While FF13 is great it makes me excited for the future

Final Fantasy is without a doubt one of the most recognizable names in the video game medium, and as such people expect great things when a new game launches, especially one stuck in development as long as the thirteenth entry into the main numbered series. Older fans of the franchise may be disappointed that following in the tradition started by Final Fantasy X the thirteenth game throws out anything before it and rebuilds from the ground up. However, being made by the same team behind X this game shares many similarities in its design. 
 

Final Fantasy XIII primarily takes place in the world of Cocoon. God-like beings called fal'Cie take care and govern over humans. These fal'Cie control humans by giving them a focus - a goal they must complete within a certain time frame or be punished by turning into a zombie-like creature known as a cie'th. They are not alone, however, as underneath Cocoon is a world known as Pulse that is often considered hell by the inhabitants of Cocoon who are not allowed to traverse down to the dangerous underworld. This leads to mass panic when a fal'Cie from the so called hell is discovered on Cocoon and gives a civilian a focus. The governments official response is to quarantine the entire region and begin shipping everyone off to Pulse in a form of mass paranoia. This begins the events of a very small scale and focused plot revolving around six people who also manage to get branded by this "evil fal'Cie" as they attempt to run away from a world that wants them dead while also trying to find away to remove the brand before they become the zombie-like cie'th. 
 
This direction is a great thing too and the most interesting part of Final Fantasy XIII. The story is very much about the characters and their interactions between one another. The game is split into 13 chapters and for the first 9 of those all of the main characters are never in one place at the same time. Each chapter you will be given control of a different set of companions as you watch their interactions between one another while on the run from the government. The cast is rounded off quite well and I genuinely cared about each character as the game went on. This cast isn't your typical merry band of kids off to save the world either, in fact it is quite the opposite. There is a lot of engaging drama between the party members as many of them constantly never get along, lie to each other, or even contemplate killing other members. There was a lot of moments in the game that took typical RPG story cliches and tossed them right out the window which lead to some great plot twists. 
 
This sort of story comes at a cost though which has been one of the biggest controversies surrounding the game. For the first 10 chapters you are almost literally doing nothing but walking from point a to point b while killing enemies along the way. This isn't a bad thing, however, being made by the same team behind Final Fantasy X this should not come as a surprise to anyone since it feels very similar to that. However, unlike X this thirteenth game also sheds traditional towns and any sort of puzzle solving areas in favor of just the walking down a path killing foes. Though you shouldn't mistake running down a path quite literally as in all areas there are branching roads to find treasure chests and many areas have entirely different paths you can take to reach a destination or some sort of trivial task for you to do that keeps the field walking interesting. These range from using a giant robot to literally stomp over enemies to controlling the weather via a magic orb that forces you to pick enemies you wish to fight and avoid depending on the weather. In the same vein as Final Fantasy X once you reach the ending portions of the game it completely opens up for you to tackle side missions and level up your characters however you wish. 
 

Going down this path it is almost a no-brainer the developers had to make combat engaging since it is what you will spend a major part of the game doing. Thankfully the team managed to make one of the most intricate and exciting combat systems ever in a video game. The same premise from past Final Fantasy games is still here, take three characters with a wide variety of skills into turn-based combat and clear them out with menu based commands. That is about where all comparisons end though. You only have control of one character while your two party members are controlled by AI and the fighting is extremely fast paced. The traditional ATB makes a return here, though not in its usual form, instead of waiting for it to fill up and selecting an attack from a menu the bar is sectioned off into parts. Each action you take requires a certain amount of the bar and thus you can string together as many attacks as you want to fill the meter.  
 
On top of this there is a huge emphasis on class changing. Unlike past games in the series some of which had over 25 character classes Final Fantasy XIII trims all the fat to the bare bones. There are two attack classes, two support classes, a healer, and a tank. Each character initially has access to three classes but by the end of the game any character can master any role. In battle you are allowed to take six class combinations which can be changed at any point and is essential for winning. For example you may start a fight off with everyone attacking, but if someone is near death it is essential to change to a class set that has a medic to heal your party then switch back to attacking. Mastering class changes is also essential to staggering enemies. Each foe has what is called a stagger meter that is fueled by attacks, once it reaches maximum enemies are vulnerable and take more damage and are interrupted by normal attacks. However, this meter is constantly dropping which means you must juggle keeping it high while also keeping your team healed, buffed, etc. The brilliance of the combat really comes together when you start fighting tougher enemies late in the game that will certainly test your patience if you haven't took the time to learn the system. However, if you do you are rewarded for it. After every battle you are graded on a five star scale how well you fought, performing well nets you better rewards and it personally gave me motivation to try my hardest on even the simplest trash enemies. 
 

The combat is very stylish with dramatic camera angles and tons of pretty animations, it is clear the five years it took to create this game payed off on the technical side of things. Final Fantasy XIII is without a doubt one of the best looking games on any console: character models are very detailed, facial animations are absolutely stunning, and many of the areas in the game (especially any city you traverse) is just amazing to look at. There are a few problems here and there such as terrible finger models on most characters but it is minor in the long run. Masashi Hamauzu also returns to the series as the composer for all the music. The sound track has a variety of pieces ranging from voiced orchestral tunes to some fast paced pop songs with catchy lyrics. It feels very different from music of past in the series but everything fits well and there are some real gems on the sound track. 
 
It is obvious the lengthy time it took to develop the engine to run the game had a huge impact on the final product. This isn't a bad thing though and it certainly makes for one of the more intricate and unique stories in a Final Fantasy game. But when all is said and done it makes me more excited for the next game in the main series. Now that the engine is done and the HD consoles are no where near the end of their lives it gives plenty of time to make either a sequel or the next main game in the series to be absolutely stunning. It may sound like Final Fantasy XIII didn't live up to some arbitrary standards I had for it but when a game takes around six years to develop your expectations will be inflated. Final Fantasy XIII is certainly an amazing game in most regards, but it just feels like an appetizer for what is next on the menu. Something that already has me excited without even knowing when it will come.