Replaying FFXIII

[Wolf Kanno]

Chapter 10 done.

Such a pointless chapter. The Fifth Ark looks like a sewer level, with subway sections and metal pipes everywhere. Cid Raines, is easily one of the weakest Cid's for me. Guy barely shows up in the game, and then the game tries to get this emotional twist of his reveal of being in on the plan from the beginning, and I'm like, "So what? I figured you were in on the plan" then he does this odd "sacrifice" if we want to call it that, and I simply look at the screen with a blank stare thinking to myself, "Was I supposed to care?"

Easily, the biggest writing mistake in FFXIII is how poorly utilized its supporting characters are. All of them are one
dimensional cardboard cutouts designed to keep the plot moving on, but nothing about them is fascinating when everything is said and done. Granted, they all have potential to enrich the narrative, but so far no one has managed to really step up to that lofty goal.

After getting through the resource rich Chapter 9, Chapter 10 is surprisingly skimpy on giving you anything good. Some enemies drop good things, but the previous chapter sort of proved that the most efficient way to build better gear is through cold hard gil. Something this chapter is lacking. The CP gains are also not much better than earlier chapters, and the current Crystarium upgrades are ludicrous in terms of cost. I am largely ignoring the secondary roles that unlocked because the cost to benefit ratio is not worth it. I could spend 6000CP to either give Vanille a +5 in Attack, or I could spend 4000CP to give her a +15 in magic. That's a no-brainer. I don't really understand why the secondary roles are so janky in execution, outside of railroading you into sticking with everyone's main three classes. I mean, at this point, they might as well have just let them unlock after you finish the main game once.

Anyway, it's time to go to Gran Pulse, where I must face off with the true evil of FFXIII, The Grind.