I want to talk about Final Fantasy XIII for a bit.

If you’ve been following my thoughts on the game leading up to its release, you’ll remember I’ve been kinda up and down on the subject, my interest fluctuating much like the wave pools at a water park. At first I wasn’t even sure I’d pick it up on release day, but a few days before my cynicism got hit by a Limit Break of excitement and I decided I’d get it day one. Come on, it’s Final Fantasy!

Or is it?

As of this writing, I’m about 14 hours into the game (I know I’m slow, but I work full time, live with a fiancée who is currently addicted to watching Bleach, and I’ve been playing the new Pokémon as well), and from everything I’ve read, the game will suddenly “click” around the 15 hour mark. I want to write my impressions pre-click, since 14 hours is a long time to invest waiting for something to pick up.

Honestly though, the game is awesome. I’m really, really enjoying it thus far. I’m actually enjoying taking my time with it, because Final Fantasy XIII is much more fast-paced and up-tempo than any other Final Fantasy, and pretty much any other JRPG I’ve ever played. I can’t sit and play for five hours like I would before, the game is mentally taxing.

The first thing people want to know about is the battle system. I wasn’t too sure about it when I would read previews from news blogs, but I think that’s mostly because no one really did that great a job describing it. The best way I can think of describing Final Fantasy XIII’s battle system is if you jammed together Final Fantasy X-2 and Chrono Cross. You have the on-the-fly job switching of X-2 and the attack “costs” of Chrono Cross.

It’s still very much a turn-based system, but it disguises itself well. You still have an ATB bar that needs to fill up before you can take action, but it’s broken into segments. Each attack or spell you perform will use up one or more segments, so you can mix and match and try to make the most of your turn. Certain actions, like summoning your Eidolon, casting Libra, or using healing items can be done at any time and don’t interrupt your ATB bar.

What makes the battle system so interesting and fun is the Paradigm Shift. There are six classes, each suited for different tasks (Commandos are physical attackers, Ravagers are Black Mages, Medics are White Mages, Sentinels will draw enemy attention and shield themselves, Synergists will buff the party, and Saboteurs will debuff the enemy), and you can set up different combinations that you can switch to on the fly. You can have a Sentinel have a strong enemy focus on them, while a Commando and Ravager whale away at it, or have a Medic heal while a Synergist and Saboteur stack the odds against your foes. It allows for a very impressive amount of customization, and you’ll need to be quick on your feet in order to survive some of the tougher fights.

The story, the main draw for a Final Fantasy game, or any RPG in general, is actually pretty good once you figure out what the hell is going on. The game drops you right in the middle of a big conflict and starts throwing around all kinds of terms, like Fal’cie, l’cie, Pulse, Cocoon, and PSICOM and just kind of expects you to pick it up as you go. Luckily, there’s a “datalog” in the menu that acts as an encyclopedia so you can do a little bit of reading when you need a break from all the fighting.

The linearity that the game has taken a lot of flak for isn’t really that big a deal, to be honest. Yes, the game is essentially a series of “hallways,” and you’re pretty much pushed from point A to point B with a few battles in between, but in the context of the story, it makes sense. My only complaint is that the game is so gorgeous, you’ll want to look around and inspect things but what you can look around at is somewhat limited.

The characters are a lot of fun, and the voice acting is fantastic. A lot of people were complaining that the Japanese language track wasn’t selectable in the North American release, but honestly, it’s not needed. All six of the main cast are wonderfully brought to life by their voice actors, and considering some of the cheeseball lines they have to read it’s an impressive feat. Don’t listen to people when they complain about Hope or Vanille, though; both characters are a bit much at first but the more time you spend with them, the more you start to really understand where they’re coming from.

All in all, I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with the game so far. I always known it would be a good game, but I was unsure if it would be a good Final Fantasy game. Honestly, so far I’ve only seen one Chocobo (the one that lives in Sazh’s hair that I’ve come to call Frocobo), and I’ve seen Shiva and Odin, and that’s really it. Still, despite the lack of Final Fantasy elements, the game has a very Final Fantasy atmosphere, and you’d be able to tell even if the name wasn’t on the box.

Also, a word to Xbox 360 gamers: the game still looks fantastic on the 360. The reports that it doesn’t look as sharp as the PlayStation 3 version are true, but honestly you can’t tell unless they’re side-by-side. The only issue is the cinematics are compressed to fit on DVDs, but I probably wouldn’t have really noticed if I hadn’t read about it beforehand.

So if you were unsure about whether or not you should take the plunge, I say dive in. For a game that’s received so many mixed reviews, you’ll be very pleasantly surprised.