Menu ( Final Fantasy XIII ) The following entails the contents of the main menu in " Final Fantasy XIII " . The menu has a blue - gray color - scheme and black - and - white images from the game are often imposed on the menu background depending on the submenu being viewed . Paradigms . In the Paradigms menu the player can set the party ' s paradigms to be used in battle . The player can preset up to a maximum of six paradigms . With six roles and three maximum playable party members , there are 83 different paradigms in total . Each playable character has different roles unlocked , and different Crystarium path in their roles , meaning that choosing different characters for the party affects the usefulness of the set paradigms in different battle situations . It is possible to set the same paradigm multiple times on the table . In battle the party can then shift between the paradigms freely . Paradigms can only be set in the menu , not during battle , but if the player uses the Retry option for boss battles , the Paradigms menu comes up before the battle commences , allowing the player to make changes . For battles that ensue without the player getting a chance to set the paradigms in the menu beforehand , such as the battle against Hecatoncheir with Vanille and Fang , the paradigms are set automatically at random . The paradigm menu becomes available after the Crystarium has been unlocked , in chapter 3 . Status . The Status menu displays the playable character ' s status , their stats , their equipment and passive abilities , their role level s and elemental resistance . From the Status menu the player can also view the character ' s Eidolon ' s stats after the character has obtained one ; thus the Status menu doubles as an Eidolons menu , as " Final Fantasy XIII " has no separate menu section for viewing Eidolon stats . Unlike previous " Final Fantasy " games where the menu shows a character ' s menu portrait , the entire menu background in " Final Fantasy XIII " changes to display the character who is being viewed . Crystarium . In the Crystarium menu the player can advance the player characters via the Crystarium system , getting stat boosts and learning new abilities . Each role has its own path in the Crystarium and each role levels up separately . Even if player characters have access to the same six roles , the Crystarium paths are different and each character learns different abilities and gets different stat boosts for the same roles , and the Crystarium paths also differ in length , meaning some characters master their roles faster than others . A character ' s Crystarium expands by expending Crystogen Points obtained from battles . After choosing a character to advance and a role they have available from the menu , the player must press the confirm button to activate crystals in the Crystarium . The player can browse the Crystarium in the menu with the directional buttons to see what stat boosts and abilities are coming up next . The Development section at the bottom of the screen shows the Crystarium stage , the basic attribute of the crystal being highlighted and the CP cost the crystal requires to be activated . The character ' s stats are displayed over their menu portrait on the right , so the player can see the effect of activating crystals in the system first hand . The Crystarium menu is unlocked at the start of chapter 3 . Abilities . The Abilities menu displays the abilities the character has learned from the Crystarium . The player can either view all abilities at once , or in sections . The role abilities are bundled under the role that can use them , Techniques are their own section , and Eidolon abilities are displayed here as " Final Fantasy XIII " has no separate menu for Eidolons . The menu shows the ATB cost of abilities and the abilities marked Auto are passive . Equipment . In the Equipment menu the player can equip the character with weapons and accessories . The Optimize option selects the strongest equipment to wear . The section on the right shows the character ' s stats and passive abilities , and pressing the button in this menu gives a break - down on what the passive abilities do . Inventory . The inventory shows the items in the player ' s possession . Unlike in previous " Final Fantasy " games , it is not possible to use items from the menu ; they are for display only . The only way to use items outside of battle is to use shroud s in the shroud menu on the field . The Help section at the top of the screen gives additional information on an item when an item is pointed at with the cursor . The inventory is made out of Items section , that is for normal battle items like Potion and Antidote , Weapons and Accessories cover the equipment , Components is a list of equipment upgrade items , and key item s shows all other items , such as storyline items , the characters ' eidolith s and what Retail Network shops the player has obtained . Datalog . The Datalog is the digital journal for the game and is frequently updated as the story progresses with information on events , enemies , characters , and gameplay . A prompt blinks on the upper left - hand side of the screen whenever the datalog is updated . The Datalog in " Final Fantasy XIII " has thirteen submenus : Events chronicles the game ' s events chronologically listing them by chapter ; People contains character profiles and updates with new revelations about them ; The Thirteen Days is full of recordings all the events that happened thirteen days up to the prologue of " Final Fantasy XIII " ; History and Myth expands on the history and mythology of the game world ; Locales records profiles of the game ' s locations ; Cocoon Society provides information on Cocoon and its denizens ; the Fal ' Cie section keeps track of information of the fal ' Cie mentioned within the game ; Analects are stories and myths recorded by the Gran Pulse civilization . The Primers are about gameplay : Gameplay Basics explains the basic game navigation and controls ; Battle explains the Command Synergy Battle system ; Exploration explains the game ' s navigational systems ; the Main Menu explains on the menu and its submenus ' purpose and function ; and Enemy Intel is a bestiary . Settings . The Settings is the game configuration menu . The player can set the camera and screen brightness controls , whether the game displays subtitles or not , and whether the speaker ' s name is displayed when the subtitles are enabled . The battle speed can be adjusted from here as well as cursor position , target selection method and help messages during battle .