Full 360:Final Fantasy XIII ships 5 million copies

In a Japanese press release, Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy XIII has shipped 5 million copies worldwide. Surprisingly, 3 million of those copies were shipped outside of Japan. Of course, Square Enix isn’t saying how many of those copies have been sold, so bear that in mind when marveling over these impressive numbers.

These 5 million XIIIs, according to the release, bring the total number of shipped games in the Final Fantasy series up to 96 million. How many of those were ports or remakes of the first Final Fantasy, we wonder?

Review: Final Fantasy XIII

There is a moment in Final Fantasy XIII where everything just clicks.

The intricacies of the completely overhauled combat system come into focus; the meandering, convoluted story begins to take shape; the characters stop being insufferably standoffish and begin to coalesce into an engaging menagerie of heroes; the character progression system begins to offer the player a variety of thought-provoking choices; and the game begins to live up to your (I’m assuming) lofty expectations, and Final Fantasy XIII becomes an experience which can go toe-to-toe with the best entries in the franchise.

The game gets exceptional after this one moment — but, regrettably, this moment came for me after suffering 15 hours and 30 minutes of pure, unadulterated tedium.

Gallery: Final Fantasy XIII

Everything you know about Final Fantasy has undergone a massive renovation since Final Fantasy XII for PS2. The tropes of the franchise are all included in some shape or another, but have largely been stripped down and streamlined in an attempt to make XIII accessible to a much wider audience. This isn’t as horrific as it sounds — in some ways, the fast-paced combat and simplified character progression systems represent clever evolutions of ancient gameplay mechanics.

These changes require a thorough indoctrination from the player before they can be truly appreciated, as does the overarching story the game intimates over its massive, 45-hour span. Square Enix has frequently stated its intent to continue exploring the Fabula Nova Crystallis universe throughout the next decade; as such, the necessity for a thorough primer on this new mythology is unquestionable.

Unfortunately, the tempo at which Final Fantasy XIII conducts the player’s familiarization with its conventionalized gameplay mechanics and overarching Crystallis mythos is extremely lethargic, turning the first third of the game into an exhausting crawl. Fifteen-and-a-half hours probably demands more from a player’s patience than they’ll be willing to give — especially if said player is one of the Final Fantasy newcomers the game is seemingly tailored for. Still, if you can make the time investment, there’s a lot to love about the roundabout story.

That story focuses on a timeless conflict between two worlds: the civilized, monarchical society of Cocoon and the beast-riddled, lush landscape of Gran Pulse. Both realms are governed and sustained by the godlike Fal’Cie, entities which are capable of siring ordinary humans, turning them into weapons of mass destruction against the opposing domain.

If you can make the time investment, there’s a lot to love about the roundabout story.

Final Fantasy XIII follows the plight of six strangers who are initiated as such by a Pulse Fal’Cie and tasked with the obliteration of Cocoon. Options for Fal’Cie agents — which are confusingly referred to as “l’Cie” — are limited: you either fulfill the charge assigned to you, or you’re transformed into a monstrous Cie’th. It is, to say the least, an unfavorable position to find oneself in and sets a rather grim tone that pervades the entirety of the game.

In true Final Fantasy fashion, XIII starts you off on an explosive train heist, giving you control over characters you know literally nothing about. Though it does so at a leisurely pace, the game eventually reveals some pretty compelling origins for these characters, mostly through frequent, effective flashbacks that recount the 13 seemingly innocuous days that preceded the events of the game.

Each of these characters become relatable at varying speeds. Sazh, the steadfast airship pilot who offers frequent doses of levity during the game’s most melodramatic cutscenes, and who also has a baby chocobo who lives in his hair, will quickly capture your heart. Snow, the forlorn, reckless bruiser who (in every other sentence) reminds everyone within earshot that he is, in fact, a hero — well, he takes a bit longer to adjust to.

Perplexingly, Final Fantasy XIII keeps its sextuplet of protagonists divided into three groups of two for a large chunk of the game. Though each character appears to have the potential to be interesting, they just don’t shine while they’re adhering to the game’s compartmental introduction. However, once the characters are brought together, and begin to forge engaging relationships between one another, your concern for their well-being increases exponentially — as does your interest in the mission that has been forced upon them.

If you’ve got the endurance required, there are 30 or so truly wonderful hours of game to be played.

The game’s streamlined combat system also takes a while to warm up to. Parties can be composed of three characters, though you’ll only be able to control the party’s designated leader, while the other two automatically offer support with the roles they’ve been assigned. These roles have fancy names, such as “Commando” and “Ravager” — but don’t be fooled. They’re the same old Black Mage, White Mage, Fighter (and so on) archetypes you may have been repeatedly familiarized with over the past two decades.

Each character can fulfill a variety of these roles, allowing players to set up multiple combinations of archetypes that they can switch between at will during a fight. For instance, most of the easier fights can be handily won with a Commando and two Ravagers — but if things start to get thorny, you can switch to a Commando and two Medics with a couple of swift button-presses.

The game’s combat rewards strategy and swift execution with a combo meter. When the meter is filled, combos drastically increase the amount of damage the enemy takes from your attacks. Finding a balance between boosting this meter, doing damage and, you know, not dying presents a fast-paced and refreshing take on the turn-based battles of yore.

However, it takes a while to get to a point where you can start developing strategies for yourself. In those grueling, first 15-and-a-half or so hours, you will have no control over the characters selected for your party. What’s more, the game’s new character progression engine, the “Crystarium,” doesn’t offer much room for specialization until later in the game. If you fight every monster placed in front of you, you’ll always have enough experience to hit the level cap for each of the roles accessible to your character, no questions asked.

Still, even when you’re not entirely in control of the composition of your party, XIII’s combat is incredibly exciting. I’d go so far to call it one of the best innovations that’s visited the franchise in quite some time, if I hadn’t just soundly bestowed that honor on baby chocobos that live in people’s hair.

Another noticeable aberration that Final Fantasy XIII brings to the table is its unswerving linearity; though in retrospect, it’s difficult to take umbrage with the game’s straightforward design. Until one of the game’s later chapters — which offers a massive, open landscape filled with rewarding sidequests — every area you’ll navigate, places you on a narrow beeline toward the next cutscene with few branching paths leading to clandestine treasures. It’s jarring, to be certain; though every installment in the Final Fantasy franchise (save, perhaps, for XII) has a linearity about it.

The respective stories presented in Final Fantasy I–X drive the player on a path between towns and dungeons, all leading to the inevitable resolutions. There are sidequests, sure — though they mostly offer metaphysical bonuses that will aid the player in conquering that conclusive boss fight. Final Fantasy XIII is different in that it exerts that linearity on the player in a much less transparent capacity.

If you’ve got the endurance required to suffer Final Fantasy XIII’s radically unbalanced pacing, there are 30 or so truly wonderful hours of game to be played. It’s unfortunate that XIII’s plodding introduction requires so much from the player — 15 hours and 30 minutes is, after all, enough time to play most other games to completion. Still, after viewing the satisfying, Leona Lewis-infused conclusion, I’m of the firm position that the end easily justifies the means.

The Reel:Final Fantasy 13 (First 40 MInutes JAP DEMO)

First 40 Minutes of the Final Fantasy XIII Demo (Part 1) HD
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Spotlight:Final Fantasy 13 (PS3 & XBOX 360)

Final Fantasy XIII (ファイナルファンタジーXIII, Fainaru Fantajī Sātīn^?) is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. It was released for the PlayStation 3 entertainment system in Japan on December 17, 2009 and is due for release in North America and PAL regions on March 9, 2010 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. First appearing at E3 2006, the game features both futuristic and natural elements; it is set between a land of wilderness and the high-tech world above it. Final Fantasy XIII is the flagship title of the Fabula Nova Crystallis collection of Final Fantasy games.

Gameplay

The concept for Final Fantasy XIII‘s battle system is to maintain the strategic nature of command-based battles. The system stemmed from a desire to create battles similar to those found in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Like those in Final Fantasy XII, enemies are integrated into the world environment. However, unlike Final Fantasy XII, battles do not take place in the same “dimension”, instead there is a short transition and players are transported to a new battle screen, separate from the main playing world. The Active Time Battle (ATB) system will return, but it will work differently from its predecessors. Users will be able to chain large numbers of commands together in order to achieve attack bonuses.

The Final Fantasy XIII battle system, with the option to use “Paradigm Shift”

The first battle system was shown during the E3 2006, but it was only a prototype. A new interface was shown in September 2009 by Square Enix in various Japanese magazines and trailers (depicted in the image adjacent). In battle, the player can only control one character at a time out of a party of up to three.

Multiple commands can be stacked into slots per turn and released at the same time to form a combo. The number of command slots increases as the characters grow in strength. These commands include series staples such as Attack, Fire, Blizzard and Cure, as well as new ones such as Ruin, Ruinaga, and Radial Strike. The difference between XIII’s battle system and the ATB gauge is that these commands can still be placed in the slots even though the bar has run out, and the actions will be executed once the required slots are filled up. The game does not make use of MP but introduces “cost points” for each command, which determine how many times the commands can be used per turn. Because magic cannot be used outside of battle, the Hit Point (HP) of the party is completely restored after each battle.

When engaging an enemy, the camera moves to another position and the battle menu appears, making the battle transitions nearly seamless. The after-battle victory screen in XIII holds information such as the time it took to finish the battle, the highest number of combos executed, the number of break attacks and the quality of battle which is determined by a ranking of one to five stars.

A “Break State” is one of the new features of the Final Fantasy XIII battle system. The breaks refer to the times an enemy enters a state of reduced retaliation. This occurs when a chain combo has been maintained for a certain period of time on an enemy, filling a bar to maximum. When a high level combo has been achieved, the enemy will glow red and enter this state, during which the player will be able to inflict high amounts of damage and knock some enemies high into the air. The chain bar will gradually deplete during this period; when it becomes empty, the break state ends.

The party will be able to purchase new weapons in the game and actually see them in battle.

Roles and Paradigms

The “Role” system exists in order to control what abilities are available to characters in battle. Rather than having all abilities available to characters as they are learned, abilities are restricted to certain Roles, similar to the Job system of previous installments. The Japanese version’s Roles are Attacker, Blaster, Defender, Enhancer, Jammer, and Healer, while the English localization calls them Commando, Ravager, Sentinel, Synergist, Saboteur and Medic, respectively. Commandos strike with physical, non-elemental attacks; Ravagers use elemental abilities like Frost Blow and Thundaga; Sentinels provoke and absorb enemy attacks, and dish out counterattacks; Synergists use buffs like Shell and Brave, while Saboteurs use debuffs like DeShell and Bio; and Medics exclusively heal, using abilities like Cura, Raise, and Esuna. Roles, with a specific purpose in mind for each, are the only means by which to direct ally AI.

Each character may only take on one role at a time, and each combination of three Roles for a given party is called a “Paradigm” (“Optima” in Japan). Up to six Paradigm combinations may be stored at any one time. During battle, players may switch between them on-the-fly, called a “Paradigm Shift” (“Optima Change” in Japan). Timing Paradigm Shifts correctly can fill the ATB gauges, making switching frequently in battle an advantage.

The Crystarium

The leveling system for the game is called the Crystarium System which resembles the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X. Instead of gaining experience points after winning a battle, characters gain CP (Crystal Points) which can then be spent in order to unlock abilities and increase attributes such as maximum HP. Every character has a Crystarium, and within it, different sections corresponding to each Role the character has available.

The Crystarium is not initially available within the game, and only becomes available through story sequences. After that point, levels in the Crystarium become unlocked as the story progresses, essentially capping the amount of growth that can be achieved in the middle of the game. Every character initially specializes in up to three Roles, and the other Roles are not even available in their Crystariums until much later in the game.

Summons

The classic summoned creatures called Eidolons (as they were in Final Fantasy IV DS and Final Fantasy IX) return in Final Fantasy XIII. Each character possesses only one Eidolon that is summoned from a crystal that sprouts from the character’s mark of l’Cie. The Eidolons include series staples Odin, Shiva, Alexander, and Bahamut, and newcomers Hecatoncheir and Brynhildr. When summoned, the Eidolon stay in battle while the characters accompanying the summoner leaves the party. There is also a new feature called “Gestalt Mode” (known as “Driving Mode” in Japan), which when activated joins the summoned and its summoner; Snow can ride and steer the combined Shiva Sisters which is a motorcycle, Vanille’s Hecatoncheir can transform into a bipedal mech with machine gun turrets in which she can control, and Sazh can ride and steer Brynhildr as a race car. This changes the pace of the combat significantly. But not all summons turn into mechanical vehicles; Odin’s Gestalt Mode changes him into a horse for Lightning to ride on, Bahamut’s Gestalt Mode is a flight mode for Fang to ride on, while Alexander’s Gestalt Mode changes him into a large castle which surrounds the enemy and fires lasers at them from all sides. The summons play a major role in the game’s storyline as well, much like Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy X. Synopsis

Plot

The plot of Final Fantasy XIII takes place in a world known as Pulse and revolves around the story of the fal’Cie (ファルシ, farushi^?) (pronounced /ˈfælsiː “fal see”/), mechanical beings with godlike power created from crystals residing inside them. People who are marked by the fal’Cie for greater purposes are called l’Cie (ルシ, rushi^?). Each l’Cie has a Focus, a goal the fal’Cie wants him or her to fulfill within a certain amount of time; however, the fal’Cie do not explicitly say what the goal is: l’Cie learn what their Focus is by interpreting visions that are given to them. L’Cie gain the ability to summon Eidolons (monsters who fight with the l’Cie), but this ability comes with a price: if a l’Cie dies before completing his or her Focus, fails to tame his or her Eidolon, or fails to complete his or her Focus within a set period of time, he or she becomes a monster known as a Cie’th (シ骸, shigai^?, Cie Corpse in the japanese version). If a l’Cie does complete his or her Focus, the reward is not much better: permanent transformation into a crystal. For this reason, being chosen as a l’Cie is seen as a curse.

Some 1,300 years ago, a fal’Cie named Orphan constructed a paradise for humanity: the shell-like city of Cocoon, which floats high above the surface of Pulse. Then Orphan created life forms and machines for Cocoon’s inhabitants to use, and humanity flourished. A war was fought between the Pulse and Cocoon, and Cocoon prevailed. However, fear lingered in the hearts of the people of Cocoon, for the day another invasion might come from the world beneath again.

Although most Cocoon citizens have never seen Pulse with their own eyes, they have been told that it is a dangerous place that has strange effects on those who venture down to its surface. Consequently, anyone who is discovered to have visited Pulse is immediately subjected to quarantine and exile by the theocratic government of Cocoon, known as the Sanctum. The Sanctum enforces this policy with its strongest military branch, PSICOM.

As Snow leads the resistance group, Team Nora, in an attempt to stop the purging of civilians, the mysterious Lightning fights her way past PSICOM soldiers with the aid of Sazh to find a Pulse fal’Cie, Anima, who turned her sister, Serah (who is also Snow’s fiancée), into a l’Cie. Through a chain of events, these three, along with two exiles, Vanille and Hope, are forced by the fal’Cie of Pulse to become l’Cie, and with that became enemies of humanity with the Focus of bringing about the downfall of Orphan and Cocoon. By the end of the game Vanile and Fang both decide to sacrifice them self in hope to stop the main antagonists explosion after being defeated.

Characters

Playable characters

• Lightning (スノウ・ヴィリアース, Raitoningu^?)

Former sergeant of the Cocoon military, Lightning sought the fal’Cie of Pulse in order to ask it to save her sister Serah, whom the fal’Cie had turned into a l’Cie. However, much to her dismay, Lightning was turned into a l’Cie herself. Her l’Cie mark is in the center of her chest. Lightning has long pink hair and is 177 cm tall (5’9″). Originally named Éclair Farron (エクレール・ファロン, Ekurēru Faron^?),she discarded her birth name after her parents died in an attempt to emotionally reinforce herself so she could protect Serah, though this only caused tensions to rise between them. For her design, character designer Tetsuya Nomura was asked to create a “female version of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII“. During development, he described her as “not very feminine”.Lightning wields a weapon called a Blaze Edge that is a combination of a gun and a sword (one collapsing into the other). and she can also manipulate gravity with a device on her thumb (though due to Sazh’s interference, this device becomes damaged). In battle, she is agile and uses acrobatic moves. As a l’Cie, she can summon the Eidolon Odin to fight by her side in battle, who can assume a horse-like form that she can ride on. While riding, Lightning dual wields Odin’s detachable sword. Her strongest unique special attack is called Scene Drive in the Japanese version  and Army of One in the North American version.

• Snow Villiers (スノウ・ヴィリアース, Sunō Viriāsu^?)

Prior to becoming a l’Cie, Snow is the head of Team Nora, a resistance group against Cocoon. He is a big character and is capable of running while carrying two people.He has light blonde hair. He was nicknamed “Mr. 33 cm” by the staff of Final Fantasy XIII as a nod to his shoe size. He uses his fists to take down opponents, focusing on brute force compared to the fast and agile Lightning. After becoming a l’Cie, Snow gains the power to summon the Shiva Sister (シバシスター, Shiba Sisutā^?) Eidolons, Nix (二クス, Nikusu^?) and Stiria (スティリア, Sutiria^?), who can combine into a motorcycle form for Snow to ride while toting a large gun. Unlike most grapplers, Snow changes his runes on his coat rather than buying new gloves.

• Oerba Dia Vanille (ヲルバ＝ダイア・ヴァニラ, Oruba-Daia Vanira^?)

Vanille is a mysterious but upbeat young girl with red-brown hair worn in pigtails. Originally residing from Oerba Village located within Gran Pulse, Vanille is among those being exiled at the start of the game. She also serves as the game’s narrator. Her weapon is a form of foldable fishing rod with multiple lines that can be reeled. She seems to have more of a romantic relationship with the raven haired character fang and eventually becomes crystalized with her by the end of the game. She has been a l’Cie for a long time, one of two l’Cie given the Focus to summon the Eidolon Ragnarok, and her l’Cie mark is located on her upper left thigh. In battle, Vanille excels at using magic based attacks from a distance. Her Eidolon is Hecatoncheir, a multiple-limbed, earth-elemental summon who can transform into a bipedal mech armed with machine guns that she can pilot.

• Sazh Katzroy (ヲルバ＝ダイア・ヴァニラ, Sazzu Kattsuroi^?)

A former airship pilot of the Military, Sazh wields dual pistols (which can be combined to form a collapsible rifle), and his strong point is striking enemies from a distance. His l’Cie mark is at the base of his neck. He has a six-year-old son named Dajh with whom he is very close. When Dajh inadvertently became a l’Cie and was taken by Sanctum, saving him became Sazh’s main motivation. Sazh has a pet baby chocobo that lives inside his afro. Sazh is described as having good judgment and moral discernment. He has a gentle personality and is easily moved to tears, and joins the party early in the game. His Eidolon is Brynhildr, a female fire-elemental knight who can transform into a race car. Tetsuya Nomura based Sazh’s appearance on Lionel Richie.

• Hope Estheim (ホープ・エストハイム, Hōpu Esutohaimu^?)

Hope is a fourteen-year-old boy with silvery-blonde hair and orange, yellow, and green clothing. He uses collapsible boomerangs in battle. During the Purge, his mother offers to help Snow and Team Nora fight off PSICOM. She dies during the battle, and though Snow honors her final request to protect her son, Hope nonetheless hates Snow in a grief-induced rage for his connection to his mother’s death. His Eidolon is the holy-elemental summon Alexander, which transforms into a fortress in Gestalt Mode, and is able to blast enemies from afar with multiple cannons.

• Oerba Yun Fang (ヲルバ＝ユン・ファング, Oruba-Yun Fangu)

A raven-haired woman who comes from Oerba Village, donning clothing resembling the traditional Indian Sari adorned with tribal accessories, and bearing the mark of a l’Cie on her right shoulder. Though she is a l’Cie from Pulse, she originally works for the Cocoon Sanctum under Cid. It later turns out she is one of the two l’Cie given the focus to summon Ragnarok. She wields a spear that can transform into a sansetsukon in battle, and her Eidolon is Bahamut, who can take flight in his Gestalt-mode. As revealed by Tetsuya Nomura in an interview, during the early stages of development she was originally scripted to be a male character. She appears to have a romantic relationship with the character vanile and by the end becomes crystalized with her in hopes to save there friends.

Villains

• Jihl Nabaat (ジル・ナバート, Jiru Nabāto^?): An intelligent but cruel Lietenant Colonel of PSICOM with knee-length blonde hair and glasses. Nabaat is first seen in the trailers interrogating the captive Vanille and Sazh. She sees the l’Cie as subhuman and is bent on exterminating them. As the henchwoman of Galenth Dysley, Nabaat is the final obstacle between the main party and Galenth; however, she is killed by Galenth when he decides she has outlived her usefulness.

• Yaag Rosch (ヤーグ・ロッシュ, Yāgu Rosshu^?): An intimidating-looking man with a scar on his forehead and silver hair that is tied back in a ponytail. Rosch is Nabaat’s right-hand man in PSICOM and Lightning’s former superior. Unlike Nabaat, Rosch has begun to question his orders from the Holy Government, though he feels he must follow his orders for the sake of the people of Cocoon. He is mortally wounded after fighting the main party in Proud Clad; after begging them to save Cocoon, Rosch sacrifices himself to ensure the main party is not pursued.

• Cid Raines (シド・レインズ, Shido Reinzu): An Air Force Brigadier from Sanctum who commands the warship Lindblum and uses a Blaze Edge. Like Rosch, Cid doubts the government in its current state and believes that Cocoon should be run by its people instead of the fal’Cie. However, he himself had been turned into a l’Cie with the Focus of helping Lightning’s group to overcome various trials. As he wanted to save Cocoon from destruction (which is the Focus of Lightning’s group), he decided to abandon his Focus and join Lightning’s group, becoming a Cie’th in the process. Upon his defeat, he became a trial that Lightning’s group overcame, thus fulfilling his Focus and became crystallized. However, Cid is revived by Galenth to create chaos in Eden.. Untill he realizes he is just a tool/slave of the fal’Cie and Rygdea fulfills his wish and puts him out of his misery. This is the second time in the series that the recurring character Cid is portrayed as an antagonist, the first being in Final Fantasy XII.

• Galenth Dysley (ガレンス・ダイスリー, Garensu Daisurī^?): The main antagonist of the game and the leading figure of the Sanctum of Cocoon. In reality, he is actually the fal’Cie Baldanders (バルトアンデルス, Barutoanderusu^?), intending to use Ragnarok in order to destroy Orphan and Cocoon so the gods would return to this world. He ends up being defeated by Lightning’s group and was assimilated into Orphan.

• Orphan (オーファン, Ōfan^?): A wheel-like, sun-elemental fal’Cie who is the power source of Cocoon. Orphan’s defeat is the Focus of Lightning’s group. Orphan wanted Fang to transform into Ragnarok, so that at the destruction of himself and Cocoon, the gods would return to this world.