FF XIII Amazing Game EXCEPT an Achilles' Heel The Battle System's inherent design flaw - Revealed IMHO
I have read many of the reviews, the good, the bad the in-between and I feel most of them have merit. The exceptions to this are people who "write" a mediocre review then give it a top score, I suppose in denial or respect for the FF name. Then there are those so disappointed that they over react and give a score too low...as I probably did with my first review. So I will not revisit what others, nor I, have said many, many times. But I wish to share a key issue that has capped the FUN level dramtically, for me at least, and I imagine a few others as well.
What I felt so compelled to communicate to fellow FF XIII fans and players is what I feel is a serious design flaw within the Battle System, that is subtle yet pervasive, that effects almost every battle in FF XIII IF you are trying to obtain high battle scores and CP. My realizing this has finally helped to put things into proper perspective for me, so I am no longer as frustrated overall with other non-related aspects of what is a great and amazing game. So much about FF XIII is excellent but so much of it has been modularized, simplified and automated to the point where I feel many players may be coming away from FF XIII feeling uninspired, flat and frustrated, for me mainly due to how the battle system is designed....but why? Please read on for my take...
The cause is really a pretty straight forward result from how they designed and implemented key battle system functions and how they interact, resulting in a single, undesirable, pervasive result. This issue causes a battle experience that leaves the player feeling not in full control, flat and disconnected...in a word a bit "Boring". Here are the design elements that, by their nature and interaction, cause this unwanted boredom, empty, and flat feeling and most importantly WHY they end up causing this problem. The elements are:
-Real-Time Battle System
-Battle Scoring System
-Game assisted Auto Modes for each Role used during battles (Key Culprit)
You see to be good in FF XIII (as in all FFs) you must develop your characters. FF XIII you do this mainly using CP obtained from fighting battles...the faster and more efficient you beat the enemy the more CP you get and the higher your battle score will be. To get the highest scores possible you must learn all the intricacies of the game well, use sound strategy AND utilize the Battle System's Auto Modes for your characters. Remember these battles are Real-Time so instantaneous queuing of commands is crucial to getting the highest score possible for each battle waged. If you don't use Auto Modes, you will be leaving CP on the table and receiving lower scores...unacceptable IMHO. It is the combination of these three items that cause the problem BUT it is the Auto Modes that ends up being the real killer here, for me at least.
If you haven't played into the game very far this all may not make much sense at this point, but if you have then you should be able to easily understand why this is a real design problem for many FF XIII fans who want the best character they can build. So how does all this create a boring and flat battle expierence?
1) In order to receive a high score at the end of each battle you must dispatch (kill) the baddies as fast and efficiently as possible...no exceptions (usually). This necessitates the need to actively use the Auto Battle system (except on most Boss Battles). If you don't use an Auto Mode and choose to manually select Abilities instead of allowing the game's excellent AI to do so, the result will only be lower scores...no way around this, the game's AI is excellent, fast and efficient and allows you to get higher scores and more CP than if you do not use it. Higher scores, more CP, better character development = preferred way to play IMHO.
2) Therefore assuming most battles will be waged using the Auto Modes, you probably have noticed that as soon as you utilize Auto Modes you immediately become much more of an observer, and merely a skill set manager, than an awesome fighter delivering individual strategic, well selected and well placed spells, attacks or support buffs. This is NOT trivial, being actively engaged in landing individual attacks is extremely rewarding and allows the player to truly be integral into performing decisive blows, which spawns excitement, immersion, wonderful challenges and huge rewards...in a word it's FUN!
I found for me that the Auto Mode gets between you and the baddies and the action, creating a feeling of almost complete detachment. An unwelcome insulator between me and the battles and the game world, the fun and excitement. The older FF games that used Gambits were great because YOU made the rules, YOU designed the strategy, the character carried out YOUR instructions...but with Auto Modes, you just cast Libra (revealing baddies weaknesses) and let the game basically play for you as you watch, you are immediately greatly removed from the action for each and every battle to a great degree...that's just not that much fun.
So THAT'S IT - If I play to get the best score then just about every battle leaves me feeling empty, detached and bored as I watch the 'Game Play the Game'. And there isn't any way to fix this really, you either manually issue abilities/commands and get lower scores and feel more connected within the battles or you use the Battle System's Auto Modes and get higher scores and sit back and "watch" and view the game play with itself...yes, yes a bit overdramatic I know, but I feel this issue is very real and has resulted in a FF XIII battle system with a lobotomy, exactly the place it doesn't need one.
So all in all, I am enjoying FF XIII and I am not saying the game is horrible because of this issue, BUT in a game where the Battles are such a HUGE part of what the game offers, the lobotomized battle system is a real let down and I think disconnects the player to a great degree from the action which diminishes each and every battle in a very real and sterile sort of way...darn it!