(I’m writing this after getting to Disc 2, in Palumpolum, after Hope goes through with “Operation Nora”)
Planning too much kills the fun out of any pleasure. Anticipation often actually makes the experience worse. And there’s nothing worse than being disappointed. It’s best to always have somewhat low, or non-existent, expectations, so that you’ll always be pleasantly surprised. I think a huge part of my total enjoyment of FFXIII is the fact that I never really expected to like it so much. The lukewarm reviews gifted me with an outlook of low expectation. And boy, was I surprised.
Because I think FFXIII is well on its way to becoming my favourite Final Fantasy of all time. There are so many reasons why I say this. Basically, I feel that FFXIII is like FFX but with a set of characters who, in my opinion, are more original and unexpected than previously, and also with an innovative battle/customization system. I really appreciate the originality presented in this game. It’s just completely not what I expected, and I love that about it.
Revolutionary?
I’ll say it straight. I’m tired of the clichéd, obligatory “boy meets girl” love stories, the straightforward “save the world from impending doom” stories, the parties full of archetypes with little originality (sure, the characters were often detailed, creative, moving and likeable, but they always had this underlying blandness, this “been there, done that” feel to them). I’m tired of turn-based battles, random encounters, and other such outdated nonsense.
FFXIII is a shining example of originality and uniqueness without compromising enjoyability. FFXII was innovative in some respects (or at least deviant), but unfortunately, the characters were totally uninteresting and the story was, for the most part, boring, hard to follow, and cliché. I like all the new ways that FFXIII has chosen to do things. I like how the characters don’t easily fit the archetypes you thought they would. They’re complex, and they feel real to me. I might not necessarily like them as much as other characters in previous games, but I feel refreshed to see them, hear them, play as them.
It just feels amazing to play an RPG where the main character (in this case, Lightning) doesn’t seem to fall in love with the other, opposite sex main lead (Snow). In fact, I highly doubt she will fall in love with anyone in the end (maybe the game will prove me wrong… but I doubt it). I mean, how weird is that, really? A Square-Enix game with no obvious canon love pairing? Of course, I expect this won’t be an extremely popular move with the “masses,” but I for one really, really love it.
Girls who Kick Ass
This game surely has the highest count for “bad ass females” of any RPG I’ve ever played. Actually, in this regard (and some others), the game sometimes reminds me of Chrono Trigger. Weird, isn’t it? And the females aren’t just “sorta bad ass” – only to “soften up” later on and become all girly, loveable, and male-crazy. At least it doesn’t seem that way so far. Lightning isn’t treated as some kind of sex object with a personality attached – far from it. I am deeply thankful to the creators of this game for that.
Not only is Lightning severely bad ass, there’s also the warrior-woman Fang and the ever-fearless Vanille. I don’t claim to like either of the latter two characters all that much, but I do feel that their inclusion in this game is refreshing. It’s like as if someone opened the windows and let in a breath of fresh air. Ahh, so soothing and invigorating.
I’ll admit I wasn’t quite expecting the strong overtones of “lesbian-ness” present in many parts of the game… I mean, this has got to be the most “unorthodox pairing” RPG in the history of gaming. Not only does there seem to be a very, very strong bond between Fang and Vanille, but Lightning’s devotion to her sister Serah is also somewhat hard to accept as pure sisterly concern…. (Please don’t take me too seriously. ^o^; )
And I never would’ve expected that Lightning and Hope, or Sazh and Vanille (apparently?), would form such close bonds. I’m not so sure about the latter, but the former is entirely without doubt. I mean, apart from Serah, it doesn’t seem like Lightning cares about anyone else in the game more than she does Hope. She seems to be constantly worried about him and even lends him her birthday present (a knife), which I assume she was given by Serah, who’s beloved to her (well, then again… I suppose Snow could’ve given it to her, considering it’s a knife and not jewelry or a bath set).
My Guilty Obsession
Gods help me, I love Hope so damn much. He just seems to elicit caring and love from me with no effort at all. I melt almost every time I see him in the game or hear him speak. Sure, he has some dumb lines now and then and I still think his “Operation Nora” (plan to get revenge on Snow) is completely bonkers, but those little negatives don’t seem to affect my adoration of him one bit.
He’s just… perfect. In every way. He doesn’t feel like just a character to me. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s the same for some of the other characters in the game, too (mostly Lightning and Snow). It’s like they’re actually real, living people who I get to know intimately by playing this game, in which their words and actions have been captured in some time past. I feel like whoever created them wasn’t merely writing a character, a figure who would self-consciously please the fans or move the story along… It’s like they’re actually recreating a person who they knew, at some time in their lives, very intimately.
I know it’s a little stupid to say such things, especially considering some of the lines the characters say are completely ridiculous and most of their motivations are pretty hard to believe. But it’s a feeling I get, a really very real, persistent feeling that doesn’t go away even as I progress more and more through the story. It’s a combination of their masterful voice acting, their wonderfully localized lines, their very realistic, detailed reactions to the events in the story, and their beautifully, meticulously animated faces/bodies. Their expressions, the way they move, the way they stand, sit, talk and fight…. It’s all so very real to me. It seems almost incomprehensible to me that nowhere in this world do these characters actually exist, in the flesh, real live human beings. It actually seems more probable to me that these people do exist somewhere in this world (or universe?) than that they’re just characters created solely for this game.
Do Snow & Hope Get Together? …What?
I love Hope to bits. Where shall I start? Which are my favourite scenes, my favourite lines? Which parts did my heart melt? Which parts were I so glad and excited to have been able to play? Which parts made me cringe (either with disbelief and disgust, or with empathetic pain)?
Well, the part where Hope finally corners Snow and confronts him was a little over-the-top and ridiculous, but I still loved it. And especially the aftermath. I absolutely adore Snow’s unfailing devotion to doing good, his pure, heroic heart. I really love characters like that (it surprises me, even). Characters who are just so pure-hearted, heroic, courageous, self-sacrificing. Who don’t really think twice; who just do.
It was heart-melting (for me, anyway) to see him after the two of them fell a number of stories staggering to his feet and trying, with much painful effort, to carry Hope on his back. I mean, can you just imagine that? Some kid you hardly even know verbally attacked you, blasted you with a magic spell, threatened you as you hung over a cliff, and was about to really kill you… and you still try your very hardest to save their life, at any cost to your own. I know in real life it’s hard to imagine this could be the case, but some how, I didn’t find it unbelievable at all when I watched Snow do it for Hope. I really believe he’s that good of a guy. That he would never abandon anyone if he could help it – even a kid who tried to kill him.
I really want to find out how that whole Snow-Hope thing turns out. And what Hope’s home will be like, whether they’ll meet his dad, what his dad’ll be like. I don’t really want to even think about what will happen, because it’d probably ruin the surprise, but I’m guessing that Hope will eventually realize how much effort Snow is putting into saving him and being the “good guy” that he’s made himself out to be, that he’s truly trying his best for everyone and never meant for Hope’s mother to come to any harm. I mean, how could he not? He’s not that stupid of a guy. Probably, he expected Snow to try to fight back after hearing he caused Nora’s death, and that he would be very angry at Hope for his threats and accusations. When he realizes that Snow’s reaction isn’t what he expected, he’ll probably realize there’s nothing more he can do and give up trying to exact vengeance on Snow.
I loved that awkwardness and desperation in that “three-way” phone call between Lightning, Snow, and Hope. Lightning urgently tells Snow to take care of Hope, Snow happily obliges; she also furtively begins to warn him about Hope’s plan for revenge…. Then Hope butts in, tells Lightning he’s going ahead with “Operation Nora.” Interference cuts in, Lightning urges him not to do what he’s thinking, the line cuts off. It’s just great… great way to build up the tension in the situation. Everyone wishes Hope would just listen to Lightning, or that Snow would realize what happened with his mother, and for a moment it seemed like it was almost going to happen. But – nope! It’s a perfect device.