be still my heart..
Let's start with a basic rundown of the game.. basically the stuff you can pretty much piece together from the cover of the game *pulls out game case* Ok, first off, this is a square game.. as in a game made by square. if somehow you don't know why that is important.. they created the Final Fantasy series, probably the best selling video game series, and among the most successful franchises in the history of mankind. So it's a big deal when they make a game. What makes this game even MORE amazing is that it was developed in conjunction with Disney. That's right, Disney.. hero company of countless small children (not to mention all them adults) worldwide. The fact that Square was creating it's latest final fantasy with disney put off many a Final Fantasy (here-to-forth known as FF) fanboy.. but it shouldn't! The game is fantastic. Playing as a young boy named Sora, you venture out into the unknown following the destruction of your world by the Heartless, beings without hearts (duh) bent on the destruction of all worlds. Along your journey you will be joined by Disney icons Donald and Goofy, who fight along side you, as well as literally hundreds of cameo appearances of other Disney and FF characters (yay Cloud!!) some of whom will avail themselves to battle with you at times. The gameplay itself is great. The battle system is utterly addicting. I sacrificed sleep for a week in order to complete the game that quickly as i could just not stop playing it. The only real down sides are the camera and a couple of the stages. The camera has an auto focus and rotate feature, which sadly you cannot turn off. It really gets in the way until you figure out how to get around the problem by moving in a certain fashion. Now, the two stages.. you will learn to hate Wonderland and Atlantica (little mermaid's world), and i do mean HATE them. Wonderland is a veritable maze. You have to find this door to get to this side of this room. But to get to that side of this room you must find that door. And then you do that again 8 times or so. The first real stage of the game should not be so frustrating that's for sure. Now Atlantica.. here the camera is just impossible as you are forced to travel in 3d.. as is necessary when underwater.. or so i've heard. With the ascend and descend buttons also having other functions, and the similar rooms, this stage was so horrible that i literally NEVER went back. And i doubt i ever will. I would have replayed this game a couple times by now if not for that stage. Anyway, if you have someone to help you with wonderland, it's cake.. so just push through Atlantica and try not to cry too often.
On to the good stuff! The battle system is rather innovative, combining the real time combo action of an adventure game with the menus and options of an rpg. It can take some careful planning to do well on the bonus battles, but for the most part, the system works remarkably well, with the help of a magic shortcut menu and such. The graphics are top notch, the backgrounds gorgeous, the music is beautiful! The bonus ending is so well done you will think you are watching a movie, it is so freaking sweet! For all you FF fans out there, being able to hear Squall and Cloud for the first time is a real treat, the voices they got for them are perfect, especially Cloud's. Really everyone's voice is pretty much dead on, with the exception of a couple disney characters (like sebastian, who was waaay off). The movie sequences are amazing, and the opening was so cool that i reset it just so i could watch it again. The presentation of the game could not be better, with the music setting the moods perfectly. i even found myself absorbed into the game, as if i were actually watching a movie. So all in all, i give this game a 9 out of 10, as the camera you can really get around.. and the main flaw being the horrible level design of Atlantica. I totally advise you to pick this one up, and i'd be more than happy to help you with it, as i have MASTERED the game top to bottom, end to end, peanut butter to jelly etc etc :o)
Also, i didn't talk about everything here, mainly so you'll have a couple surprises left WHEN (not if :oP) you buy it.
