BasilZero said:
I just finished Final Fantasy XIII couple of minutes ago and have posted my opinions on another thread but will post here as well:
Pros
+Decent storyline, though not as epic/flashy as previous FF games, the storyline is still pretty good and will make you want to play the game even more (at least for me it did xD)
+The battle system was really unique, it was a mixture of FFX with MMORPG style of strategies.
+The music was amazing, despite some tracks that usually appear in every FF game were missing.
+Graphics are always a plus when it comes to the FF series, this one is no exception.
+The leveling system with Crystarium brings memories of the Sphere Grid system from FFX, its as polished as that system!
+Main cast of characters seem a different sorts of cultures mashed into one piece, which isnt a bad thing but it is random ;p
+All characters level up the same amount even if they werent in your party, this is good because this enables you to use a character immediately without having to grind them.
+If you played FFX, FFXIII will be easy to pick up in terms of leveling system.
Cons
-Game is way too linear even for a FF game.
-The boss battles could go over 10 minutes if you dont know what you are doing, you cant simply just spam a few major attacks and than heal, you have to use strategy, even than some boss battles could over 10 minutes.
-You heal up HP immediately after a battle which seems a bit too easy.
-No MP
-Items feel more limited than in previous FF games, you no longer have better versions of potions or a item that fully heals hp/status.
-Cure is nerfed to the max.
-Nice to have the ability to do over 9,999 damage, but seriously, they could of made it a bit more realistic in the sense of giving characters more hp and bringing up enemy attacks similar to Star Ocean series.
-Free exploration doesnt happen until Chapter 11 and after that on Chapter 13.
-Free exploration is only limited to Gran Pulse, you cant go back to previous locations in the game.
-Summon System seems as useless as the Esper system in FFXII.
-Some battles feel like you can go full offensive and win (regular battles, not boss battles).
-You can actually go throughout the whole game without the use of any items in battle.
-Some enemies are ridiculously overpowered such as those damn turtles in Gran Pulse xD
Using my own style of reviewing/scoring games I have come up with a score for Final Fantasy XIII on the Playstation 3: 8.8/10
|
As for some of those cons, are you really saying that you want to be going into the menu all the time to apply potions, tents for mp, using items all the time?
I think this game was really streamlined for the action. They did away with a lot of useless menu selections and grinding, and just made it more fighting.
Furthermore, the battle system is just different. It seems as if it's just something you're not used to. Potions heal all members, don't need ot use as many items, etc. They turned the old attack and heal/item fights, into combinations, and fast paced strategy. For example, hitting enemies with magic makes their overload increase really fast, but then the overload bar goes down very quickly. Hitting them with normal attacks makes it go up slowly, but it also takes longer for the bar to drain away. So, much of the combat is hitting with magic and following up with physical attacks. This boosts their guage quickly, then caps it to degrading slowly when the physical attack hits last. Then you can judge whether the bar is high enough to go full magic and hit them so hard they overload, and then wail on them. That's what earns you top marks, which I think is a great little addition to the battle system. It's just a completely different system, and it's much faster, more streamlined, and I think much more enjoyable.
