FINAL FANTASY XIII: The Paradigm system

A few years ago, Square Enix released yet another installment in the extremely popular Final Fantasy franchise, this one being the third of which broke away from the cookie-cutter Final Fantasy format. This new game was, as expected by many fans, called Final Fantasy XIII. In this blog article, I will not be reviewing the game as a whole, but will instead be discussing one specific innovation of the game: The Paradigm/Crystarium system.

First off, I will define exactly what a Paradigm is in game terms. A Paradigm in Final Fantasy XIII is essentially a role that a character takes on when using the ATB (Active-Time Battle) system. For example, one Paradigm is the Commando role. The Commando role is one of two Paradigms that specialize in dealing direct damage to an enemy. The other damage-dealing role is the Ravager, and unlike the Commando's style of using the character's weapon(s) to deal mundane damage, the Ravager role uses arcane spells (such as the classic Fire, Thunder, and Blizzard) to deal damage. Although there are two Paradigms that deal direct damage to an enemy, the other roles specialize in raising an ally's attributes (Synergist), causing status effects, like poison, to befall an enemy (Saboteur), taking damage that was originally intended for an ally (Sentinel), and, of course, restoring their current Hit Points by healing their wounds (Medic). If you play World of Warcraft, then a simpler way of comprehending the Paradigm system would be to think of it as Final Fantasy XIII's very own take on World of Warcraft's Class/Role Specialization system, for they are, in many ways, alike.

Another comparison to World of Warcraft's Class/Role Specialization system that is possible to make is the fact that Final Fantasy XIII has something similar to World of Warcraft's "Talent Tree", known as the Crystarium. This is in the sense that the Crystarium is a collection of connected unlockable powerups, such as new abilities or a raise to a character's attribute. You unlock these powerups by investing points in a Paradigm role until a new bonus is gained, after which you can continue investing points in order to gain another. To make this system less confusing, the Crystarium is represented in the shape of a three-dimensional image composed of several collections of crystals, all of which are connected. After you invest enough points to connect one crystal to a new one, you gain the ability/attribute bonus contained withing the newly-connected crystal. Because of the way the Crystarium works (connecting one ability to the other by investing points), it can be easily compared to several other leveling systems in other games.