Final Fantasy XIII
Got back into the game again, and I must say, it’s getting better. More choices and considerations are arising, I think I’m finally understanding the play mechanics, and some weird stuff are happening in the story. The way that each character is handling their unfortunate transformation is handled fairly well, even if the cutscenes are still about as stilted as before.
I’d like the address the constant bitch that I’m hearing from the Internet that the game is “on rails.” Now, I’ve been playing 7-8 hours, and it’s been true that I have nowhere to go but forward since the game has started. There was a lot of drag in the first hour or so, when my heroes didn’t actually know magic, so the only option in combat was “hit the guy” and drink potions. It slowly builds options though, allowing you to get acquainted with the different roles, try different combinations, get used to the way combat moves. It can be remarkably slow for such a fast combat system, but it slowly unfolds, and I’ve gotten to the point where some of the choices I’m making start to matter. Now, I can’t choose where I go, exactly, but I do choose how my characters level, which equipment I upgrade, when to use various shrouds, etc.
I just dislike that fact that if a game is “on rails,” it’s automatically bad. Sandbox games may be the big thing nowadays, and it’s awfully nice to have choices, sure. But the rails are only bad if they are taking you someplace you don’t want to go. I want to play the game, naturally, so I’m going to follow the story. If I have to play through this various ice lakes and outlands to figure out what’s going on...alright then. I’m not being distracted by some leveling bullshit, or sidequest nuttery, or trying to figure out what I need to do and getting irritated. I know what I need to do...go that way. If I keep walking, I’ll do some fights in increasing difficulty order, and then get a cutscene and new game mechanic! That’s the way pretty much every damn Final Fantasy since time immortal has been (barring the recent multiplayer additions), and that’s the way this one is.
The rails also increase the variety and difficulty of the game. The game keeps switching the party, so you have to keep changing your strategies and what you do during combat. It beats the hell out of complaints I’ve heard from Western games, in which you usually find something that works within the first two hours and keep doing the damn thing for the entire game. I like having to keep adjusting the way I play based upon the path, and having the game be limiting in what it shows you keeps the balance fresh.
So yes, keep dragging me down the path you’ve given me. I understand what the game is trying to do, I’m not going to complain for the genre being what it is.
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