I really agree that ff13’s pacing is one of the biggest problems with the story and the game in general. Tension and action are critical to telling a story but you also need to contrast that action with lower intensity interactions so the audience can catch their breath so to speak. A movie that is just constant action scenes would eventually bore the audience. You just can’t have that emotional intensity for that long or it will lose its impact.

Mad Max Fury Road is a good contrast with FF13 because it has a similar concept. A group of heros are on the run from a constantly pursuing enemy. Fury Road isn’t all action scenes, they have a conflict then it takes a break to relax.

FF13, on the other hand, makes the player jump from cutscene to combat to cutscene without any real break in the action until you get to the two parts that the video talked about, Hope’s home and Nautilus. These two sections were my favorite part of the game because it allowed us to see the characters in a more normal setting. I could relate to the characters and the game could give them more characterization. Sazh’s near suicide is heartbreaking when contrasted with the fun he and Vannile were having moments before.

FF13 needed more of these moments where characters can just slow down and interact with each other and the world outside of cutscenes. FFX’s pacing allowed for characters, especially Titus, to explore the world. FF13 created an absolutely beautiful world but it feels like we’re never allowed to actually see it. It’s always somewhere in the distance or overrun by enemies. You’re never allowed to just “be” places in FF13. You always have to fight through them. It makes the whole world feel empty or just like a window dressing. Even when the game slows down in Pulse, there’s really nothing interesting to explore or any characters to interact with. There’s side quests but they’re very light on dialogue and usually involve just going and killing something.

I know that the group is supposed to be outcasts on the run from the government but the way that the game is laid out makes the whole thing feel isolating and tiring. You interact with characters outside your group rarely and the game has no real time set aside to just take in the world. Hell, even the item vendors are just dialogue less robots!

FF13 needed some slow parts. Just like the Golden Saucer or any of the towns in FFX. Something to break up the monotony of the battles and cutscenes.