Final Fantasy XIII

The player directly controls the on-screen character through a third-person perspective to interact with people, objects, and enemies throughout the game. The player can also turn the camera around the characters, which allows for a 360° view of the surroundings. The world of Final Fantasy XIII is rendered to scale relative to the characters in it; instead of a caricature of the character roaming around miniature terrain, as found in earlier Final Fantasy games, every area is represented proportionally. The player navigates the world by foot or by chocobo.

Players may save their game to a hard disk drive using save stations, where the player can also purchase items from retail networks or upgrade their weapons. An in-game datalog provides a bestiary and incidental information about the world of Final Fantasy XIII. The Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International version of the game, released in Japan, also contains an “Easy” mode option. As in Final Fantasy XII, enemies are integrated into the open field and can be approached or avoided by the player.

When the player’s character touches an enemy, the screen transitions from the regular map to a separate battle screen similar to those used in previous Final Fantasy titles; the character’s health is fully restored after each battle. A maximum of three characters may be used in battles, which use a variant on the series’ traditional Active Time Battle (ATB) system first featured in Final Fantasy IV. Unlike previous games in the series, the player only controls the lead character while the remaining two characters are controlled by the game’s artificial intelligence (AI).

During battle, the player selects an action from the menus, such as Attack, Magic, and Item. Each action requires a specific number of slots on the ATB bar, which refills in real time to a set maximum number; this total size gradually increases throughout the game from two to six. The Paradigm system allows the player to program “Paradigms” in which the active party members have a specific role in combat, roughly akin to the job system of previous games. The player can only choose from a limited stock of paradigms set up outside of battle, limiting the possible combinations of roles available; this is the only way of directing AI-controlled party members.

The roles consist of Commando, dealing physical damage; Ravager, using elemental magic; Medic, a role which can heal and remove negative status ailments; Synergist, which uses magic to strengthen allies by giving positive statuses; Saboteur, which uses magic to weaken enemies by inflicting negative statuses; and Sentinel, which has protective abilities and may take on enemy focus. The Crystarium is a leveling system consisting of six crystals and resembles the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X. Each crystal in the Crystarium represents one of the six roles, and is divided into ten levels.

Each level contains various nodes that supply bonuses to health, strength, or magic, or provide new abilities and accessory slots. These nodes are connected by a semi-linear path. The player may advance down the path by acquiring Crystogen Points, which are awarded after defeating enemies. The full Crystarium is not available to the player at the beginning of the game; at specific points in the game’s plot, the player gains access to new crystals or levels. Final Fantasy XIII is set on the futuristic world of Gran Pulse (often simply called Pulse).

Central to the story is Cocoon, a massive artificial sphere that floats above Pulse’s surface and is ruled by the Sanctum, a theocratic government. The two worlds are controlled by fal’Cie /fælˈsiː/, mechanical beings with godlike power. The Cocoon fal’Cie are responsible for keeping Cocoon floating, as well as providing light and water to the people that live inside. Each fal’Cie handles a specific task. The fal’Cie have the capability of marking the humans that live in Pulse and Cocoon as their servants. These servants, called l’Cie /ləˈsiː/, are branded with a symbol representing either Pulse or Cocoon and are given a “Focus”—a task to complete. 

If the l’Cie complete their task in time, they are transformed to crystal and according to legend gain eternal life; otherwise they become mindless monsters called Cie’th /siːθ/. The l’Cie are not explicitly told their Focus, but are instead given visions that they must interpret. In Cocoon, the citizens of the town of Bodhum are being evicted, or Purged, after coming in contact with something from Pulse. Over the course of the game, the player is shown flashbacks of the events of the previous thirteen days, which began when a fal’Cie from Pulse was discovered near Bodhum. Lightning’s sister Serah had found the fal’Cie from Pulse and been changed into a l’Cie by it.

Lightning and Sazh derail a Purge train bound for Pulse in an attempt to save Serah. As Snow leads his resistance group NORA to rescue the Purge exiles, several of them are killed. Heading to the fal’Cie Anima to save Serah, Snow is joined by two of the exiles: Hope and Vanille. The two parties meet at the fal’Cie, and find Serah just as she turns to crystal. Anima then brands them as l’Cie and they are cast out into a different part of Cocoon. During this transformation, the newly crested l’Cie all have the same vision: a monster called Ragnarok. Arguing over the ambiguous nature of the dreamed Focus, the party finds Serah in her crystallized form; Snow remains with her as the others leave.