ESRB Rating: Teen for mild language, suggestive themes, and violence.
So, Juri wrote up a review for Cave Story, I might as well get a review out as well. Since I'm playing through Final Fantasy XIII right now on my PlayStation 3, I figured this would be a good game to write about.
For the uninitiated, Final Fantasy is a series of role playing games developed and published by Square Enix. While this is the thirteenth game in the series, it does not mean that you are required to play the others before this one to know what is going on. The games do contain running consistencies, such as certain monsters, a type of bird called a chocobo, active time battle systems (with slight modifications to this system between most releases), compelling story lines, central themes, etc.
With that said, Final Fantasy XIII tells the story of six individuals who are forced to work together when they are transformed into L'Cie (pronounced la-see), becoming ostracized by the public and the government because of their newly-gained magical powers. The general theme for this iteration of Final Fantasy and the underlying mysteries are slowly revealed to the player as they fight to survive and escape the wrath of the government.
Final Fantasy XIII continues to use a real-time battle system developed in Final Fantasy XII. Gone are the days of random battles from prior titles, but this entry brings the return of separate battle fields, rather than the MMO-style of battles from XII. The player controls the party leader, directing their actions specifically or allowing the computer to select actions for the leader based on their assigned role. The two other members of the party automatically act based on their assigned roles. After reaching a certain point in the game, the player is able to adjust what roles the party members are assigned on the fly, adjusting the actions each character takes. This leads to a bit more of a real-time strategy element of game play. The battles can be fairly easy to win, since the player simply has to tell the computer to auto-assign actions to the lead character, switching roles as needed to heal party members when things get rough. However, if you underestimate your opponents, you can find yourself overwhelmed if you don't pay attention. Overall, the battle system is more action packed than previous Final Fantasies, and a lot more fun in my opinion!
One of the chief complaints that I've had (and others have told me as well) is the linearity of the game. Players seem to just be guided along through each area, without too many side paths or extra tasks to accomplish, especially in the beginning hours of the game! However, once you get to the point where you can develop your characters and assign roles, and once you discover what the games central theme is, you'll find that the initial linearity of the game is purposeful and understandable. The game busts wide open in the final chapters, allowing the player to go pretty much wherever they want. Unfortunately, beginning players may want to just continue along with the story, returning to fight the game's toughest battles until after the final boss is defeated. It isn't until the player saves after the final fight that the characters can be fully developed into the strongest fighters.
Overall, Final Fantasy XIII's incredible game play improvements, graphical presentation, and storyline are incredible and well deserve the time invested. As for family, the game lends itself well to be watched because nearly every battle is exciting and the story is amazing to watch unfold in some incredible cutscenes! The game's format also lends itself well to multiple players passing the controller around between battles, sharing the experience with fellow gamers, or for those backseat gamers (like Juri) to watch and enjoy the story and provide backup when my characters are in trouble. I highly recommend the game to returning Final Fantasy fans and to newcomers to the series!
My rating: Teen because of the mature storyline and deep real-time battle system.
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