Final Fantasy XIII Review

The cool thing is that the combat interface is very easy to use, giving you a chance to access a preferred attack or skill in the thick of battle. Chaining attacks together successfully leads to rewarding results in battle. It took me a while to grasp the mechanics, albeit in time I was having a blast with all the combos and the unique abilities of each character. Changing combat tactics as you go along and making the most out of all the skills is the main attraction of FF XIII. It's just a shame so many people won't have a clue as to what it's all about, not to mention they'll be skipping the hell out of the frequent story segments.

Is there any way I can get this ridiculous cap off?

Don't touch the hair, baby!

Now, I have nothing against Japanese style story-telling. If there's one thing this game has, it's beautiful graphics and top-notch art direction and the fact remains that should you decide to skip the cinematics, you'll miss out on some truly impressive scenes. The attention to detail in each scene is amazing to say the least. Again, I'm sure people won't care about such things, if they don't understand what this new mysterious world they've been given a chance to explore is all about. In the end, too many things are left unsaid and, while such flaws can be overlooked in certain games, they simply can't be tolerated here.

Before I end this review, I'd like to point out that Final Fantasy XIII is by no means a bad game. Enduring through the game's sluggish start, could bring you into an exciting combat system that's very different from most games we play nowadays. As frantic as it gets at times, this combat actually gets more fun as you play, regardless of how perplexing it may seem to you at the beginning.

That said, what was supposed to be the game's strongest point turned out to be its greatest weakness. If you're looking for complex multi-layered characters and a thrilling storyline, I seriously doubt Final Fantasy XIII will give you the ride of your life. Each time you find yourself enjoying the gameplay, you'll immediately get distracted by cinematics and unimportant dialogue taking place between the characters. That's the only mistake Square Enix made - allowing flashy graphics and meager story-telling to get in the way of what seems to be a challenging, well-designed and clear-cut gameplay concept.