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From the Archives, USgamer

From the Archives: It’s Time to Admit Final Fantasy XIII Wasn’t Actually That Bad

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Final Fantasy XIII wasn’t a bad game. Neither was Final Fantasy XIII-2. And neither is the conclusion to the Final Fantasy XIII saga, Lightning Returns. Don’t just take my word for it, though; plenty of critics agree.

In one of the last issues of the sadly defunct GamePro magazine, my former colleague AJ Glasser gave FFXIII four stars out of five. 1up.com gave the game an A- rating. Eurogamer gave it 8/10. And, despite a couple of outliers, the overall consensus at the time of release was that Final Fantasy XIII was a good game — not a perfect one, by any means — but a good one. The same was true for Final Fantasy XIII-2, which scored slightly lower on average, and while I’ll admit Lightning Returns reviews were somewhat more mixed — not everyone enjoyed the game’s peculiar mechanics and structure — there were still a lot of comments about how interesting it was, despite its flaws.

Which is why it’s so baffling that I find a lot of the online discourse surrounding this particular part of Final Fantasy’s history so overwhelmingly negative.

Continue reading From the Archives: It’s Time to Admit Final Fantasy XIII Wasn’t Actually That Bad →

Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Pointy Helmets – Final Fantasy III #12

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One of the interesting things about Final Fantasy III — and also one of the reasons it gets criticism from some quarters — is how it effectively requires you to use certain jobs for certain sequences.

To date, we’ve already seen a couple of sequences where you needed a White Mage handy to cast Mini on the party, and this time around we’re coming up on a sequence that doesn’t so much asΒ requireΒ Dragoons, but is certainly a lotΒ easierΒ if you happen to have a party full of Dragoons.

An adventurer is only as good as his equipment, however, so today is all about getting our four Warriors of Light tooled up with appropriate pointy implements. Check out how it went in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: He Loves Only Gold – Final Fantasy III #11

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Coming to their senses after seemingly bringing the world back to life, the Warriors of Light found themselves with their airship locked up and the next Crystal guarded by the mysterious “Goldor”.

Having acquired themselves some Levigrass shoes to cross the swamp guarding Goldor’s mansion, the time has finally come for the Warriors of Light to take back what is rightfully theirs — and perhaps plunder some shiny booty in the process.

Enjoy the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Levigrass Shoes – Final Fantasy III #10

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We rejoin the four Warriors of Light as they find their title contested: it seems that four eccentric old men also claim they are the warriors of legend!

As you might expect, it doesn’t take long for the real Warriors of the Light to prove themselves — but being thoroughly all-round decent people, they don’t hold it against the silly old buggers.

From here, it’s onward to track down the next of the crystals, but there’s a frustratingly inconvenient swamp in the way. Only one thing for it, clearly: Levigrass shoes!

Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Marathon

Final Fantasy Marathon: Aria of Sorrow – Final Fantasy III #9

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After making it to “the surface world”, only to discover the whole thing appears to be a seething miasma of darkness, the Warriors of Light set out to figure out what’s really going on.

Before long, they encounter the mysterious Aria, who seems to understand the situation, and she agrees to help them. The crystal’s light, it seems, can purify the land of darkness… but there are those who seek to oppose the light at all costs!

Enjoy the latest episode in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more.

Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Barrier Shift – Final Fantasy III #8

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We’ve almost reached the first big milestone in Final Fantasy III’s main scenario!

But before we descend to the “world below” and discover what’s really going on, we have a major challenge standing in our way. Can we free King Argus and his subjects from the evil Hein — who regularly shifts his weak point, if no-one told you — and return peace to the Floating Continent?

Only one way to find out. Enjoy the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Desch’s Destiny – Final Fantasy III #6

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After last week’s wandering around not being quite sure what we were supposed to be doing next, this week we get back on track and get quite a bit done!

We climb the Tower of Owen, fight Medusa, admire Desch’s selfless commitment to his destiny and take on Gutsco the Thief. But disaster strikes! Will our heroes be able to recover from this? You’ll have to wait until the next episode…

Enjoy the video below and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more.

Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: That Bit Everyone Hates – Final Fantasy III #4

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How many games have you come across where the reputation of a notoriously annoying or difficult section has put you off exploring further?

ForΒ Final Fantasy III,Β that section is featured in today’s episode: it’s a dungeon and boss fight where you’re forced to inflict the status effect Mini on your entire party for the duration, and as such it makes melee characters almost entirely useless.

Still, the mages can probably save the day, right? Find out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more.

Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Climb Every Mountain – Final Fantasy III #3

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The adventure continues, and now everyone has a capital-J Job!

Yes, having defeated the dread djinn in the previous episode and proven themselves as worthy Warrior of Light candidates, our group of four plucky heroes sets out on their journey proper. Along the way, they have plenty of things to deal with: a big rock, a crying woman, a mountain full of scary beasties… and a big ol’ dragon!

Enjoy the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Final Fantasy III, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Freelancin’ Ain’t Easy – Final Fantasy III #2

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As yet bereft of the iconic Jobs that would go on to define this particular installment in the Final Fantasy series, our heroes are tasked with seeking out a naughty old Djinn.

It’s not a quest they can really walk away from, either; a significant number of people in the vicinity have been turned into ghosts by this malevolent dark power — and of course, no-one but a bunch of freelancin’ kids could possibly go and sort out the whole problem.

While it’s a daunting challenge at first, it doesn’t take long for our heroes to build up their confidence at fighting — and before you know it they’re toppling their first significant challenge, proving themselves worthy of the title “Warriors of Light”.

Enjoyed the video? Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!