Author's Note: I'm surprised at the amount of import reviews of Final Fantasy XIII where the reviewer doesn't speak Japanese, hasn't beaten the game, or both.  So what I give you is an informed review of the entire game from someone who actually understands it.  Enjoy.

Written Review

Intro

Released in Japan on December 17, 2009, Final Fantasy XIII is easily the most anticipated JRPG in many years. There’s no denying it already has a strong fan base (inherited from the other games in the long-running franchise), but is this latest Final Fantasy the hit it was hyped to be?

Story

The world of Final Fantasy XIII reflects our modern-day fear of terrorism. People capable of great destruction are on “divine missions” with no concern for laws or innocent lives. The government, playing on these fears, has begun rounding up and interning whole towns as potential threats while the common people celebrate their increased safety.

Final Fantasy XIII follows six people turned into these “undesirables” known as L'cie by the godlike Fal'cie. As L'cie, they each gain magical powers and a mission. Should they fail to complete their assigned mission within the given time period, they will join the ranks of the monsters as a mindless Cie Corpse. Yet, even if they succeed, their bodies will become lifeless crystal statues for all time. Each character risks this suicidal fate for a personal reason: Lightning for her sister, Snow for his fiancé, and Hope for revenge.

Despite what the advertisements imply, XIII has no single main character, but rather a true ensemble cast much like Final Fantasy VI. Snow, Fang, Sazu, Vanilla, and Hope all get roughly equal screen time to Lightning and some, like Hope, get much more development. The relationships between each of the characters are shown through a creative series of flashbacks, interspersed between sections of gameplay.

Gameplay

On the world map, the game plays like most RPGs. The characters run around, occasionally talk to people and collect treasure. Like in Final Fantasy XII before it, there are no random encounters. All the enemies can be seen on the world map, but unlike XII, when the player touches an enemy, the game transitions into a battle screen.

In battle, the game utilizes a modified version of the Active Battle System in which multiple commands can be input during the same turn. What actions can be performed are dependent upon what “Role” the character currently is. There are six Roles (Attacker, Blaster, Defender, Jammer, Enhancer, and Healer) that can be selected at any time by doing an optima change. Each character is initially proficient in three of these Roles with the other three being unlocked in a lesser capacity near the end of the game. For the first 25 hours of the game, the player has no control of over composition of the party. In this way, the game forces the player to learn how to utilize each Role and each combination of Roles.

The Roles, as well as the characters themselves, are leveled up via the Crystarium system in the main menu. Simply put, it's a 3D version of the Final Fantasy X Spirit Board. Crystal Points are gained in battle and then spent by moving from spot to spot on the board, thereby increasing stats and gaining skills.

Also in the menu, eight combinations of Roles can be preset for a quick optima change. However, in battle, the player has direct control over one character only. The rest are handled by the game’s more than competent AI. By casting Libra, the player can make the AI even better by teaching it the monsters’ weaknesses, which it will then expertly exploit.

Libra –along with summons and special spells– uses TP which is gained by giving or taking damage in battle. At the end of a battle, the player receives a sizable TP bonus based on score and rank.

The bosses of Final Fantasy XIII are mean and brutally unforgiving, especially in the later half of the game. Some will simply seem unbeatable, but rest assured every one has a trick to make it winnable –not easily winnable, but possible at least.

There are two types of enemies besides the bosses, strong and weak. The weak can be killed normally, but the strong have to have their defense broken by filling the chain gage with a continuous stream of attacks and spells. Sneaking up on the enemies on the world map grants a preemptive strike and a full chain bar upon entering battle as well.

As far as RPGs go, Final Fantasy XIII is hard. Usually, an RPG’s difficulty is based on how much time the player has spent leveling up. However, over-leveling is not a viable strategy in Final Fantasy XIII for one reason: the game has level caps. Several times after certain events in the story have occurred, an additional circle or two more will open in the Crystarium; but even when the characters are leveled-up as far as they can, there's still a considerable challenge.

In case that wasn't enough of a handicap, the game also suffers from Persona 3 disease. If the controlled character dies, it's an instant game over. Between the bosses and normal enemy blitzes on player’s character, except to die a lot.

To offset frustration, yet preserve the challenge, the game allows the player to retry after any “game over” for no penalty. The game will load in right before the fatal battle, with time to go into the menu and adjust strategy. In another showing of good will, there are over 100 save points in Final Fantasy XIII at which the player can save, shop, and even use monster drops to level up accessories and weapons.

Graphics

On the graphical side, Final Fantasy XIII is beyond beautiful. The characters are as well rendered as any in the current generation. The scenery, goes from futuristic cities to wild barren lands and yet somehow never loses the feeling of a grand, other worldly, fantasy. In addition, there's often a techno-organic theme running from the Fal'cie themselves to the forests and buildings of the world. Simply put, no game has better breathtaking views and more detailed backgrounds. It’s a shame that the game seems hell bent on making everything difficult to view. The out-of-battle camera is bad to say the least. Instead of having the cinematic fixed camera of Final Fantasy X, or the fully controllable camera of Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy XIII has a bastardized union of the two. Sometimes it's fixed, sometimes it's not. It’s impossible to strafe while turning the camera. Worst of all, the camera won’t go straight up or straight down, thus blocking most of the scenery from view.

On the audio side, Final Fantasy XIII is fully voiced –every line, every character. The music is great this time out as well and fits the world perfectly. Surprisingly, many tracks even have a vocal line to add a special emphasis to several scenes and areas. Hands down, this is the best Final Fantasy soundtrack since the 16-bit era.

Overall

It takes about 60 hours to beat Final Fantasy XIII and over a hundred to master it. With its four separate battle systems, it's as complex and rewarding as it is fun to play. Add on top of that stunning graphics and most importantly, a well-told story, and you have a masterpiece in gaming. This is a must buy for anyone even remotely interested in role playing games.