::05/21/2020 UPDATE if you would believe that::

At some point in the murky past the stars aligned, quiet patches were introduced, and with minimal out-of-game tinkering, you can play this game at a stable, high res and high frame-rate. I haven't played it in a while, but I'm surprised I didn't go back and change my "no" to a "yes."

Here's the thing - the core game is very much polarizing and many words have been written to death about it. This particular review was always more about the quality of the port. If you want my remarks on the game generally: the game is essentially a very, very long tutorial to a moderately interesting/amusing battle system that doesn't fully open up until you've actually beaten the entire main story (itself obviously a subjective thing to criticize, but something I didn't find particularly enjoyable, paced-well, or executed brilliantly). So. There you have it.

::10/22/2014 UPDATE::
So approximately a week and a half after the game launches, Square Enix has quietly introduced a patch. What does it fix? We now get a confirmation that we want to close the game when we press escape in full screen.

Excuse me if I'm too overwhelmed to edit anything else about my review just yet. (Less cynically: at least it's SOMETHING and the patch notes say they're working on other stuff. I'll be holding my breath until I pass out from lack of oxygen. Stay tuned, and, as always... Please look forward to it.)

Original review:

Locked 720p resolution
ESC key is a shortcut for Alt+F4 in full screen mode
Literally no graphics configuration options (whoops, I mean, you can choose full screen or windowed)
Best 60 GB I ever spent 10/10 would fellate Squeenix again

::10/10/2014 EDIT::

60 GB is stupid. The "reason" this game is 60 GB supposedly is because fans clamored for Japanese languages. To maintain everyone's super deep lip sync immersion, this means that the Japenese language pack doesn't just consist of extra audio files, but slightly tweaked versions of every pre-rendered cutscene. So the game installs two versions of every cutscene on your computer. And no, the Japanese pack is not optional. Why not do as Dynasty Warriors 8 did and make the Japanese language pack free optional DLC? I'm not the only one who isn't going to play with Japanese voices (though I know many are). Perhaps they could even offer two separate downloads, a 30GB English install and a 30GB Japanese install. (I don't see the need for having both installed at the same time, since I figure most people would play through the game using one or the other language.)

Locked 720p is stupid. Note that this isn't CAPPED 720p, it's LOCKED 720p. There are literally no resoultion options. The game touts 60 FPS but many people experience stuttering and inconsistent framerames (myself included). Some people have suggested certain workarounds revolving configuring video drivers, with mixed results. Some say it works, some report it doesn't. (I'm in the "it doesn't do anything" boat.) And before the mindless white knighting fanboys tell me to upgrade my toaster hurr durr (in the same breath they tell me to stop being an entitled PC master race elitst for wanting resolution changes), my specs are:

Time of this report: 10/10/2014, 01:58:56

Operating System: Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit (6.3, Build 9600) (9600.winblue_gdr.140723-2018)
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4930K CPU @ 3.40GHz (12 CPUs), ~3.4GHz
Memory: 32768MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
GPU: 2x NVidia GeForce GTX 780 3GB VRAM in SLI

The inconsistent performance is happening for people across the board regardless of their specs.

Once you get past all of that, the game runs and you can play it. So that's a thing. It hasn't crashed on me. But it should be mentioned there are several reports of people who can't launch the game, can't get full screen working, have the game crashing after loading the launcher, and other similar problems.

BUT HEY AT LEAST IT'S ONLY $16 LOL WHAT DID YOU EXPECT??????

I dunno, maybe a port like The Last Remnant which has all the standard configuration options, and even went above and beyond the call of duty by adding extra content and features that make the PC version even better than the console versions for $6 less than what the same company is asking for Final Fantasy XIII?

Lastly, yes, there is a pre-alpha community developed mod headed by Durante (of the DSFix and DPFix fame) that lets you tool around with resolutions but also reportedly breaks menus and has other graphical glitches and such (hence: pre-alpha). Also it has no impact on performance (FPS dips, etc) problems. Forgive me for being old fashioned but I kind of think it falls to the devs to offer these kinds of basic functionalities, not modders.

::05/21/2020 UPDATE if you would believe that:: At some point in the murky past the stars aligned, quiet patches were introduced, and with minimal out-of-game tinkering, you can play this game at a stable, high res and high frame-rate. I haven't played it in a while, but I'm surprised I didn't go back and change my "no" to a "yes." Here's the thing - the core game is very much polarizing and many words have been written to death about it. This particular review was always more about the quality of the port. If you want my remarks on the game generally: the game is essentially a very, very long tutorial to a moderately interesting/amusing battle system that doesn't fully open up until you've actually beaten the entire main story (itself obviously a subjective thing to criticize, but something I didn't find particularly enjoyable, paced-well, or executed brilliantly). So. There you have it. ::10/22/2014 UPDATE:: So approximately a week and a half after the game launches, Square Enix has quietly introduced a patch. What does it fix? We now get a confirmation that we want to close the game when we press escape in full screen. Excuse me if I'm too overwhelmed to edit anything else about my review just yet. (Less cynically: at least it's SOMETHING and the patch notes say they're working on other stuff. I'll be holding my breath until I pass out from lack of oxygen. Stay tuned, and, as always... Please look forward to it.) Original review: Locked 720p resolution ESC key is a shortcut for Alt+F4 in full screen mode Literally no graphics configuration options (whoops, I mean, you can choose full screen or windowed) Best 60 GB I ever spent 10/10 would fellate Squeenix again ::10/10/2014 EDIT:: 60 GB is stupid. The "reason" this game is 60 GB supposedly is because fans clamored for Japanese languages. To maintain everyone's super deep lip sync immersion, this means that the Japenese language pack doesn't just consist of extra audio files, but slightly tweaked versions of every pre-rendered cutscene. So the game installs two versions of every cutscene on your computer. And no, the Japanese pack is not optional. Why not do as Dynasty Warriors 8 did and make the Japanese language pack free optional DLC? I'm not the only one who isn't going to play with Japanese voices (though I know many are). Perhaps they could even offer two separate downloads, a 30GB English install and a 30GB Japanese install. (I don't see the need for having both installed at the same time, since I figure most people would play through the game using one or the other language.) Locked 720p is stupid. Note that this isn't CAPPED 720p, it's LOCKED 720p. There are literally no resoultion options. The game touts 60 FPS but many people experience stuttering and inconsistent framerames (myself included). Some people have suggested certain workarounds revolving configuring video drivers, with mixed results. Some say it works, some report it doesn't. (I'm in the "it doesn't do anything" boat.) And before the mindless white knighting fanboys tell me to upgrade my toaster hurr durr (in the same breath they tell me to stop being an entitled PC master race elitst for wanting resolution changes), my specs are: Time of this report: 10/10/2014, 01:58:56 Operating System: Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit (6.3, Build 9600) (9600.winblue_gdr.140723-2018) Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4930K CPU @ 3.40GHz (12 CPUs), ~3.4GHz Memory: 32768MB RAM DirectX Version: DirectX 11 GPU: 2x NVidia GeForce GTX 780 3GB VRAM in SLI The inconsistent performance is happening for people across the board regardless of their specs. Once you get past all of that, the game runs and you can play it. So that's a thing. It hasn't crashed on me. But it should be mentioned there are several reports of people who can't launch the game, can't get full screen working, have the game crashing after loading the launcher, and other similar problems. BUT HEY AT LEAST IT'S ONLY $16 LOL WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?????? I dunno, maybe a port like The Last Remnant which has all the standard configuration options, and even went above and beyond the call of duty by adding extra content and features that make the PC version even better than the console versions for $6 less than what the same company is asking for Final Fantasy XIII? Lastly, yes, there is a pre-alpha community developed mod headed by Durante (of the DSFix and DPFix fame) that lets you tool around with resolutions but also reportedly breaks menus and has other graphical glitches and such (hence: pre-alpha). Also it has no impact on performance (FPS dips, etc) problems. Forgive me for being old fashioned but I kind of think it falls to the devs to offer these kinds of basic functionalities, not modders.