| 09 March 2010
A 10 hour head start isn't much when playing a Final Fantasy game. The introduction of characters, the slow and steady primer on battle mechanics and levelling up; the ins-and-outs of what makes a Final Fantasy needs time to develop and settle-in. While I expected the traditional slow start of any Final Fantasy, XIII seems especially sluggish and unnecessarily drawn-out. It seems especially contradictory to the faster pacing of the story and out-of-sync with the streamlined battle system. While I can see its disparate elements eventually coming together to become a focused experience, it's coming at a very slow rate.
In rich contrast to standard JRPGs today, Final Fantasy isn't afraid to make risks in evolving its recipe for success. In a lot of ways, XIII feels like the complete opposite of XII. Gone are free-roaming exploration, micromanaging turn-based combat systems and the traditional town and country design. What you have left is a game that is very streamlined. And because XIII is so stripped down, its success is highly contingent on the quality of story and combat, i.e. what Final Fantasy does best. While I still have a long way to go story wise, the battle system is refreshingly efficient while maintaining the strong tactical element.
While a majority of the changes serve as a way to make this iteration more accessible and action-oriented, the unnecessary glacial pacing and strict linearity inflicts XIII with an identity issue. Its struggle in momentum can be infuriating, but I'm willing to stick with it.
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