From: masterplum | #015
Do I need to play 1 to understand the story and such?
I wouldn't strictly say it's necessary because there isn't a lot that happens in UC1 that carries over into future games, but you'd probably get confused on some of the references and the history between the characters. The original is worth a play, and it's pretty short anyway.
From: masterplum | #020
Hmmmm
what are the battle mechanics like in XIII?
FFXIII's battle system is ATB like most of the series, but your characters each have different "roles" they can use. Each character starts with three (out of a total of six, and no character has the same three beginning roles), but you can unlock the other three so all characters can use all six later in the game. Here are the six roles:
Commando - The straight up damage dealer physical attacker.
Ravager - The role for using offensive magic spells (also FFXIII has no MP, so you can use spells as much as you want)
Sentinel - Used for defense, learns abilities that greatly reduce damage and protects the party
Medic - Healer person, learns Cure stuff and Esuna stuff
Synergist - Uses party buffs, like Haste, Protect, Shell, etc.
Saboteur - Inflicts status anomalies on enemies like Blind, Poison, etc.
You can switch between roles at any time in a battle, so FFXIII's battles require a bit more strategy than most other games in the series. The leveling system is pretty similar to FFX's. Each party member has a Crystarium (think of a Sphere Grid, kind of), and after each battle you earn CP (Crystarium Points), and you can use those points to get stat boosts and learn abilities.
So yeah, lots of fun.
--
"But you have been given freedom. Freedom to be...outside."
"I am lightning...the rain transformed."