Final Fantasy XIII is a role-playing video game released in 2009. It was created and published by Square Enix for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. A version for Windows was later released in 2014. The game was first sold in Japan in December 2009 and internationally in March 2010. It is the thirteenth main game in the Final Fantasy series. The game features fast action during battles, a new system called "Crystarium" that helps decide which abilities characters can learn, and a customizable "Paradigm" system that lets players choose which abilities characters use. The game includes elements from earlier games in the series, such as summoned monsters, chocobos, and airships.
The story takes place in a fictional floating world called Cocoon. The government of Cocoon, called the Sanctum, is removing civilians who have supposedly been in contact with Pulse, a feared world below. A former soldier named Lightning starts fighting the government to save her sister, who has been forced to serve a god-like being from Pulse. This makes Lightning an enemy of Cocoon. Lightning soon teams up with others, and the group is also marked by the same Pulse creature. Together, they oppose the Sanctum while trying to learn their mission and avoid being turned into monsters or crystals.
Development of the game began in 2004, and it was first announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2006. Final Fantasy XIII is the main game in the Fabula Nova Crystallis collection of Final Fantasy titles. It is the first game to use Square Enix's Crystal Tools engine. The game received praise in Japan and mostly positive reviews from Western publications, which highlighted its graphics, presentation, and battle system. Some critics had mixed opinions about the game's linear structure. In 2009, the game sold 1.7 million copies in Japan, making it the fastest-selling title in the series' history. As of 2017, the game sold over 7 million copies worldwide on consoles. The Windows version sold over 746,000 copies according to SteamSpy.
A sequel, Final Fantasy XIII-2, was released in December 2011 in Japan and February 2012 in North America and other regions. A second sequel, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, which ends Lightning's story and the series, was released in November 2013 in Japan and February 2014 in North America and other regions. By September 2014, the Final Fantasy XIII series had sold over 11 million copies worldwide.
The game was added to Xbox One backward compatibility in November 2018, along with its sequels. It is also compatible with Xbox One X Enhanced, which allows it to run at a higher resolution.
Gameplay
In the game, players control the on-screen character from a third-person view, allowing interaction with people, objects, and enemies throughout the game world. Players can rotate the camera around the character to see a full 360° view of the environment. The world of Final Fantasy XIII is drawn to the correct size relative to the characters, unlike earlier games where characters appeared larger on smaller terrain. Players move through the world by walking or riding a chocobo. Save stations allow players to save their game to a hard disk drive, purchase items from shops, or upgrade weapons. An in-game datalog provides information about enemies and details about the game world. The International version of the game, called Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits, includes an "Easy" mode option.
Enemies are placed in open areas and can be approached or avoided by players. When a character touches an enemy, the game switches to a separate battle screen, similar to earlier games. After each battle, the character’s health is fully restored.
Up to three characters can be used in battles, which use a modified version of the Active Time Battle (ATB) system first introduced in Final Fantasy IV. Unlike previous games, only the lead character is controlled by the player, while the other two are managed by the game’s artificial intelligence (AI). During battles, players choose actions such as Attack, Magic, or Item from menus. Each action requires a specific number of slots on the ATB bar, which fills over time. The total number of slots increases gradually from two to six as the game progresses.
The Paradigm system lets players assign "Paradigms," which define specific roles for party members during combat. These roles are similar to the job system in earlier games. Players can only choose from a limited set of Paradigms outside of battle, which determines the roles available. The roles include Commando (physical damage), Ravager (elemental magic), Medic (healing and removing negative effects), Synergist (boosting allies with magic), Saboteur (weakening enemies with magic), and Sentinel (protecting allies).
Each enemy has a stagger bar, which shows the percentage of attack strength the player can deal. When the stagger bar reaches a certain level, the enemy becomes staggered, increasing damage and possibly launching the enemy into the air. Magic attacks boost the stagger bar significantly, but physical attacks are needed to maintain it.
Each character can summon a specific Eidolon, such as Odin, Shiva, Alexander, and Bahamut, or new ones like Hecatoncheir and Brynhildr. When summoned, the Eidolon remains in battle while the other characters leave the party. During an Eidolon’s summoning, players can activate Gestalt Mode, allowing the Eidolon to transform and perform different attacks while the summoner rides it.
The Crystarium is a leveling system with six crystals, similar to the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X. Each crystal represents one of the six roles and has ten levels. Each level contains nodes that provide health, strength, or magic boosts, new abilities, or accessory slots. Players advance through the Crystarium by earning Crystogen Points after defeating enemies. The full Crystarium is not available at the start of the game; new crystals or levels become accessible at specific points in the story.
Plot
Final Fantasy XIII takes place on the futuristic world of Gran Pulse, often called Pulse. The story centers on Cocoon, a large artificial sphere that floats above Pulse and is ruled by the Sanctum, a government that follows religious laws. Both worlds are controlled by mechanical beings called fal'Cie, which have godlike powers. The fal'Cie in Cocoon keep the sphere floating and provide light and water to its people. Each fal'Cie has a specific task. They can mark humans from Pulse and Cocoon as their servants, called l'Cie. These servants are branded with symbols representing Pulse or Cocoon and are given a "Focus," a task to complete. If l'Cie finish their task on time, they turn to crystal and are said to gain eternal life. If they fail, they become mindless monsters called Cie'th. L'Cie are not told their Focus directly but receive visions they must interpret.
Hundreds of years before the game's events, a battle called the War of Transgression occurred between Pulse and Cocoon. During the war, l'Cie from Pulse attacked Cocoon and created a large hole. Eventually, the l'Cie completed their Focus and turned to crystal. The hole was fixed using material from Pulse. Since then, Cocoon's people have feared another invasion, a fear the Sanctum uses to stay in power. The Sanctum oversees two military groups: the Guardian Corps, which maintains order on Cocoon, and PSICOM, a special force that deals with threats from Pulse. The fal'Cie gave humans advanced technology, such as flying airships and mechanical creatures. Magic also exists, but it is usually only accessible to l'Cie, fal'Cie, and monsters. Normal humans can use it through special devices called Manadrives.
The six main characters in Final Fantasy XIII are Lightning, the game's protagonist and a former soldier who is the older sister of Serah; Snow Villiers, Serah's fiancé and leader of NORA, a paramilitary group; Oerba Dia Vanille, the narrator and an exile later revealed to be a l'Cie from Pulse; Sazh Katzroy, a civilian pilot and father to a young boy named Dajh; Hope Estheim, a boy struggling with his family relationships; and Oerba Yun Fang, a l'Cie from Pulse working with the Sanctum's Cavalry. Other important characters include Galenth Dysley, the ruler of the Sanctum and main antagonist; Cid Raines, a Cavalry general who distrusts the government; and Serah Farron, Lightning's younger sister and Snow's fiancée.
In Cocoon, the citizens of Bodhum are being evicted, or Purged, after coming into contact with something from Pulse. The game shows flashbacks of the previous thirteen days, starting when a fal'Cie from Pulse was discovered near Bodhum. Serah, Lightning's sister, found the fal'Cie and was turned into a l'Cie. Lightning and Sazh stop a Purge train to save Serah. Snow leads his group, NORA, to rescue Purged exiles, but some are killed. Snow, along with Hope and Vanille, travels to the fal'Cie Anima to save Serah. They find Serah just as she turns to crystal. Anima brands them as l'Cie and sends them away. All the new l'Cie receive the same vision: a monster named Ragnarok. They argue about their Focus and find Serah in her crystallized form. Snow stays with her while the others leave.
Snow meets Cid and Fang, members of the Cavalry, after being captured on the airship Lindblum. Meanwhile, the others escape PSICOM and split up. Lightning and Hope go to Palumpolum, while Sazh and Vanille travel to Nautilus. In Lightning's scenario, she accidentally supports Hope's plan to kill Snow to avenge his mother's death. In Vanille's scenario, Sazh explains that his son, Dajh, was turned into a l'Cie by a Cocoon fal'Cie and taken by PSICOM. In Palumpolum, Lightning tries to stop Hope from killing Snow. Fang reveals that she and Vanille were l'Cie from Pulse who were turned to crystal and later returned to human form, causing the Purge. Hope attempts to kill Snow but changes his mind after an airstrike. The group flees with Cid's help. In Nautilus, Vanille tells Sazh that she is a l'Cie from Pulse and that Dajh was turned into a l'Cie because of her. Sazh and Vanille are captured and taken to the airship Palamecia.
On the Palamecia, the group reunites and confronts Galenth Dysley, the Sanctum's leader, who is actually the Cocoon fal'Cie ruler, Barthandelus, in disguise. Barthandelus tells them their Focus is to become the beast Ragnarok and destroy the sleeping fal'Cie Orphan, who keeps Cocoon afloat above Pulse. Destroying Orphan would cause Cocoon to fall. The group flees and learns from Cid that the fal'Cie believe destroying Cocoon will summon the Maker, the creator of the worlds. Vanille and Fang reveal they were involved in the War of Transgression centuries ago and had the same Focus: to become Ragnarok and destroy Orphan. The group travels to Oerba, Vanille and Fang's hometown, but finds it deserted. They fail to remove their l'Cie marks, and Barthandelus attacks again. They learn Barthandelus made Cid the new leader to create chaos and force the Cavalry to attack Cid and Orphan.
The group infiltrates Cocoon and heads toward Orphan but discovers the Cavalry has turned into Cie'th. They defeat Barthandelus, but Orphan awakens and merges with him, forcing Fang to complete her Focus as Ragnarok while the others seem to become Cie'th. The group reappears as humans and stops Fang from transforming. They defeat Orphan and escape as Cocoon falls toward Pulse. As the others turn to crystal for completing their Focus, Vanille and Fang remain on Cocoon and transform into Ragnarok to prevent a collision between Cocoon and Pulse. The rest of the group awakens on Pulse, their l'Cie brands gone, and reunites with Serah and Dajh.
Development
The development of Final Fantasy XIII began in February 2004, shortly after the release of Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission in Japan. At that time, the project was called "Colors World" as a temporary name. During the first year, director Motomu Toriyama and scenario conceptor Kazushige Nojima worked on ideas for the story. Nojima created the crystal mythology that became the foundation for the Fabula Nova Crystallis series, including the fal'Cie and l'Cie. Toriyama then designed a story based on this mythology. He wanted to show characters who were controlled by a fate they could not change and who had strong connections but also faced challenges. To do this, each of the story’s thirteen chapters focused on different main characters. Chapters seven and eight were planned to change how the characters interacted with each other.
In March 2006, when the story’s structure was becoming clearer, lead scenario writer Daisuke Watanabe joined the team. Toriyama gave Watanabe a rough outline of the first eight chapters, which included key scenes that could not be changed, such as moments when characters were separated or reunited. He told Watanabe what he wanted the story to express and asked him to expand on the outline and improve how the story’s parts connected. For example, Toriyama might write, "Snow and Hope reconcile," and Watanabe would decide how to show this scene and write the story accordingly. To highlight the story’s message, Watanabe adjusted the characters’ personalities. He believed the story should not start with a calm leader to better show the confusion after the characters became l'Cie. Toriyama said one challenge was showing the characters’ sadness and moments when they seemed trapped. He mentioned a scene where Sazh tries to take his life as an example. Though Toriyama felt it was very dark, he wanted to include such moments. He also said lighter parts, like Sazh’s Chocobo chick, helped balance the story.
At the start of development, the game was planned for the PlayStation 2. In May 2005, after a tech demo of Final Fantasy VII was well received, the team decided to move the game to the PlayStation 3 and use the Crystal Tools engine, a new game engine created by Square Enix for next-generation games. Square Enix believed using a new engine would speed up later development, even though it caused delays. The delays were longer than expected because the engine had to meet the needs of other games as well. Another reason for the platform change was the delayed release of Final Fantasy XII, which came out just before the PlayStation 3 launched. A PC version was considered but not made because Square Enix felt the PC market was not ideal at the time and had issues it was not prepared to handle. Final Fantasy XIII was first shown at the 2006 E3 convention. The trailer shown was not the final version of the game, as no playable version existed at the time. The game was announced with two other titles: Final Fantasy Versus XIII (later renamed Final Fantasy XV) and Final Fantasy Type-0 (originally called Final Fantasy Agito XIII). These three games are connected in theme but not directly in story.
The developers for Final Fantasy XIII worked in separate groups, each focusing on a specific task, such as creating a part of the game world or designing characters. Each area of the game was developed independently after an initial design was approved. Teams worked on their assigned locations without reusing assets from other areas. Some developers had worked on earlier Final Fantasy games. Director Motomu Toriyama had worked on Final Fantasy X and X-2; producer Yoshinori Kitase had worked on games V through VIII and produced X and X-2; main-character designer Tetsuya Nomura had designed characters for VII, VIII, X, and X-2; and battle-system director Toshiro Tsuchida had previously worked on X. Since XIII was the first Final Fantasy game for the PlayStation 3, the team aimed to create a game with the same impact as Final Fantasy VII and X had on their respective consoles. The team hoped to sell five million copies. Toriyama wanted the game to be "the ultimate single-player RPG."
Tsuchida’s battle system was designed to keep the strategy of command-based battles. This idea came from wanting battles similar to those in the film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Magic points (MP), which had been used in earlier games, were removed because they made battles less exciting by limiting players’ use of powerful magic. The Paradigm system was created early in development to allow players to switch strategies quickly during battles. Originally, there were five roles, but a sixth role called Saboteur was added later because the designers felt it was missing. With a maximum of three characters in battles, enemy groups were designed to require players to change Paradigms to stay engaged.
Toriyama wanted Lightning to be a new type of female character with an athlete’s body and less feminine traits than some previous characters. He told Nomura to make her "strong and beautiful," and she was meant to remind players of Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife. Fang was originally planned to be male but was changed to female later in development. The PS3 and Xbox 360’s better graphics allowed Nomura to create more detailed designs, such as Lightning’s cape and facial features. This meant the art team had to do more work for each character or area than in previous games. Nomura did not help design non-playable characters.
Unlike earlier games, which were inspired by Asian settings, Final Fantasy XIII was meant to look like the United States. Pulse was based on photos of American landscapes, and Cocoon was designed to mix different ethnicities. The setting also had a science fiction look to stand out from other games in the series. Art director Isamu Kamikokuryo said some scenes, like Lightning’s home, were removed from the final version because of concerns about the game’s content.
Versions and merchandise
The game was released in Japan on December 17, 2009, and in North America, Europe, and Australia on March 9, 2010. At the same time as the game's release in Japan, a Japanese company called Suntory created a special drink called "Final Fantasy XIII Elixir" to help promote the game. On the same day, a free personal space called "Final Fantasy XIII PlayStation Home" was made available in Japan until January 13, 2010. This space included a costume and decorations. These features were added to the Asian, European, and North American versions of PlayStation Home on March 11, 2010. The game was re-released as part of a special 25th Anniversary box set in Japan in December 2012. It was released again in November 2013 as part of a Japan-only package called "Lightning Ultimate," which included Final Fantasy XIII and its two sequels.
The game was sold with consoles in some regions. In Japan, it was bundled with a limited-edition white PlayStation 3 featuring a pink image of Lightning on its surface and a white Xbox 360 Elite with the Final Fantasy XIII logo printed on its hard drive. In the western release, a limited number of themed Xbox faceplates designed by Nomura were sold in Europe, North America, and Australia. PAL regions received a special collector's edition of the game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This edition included a soundtrack CD, three Eidolon art prints, a decal, a hardback book with character artwork and game environments, and other items. Square Enix published three Ultimania books in 2010: the Final Fantasy XIII Scenario Ultimania and Battle Ultimania on January 28, and the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Ω on September 30. The Battle Ultimania explains the game's battle system and includes developer interviews. The Scenario Ultimania describes the game's main story, character profiles, and locations. The Ultimania Ω includes interviews with voice actors, the full story, character details, artwork, and story analysis.
The game was available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in western regions but was only on PlayStation 3 in Asia. This changed in late 2010 when Square Enix announced the Xbox 360 version would be released in Japan, despite earlier statements suggesting otherwise. Later, the game was released for Windows through Steam, along with its sequels. Final Fantasy XIII was the first game in the series to be officially released in Chinese and Korean. It was also the first game in the series to allow Japanese voice-overs. An international version called "Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International" was released in Asia on December 16, 2010. This version includes an "Easy" mode, English voices, and a bonus booklet titled "Final Fantasy XIII Corridor of Memory" with previously excluded content and a short story called "Final Fantasy XIII Episode I."
Final Fantasy XIII was released for iOS and Android devices through cloud streaming in Japan on April 10, 2015. The game was added to Xbox One backward compatibility in November 2018, along with its sequels.
Reception
Final Fantasy XIII received mostly good reviews. A website called Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version a score of 83 out of 100 based on 83 reviews, the Xbox 360 version a score of 82 out of 100 based on 54 reviews, and the Windows version a score of 65 out of 100 based on 6 reviews. A Japanese gaming magazine called Famitsu gave the game a score of 39 out of 40. Another magazine, Dengeki, praised the game’s battle system, saying the battles were the most exciting in the series and gave it a score of 120, which they said was higher than the usual 100.
Many reviewers praised the game’s graphics and visual design. Edge magazine said the setting called Cocoon was very colorful and impressive. GameSpot called the art design "magnificent." Reviewers also liked the pre-made animation scenes and how smoothly they blended with the game’s real-time gameplay. Many people appreciated the game’s music, with Masashi Hamauzu creating a score that had catchy tunes and exciting battle music, according to Wired.
The battle system in Final Fantasy XIII was widely praised. Reviewers said the battles were fast-paced and exciting, with Edge calling it "among the genre's finest." 1UP.com said that even though two of the three characters in the party were controlled by the game, the battles were the most engaging in the series. The story received mixed reactions. Wired said the plot was more human than previous games, while 1UP.com said the writing was not world-class but avoided clichés. Reviewers thought the characters worked well together, and their interactions helped make up for the story’s weaknesses.
Most critics praised Square Enix for trying to update the Final Fantasy series. However, many reviewers disliked the game’s linear structure, especially in the first ten chapters set on Cocoon. They said the game had fewer towns, less freedom to explore, and fewer interactions with non-player characters. GamePro compared the gameplay to "a long hallway toward an orange target symbol on your mini-map that triggers a cutscene or boss fight." 1UP.com called the linear structure the game’s biggest shortcoming and said the first section felt "superficial." Edge and others gave lower scores because of these issues, with Edge giving the game a score of 5 out of 10.
In contrast, some reviewers liked the linear structure. GamesRadar said the focused design avoided boredom without making the game too simple, while Computer and Video Games called it a "clever move" that kept players from getting stuck in repetitive tasks. Some reviewers criticized the slow introduction of new abilities in the early chapters, calling them "boring" until the game reached the world of Gran Pulse. Edge said the game improved later, with the story offering side quests and exploration opportunities.
After the game was released, director Motomu Toriyama said that some reviewers from Western countries gave lower scores because they expected open-world exploration, which was not the team’s goal. He said that creating a compelling story with too much freedom was difficult. Yoshinori Kitase said the team did not want to follow the traditional RPG format but aimed to create a new type of game, even a new genre. He said the game was more like an action game than an RPG.
Toriyama and Kitase later said in 2011 that the biggest complaints were the game’s linearity and lack of interaction with the world, such as fewer towns and minigames. They also said the time it took to access gameplay elements was criticized, with some calling it a "lengthy tutorial."
Yoichi Wada, then-president of Square Enix, told Gamasutra that some people loved the game while others were not happy with it. He said it was hard to decide whether Final Fantasy should become a new type of game or stay the same.
Square Enix released a Windows version of the game in 2014, but it received worse reviews than the original versions. PC Gamer’s Samuel Roberts criticized the game’s low resolution, limited graphical options, and slow frame rate. He was especially upset that Square Enix took so long to fix the issues, as a fan-made patch fixed many problems quickly. Polygon’s Michael McWhertor noted similar negative reactions from players. Square Enix released a patch in December 2014 that only added graphical features from the fan-made patch, with no performance improvements.
Final Fantasy XIII sold over 1 million copies on its first day in Japan. By the end of 2009, it had sold 1.7 million copies for the PlayStation 3 in Japan, and 1.9 million by the end of 2010. Square Enix expected high sales and shipped nearly 2 million copies at launch. The game sold over 1 million copies in North America during its release month. In March 2010, it became the fastest-selling game in the franchise’s history. By April 2010, sales for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in North America reached about 800,000 and 500,000 copies, respectively. According to Media Create, about a third of the game’s Japanese fans were female. As of July 2012, the game and its sequel, Final Fantasy XIII-2, sold a combined total of 9.7 million copies on consoles. As of January 2013, the game had sold 6.6 million copies worldwide. By September 2014, the Final Fantasy XIII series had sold over 11 million copies worldwide. As of 2017, the game had sold over 7 million copies worldwide on consoles. By April 2018, the Windows version had sold over 746,000 copies according to SteamSpy.
The game was voted the second best game of 2009 in a poll by Dengeki Online and the best game ever in a poll by Famitsu in 2010. It was nominated for Best RPG of the Year at the Spike Video Game Awards but lost to Mass Effect 2. The game won the "Future Division" award at the Japan Game Awards 2009 and the "Award for Excellence" at the Japan Game Awards 2010.
Sequels
A direct follow-up to Final Fantasy XIII, called Final Fantasy XIII-2, was created by Square Enix. The game expanded on the story and characters from the original while addressing feedback and criticism received about it. It was released in Japan in December 2011, followed by North America in January 2012 and Europe in February 2012. The game was available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Motomu Toriyama and Yoshinori Kitase returned to their roles as director and producer, respectively. The story begins three years after the events of Final Fantasy XIII, with Serah and a new character named Noel as the main heroes. XIII-2 is the fifth sequel in the Final Fantasy series, following Final Fantasy X-2, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. Most of the team from XIII-2 worked again to make a second sequel called Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, which was meant to conclude Lightning’s story and the Final Fantasy XIII universe. This game was released in Japan in November 2013 and in North America and Europe in February 2014. Before XIII-2 was announced, Motomu Toriyama mentioned in the Ultimania Omega companion book that he hoped to write a story where Lightning would end up happy, even though Square Enix had no plans to make a sequel at that time.