Yen Press Final Fantasy XIII: Episode Zero -Promise-

Loves the story ❤️ 💕

Simplemente si eres fan de Final Fantasy en general, te recomiendo este libro, o el de Final Fantasy VII: On a Way to a Smile, para comenzar a disfrutar de las novelas de la saga. Por cierto el libro llegó en buenas condiciones, aunque hubiera deseado que lo hubieran empacado con alguna especie de funda y no suelto.

Molto bello, lettura scorrevole e piacevole. Il libro è diviso in capitoli che raccontano un pò "il dietro le quinte" dei vari personaggi del gioco. Ho apprezzato molto quello su Lightning e Vanille e Fang, che ho trovato anche in certe parti anche un pò commoventi. Unica pecca è che il libro è solo in inglese

Este livro é claramente indicado para aqueles que são fãs da trilogia XIII. O livro conta os acontecimentos dos 13 dias precedentes ao jogo e "mostra" como alguns personagens se conheceram e como alguns eventos ocorreram e que não são mostrados durante o jogo. Amarra algumas pontas. Não é uma leitura imprescindível para a compreensão do enredo mas ele com certeza melhora a experiência do jogador e muito. O começo é meio lento mas depois "engata" e fica bem melhor.

I wish this book had been available in English back in 2009. The game would have made so much more sense!If you’ve ever been confused, frustrated, or annoyed by Final Fantasy XIII, it’s probably at least in part because you haven’t read this book. The game throws you into an unfamiliar world, bombards you with foreign words like “l’Cie” and “fal’Cie,” and has you recruit an array of characters without properly introducing them. Why? Because all the world building and character backstories and relationships are explained in Episode Zero: Promise.It’s like how Final Fantasy XV gave us a movie and an anime (and, in Japan, a drama CD), and watching those first helped the game make a lot more sense. Except, unlike Final Fantasy XIII’s prequel content, those were available in English from the get-go. Here we are a decade after this book was published in Japan, just now getting it in the West. *shakes fist at Square-Enix*Even if you hated FFXIII (and, until now, I did), I recommend this book because it will make the confusing scenes of the game connect like puzzle pieces for you. I’m replaying the game now and everything makes so much more sense, it’s incredible. I feel like in the past I had skipped the first disc, and only now do I have the complete game.Here’s a spoiler-free breakdown of the chapters:First there are 8 full-color, glossy pages containing screen shots from the game with captions which provide biographies for allies and foes and geographical information about various locations in the game.Chapter 1, Encounter. Lightning is on patrol and meets NORA—and Snow—for the first time. It does not go well, so Snow offers to help Serah choose a birthday gift for Lightning to reconcile. In this chapter, we discover information about Light and Serah’s parents, and why Lightning changed her name to “Lightning.” And we see how Serah became a l’Cie.Chapter 2, Strangers. This chapter is all about Vanille and Fang, and how they woke up and survived on Cocoon. This was one of the best chapters, because you see how the people of Cocoon live day-to-day, discovering it at the same time as Fang and Vanille, who are essentially two foreigners.Chapter 3, Treasure. Here we see how Sazh got his chocobo and how Dajh became a l’Cie. You learn a lot about the Public Security and Intelligence Command (PSICOM) and the villain characters, Jihl Nabaat and Yaag Rosch, and discover how Sazh lost his wife. Probably the most important chapter in the book, for all the information it provides.Chapter 4, Search. This entire chapter is about how Fang came to be aboard the Lindblum and their lengthy, failed search for Vanille. While she is involved with the Guardian Corps Wide-Area Response Brigade (GC-WARB)/The Cavalry, we learn about Cid Raines’s motivations for helping her, and parts of the chapter are written from the perspective of Captain Rygdea. I really loved his character so it was awesome to spend time getting to know him!Chapter 5, Friends. This chapter explores Hope’s relationship (or lack thereof) with each of his parents. The majority of it is a flashback to Hope’s childhood and an adventure he shared in the Sunleth Waterscape with his school friends while on a field trip. (If you don’t remember Sunleth Waterscape, that’s the random rainforest-looking place that Sazh and Vanille appear in during the game. The book explains that it is a nature preserve where monsters are studied. And those floating bubbles that change the weather from sunshine to rain are explained in the book, as well.)Chapter 6, Present. Serah searches for the perfect birthday gift for Lightning; meanwhile, although he accompanies her, Snow is actually looking for an engagement gift for Serah. A lot of cute, silly fluff. I love Serah and Snow so it was nice to see them together in scenes like this.Chapter 7, Tomorrow. A far-off flashback to how Vanille and Fang first became l’Cie on Pulse. Then it jumps to the present and explains how Vanille ended up on a Purge train with Hope, Nora, Lightning, and Sazh. And we know the rest, because this is where the game begins.So there’s a LOT of information about the people, history, world, and main characters in this book that you absolutely do not want to miss, whether you’re a fan of the game or didn’t like it so much. It really made me appreciate it more, now that I understand where the characters are coming from and the world they’re in.