By Cody Webb

The Final Fantasy series has always been known for its stellar production values, brilliant storytelling and interestingly varied cast of characters. I’m talking about the “main” Final Fantasy series, the ones with the roman numerals, not the vast number of spin-off series that these games have started. Square Enix’s amazing work has earned them a large number of devoted fans, fans who eagerly look forward to the next title in the series; such as the recently-released Final Fantasy XIII.    Square Enix has outdone itself with this latest title, which is easily apparent as soon as you boot up the game and the intro video gushes out of your TV screen. They make full use of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3’s graphic power to bring you a beautiful game, just like they used to with the PlayStation 2. If you aren’t playing this on a high-definition television, you’re definitely missing out on one of the best-looking games out there.

While this isn’t a change from the norm, the rest of the game does a good job of separating itself from the rest of the series. The biggest change: the combat system. It’s fairly close to the one found in the twelfth installment: a “move meter” continually fills up and you can pick actions to ready and use. However, now enemies have a gauge that fills up as you perform combos on them, eventually leading to them getting “Staggered”. When you Stagger them, they take significantly more damage and tend to lose their special resistances.    Also new to the combat mechanics is the new “Paradigm System.” Essentially this is where each member of your party has a specific “class” or “job,” such as Commando or Medic. Each job specializes in a certain form of combat, be it the Commando’s enhanced damaging skills or the Medic’s healing skills. In the middle of battle, you get the option to switch your party’s jobs (Called a “Paradigm Shift” in-game) to suit whatever situation you find yourself in. You’ll need to learn this and master it quickly; it’s essential to get through most of the boss fights.

Now it wouldn’t be a Final Fantasy without a great story to back up the superb combat, would it? Luckily for fans of the series, the developer’s writing skills are as polished as ever. The only real issue I had with the story was that the beginning is slow compared to the rest of the game – although this tends to common amongst role-playing games.    The characters, aside from having incredibly detailed character models and smooth animations, are as varied as you’d expect from a Final Fantasy game. Each character has his or her reasons for wanting to fight against the big bad government, most of which lend credibility to their cause. Only one character really got on my nerves throughout this adventure: the whiny little brat named Hope. Fortunately, you can leave him out of your party most of the time.

The bottom line is that if you’re an RPG (role-playing game) fan, one of the avid Final Fantasy fans, or just want to experience a great story, Final Fantasy XIII won’t fail to deliver. Square Enix hasn’t lost its touch and just about every inch of this title shows their polish and attention to detail. I’ll give FFXIII an A; and fans of their Final Fantasy XI MMO should look into Final Fantasy XIV for even more massive-multiplayer fun!

Cody Webb lives in Live Oak.