For the past two months, I have been absolutely absorbed in the Final Fantasy XIII series. I have truly found that the games in the FFXIII series are by far some of the most beautiful games I have ever played. The gameplay, the ATB system (officially dubbed Command Synergy Battle, CSB, in-game), the graphics, the cutscenes, the character development, the characters. I don’t think I’ve played more beautiful games. Trust me, my game library is quite varied. The library includes games such as the CoD series, Skyrim, the Gears of War series, Borderlands, the Halo series, the Assassin’s Creed series, Portal 1 & 2, Fallout 3, Battlefield (Bad Company 2 and beyond), L.A. Noire, the GTA series, the Devil May Cry series, the Bioshock series, and numerous other titles. As you may notice, it is a wide and varied game library. While half of the gaems are FPS’s, I believe I have a big enough library to know what a good game and a bad game is. 

I do understand that FFXIII and FFXIII-2 may not be the most beautiful Final Fantasy games, I do understand that. It is because that reason that I am trying hard to work through the other Final Fantasy games as well (getting the required equipment will prove to be a pain seeing as how I do not have my old PS2, PS1 or an NES system). As a newcomer to Square Enix games, I am trying my best to the Kingdom Hearts series as well, because I believe I have been missing out on the beauty that is a Square Enix game.

Now, back on to topic. For those reading, MAJOR SPOILER ALERT for perhaps the entire post from here on out. BEWARE, I WARNED YOU. I started Final Fantasy XIII out of curiosity. I had a friend who played it and I remember him going crazy about its release (needless to say, he was a long-time FF fan and was disappointed). For some reason, on March 24, 2012, I decided to go out and purchase it. I could not have ever made a better choice in my life. I started the game that very morning and finished it 11 days later, on April 4, 2012 (for the record, I beat Orphan at 9:12 pm, finished the last cutscene at 9:22, and finished the credits at 9:32). My finished log time was 53:02:07. Amazed and astonished by the beauty of that game, I sought out to get every single achievement for it. A goal I achieved on April 15, 2012. After getting every achievement, the next day I started FFXIII-2. I finished it nearly 5 days later (more like 4) on April 21, 2012 (for the record, again, last boss beat: 1:10 am, last cutscene finished: 1:30, and credits finished at 1:40 am). I obtained every achievement for FFXIII-2 on April 28, 2012.

I cannot truthfully critique the linearity of FFXIII. I did not mind it all, seeing as how it had more space than some games I’ve played. I felt that the story and character development were done beautifully. Lightning starts out cold and independent, and, in the end, she is able to trust again and show more emotion than she previously could. Snow remained the same heroic, brash man, but I admired his dedication and his undying love for Serah. Hope learned to be strong and to forgive Snow. Vanille learned to accept her past and change how she was. Fang stayed strong throughout and her love (I would say sisterly, not intimately) for Vanille was heartwarming. Sazh was the cool-head of the group, at tiems trying to calm every down. Sazh was unwillingly dragged in by Vanille and it was her fault his son became a l’Cie. He learned to forgive Vanille and move on. 

I summarized the character development quickly to save time and to show my basic understanding. I could delve into the depths of the each character, but, I won’t because to those reading, you know how the story and characters turned out. I really admire what Enix did with the game. I found the story to be compelling, intriguing, and wanting me to learn more and more of it. I will not deny that after finishing the game, I cried during the ending cutscenes because they were just so beautiful. I have not been more immersed in a video game in my life. I went across so many lengths to learn more about the story and continue to today. I was so happy to see everyone, apart from Vanille and Fang, to reunite Serah and Dajh. It was sad to see Hope stare into the abyss and not see his mom arrive, but he shouldn’t have expected that because he did see her fall. It was great to see Serah and Lightning reunite, along with Snow and Serah. Snow and Serah’s romance makes me wish for one like that someday. 

As for Final Fantasy XIII-2, while I loved FFXIII more, I still loved FFXIII-2 to a great extent. The time-line exploration and gameplay tweaks made me appreciate the series even more. The story was great, while shorter than its predecessor. The ending made me bawl tears. I could not stop crying. Serah’s death was completely unexpected. I was hoping for a great happy ending, but the chaotic, evil, selfish Caius had to ruin that for everyone. After seeing Lightning in Valhalla, expecially with her new warrior armor/Valkyrie armor, I smiled at every scene because it was great to know that she was there. It was sad to see everyone go through all of what they went through, in both games, and have it end up with Serah’s death, Snow’s disappearance from the timeline, the fall of Cocoon, the overtaking of Gran Pulse by Valhalla’s chaos, the death of Etro and the halt of the timeline, and Lightning’s crystallization.

Throughout both games, one thing stood out for me above all else. That was Lightning. I absolutely love her character. Opinion: She is perfection. I mean, she is beautiful. Forgive me if calling a video game character beautiful, but it is true. Her hair is amazing, as well. I enjoyed playing her and she is by far my favorite character after having played both games. While the past two months have contained me being absorbed in the FFXIII series, it’s also a large part of me being absorbed into Lightning as well. I could not get enough of this woman. I am seriously thinking about getting a PSP or a PSVIta just for Dissidia 012. By Etro, how I do love Lightning.

Now, on to the true topic of this post. I just finished the Lightning DLC (6:07 pm) and the ending was, to say the very least, sad. The emotional sadness, not the disappointing sadness. My understanding of the Final Fantasy series is that, for the most part, every game ended with a happy ending. Seeing Lightning’s response to her sister’s death was devastating. She seemed to lose hope, when it was her herself who said that she always looks for hope until she can find some. Her promise to Serah’s spirit, however, lifted my spirit. And, it made me understand why Lightning chose to crystallize herself. She kept hope in her heart by crystallizing herself and keeping her promise to Serah. Her promise being that she would never forget her. Her statement about reawakening when her sister’s soul can be brougth back to her was pure heartache. I hated seeing her cry and seeing her sad over her sister’s death. And, I hate Caius for pushing everyone, in every timeline and parallel universe, to destroy Etro and cause Valhalla to seep into Gran Pulse. It’s Caius’ fault, not Lightning’s. Yeul was wrong. The post-credits scene, with Lightning walking through A Dying World, alive and not crystallized was reassuring. It is by that means that I believe that there will be a Final Fantasy XIII-3. I would love for a Final Fantasy XIII-3 and would buy the most expensive special edition they could sell. I do believe there will be a FFXIII-3 because they also have a lot of the mythology of the Fabula Nova Crystallis universe to dive into, which Lightning briefly touched in the post-credits scene. There is much to be done, and I need/wish/desire a happy ending for all the main characters and supporting characters. If Final Fantasy Versus XIII were be released before an XIII-3, they should have the decency to release it after FF Versus XIII and before any other game they plan on releasing.

As of now, my dedication to Lightning has me waiting on a Lightning Pendant to arrive at my doorstep (ordered April 27, 2012). I will never remove the necklace once I get it. If you read all this, thanks, if not, well, you didn’t have to. Anyways, that’s my response to the FFXIII series. They are by far the most beautiful games I’ve ever played and my favorites.