Tech Analysis: Final Fantasy XIII -- Digital Foundry

Four years in development, Final Fantasy XIII is one of the most important games Square Enix has ever released. It's the first game in the mega-selling Final Fantasy RPG franchise to arrive on PlayStation 3 and next month, with the game's debut in the West, Final Fantasy will transition into a cross-platform franchise, arriving in-store simultaneously on both PS3 and Xbox 360.

Digital Foundry will be covering the 360 version of FFXIII in due course, but for now their focus is on the Japanese version of the game, released at the tail-end of 2009.

[Xwow2008]

Analyse for the game, DAMN i can,t wait anymore for the game just 1 more damn month :(

[andron]

This game looks stunning, now I'm even more hyped to play it.

The more action oriented game play suits me fine, it will surely rub FF purists the wrong way. But it will probably gain the series new more casual fans too...

[Noct]

Really cant wait. 1 more month.

Oh and this proves the downgrade was false (not talking about game content).

The final PS3 build has more subtle detail and looks a lot cleaner and crisp over the demo build which was apparently 'downgraded'. It also boasts fixed framerate over the demo build which is the best piece of news to hear. It's crazy how the in-game character model 'almost' looks as good as the pre-rendered even when zoomed up right to the camera.

Also great to hear that the PS3 version is indeed 720P native and the that the 1080p upscaling is really well done.

I guess all that remains now is if the 360 version can match the PS3 version, especially since it's a port.

Will it have minimal loading or will it need to be installed?

Will it have a fixed framerate or any other technical issues?

Will it support all the different lighting effects and techical add-ons that the PS3 version has?

Will the graphical quality be as good?

Will it render at 720p native?

Will the videos and audio be noticeable worse?

[Vivi]

People who own both consoles would be idiotic to get the game on the 360.

PS3 version has proven itself.

Probably the biggest most superior multi-plat title.

Put your brand loyalty aside and just get the best version you can get for your money.

[SaberEdge]

It's good to hear that the PS3 version is performing so admirably. I will be looking forward to see how the 360 version performs.

[-MD-]

I've yet to see a solid side by side comparison of the two versions, I'll decide when that actually happens.

[Michael-Jackson]

Hey bots, when the 360 analysis comes out, it will boom!

[Ninji]

This garbage has already flopped regardless.

[stonecold1]

final fantasy vs 13 and xiv sorry bots you guys wont be playing those games anytime thought to let you know time to jump out and play beyond

[divideby0]

everyone I know who has both consoles like myself would be fools to buy the 360 version...just the diff. in audio alone, as we do have a 7.1 is a simple reason why I have to get the PS3 version.
I have yet to hear any mc owner buying the 360 version.
I read the entire article and it does appear that the game being ported to the 360, was thumbed down in scope.
If you want to disagree, please tell us why you are buying the 360 version...or just troll away

[-MD-]

"If you want to disagree, please tell us why you are buying the 360 version"

I play all my multiplats on my 360, I think the PS3 controller is horrid so I try and stay away as much as possible. Achievements are pointless but they're more fun to obtain than trophies (for me).

7.1 sound means nothing to me as I don't have surround sound.

As I've said previously, I haven't decided which version I'm buying but I'm hoping the 360 version comes out nicely because that's the one I prefer.

[Wii360BeatsPS3]

Not after they gave Dead Space 7/10. Fable 2 a massive 10/10. They have no idea about reviewing games. All they are good for is obsessing over pixels in their tech analysis section. Sad excuse for a game site.

[the_bebop]

That's a matter of opinion because you could say the same thing about either IGN, Gamespot and GameTrailers.

[mrmikew2018]

I agree with you. EG reminds me of a bunch teenagers and to make matters worst, they're bunch of hypocrites.It's no denying that they prefer the 360 over the PS3, which is fine in my book, but most of time they go out of their way to prove to themselves and the public, that 360 version is the best way to go. Just check out on their "Face-off: Round 24", in most cases the PS3 outshines the 360 version of a multi-title, but they state there's no reason not to pick up the 360 version over the PS3. If it was the other way around, we all know what their conclusion will be. Oh well, what can we do? This is how this generation works, there's entirely to much favoritism towards these systems.

[mrmikew2018]

If you prefer the 360 controller for most of you're games, why in God's name do you have to wait for EG to analyze FF XIII for you? Come on bro, just buy the game for the 360 if that's the system you prefer. You don't need to see side by side comparison, you want to see a side by side comparison and for what? I have no idea, that was silly comment bro, a stupid one to be honest.

[mrmikew2018]

Anyway gamers a good game you guys should check out is No More Heros 2. That game is really good.

[Dance]

Depends on personal preference so be quite!

[Danteh]

why is it personal preference?? I know some people prefer the 360 or the Ps3, but dude just accept when something is just superior.

The PS3 has everything uncompressed, more capacity, no disc switching, etc.
Much like bayonetta was better on the 360, it's a FACT that the PS3 version will be the one to get.

[Dance]

It didn't stop mutli console owners from picking up the PS3 version of Bayonetta

[N4Garbage]

Im still getting it on Xbox 360.

Achievements and by playing I get most of my 360 only friends to get into it and buy it for 360 also.

As long as the 360 version isn't plagued with framerate problems, looks washed out, and has more loading like the Ps3 port of Bayonetta I'll be fine.

[DJ]

To talk like that? BTW, switch the video settings on your PS3 from "Limited" (which is for SDTV) to "Full" (which is for HDTV). No more washed out colors, a la Gametrailers.com

[jackdoe]

Analysis makes sense.

The CGI is there to render stuff that cannot be done in engine.

The in-engine FMV is there to hide background loading.

The real-time cutscenes are there to mesh with the in-engine FMV as there is no difference between the two.

And the actual gameplay graphics are slightly lower in quality than the cutscenes, a fact that holds true for every game.

What I thought was idiotic of DigitalFoundary though, was making some broad guesswork on what the 360 version will do differently. No reason to make such an anlysis since the US PS3 version may differ from the JP version from a technical standpoint as well. S-E may not have bothered to provide an uncompressed audio track for the US version after all as that would take extra effort and Square isn't in the business of extra effort.

[DJ]

Pre-rendered cutscenes are a tool to help hide loading of actual gameplay content. I can't wait to pick this up on PS3. 360 owners should do the same. =]

[Dance]

How much is Microsoft paying you To talk like that? Says the guy with the God Of War 3 avatar

[Bodyboarder_VGamer]

Overall, the leaps made by Final Fantasy XIII over its predecessors are mostly visual in nature and that's clearly been the focus of this tech analysis. However, bearing in mind the four-year gestation period Final Fantasy XIII has had, it's disappointing that all the key improvements have been in the audio-visuals.

Of course, these are hugely important factors in FFXIII's make-up, but gameplay-wise this feels like it could've been done on PS2. Clearly, there's much to enjoy in the nature of sumptuous visuals and what is clearly the best-quality CG we've seen on a Square-Enix videogame, but early importers of the Japanese version of the game are divided about the merits of the actual game underneath.

Final Fantasy XIII has 13 chapters in all, and 12 of them are quite linear in nature: progress from point A to point B, exploring dead ends and off-shoots on the map in order to find new treasures. Early on in the game especially, there is more than a little sense that the game structure feels somewhat backward: going from cut-scene to cut-scene, with little in the way of puzzling, but plenty of combat.

There is a sense that enemy encounters increase in density simply to get in the way rather than present any kind of new gameplay challenge. Combat can be avoided in many cases, but Square has been wily in making it the key to powering up weaponry and equipment as opposed to boosting your characters.

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However, the more linear approach to the gameplay does mean that Final Fantasy XIII will undoubtedly be much easier to convert onto the Xbox 360. While a more freeform approach could have seen you jockeying discs about as you move from one area to another, Square Enix has confirmed that the three-DVD Xbox 360 version will only see two disc-changes throughout the duration of the entire game.

However, porting the game across to the 360 must have been a daunting proposition. Taking a look at the structure of the Blu-ray disc, we see an absolutely colossal 32.6GB of what looks to be pre-rendered movies, while the actual gameplay content itself is a more reasonable 6.8GB. Co-incidentally, 6.8GB is also the maximum usable space developers have on the dual-layer DVD (yes, Xbox 360 games theoretically have less storage available than PS2 and Wii titles).