Final Fantasy 13/XIII - Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy XIII (13) is an RPG video game, the thirteenth release of the flagship Final Fantasy series. It was produced by Square Enix and came out on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, later released on the Windows operating system. The game was released in Japan in December 2009 and worldwide in March 2010. The game was directed by Motomu Toriyama and produced by Yoshinori Kitase. The lead programmer was Oshiki Kashitani.
Final Fantasy XIII Plot
The game takes place in a world called Gran Pulse. Above Gran Pulse a giant artificial biosphere called Cocoon floats, ruled by a theocratic government called the Sanctum. The Sanctum orders a purge against civilians of Cocoon that have supposedly come into contact with beings from Pulse, the feared world below.
Lighting, the game’s main protagonist, takes up arms against the government of Cocoon in a bid to save her sister Sarah, who has been labelled a servant of a god-like being from Pulse and an enemy of the state. The Fal’Cie are mechanical, god-like beings that rule both of the worlds. Lightning and a group of other adventurer’s encounter the Pulse fal'Cie named Anima, and are labeled as l'Cie, and given missions or a “Focus” to complete. Their Focus is to destroy Cocoon, and, depending on whether the character’s fulfill their focus or fail will ultimately determine if they become monsters or crystals.
Characters
- Lighting- A former member of the Guardian Corps in Bodhum before she was thrown into turmoil when discovering her sister Serah had become a Pulse l'Cie. Lightning becomes a member of the Purged hoping to save her. She is a skilled fighter and adept with gunblades.
- Snow Villiers- He is the leader of NORA, Snow Villiers is a rough and masculine figure. He makes a trip to Hanging Edge to battle PSICOM and the Purge in order to rescue his fiancée Serah. He is adept at hand combat but wears a special runed coat, that enhances his strength.
- Oerba Dia Vanille- A lively, youthful girl with a past shrouded in mystery. Main narrator of the story whose weapon is a Binding Rod.
- Sazh Katzroy- A middle-aged black man with an afro. Used to be in the military but now works as a civilian aircraft pilot. In order to save his son Dajh, he becomes a Purged. He has a Chocobo Chick that hides in his afro hair and fights with two pistols that can join to become a rifle.
- Hope Estheim- A teenaged boy who, with his mother, is a part of the group of exiles riding the Purge train. He blames Snow for the death of his mother. Hope uses boomerangs in combat .
- Oerba Yun Fang- A wild tan-skinned woman with a big tattoo on one arm and a scorch mark of the l'Cie on the other. She wishes to complete her Focus. She is efficient with spears.
Gameplay
Similar to Final Fantasy XII, the game is set in an open world wherein characters can engage or avoid battle with monsters. New items can be acquired and various abilities unlocked as the player progresses through the game. A separate battle interface appears once combat is triggered, and players can choose from a menu to attack, use magic, abilities, techniques or use an item. The abilities a player has access to depends on their paradigm, which can be changed. In battle characters HP and TP (Technical Points) are displayed.
The game builds on the classic Active Time Battle combat system first introduced in Final Fantasy IV, where a gauge fills and is depleted as characters carry out actions. The gauge is only two slots in the beginning but can increase to six slots as the game progresses. It is also possible to select automatic sequences that carry out on their own. In combat, one character at a time is controlled by the player, the remaining two use AI to carry out actions on their own.
Each enemy has what is called a stagger point and chain resistance (chain bar). The enemies chain bar starts at 100% and increases as an enemy is attacked and eventually resets. Enemies eventually reach a preset stagger point, affecting how much damage and resistance the enemies have, and their ability to be launched into the air. Eidolons are able to be summoned by the current character in battle costing Technical Points (TP). Summoned Eidolons take the place of the two other characters and have a predefined timer instead of a health bar, performing actions and assisting the player in the battle.
Characters become more powerful in a system similar to the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X called the Crystarium system. Characters receive "Crystogen Points" (CP) in battle which can be spent to purchase stat boosts, spells, and a range of other abilities on a circular chart.
Development
Development of the Final Fantasy XIII game started in 2004. Compared to the preceding Final Fantasy games the director, Motomu Toriyama wanted the main protagonist to be a new type of female character. The main character Lightning is portrayed as stern and athletic, very different to the more femine main characters in the past and was created to be made from the image of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII.