Final Fantasy XIII is known as a black sheep in the Final Fantasy series. When it was originally announced, it was set to be a PlayStation 3 exclusive, before Square Enix dropped the bomb that an Xbox 360 release would also be available. This sparked outrage within the fanbase, especially among those who purchased a PS3 simply for the game, but it also opened it up to a much wider audience—me included.
The Journey to Final Fantasy XIII
I remember the first time I heard more about Final Fantasy XIII thanks to a promotion the official Xbox website was running. By visiting it, players could unlock a chocobo for the newly released Xbox Avatar system, and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Following this, multiple friends of mine also began hyping up the title as they tried to convince me to give it a shot. Up until then, my experience had been limited to Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VI, and Kingdom Hearts, so I wasn't too keen on trying it out, but eventually I caved. Funny enough, it was actually the trailer featuring Leona Lewis' "My Hands" that pushed me over the edge and made me stop by GameStop shortly after launch.
I was in college at the time and would carpool with my dad, who worked close by, so I had to do a little convincing to get him to drive me across town to GameStop, but it was worth it. That night, I jumped into my first "new" Final Fantasy release, but sadly had to stop shortly after the intro due to severe storms moving through. Thankfully, I didn't have classes the next day so my schedule was open, but it would still take a few weeks before I saw the credits roll. With its memorable moments still fresh in my mind, the game was quite the trip to say the least, but I'm not going to act like it doesn't have its problems.
A Game That's Not For Everyone
Following in the vein of Final Fantasy X, XIII was a purely linear experience, defined by a lack of towns and a large open map located near the end of the game. Its controversial change to the battle system was a bit rough, but its free-flowing "class" system was still a lot of fun to use. Sure, the auto-battle button took away a lot and streamlined things a bit too much, but I made a conscious decision to never use it. Instead, I made use of the hidden Paradigm Shift mechanic, which reset the ATB bar to max instantly, and carefully customized my characters to meet every situation. While the gorgeous graphics—even on the Xbox 360—and the soundtrack kept me engrossed in the world, the story itself and its extensive lore are what kept me coming back for more.
While the heavy reading would be a bit much for some, and one can argue that it should have been explained better during gameplay, I actually enjoyed learning everything about each topic. My biggest hangup was the cinematic-style camera, which sways and stays offset compared to your playable character, but even that didn't take much time to get used to. With its linear nature, and the fact that it was the complete opposite of Final Fantasy XII before it, it is easy to see why so many fans were upset with the final product, but that doesn't mean it was a bad game. And for every good idea it had, Square Enix took the time to expand upon them in the sequels.
Xbox Came Out on Top
The physical Xbox 360 copy of Final Fantasy XIII is, surprisingly, now the best version of the game available. It originally featured lower-quality visuals and required the use of multiple discs, but when played on an Xbox One X or Xbox Series X today, fans are greeted with a visually enhanced version of the game. While a PC version also exists, it relies on fan mods to bring it closer to the Xbox experience, and even then, it isn't quite the same. It's a little funny how things changed so much for this game over the years, and this shiny-cased game in my possession will always have a space on my display.
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