Darryn Bonthuys reviews Square Enix’s breathtaking fantasy RPG.
It‘s been a long time since the last Final Fantasy game, and fans have had to wait even longer since a game was available on a non-Sony console.
Now with the 13th official iteration of the franchise released, gamers will get to explore a world that contains several hallmarks of the Final Fantasy mythos, yet also trims the fat of what could have easily been a game that was bloated with excess content.
Purists are going to be up in arms over this, but the fact is that this latest version of Final Fantasy is a slick and streamlined beast. Gone are the battles that tasked players with managing a party of up to four characters, juggling their magic and attack abilities all at the same time.
Battles have instead been reduced to players controlling one character at a time, with the adequate artificial intelligence taking over for your other two party members.
This new streamlined approach may seem to make battles easier, with dedicated party members acting as medics and combat support, but this also results in enemies who are more unforgiving than in previous versions.
The bulk of the gameplay is now also divided into the Paradigm Shift system. By limiting characters to only one available ability at any given time during a battle, from medics to commandoes and ravagers, players will have to switch abilities on the fly, or risk a quick death.
Although the core gameplay has been revamped and the class structures have been swopped around a bit, this is still undeniably Final Fantasy. Airships, Chocobo birds and gunblades are mixed in with usual characters archetypes such as the grumpy protagonist and the cheerful airhead.
All of this is wrapped up in a story that can become quickly confusing, if not for the in-game Wikipedia that constantly updates itself.
It may be as linear an experience as can be, with levels consisting of nothing more than corridors that force you to fight monster here, watch cut scene there, but it‘s still fun to play and even more gorgeous to look at.
It‘s a game that may not sit well for everyone, but for other gamers, it represents a break from tradition that brings the franchise into the 21st century style of gaming.
