health, you can look forward to dying status ailment free!!
Other than that, the game was EXTREMELY linear for a traditional Final Fantasy game, with almost no optional side quests except finding (hunt) mobs. So for a verdict, I would say this game is not worth spending over $30 or $40 on. If you must get your hands on one, then you can buy it here
My replay value on this game, personally (where I usually replay a Final Fantasy game from 2-3 times through) is a 0 out of 5.
I Rate this game a maximum of 6 out of 10 (expecting a 9).
Happy gaming and good luck!
VGL_Justin
