Final Fantasy 13was lambasted for its linearity when it first arrived in 2010. Its late arrival in the PS3/Xbox 360 era contrasted awkwardly with the gaming public who’d become accustomed to the open worlds of games likeAssassin’s CreedandOblivion.Square Enix’s failure to fit in with the crowd was its downfall, but in retrospect it’s allowed for this polarising gem to age far better than expected. After all these years, it still looks and plays beautifully.
It’s in this linear approach that Final Fantasy 13 was able to cling onto relevancy. In an age where so many games were desperate to be bigger and bigger regardless of quality, along came an RPG which wasn’t afraid to walk its own stringent path with no means of diversion. It wasn’t until later games in the series and after outrage from fans that change would be enacted, resulting in environments that looked and felt worse because we were scrambling for a game that better fit the series’ identity. To this day though, I’m not sure what we wanted.
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Since the release ofFinal Fantasy 16I’ve been dipping back into past entries to briefly put them up against one another, and to my surprise 13 has sunk its teeth in and refused to let go. I’m a few hours into the adventure and find myself falling for each character and wanting to see their trials and tribulations through, even if the narrative does rely too much on proper nouns and jargon to get its points across.
My essential tip is to read up on every piece of background information following the first few cutscenes, so you have a decent idea of what L’Cie, Fal’cie, Pulse, Cocoon, Focus, Purge, or countless other terms represent so you aren’t completely lost. After it becomes clear that our ensemble is fighting back against the shackles of an unfair fate, it becomes easy to cheer for them. Except Hope, who after all this time is still a whiny little bitch. I guess nobody’s perfect.
The common criticism that Final Fantasy 13 takes roughly 30 hours to open up is justified, but I refuse to accept that opening up is the same as getting good. Despite its unflinching straightforwardness, there is a confidence in the game’s combat system and narrative arcs that few in the series are able to rival, largely because Square Enix has created a landscape in which every single line of dialogue, character interaction, and environmental detail carries a purpose. Nothing is out of place, and in contrast to current games this is so refreshing.
It also still manages to look incredible thanks to an unrivalled art design which combines the flairs of a bright, technologically advanced future with a naturalistic foundation that explores tropical cultures with the bleak oppression of robotic corporate overlords. Character designs of Lightning and Vanille have become beloved in cosplay circles and still resonate across the fandom to this day, superseding the mediocrity so many unfairly associate this game with. The detail of characters in cutscenes obviously doesn’t match something like Final Fantasy 16, but for a game pushing thirteen years old, it’s pretty damn close. The artistic direction is unparalleled and the three hours of CG cutscenes peppered throughout still look better than anything that has surfaced since. Its constrained focus and stubborn linearity is arguably its finest asset.
I might be walking in a straight line with only the occasional diversion in search of rare loot or a little grind, but when the path is adorned by crystallised waves frozen in time amidst the ruins of a recent battle or a luscious jungle blossoming with untouched flora and wildlife it becomes easy to forgive its timid game design and instead soak in the scenery. It never forgot to include series’ staples like towns or side quests, but doubled down on design tenets of Final Fantasy 10 to create something even more driven. Final Fantasy 13 is a game about characters and the world they inhabit, with the intention to tell a story above all else. It certainly isn’t for everyone, but coming back to it now it feels like a game out of time well worth revisiting.
This distinct lack of optional content and a stern focus on the primary course also means all environments and characters excel, curated in a way that no other game in the series has managed, before or since.Final Fantasy 13 and its sequels have always gotten a bad wrap, but perhaps this was due to us being unwilling to accept its creative vision as opposed to its own failings.
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