We Were All Wrong About Final Fantasy XIII

[@sodathejunker]

That’s a powerful “we” Please speak for yourself, I rode the trilogy from start to finish.

[@wastelanderone]

2 and 3 are better too!

[@vindifference]

Damn straight.

[@chasemcfarland2851]

Lightning Returns is probably my most replayed game. Not even Dark Cloud got that many ojtta me and I bought it on every release

[@BaFultz1990]

I did as well. Day one purchases and loves. All three.

[@spartan8696]

Thank you.

[@johnjsneed7591]

I'm gonna politely ask everyone in the industry to stop using the acronym "CP" for in game resources EDIT: Since I get grandstanding replies every other day, I'll make it clearer. The above comment is meant to be a humorous joke pointing out that something innocent and something really bad have the same acronym. It is not me campaigning for the removal of the acronym "CP" from all media.

[@DeadxBreadx]

Let's normalize crystal points and not child predators. I'm gonna politely and with force demand that people stop using children for porn.

[@benhagstrom2185]

HP, MP, AP, XP is all you need

[@iamthehobo]

Old meme I don't think it comes up anymore

[@davemarx7856]

"It's an old meme, sir, but it checks out."

[@johnjsneed7591]

@@davemarx7856 🤓

[@MisterMinotaur]

You could classify Vanille as the Ravager instead of another Saboteur because her every action, and inaction, unwillingly make things worse for everybody around her. She was an engine of destruction who chose to run away and/or hide things from others for fear of bringing further ruin upon them, as was her nature. This leaves Fang as the Saboteur, which is obvious from her purposeful and direct approach in dismantling the obstacles standing before Vanille and herself - infiltrating Cocoon and attacking Kujata at Euride Gorge, working with Raines to crush the Sanctum Fal'cie and destroy Dysley's status quo, becoming Ragnarok, etc. Vanille cannot be another Saboteur because she is not a willing participant in the misery she causes, whereas Fang consciously engages in it and eggs the others on in their rebellious campaign to veer off the path set before them by the machine gods and fight fate. Even in Lightning Returns we see Vanille's efforts bringing calamity and Fang stopping at nothing to get in her way. Ravager and Saboteur.

[@HopeEsthiem15]

That's a pretty thoughtful perspective I haven't considered

[@MisterMinotaur]

@@HopeEsthiem15 It takes a great essay to get the noggin' joggin'. I went through the trilogy again three years ago and was surprised at how carefully and lovingly constructed the characters and themes were. The setting, the sound design, everything about it is nothing short of a masterpiece, corridor-memes aside. Just like the metal version of the chocobo theme from 13-2, the trilogy as a whole had the misfortune of being ahead of its time and suffered for it. I'm glad people like Tetra are spreading the good word with critical analyses like this. Hopefully more people are willing to give it a second chance.

[@rabbyd542]

​XIII is my favorite game in the series since ​FFVI, period. I feel like IX, X and XII are extremely over hyped by comparison. I've played XIII about as much as I played VII when it came out. Nowadays I have no desire to play VII but I still play XIII maybe once a year or two. @@MisterMinotaur

[@Genasidal]

​@@rabbyd542XII, overhyped??? That's CRAZY. I've seen so much hatred towards XII over the years, almost incessantly the same, 3-point parroting scheme as what happens here with XIII. If anything, XII and XIII are VERY similar in the fact that both of them are incredibly misinterpreted and misunderstood games. That's not to say there aren't defenders of XII either, of course there are, I'm one of them. But the point still stands, XII is FAAAAAAR from an overhyped FF game. X will always be my favourite in the franchise and I doubt that'll ever get topped, even with how much I absolutely appreciate and love so many other entries, but overhyped? That just seems wrong to me. I honestly think X has one of the most accurate feedbacks from the community in the entire series of FF games, more than IX, VIII, all of the earlier 2D entries and heck, even VII. People seem to "get" X a lot more than they understand basically all of the others, for better or for worse with said games. Sometimes, it's completely putting things on a pedestal that were essentially theory crafting or made-up interpretations, or other times, it's unnecessarily bashing the hell out of the thing for a gut feeling people can't seem to properly articulate without resorting to super surface level critiques that hardly even make sense. Just look at how people treat XIII? I think for me? This all came to a close when I finally went ahead and played FFXV for the first time. I really enjoyed it and realise, that even if it was unfinished and all this other stuff on release, the passion was still there by the devs and what came out the other side was still brilliant to play. It's hardly a masterpiece of any sort, but damn, it wasn't all the absolute waves of shit I'd heard online, that's for sure. People are reactionary and we can place equally reactionary judgment on media all too often, but that's kinda why I like videos like these. It's like properly sitting down with a game and having a conversation with it, rather than not hearing it out. Hits all those pros and cons naturally, not with just reaction-bait style aggressive labelling. Alls this to say, in my incredibly convoluted, roundabout way, I don't think those games are "overrated", as much as FFXIII is entirely misunderstood and that it definitely deserves more appreciation for what it wanted to be, not what everyone thought it was trying to copy; that's the true flaw in people's logic to me. It was never "trying to be FFVII" and I always thought that argument made absolutely zero sense.

[@YamatoUndine]

One point I'm glad you mentioned in this has been the fact that the characters are actually acting normal per their stimuli. I wholeheartedly agree with this. While this is not my favorite final fantasy, my favorite ff character, Hope, is in it. The way people treat him about his own stimuli on his actions baffle me. Honestly, he acts more like his age than anyone else. He is 15. That age, I was dealing with a l9t and ended up picking up this game as an ff fan. I found kindred spirit in him and his growth helped me quite a bit myself.

[@Vanity0666]

I personally love Vanille, Fang, and Hope more than most characters in the franchise. They feel so well realized by the end of 13.

[@snazzydrew]

Hope is the heart of the game frfr.

[@Djungelurban]

If you think Hope was acting like a normal 15 year old, you were almost guaranteed absolutely insufferable at that age.

[@snazzydrew]

@@Djungelurban you definitely were too... Because all teenagers are extremely off and don't understand how to talk to people. If you think 15 year olds are suppose to be like adults in anyway, then you're probably an insufferable adult.

[@Djungelurban]

@@snazzydrew Hope has the emotional maturity of a 6 year old, my partner's 8 year old niece is way more level headed and reasonable than him. There's a happy middle ground between being an adult and Hope (or more like an ocean of emotional maturity) and vast majority of teenagers are within that range. Hope is a self-centered brat, if he was a sociopath and in a position of power, he'd literally be Joffrey Baratheon.

[@ak47dragunov]

Just watching all the footage, it's astounding how good this game still looks. As good if not better than many games coming out today

[@Vanity0666]

The linearity of the game allowed for extremely highly detailed environments, 13-2 still looks pretty good but the game chugs because it's a lot more open and Lightning Returns chugs even harder because the engine is not capable of supporting the environments despite their incredibly low level of detail for the time.

[@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to]

The game has you looking at the ground most of the time. I challenge you to play without the minimap and see what you think.

[@BlueBoboDoo100]

Especially from an era of games that has overall aged pretty poorly, visually. Most PS3/360-era games are brown-grey, and what looked "realistic" at the time now just looks ugly and same-y. The FF games from this time still look fantastic.

[@N.G.H.]

Pro tips: the auto battle commands puts in all the optimal battle commands depending on the targets. Meaning you and your A.I. controlled party might accidentally heal the enemies if they're using random attacks. To prevent this, LIBRA EVERYTHING. Libra and Librascope are your best friends. Unlocking weakness and knowledge on enemies will allow auto battle and party members to perform optimal actions and not throw out random stuff.

[@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to]

The combat system is hot garbage.

[@splitprune]

@@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to hey now

[@Spootington]

Is it just me or did the franchise go into a tailspin after the merger with Enix?

[@splitprune]

@@Spootington not just you, but i definitely don't think it's the popular opinion unless you're a narrow-minded contrarian, then i think it might be the holy grail of spicy gaming takes amongst your gang

[@Spootington]

@@splitprune Both companies were doing fairly well for themselves beforehand. I actually think Enix benefited more - SO3 was really something, 4 was good but had a dumbly named mc, heard V is dreck but VI is worth.

[@ObliviKeeper97]

My uncle gave me this game because he liked it, and I let everyone tell me how bad it was until my boyfriend made me play through the entire trilogy. 13's story is AMAZING

[@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to]

It's about as good as Scarlet Nexus and Code Vein

[@ChocolatierRob]

My personal theory on the L'Cie 'focus' is that there simply isn't one. I think what happens is that whatever fragmented vision they are shown is them seeing a glimpse of their own future and they are manipulated by the Fal'Cie into believing that this is instead a purpose given to them and that whether they become Cieth or turn to crystal is more to do with their own state of mind. If they think they have failed or have become doomed to fail then they'll become Cieth, if they think they have succeeded or reach a level of personal satisfaction then they turn to crystal. It is the Fal'Cie that muddy the water about what is actually happening in order to manipulate the L'Cie due to not wanting their human weapons to realise just how much free will they retain. The reason that the 'focus' of a L'Cie is so fragmented and vague is that it is not actually what it is claimed to be. As an example - when Serah turned to crystal Snow claimed 1 purpose for her focus and Barthandy later claimed another but their is no proof to either and it is just as possible that it was simply a result of her mental state as her fiancee and sister both appeared together to save her when she was lost and alone. With the vagueness of everything about being a L'Cie it is relatively simple to confuse the truth and create a fiction about how it works. Vanille and Fang are/were fated to become Ragnarok, it is/was in their future, but this does not mean they are fated to do what Barthandelus says they are. He is just doing his best to make them _think_ that they are. This is my head canon at least... Probably influenced by the Legacy of Kain series where such manipulations are all aimed at making those with free will not realise that they have it.

[@EZog58]

This definitely isn't an impossibility and I like the way you are thinking with this. There are 2 times in the plot, though, that nay contradict this. The first is that Fang and Vanille turned into crystal after blowing a hole in Cocoon - by the way both of them act, as they are not bloodthirsty mass-murderers, I doubt they were extremely satisfied with themselves when their joint Ragnarok did that. The second is that the whole party turns to crystal after defeating Orphan, and the only ones who are really at peace with that result are Fang and Vanille. I doubt the rest if the party feels very happy at the thought that their 2 friends just sacrificed themselves to save them and all of Cocoon and Pulse. That all said, I completely agree that free will and choice are major aspects of the story. Even if the focus puts a L'cie on a leash, it is a much longer leash than the Fal'cie let them believe. The fact that L'Cie are also given the power to summon Espers, which the Fal'Cie notably can't do, definitely leads me to believe that the power ceiling of a L'Cie is greater than most Fal, and they are actually afraid of letting their dogs realize how much freedom and power they truly have. At the very least, I don't think a Fal'cie can just snap its fingers and crystallize or Cieth a L'Cie, that's all on the L'Cie and their own brand growth/mental state.

[@ChocolatierRob]

@@EZog58 Thank you. One thing I forgot to mention in that comment was that the Fal'Cie clearly have _some_ influence over when a L'Cie reaches the end of their time, perhaps they can speed or slow it. And in the case of the subject becoming Crystal they seem to be able to restart the process again (unlike if they turned Cieth) but that their control over both these processes and the actions of the L'Cie in general is a lot weaker than they allow the humans to believe.

[@Vanity0666]

The Eidolons are directly linked to that concept, Cieth are people who have given up their humanity and become husks for one reason or another, but Fal'Cie do retain the ability to transform L'cie into Cieths at will, which is further explored in 13-2. When the L'cie are about to give in, their Eidolon appears to challenge them and if they overcome they gain a new lease on life as a result.

[@666Kaca]

Only raziel has free will in legacy of kain

[@jank0pf]

It took time and a decade of exhausting open world games fatigue but people finally understand and started to appreciate XIII’s.

[@666Kaca]

FFX is also a linear game yet considered one of the best in the franchise. Both games explained linearity thru story, in X you are doing the pilgrimage, in XIII youre running from the government

[@bigkahuna7581]

I wanted to like this game but man I just could not get into it at all

[@MmeCShadow]

The issue is yhe pacing. X breaks up the hallways by having you visit towns and do cloister trials. You're also mostly free to backtrack at your leisure, and there are a few minigames for variety. Plus, most importantly, the sphere grid gives you profundity control over your party growth, especially in the International/HD version. XIII is a straight shot in both exploration and character growth. You can never go backward, never re-explore an area, and with two exceptions the whole game is linear dungeons. If you enjoy thr combat you can't even freely engage with it because of how enemies spawn on the overworld, although there's little incentive to do so anyway because the game caps your crystarium level every chapter. Being linear isn't inherently a bd thing-- my first RPG was Grandia, where the storyline frequently resulted in points of no return as it propelled you forward. But the pacing really presents a high hurdle for XIII, made worse if you don't click with the characters (which are the focus of yhe storytelling, so if you don't care about them, the gameplay emergence simply can't do the heavy lifting to carry you to the end.) I say this as somebody who really WANTS to like XIII, its themes hit all the right buttons for me and I didn't hate my experience, but it is flawed on a number of fundamental levels that can make it frustrating to engage with.

[@Brutalcel]

The best thing about FF13 is being linear iMO

[@NoneofYourBusiness667]

@@MmeCShadow Well said.

[@Junosensei]

6:10 - In the example you gave about the man saying he's not a l'cie, the alternative _isn't_ him describing the l'cie on screenーit is the story _showing or hinting to us_ what a l'cie is or what makes a l'cie scary, thus indicating why the boy is scared. The guideline often cited is "show, don't tell". Of course, XIII eventually does that. People forget that this opening is meant as a narrative hook, to get the audience to ask those very questions, like "what is a l'cie?" or "why is this man saying he's not one?", etc. I do think the game's narrative has an execution problem regarding how much important info is relegated to its menu lore book. Of course, if you stay up-to-date with it, like reading, and are invested in the story the game is trying to tell, the game is probably one of the most compelling FF stories ever told (imo). But if you find any of these things hard, uninteresting, or perhaps were ignorant that you were supposed to be reading them, I think it's completely valid to find the overall game's narrative more lacking.

[@DuskoftheTwilight]

Yea, the alternative isn't to have Sazh exposit about l'cie in that moment, it's to establish what a l'cie is (or at least, that a l'cie is something ordinary people would be scared of) beforehand. Like, maybe have a news broadcast for a moment on the train before hell breaks loose where the term is mentioned.

[@dewot1256]

​@@DuskoftheTwilightThat wouldn't be any better than what's in the actual game. Either the newscaster gives the exact same information that Sazh does in this scene - L'cie bad, scary, possibly on this train - or he gives a lecture on what a L'cie is to a train full of people who already know what it is, the same as if our newscasters began every election update this year by explaining what a "president" was in detail.

[@Global.YouTube]

Lightning was always fated to meet bunivelze. The 1st game is just the first prophecy of the return of bunivelze

[@therealflamingfighter]

As someone who has multiple XIII themed tattoos, it's actually really gratifying to see someone that basically gets this entry in a pretty similar way that I do and appreciates this game for the Good and the Messy. There's so much to love on this game, a lot of heart clearly went into this game despite its troubled development and it always sat wrong with me how the game often has a lot of detractors repeating criticisms of the game that are actually factually untrue. Personal point of annoyance has been a bit of the music. The OST can be really incredible but it relies really heavily on motifs in a lot of it's tracks. The main melody of "Promise" features a lot and echoes around a lot of games areas. "Blinded by Light"s beats are repeated in a lot of basic tension tracks and Hope's theme feels universally applied to a lot of the more emotional scenes. It's likely the reason why the OST kinda blends together for myself, you, and a lot of others. Despite the sequel's flaws, I will give it to that game that it has a lot more track diversity that keeps the soundscape fresh (even if there is a lot of motif repetition in that as well). Another bit I really like is how the mechanics of progressing through the Archlyte Steppe and surrounding areas really reinforces the theme of Pulse. You are at the bottom of the food chain fighting for survival as you start off fighting easy plant-life, moving onto small wolves, needing to take advantage of 3-way fights to get the upper hand, to fighting behemoths and monstrosities unaided. I think it really does convey the feeling of rising to the top in a fight for survival in a pretty organic way.

[@SemekiIzuio]

I f love Pulse! The game finally leaves you alone and on you're own, you can progress at youre own pace and come across challenges that can really kill you❤

[@strawintogold]

But now I gotta know what tattoos you have. 😭 I really hope to get a brand one day, Blazefire Saber, Overture and Crimson Blitz, and Mog and a chocobo.

[@chromaticchrome3746]

The rise to power on pulse is also reinforced by how the stat progression starts to baloon about that point. The party starts to rise from the realm of mortal soldiers and simple wildlife to epic monsters of legend and finally the settings demigods. In other words, they stop simply surviving and begin thriving.

[@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to]

Tell you have a very low IQ without telling me you have a very low IQ

[@irudexap]

What tattoos are they? Like l’cie?

[@nostrum6410]

13 needed to keep the programmable characters from 12, at least some part of it, and then allowing bigger parties

[@666Kaca]

Not all of us. I liked ff13 a lot. The graphics were fantastic and hold up to this day, the character design(especially female ones) was very kpop-ish, fang was absolutely gorgeous, voice acting(only played japanese) was good, the combat system could have used some improvements but it basically served as a template for ff7 remake. I also think its the most difficult main entry in the franchise which was a pleasant surprise Edit after watching the entire thing: phenomenal video, showed me a few things i didnt know such as battle banter being affected by story, hope you keep making vids like these because you have earned my sub

[@N.G.H.]

One thing the game doesn't teach you and you'll just have to notice it while playing, is that debuff spells have a much higher chance of sticking to targets the higher their stagger percentage is, especially if they're broken/staggered. Which is why Ravagers/Blasters and Saboteurs/Jammers are a match made in heaven. Vanille's Marlboro wand (evolves from a Belladonna wand) is one of the best weapons in the game with its unique properties for higher chances of debuffs sticking so that you waste less time coughing and farting on enemies.

[@Gaijin_Jhin]

Just to add to Vanille and Fang, They are the only 2 characters who learn " Faithra " ( increasing Magic by 80% ) and " Bravera " ( increasing Strength by 80% ) which are DOUBLE of the standard Faith and Bravery ( raises Magic/Strength by 40% ) Both also are the only ones that learn " Protectra " ( 50% physical damage resistance ) Compare to its counter part ( 25% )

[@elolawynladriel]

I don't think auto-battle is really a problem. I finished the game a couple of times and i really like the battle system a lot. I actually think they made it worse in XIII-2. Selecting commands manually is like starcraft korean level of skill given the amount of time, maybe not at the start but definitely later when you have access to many commands. I consider auto-battle a tool to streamline the fight. The real meat is in selecting the right paradigm shift at any given time to make the fight as efficient and fast as possible.

[@pilzi875]

This is 100% true. At high level it's mostly impossible to actually select the right attacks in most situations without losing time. It should be noted that the Japanese version in fact never calls it "Auto" at all. The gameplay is about timing, planning and switching paradigms and reacting. It's far too fast to select individual attacks.

[@mbrillon765]

​@@pilzi875What is it called in the Japanese version?

[@D_3_]

@@mbrillon765 追撃（ついげき / tsuigeki）translates to pursuit

[@nesoukkefka1741]

​@@pilzi875It's very possible actually to do it manually, and one thing to help that the game never tells you is if you press right on the Ability command, you can select "Repeat" which as the name imply automatically pick the chain of command you have previously use, which is incredibly usefull for repeating attack chain and even for buff as you can repeat the chain but change target to buff your party members one by one.

[@Miraihi]

Gambits from FFXII was also the contentious feature in the same way. Probably FFXIII just expanded the idea of gambits to become the main way to interact with the combat system.

[@TeamAPS]

Absolutely the best video essay on FFXIII on KZbin. This was actually my first Final Fantasy game and I love it to bits. I didn't think anyone else thought about this game and every aspect of it as much as I have, but I'm happy to be proven wrong. Great analysis and takeaways. Here's to a hopeful re-release of this game on PS5 and Xbox, even just with 4K/60fps options and a few quality of life improvements. Fingers crossed!

[@TNFeaRStudios]

Big fan of your content. Awesome to see you love Final Fantasy just as much too!

[@TheRogBG]

The only reason you think it's the best is because this dude glazes it hardcore. Games trash buddy

[@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to]

I challenge you to play it with the minimap turned off. This game is complete trash.

[@TheRogBG]

@@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to So the game is trash because you dont like mini maps? Im not going to do that because theres no reason to do that.

[@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to]

@@TheRogBG the point is that the camera is shit and you can't see anything, so you must rely on the minimap. The battel system is dogwater, the story sucks, and the characters are forgettable. There is nothing good about Final Fantasy Transformers.

[@theycallmejodamo]

Vanille being described as quiet when she’s making the sexy fun time noises every time she moves tickled me. I knew what you meant but still 🤣🤣

[@Tarrot]

You missed an important thing with the accessories system: Equiping similar accessories, or accessories in a set, can yield secondary bonuses (like physical wall +5 or +10). This actually showed up in your video while you were mixing and matching accessories. As an example of how useful this can be: In the section in Palenpoem where you control Snow and Hope, there is a regular enemy that can one-shot Hope with an attack that deals a ton of small hits. Preach in his recent playthrough had to deal with this and kept getting destroyed. Putting the Physical Wall ability on by mix/matching accessories made it much more tolerable for Hope to survive this ability.

[@Corrico95]

This was my first Final Fantasy game! I stopped the first time I played it in chapter 1 because I didn’t understand what was going on at all, but went back to it and learned what was going on as I played and fell in love with this game. Love Lightning and am sad this game and its sequels have a negative reputation, I liked the whole trilogy and love the lore and backstory of this world, it feels very rich which i appreciate as someone who loves story

[@shizuwolf]

While FF XIII isn’t my favorite game in the series, I don’t think it deserves the hate. A lot of the complaints I’ve heard could also be applied to other JRPGs. Especially in the FF series. “It’s too linear!” So is FF X, but no one complained about that. Yes, you don’t get a lot of freedom to explore different towns like in X, but it’s like you pointed out: it makes sense with the narrative. Hell, even when you were a fugitive in FF X, no one really treated you like it, so it didn’t have much weight to it. “The characters are annoying” I’ve heard similar complaints about VIII and XII, but those got ported to modern consoles. “The combat sucks!” It’s not that different from the combat that’s been around since FF IV. Auto play? Don’t like it, then don’t use it

[@AlexanderMartinez-kd7cz]

half of the reason people hate 13 is because it's defenders use these terrible talking points. you debunk your own comparison with 10, without even mentioning the airship or the arena. you don't even defend the characters, just say 8 and 12 have dumb characters too. you argue you can just not use autoplay when 2/3rds of the party are permanently AI. these things make 13 fans look delusional.

[@YouCanCallMeIz]

@@AlexanderMartinez-kd7cz It's all just what-about-ism, but I think the point OP is trying to make is that XIII is almost unnecessarily turned into a sacrificial blacksheep of "this sucked" the same way XIV 1.0 is made one, to the point of excess.

[@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to]

I just spent the past 6 hours trying to defeat that stupid gunship boss in Palumpolum. The fight where I finally beat it took more than 25 minutes. I nearly switched to Easy mode. This game is HORRIBLE!

[@shizuwolf]

@@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to it's better than FFX

[@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to]

@@shizuwolf 🤣🤣In an alternate reality

[@MarqMervin]

Duuuude, I absolutely LOVED this video essay! (Granted, I can't include myself in the "We" because after I finished XIII, I was preaching the gospel LOL). There's sooooo much good stuff you touched on! I'm so glad you purposely took time to discuss the combat, but specifically Sazh's storyline. Though I'm not a father, I'm a teacher and big brother/big cousin. On initial playthrough, I couldn't stand him. But after I played the game a second time (and to completion), I *really* appreciated Sazh's character arc. He's a 40yo widowed father who lost the one thing that kept him going. He bumbles through the beginning and, rightfully so, because he's trying to keep up with the teens/young adults (especially amidst their angst). Yet, he ends up developing a lot of love for the crew (it helped me appreciate the narrative decisions to have Sazh and Vanille being paired together). In that lens, I really appreciated the decision to keep things linear, explore character progression through parity, and truly dive deep into healing strained relationships. Light learning how to be a big sister and to lean on others through Hope (aptly named), Hope needing guidance and working through his rightful resentment with Snow, who's so optimistic that he doesn't quite grasp the impact of his actions on others. (I'd also argue Hope was exploring his own sense of boyhood to manhood, especially with his relationships w/ Snow, his dad, and being granted Alexander). Sazh unintentionally filling his longing for Dahj and stability while with Vanille, while she's grappling with hiding the truth of her actions to someone who's in deep pain. You gave me more insight on Fang, as I wasn't the biggest fan of her initially. The combat is chef's kiss. I'm a fighting game player, so the combat reminded me of a fighting game but also the stocks from Xenosaga 2. Once I made that correlation, I sunk HOURS into combat just to explore strategies. A buddy of mine worded it perfectly for when I first played XIII - "I see why you like it! It's a working man's Final Fantasy!" I laughed, but it's true. Each boot up, you get a good recap of what's happening in the game. And because I enjoy reading (and, like you, am not the biggest fan of unnecessary grinding), I would read through the Datalog, play after work, and never felt too lost in the story since it was straightforward. Plus, I loved X, so the linearity didn't bother me at all. In truth, I think it truly set the tone for the current games, particularly the FF7-Rs. I can ramble all day about my love for XIII, but this video was so wonderful and truly, THANK YOU for all of your work on this! Truly looking forward to supporting your channel!

[@Tetramorre]

Glad you enjoyed it! Great comment too

[@LethinGabbins]

I never got into the combat system. I remember disliking never controlling the ai sidekicks and that it felt like the whole game was a tutorial thill the final chapter where it finally got good. And then it was over. Thanks for putting this together, definitely gave me a better perspective on what the guys were trying to acheive with the story and combat and where I went wrong with how I approached combat in ffxiii.

[@N.G.H.]

Pro tip: always pair a Ravager/Blaster with a Saboteur/Jammer. Debuffing spells slow the rate at which the stagger bar drops while Rav/Blasters kick it up and break through while they're debuffed and opened up. Third party members would be like Sazh handing out Haste and buffs at the beginning of battle so that your party can run circles around the enemies all yoked up.

[@michaelkarlsson5966]

It warms my heart that more people than me like the FFXIII series. Thank you :)

[@CeeC_CeeC]

You’re not alone. I love FF13 to death, especially the first game. I always go back to it.

[@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to]

It's sad to hear so many people like this trash. It just means developers won't learn from this garbage and instead will think it's good. . There's a reason it's only $6

[@CeeC_CeeC]

@@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to Grow a pair.

[@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to]

@@CeeC_CeeC Spoken like a true 10 year old

[@CeeC_CeeC]

@@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to sure, princess...

[@UncleStonie]

Always loved this game. As an orchestra nerd growing up I fell in love with all of the arrangements first.

[@stanm4410]

I'm sure this comment section will be full of healthy respect for everyones' opinions. As has always been the case for the many discussion of this game.

[@Cookiechip3]

I was like 11 when my dad pulled out this game. It was my first Final Fantasy and I absolutly loved it. Every character, every moment, yes even the combat system was perfect for me. Then I played FF10 and 7 and my perspective changed a lot. I started hating it for mainstream reasons and watched many videos of people complaining. As I grew older I was like: "Wait a minute: I like this game, why do I say I hate it?" Now at the age of 26 I had a long talk with my dad about that game and he said he loves this game because he still sees the little girl sitting next to him on the couch after work and laughing, crying and even cursing over this game after dying the 4th time on "one of the big dinosaurs" as I called them. How proud I were when my dad defeated the game and how I felt even more proud helping him (doing the bare minimum leveling). And I remember how I was excited when my dad came home after work. How I loved sitting next to him on the couch, the controller in my hand and smiling over my two ears. Even now I still do this with my dad, but FF13 is one of my earliest memories doing that with him. This game will always hold a special place in my heart

[@groudonvert7286]

About Hope and Vanille side cutscene, Vanille mentions it in the first chapter of the game. But you can completely miss what she meant if you don't watch the cutscene in Yaschas Massives.

[@blake9944]

this has been a great companion video during my playthrough, thanks for all the work put in to this :)

[@groudonvert7286]

A few Bosses that have interesting mechanics that you didn't talk about : - Aster Protoflorian is the classical changing weaknesses Boss. Except that Lightning doesn't have access to Blizzard and Hope doesn't have Bar-Thunder and Bar-Water. - Dahaka can also change element resistances (and debuffs immunities) with its different storms... who also triggers Dahaka to use -ga spells (Aeroga can be considered as a game over nothing less xD ). This is canceled when Dahaka is staggered (down Dahaka has his own stats). - The second fight against Barthandelus can be tricky if you're underdevelopped and/or play way too defensively. Barthandelus casts Doom after 20 minutes (Cid Raines, every Bart fights and Attacus cast Doom after 20 minutes, Vercingetorix and the first Orphan after 30 minutes). So you have a timelimit for all of this fights. - Orphan 1 has 3 phases with different patterns and attacks. The most annoying one is Progenitorial Wrath who has 50% chance to one-shot the target. Orphan also has the most convulated AI in the game (for example, Progenitorial Wrath targets the Medic or Sentinel in the group during Consumate Light, the target is random during Extreme Opposite and most importantly doesn't care at all of the Provoke/Challenge). You're lucky to have never seen that, Orphan is one of the most unfair Final Boss in the series.

[@knukls928]

Just a correction on Steelguard: It has a ramping damage resistance which makes it really good against attacks that have multiple hits, like guns. The resistance resets when the character drops the stance, but with good timing against something that goes full auto you can get full damage immunity for the rest of the duration.

[@firebat2120]

I think the combat system is the reason why I never finished this game back when it was released. It was just really new to me, and my fish brain did not get it then.

[@Vagrant7z]

The game did an ok job of explaining the combat system but did so in an extremely slow manner which left a horrible first impression, not to mention you spend the majority of the game's story with just two active party members and well, autobattle existing. I think the combat is at its peak when you unlock its full potential in chapter 10.

[@One.Zero.One101]

Sadly a common problem with many RPGs, even the Western ones. You spend such a long time with normal attack as your only option. It makes the tutorial and first act such a slog. That's why I appreciate games that start you with magic spells and physical combat skills. If I remember correctly FF 13-2 fixed that by making Serah a Ravager from the start.

[@duranmclemore8667]

I think the main thing with the "using terms the viewer doesn't understand" is just with how similar l'Cie and Fal'Cie are. I get why that's the naming convention symbolically but I know it confused me for several hours

[@zombiesnakes]

Honestly this is one of my favorites and watching this video was amazing. Thanks so much for putting it together.

[@cambiant3]

This is just a great video! I loved how you chose to go with the flow of the story, because that's exactly one of the strongest elements of the game to me

[@djblaklite]

13 was the first FF I ever finished, despite loving 8 and 10 beforehand. it will always have a special place in my heart. excellent video and i hope you cover the other 2 games ^_^ this makes me want to platinum the steam version lol

[@SaltedMallows]

Once again I have to say "You mean, You/Yall were wrong about FF13 and or FF7 Advent Childen" Because I was all about it back in the day and tried to tell people how they missed the point on it. It's the same everytime, gotta let people sit on something for long enough until they see it differently. Wake me up when "We Were Wrong About: Final Fantasy Spirits Within" bro.

[@Toksyuryel]

I remember enjoying Spirits Within back when it came out, but I was also a child. I should watch it again sometime to see if it was actually good or if everyone who hates it is right.

[@vhat2]

It was an amazing analysis, keep up the good work, (no pressure, but would love to see xiii-2 and lightning returns analysis)

[@Whysday]

I'll go as far as to say the FFXIII era was the last time it actually felt like Final Fantasy. Love or loathe FFXIII, it was its own thing not trying to chase after any other trend. It had a complementary blend of soundtrack and visual aesthetic that created that intangible, magical feeling that should be present when playing a Final Fantasy. The paradigm system had some wonderful depth once you got into it too.

[@chromaticchrome3746]

At 1:19:47 , when fighting the sky fortress, Lightning actually uses her Gunblade as a gun only when manually using the Attack command as a Commando, while the Auto Battle AI defaults to Ruin at that range (especially as with normal stat progression, magic and physical power are about even). This is the only time in the game she does that as far as I can tell. It's an insanely fast animation, with some STR accessoires it pushes her DPS so hard that this became the default strat in the Speedrun.

[@s0nyuhshigay]

This game is one of my favorites for a reason. Thank you for pointing out so many amazing things about it that I didn't even realize while playing

[@cutelittlemuffinsahles8330]

I still can’t believe that the voice of hope is also phineas’s voice😂

[@Pand-Art]

This was my first FF and at the time I remember being confused with the plot as well as the overwhelming number of abilities towards the later stages of the game. However, it was pretty rewarding to finally understand the full potential of the paradigm system,summons and mechanics of the ATB system to be able to finally take down the big turtles/Sha Long Gui in the Gran Pulse area (if I remember correctly, entering the second phase of the summon instantly dropped the turtles leaving enough of an opener to debuff/buff and get a stagger). Seeing Fang hit 999,999 with a finishing highwind was so satisfying imo

[@cartridgeglitch7987]

XIII was amazing, I just wanted a little bit more exploration. If we compare it to previous Final Fantasy games, you'd expect more of a world to explore, but the game wanted to focus more on graphical progression, refined gameplay mechanics, and a solid (if spread out) story. Nowadays in an environment of countless open world games, the once dreaded "hallways" seem like a breath of fresh air, and I'm happy to revisit these games every few years just to be impressed at how well it holds up to this day.

[@hcook1023]

A 15 year old game 2 console generations ago and most of the visuals still hold up well

[@paradigmshift470]

1. I love how you talk about the voice lines in combat. I’ve seen so many analysis videos for 13 and you may be the only person to point those out. 2. I love how you flat out say Fang and Vanille are partners. 3. I love how your southern accent sometimes slips with certain words haha

[@paradigmshift470]

The ending of 13 is so underrated. The way Barthandelus manipulated EVERYONE. Even the people who know they’re being manipulated have no choice but to participate.

[@yashinebrown9179]

I was in the minority of people that thought 13 was great from start to finish.

[@badassoverlordzetta]

FF13 is to the FF series what Fire Emblem Engage is to the Fire Emblem series, a culmination of many iterations of rpg mechanics and narrative elements taken to what their developers hoped would be their greatest form while throwing in a heaping pile of references to as many of their previous titles as possible while doing so. It addresses the chief complaints of it's near predecessors 10 (by becoming more fast paced) and 12 (by moving away from the gambit system that could eliminate player inputs entirely if done correctly) while setting the ground work for the systems that would be used in 7R. As you said, it's a very good game, definitely a lot better than it's typically given credit for both on a mechanical and narrative level. Full of flaws, much like it's cast of characters, but profoundly earnest in its delivery. I would venture a guess that people who grew up with 13 as their intro to JRPGs have not been done any kind of disservice, and will probably find themselves just as video game literate as those who grew up with the earliest FF games.

[@AKABoondock19]

lol thats absolute bullshit. ff13 takes a messy wet shit on all the fans who loved the series from the its beginning.

[@iantaakalla8180]

FF13 would be more like Fates. Supposed adherence to stuff past and better story, only to realize the story in only one aspect is better and the gameplay is distinct within the series, and still correctly hated for a few fatal flaws despite warming opinion based on hating current trends.

[@bub5264]

Calling suicide the ultimate act of running away is crazy

[@codywages7353]

The people who complain about how the story is delivered really confuse me. Like yeah it could've been a little more fleshed out, but they pepper the terms so perfectly to where it leaves you curious and wondering what it is. That's exactly how you get people engaged with a story. Like if you played this game and still don't know what a fal'cie and l'cie is then like...were you even paying attention??

[@SemekiIzuio]

The gameplay only scrapes the surface. Theres alot more depth going into it once you sit through the Data log. Sure it isnt necessary as the game does the minimum to get to its points across but then it gets a bit more complex the more you follow through the trilogy. Also there were quite of things going on all at once, many opposing forces switching on what or who exactly is our enemy. It takes more than one playthrough to understand imo.

[@dustinhatfield8373]

Just finished listening, fantastic video! It always intrigued me that people criticized this game for being a hallway simulator but most people adore FFX when it has the exact same level design in favor of a strong narrative. Ironically at the end you said this game is your personal FF7 and wished they'd return and make another game like this. Well my friend you'll be happy to know the team behind FF7 Remake is the same team that made 13 and they implemented the same stagger system with vast improvements that addressed all the issues this game had!

[@lieutenantpepper2734]

To be honest this game has very charming visuals, immersive music, so much potential untapped. My opinion overall of the game did not change. It is still a corridor simulator, too linear. Fighting every enemy you encounter feels like a grind fest. I think of it was a movie adaptation it would be great.

[@straypaper]

The only thing I hate about the trilogy is how it uses terms we have no connotations to in real life. In FF7 or FF8 we have terrorists, soldiers, cadets, and academy. Those things exist in real life. We don't need to pause the game and read some booklets to understand the tone of the scene. I fucking hate it when medias snob up and jams up crucial terms on our face and makes it feels like we're the dumbass for not understanding the term. The Ivalice games (including Tactics series too, but they at least have oblivious protags that warrants explanations by the other characters as soon as the term is brought up) also do these things often. There are ways to introduce new terms. FF7 brings up materias as tools made from Mako initially, and they only expand to be important as we learn how they're made. Mako was also explained as somewhat like nuclear (as hinted by the facilities being called reactors). THAT is a good way to introduce terms in your worldbuilding. Why the fuck should I care wtf is a l'Cie or fal'Cie if the characters don't even bother explaining it to me?

[@AverageBananas12]

1:19:53 one thing I learned while on a replay of the game is that Lighting and even Fang do in fact have access to her physical attacks. she uses her gun while Fang throws her spear but for some reason the game defaults to magic

[@hellohello-yi8yr]

Platinumed 13, 13-2, lighting returns. Always loved these games

[@shaunerobles903]

I personally always loved final fantasy XIII when it came out I played it start to finish both me and my brother used it as a competition to see who can always get further which was me because little brother always win. But over the years I fell more and more in love with the game I bought it when I still had my PS3 and I own two different copies of it I also bought it on my Xbox series s because I couldn't give it up I still play it till this day

[@saintsaudade5181]

I played this game when it came out and hearing people constantly say 'It's bad." and "It's linear." always had me question if they understood the story or the fact all the FF games are linear. It's just how much of freedom you have to explore. This game didn't need any massive worlds to explore it was all about the story even if certain parts seemed rushed to push you through the story like with Hope's eidolon battle. I still play it only cause I love the intricate battle system because it has the most depth of any battle system in a FF game. Learning it's intricacies and quirks really makes you feel accomplished when you take on the super difficult fights and overcome them with either a team change, paradigm stategy or just setting up different weapons and accessories to make it manageable. I still love and adore 13-2 when most of my friends hate it and it'll still be my favorite game to play

[@MrShahrozzz]

This was my first FF so it'll always be special ❤️ It's also the reason I've played every other FF since 👌🏼

[@salvopippo2]

Thank you for all of this. I am not a long videos type of person, but I really enjoyed this. You brought some nostalgia back and made me take out my PS3 again. Looking forward for more content on this saga!

[@strawintogold]

I know this is weird, but this video made me cry. This game has flaws, but this story - these characters - are something so special and I’m just … really glad there’s people out there who see that. Each of the characters resonated with me so much and it gets tiring hearing that they were terrible or had no character development (what?!), or that I’m not a “real Final Fantasy fan” - whatever tf that means - because this game is my favorite. Thank you for loving this game as much as I do.

[@TundraCH]

My first final fantasy game made me a permanent fan of the franchise

[@edwardnowakowski5990]

Xiii was the first game that I followed before release. I adored X, and to this day XII handled AI party members better than any RPG I’d ever played. From what I remember, the things that bothered me most were 1. Game over if party leader dies, so during tough fights I felt incentivized to play sentinel more often than I’d like. Between that and orphan having insta death attacks, it felt like a poor design decision. 2. The story ending didn’t make sense to me at the time, from what I recall, we destroyed orphan just like how the Fal’cie wanted us to do, and this whole game about fighting fate is resolved by…. Following the fate that’s decided for you. It just works out because…. Reasons….. It’d be like if in FFX you kill sin forever by having yuna do the final summoning, but for some reason, yu yeavon doesn’t possess it and the cycle ends

[@arisumilk]

Thanks for this video This game is insanely important for me and it makes me happy to see people finally giving it a try after all that time and actually liking/having fun with it

[@jpurser55]

I know FINAL FANTASY 13 isn't everyone's favorite, but its my FINAL FANTASY.

[@happy14945]

The boss at 1:01:30 is actually the hardest so far cause it forces you to make a paradigm yourself to beat. It took me ages to find this out cause the game never tells you this yourself. Up to this point i allways fought with the presets, which were pretty bad....

[@Kwstr42]

i platinumed all 3 games before it was cool lol

[@christianboi7690]

I was never sure why FF13 felt weird to me, but when you mentioned the criticism that there’s never a village or hub area like that it made me realize. There’s never really any meaningful downtime as far as I can remember. We just go from crazy situations to crazy situation and never really calm down. It was kind of hard for me to care about the revelations in the story when we never really got the chance to slow down and consolidate everything. I still enjoyed the story, but I feel like things got really convoluted and they had a lot of story to work through and introduce us to and didn’t give us downtime enough for us to digest any of it. I still had a good time. I thoroughly enjoyed my play through. I just felt a little confused the whole time and like I wasn’t 100% invested in any of the character aside from Hope since he seemed to have the least baggage I had to digest and the simplest character arc. Maybe that’s just because I was a kid and it was hard for me to follow all the complicated plot points. The other FF7 games had complicated world and systems, but that was stuff to uncover in the background instead of Key components in multiple ways that I have to put in the work to uncover. I’ve always liked the idea of a relatively simple to grasp world with complicated characters and motivations. FF13 had some good character writing and moments, but my smooth brain had trouble following why things were happening the way they were. Plus, I’m not a big fan of the combat system. It felt like a watered down version of Tales of Xillia’s combat were you chose an action and waited for it to be carried out. I like turn based RPGs and I like real time strategy RPGs, but mixing them made me feel like a more passive observer than the one in control. I’m telling the character what to do, and I just gotta wait for them to follow the instructions while they run around the map and junk. FF7 remake had a cool idea with real time combat and a ATP bar that you charge up to perform the magic and more heavy hitting attacks. I have my own problems with that game, but I won’t go into it. Basically the combat felt a bit like a drag and the world as a bit too complicated for my taste, but the atmosphere and characters kept me playing till the end and I really did love the ending sequence with My Hands playing in the background, even if I was confused about what was going on. I still felt the emotions that were being conveyed and the stakes that the characters were under. I remember buying and playing the sequel, but it was even more confusing with the time skip and the time travel and all that weird stuff. The monster collection mechanic made me excited, but I just dropped it out of nowhere one day and never picked it up again. I want to give it another chance now that I’m older, but it feels like a huge time investment when I’m pretty sure I still won’t find the combat that exciting. Maybe if I follow a comprehensive play-through so I can get that sense of completion and have a guide to ferry me through any snags that I might otherwise encounter.

[@kap1618]

My issue with 13 was that it was made during a time when Square was really insecure about their games. Anti jrpg sentiment was at its peak, and they made this game out of a fear of not being "mainstream."

[@Jackbarrany]

There’s a technical term for gameplay and story dissonance: ludonarrative dissonance. So a harmony between the two would be “ludonarrative resonance”.

[@shunkun8668]

Finally a good video about ff13. Thank you so much

[@shunkun8668]

Finished the video. Great criticism and praise where they are deserved

[@sztrife1]

i stand with you 100% i've always loved ffxiii's charm, art, story, characters, gameplay and have always defended it. im so glad you've made this, thank you so much

[@isardonic8601]

Honestly, I've loved this game since I've first played it. Ive never understood why people don't like it. This game to me is one of the best final fantasy games I've ever played.

[@willyking7343]

Great video also don’t know if anyone else has said it but in Chapter 7 for the final boss Lightning can actually use her gun as a physical attack. You just have to manually select it and it’s quicker and does way more damage

[@EZog58]

So ruin, ruin, ruin, attack, eh? Fascinating.

[@codystevenson9648]

If i could change the gameplay just a tad, id add in a feature to change party leader in battle by pressing the right trigger to cycle through characters, use the left trigger as an "ATB brake", slowing or outright stopping the battle so you can navigate the manual command menu without losing time making decisions with a full ATB gauge and everyone else continuing to battle, and allowing up to eight paradigms, with the menu structured as a 2×4 grid similar to the command and item menus.

[@x-xsharkix-x]

ff13 was my first final fantasy game, it was a gift from my older sister and i LOVE the trilogy!!

[@HopeEsthiem15]

Just my 2 cents. Hope is my absolute favorite of the FF franchise. I love how human he is.

[@gerald216]

This is a hilarious comment but also true?

[@ksad96]

I forgot how well Lightning and Hope's relationship is developed, and really I'm so happy to see the focus on it since Lightning became such a representative of "Character who talks a lot but doesn't have personality" for detractors online

[@Ravagerblade]

A bland relationship is still a bland relationship... Not to mention the shitty ship. Trash.

[@ItsClarissaFaye]

A 3-hour video about how FFXIII is Good, Actually? Yes please. It's been a while since I've visited that universe and this reminded me of all the things I absolutely love about it. Always nice to find fellow XIII appreciators!

[@Dzzy123]

In chapter 9 you say that there probably is not a thematic reason for Vanille and Fang having the Saboteur role, but I think there is: both of them are on Cocoon with the initial plan of sabotaging it. Also, my most used party was also Light-Sazh-Vanille. They were my favourite three characters in the game. Snow and Hope were my least used party members, and they were also my least favourite party members in terms of character.

[@handtomouth4690]

Pretty sure that was sarcasm, he literally describes them both as saboteurs by the end of the video.

[@Virjunior01]

Oh, wow. This reminds me of how absolutely brutal Lightning x Fang x Hope was with the damage. Was surprised to find that was the main party I gravitated towards and used the most.

[@SquallNoctisGUX]

Glad to see more people wake up

[@Playinh00ky]

This analysis is such a loving tribute to my favorite Final Fantasy game. I never thought of it as being overly dramatic because all the characters are struggling with grief, and its fairly easy to see myself and my own grief in someone like Lightning. Thank you for a lovely video

[@MechaOracle]

Been loving FF XIII since day 1 and I'm just glad they never ruined the game by making direct sequels that crap on the characters or throw in dumb plot retcons via time travel. Nope. Not a single one... Square Enix would never destroy such a perfect ending for a money grab... Nope... Seriously, Square Enix wouldn't bait and switch us on a sequel from having Lightning as a main character to giving us a Doctor Who plot... Nope.

[@BabyArms]

Modern Square Enix does this to pretty much everything they make. No one with any major influence there cares even slightly about story integrity, and I'm not sure they'd understand what it even is if someone explained it to them.

[@MechaOracle]

@@BabyArms I really love Lightning Return's combat... Because it's basically a modified version of Mario & Luigi series (made by ex-Square employees that made Mario RPG) But XIII-2 and LR legit feels like someone told them to **specifically** do everything to put down FF XIII story and characters. It's a real shame. The world of FF XIII is so amazing.

[@omdhdk]

I like the sequels to 13 on their own but it's kinda sad how they kinda ruined a perfect ending to the first game. It's one of the best endings in all the games I've played so yeah. And man Serah and Noel are so bland as MCs 🙈 I still love the triology to bits

[@geneMag]

It's what hurt so much to me with the series TBH... FFXIII had great characterization and growth for everyone involved. The lack of lighthearted moments was exhausting, but it was still a good story. The more I played XIII-2, the more the story felt like they took a checklist of all the forum/twitter complaints about the first game, and then they wrote several timelines(fanfics) to appease that mob, to give a "canon" ending that they would be okay with. Then came XIII-3... It just didn't sit well with me. It felt like Lightning lost everything I loved about her in the original game, like she was turned into a puppet forced to do things (both in-story, and IRL with all the fashion company collabs Squeenix did.)

[@MeatMonsterMan]

Saw the video, realized you're the same guy from Patrician's Metal Gear Survive video. I didn't ever play the rest of the FFXIII trilogy, but I always liked FFXIII despite most people telling me it's crazy that I considered it a good game in it's own right. Your analysis of the story granted me a lot more in understanding exactly why I felt the story was compelling without being able to explain it myself when the game was still fresh.

[@NerdPrince14]

The Cid Raines fight was so smooth if you used Fang, Vanille, and Hope, because at that point you be popping every debuff and removing his buffs and it would mitigate the need for buff on your party. this fight was definitely fun for me

[@rumplstiltztinkerstein]

Even with an explanation, the story is still confusing.

[@NerdPrince14]

Loved the attention to the voicelines. I noticed that on my first playthrough and I was like thats really cool. It definitely brought their relationships to each other to life

[@romancantu3602]

I wish I had this dedication for my school work. And this is an amazing video 😫👌🏽

[@OriginalDrGonzo]

I know you and everyone else were. Ive played every Final Fantasy to date (aside from that steaming pile that is 16, I'll never even gaze at its direction) and 13 was calamitously underrated.

[@irabradlee7837]

This is the best FFXIII retrospective on the Internet. Thank you.

[@ActionFilmsFan1995]

I cannot wait to get out of work and watch this! Your videos are great!

[@DropkickSuplex]

Saz is the best written and most normal character in all of final fantasy. Hes great

[@mrzwanzig460]

For someone who admits upfront that they are generally more focused on story than gameplay, it's impressive how in-depth you went with your analysis of the game's combat (despite some minor factual errors, like your explanation of Veil). As someone who loves this game primarily for the combat (and how fun it is to speedrun), and found myself agreeing with a lot of your takes, I really appreciated it. I'd say it's the best discussion of 13's mechanics that I've seen on KZbin thus far.

[@tghn100]

you just showed me i've been playing this game wrong for years great work!

[@SerrantDaFoeII]

Just found this channel, watched two minutes, saved the video for later, seething to be able to binge your content. Have yourself a sub sir

[@groudonvert7286]

About chapter 13, the 3 first Bosses have their own battle mechanics that are interesting to get a look at. Each one of them stops you to do something you normally do in the game, so you have to adapt to a new situation. -Bandersnatch is immune to Physical Attacks -Jabberwocky is immune to Magical Attacks -Wladislaus is "immune" to stagger -Flying Tiamat is immune to all debuffs -Ground Tiamat Dispels every buffs on the party with every attack that hits. To go a bit further, the game has ways to deal with each of this problems : -Bandersnatch/Jabberwocky : The party full-ATB skills and Eidolons' Gestalt mode ignore physical/magical resistance/immunity. -Wladislaus : since his level is not above 50, he's not immuned to Random Instant Chain -Tiamat : a bit tricky but you can kill Tiamat before he lands... or if he does, you can stop it from attacking long enough to stagger it (that's a very hard and RNG thing to do).

[@groudonvert7286]

i would add that Tiamat is also one of the few enemies in the game (and I think it's the only Boss) that can inflict Imperil. Tiamat can also inflict Slow (very annoying debuff).

[@jamiep4674]

The amount of crap I got from people cause I use to defend this game, I enjoyed it through and through. How has it taken so long for people to realise the game is an under appreciated gem.