Review: Final Fantasy XII

After my review of Final Fantasy XIII-2, I theorized that it wouldn't be long before we saw another direct sequel. Turns out I was right. But since that experience left me battered and bruised emotionally, I decided rather than wait for the (hopefully) final installment of the saga of the Farron sisters, I would go through older Final Fantasy titles in order to remind myself of why I enjoy them so much in the first place. My recent reviews of The Legend of Zelda franchise have moved forward down the official Zelda timeline. In the Final Fantasy series, however, the settings are completely separate worlds with no chronological order, giving me no clear direction with which to work. But I figured it would just be easiest to go in reverse order of the release of the major installments. Plus, if I went down that road, the next game up contained that one superboss I could never get to... Therefore, I hooked up my old PlayStation 2 slimline and returned to the world of Ivalice and Final Fantasy XII.

Oh, yeah! It's my old friends, Swashbuckler and Bunnytits!

In the six years and change since I bought XII on the day it was released (I even shelled out the extra dough for the Collector's Edition!) I had yet to visit the final dungeon. It seems strange that I never finished a game that I enjoyed playing, even if it wasn't my favorite title in the series. It's just that the dungeon right before the end is about one hundred floors, and the game's real challenges stem from defeating optional bosses and acquiring rare items which have nothing to do with the main storyline. Speaking of, this is also the point in the story when things start to go a little batshit insane, although I do have to give the developers credit for not tacking on some needless trip to outer space (spoiler alert!) or something equally stupid. But in the interest of completion, I finally beat the last boss, watched the end credits, and now I can safely say that I wish I had never gone back to this game.

I should have left you under the TV stand, covered in dust. :-(

More after the jump...

Review: Final Fantasy XIII-2

If you read my review of Final Fantasy XIII, then you know that I had a lot of things to nitpick in that game, especially in terms of good supporting characters and the ability to explore the world at large. So I was encouraged to learn that Square Enix developed and completed Final Fantasy XIII-2 less than two years after the original, with the previous game's shortcomings still fresh in their minds, and also with input from fans across the globe. I admit that it is quite dangerous to let the die-hard Final Fantasy geeks control any actual game content, for fear of skimpy outfits, Sephiroth-esque villains, and general Japanophilia. But I was willing to accept this risk if it meant fixing the glaring flaws of a game and a setting in which I saw so much potential.

Square Enix... fans... you have all let me down.

zomg bigger swordz!!!!11 lol

XIII-2 gets some things right. First and foremost, it keeps largely intact the excellent battle system used in XIII. There are minor tweaks to how the player can control the battle, some good (changing the leader) and some decidedly bad (fewer actions available to playable characters) but it all amounts to a lot of fun. The addition of the Paradigm Pack system, which allows for the player to capture monsters and use them in battle, is excellent. Developing and customizing each monster you catch can be unique and great to experiment with, if you don't mind a bit of farming (and let's be honest -- anyone playing a Final Fantasy game doesn't). And while I have never played any of the Pokemon games (I KNOW RIGHT) I have been assured that it is different enough from that system to pass the originality sniff test, while still keeping some of the series' best monsters.

Familiarity is a good thing.

More after the jump...

Review: Final Fantasy XIII

In anticipation of Final Fantasy XIII-2's U.S. release at the end of January, I just finished replaying Final Fantasy XIII. First, I wanted to get the Treasure Hunter and Ultimate Hero trophies (because online achievements matter!).

Proof.

But I also wanted to re-familiarize myself with both the story and the battle system. After doing so, it seemed like the perfect time to offer up a review. Actually, not the perfect time, considering it was first released over two years ago, but I digress.

The first time I played through the game, I remember not really liking the story in general. Right off the bat, Square Enix and XIII director Motomu Toriyama break the "Robert Jordan Rule," which is of course if you make up more than three words at the beginning of a story, you're going to lose a lot of people, and the story had better be pretty damn good. The first few cutscenes were throwing fal'Cie, l'Cie, and Cie'th around quite a bit, and frankly becoming a l'Cie doesn't sound so bad. Not to nitpick, but the most crucial part of any game's story is communicating where you are, what you're doing, and why you're doing it. And given the gameplay restrictions inherent in the early chapters, going to the well of "saving the world," and rescuing some girl the audience knows nothing about from becoming encased in carbonite crystal isn't exactly a great or original motivation. As the story progresses, and our protagonists are off to stop the evil gods and/or organizations, there is still an uncertainty about why, or how the group will accomplish their halfhearted goals. During the mid stages of the game, most of the main characters grow and become more dynamic, but some of them continue to play one note throughout, and the supporting characters offer little distraction. By the time we definitely know what were doing (only because we're told so in James Bond, villain-reveals-all-and-splits fashion) and we're ready to do it, there are only two chapters left and it's basically LIGHTNING AND FANG SMASH to the last boss.

"This is only the first time we've met. I'll tell you my exact plan next time."

More after the jump...