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00:00A world, wild and fragile, vibrant and untamed. Grand Pulse.
00:08Welcome to Mojo Plays and today I'm doing the unthinkable. I hated Final Fantasy XIII,
00:13so this has been a real challenge for me, but at the very least you can trust that everything I
00:17say
00:17has gone through about 20 hate filters before I decided it was valid. Let's take a look at why
00:22Final Fantasy XIII isn't that bad. Before we continue, we publish content all week long,
00:27so be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to get notified of our latest videos.
00:34Exhausting vs Bad
00:36Wait, but I don't get it.
00:38I'm going to start off with an entry that isn't actually about anything in particular,
00:41it's just more of a realization, an observation, a filter I had to apply mentally to take the game
00:46in objectively. And it's the realization that the game isn't so much a bad game, it's actually just
00:52an exhausting game, which is an important distinction. The game strips away a lot of
00:56traditional Final Fantasy pacing tools. No bustling towns, barely any NPC chatter,
01:01no goofy minigames to let you breathe. It's just forward momentum that's almost non-stop.
01:06And although for me this felt like a weakness, I guess it can be a strength, and for fans of
01:11this
01:11game, it was. The cast is basically on the run the entire time, so the relentless structure
01:16kind of mirrors their situation. There's no time to relax, because they don't get to relax.
01:21Still, other entries have told similar fugitive stories and managed to sneak in lighter moments
01:25or diversions without breaking immersion, so who's to say? Me. They could have done it.
01:31Okay, let's say some nice things without backhanded compliments.
01:37She's waiting there, ain't she? Your lovely bride-to-be?
01:41Worldbuilding
01:41And they're Lassie. Our enemies are the state. Tell a soldier to kill an enemy,
01:46and you really think it's gonna matter what uniform he's wearing?
01:49The whole Lassie idea grabs you immediately. You're branded, given a mission you barely
01:54understand, and doomed no matter what choice you make. That's such a sharp narrative engine,
01:58because the conflict isn't just emotional, it's baked into the rules of the world itself.
02:02Cocoon society reacting with fear to anything linked to Pulse actually makes sense, too.
02:07It mirrors real-life panic responses without stopping to preach about them.
02:11Then you've got the full sea looming overhead, these distant, god-like system operators who
02:15keep civilization running but feel zero attachment to the people living in it.
02:19That's deliciously inventive sci-fi, and exactly what Final Fantasy is good at.
02:23It turns the story into a fight against infrastructure, not just some mustache-twirling villain.
02:28Even if someone isn't sold on how the plot delivers its info, the foundation is undeniably strong.
02:34You know how to fly this?
02:36Yeah, I think so.
02:39The Crystarium progression is the tutorial.
02:43People love to rag on poor man's sphere grid, but the Crystarium's tight leash is actually doing
02:49some smart behind-the-scenes work. Because it limits how fast you can grow, the game can balance
02:54fights with surgical precision. You're not accidentally steamrolling bosses because you
02:58stumbled into some game-breaking spell at level 12. Instead, your strength ramps up in a way that
03:03feels fair. New roles unlock, stats climb, tactics expand. It feels less like random power spikes,
03:10and more like learning a system properly. Then, when the restrictions finally loosen,
03:14it's satisfying because you actually understand what each role does and why each role matters.
03:19The layout helps too. It's clean, it's readable, and it rewards you often enough to feel progress
03:24without turning character building into spreadsheet duty. Maybe the training will stay on a bit too
03:29long, but they're definitely more handy than hurtful.
03:35The soundtrack.
03:57I'm so glad I don't have to defend this one. Final Fantasy XIII absolutely weaponizes its soundtrack,
04:02and honestly, it might be the game's secret MVP. The music does heavy lifting that dialogue sometimes
04:07doesn't, instantly communicating what is happening before a character even opens their mouth.
04:12Often communicating better than when the characters open their mouths.
04:15Its blend of sweeping orchestral pieces and slick electronic elements fits the sci-fi fantasy
04:21tone perfectly, making every scene feel bigger than whatever hallway you're stuck in.
04:26That matters, because when environments are structured linearly, sound is what gives each
04:30chapter its own identity. Great game music is basically invisible storytelling,
04:35and it does a lot of heavy lifting in this game.
04:40Making a wish, huh?
04:43What'd you wish for?
04:56Aesthetic and Art Design
05:02Whether you vibe with its tone or you don't, Final Fantasy XIII absolutely knows what it wants
05:07to look like. And it's such a shame the game was destroyed globally, because had its other
05:12elements been stronger, its style would have been remembered probably to this day.
05:16Cocoon's polished, futuristic sheen plays perfectly against Pulse's wild ancient landscapes,
05:22giving visual context to all the themes you'd seen up until this point.
05:25The character designs pop instantly, as well. Lightning's outline alone is so distinct it may
05:30as well be branding. Even the menus and UI feel intentional, sleek, techy, and fully in sync with
05:37the world instead of floating on top of it. Say what you want about the game, its design
05:41is cohesive. Really cohesive.
05:43It's a dead end, but we were at least going to see where the road would take us.
05:52The search for a home, buried in the past, and the faintest glimmer of hope.
05:58The game released at the wrong time.
06:03The 13 days after we awoke were the beginning of the end.
06:10Another entry like at first, this isn't so much an assessment on why it's not bad,
06:13but why we were so hard on it. After waiting so long for Final Fantasy XIII, expectations weren't
06:19just high, they were flying over the world map. So when the first few chapters didn't match the
06:24grand vision people had built in their heads, many players basically declared judgment day early.
06:30It also launched at a weird turning point for the industry when AAA gaming was starting to lean
06:34into annual releases, aggressive DLC models, and a more mass-produced feel, which made audiences
06:39extra suspicious of anything that didn't instantly catch the brain. Dropping a heavily guided opening
06:45in that climate was pretty much a death sentence. Players needed instant return,
06:50but Final Fantasy XIII is absolutely not that. Compared to the open,
06:54this play is remembered from the start of other Final Fantasy entries, XIII's earlier
06:58linearity felt like a hard pivot, especially with fewer towns, fewer shops, and wandering
07:03spaces to decompress in. It just honestly didn't feel like Final Fantasy.
07:18The Paradigm Combat System
07:25Final Fantasy XIII can feel like it's on autopilot pretty early, until the combat system pulls
07:30off its mask and reveals a surprisingly sharp tactical grin. Paradigm shifting isn't just
07:35swapping roles, it's complete management of the battlefield. You decide when to sprint the
07:40stagger gauge, when to brace for a boss's scripted nuke, and when to dump damage like you're cashing
07:44out chips at a casino. Because commands Q, skill lives in prediction, and then reaction. Look,
07:50it's different, I understand, but every Final Fantasy game needs to have a different take on the
07:54battle system. And Final Fantasy XIII might be different, but it's also lots of fun. The design
07:58turns battles into an almost flow state. When it finally clicks, fights feel less like turn-based
08:04routines, and more like spinning plates while dodging punches. It's pretty epic.
08:16Battle Restart
08:17I was crediting the game for this back at release, and it was always going to be on this list.
08:25One of
08:25Final Fantasy XIII's smartest quality-of-life flexors is how fast it lets you jump back into a fight.
08:31Lose? Cool. Retry instantly, no loading screens, no jogging down the same hallway like you're stuck
08:37in a fitness montage nobody asked for. That design quietly dulls the pain of failure, and not in a way
08:42that feels cheap or too easy, just less painful, which isn't a bad thing. You can test a risky
08:48paradigm setup, watch it explode, tweak it, and dive back in. That's perfect for a system built on
08:54tactics and timing, because experimentation stops feeling scary and starts feeling encouraged. And,
08:59dare I say, fun. Final Fantasy XIII shows that despite what people think,
09:04it respects your time and your curiosity. Some players argue that fear of death is what makes it
09:09fun, but how many times can you hear there's no way you're taking Kairi's heart before you hurl your
09:13PS2 into a wall? Lightning.
09:27Hey, that wasn't like a challenge now, alright? Hey!
09:40Lightning might be the best part of Final Fantasy XIII. She stands out because she's not your typical
09:46sunshine and group hugs RPG lead. She's disciplined, guarded, a soldier persona holding herself together,
09:52while everything underneath starts to fracture. That tension is what makes her interesting. You can
09:57literally watch the stress lines form, her need for control tightening, her emotions getting boxed up.
10:03She's a nice throwback to Cloud, to Squall. She's cool, and that's cool. She isn't strong,
10:08just because the script says so. She's strong because she's built herself that way to survive,
10:12and the story keeps poking at what happens when that armour stops working.
10:25A world, wild and fragile. Vibrant and untamed. Grand Pulse.
10:33Everyone's heard the running gag. When Final Fantasy XIII opens up, it becomes a different beast. And yes,
10:39the meme exists because it really does take about 25 hours, which sounds like a hostage situation disguised
10:45as a monster's pacing, but once it happens, the shift is undeniable. Hunts appear, optional monsters
10:50start stomping around like they own the postcode, and suddenly you've got room to experiment with builds
10:55and paradigm combos instead of marching through tutorial corridors. This is where the combat finally
11:01flexes, because you're not learning systems anymore. The focus flips from advanced plot to
11:06solve fights, and that's the arena where the game shines brightest. And even though it's become a meme about
11:11how ludicrous it is to have to wait 25 hours for a game to get good, it does technically get
11:17good
11:17after 25 hours, and it's the best excuse for why Final Fantasy XIII isn't that bad.
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