I managed to get a copy of Final Fantasy XIII two weeks ago and finished it a week later. When it comes to JRPGs, I’m accustomed to grinding characters to absurd levels at some late point in the game before the final boss fight. Doing so makes a supposedly epic encounter easy, even ridiculous at times. I don’t think anyone complains about it at this point because it’s just an accepted part of JRPGs.
Naturally, I was expecting something of the sort the closer I got to FFXIII’s ending. After ten chapters of linear gameplay I found myself in Gran Pulse at chapter 11, with no clue on what to do. The game just opened up to me and I found myself at a loss about the next step to take.
I looked it up online, eventually finding out that I was at the grinding spot that I was looking for. Unfortunately, it was recommended to do the said grinding after finishing the game. Apparently FFXIII offers a lot of postgame activity.
I had a difficult time accepting this. It just didn’t make sense to me to build up characters and then not get the chance to use them against the final boss. Knowing that prevented me from really grinding. I ended up finishing the game using sufficiently leveled characters instead of overpowered ones. It wasn’t what I was used to, not for a JRPG at least. It didn’t feel right.
All this boils down to one thing: I didn’t get what I want.
The thing about video games is that they’re predictable. You follow a set pattern and get expected results. Sometimes it will take hard work, sometimes just dumb luck, but in the end the effort is guaranteed to pay off. When it comes to JRPGs, I like getting to the point where I can overpower any fight the game throws at me. By the time I reached FFXIII’s end, I realized that I didn’t get to do that.
I did what any sensible gamer in my position would do. I started a new game and decided to take the approach I should’ve taken in the first place. This time I’d grind before the final boss. I’m trying my best to get to chapter 11 as quickly as possible.