final fantasy XIII post-game thoughts

Aww, I just finished Final Fantasy XIII and I'm feeling really emotional. Like every single damn thing on the face of Earth, there will always be haters. I do not fathom the reason behind people's hatred and if they hate it then why do they still play it? 

Finished the game's main part at 57 hours ++ without touching most side quests unless required and without grinding. I have to admit I've enjoyed every single second spent in game, from the first time I inserted the disc until now. What a fantastic experience it has been. 

My Hands by Leona Lewis is really suitable.  Gotta admit I was skeptical when I first heard that her song will be used but now I've totally changed my mind. It fits the game alright and dear fans should stop being so adamant. Not all western things are bad, stop saying that the song sucks just because it's western and not japanese shit. It's okay that you think it's suck because you don't like the song but you think it sucks just because it's WESTERN? Sounds so silly, no? Yes, I listened to the japanese theme song as well, pretty good. I'd say both are good so please, stop the hate, it's sad. I feel bad for Leona Lewis because of the amount of fans bashing her.

So these are my thoughts after spending 2 weeks, trying to balance out my gaming and study time. Just gonna list down anything that comes to my mind. :

1. This game is totally worth it. Finish the game --complete sidequests for obtaining trophies and so on. High replay value. I'm considering playing it from the start again since it will be easier after learning various strategies and whatnot.

2. Battle system is fun fun fun! Flaws only make battles more challenging, the inflexibility of changing paradigms contribute to the difficulty factor as well. Easily the hardest FF I've ever played.

3. Great character design. From the kick ass ones to those annoying little brats, I love them. Despite how annoying Hope and Vanille were in the beginning of the game, they get better. In fact, annoying traits are the ones that make the characters memorable. Light of course is my favorite among all, followed by Fang. Best female protagonist I've ever come across. From her VA to her costume design, how she fights in battles, she's close to perfect. I like how females are so damn strong in this game.

Best 2 female characters in the game.

4. Grinding is pointless. Even if you max out skills and stats, dying is still easy if you don't strategize. Timing and strategizing have not been this important! 

5. The game has TOWNZ. Stop saying the game has no towns. The bloody towns are everywhere and we're in TOWNZ most of the time. Just because you get attacked in towns, that does not tantamount to no TOWNZ because Nautilus is really a town. So called having no TOWNZ is relevant to the plot because players are considered as the baddies; thus being chased around in townz and no resting, please use common sense.

6. Eidolons are not entirely useless. True potential is revealed when used at the perfect moment in battles and I totally love how tough eidolons battles are because it wouldn't make any sense if we were to obtain them so easily. God, those battles make my blood rush! And the summon scenes are dead gorgeous, never skipped them. There's no reason to skip.

7. Vanille and Fang are lesbians. I officially declare them lesbians. Good friends don't go hugging each other that way. To be more precise, hug while resting your hand on one's breast. And lifting your friend's skirt to see a scar on the thigh? Really? Ending scene utterly convinced me that they are gay. Just because they didn't say "hey, we're lesbians" does not mean they're not lesbians. People can say whatever they want but this is my final stand. Glad SE is taking this approach. *coughs*

 I told you they're gay.
  

8. Music is good. Not mind blowing but still good. I'm satisfied. Yes, I know how all FF fans miss Uematsu. That guy is a genius but please, life goes on, not like he's dead but... give chances to other composers alright? Hamauzu's works ain't that bad and he deserves praise. Overall, the game's soundtrack is really pleasant to the ears and there's actually variety in the ost per se. Though most tunes aren't as memorable as Uematsu's works, Hamauzu's music is still brilliant. It fits FFXIII's world. In fact it's wayyyyyy better than X-2's ost excluding Eternity Memory of Lightwavesblablasomething. The music is so pleasant that I'm actually looking around for the ost, I'm talking about the physical copy. Someone let me know if they see the ost in Malaysia? Because I remember seeing XII's ost sold in Rock Corner. Whether it's bootleg or not, that I do not know but hopefully it's fully original. Worst case scenario, I'll need to find someone to order it online for me.

9. Superb voice acting. Worth noting --- Vanille's voice is so irritating that I can still hear it ringing in my ears. It's as if she's having sex during most parts of the game. Fortunately I do not use her much. Light's VA did a great job, I saw the interview and she actually sounds so different. She managed to deliver a few memorable lines, "Worst birthday ever". All the voice artists managed to bring out the personalities of the characters, which is what makes the game so realistic. Luckily no stupid male voice acting this time. All the guys sound perfectly normal. As the game progresses, characters also have new lines during battles.

10. Game is pretty family-oriented. How Light goes all out to save her sister and her caring gestures, how Sazh wants to save his son, how Hope gets more mature and overcome his fears and troubles after his mom's death and opening up to his dad --- I really like the direction of this game. The only cannon pairing is Snow and Serah. No redundant lovey dovey scenes or stupid lines.

The only cannon pairing. I'm happy they didn't pair Light with Snow. Light and Snow already don't sound nice together, verbally.

11. 10/10 for overall eyecandy.

12. Light doesn't get too much spotlight till she overshadows the other characters. All of them get sufficient coverage. It's just that Light gets a bit more attention and more lines, that's about it. Very balanced I'd say.

 For the 992828171231th time, Light does not look like Cloud and she's not a female version of Cloud, looks and personality-wise. 

Okay, I cried a bit but it wasn't as bad (most probably because my mom was having her lunch beside me) as how I cried during Crisis Core's ending. FFXIII ending can be interpreted as both sad and joyful. Not gonna include spoilers but fortunately the fun-filled journey isn't exactly over, I'll still spend my time finishing sidequests and visiting newly unlocked areas and riding chocobos of course!

Photos from rpgsite.net