Final Fantasy XIII: The Complete Official Guide
by Piggyback
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Book Summary Information
Author: PiggybackBrand: Prima
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Collector's Edition
Published: 2010-03-09
Platform: Not Machine Specific
ISBN: 0307468380
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Piggyback Interactive
Product features:
- FINAL FANTASY XIII CE Strategy Guide
Book Reviews of Final Fantasy XIII: The Complete Official Guide
Book Review: Informative guide, mostly well presented
Summary: 5 Stars
(This is a review for the hardcover collector's edition, which is sold out on amazon.com right now. The differences between the hardcover and paperback version are fairly minimal, though.)
I don't normally buy strategy guides for video or computer games, and this is the first guide I've purchased in at least a decade. Nowadays, comprehensive game information and walkthroughs can usually be found on the Internet for free, so it's not really the information inside the guide that I was interested in buying. Rather, it was the appeal of a professionally written, well-designed book which was both pleasant to look at and easy to read. That it turned out to have lots of good information in it was a welcome side-effect!
The guide is quite comprehensive, with a section devoted to a walkthrough of the story portion of the game. It has the mandatory maps and treasure charts, but also provides useful strategic information on how to overcome powerful bosses and monsters. Unlike some previous Final Fantasy games, FF13 has its fair share of difficult (or at least nontrivial) battles, so for certain tricky encounters the walkthrough might come in handy. Nevertheless, it isn't overwhelmingly difficult to finish the game without using a guide. The optional mark sidequests can be much more difficult than any encounters in the main story, and the guide provides detailed suggestions on strategy for defeating these monsters.
Where this book really shines is in its detailed explanation of some of the mechanics of the game which are not so immediately obvious. For example, it provides precise numerical information on how the weapon and accessory upgrading system works, which is given a rather vague explanation in the game. You'll also learn how battle ratings are calculated and how they impact the items you receive, and there are complete charts of all the weapons and accessories in the game. There is also considerable analysis of this information, which explains effective general strategies that will optimize the battle performance of your party. There's a fairly in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the six main characters of FF13, and a lot of discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of each paradigm.
The book is also pleasant to look at and read. The writing is high quality - certainly higher quality than free guides written by non-professionals on the Internet - and the included images from the game are well-chosen. As a matter of fact, half of the appeal of this guide to me was as a sort of art book. There are a few images which are of unusually low-resolution, but these are definitely in the minority. The hardcover version has an "extras" section which I believe is not in the paperback version; it has some interesting trivia (like an actual translation of the Pulse and Cocoon writing systems) and a nice synopsis of the story of the game.
One last note - if you are playing the game through for the first time, you might want to be careful to not read ahead of where you are in the game. While the authors did their best to minimize spoilers both in the walkthrough section of the guide as well as in the more statistics oriented sections, there's only so much they can do. If you're only interested in the information in this guide, you can probably get most of that for free on the Internet, but the design and writing in this guide certainly makes it worth the price.
Summary of Final Fantasy XIII: The Complete Official Guide
· The Final Fantasy XIII collector?s edition guide is a pristine coffee table book, printed on highest-quality, 100# paper and encased in a hard cover. It is limited to just one print run and each copy will be sequentially numbered.· Exclusive additional 16-page section featuring an overview and analysis of the Final Fantasy XIII story
· The 100% complete guide to FINAL FANTASY XIII
· Every secret, every side-quest, every mini-game, every bonus, every Achievement and every Trophy revealed and explained in a dedicated Extras chapter
· Dedicated walkthrough charts the most rewarding path through this epic adventure
· Strategy & Analysis chapter exposes hidden mechanics, advanced battle tactics and techniques for obtaining optimal rewards
· All-encompassing Inventory and Bestiary chapters feature exhaustive lists and tables covering all enemies, weapons and shops
· Bears all the hallmarks of a Piggyback guide, including annotated maps, hi-res screenshots and a wealth of exclusive, official artwork
· Carefully designed to avoid unnecessary story spoilers
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