So today, I started playing FF13. And so ends my 24 hour break from video games! I first watched my friend play it about 4 or so years ago, and as usual it takes about that long for me to actually get down and play it. I'm about two hours into the game, so I guess I'll talk a bit about my first impressions.

First, let's talk gameplay. So far the gameplay has been very linear, although since I'm barely into Chapter Two, things might improve. Contrary to what a lot of critics think, however, I'm not a particularly big fan of the free world. The more free a world is, the more diluted the story becomes. And Final Fantasy games are known primarily for their stories. Of course there's no fun in just walking from one end of the corridor to another and do nothing but grind on the way. Side-quests and mini-games are ways to spice up single-player RPGs and I expect to see both in FF13.

I wish this was a gif so you can see how Vanille runs

The graphics are, as usual, astounding. So far the world setting has looked very spectacular, and FF13 definitely has been a visual treat. The character designs are basically what you'd expect from every FF game since FF8 -- I call that the 'generic Final Fantasy face', a blend of Caucasian facial features and colourful hair that seems to never go messy. On this note, Lightning's character design is actually very good. I feel that her looks is feminine enough to look attractive, but also masculine enough to justify her being the main character.

Her personality, so far, has been very bland. I really hope that they would, somewhere down the line, make her less of a kuudere and giver her a bit more humanity. So far, my favourite character has been Vanille. I can't really say if it's her voice, the way she walks, or the way she acts around Hope. But she's really nice, and I hope this doesn't come off as creepy (I think it already does).

Some final words on voicing: I started out with the default English voice, but when I switched to Japanese I actually thought their body language and expressions felt much more natural. The Japanese voice actresses for the female characters also have a higher, more 'kawaii' pitch which sounds just that much more pleasant to my ears. 

So yea, I hope FF13 delivers a really good story. I'll be sure to enjoy it slowly, which is hardly an issue since I spent way, way, way too long looking at Vanille.

P.S. I was listening to the FF13-2 theme song earlier today. Tried doing a piano transcription which came out pretty good...until I realized I couldn't sing. I also think that Charice's version is a bit more exciting than the Japanese version.