You are the thunder, I am the Lightning

If there's one thing I share with gamers around the world, it was the wait for Final Fantasy XIII (don't judge me for being a geek!). Everyone talked about this game as being the game to look forward to in 2010. On March 10th, I finally got my copy of the game.

As I started playing it the opening sequence was amazing and the graphics were absolutely stunning. From there, your immediately put into the heat of battle. The battle system is a lot better than that of Final Fantasy XII in my opinion but I felt it shared a similarity to that of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core in terms of engaging a battle.

When it comes to character building, I'd say the days of leveling up through random encounters are gone. Well somewhat. This is because of the new Crystarium system. While it is similar to the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X but with a twist. Instead of expending levels on skills, you accumulate Crystogen Points (CP) to acquire new skills and build your characters strengths.

For me, one of the best new features in the game is the Paradigm Shift. This basically allows you to shift between character classes for the three characters you are using in a battle. For example, the Relentless Assault paradigm has two ravagers (mages) and one commando (attacker).

As I mentioned earlier, the battle system has been polished up somewhat in comparison to Final Fantasy XII (or maybe I didn't pay attention because I disliked FF12). In battle, you basically control one character and the reason behind this is that the battle is active as you make your decisions. Unlike past Final Fantasies where you can just up and leave for lunch without pausing during a battle, now you have to make every decision and make a paradigm shift quickly. One of the things I noticed is that FF13's battle system runs very smoothly when you think about the things that are happening. While the battle system is superb as always I still long for the good old days when it was turn by turn.

Another thing I found enjoyable in Final Fantasy XIII is the voice acting. The characters truly come alive through the voice actors and it also gives you mixed emotions about certain character. Some of them really annoy you while some of them charm you. Their personalities also help access the gravity of a situation, gives you an idea about the area you're in, or just remind you of your mission objective. This is so because you while you're running through the wilderness or a war torn city, your party members hold conversations.

One thing that has disappointed me about the game is the lack of interactivity among the environment and people in the game. I've been playing the game for 11+ hours already and so far I've not been in any town without fighting. Another downside for me is the new Shop system. Where once you find a save point it is there and available. I liked it better when you visit shops in towns instead. Lastly, the lack of open world environments is another thing lacking. Maybe it comes in a little later, but when I think back to FF9 or better yet FF8 when about an hour or so in the game in you're in the world map, that is what FF13 lacks.

Overall, I don't see a reason why you shouldn't pick up the game even in spite of it's minor flaws. A newcomer to the world of Final Fantasy or a person who loved Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core will love this game. While people like me who have played every Final Fantasy since it's 7th installment will look at this as game as more hype than anything.

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