Prologue: Valhalla

Prologue

Valhalla

Your first battle is a standard fare tutorial battle. You will first be asked if you want to take the Active Time Battle Tutorial. If you’re a FFXIII vet, or just tend to catch on to turn-based battle systems quickly, then it’s probably best to skip this. In fact, there’s no reason to not skip this tutorial, unless you’re a total noob or video game derp.

The Auto-battle command is more than sufficient for the whole thing. The AI knows exactly when to attack using Snipe or Lightning Strike, and when to heal with Ullr’s Shield (which fully restores your HP and bestows Protect and Shell). When Chaos Bahamut’s HP reaches the halfway point, there will be another brief cutscene, but this doesn’t affect the battle. Just keep on pressing X!

After the battle, some more cutscenes will roll, and soon you’re introduced to your first Cinematic Action segment. The most important thing to do during Cinematic Action is PAY ATTENTION! (So if you’re reading this, and your screen says “Cinematic Action” in the top left corner, either STOP READING or PAUSE!!)

You will be given button command prompts which are timed. The gray meter encircling the command tells you how much time you have to input the command. There are also some that require you to tap the requested button repeatedly, filling a multicolored meter encircling the command. Every time you successfully input a command in time, you will see an onscreen message saying “Success!”, and when you fail, a message saying “Fail!” Sometimes, as you will see here, there will be two different commands to choose from, and you can only choose one. This is an echo of another game mechanic called a Live Trigger, which will be introduced later, after the prologue concludes. Completing Cinematic Action sequences successfully will often get you a reward (though this time is an exception).

After yet more cutscenes, you will fight Chaos Bahamut again – this time airborne!

Chaos Bahamut (Airborne)

Whoa! Who knew Odin could fly, right? But I digress.This is really a lot like the first battle – Bahamut’s stats haven’t even changed. Just press X repeatedly, using the Auto-Battle command. AI will handle offense with Focused Bolts and Graviton Mines, and defense and restoration with War’s Benediction, which is for all intents and purposes, the airborne equivalent of Ullr’s Shield.When Chaos Bahamut’s HP is at about three quarters, there will be another brief interlude, again with no especial consequence to the battle.At the end of this battle, you should get a Battle Rating. Whether you’ve chosen to play the game in Normal or Easy mode, you should get five stars for this simple battle.