Final Fantasy XIII (Steam) Review
By: RJ (@rga_02)
- Final Fantasy XIII
- Developer - Square Enix
- Publisher - Square Enix
- PC (Reviewed on PC) Also on PS3 & Xbox 360
- Rating - T
Here’s a bit of a disclaimer. My love for FFXIII is well documented. I platinumed the game two times on the PS3. Hell, I even bought a copy for the Xbox 360 - a console I don’t even own. I recognize its faults, but I tend to look past those and enjoy what is presented before me. There is something beautiful beneath all the uncertainty. And with its recent release on the PC, I wonder if it can recapture that beauty for me.
The story of FFXIII is a convoluted beautiful mess. I won’t be diving into it as it is well documented elsewhere. But from terms such as fal'Cie, l'cie, Pulse, etc. It’s easy to get lost (or simply don’t care) for what being presented. The game provides more information and background to the story and mythos of the XIII universe in the datalog. For players who plan to full immerse themselves in the XIII universe, going to the datalog won’t be a problem. In fact, you will spoil yourself in the information that is there. But for those who want everything presented in front of them, then it would give way to a long confusing straight road for the rest of the game.
Final Fantasy has been the gold standard when it comes to battle mechanics in a jrpg. And FFXIII is the best to date. Called the Command Battle System, the CSB mixes certain action based elements with the classic ATB. While at first it might seem “press X to win” as the game progresses you are witnessing one of the deepest battle system to grace a mainline FF game to date. You only control one person - the party leader. The ATB bar is fragmented. Each segment on the bar represents an action. Be it attacking, healing, etc. The goal is to build up the a chain of attacks, spells, etc against your enemies to eventually stagger them to dish out more damage. During battle you can switch your jobs on the fly and it is called the Paradigm Shift.
The Paradigm Shift allows you to switch around your jobs (ranging from healing to debuffs) during battle. But you will only be able to directly control your main party leader. But the other two characters in your party will work together automatically with your main job of choice. It’s like an faux upgraded version of FFXII’s gambit system. Except this time, more fast paced and automatic. Like any typical mainline FF game, during battle you can bring out your summons (in this game, called Eidolons). Once summoned you have the option to use their Gestalt Mode, which allows you to “ride” on them. While in Gestalt Mode, you can input the commands shown on screen to build up your attacks and chain against your foes.
The music in this game is simply heaven. It’s like biting into that freshly baked éclair. It’s a satisfying experience from the first to last bite. The strong use of violins just strings up a melody that brings forth something powerful to your ears. While the classic prelude and victory fanfare may be absent from this title, tracks such as Blinded By Light, The Promise, Gapra Whitewood evokes an unmistakable feel. Be it suspense, sadness or tranquility. Masashi Hamauzu has done a wonderful job with the soundtrack.
Now, let’s talk about the PC port of FFXIII. I was excited when Square announced that they were going to release XIII on Steam. Finally, I can have two of my favorite FF games (XIII & VIII) on my laptop that I can bring to work and play ‘em during my break. Another reason is, I have access to a high end desktop. Seeing one of the most gorgeous games from the 7th generation in full HD would make me sequel with joy. So after 5 or so hours waiting for the 60GB download to be completed (Japan and the Asias download size would be around 30GBs) instead of a smile on my face, I was disappointed.
Sans their MMOs, Square has had a shoddy track record with their “ports” of past FF titles to steam. FFVIII OST was butchered. FFIV is a port of a port, with battles running at 15FPS. With FFXIII? They did the impossible. Yes. Square managed to make the impossible possible. They made it look worse than the inferior Xbox 360 version. (I guess that must of have been their focus) As of this review, the steam port is locked to 720p (1280x720) - with no native options to change that at all. Now for those who are playing on a laptop it’s no problem. But for those who want to get the most out of their rigs, they will be disappointed. Thankfully, a modder by the of Durante (you might heard of him - he fixed up the PC version of Dark Souls) updated his GeDoSaTo tool to support FFXIII. With that, you can run the game at 1920x1080. Another misfortune with the port is what when you press the esc button, it completely exits the game without any warning at all.
So, should you get the PC port of FFXIII? As this review is being written, no, skip out on this port. The PS3 version is still the way to go if you want to experience this game. From a personal standpoint, it’s a damn shame to see one of my favorite games of the last generation to receive a shoddy port. And it makes me fear about the quality of future Final Fantasy games that will be ported over. Final Fantasy has always set the standards on home consoles. It’s time for them to do the same for PC.
