- Engaging and deep story with high praise
- Innovative strategic combat system stands out
- Exceptional soundtrack enhances immersion
- Frequent crashes and performance issues reported
- Extreme linearity limits exploration opportunities
- Poor PC port optimization frustrates players
Emotions
Players experience frequent crashes, poor optimization, and performance issues (e.g., stuttering, FPS drops, and game-breaking bugs), which disrupt gameplay and require replaying sections. The combat system is criticized for being repetitive, grindy, and overly complex, with mechanics like the break-gauge system and forced pauses adding to the tedium.
The game fails to meet expectations due to shallow storytelling, weak character development, and excessive linearity, which limits exploration and interactivity. Poor execution of the PC port, including unplayable performance and reliance on community fixes, further diminishes the experience.
Players appreciate the game's story, character development, and combat depth, particularly after overcoming initial pacing issues or technical hurdles. Mods and fixes often improve the experience, making the game enjoyable despite its flaws, especially on platforms like Steam Deck.
The game is praised for its innovative combat system, visuals, soundtrack, and willingness to take risks with narrative and mechanics. Players highlight the Crystarium system, character designs, and emotional depth, particularly in later chapters.
Long-time fans of the *Final Fantasy* series reflect on their personal history with the game, comparing it to past experiences and revisiting it after years. The game evokes fond memories of childhood or earlier gaming eras, even if the modern experience falls short.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 62% · Negative 38%. Score: 38 / 100
Positives:
- The game's narrative, character development, and worldbuilding are consistently praised for being rich, emotional, and engaging. Players highlight the evolution of character relationships and the story's depth, which improves significantly as the game progresses.
- The Paradigm Shift and role-based combat system are frequently cited as unique, deep, and rewarding. Players appreciate the strategic depth, dynamic battles, and the ability to customize party roles, which keeps combat engaging and fresh.
- The game's music, including battle themes and emotional tracks, is widely celebrated as one of the best in the Final Fantasy series. Players highlight how the soundtrack enhances the game's tone and emotional impact.
- The game's visuals, art design, and cinematics are praised for their beauty and quality, even years after release. Players note that the graphics hold up well and contribute to an immersive experience, with high-quality CGI cutscenes enhancing the storytelling.
- Lightning is frequently highlighted as a well-designed and compelling protagonist. Players appreciate her characterization, development, and the strength of her narrative arc.
Negatives:
- The PC port suffers from severe stability issues, including frequent crashes, FPS drops, and failure to launch. Many players report unplayable experiences without mods or patches, particularly on modern systems like Windows 11.
- The game is criticized for its overly linear design, with long corridors, minimal exploration, and no open-world elements until late in the game. This frustrates players seeking freedom or side content.
- The game offers minimal side quests, NPC interactions, or optional activities, leaving players with little to do beyond the main story. This exacerbates the feeling of linearity and repetitiveness.
- The Steam port is poorly optimized, with issues like low resolution, input lag, and performance problems. Many players rely on community mods to make the game playable, highlighting the port's rushed and unfinished state.
- Progression systems, including the Crystarium and weapon upgrades, are criticized as grindy, unintuitive, and restrictive. Players feel forced to grind for achievements or resources, with little payoff for effort.
Gameplay:
- The Paradigm Shift mechanic allows real-time role-switching (e.g., Tank, Healer, DPS) during combat, enabling tactical flexibility. This system is central to the game’s strategy and is frequently praised for its innovation.
- The game features a combat system blending turn-based and real-time elements, often described as a mix of *Final Fantasy X* and *FF16*. Players highlight its strategic depth, role-switching, and dynamic mechanics like the ATB (Active Time Battle) gauge.
- The game’s difficulty escalates sharply in Chapter 11, requiring grinding or mastery of mechanics. This sudden spike is a frequent criticism, particularly for unprepared players.
- Combat revolves around a party system with defined roles (e.g., Attacker, Healer, Defender). Early-game party composition is often forced, limiting tactical freedom until later stages.
- The game employs a corridor-like, linear structure for most of its playtime, with open-world elements only unlocking late (e.g., Chapter 11). This design is polarizing, with some players finding it restrictive.
Performance:
- The game often requires third-party patches, mods, or manual tweaks (e.g., 4GB patch, FF13Fix) to run smoothly. Without these fixes, players experience crashes, FPS drops, and other performance issues.
- The game has significant compatibility issues with Windows 11, including failure to launch, crashes, and requiring manual adjustments (e.g., disabling DEP) to run. These issues are not present on Windows 10 or Steam Deck.
- The game struggles with fullscreen mode, often crashing or freezing. Additionally, it lacks native support for ultrawide resolutions, causing visual glitches and requiring windowed mode for proper scaling.
- Once community patches and mods are applied, the game can run smoothly on a variety of systems, including mid-range hardware. Some players report no crashes or performance issues after these adjustments.
- The game lacks in-game audio controls and suffers from low-resolution cutscenes (720p at 30 FPS). Audio issues during cutscenes are also reported, though these are less frequent than performance problems.
Recommendations:
- The game is frequently recommended only under specific conditions, such as for genre fans, completionists, or during sales. Many players advise against purchasing unless the buyer is aware of the game's limitations, such as linearity or repetitive gameplay.
- Players consistently recommend purchasing the game only during sales or on platforms other than PC (e.g., console or emulation) due to technical issues, poor port quality, or missing features like voice acting options.
- The game is not recommended for new players, those seeking varied gameplay, or players who dislike JRPG tropes like linearity or grinding. Many suggest watching a summary on YouTube instead of playing.
- The game is often described as requiring patience, particularly during the early chapters, which are criticized as slow or tutorial-like. Players who persevere report a more rewarding experience later in the game.
- The game is highly recommended for fans of JRPGs, Final Fantasy, or players who enjoy deep narratives, strategic combat, and character-driven stories. The story and combat system are frequently praised as standout features.
Miscellaneous:
- The game is often compared to other Final Fantasy titles and anime like SAO, with players citing its historical significance in the series' evolution. Some view it as the start of the series' decline, while others appreciate its influence on later titles like FF7 Remake.
- Fan-made patches and community guides are widely recommended to address game issues, improve efficiency, and enhance the overall experience. These resources are considered essential for new players.
- Despite its age, the game's graphics are praised for holding up reasonably well, especially with modded enhancements. The Crystal Tools engine is also noted as a shared foundation with other titles like FFXIV 1.0.
- The Steam version lacks dual-language support, which frustrates players who prefer original Japanese voice acting with localized subtitles. This is a notable omission compared to other modern releases.
- Players frequently call for a remaster of the trilogy, citing its legacy and the success of other remastered Final Fantasy titles. This reflects a strong fan desire for modernized versions.
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