Final Fantasy XIII

Other products by Square Enix

Product Features

• Newest installment of Final Fantasy features futuristic civilization illuminated by the Light of the Crystal
• Features the latest in cutting-edge technology
• Provides tangible, intuitive controls
• Delivers seamless transitions between real-time gameplay and stunning in-game cinematics
• Developed by Square Enix

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000FQ2DTA
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches ; 10.1 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: March 9, 2010
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

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Product Description

Platform: PLAYSTATION 3

From the Manufacturer

From the creative minds behind FINAL FANTASY VII and FINAL FANTASY X comes the latest installment in the critically acclaimed series. As FINAL FANTASY VII was for PlayStation, and FINAL FANTASY X for PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, FINAL FANTASY XIII will be the first numbered FINAL FANTASY title for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360, and will look to once again reestablish the series as the RPG brand. Players will follow Lightning, Snow, and the other heroes who are dealt a hand of fate by the god-like fal'Cie. Cursed and regarded as enemies of society, they have the world against them and nobody to rely on but each other. Will they find the strength within themselves to break free of their curse and determine their own fates, or will they succumb to this higher power? With a story that is sure to connect with players' hearts, diverse new characters from world-renowned creator and character designer Tetsuya Nomura, and exciting new gameplay features centered around an evolved Active Time Battle system, FINAL FANTASY XIII will be the pinnacle in gaming experiences.

Developed for the PlayStation 3 system and Xbox 360, FINAL FANTASY XIII features the series’ most impressive graphical presentation. View larger.

Summons are stronger than ever before, now with the action-oriented Gestalt Mode. View larger.

The evolved Active Time Battle system presents players with countless methods of putting enemies away. View larger.

Story
Cocoon — a utopia in the sky. Its inhabitants believed their world a paradise.
Under the Sanctum's rule, Cocoon had long known peace and prosperity.
Mankind was blessed by its protectors, the benevolent fal'Cie, and believed that tranquil days would continue forever.
Their tranquility was shattered with the discovery of one hostile fal'Cie.
The moment that fal'Cie from Pulse — the feared and detested lowerworld — awoke from its slumber, peace on Cocoon came to an end.
Fal'Cie curse humans, turning them into magic-wielding servants.
They become l'Cie — chosen of the fal'Cie.
Those branded with the mark of a l'Cie carry the burden of either fulfilling their Focus or facing a fateharsher than death itself.
A prayer for redemption.
A wish to protect the world.
A promise to challenge destiny.
After thirteen days of fates intertwined, the battle begins.

Features

• Take Part in a Gaming Experience that Sets New Standards – The first in the series developed for a simultaneous release on multiple high-definition consoles, FINAL FANTASY XIII pushes new boundaries in cinematic presentation, sound and gameplay.
• Experience the Unity of Speed and Strategy with the Ultimate Active Time Battle system – The familiar system has evolved, granting players the freedom of executing numerous commands in a single turn with the multi-slot ATB gauge. Whether inputting singular commands in each slot for consecutive attacks, or expending multiple slots at once to activate a devastating blow, it’s up to the players to respond effectively to the battle conditions at hand.
• Adapt to the Ever-Changing Tide of Battle with Paradigms – A brand-new game mechanic enabling players to assign roles to their party members at any time during battle, shifting between combat paradigms. Consisting of various combinations of the game’s six roles, ranging from Commando, the offensive specialist, to Medic, the quintessential healer, paradigms allow players to respond and adapt instantly to any given situation to turn the tide and seize victory.
• Witness the Battle Scene Transform with an All-New Summon System – Introducing Gestalt Mode, a powerful dimension of the summon system that elevates the action to a whole new level. In Gestalt Mode, characters and their transformed Eidolons fight as one, dealing massive damage to enemies through simple button commands.
• Delve into an Emotional Experience – An immersive storyline connects players to an intriguing cast of characters. Will they have the strength to confront their cursed fates, or will destiny prevail over all that they believe in?

The Characters

	Lightning This solitary young woman speaks little of herself – even her true name is a mystery. She is known to others simply as "Lightning."		Snow An irrepressible, fiery young man, Snow dives headfirst into danger using nothing but his powerful physique as a weapon.
	Vanille Vanille is an endearing young woman with a relentlessly sunny disposition. Her bright personality gives no hint of the dark resolve that lies within.		Sazh Sazh is a friendly, cheerful man who is never without his curious companions – a chocobo chick and a pair of pistols. He is quick to banter, but also keeps a mature perspective on matters.
	Hope Hope has enjoyed a markedly uneventful youth on humankind's haven of Cocoon. His life is turned upside down at the hands of the Sanctum's Purge.		Sera Sera is Lightning's younger sister and Snow's fiancee. Always showing concern for Lightning, she has an inner fortitude that allows her to make her own decisions without relying on her older sister.
	Fang Fang is a mysterious woman who is working with the Sanctum military despite bearing the mark of the detested l'Cie. She has a strong-minded personality and is unconcerned with trivialities.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Prepare for Linearity, March 9, 2010

By	Travis Harris "protodevilin" (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

I am now a little over 16 hours into Final Fantasy XIII. Here's my (4.5-Star) review:

-As many preliminary reviewers have stated, this iteration of the Final Fantasy series is quite noticably linear in nature. Compared to the previous FF installments, which allow you to explore a vast open world from the outset and take on various optional side-quests, FFXIII gives you neither (at least for the first considerable chunk of the game). There is also little opportunity to "level grind" (although the term doesn't explicitly apply here, more on that later). You are given a proverbial "ceiling", a temporary limit to which your party members can be strengthened and developed, and for better or worse, you have to make the most of what's available to you to overcome the next challenging boss battle. Also, NPC interaction is highly limited, almost to the point of non-existence. It's like one big, long, winding corridor full of hurtles to jump. But damned if it isn't the most visually appealing corridor I've ever seen.

-Which brings us to the graphics. Square Enix has historically made painstaking efforts to keep its Final Fantasy games on the very cutting edge of the graphics scene, and FFXIII is no exception. The characters--even token NPCs--are all meticulously rendered and animated, each doing justice to the art of the series' premiere character artist, Tetsuya Nomura. Their facial subtext is unprecedented in the seires, making for very convincing performances. The way they move in battle is consistently a treat to watch, particularly in Lightning's case, as she vaults and flips about, slashing up baddies and tossing fireballs around the arena. Despite participating in chaotic battles with as many as 10 enemies on-screen, I've noticed absolutely no lag or slowdown in the framerate. The environments are positively SPECTACULAR in both their scope, lighting, and design. It's enough to make you cry, knowing that you're chained to a single path and unable to freely explore these awe-inspiring vistas. The prerendered cutscenes are even more beautiful, in my opinion surpassing the taut action and visual appeal of even the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete [Blu-ray] feature film. They occur fairly often, and they're an absolute joy to watch.

-About battles: the new battle system is a great departure from what FF vets might be used to. There are up to three party members fighting on your side, and you directly control the actions of the leader only. The other two members provide AI support based on their role in your party's currently active Paradigm (a battle plan that assigns specific roles to each party member, and can be changed on-the-fly at any time). Timing these Paradigm Shifts is the name of the game, otherwise you'll get pummeled in short order. Gone are the days when you'd have to manage your party's HP and MP between battles; HP is automatically refilled for all party members (even KO'd ones) after every battle, and MP is non-existent. Magic spells take the form of elemental techniques that are seamlessly integrated with physical attacks and other special techniques, in long hitstrings that cost only ATB Meter stocks. The focus is not only to survive and win battles, but to finish them quickly and decisively. It pays to have your strategy thought through before challenging the next group of enemies. Judiciously switching Paradigms in mid-battle is indespensible to victory, and necessary to receive a 5-star rank at the end of the battle, and ultimately more valuable spoils. Summons take the form of Eidolons, who join you as AI-controlled battle buddies when called upon. You can also press Square to enter the Eidolon's "Gestalt Mode", wherein it tranforms into some sort of vehicle that the summoning character rides on/in, unlocking new attack options and enabling you to execute the Eidolon's ultimate technique on command. It takes some getting used to, but the game offers plenty of tutorials to explain how to make the most of the options available to you. Personally, I find this new battle system to be a lot of fun.

-Camera movement feels a bit sluggish, but smooth. It gives the battles a cinematic feel, but when you're running around the map, it can be a pain. I like to sneak up on enemies so that I can get the intiative when the battle starts, but the slow-turning camera has robbed me of this opportunity more than a few times (though it's not a game-breaker).

-Character levels as you know them are gone as well. Your party members' stats are boosted through the expenditure of Crystogen Points (CP) in the Chrystarium Development system (very similar to the Sphere Grid system of FFX). As you advance through the Chrystarium, you gain new techniques and spells, and increase the levels of each character's available Roles. What does level up are your weapons and accessories. Spoils you earn in victory can be spent to allocate Experience Points to your equipped gear, raising their stat bonuses and special attributes, and even transforming them into other, more powerful items. I guess this is your incentive to shoot for that 5-star battle score.

-Okay, so it's linear. It hasn't bugged me one iota thus far, and I'm having a blast playing FFXIII. The story is deep, mysterious and compelling, and the characters each have very interesting, multi-dimensional personalities.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Why...., March 11, 2010

By	Matthew Siebert "Ms" (Fenton) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

I remember when FFXII came out, after watching the opening scene I had a tear drop from my eye because I *knew* they did the game right. Now, after playing FFXIII I've had several tears flow... tears because all the lower reviews are nonsensical crap, tears that there are so many 5 star reviews, and most of all... tears that this game was privileged with the title Final Fantasy...

Lets start off with the good, which undoubtedly is unanimous and undeniable amongst anyone who plays this game. The graphics are breathtaking, the story is deep, the character development is perfect, the battle system mechanics flow smoothly, and the game sucks you into a world unlike any other.

So what could be wrong... what could possibly substantiate a two star review? Unfortunately... plenty... in fact way too much....

First, let's look at how linear the game is. At first I didn't think it would bother me, I am generally one to go right through the game without a break to do many side quests. But the presentation of this game is indeed beyond ridiculous... it is *literally* like running through a series of tubes from point A to point B.Granted beautifully designed breath-taking tubes, but tubes none the less.

Along with this there are no towns. Again, I didn't think it would be that big of a deal... just a slight change. But it soon became apparent I was exploring a world all but devoid of life. I feel like the game is more like a prototype for a final fantasy rather than the game itself.

Next we come to the battle system... oh lord... where do I begin. The battle system is gorgeous but flawed. If you have one character attacking and another casting spells to reduce defense (see Saboteur), eventually all the enemies defenses will be minimalized. It is at this point you would expect the character casting the spells to lower defense to join in and attack, but you would be wrong. The character instead just sits there with a thumb up their (explicit). This is mainly a problem early in the game where character roles aren't as developed... yet I cant believe it was overlooked. The problem is consistent when the computer uses the medic - it heals a character with almost full HP three times in a row while completely neglecting to heal itself despite the fact its in critical condition.

Also, the battles seem like nothing more than pressing X to auto-battle. The battle system goes so fast it is almost as if the game doesn't want you to choose your characters actions, only switch roles. I feel absolutely no sense of accomplishment after winning a battle, it wasn't me that won... it was the auto-battle. Sure I switched roles to heal and maybe cast some spells but all the actions were chosen by the computer. And I hear some of you screaming already, FFXII's battle system is also impersonal, how do I get off complaining about FFXIII? Yes FFXII was impersonal compared to other final fantasies but it was still ME modifying the actions it was ME choosing what EACH character was going to do next. It wasn't the computer. I just don't feel the same accomplishment switching "roles" during a battle, especially as unnecessary as it generally is.

Even though you control one character, it doesn't feel like it. When exploiting an enemy's weakness using Libra the characters automatically attack using the appropriate spell. Ugh, its sickening - I have absolutely sense of accomplishment yet again, the game does everything for me. Does no one recall in the original final fantasies how GOOD it felt to find a weakness against that one enemy who whooped you butt, then exploit that weakness and get a buttload of experience and gold? You EARNED that experience and EARNED that gold, dammit YOU found its weakness. Not anymore.

Then again, you don't even get money after battles in this game, further making them pointless. Sure, their required to advance character skills, but to what avail? Now the computer will do more for me as I sit there and watch and continuously press X to do auto-battle. Gone is the feeling of going to town and upgrading all your equipment after hours of hard work and coming back into the world to dominate your opponents. Gone again is that sense of accomplishment. And for what? I get to watch the computer do my battles for me!

I would dare say that if you compared every persons game file at the end of the game there would be little or no difference. Where are my bragging rights for having rare unique items? My bragging rights for having the best equipment? Anything? Nothing.

There not even mana or magic points in this game for frick sake! In the original final fantasy only certain characters could cast certain spells period... this has been a downfall in other final fantasies as well - diffuse roles amongst characters. But to have a final fantasy without any form of mana or magic regulation?!?! Blasphemy I say, blasphemy!!!

Also after each battle, characters automatically gain all their health back. Again stripping me of any accomplishment I have from exploiting enemy weaknesses. Status alignments? Haha, what a joke. Hardly used at all and minimally threatening. And if for some reason I do die I just click retry. Never mind scratch that, if I start off a battle poorly and wanted I could just click retry. No need to be prepared for a malboro getting a sneak attack on me completely debilitating my characters, killing two right off the bat, yet by some miracle, being able to make a comeback and kill the SOB... I just click retry.

Now let me touch on the equipment - or lack there of. The only equipment slots you have are one for a weapon and one for an accessory. No shield, no armor, no boots, no gloves, no helmet. You upgrade your weapon and accessory by finding components or winning them after battles. The game boasts a hundred different components, what it fails to mention is that they all serve the same function - to give an item experience! Sure some components boost how much experience an item gets but experience is experience, there's absolutely no point in having so many components unless they each have a relatively different function. This feels like just another way to make the game stripped down while looking like theres more at play.

And on top of everything else the game chooses, it also chooses your party... sick. This is truly a game that plays itself.

I feel like this is a bad joke. Like square-enix was sitting around saying "You know what would be really cool, and funny, well screw with the entire Final Fantasy fanbase. Lets make a final fantasy with no gameplay where the computer decides everything, yah, lets also make it devoid of any content, just one single line after another. But to keep people from thinking it's a joke, well have the best visuals the world has ever seen along with an amazing story and unseen character development."

I wont lie, they have something good here. They have something real good, but its only the beginning. They have great characters and a beautiful battle system. They need to make the REAL final fantasy 13. One where I have a sense of control, one where I have a sense of accomplishment, one where my characters are MY characters. This game does not feel like a game, it feels like a demo, or a VERY early beta. I cannot for the life of me understand how this got released and, more so, how so many people like it. I can't imagine that other people have played the other Final Fantasies, enjoyed them, and had this game appeal to them in any manner whatsoever.

I have no problem with people calling this a breath taking adventure with a story and visuals beyond what the world has ever seen. I do have a problem with people calling this a video game. I just want to break down and cry when I hear people call this a Final Fantasy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovin' it!, March 11, 2010

By	anonymous - See all my reviews

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

I was worried about this installment. The series seemed to be losing steam since VIII (well, for me anyway, and I've played since the very first one.) I quit XII about 20 hours in out of boredom. I made it to the end of X, but found out I wasn't strong enough and had to backtrack to "unlock" stuff, and quit because the combat system was like nails on a chalkboard to me. So, I pre-ordered and canceled the order several times before I stuck it out on this one (I had just got burnt on pre-ordering Demon's Souls and White Knight Chronicles, so I was extra cautious here.) Well, I've played several hours into it, and here's the verdict: It's great!

Many of the complaints from the previous titles seem to have been minimized, or have simply vanished. The combat system is fast paced. You have some control, but mot all. The AI does a fine enough job picking jobs. Is it perfect and going to make everyone happy? Probably not. But I like it. Most of he characters are likable too. Your main character isn't a whiny brat (though they have one in the mix, but fortunately his dialog is minimal compared to others.) You also get the obligatory aggressively cheerful girl in the group too.

Story, visuals and sound are where this game (and most of the series) really shines. Graphics are very cinematic, and the sound's there to match. The story is outstanding! I've been hooked since the beginning. A major complaint that many seem to be having is this idea of "linearity." I'm sorry, but all the Final Fantasy games have been linear. Until you reach a certain stage of the game, you follow the path of "Got from point A to point B to point C" and you cant' stray from it. If you do, you get smacked down by monsters that are way too powerful. The only difference is that most of the previous titles had hours of running around said points leveling and making money to upgrade your stuff. Once you're strong enough, you completed your task for 10 minutes of story. Lather rinse and repeat. Well, this game took out the repetition. You get lots of story, separated by some button mashing. For me, this change is rather refreshing.

The only complaints I have are rather minor. Hope needs to be repeatedly punched in the stomach. And the voice acting is a bit overdone sometimes. There have been several instances where silence would have been perfectly fine, but they decided to fill in the silence with random grunts, gasps, giggles and other strange noises (mostly from the kids.) Over all, it sounds almost pornographic. Facial expressions would have done just fine.

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