Fascinating Article on Final Fantasy 13

http://simonferrari.com/2010/03/31/hills-and-lines-final-fantasy-xiii/

 I think this article captures my feelings on the game pretty well. It's not that FF13 is any more linear than past games, it just dispenses with the illusion of nonlinearity. It removes everything that the designers thought were superfluous to the experience, and I think they did a fantastic job of it. The main controversy is not whether or not the game is "too linear", but whether or not the minimalist design does an adequate job of immersing the player.  Personally, I think the abrupt shift from Cocoon to Pulse was the most brilliant moment of story exposition in the game. It perfectly conveys the contrast between the peaceful totalitarian life on Cocoon to the free yet dangerous land of Pulse. On Cocoon, the Fal'Cie make sure the inhabitants "live their life on a string"; everything is provided for them as long as they don't stray from the beaten path. On pulse, the Fal'Cie take a hands-off approach, letting the people live how they want, which is exposes them to the dangers of the world. I think the linear/non-linear path is intentionally designed to mirror this.

I felt like that was an essay written by an intelligent fan of the series. Really good though!

I am not a big fan of FFXIII, but this is a very nice article giving justice to the game. Linearity is never a problem of the game. It gave so much free-roaming experience when you go to Pulse.

Although I am not a big fan of the game, I no other other qualms about it except for the fact that it requires you to grind a lot in order to pass some enemies needed to progress in the story. 

I love this game and this article. I'm now on my third play-through and recently snagged Lightning and Serah trading Arts.cjimrun

Nice, I already played through twice, once on each console. What exactly are trading arts? 

[QUOTE="cjimrun"]I love this game and this article. I'm now on my third play-through and recently snagged Lightning and Serah trading Arts.Lightning__Evil

Nice, I already played through twice, once on each console. What exactly are trading arts? 

Trading Arts are small Final Fantasy character figures.  In Japan, they come in opaque boxes so you don't know who you're getting, like trading cards.  When they come to North America though, they are produced in clear packaging so you can buy a particular character on purpose.  They are usually much more expensive here though.  Recently, a 1st series of FFXIII T.Arts was released as well as a second Dissidia series that includes Firion, Butz, Sephiroth, Cecil and Terra.