Chicks, Sheeps, and Hawt Guys?!

It is a safe bet to say that I am a huge Final Fantasy fanatic, so today I am bringing you my very first 'First Impressions' post! I'm going to be doing it over Final Fantasy 13, as denoted by the picture to your left there! Below you will find all the treats and information I've been able to dig up about the game, so sit back, relax and hang on to your buster swords and Tonberry plushies!

Graphics: The first thing I noticed about the newest installment to the Final Fantasy franchise were the graphics. Everything looks stunning, flawless even. The character's mouth movements and expressions are pretty spot-on from what I've seen in the trailers that I have watched on Youtube and the official site, which I will link to a little later on. The environments seem really planned and thought out, unlike the generic scenery in Final Fantasy 12. There are also little tidbits in the backgrounds of the battles like little sheep running around or these giant dinosaur looking things. It's really impressive and I can't wait to dig my toes right into the pixalated environments when I get my copy!

Character Design: Let me just say that the character designs are stunning! Each character seems very thought out and planned and I really can't wait to interact with them. Their personalities are also very developed from what I have seen, unlike the drab 'John and Jane Doe' personalities of the characters featured in 12 (With the exception of Fran and Balthier). They are really breaking the mold with this game when it comes to the characters. Though I will say a few looks are 'recycled' or stereotypical, but honestly, they are delivered so beautifully that I don't even care! The outfits are very detailed, right down to the letter as well as facial and body features. Another thing that I find very impressive, even if I've only seen a little bit on it, is the relationships between characters. Earlier installments sometimes leave the player seeking more between characters and even between themselves and the characters, but this game looks like it'll satisfy that need.

Story: I'm still a little unclear about the story line of the game, but it seems very intense and weighted from what I've read on various sites and seen in the many trailers that I have watched. But I guess everything will be cleared up when I actually play the game, which I'm very excited for! I personally like plots that are a little vague but draw you in as the story progresses instead of giving it all upfront. Here is the link to the story section on the official website. Check it out!

Meet the Characters: There are actually quite a few characters in this new series, though for now I'll just be discussing our seven main characters. Note: The Square Enix site is often a little glitchy. If it acts up and you can't seem to click anything, just refresh it or hit CTRL+F5.

• Lightning: The protagonist of our tale. Her real name is a mystery. In the trailers, she said she changed her name to be able to protect her sister after the death of their parents. She seems very dedicated and solitary. Not much is known, so I'm eager to play the game and know more! Her Eidolon (summon) is Odin. (More on this in the next section)
  
• Snow Villiers: Might I just say that so far from what I've seen, Snow is by far my favorite character. I enjoy his design and his relationship with Lightning's sister, Serah. He is a character ruled by his emotions, though his heart is in the right place I think. His Eidolon is Shiva.
  
• Oerba Dia Vanille: Vanille, as she is called in the game, is very bright and bubbly, though the only trailer I've seen her in, she's crying. lol She seems to kind of be the 'ray of hope' through a very heavy storyline. Her Eidolon is Hecatoncheir. This summon is not one that has been seen before. It's all new for the game!
  
• Sazh Katzroy: Finally! A black guy! Now Barret isn't alone! lol Though he looks very stereotypical, his character seems very likable. He carries around a little Chocobo chick as his companion. He keeps it in his 'fro. He also seems to be a conflicted character, so I'm excited to see his story in the game. His Eidolon is Brynhildr, another debut to the series.
  
• Hope Estheim: However adorable Hope may seem, he comes off as whiny in the trailers. His once normal and boring life has been turned on end by the events of the game. His Eidolon is Alexander, a recurring summon that we haven't seen since Final Fantasy 9.
  
• Oerba Yun Fang: She is known as 'Fang' in the game and she has an awesome accent! She is very mysterious and her intentions are unclear. Fang's Eidolon is a series favorite; Bahamut!
  
• Serah Farron: Serah is Snow's fiance and Lightning's sister. She seems very sweet but also extremely sad in the game. The relationship between her and Snow is so adorable from the Tokyo Gameshow trailer that I watched from the Square Enix website. Their touching scene in the trailer also leads me to believe that Serah may end up dead in the game. She is not an actual 'party' member and does not have her own Eidolon.
• There are many more characters to see and enjoy on the Official Final Fantasy 13 website, so I suggest everyone check them out!

Eidolons: True to the series, this installment features summons, or Eidolons as they are called in this game. With these Eidolons, we see the return of a few series favorites, but we also get treated to two new faces and the resurrection of summons we haven't seen in a long time!

In the game, each character has a specific Eidolon for he or she to call to their aid in battle. The party disappears to make way for these colossal creatures, leaving only the one that summoned them and the actual Eidolon on the field to fight. Each Eidolon as two modes; their regular summon mode and 'gestalt' mode. In gestalt mode, the Eidolon takes a form of some kind of assault vehicle.

The featured Eidolons are Odin, Shiva (who appears as a set of twins for the first time in the series' history), Bahamut (I don't know why he's purple, though it's growing on me. And is it just me, or does he have Ifrit's hands from FFX lol?), and Alexander. Also with the new installment, we get treated to two new summons. The Brynhildr and the Hecatoncheir. Both are beautifully designed and look like they can pack a wicked punch on the battlefields.



Battle System: Is it just me or does it seem like the old Square has just tossed it's turn-based roots right out the window? We haven't really had an actual turned based installment since FFX. I mean, X-2 was sort of turned based, but it dabbled a little in 'real time'. It could go either way, but as a spin-off, no matter how much I enjoyed it, I won't count it. Square did the 'real time' thing with 12 and I guess it was okay, so I'm a little wary with this new battle system. It seems to be pretty easy to use and very quick, which is nice. Sometimes we get tugged away from the story while we try to decode the battle system (The Last Remnant, anyone?!), so hopefully it will be as simple as the interviews have said.

For the system itself, you get three characters to a party. You control one character while the game's AI controls the other two. Your characters get a "command" bar that fills and depending on how full the command bar is dictates how many attacks you can do in a turn. You can queue up attacked, draining your command bar as you do. No worries though, it refills.

Another aspect of the battle system is the 'Paradigm'. This sub-system allows you to assign roles to your characters and switch between said roles during a given battle. There are six roles for a character to take on and some characters are stacked with stats that make them better suited for this role over that role, though all roles are available to all characters. The roles are Commando, Ravager, Sentinel, Saboteur, Synergist and Medic. Commandos are melee attackers, Ravagers are magic-based and supporters, Sentinels focus on defense, Saboteurs are debuffers, Synergists are buffers and Medics focus on healing. As I said before, you can switch between these roles by doing a "Paradigm Shift" in the middle of a battle. So if you need extra support on the field, you can have two medics!

You can find more information on the battle system from this article. I suggest giving it a read if you plan on playing the game. It also has links to a nice interview and other FF13 related goodies.

Music: I haven't heard much in-game music as most interviews have people talking over the music or the battle sounds kind of drown it out, but I hope everyone is with me when I say this Final Fantasy's theme song kind of blows. Leona Lewis' song 'My Hands' is our new theme. The directors of the game have said that the song fits the theme of the game, but I really don't think it does. I just don't understand why they would chose that song to represent their game. I mean, by iteself the song is okay. I can stand to listen to it much more than "Bleeding Love" but come on! Whatever happened to the originality of the music in the series? Here is the song and the lyrics. Hopefully this song does not represent what we're to expect from all the music in the game.

Other Content: So far, there is no planned downloadable content for FF13 and through all my research, I have found nothing about an online or multiplayer mode. Courtney and I have discussed recently that we would like to see a multiplayer RPG or more story based co-op games like Resident Evil 5.

The Xbox team does have a bundle you can purchase that come with an Xbox with a 250gb hard drive, two wireless controllers and the actual game, but most people that plan to play this game are die-hard fans that probably already have an Xbox. lol I appreciate the gesture, but is it really necessary? In addition to that, if you attended Microsofts' X10 event (which you probably didn't because it was invite only), you would have gotten a limited edition Final Fantasy 13 face plate for your 360. If you still want one, they're going for about 200 big ones on Ebay.

Ending Thoughts: All-in-all I'm expecting a very good game and I can't wait until March 9th so I can play! My hopes are very high, so let's hope this title lives up to all the hype and expectations! And just to make sure everyone is as excited as I am, here's the trailer!