Near the start of the game.

Any luck yet, Liam?

Getting close to that review, but there's a bit more of the post game (ie, second half of the game) that I'd like to do first. I'll try to put it up by tomorrow night.

After an hour of trying to Death the Neochu from mission 55, I got nothin' even though I'd gotten to a point where I could cast it multiple times per battle before it killed me. So I decided to grind a bit. After more than 80 fights against the same targets I now have my Commando's, Sentinel's, and Synergist's Seal trophies. I had been using a party of Vanille, Lightning, and Fang to fight the Neochu, but seeing that Snow now had a massive amount of HP (~12,000 with more to come from other classes) I decided to give Mission 55 another shot with him in place of Fang.
Death hit on the first try. From there it was just a matter of beating down it's minions (Which still required much use of Combat Clinic. Tough little buggers.) before getting the target of my goal, the Growth Egg accessory. Double CP from here on out.
It's gonna make grinding take a lot less time as I'll have only 5 fights per high level node instead of 10, but that's still a lot of running up and down the hill fighting the Behemoth King/Megi fight before I can really go out and take on other Marks.
What I really need it a good way to make money so I can get my equipment up to snuff. Ah, well. I'm sure there is one. I'll just have to find it.

Selling stuff?

Haven't been on to try it out though, Spending some time with the girlfriend.
I watched New Moon yesterday... Give a person an inch, they take a mile.

That sucks more than the first time you fight an Eidolon......

Well, yeah, selling stuff. lol
But I meant what sells best as a matter of time invested to get it versus how much it's worth. Once I find out what it is, I'll need to know where to farm it, what carries it, etc. When I find out I'll post back to let everyone know.

You sat through the whole movie? Wow. You must really love her.

Farm the start of the game where your still in Cocoon for the credit stuff. Incentitive chips.

Well she did buy me FF13.

Those farm okay, but I can't really get back there. The best I can think of is farming the Chocobo digging game to get Moogle Puppets, Plush Chocobos, and Cauctuar Dolls. They all sell really high.
The most commonly suggested thing I've seen is farming Adamantoise for Platinum Ingots, but I can fight them straight up yet. I did Death one a couple times earlier though. 80K CP with Growth Egg Still not as time efficient as the King Behemoth/Megi fight though. Oh well. Just have to max some more stuff so I don't have to rely on Death to kill them.

o.o over powered much?
Next time you start the game though you will know to farm for the stuff.

Nah. If I was overpowered, then I wouldn't get owned without casting Death. As is, both the Neochu and Adamantoise are beyond me in terms of stats. I'm thinking that I'll at least need to master my other two default classes before I stand a real chance of winning a straight up fight with either.

Double Post!

Okay, here it is. After much thought, I'm ready for my final word on this game.
I've put it in the style of a GameFaqs review. As always, feel free to disagree with me and make your own opinions.

Graphics:10
Naturally, Square's reputation for graphics is still much deserved. Everything about the game is pretty, from the cut scenes to the normal in game graphics, to the battle animations(not that you have much time to admire them). My only complaint is that playing on a nonHD tv makes some of the numbers hard to read in the menu. Other than that, it's everything we've come to expect from Square.

Story: 7
Well, they've certainly addressed my concerns about XII not having enough focus on story...
But they certainly could've done a better job. At it's base the story is good enough, we just don't spend that much time exploring it. Despite all the cinematics, only in a handful instances do I feel genuinely pulled into the story. The biggest part of the story is missing. The definition of the world. We're always given new info to fill us in, but it comes either in the form of cutscenes that are relevant to the story, or through pages of text in the Datalog. Square's forgotten that to make you really like one of their worlds, they have to let you live in it. Of course, if they're trying to stay in line with the story they've chosen, then all the people are rather opposed to having you live there. And that's the kicker. It makes no sense within the confines of the story that you would be able to run around in a world where everyone hates you. No one's going to want your characters to help them or hire them for jobs when they have a reputation as evil incarnate. Square made a choice for the sake of the story, and while I think it limits the game overall, I have to respect it.
One other thing I will note about the story is that it seems very Japanesey to me. I could see this being made into an anime without much change.

Characters: 8
The clipped pace of the story leaves little room for true character development. For the most part the characters go from angry/sad-->epiphany-->heroic. The only character that can be said to really develop is Hope. Thing is, there isn't much room for development anyway. The stages the characters are in is fine, it's just the occasional transition that's a bit abrupt.
Example, Lightning is overprotective of the only family she has. When someone tries to take Serah away, she gets angry, becomes determined to save her. When something happens to Serah, she blames herself first, then lashes out at others. She becomes bent on revenge.
This is perfectly acceptable behavior for a character in these circumstances. It makes sense.
As for the NPCs, there's not much character to them at all. You only get to speak directly to a few of them. Most of the rest just say things you'd expect them to, but that most often has little or nothing to do with you. Again a chance for more immersion is lost.
You're only given one real villain, and I can't say that I was impressed. I won't give anything away, but I will say that I just don't feel the same drive to defeat them. They're not like some other villains who give you nightmares where they show
up to cut you in half with the Masamune. (Darn Bowser. *shivers*)

Sound/Music:10
Not much to say here. Nothing bad, really. All the sounds fit where they are supposed to, and while the music doesn't have a truly standout song (eg, Eyes On Me, etc.), there isn't really anything wrong with it. If I had to pick a complaint, it'd be the loss of the classic Victory Fanfare.

Gameplay:7
Ahh. Now we see the violence inherent in the system!/Monty Python
This is a tough one to score because while everything here works pretty well with only the occasional hiccup, there are things I miss, as well as some missed opportunities.
Let's start with level design. They certainly look imaginative, but as many have said before me they're pretty much just tubes. You go from the start of the level to the end with little deviation. What few things pass for puzzles involve walking to where you might conceivably have not thought to go and hitting a button to lower a bridge or walkway. Come on, Square. Even a newb DM could do better. Playing through these killing tubes gave me a -1 to Creativity that lasted until I played through Portal again. One particular flaw in the only real open world section stands out enough to bug me. There's a mission where you're required to have a chocobo to access the C'ieth stone to begin it. Ascending the point where it is and walking a couple steps causes the chocobo to throw you and leave. The mission mark is nearby, and is, imho, the best mission ever, and completeing it removes a barrier by the Stone. Unfortunately, if you want to go see what you've opened, then you've got to go get another chocobo. And it's a pretty long walk. This could easily have been fixed with the ability to call a chocobo.
Combat was a darn sight better. The greater part of the game is mostly easy if you close to max your Crystarium in each chapter. It's hard to go wrong. But after a certain point the game really picks up the pace. Boss fights, as well as some normal battles, really require planning and quick thinking. The paradigm system doesn't just work, it shines. There's not a fight before chapter 11 that can't be won through stategy instead of stats. It's not just a matter of 'grind here until you can win'. Very impressive. My only problem with it is that you can't change what you really need on the fly. If you find you're using the wrong strategy, then you have to retry and bring other characters/equipment to the table. If you had the ability to save Paradigm decks for certain character groups so you could switch in and out when needed with only a minor pause, or even just switch which character you control on the fly, then it would make a great system even better.
Sadly, once you get to the postgame is when you make up for all the lack of grinding. The C'ieth Stone missions (which are the focus of the postgame) just don't provide enough character growth. The insane costs of your secondary roles make it impossible to get anything done with them until you can handle things that give a lot of CP, which you can't do until you close to max your primary roles. This kinda makes the focus of your initial grind to make characters that can grind better stuff. Not really a lot of fun.
The Upgrade system has another new idea. You build new and better stuff by scrounging together what you can find and buy, and make what you can of what you have, actually getting real use out of the things enemies drop. Unfortunately, you won't have any use for this feature until near the endgame. You find weapon upgrades when you need them. This means that maxing your weapons is pretty well reduced to another postgame grind for parts, or rather for money to buy parts which is just far more efficient.
There are all of two minigames to be had. One is a short, but entertaining mech control minigame. The other is Chocobo treasure hunting. This, like so much else, is kind of linear. You'll basically be mounting up and patroling the areas where you think there's treasure. If it's there, then you get it. No skill needed.
Lastly, the Missions. They range from challenging to tear you hair out tough. Prepare to die a lot. Strategy is paramount here too, but now you really need the stats to back it up (hence the grinding). The comparison has been drawn to the Hunts from FFXII, of course. And while this is certainly enjoyable, I must say as a matter of personal opinion that the Hunts and rare game from FFXII are largely superior. I liked how you could engage in multiple hunts at a time, something you can't do with missions for no good reason I can see. But more than that, I liked the way you always had to flush out rare game, adding a lot to the whole 'hunting' feel. Learn your quarry, then lure it out before you strike. Again, XIII is more linear in that for these you just go from Stone A to Mark B.

Replay value: Relatively Low.

It simply isn't fair to compare a perfectly good game to games you already know and love within the same series. If you have established favorites, then it's at a severe disadvantage, and the score would suffer for it. To that end, I'm giving the game two scores. One to show how well the game has done, and one to show where it ranks among it's predecessors.
As a game on it's own merit: 7.75 out of 10 Almost everything they try works well, and the story is enjoyable. I had a good bit of fun playing this game.
As a Final Fantasy: 5 out of 10 This seems a bit harsh, even by my standards, I know. The game was fun, but I've come to expect much more of this series. Here's hoping Square listens to their fans' feedback for the next game. It doesn't have to be the same old formula, but they can't lose sight of what their fans want. Especially after having been kept waiting so long.

*whistles while Pumping petrol into cannisters*

?

You're making Molotov Cocktails? Do you disagree strongly enough to burn my house down, or are you targeting the review itself, just trying to give it a controlled burn so that it becomes a bit less wordy?

*Takes Cobalts family Hostage*
do-do do, dodo do.

....What are your demands? Oh, and let me apologize to my family in advance if it involves a tutu. 'Cause that ain't happening.

Try offering him your liver.

I might be convinced to let him have half of it. He can grow the rest himself.
Of course, I would still like to know exactly why he's doing this. Did I give him eye strain with the monster post?

I forgot...
*Heads off to the pub*

*sends ninja monkeys to rescue family before he remembers*

Yeah once I forget something it ain't coming back.

Well then, I admire your dedication to amnesia.

What we talking about again?

Might finally get back into playing FF13 again tomorrow after work, I have just been so exhausted lately I don't even have the energy to play games.

Yeah, I know how that is. Haven't dealt with it lately, but I've been there before. Sucks. Hope things quiet down after your entertainment tomorrow.

A word of warning if you intend to get the Plat. There is going to be a LOT of grinding involved.

Weird thing is I actually don't mind that cause you know... Get all three girls in a party and I'm sorted.

It's likely no coincidence that one of the most effective parties is Lightning/Fang/Vanille. lol

Non at all whatsoever.
>.>
<.<
*Goes Doujin hunting*