The Final Fantasy XIII Complete Official Guide

Generally I steer clear of videogame strategy guides, but for a big RPG it can be very tempting to have something that explains all the mechanics of levelling etc. If that's all you need, you can probably get a badly-printed tips book with a magazine ... this, however, is so much more.Piggyback has a reputation for putting together exemplary guides - their guide to FFXII was already superb - and this is no exception. There's a walkthrough, which you probably don't need, but despite the fact that the maps actually boil down in most cases to showing you how to walk from A to B down a straight line they are lovingly integrated into the page, with lots of high-quality artwork and details that enable you to pick up every last treasure chest.There are, of course, plenty of spreadsheets to get tucked into for the devoted RPG fan, and a full bestiary, and you are never going to feel that there is any data that you might need that is not readily at hand. Once you've finished the game, however, the book will continue to serve as an impressive piece of memorabilia thanks to its high quality of production and elegant design.I bought this along with the collectors' edition of the game and here's the thing: when you compare what you get for the extra money from Square Enix, and what you get for the same money (or less) from Piggyback, it is clear that this guide is fantastic value for money. This isn't just a guide for the stat-crazed; it's the best souvenir you can get for this generation of Final Fantasy.

I love owning these books alongside the game.Very good read with beautiful works of art within and helpful maps, strategies and set ups

I have purchased every Piggyback final fantasy guide since they first came out starting with Final Fantasy viii and found them instantly better than the Bradygames guide for vii and have always been very impressed by them, both in the quality of the construction (they look and feel very high quality) and in the quality of the info contained. This one (XIII collectors edition) is no different. It has a very clean appearance which is something I always like, just being a white cover with the game logo on it. The hardback cover adds to the quality. One thing which I miss and has been in all the earlier guides, there is little in the way of explanation of the storyline or details of the characters. There are pages giving advice on how to develop the characters from a gameplay perspective, but nothing from a 'fluff' point of view which is something I enjoy reading (character background, their personality etc). All in all though this is a great addition to the piggyback collection.

This guide really helps you understand the complex characters & battle systems of FFXIII. I had become stuck on a boss before purchase, this detailed and informative book showed me I had set all my characters up with inappropriate weapons. - now able to progress and enjoy the continuing story. Amazon marketplace merchant sent the book in great condition with a fast courier service.

So Piggyback are great and everything and this was a great guide.The only problem is, you don't really need the maps to locate items for most of the game given how linear it is and any mystery you have in the game, or boss that is too hard, you can just Google and find the answer. The guide is good for item lists and weapon stuff though. And you can't beat having a book open instead of a laptop next to you just eating electrcity. However, some subtle information about abilities, what they do, how they ACTUALLY function mathematically is either hard to find, or doesn't exist.Other than that, great guide but you may not really need it to be honest, not if you just wanna beat the game and be done with it. It is has been out for so long though already, you won't exactly be privy to anything that nobody else knows.

I had the paperback version of this official guide for several years, but I misplaced it somewhere. So when I recently decided to replay the game, I ordered this collectors guide. I did find a few pages came loose from the paperback version, but they appear very firmly adhered in this hardback and it is easier to keep clean and intact.It contains the same information as the paperback, with a few additions. In my opinion the most useful information in the guide is about the weapons and the accessories, particularly when it comes to choosing which is best for each of the characters. Knowing whether to increase the power/special characteristics early in the game is important as you obtain little money until later on. So in the early stages, winning, buying and utilising items on the better weapons etc is helped through use of the guide.I found this hardback difficult to use as it does not open out and lay flat, it is also much heavier than the paperback. The paerback is much easier to use from this point of view. So if you feel you need a guide that you will be using frequently, I suggest the paerback version. However if you are a final fantasy nut like me and want the collectors edition, then you will find a way of dealing with the difficulties the hardback brings.

Whether your a complete novice or an advanced user this guide is a MUST HAVE or you WILL get lost later in the game I can pretty much guarantee it. I did get lost and without the benefit of this guide and had to use three separate websites to make sense of where I was going and doing. The saying don't leave home without it is an understatement as such I cannot stress enough how important it is to own this guide. There is a slight wrinkle for the advanced users and that is the character descriptions has been removed from it. other than this though there are no issues at all.

The description said it was used and in good condition, it was actually as good as new, really pleased with the guide.

I haven't used it yet but upon looking it over, it seems to be thorough and what I am looking for.

Me alegro de que las guías de Final Fantasy hayan vuelto a sus orígenes. ¡El nivel de detalle es genial!

Ce guide est absolument parfait, il présente un complément indispensable pour tout l'amateur de final fantasy ( même s'il est parfaitement possible de terminer le jeu sans ce guide, mais si vous voulez l'expoliter à 100%, il sera trés utile, De plus les cartes et les illustrations sont parfaites. En un mot c'est un trés bon guide. Je sais qu'il a existé en français aussi mais maintenant il est trés difficille à trouver ( et beaucoup plus cher aussi).

Da mir die deutsche Ausgabe zu teuer war, habe ich mich für die Englische entschieden, da diese um mehr als die Hälfte günstiger war. Wer des Englischen mächtig ist hat keine Probleme, da die Namen für die Zauber usw. größtenteils gleich sind.Zur Qualität: Wer die Piggyback-Bücher kennt weiß das die Papierqualität immer gut ist. Und auch hier wird man definitiv nicht enttäuscht. Es handelt sich um einen Hochglanzdruck und ist sehr schön anzufassen.Zum Aufbau: Die Bücher sind gut strukturiert und bieten alle Informationen über Waffen, Gegner, Nebenmissionen und diverse Strategien die Bosskämpfe anzugehen. Wie bei den FF-Lösungsbücher üblich, wird zuerst die Hauptstory erläutert und im hinteren Teil des Buches findet man die zusätzlichen Missionen (Cieth-Statuen) und Erläuterungen zu Waffen und Gegnern.Obwohl FF XIII sehr geradlinig vom Storyverlauf ist, kann ich das Buch empfehlen, auch wenn es für viele vielleicht nur ein Sammlerstück ist und man es nicht braucht um nur die Story durchzuzocken.

(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.